Soul of a Dragon

by The Dragon Warlock

Rating: mature
Tags: Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Rarity, Romance, Sex, Ember, Dragons, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Anthro, Main 6
Length: 187794

Ember comes to Equestria to learn more about what ponies do, and Spike is ready to help. Rarity, however, is feeling unusally upset about this and must try to figure out her feelings for her friend.

A month has passed since Princess Ember has become the new Dragon Lord. She has worked hard to change the way dragons are by passing on what her first friend, Spike, has taught her. Despite her best efforts, some dragons are not ready to embrace the new changes and it has Ember frustrated.

When she receives a call for help from Twilight about her concern with Spike, she decides to take this time to not only see her friend she can't stop thinking about, but to also improve dragon and pony relations by heading over to Equestria herself to learn more about ponies.

While Spike and his friends are happy to welcome the new Dragon Lord, Rarity is feeling upset about how her long time dragon friend has obsessed with Ember. Rarity is now facing a crossroads about her true feelings about Spike and what he is to her.

As tensions start to mount between Rarity and Ember over Spike, it threatens the already fragile pony and dragon alliance made by Spike. But the tension between these two have caught the attention of a certain dragon that is more than determined to destroy everything Ember has worked for.

A.N.: Rated Teen now for some minor sexual stuff and possible gore. May change to Mature rating in the future.

New cover art by megadrivesonic. All characters are anthro in this story; despite the cover art showing otherwise.

Published 2016-04-21 00:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2019-09-03 16:05:11 UTC

A Unicorn's Worry

In the blue colored and crystal-like hallway of Twilight’s castle, Spike, who had changed his dirty shirt for a black t-shirt with a green flame on it, was walking and writing on a piece of parchment paper.

“Let’s see,” he muttered to himself. “What else can I show Ember while she’s here? Maybe Rainbow can take her to Cloudsdale. I can see if Applejack has any spare cider for Ember to try out. There’s so much I can show her that I don’t even know where to start.”

“Well I can tell you I ain’t got any spare cider, sugarcube,” a mare with a southern accent said.

Spike stopped and looked up from his paper to see the lean muscular Applejack and Rainbow Dash walking up to him. Applejack had a plaid red shirt on and cut blue jean shorts with a belt on it with an apple shaped buckle on it. Rainbow, Spike noticed, looked like she had just finished one of her workouts as she was in a tight, black tank top shirt and black jogging pants that showed off her rather curvy, but leaned muscular, figure.

Spike chuckled and said, “Well it was worth a shot anyway, Applejack.”

“Well maybe if a certain pegasus didn’t get all greedy over the cider, I’d be more than happy to share it with your new friend.” Applejack shot a stinkeye over at Rainbow.

Rainbow shrugged nonchalantly. “Hey, it’s not my fault your family makes the best cider in all of Equestria. Besides, you owed me one after I helped you hook up on a date with Soarin.”

Applejack blushed and grimaced. “Alright, you got me there.” She looked over at Spike and smiled. “Still, I can’t believe your friend from the Dragon Lands is coming over. Not only that, but the Dragon Lord herself.”

“I still think Spike should’ve stayed as Dragon Lord,” said Rainbow. “I think it has a nice ring to it and it would’ve been cool to have Spike be ruling over the dragons.”

Spike’s cheeks went red and he smiled. “Well, I don’t think I would be ruling over all the dragons, but it was tempting. However, I made my choice and would much rather stay with my friends.”

Applejack put a hand on Spike’s head and rubbed it as she grinned. “We wouldn’t have it any other way, partner.”

Spike turned and waved a hand. “Come on, Twilight should have Pinkie and Fluttershy over by now.”

The two mares nodded and followed Spike down the hall and came up to a large set of double doors. Spike put a hand on the door handle, but suddenly heard a rather loud bang from inside. He looked at Applejack and Rainbow and both looked as concerned as him. He opened the doors and saw colorful confetti raining down in the Friendship Council chamber.

The large round table and chairs around it were covered in some streamers and confetti. Streamers lined the ceiling around the roots of the former Golden Oaks Library. Near one of the chairs, a rather chubby pink mare in a yellow shirt and frilly sky blue skirt was pushing around a small blue cannon. Twilight was leaning over and had her face buried into her hands.

The princess looked up at the pink mare with an exasperated look. “Pinkie, can you stop firing that!?” she demanded. “She’s not coming today!”

Pinkie looked up with a disappointed expression on her. “Aww! But I was ready to give her a big ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party! Now that I think about it, do dragons like surprise parties, or any kind of party?”

“Well I like them,” Spike input. “So I think the answer is yes.”

Pinkie turned and smiled as she saw the dragon. She ran up and gripped him in a tight hug that made Spike gasp for air.

“Spike! I must know what kind of food to serve at this welcome party!” ordered Pinkie. “Do you have any gems I can use? Maybe I can make some gem encrusted cupcakes.”

Spike gasped and said weakly, “Put… me down… please.”

She saw Spike’s strained expression and released him. He let out a gasp and took several deep breaths. He looked up at Pinkie and smiled a little.

“Let’s take one thing at a time,” he said. “I want to know more about Ember’s visit first.” He looked over at Twilight. “Are Rarity and Fluttershy here?”

Twilight nodded and pointed to her two friends each in their chairs. A slim and curvy Fluttershy, dressed in a simple lime green and pink polka dotted sundress, was shaking a little and her eyes darted around. Spike, however, noticed Rarity with a rather grim look on her and had a hand up to her head. Fluttershy nervously waved to greet her friends, but Rarity didn’t seem to notice the chaos going on around the room.

Spike walked up to the fashionista. “Rarity?”

There was no response.

HE put a hand on Rarity. “Are you alright?”

Rarity flinched and looked around. “What’s going on?” she abruptly asked.

She looked around the room and saw her friends were staring at her with confused looks on them. Rarity felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over to see a worried Spike.

“What’s wrong, Rarity?” he wondered. “You’ve been acting funny all day.”

Rarity turned away to hide a blush and waved a hand. “It’s nothing, darling,” she said. “I’m just um… still in shock that your… friend is coming here.”

Spike smiled and said, “Well, I’m happy to know you’re just as surprised as I am. I’ve been thinking of the things we can all do together.”

Rarity felt that empty feeling in her again and shuddered a little.

“You can do that later, Spike,” said Twilight. “We need to talk about Ember’s visit itself.”

Spike nodded in agreement and went over to sit on his throne near Twilight.

Twilight looked at her friends and smiled. “As you all know, I got a letter from Lord Ember.” She pulled out the scroll she was carrying earlier and showed it to her friends. She opened it and began to read the letter out loud.

Dear Princess Twilight,

I believe I have a solution to this “problem” you’re having with Spike. I know you are aware of my efforts to change the way dragons are and start a new beginning between dragons and ponies, but some of them aren’t happy with this.

I’ve talked to the Dragon Council and have convinced them to allow me to come to Equestria for a week. I will be headed to the castle you reside in the town you call Ponyville and stay with you there for the week. While I stay with you, I will not only be learning about Equestria and showing the Dragon Council that we can be friends with each other, but to also hang out and help Spike.

I will be coming along with one dragon to act as my guard during my visit. I must warn you that the Council has told me that this may be the best chance at improving relations between ponies and dragons, but they have said that if it doesn’t look like things will work out, they’ll have no choice but to break off this alliance.

I will arrive this Sunday and hopefully this visit will finally bring this issue to an end and we can all start being friends. I look forward to meeting Spike, you, and all the friends you’ve told me about.

Your friend,
Dragon Lord Ember

Twilight put the scroll down and everypony was looking at each other with various look. Pinkie seemed excited, but Fluttershy was still shaking nervously. Rainbow and Applejack each raised an eyebrow as they looked at each other. Rarity lowered her head to hide her agitated look. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but was suddenly pulled to the side and saw a distraught Spike.

“What the hay are you doing mentioning something like that to Ember?” he whispered in a demanding tone. “Why would you even tell her something like that? How did you even know about that?”

Twilight glared and whispered in a scolding tone, “Spike, she’s the only dragon who can help you with this matter. Besides, think of this as a way to not only help Ember out, but also maybe learn more about dragons. You’re helping each other out with this.”

Spike opened his mouth to object, but the thought of seeing Ember made him stop. He looked down and put a hand on his chin.

Ember, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen her again, he thought to himself. As much as I don’t like what Twilight did, I would like to see her again and maybe get to know her a bit more. The thought of it made Spike’s cheeks heat up.

“What’s wrong?” inquired Twilight.

Spike shook his head and leaned back. “Nothing. I was just thinking that you were right. Sorry about that overreaction.”

Twilight smiled and leaned back. “I’m sure this will work out for both you and Ember, Spike.” She looked back at her friends. “So what do you all think?”

“A whole week, huh?” asked Applejack. “This isn’t going to be like when Prince Rutherford and those yaks visited, right? Granny Smith is still angry about what they did to the barn.”

“Don’t worry, Applejack,” Spike answered. “Ember isn’t like that at all. She isn’t a perfectionist like the yaks.”

Rainbow smirked smugly. “Heh! I’ve always wanted to race against a dragon,” she boasted. “Do you think there’s any way she and I could see who’s a better flyer?”

“Rainbow, she’s not here for some race,” scolded Twilight. “She’s here on a diplomatic mission.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Rainbow nonchalantly as she waved a hand. “I think maybe though we could also settle who are better flyers. Pegasi or dragons?”

Twilight groaned and rubbed her head.

“She’s not a big, monsterous dragon, right?” asked Fluttershy timidly. She looked over at Spike. “No offense.”

The dragon waved a hand. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy,” he assured. “Ember may seem a little scary at first, but she’s really great. She’s nice, she’s really brave, and strong.”

Rarity winced a little, but nopony noticed.

Fluttershy stopped shaking and smiled a little. “Well, she does sound nice,” she said. “You sound like you really admire her.”

Spike blushed a little. “Well, I wouldn’t say that,” he stated. “However, I do have to admit she is kind of…”

Rarity scowled and crossed her arms as Spike talked about Ember. I can’t believe this, she said to herself. I’ve known Spike for years, but he’s acting like Ember is an old friend that he’s known his whole life! He’s helped me with gem hunting and designing clothes, and yet suddenly the moment he sees some new dragon that’s friendly to him, he can’t get over her.

The unicorn felt her anger shift to a feeling of sadness and she closed her eyes. I just don’t understand it. Spike has always helped me and always seemed fond of me so much. Now that he’s seen Ember and made friends with her, he’s been different. It’s almost like he doesn’t… Rarity couldn’t muster the courage to utter those words.

“Rarity!”

The fashionista looked up and all her friends were staring at her. Rarity forced a smile and asked, “Did I miss something?”

“We were just wondering why you’re gripping your throne so hard,” said Spike. “You looked like you were about to break the armrests off of it.”

Rarity looked down and saw that the dragon was right. She could feel her hands crying out in pain as she gripped the chair, and let go of it. She looked at her friends and chuckled a little as her eyes darted around the room.

“Sorry, but I just have a lot on my mind,” she said.

Twilight looked away and took a deep breath. “Well, now that you’re listening, Rarity, we only have two days to prepare for Ember’s arrival. Spike and I will get a room prepared for her and we’ll need to let the town know about this upcoming visit.”

“What about Starlight?” wondered Spike. “I know she’s visiting Sunburst in the Crystal Empire, but I wouldn’t want her to miss this.”

Twilight smiled and rubbed Spike’s head. “Don’t worry. She’ll be back tomorrow and I’ll tell her what’s going on. Are there any other questions?”

The group shook their heads.

Twilight clapped her hands and nodded. “Alright, we’ll meet here tomorrow to get everything ready. Spike and I will get the castle cleaned up and set up a room for Ember. The rest of you think about what we can show Ember while she’s in town.”

“You got it, Twilight,” said Applejack as she got up.

The others rose out of their chairs and began moving towards the double doors.

“Hold it, Rarity,” Twilight called out. “I need you to stay for a moment.”

Rarity stared at Twilight for a moment, but sat back down.

Spike looked at Twilight. “Is something wrong?” he wondered.

“I just need to talk to Rarity alone,” she answered. “Go on and find a good room for Ember to stay in. This won’t take long.”

Spike looked at Rarity and then back at Twilight. He nodded and went out the room with the others. The doors slammed shut, leaving Rarity and Twilight alone.

Twilight crossed her arms and looked over at her fidgety friend. “Rarity, I think there’s something you’re not telling me.”

“Whatever do you mean, darling?” asked Rarity. “If you’re referring to Ember coming here, I am perfectly fine with it.”

The alicorn raised an eyebrow. “You’re not exactly doing a good job convincing me of that. Ever since you’ve heard about this visit, you’ve been snappy and distancing yourself from us. For somepony who seems fine with seeing Spike’s first dragon friend, you’re proving yourself otherwise.”

Rarity frowned and slammed her hands on the table. “I–It’s not that I have a problem with Ember,” she stuttered angrily. “I’m just worried about the company she’s bringing.”

Twilight tilted her head and looked confused. “You mean that dragon bodyguard she mentioned?” The purple mare wondered. “Why would that worry you?”

“You said it in the letter Ember sent you,” replied Rarity. “Some of them aren’t happy with this alliance and I still haven’t forgotten how most of them treated poor Spikey Wikey. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of Garble.”

“I haven’t, Rarity, but you have to remember that Ember is trying to change all of that,” argued Twilight. “Spike managed to create this alliance through his efforts in the Gauntlet of Fire, and I think we shouldn’t let this opportunity pass.”

Rarity’s expression melted into a solemn one and she looked down. “Twilight, I am proud of Spike and what he’s done, but I’m more worried about him.”

“Why would you say that?”

Rarity looked at Twilight with an anguished look on her. “I’m afraid that we’re losing Spike. Ever since this trip into the Dragon Lands, he’s become far more interested about dragons and Ember herself. It almost feels like he isn’t the same dragon anymore.”

Twilight frowned and walked over to put a hand on Rarity. “I understand that, Rarity,” she said in a softer tone. “It’s been kind of hard to see a dragon that can be considered like my little brother change so much over the years. He’s grown up and isn’t the ‘baby’ I used to call him when I first came to Ponyville with him.”

Rarity smiled softly. “He certainly has. He’s still a bit childish, but he’s grown into a mature, smart, nice, strong, handsome dragon who–”

“What was that last part?” asked Twilight.

Rarity slapped a hand over her mouth and her cheeks went red. “Nice!” she blurted out quickly. “A nice dragon who cares about his friends!” She smiled awkwardly and chuckled a little.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, but shook her head. “Well, you’re right, he does care about us,” she admitted. “He also cares about Ember a lot, and wants to help her in any way he can.”

“Maybe he cares about her a little too much,” muttered Rarity angrily.

“What did you say?”

Rarity waved a hand. “Nothing, darling,” she answered. She let out a sigh and leaned her head back. A thought crossed her mind and she looked back at her friend. “Twilight, do you ever get this feeling like Spike really cares for Ember a lot?”

Twilight rubbed her chin for a moment and then gasped as the revelation dawned upon her. “Rarity, are you saying that Spike has feelings for Ember?”

Rarity waved her hands and shook her head. “Well I wouldn’t say that,” she said. “I just think Spike is really fond of her.”

“Well, I can’t say for sure,” said Twilight. “Spike has talked a lot about Ember since his trip to the Dragon Lands. It’s possible though that maybe he has grown attached to her.”

“But he’s only known her for a month,” argued Rarity. “I don’t think he’d fall for her so quickly.”

Twilight shrugged and said, “I’m not sure, Rarity. He hasn’t really shown much of a romantic interest for Ember. However, he has grown up after all and it’s possible he may have found some dragon he’s developed a crush for. It’s kind of like when we first showed up in Ponyville and…” The alicorn bit her lip and blushed a little. “Well… I don’t think Spike would want me to talk about that.”

Rarity looked down and felt her stomach twist into a knot. Like how he acted when I first met him, she solemnly thought to herself.

Rarity stood up from her chair and looked at Twilight. “Darling, I do apologize for how I’ve been acting,” she said. “I guess this whole thing has just been a big shock to me. I’ve been so worried about those dragons we’ve encountered over the years that I guess I’m not thinking straight.”

Twilight put a hand on her friend and smiled. “Rarity, I know that it’s hard to forget the troubles that dragons caused for us in the past, but now we have a chance to make peace with them thanks to Spike and Ember’s efforts. Besides, since Spike will see Ember again, maybe the two of them can get to know each other a bit more.”

Rarity forced a small smile and nodded. “I think I better go now,” she said. “I need to finish a few things at my shop.”

Twilight hugged Rarity, who also returned it. “Just don’t forget about tomorrow,” she said. “We’ll need help getting the castle ready.”

“I’ll be there, Twilight,” assured Rarity.

The two mares waved goodbye and Rarity walked out of the council chamber and made her way out of the castle. As she made her way back to her boutique, Rarity couldn’t help but think back to the conversation she and Twilight had about Spike.

Spike certainly is something else, she said to herself. Even after all these years since I first met him, he hasn’t changed much. Yet one thing hasn’t changed at all; his kindness. He still finds time to help me out in designing clothes, or gem hunting. Sure, there have been a few times where he’s tried to hide his obvious affection for me, but it was a silly crush.

Rarity stopped and felt a chill run down her spine. It may have been a silly crush, but yet I feel something is missing now. Spike has grown into a smart, strong, kind, handsome dragon. He’s always treated me well and was always ready to help me when I needed it the most. Now ever since he saw Ember, he seems to be obsessive over her, and seems to really like her.

She stopped and gasped as a thought hit her. He has grown up after all and it’s possible he may have found some dragon he’s developed a crush for, the words of Twilight rang out in her head.

Rarity lowered her head and soon made her way back to the Boutique. She went in it and walked up to her room. When she entered it, she went over to a nearby dresser and opened the top drawer to reveal a golden necklace with a heart shaped red ruby in it. She leaned her head down upon the jewel and frowned.

“... I was a fool,” she sorrowly said. “I knew his feelings for me, and yet I never acted on them. Spike has always treated me so nice and he’s never hesitant to help me, but I took advantage of that.”

She walked over to a mirror and looked at herself to see a few tears running down her. “I always thought that his pursuit of me would go away, but over time, I slowly grew more and more attracted to him. Now it seems he’s moved on and has fallen for Ember. I was too slow in the end, and I let a friend I know who treated me like a lady slip away because of my selfishness.” Rarity lowered her head again and was shaking a little.

He hasn’t really shown much of a romantic interest for Ember, Twilight’s words rang out in Rarity’s head.

The fashionista stopped shaking and looked up with a hopeful look on her. “Hasn’t shown much of a romantic interest, huh?” she asked herself.

She looked at the Fire Ruby necklace and gripped it tightly. Her despair slowly turned into a burning desire and determination. Her eyes narrowed and a triumphant smile formed.

“There’s still a chance,” she said softly. “I can’t let what I’ve done to Spikey in the past happen again. I must step up my efforts! I won’t stand by idly anymore and let this chance pass up!”

Rarity put the Fire Ruby necklace around her and she looked in the mirror with a proud expression. “Ember, I swear to it that I, Rarity, will not let you have Spike. Dragon Lord or not, I won’t give up Spikey Wikey without a fight. I may be a lady, but that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to fight for a dragon I’ve come to love.”

Rarity looked at the Fire Ruby again and smiled again as she turned and walked out of her room.

The sound of shouting could be heard coming from a rocky, circular arena that stood out near a towering stone castle. Hundreds of dragons filled the stands and were shouting various things. In the circular arena, Ember and Matches looked around the large crowd.

Matches leaned near Ember. “Tough crowd I see.”

Ember scoffed and said, “Not for long.”

She pulled out a small red ruby crystal and gripped it as she concentrated. She felt an aura surge in her and felt her throat tingling. She stepped forward and looked up at the crowd.

“Fellow dragons of Equestria!” she bellowed.

The crowd of dragons slowly died out as they all looked at Ember.

“In a few days, I will be leaving for Equestria to strengthen the pony and dragon alliance!” she announced.

“Why do we need to be friends with them?” a pink female dragon asked. “We don’t need them!”

“Yeah!” a red male dragon next to her agreed. “All ponies see us as monsters and constantly get in our way! You remember what happened to my father? Some ponies rudely told him to leave when he was just trying to take a nap!”

Ember shook her head. “If I recall, your father was also endangering a town with all that smoke he was venting!” The red dragon shrank back and tried to hide himself. “The point is this! For too long there has been a strained relationship between ponies and dragons! My… friend, Spike, helped create this alliance and he’s a dragon who has embraced friendship!”

“You mean that pint sized dragon?” a white male dragon wondered. “He gave up being Dragon Lord to be with those ponies.”

“And he let me be Dragon Lord and pass on what he’s taught me!” argued Ember. “If a dragon is capable of learning about friendship and living in peace with ponies, then I think all of us can! When I return from this visit, I hope that it can finally end years of conflict between us and the ponies of Equestria!”

The dragons in the stands talked to each other. Some leaned in and whispered to each other.

“It may be possible for this to happen,” said a female green dragon.

“I think this is a waste of time,” stated a male blue dragon.

“I would like to maybe see some ponies,” said a male yellow dragon. “I heard the unicorns are really powerful with magic.”

“We don’t need those wimpy ponies!”

“That is enough!” a deep voice male ordered.

The crowd went deadly silet and all turned their attention to a square platform sticking out of the stands. A few lit torches in the stands showed seven brown hooded figures sitting on red chairs, and one of them stepped forward. A claw reached up for the hood and pulled it down to reveal an elderly black male dragon with a hardened look on him.

“Your Dragon Lord has spoken!” he announced in a commanding tone. “We, the Dragon Council, have granted Lord Ember to embark on this quest for peace!”

The black dragon looked down at Ember. “Lord Ember, have you chosen who will be going with you as your guard?”

Ember released the crystal in her hand and the aura of energy left her body. She bowed before the robed dragon and nodded. “Yes, Master Ash. He is right next to me,” she answered. She pointed over to Matches. “He’ll be my guard during my trip.”

The black dragon rubbed his chin and hummed to himself. “A recent graduate of the Dragon Guard, huh? Are you sure such a dragon with little experience in battle is your best choice?”

Ember nodded without hesitation. “Matches is a close friend of mine, and Spike has taught me to trust my friends. I believe a dragon who is willing to learn about friendship would benefit from this trip.”

Master Ash closed his yellow eyes and said nothing for a moment. Ember and Matches looked at each other with worried looks on them. After a minute, Ash nodded in agreement and opened his eyes.

“Very well, Lord Ember,” he said. “The Council has also talked about it, and we have agreed to allow some of our teachings about crystal magic to educate the ponies of Equestria.”

“Master Ash, forgive me!” a male orange dragon called out. “Isn’t that risky? Why show ponies some of our magic?”

Master Ash held up a claw. “I understand your concern, but you don’t need to worry,” he assured. “They are only some of the basics like speed, strength, and elemental resistance. We believe that if ponies understood something that they use, it could deepen the bond between the two races. That speaking amplifying crystal you’re using right now will be one of the few you’ll be allowed to take.”

“I understand, master,” said Ember.

“There is one last thing,” said Ash. “The Council would like daily reports on your studies and progress on making friends with ponies during this trip. On behalf of the Dragon Council of Equestria, we all wish you and Matches the best of luck on this trip.”

“Thank you, Master Ash,” the two dragons said in unison.

Ash looked at the circular arena stands. “This concludes our meeting! All of you are dismissed!”

The crowd of dragons slowly left the stands as they flew off into the sky. Ember and Ash looked at each other for a moment, and then Ash turned and left with the other members of the Dragon Council into the shadows. Ember and Matches took off into the sky and flew off the arena and headed for the castle.

Ember had a proud look on her. Spike, I promise I’m not going to let this effort go to waste. She felt some burning sensation in her that made her blush a little. She shook her head and glared. I don’t know what that was about. I need to stay focused and do this for Spike and everything he’s done for me and all of the dragons.

As all the dragons departed, a lone, muscular red dragon in a black leather jacket and faded blue jeans stayed in his seat and scowled.

“Yo, Garble!” a white dragon called out. “You coming?”

He waved a claw to dismiss the other dragon. “In a minute, Fizzle,” he replied. “I just want to be alone.”

Fizzle shrugged and took off with the remaining dragons. Garble crossed his arms and grinded his teeth in irritation.

“How can Ember do this?” he asked himself. “We don’t need ponies, and after all the history of what they did to us, she wants to suddenly make friends with them because one wimpy dragon that was raised by them convinced her to?”

Garble saw the image of Spike in his head and he clenched his fists as anger built up in him. “That wimpy dragon did all of this. We don’t need those ponies, and yet he insisted that we all become friends with them? What a pathetic excuse of a dragon. I can’t let this ‘friendship’ thing happen at all. But how can I end it?”

He sat and tapped his foot as he concentrated. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind that made his eyes widen.

The Council has also talked about it, and we have agreed to allow some of our teachings about crystal magic to educate the ponies of Equestria. They are only some of the basics like speed, strength, and elemental resistance.

The dragon smiled sinsterly. “Magic crystals, huh?” he asked himself. “Well if what I’ve heard they got in the vault is true, then I think I may have some way to get close enough to Ember without her even noticing me.”

He looked in the direction of the castle and smirked. He took off and flew towards it with a smirk on him. “Ember, you and Spike aren’t going to get away with destroying our pride and making friends with those wimpy ponies.”

Author's Note

I should explain something before I get tons of comments about this. You see, I think dragons are capable of using magic. While there is a general thing about them being resistant to it, I like to think they can technically use magic to a degree. Thus, I came up with the idea about the crystals infused with magical energy. It's a bit out there, but hey, this is a show where magic just simply runs the entire world it seems.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy the chapter and prepare for the rivalry between Rarity and Ember!

Bitter Reception

Around Ponyville, there was a sense of excitement in the air. Outside of Twilight’s castle, Twilight and her friends looked around the clear, blue sky and saw only a few pegasi flying and pushing some clouds out of the way.

“Any sign of her?” asked Twilight as she moved her head.

“I got nothing, sugarcube,” answered Applejack. She looked around her friends and frowned. “I’m more wondering where Spike and Starlight are. What’s taking them so long?”

Almost immediately after asking that question, the sound of the castle doors creaking open could be heard.

“Sorry I’m late!” a mare called out.

The group turned around to see a skinny and curvy Starlight Glimmer panting a little as she held onto the door. She was dressed in a long, black skirt, a long white formal shirt and a purple sweater vest. She walked down the steps and smiled meekly.

“Are they here yet?” she asked.

Twilight shook her head in response. “Not yet, Starlight. Ember and her guard should be here any minute now. I’m a little worried since the letter I got last night said they would be here by noon, and it’s a little past it now.”

Rainbow waved a hand. “Ah, she’s probably not as fast as pegasi like me. Don’t sweat it though, Twilight. I’m sure Spike’s friend will be here soon.”

“Speaking of Spike, where is he?” wondered Fluttershy. She looked at Starlight. “Is he almost ready? I thought he would’ve been out here by now looking for Ember.”

Starlight rubbed the back of her head and sighed a little. “He said something about making sure he was ready. I tried to check on him before I came out, but he insisted he was almost ready.”

Applejack looked at Rarity with a smirk on her face. “And I thought you took forever with getting ready. Looks like you’re rubbing off on him.”

Rarity frowned and crossed her arms. “Well excuse me if some of us want to look presentable for a guest,” she argued.

“Well he better hurry up,” said Twilight. “I know he’s excited to see Ember, but she’ll be here any moment.”

The sound of the castle doors opening again caught everypony’s ears and they turned around. The mares gasped and looked shocked as they saw Spike coming out of the door. He was wearing a sleek back tuxedo with shiny black shoes. As Spike straightened and rubbed his green spines, Rarity felt her cheeks turn a dark shade of red as she looked upon his well toned body and noticed how rather tight the suit was on the drake. Her mouth was agape and she turned to hide her face.

Rainbow whistled loudly. “What’s with the getup?” she wondered. “You’re seeing a friend of yours, not taking her out on a date.”

Spike blushed a little as he looked at the others. “I want to make sure I look good for Ember when I welcome her to Ponyville.”

Rarity frowned and huffed. You certainly have a weird way of welcoming her then.

Spike pulled a little around the tuxedo. “Maybe I should’ve asked Rarity to make me a new one though. This is a little tight around me.”

Applejack laughed a little. “I’ll say, sugarcube. Why are you in it though?”

“I told you all that I have to look good when Ember comes to town.” Spike frowned as he looked at his friends. “Why aren’t the rest of you dressed up? Come on, Ember is going to be here and we need to make a great first impression with her. We got to make sure everything is perfect for her. I hope she likes the room we set up for her. Do you think we should’ve gotten more gems?”

Rainbow looked at Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “I guess there’s something else Spike picked up as well.”

The group of friends, and even Twilight, laughed at that response.

Spike shook his head and sighed as he walked down the steps. “Come on, this is serious. I want this visit to go well for Ember.”

Twilight smiled and put a hand on Spike’s shoulder. “I know, Spike, and we’re proud of how determined you are in making this trip a success. But dressing up really fancy isn’t going to really make this alliance permanent. Everything will be alright, Spike. You just need to relax.”

Spike thought to himself for a moment and then sighed in defeat as he nodded. “You’re right, Twilight,” he admitted. “I just want things to go well and help Ember out.”

Starlight gasped and pointed to the sky. “Well I hope you’re ready because I think I see something in the sky.”

The group looked up and saw two rather large figures in the sky coming at them. Spike gulped a little and clenched his fists. Pinkie squealed in delight and hugged Fluttershy, who seemed nervous. Applejack and Twilight smiled as they looked at each other. Rainbow smirked to herself as she cracked her knuckles. Rarity’s eyes narrowed a little as she clenched a fist.

It’s now or never, Rarity, she told herself. I won’t give up Spike so easily to the likes of Ember.

The figures in the sky descended to the ground and were close to Twilight and her friends. They both landed on the ground that shook it and made the group stumble around a little. As they regained their balance, the group looked to see Ember wearing her golden armor, but was wearing a golden crown with red gems around it instead of her helmet, and carrying a large, bulky brown bag. Next to her was Matches wearing his silver armor that shined brightly in the sunlight and was wearing a helmet similar to Ember’s and carrying two brown suitcases. Both dragons bowed, and then Twilight and her friends bowed before the dragons.

Ember rose up and smiled softly. “Princess Twilight, it is good to see you again,” she said.

The alicorn got up and smiled back. “It’s good to see you as well, Ember. I have to admit, I didn’t think I’d see you again so soon. Let me be the first to welcome you to Ponyville.”

Ember looked around the town and saw several ponies walking around and chatting with each other. Some were smiling and laughing as they sat and ate lunch. Some ponies even noticed the two dragons and waved at them. Ember smiled awkwardly as she and Matches waved back.

Ember looked back at Twilight. “This seems like a really friendly town,” she said. “Back in the Dragon Lands, most dragons keep to themselves and aren’t that social, but I’ve been slowly changing that.”

“And if things go well for you, maybe one day the Dragon Lands will be like that too,” said Spike.

Ember looked to see Spike in the tux and her eyes went wide. She felt her cheeks turn a little red as she looked at him and gulped a little.

Spike walked up and held his arms out. “You remember about hugging, right?”

Ember nodded and leaned in to give Spike a hug. She couldn’t help but smile as she felt the embrace of the friend she made not too long ago.

“It’s good to see you again, Ember,” said Spike. “I really missed you.”

Something about that last statement made Ember feel a little more relaxed and calm. “It’s… it’s good to see you as well,” she said softly. “There’s a lot we have to catch up on.”

“Ahem!”

Ember and Spike looked over and saw Rarity tapping her foot rather impatiently while the others stared at them with perplexed looks. The two dragons broke off the hug and each blushed a little.

“Are you two quite done yet? Rarity inquired.

“Don’t be so rude, Rarity,” said Twilight. “Spike and Ember are just happy to see each other.”

A little too happy for Ember it seems, thought Rarity.

Twilight looked over Ember’s shoulder and stared at Matches. “Who’s your friend?”

The dragoness looked at Matches and felt a little embarrassed. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said quickly and put a claw on his shoulder. “This is Matches, my friend and guard during this trip.”

Matches bowed and said, “It’s an honor to meet you, your highness.”

Twilight laughed a little and waved a hand. “You don’t need to call me that,” she said. “You can just call me Twilight. Just because I’m a princess doesn’t mean everypony has to call me that.”

“Very well then, Prin–um, Twilight,” said Matches.

She stepped to the side and held out and arm. “You already know who Rarity is, but let me introduce you to the rest of my friends.” She pointed to each of her friends. “This is Applejack, Starlight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow.”

“Howdy!” greeted Applejack

“What’s up?” asked Rainbow.

“Hi!” said Pinkie.

“Um… h–hello.” said Fluttershy nervously as she hid behind Rainbow.

Starlight walked up and looked at Ember with an incredulous look. “Wow, the ruler of the Dragon Lands. Spike has told us so much about you.”

Ember rubbed the back of her head and smiled sheepishly. “Well, I am technically ruler, but the Dragon Council are really the true rulers. Being Dragon Lord, you have to answer to them and follow their will.”

A loud poof could be heard and the group turned to see an eager Twilight writing in a green book.

“We’ve only met, and already I’m learning more about dragons,” said Twilight in an enthusiastic tone.

Matches raised an eyebrow and looked at Spike. “Is she always this eager?” he asked.

Spike smirked and said, “You should see her during book sorting day.”

“Something tells me I don’t want to know.” Matches looked at Spike’s clothing and then at his friends and how they were dressed. He looked over at Ember. “I think we may be a little overdressed.”

Ember frowned and looked at the rather bulky armor she was wearing. “Yeah, maybe we are,” she admitted. “I thought since this was going to be a more militarized land, I would just bring the armor and some undershirts. Did you remember to pack any other clothes?”

Even with the helmet on, Ember could noticed how red Matches’ face had turned.

“I forgot,” he said and removed the brown bag. “I packed all of the stuff that the Dragon Council allowed us to take.”

Spike smiled and said, “Don’t worry about it. Rarity is the best dressmaker in Equestria. If anypony can make you new clothes, it’s her.”

Rarity blushed a little and said, “I appreciate those words, Spikey Wikey, but it may take a little longer since I don’t know their measurements.”

“Well let’s first get you all inside and settled,” said Twilight. “We’ve set up a room for each of you.”

“Thank you, Twilight,” said Ember.

The group started to move to the castle, but as Spike turned around, he saw something that looked like another figure in the sky as he turned around. He looked back, but saw nothing but the clear blue sky. He raised an eyebrow and scratched his head.

“Spike?” He turned around and saw Twilight with a perplexed look on her. “Is something wrong?”

The dragon looked back at the sky, and then shook his head. “Nah… I just thought I saw something. It must be my imagination.”

Twilight shrugged and waved a hand. “Come on, I need your help in getting Ember and Matches settled in.”

Spike nodded and ran into the castle with Twilight.

Twilight smiled as she and her friends walked through the castle. “I know this place can be a little hard to navigate, but you’ll get it down in no time,” she said. “What do you think of the place so far, Ember?”

There was no response.

Twilight and the others looked back at the dragoness.

“Ember?” asked Spike.

Ember looked around the castle’s interior in awe. “This castle is amazing,” she said. “It’s a lot bigger and more beautiful than the one back home. It’s even made of crystals. How did Equestria create such a place like this?”

“Kind of a long story,” said Rainbow. “However, I will say it did involve Twilight kicking some demon ass.”

Ember raised an eyebrow and had a curious look on her. “Alright, now I’m really interested, but maybe you can tell me later. What do you think of the place, Matches?”

Matches frowned as he looked around the hallway. “It’s actually kind of pathetic,” he said.

“Matches!” scolded Ember. “Don’t treat our friends like this!”

Matches sighed a little. “I meant security wise, this castle is pathetic. There are no guards, no traps, no defenses at all. What kind of a castle is this?”

Twilight frowned a little. “Well, I never really saw any need for guards. This town is relatively safe, and I can always count on my friends to come quickly and help me if I’m in danger.”

“Well if somepony sneaks into your castle in an attempt to hurt you and your friends?” asked Matches. “They could easily sneak in and attack the princess or any of her friends so easily.”

Starlight and Twilight stopped and looked at each other with awkward looks on them. They both chuckled weakly and briefly looked away.

Spike bit his lip for a moment and quickly pointed a finger. “Here we are!” he said hastily. “This is your room Ember.”

He opened the green colored door and clicked a switch as he walked in with the others. Ember looked around the place and took in all she saw. The room was spacious, but was rather simplistic. It had a large bed with a red comforter on it and a few pillows on it in the corner. Across it were two comfy purple chairs with a small round table in between. On the far side of the room was a large window with two red curtains covering it, and a small desk with a chair pushed in for writing. Next to the writing desk was a large brown dresser drawer and near it was a small closet with some hangers in it.

“What do you think?” asked Spike. “I don’t know how dragons normally sleep back in the Dragon Lands, so I’m sorry if it’s not exactly the way you wanted it to be.”

Ember smiled softly and rubbed Spike’s head. “Hey, don’t worry, runt,” she assured. “I think I’ll really like it here.”

Spike blushed a little and rubbed his hands. “Well… I did make sure you would be comfortable. I do hope that–Whoa!”

Spike was cut off by a suitcase levitating between him and Ember. He looked over and saw a rather disgruntled Rarity with her horn lit up.

“Well, I’m glad you like this place, Ember,” said Rarity. “Why don’t you go ahead and get your stuff unpacked while Spikey helps Matches to his room?”

Ember raised an eyebrow as she took the suitcase. She looked at Rarity and felt a little cold as she could’ve sworn she saw a glare for a brief moment. She shook it off and put the suitcase down.

“You don’t need to worry about that, Rarity,” said Spike. “Matches’ room is right across from Ember’s. It’s pretty much the same room as this one.”

Twilight looked at Ember and said, “You’ll both be near Spike’s room as well. Since Spike will help you get around Ponyville, you can always go to him anytime you want to if you have a question.”

Rarity twitched a little and mustered every bit of willpower she had to not say anything. She forced a smile to hide her anger, but her left eye kept twitching.

Spike noticed the twitch and looked concerned. “Are you alright, Rarity?” he wondered.

The unicorn quickly nodded and turned away. “I just have something in my eye, Spikey,” she said.

Spike tilted his head in confusion, but shrugged it off.

Twilight looked at Ember’s suitcase, and a thought crossed her. “Ember, didn’t Matches say something about stuff the Dragon Council allowed you to take? What’s that about?”

“Well, the Dragon Council thought that as a gesture of goodwill, they decided to share something that both ponies and dragons have in common; using magic.” She looked over at Spike. “Isn’t that a way to make friends? Find some common ground with another dragon, or in this case pony, and become friends that way?”

Spike nodded and grinned. “That’s right. I think you’re doing great, Ember. You’ve already learned a lot about how to make friends, and I’m proud of you.”

Ember blushed a little, but kept a straight face. “Th–thank you, Spike,” she said softly.

Rarity walked towards Spike and put a hand on his shoulder. She looked at Ember with a forced smile and said, “Well, we’ll leave you here to unpack while we help Matches. Come along, Spike, I’m sure he’ll need help.”

The drake looked a little sad, but nodded anyway. He looked at Ember. “Once you’re done unpacking, I’ll give you and Matches a tour around Ponyville.”

“Good idea,” said Ember. “I’d like to see what else this town has.” She looked over at Twilight. “Are you all coming?”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but Pinkie suddenly ran up and put a mouth over her. She looked at Ember with a wide smile.

“She would love to, but can’t,” said Pinkie. “She has some… um, princess stuff to do, we have to help her out. Isn’t that right, Twilight?”

The alicorn nodded and muttered something that Ember couldn’t understand.

“I’ll go with them,” offered Rarity. “I want to help out Spike and make sure Ember and Matches don’t get lost.”

Spike nodded. “Thanks, Rarity.” he said. He looked at Ember. “After the tour, we’ll go to Rarity’s shop for some new clothes.”

“That sounds good,” said Ember. “If she’s as good as you say she is, then I can’t wait to see what she can make for me and Matches.”

“Maybe you and Rarity can bond as well,” said Spike. “You didn’t get much of a chance to talk to her when we were in the Dragon Lands.” He looked over at the unicorn. “Wouldn’t that be great, Rarity?”

She forced another smile and nodded curtly. “That would be… wonderful, Spike,” she said. “Before we leave though, maybe you should change into something a little more casual, darling.”

Spike looked at his tuxedo and blushed as he nodded.

Rarity smiled and turned around. “Come on. We need to help Matches.”

Ember watched as the group went out of the room, but she noticed Rarity looking back at her with daggers in her eyes. Rarity mouthed something that Ember couldn’t understand and then left the room. The dragoness stood there with an agape mouth and felt that cold feeling again. She turned around and frowned.

“What’s her problem?” she asked herself.

Ember and Spike, who changed into a green polo shirt and brown slacks, laughed as they both sat on a red couch at Carousel Boutique. They each had a cupcake with blue icing and gems sprinkled all over it in their hands.

Ember chuckled a little as she took a bite out of the cupcake and swallowed it. “I can’t believe such a tiny flower caused all that trouble and made your friends like that,” she said. “As bad as what happened to your friends was, that was funny.”

“Just don’t bring it up to Applejack,” said Spike. “She really hated what happened to her.”

“Got it,” said Ember as she took another bite of the cupcake. She smiled and said, “Man, I got to ask those bakers how they make this stuff. Normally, we eat gems regularly, not use them for stuff like cupcakes, cake, or other foods.”

“You never tried it?” wondered Spike.

“We never really thought of it,” said Ember. “Maybe you can give me some advice about cooking.”

Spike blushed a little. “Well, I’m not really the dragon to go to. You’d have to ask Pinkie Pie. She was the one who came up with most of these recipes and taught me them when I moved here.”

Ember smirked as she laid back. “So you can cook, clean, play piano, and ice skate. Is there anything you can’t do?”

Spike shrugged a little. “Well, I’ve been asked if I can sing,” he said. “I tried it once at the Equestria Games and it didn’t work out. Maybe I should try again someday.”

The sound of footsteps caught Spike’s ear, and he looked to see Rarity standing the doorway.

“Am I interrupting anything?” she asked.

Spike waved a hand. “Nah. I was just telling Ember about some of our past adventures.”

“Is Matches done?” asked Ember.

Rarity stepped to the side and held an arm out as she smiled triumphantly. “I have managed to make some clothes for him. Come on out, Matches.”

Matches stepped out and adjusted his new shirt. He was wearing a silver shirt, dark blue jeans, and an open buttoned black shirt with holes cut out to allow his wings out. Ember smiled and nodded slowly as she looked at the clothes.

“Looking good there, Matches.” She looked at Spike. “I see what you mean by saying Rarity was good at making clothes.”

“Told you so,” he said. “Rarity can make anypony look good; even Rainbow Dash and she’s not one for fashion at all.”

Rarity looked at Ember. “Darling, please come with me.”

Spike got up to follow. “I’ll help you out if you want, Rarity,” he offered.

Rarity shook her head. “I’m sorry, Spikey Wikey, but I think I can handle this by myself. Why don’t you and Matches talk while I take care of Ember?”

Spike looked dejected, but nodded anyway. “Okay, I can probably talk to him about some of our recent adventures. See you two later.”

Ember walked with Rarity down the hallway and out of range of Spike’s voice. She looked over at the unicorn and was met only with an irritable look on her. Ember felt that cold feeling again and looked away.

Ember fidgeted and her cheeks were burning red as she covered herself. She looked around as she stood on a small pink platform and saw herself in three mirrors surrounding her.

“Are you sure I have to do this, Rarity?” she asked in a small voice.

The unicorn came over with a roll of measuring tape and a small pad and pen in her hand. She nodded and said, “Ember, if I’m to get your proper measurements, it’s only fitting that I ask that you remove that armor of yours. Besides, we’re both ladies here.”

Ember looked down, still having an embarrassed look on her, and nodded. “Alright, if you say so.”

Rarity smiled a little. “Good, now please put your arms to their sides and we’ll begin.”

Ember slowly put her arms down to her sides, allowing Rarity to get a better look at the dragoness’ body. She looked up and down at Ember’s rather curvy body.

She’s skinny, but leaned muscled like Rainbow, thought Rarity. She looked at Ember’s bosom, kept in by a black bra, and frowned. The size of her bosom is quite large as well. I’d say it’s probably around a c-cup like me. Her eyes went down around Ember’s hips, which was partially covered by black panties. Even her hips are large and curvy. She could sway them around and seduce Spike with them. It’s even worse than I thought, she’s gorgeous!

“Um… Rarity?” asked Ember. “Are you going to measure me? You’re just staring at me, and it’s getting kind of awkward.”

Rarity broke out of her thoughts and walked over. “Alright, darling, this won’t take too long.”

Rarity began wrapping the measuring tape around Ember. She muttered to herself as she used her magic to write down the measurements. Ember stood perfectly still as she felt the tape go across her body. Ember looked at Rarity, who still looked a little upset, and frowned.

Maybe this would be a good time to try and get to know her more like Spike suggested, she thought to herself. Maybe I can also try to find out what’s making her so angry. But what can I talk about? She thought for a moment, and then something crossed her mind that made her smile.

Ember looked at Rarity, who was measuring her left leg. “You know, I heard Spike say something about helping you out earlier. Does he help you out a lot?”

“He does,” answered Rarity bluntly. “Now hold your arms out please.”.

Ember raised her arms to her side. “What does he do around here to help you?”

“Well I do use him for various tasks. He brings me stuff that I need for designing clothes, sorts out fabric, organize my sewing kit, and helps me hunt for gems for the orders I make.”

Ember raised an eyebrow. “He hunts for gems only? Does he eat them?”

“I give Spike some gems to eat as a reward,” replied Rarity. “He mostly eats a lot of stuff ponies make like pancakes or hay fries. Other than that, I do reward Spike for his hard work and how good of a friend he is to me with gems.”

Something glistening caught Ember’s eye and she looked over. She turned her head and saw sunlight shining on top of a red dresser and something shining on top of it. She squinted her eyes and gasped as she saw a red ruby in the shape of a heart.

“Whoa, Rarity,” said Ember in a shocked tone. “Is that gem what I think it is?”

Rarity smiled sinisterly as she lowered her head. I was hoping you’d see that. Now to spring the trap!

She looked at the dresser and her horn lit up. The gem levitated towards her and she held it up to Ember. “You mean this?” she wondered.

“Yeah! That’s a Fire Ruby, a really rare gem to find!” said Ember enthusiastically. “Those are the tastiest gems a dragon can find! Where did you get one of those?”

Rarity took the necklace and put it around her. “If you must know, darling, Spike gave this to me.”

Ember’s smile faltered a little. “... What?” she asked.

Rarity smirked a little. “You heard that correctly, Ember,” she said. “Spike gave this gem to me on his birthday. He said he was giving it to make as a token of how much he cares about me so much. He’s a very close friend of mine, and I a good friend to him.”

Ember felt something in her that made her shock turn into anger. She unconsciously clenched her fists together and gritted her teeth. She looked away to hide the irritable look on her.

What’s wrong with me? she asked herself. So Spike gave something to one of his friends. It doesn’t mean much. I mean all Rarity said was that Spike was a close friend, but yet I don’t get what I’m feeling.

Rarity stood up and smiled. “Well, that takes care of that,” she said. “That didn’t take too long, now did it?”

“I’ll say,” Ember agreed. “You must be very good at what you do. It’s no wonder why Twilight told me about that shop you’re opening up in… Manehatten, is it?”

“That is correct,” said Rarity. “Perhaps one day I’ll show you it and my shop in Canterlot. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must get started on making some new clothes for you.” She started to walk over to a nearby sewing machine and hummed to herself.

“Rarity?”

The unicorn looked back at Ember, who seemed a little uncomfortable. “Yes, darling?”

“I just want to be clear about one thing,” said Ember. “Are you alright with me?”

“I’m not understanding,” said Rarity.

“I’m just saying that you seem a little… hostile around me, and I don’t know why. If I made you mad, I’m sorry.”

Rarity sighed and smiled softly. “It’s not that, darling. I guess after all the trouble dragons have caused us in the past, it’s kind of hard to not to feel a little worried.”

Ember’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t worry, Rarity,” she assured. “I’m going to change that.”

“I have no doubt, Ember,” said Rarity as she walked over to the dragoness. “I just have one last bit of friendly advice for you.”

“And that is?”

Rarity placed a hand on Ember’s shoulder and gave her a cold look. “Stay away from Spike,” she warned in an icy tone. “I know how you’ve been looking at him and acting around him. I’m just letting you know right now to back off.”

Ember felt a chill run down her spine. She said nothing as Rarity backed away, turned, and walked over to the nearby sewing machine and began pulling various fabrics from a nearby shelf.

Just what is her problem!? she asked herself. And what does she mean by how I’ve been looking at Spike? Is she implying the same thing Matches has been asking me about him? I don’t like him like that.

Ember felt a little empty as she said that and held a hand over her chest. … Right?

Ember smiled as she walked down the street and looked down at her new clothes. She was wearing a red tank top that had holes cut out for wings, and had several gems on it to make it look like a yellow flame, and wearing a pair of dark navy blue jeans.

“How do you like them?” asked Matches as he carried two bags, with each one containing the armor they both wore.

Ember nodded and said, “It’s really comfortable. It’s nothing at all like how the clothes we normally wear feel like. It’s like wearing a cloud or something.”

“I’ll say,” said Matches. “I may have to get rid of all those old clothes at home for these instead.”

Ember looked over at Spike, and frowned. He, too, was carrying two large bags that each was stuffed with clothes for her and Matches. Spike, however, was having a little bit of a hard time carrying it, and was walking a bit slowly.

“Do you want some help, Spike?” asked Ember.

Spike shook his head. “Nah, I’m good,” he said in a bit of a strained voice. “I just didn’t think Rarity would make this many clothes for you and Matches.”

“I figured since you two were staying the week, I may as well make enough clothes to last that long,” replied Rarity. “Don’t worry about Spike either, Ember. He’s done this for me for a few years and doesn’t mind helping me out.”

Something about the way Rarity said that made Ember’s blood boil and grit her teeth. She didn’t dare look at Rarity as she could’ve sworn she was glaring at her. She looked up at the sky and noticed it was turning orange, and the sun setting over the hills.

“Wow, I didn’t think we were gone that long.” Ember looked back at Spike. “I hope your friends didn’t mind we were out for so long.”

“Don’t worry about it,” assured Spike. “We’re coming back just in time any way.”

The castle came into view and the group walked up to the doors. Ember opened the doors and the others followed behind her. She raised an eyebrow as she looked around. The entire castle was pitch black, save for the light coming from the door.

Ember looked over at Spike. “What’s going on here? Where’s a light switch?”

Suddenly, the room illuminated and blinded Ember and Matches for a moment. Several loud blowers echoed and both dragons felt some tiny stuff falling upon them.

“SURPRISE!” a chorus of voices cried out.

Matches, who was still a little dazed, quickly grabbed Ember’s hand and pulled her behind him. “Don’t worry, Ember!” he bellowed. “I’ll save you from this threat! I’ll make whoever dares attack us feel the wrath of the dragons!”

The sound of several voices screaming and whimpering made him smile. “That’s right, you should run for thinking you can attack the Dragon Lord!”

Spike ran over and held Matches. “Whoa! Slow down there, Matches!” he ordered. “You and Ember are alright! Just open your eyes and take a look around!”

Both dragons slowly opened their eyes and the room wasn’t as bright as before. The castle was covered with various colorful streamers, balloons, and confetti on the ground. Around the main entrance to the castle was a large group of ponies wearing colorful hats and holding party horns. They all looked nervous or fearful as they stared at Ember and Matches. In the middle of the room was Twilight and her friends, all of whom had awkward smiles on them. Matches then felt a hand on him and he looked over to see a concerned Spike.

“Take it easy, Matches,” he said. “Haven’t you or Ember ever heard of a surprise party before?”

Ember moved past Matches and raised an eyebrow as she looked around. “A… surprise party?” she curiously asked. “Is it like a Feast?”

“A what now?” wondered Spike.

“A Feast,” said Matches. “When a dragon finds a gem deposit, they usually gather a lot of dragons together and eat as many of the gems as possible. Afterwards, any gems that remain, the dragons take with them. Some of them can get pretty interesting as we try to see how many gems a dragon can fit in their mouth and eat them, or who can find a rare gem.”

Spike chuckled a little. “Well… this isn’t exactly like that. This is better; much better. A party in general is when all you bring all your friends and other invited guests together for some fun. It can be about almost anything like a birthday party, a graduation party, or, in this case, a surprise party. This one in particular is the traditional Welcome to Ponyville party that Pinkie Pie always throws for new guests or ponies moving here.”

“Oh…” Ember looked around the room and smiled sheepishly at the nervous crowd around them. “Um… sorry about that. Just kind of new about learning this stuff, and I guess we kind of overreacted.” She chuckled nervously and her eyes darted around.

The crowd looked a little uncomfortable, but smiled a little anyway.

Ember sighed and hung her head. “What a great way to make a first impression,” she sarcastically said.

Spike took Ember’s hand and squeezed it a little. “Just relax, Ember,” he said. “It took a while for everypony here to get used to me. Come on, I’ll show you around and introduce you to some of the towns ponies around here.”

Ember smiled softly as she looked at the sincere look on Spike. “Alright, let’s go.”

Pinkie pulled out her Party Cannon and grinned. “Let’s get this party started!” She pulled the rope and confetti shot out of the canon. The crowd cheered and music began to play.

Spike walked Ember and Matches around and introduced them to other ponies around town. Ember met and shook a reluctant Mayor Mare’s hand, and wished her the best on the visit. She then met the Cake family and they were more than happy to share the recipes they use to make stuff with gems. Ember than met an odd chestnut stallion who was asking if she’d seen some sort of screwdriver, and brushed him off.

Soon enough, Matches and Ember made their way with Spike to an open room that had music blaring in the center of the room with two unicorns at a small DJ station. Ponies were dancing in the middle of the room with friends, lovers, or even by themselves.

Matches laughed heartedly. “You were right, Spike. This is better than any Feast I’ve been to.” He saw a table with some cupcakes on it. “I’m going to grab something to eat quickly.” He walked over to the table and grabbed a few cupcakes.

Spike looked over at Ember. “Having fun?”

She nodded and smiled. “I have to admit that it’s… interesting, but it does seem fun.”

Spike began walking towards a nearby table. “Let me grab some punch really quick and then we’ll–oof!”

Ember gasped as she saw Spike walk right into a red pegasus. She ran over to check on him. “Are you alright, Spike?” she asked.

He nodded and dusted himself off. “I’m fine. I guess I just didn’t watch where I was going.” He looked at the pony he bumped into. “Sorry about that.”

The pony turned around and smirked. “That’s alright, buddy,” he said in a low voice.

Ember and Spike both got a good look at the pony. He was wearing some raggedy and worn black leather jacket, with one hand inside a jacket pocket, with a white shirt underneath and worn out blue jeans. His mane was yellow and spiked, and his eyes were just as yellow as his mane.

Spike tilted his head in confusion. “Who are you? I’ve never seen you around town before?”

The pegasus chuckled and smiled wickedly. “I’m just a drifter going from town to town. I heard about this party and decided to come to it. I especially didn’t want to miss one that included a Dragon Lord.” He held out a hand towards Spike. “The name’s Hot Streak.”

Spike slowly reached his hand out to shake it. “Um… I’m Spike. Nice to meet yoooof!” He winced in pain as he felt his hand being gripped very tightly.

Ember pulled Spike away and glared at Hot Streak. “What’s your problem?” she demanded.

“Heh, sorry about that,” he said as he put his hands up. “I forget I don’t know my own strength. You must be the Dragon Lord everydr… erm, everypony has talked about. Why are you even here?”

“I am hoping to improve relations between dragons and ponies,” answered Ember. “I’m hoping by the end of this for all of us to become friends.”

Hot Streak scoffed and shook his head. “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”

“Why do you say that?” asked Ember as she raised an eyebrow.

“Because I know what you’ve all done in the past for ponies. You’ve all caused quite a lot of trouble in the past, and I’m not sure if I want that.”

Ember felt a little angered. “Well I’m trying to put that behind us,” she argued. “It won’t be easy, but Spike has proven that if a dragon can make friends with ponies, than other dragons can.”

Hot Streak looked over at Spike and his eyes narrowed. “Ah, yes, Spike,” he said in a cold tone. “I’ve heard some things about him here and there, but I’m still not convinced. This whole thing sounds like a waste of time.”

Ember opened her mouth to speak, but Spike stepped forward and got in Hot Streak’s face with a glare.

“Back off, ‘buddy’,” he threatened. “I helped Ember learn to accept friendship and teach it to other dragons, and I believe this will work out. I’ve seen too many dragons around here doing terrible things to ponies, but I want to help change that too. If you can’t accept that, then maybe you should leave right now and leave her alone!”

Some of the crowd looked on in anticipation as they waited to see what happened. Ember looked at Spike, who had a determined look on him, and felt her cheeks flush red for a moment. She looked away to avoid the attention and felt her heart racing a little.

Hot Streak scoffed again and raised his hands as he walked away. “Alright, fine,” he conceded. “I was on my way out of here anyway. This party is getting lame anyway.” He shoved his way past the crowd, but turned back with a smirk on his face. “Oh, and Spike? I’ll see you later, buddy.”

Spike growled a little as he watched Hot Streak disappear into the crowd. “I hope to not see you again.”

Matches ran over and looked worried. “I heard yelling. Is everything okay?” he wondered.

Ember nodded. “I’m fine,” she assured. “Spike and I just ran into some trouble, but Spike was able to get rid of that pony.”

“That’s good to hear,” said Matches with a grin. “I’ll be sure to remain vigilant so that nothing like that happens again.”

“Thanks, Matches,” said Ember. She looked over at Spike and felt a little shy. “Um… thanks, Spike, for the help.” The drake looked at her with a concerned look. “What’s wrong?”

Spike shook his head. “It’s just that guy,” he said in a wary tone. “I don’t know why, but I feel like I’ve seen him before. I just can’t remember where.”

The music stopped and the crowd cheered wildly. At the DJ station, a palish green unicorn stallion and a white unicorn mare smiled at each other as they heard the crowd applaud. The stallion grabbed a nearby mic and tapped it a few times to check it.

“Good evening, Ponyville!” he announced in a jovial voice. “This is DJ-P0N3 and MC-W1SH. Equestria’s number one DJ couple, asking you, Ponyville, are you having a blast!?”

The crowd cheered wildly again, which made DJ and MC smile again. “Then let’s keep the beat going!” He looked over at Vinyl. “Hit it, baby!”

Vinyl nodded and placed another record on the player and a needle on it. A low beat started to play that intensified as it went on. The crowd went back to dancing and laughing again as the music became louder.

Spike’s scowl changed to a smile as an idea popped in his head. He grabbed Ember’s hand and pulled her. “Come on,” he urged. “I want to do something with you.”

Ember refused to budge though. “Wait a minute, Spike,” she objected. “What are you doing?”

Spike grinned confidently. “I think we should dance together.”

Ember’s face went red and she tried to keep a straight look. “D–-dance!?” she asked nervously. “But dragons don’t dance!”

“Well this dragon can, and I’ll even show you,” said Spike.

Ember let out a sigh and nodded. “Alright, I’m not sure if I’ll like it, but I’ll try.” She looked away for a moment to hide her blush. “Don’t even try to think this means anything either.”

Spike frowned and tilted his head. “I don’t know what you mean, but come on.” He pulled her and both dragons walked into the middle of the dance floor.

Ember saw Matches with a confused look on him. “Try and dance!” she yelled at him. “Maybe you’ll like it too!”

Matches looked uncomfortable and looked around. He saw Twilight talking with Applejack nearby and walked over to her. He tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned to look at him.

“Um… care to dance?” asked Matches with a sheepish grin on him.

Twilight chuckled weakly. “Well, I can’t exactly dance, but if you’re willing to give it a shot I’ll–”

“That’s great!” Matches took Twilight’s hand and the two ran off onto the dance floor while Applejack laughed a little.

As Spike and Ember made their way into the crowd, Ember got a little flustered as she felt ponies bumping and making sudden moves around her and Spike.

“I’m not so sure about this, Spike,” she warned. “This seems a little weird to be moving your body like this.”

“Ah, come on, Ember,” encouraged Spike. “You got to get into the rhythm is all. Don’t worry, I’ll be right here with you.”

Spike bobbed his head slowly as he listened to the music. His hips began to sway and his arms moved around. Ember watched for a little bit to observe what Spike was doing and making a mental note about his moves.

After a while, Spike smiled and pointed to Ember. “Show me your moves!”

Ember did nothing for a moment and panicked a little. She awkwardly began moving her body around and swaying her hips to the beat. She tried to remember what Spike did, but her nerves got the best of her. Several ponies around her raised looked at Ember with confusion on their faces.

The dragoness sighed and frowned. “I can’t do it,” she bitterly said. “I told you that dragons don’t dance.”

Spike smiled and took her hand. “Don’t be like that. You just got to get into the groove and let yourself have fun. You’re taking this too seriously. Just follow my lead and you’ll get it down in no time.”

Ember opened her mouth to respond, but Spike pulled her in closely, which made her heart skip a beat. “I don’t know if I’ll like it though,” she said.

“Hey, if I can do it, you can too,” said Spike. “Just trust me.”

The sincere smile on Spike’s face made Ember feel a little calm. She nodded and said, “Alright, let’s go.”

Ember watched Spike dance for a little bit and tried to copy what he was doing. She moved her body around and bobbed her head along to the music. She found herself smiling as she danced, and saw Spike laugh joyfully. She felt that same calm feeling from when she met Spike earlier, but this time it also felt like a weight she didn’t know she had on her be lifted off her shoulders. She laughed joyfully with Spike as the two of them danced together.

“You’re right, Spike,” said Ember. “This is actually pretty fun.”

“Told you that you would get the hang of it,” he said with a laugh. “Just because you think dragons can’t do something, doesn’t mean that shouldn’t stop you. You’re already doing great.”

Ember smiled softly and looked away for a moment. “Well… thanks,” she softly said. “Just know this doesn’t mean anything, okay?”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “What does that even mean?”

Ember opened her mouth to speak, but a white hand waved in front of her. She looked over and saw Rarity smiling.

“Mind if I cut in?” she asked.

Spike shook his head. “Not at all.” He looked at Ember. “Sorry to cut this short. Why don’t you go introduce yourself to more ponies?”

“That would be a good idea,” said Rarity. “I think maybe you’ve spent a little too much time with Spikey Wikey and need to see other ponies. Wouldn’t you agree, Ember?”

The dragoness felt her blood boiling again and her anger building up. She kept a straight face and slowly nodded. “Fine, but one last thing before I go.” She leaned in and glared at Rarity. “I want to talk to you later. Meet me in my room in one hour.”

Rarity glared back at her. “Fair enough, darling,” she emphasized the last word with a venomous tone.

Ember wanted to say something else, but turned away to not look at Rarity anymore. She walked past the crowd and some smoke billowed from her nostrils.

“Alright. This has gone on long enough,” she sternly said. “I’m going to get to the bottom of this once and for all.”

The sound of the party could be heard in the distance as Rarity walked down the hallway. She soon came across the door to Ember’s room, and knocked on it. The door opened to reveal a rather impatient Ember tapping her foot.

“Come in,” she said in an icy tone.

As soon as Rarity stepped into the room, the door slammed shut and Ember looked at Rarity with a cold look on her.

“Are you having a good time, Ember?” asked Rarity.

“I’m fine,” she replied. “As fun as it is though, I think I’m getting a little tired and want to rest for the night.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Then why did you invite me here?”

Ember shot a glare at her. “Because I think we have a problem.”

“I told you, Ember, there is–”

“Don’t give me any of that,” the dragoness interrupted. “This seems to go beyond just dragons. I think you have a grudge against me, and I want to know why.”

Rarity crossed her arms and scowled. “Well, darling, if you had listened to what I told you before, this wouldn’t be happening.”

“What are you talking about?” demanded Ember as frustration built up in her.

“Think back to what I told you about Spike,” answered Rarity.

Ember thought back to an earlier conversation and recalled as much as she could remember. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind that left her feeling cold.

Stay away from Spike.

Ember felt her anger building up and she clenched her fist. “Are you kidding me!?” she yelled. “Are you just upset because I’m spending time with Spike!?”

Rarity refused to back down, despite the furious look on Ember. She instead walked right up to her and scoffed. “Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on,” she said. “I know how you’ve been looking at Spike.”

Ember’s cheeks flushed a little and she flinched. “Wh–what did you say?” she stuttered.

“You’re doing it again,” said Rarity. “I’ve seen the way you look at him. You have that look on you that you’ve fallen for him. Your face turns red, and from what Matches told me while I was getting him measured, you can’t seem to stop talking about him.”

Ember had a mixture of embarrassment and anger on her face. I’m going to get you for this, Matches, she thought to herself.

“I warned you before to stay away from Spike,” threatened Rarity. “There is only room for one lady to have his heart, and it’ll be me.”

“I–I have no interest in him!” she objected. Ember felt her stomach twist a little upon saying that and felt empty. “H–he and I are j–just good friends! That’s all!”

“You lie,” said Rarity. “Matches has told me that not only do you talk about him, you seem to think about him a lot too.”

Ember gritted her teeth and snorted. Matches, what were you thinking!?

“Sorry to tell you this, but he likes me more,” said Rarity in a haughty tone. “You may as well forget about him and move on to find another dragon of your own. I think Spike deserves to be with a lady such as me.”

Ember’s body shook with anger and her nostrils were billowing smoke. Something inside her snapped and she felt her patience reach a boiling point. Amidst the anger though, a thought did cross her mind. She gasped in realization and her anger changed to a smug smile.

“So you say Spike deserves a pony who is a ‘lady’ huh?” asked Ember.

“That is correct,” replied Rarity. “I’m glad you’re finally understanding this.”

“Let me ask yousomething then. Why haven’t you said anything?”

Rarity raised a hand, but she couldn’t think of any words to say. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing happened.

Ember smirked a little. “It’s funny that you say that Spike likes you more, but yet you haven’t done anything yet. I don’t recall him ever saying in the time I spent with him that you were his marefriend or anything. It seems like for somepony who cares about him, you don’t really do a good job showing that.”

“I treat Spike like a good friend,” argued Rarity. “He’s a dragon who I’ve come to love, and I–”

“Use him for labor and work only,” Ember interrupted again.

Rarity’s eye twitched a little. “Excuse me!?”

“You heard me,” said Ember. “You admitted it yourself you use Spike for work. All you seem to use him for is to have him do all the hard work around your place. For somepony who claims to be a ‘lady’ and care about Spike, you certainly have a funny way of showing it.”

Rarity felt her body shaking with anger. “How dare you?” she said in a low, venomous tone.

Ember got in Rarity’s face and her eyes narrowed. “‘Ll admit that I’m not sure what Spike is to me,” she said. “What I do know though is that maybe he does deserve somedragon who isn’t going to do nothing but play with his feelings and use him for labor only.”

“I don’t treat him like that!” Rarity snapped. “For the record as to why I didn’t make my feelings known to Spike, he was still not of age yet. And he has no complaints about helping me out. He does so out of the goodness of his own heart, and he even gave me a Fire Ruby, that you said was very rare, as a sign of how much he cares about me!”

“That still doesn’t make up for everything you’ve used him for!” Ember shot back. “You claim to like him only now that I… became his friend. You seem more afraid that I’m going to take away the one dragon that’s done all the hard work for you.”

“So you do intend on making him yours, huh?” asked Rarity.

“If it means to save him from you playing around with his feelings, then I guess I’ll do what must be done,” replied Ember. “He deserves better than you.”

Ember and Rarity glared at each other and said nothing. The room fell deathly silent as they both remained motionless and stared at each other. Rarity slowly raised a hand up, and Ember followed suit. They both could see a fire in each other's eyes and both had furious looks on them. Suddenly, a knock at the door broke them out of their trance, and they looked over.

“Ember?” a voice called from the other side.

The dragoness recognized the voice and she stepped away from Rarity. “Come on in.”

The door opened and Matches came in. “There you are, Ember,” he said. “It’s time to make our report to the Dragon Council.” He noticed Rarity staring at Ember with a sullen look on her. “What’s going on here?”

Rarity huffed and quickly walked past Matches. “Nothing at all,” she said. “I was just talking with Ember about something, and was just leaving.” She looked over at Ember and glared at her. “See you around, darling.” The unicorn walked out and the door slammed shut again.

Matches looked at the door and then at Ember with a confused look on him. “What was that all about?”

Ember waved a hand. “Nothing,” she dismissed. “Let’s just get to the report.”

Matches held up a scroll and quill. “I’m ready,” he said.

“One last thing before I begin, Matches.”

“Yes?”

“We need to talk about you telling things you shouldn’t.”

Matches gulped a little from the cold look he got. “Alright.”

Ember turned around, and gasped as she saw something moving outside. She quickly ran over to the window and looked around. The only thing that greeted her was a full moon and some houses nearby.

“Something wrong?” asked Matches.

Ember shook her head and pulled the curtains close. “Nothing. I just thought I saw something. I guess I’m a little out of it from everything today. Let’s just get back to the report.”

Matches held up the scroll and quill. “Ready.”

“Dear Master Ash, I…”

On one of the rolling hills near Ponyville, Hot Streak descended onto the ground. He took his hand out of his pocket and held a rounded red crystal with a yellow aura swirling around inside. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment. Slowly, his body began changing. He grew taller, his wings became more rigid and lost their feathers, and his fur slowly transformed into scales.

Garble patted his face as he put the crystal back in his pocket and smiled sinisterly. “This is going a lot better than I thought it would,” he said. “That transformation crystal worked out, and I can easily watch those wimpy ponies without them even noticing me at all.”

He walked up the hill and to a lonely tree nearby. He leaned against it and laughed. “I didn’t even have to do anything at all. It seems poor Ember and one of those pesky ponies are already fighting with each other. And it’s all over Spike’s heart? Ha! I don’t see how anypony or dragon can see anything in him at all.”

Garble rubbed his head and thought to himself. “I got to make sure though to play my cards right, or this whole thing can blow. At the same time, I can’t let this chance pass me by. It’s like the universe itself has given me this opportunity!”

Garble saw Ponyville in the distance and he laughed coldly. “I think with what I’ve heard tonight, it’s time to play match breaker.”

Reap What You Sow

Ember let out a sigh of relief as she walked down the castle hallway with Spike. “You really know how to make eggs, Spike,” she complimented. “I’m surprise that with what you can do, you haven’t gone off on your own and started your own restaurant or something.”

Spike bashfully smiled and waved a hand. “Ah, it was nothing,” he said. “I’m good at cooking, but nowhere near a top chef. I never really gave any thought of leaving Twilight or Ponyville anyway. I really don’t want to leave my friends behind.”

“You really do care about them a lot,” said Ember with a smile. “You really have a heart of gold, you know that?”

Spike blushed and tried to hide it. “I just do what I think is right,” he replied.

“Thanks again for breakfast. It was way better than yesterday.” Ember looked away and scowled. Especially without Rarity to ruin it.

“That reminds me,” said Spike. “Are you okay after yesterday?”

Ember stopped in her tracks and had a puzzled look on her. “What do you mean?” she inquired.

Spike looked a bit uncomfortable and fidgeted a little. “Yesterday, you seemed really angry about something,” he said. “It started with that pancake mess with Rarity, and then I heard you two yelling in the library. Is there something wrong?”

Ember frowned. “It was nothing, Spike,” she assured.

“I’m not sure about that,” said Spike. “You both sounded upset yesterday, and it looked like you were both angry with each other. Did something happen?”

Ember panicked a little and looked away from Spike. I can’t say anything about this whole crush thing, she said to herself. If I do, who knows how he’ll react? He may not even like me, or… She shook her head. Ugh! I got to stop thinking like that!

“Ember?”

The dragoness looked at Spike and took a deep breath. “Look, we both got a little… upset over something.”

Spike gulped a little. “What was it?”

“It’s nothing to worry about,” said Ember. “Rarity and I have put that issue aside.”

“But…”

“Just drop it please,” ordered Ember. She looked at Spike and saw he had a nervous expression. She groaned and slapped herself. Real smooth, Ember.

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said.

“It’s not that,” said Ember. “Aside from yesterday, it appears things back at home aren’t going well.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”

“I’ve already said how some dragons aren’t exactly welcoming this new alliance with open arms,” said Ember. “Master Ash himself even told me that some of his family aren’t too happy with this. He’s especially worried since one of them is hot tempered and violent, and could overreact.”

“I’m sorry to hear about that,” said Spike.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Ember. “I did get to ask him though about how you have no wings.”

Spike looked hopeful. “What did he say?”

“He said that the Council will arrange a meeting after this visit is over,” she answered. “They’re very curious about this case since they haven’t heard of anything like this before.”

“That’s great!” said an enthusiastic Spike. “I can’t wait to meet them!”

“We’ll get to that eventually,” said Ember as she rubbed Spike’s head. “Do you have anything you want to do today?”

Spike opened his mouth to answer.

“Spike! Ember!”

The two dragons turned to see Twilight and Applejack both walking towards them. Twilight looked ecstatic, but Applejack seemed a little irritated.

“Twilight, I don’t think we should do this,” argued Applejack. “I don’t mind asking my friends for help, but I can’t do that to Ember.”

“Do what to me?”

Applejack flinched and smiled awkwardly at Ember. “Howdy, Ember,” she greeted. “Don’t worry about what I said.”

“There’s no harm in asking,” said Twilight. She looked at the Dragon Lord. “Ember, I know you’re here visiting and learning more about Equestria.”

“Don’t do this, Twi,” warned Applejack.

“So I was thinking of something,” said Twilight as she ignored her friend. “How would you like to come down to Sweet Apple Acres and help Applejack with harvesting some apples?”

The farmer groaned and shook her head. “Twilight, I ain’t gonna make her do work,” she complained. “I think the last thing she wants to do is work on a farm.”

Ember’s eyes widen a little. “A… farm you say?” she inquired. “That sounds interesting.”

Applejack shook her head. “Ember, I mean no offense, but I don’t want you to work while you’re visiting Ponyville. It wouldn’t be right to ask you to do something like that.”

“I’m not just here for a simple vacation,” said Ember. “The Dragon Council wants me to learn more about Equestrian culture as well. We don’t even really have any farms. Sure, I’ll help you out.”

“Are you sure?” wondered Applejack.

“Hey, it can’t be any different than what we farm in the Dragon Lands,” said Ember. “Besides, friends are supposed to help each other out.”

“Out of curiosity, what kind of farms do you have in the Dragon Lands?” asked Twilight.

“Mostly we just mine for gems, but we do grow some fruits and vegetables,” replied Ember. “There’s really not that many since there are a lot of active volcanoes around and can make growing crops hard. ”

“That does make sense,” said Applejack. “Well, if you want come down and help buck some apples, then that’s fine with me. I’m sure the others will be happy to see you again.”

“Is Rarity going to be there?” wondered Ember.

Applejack nodded. “Yup!”

The dragoness rolled her eyes. Figures.

“I’ll go ask Matches and see if he wants to come,” said Twilight. “You all get ready to go, okay?”

Spike and Ember nodded and both turned and walked away.

Ember grimaced and sighed softly. I get the feeling this is going to be a very long day.

Ember and Matches’ mouths were agape as they looked around Sweet Apple Acres. They both looked around to see the large red barn, the small brown house nearby, and the seemingly endless fields of apple trees.

Matches let out a loud whisper. “Whoa. I’ve never seen so many trees like this before.”

“I’ll say,” agreed Ember. “I didn’t think it was possible for a farm to produce this many crops at once. Usually, the farms back home don’t produce this much. I’ve never seen so many apples before.”

Applejack laughed heartily. “The Apple family prides itself on hard work, family values, and being the greatest supplier for apples across Equestria. I wish I could introduce you to the others, but they are busy with something right now.”

“Like what?” wondered Matches.

“Applejack!” a wheezy voice shouted out.

The farmer’s smile drooped and she looked upset. She turned around and flinched. Coming from the small homestead was an elderly green mare walking towards them. The mare sneezed and coughed.

“Granny, what are you doing here!?” Applejack asked in a frustrated tone.

“Don’t think I didn’t hear about you bringing over that new dragon friend of yours,” said Granny. “I may be sick, but that doesn’t mean I’m hard of hearing.”

“You ain’t supposed to be here though!” argued Applejack. “You’ve seen Ember, so let’s get you back inside to bed.”

Applejack tried to place a hand on Granny, but she slapped it away. “I ain’t going to miss meeting one of your new friends; especially one that’s supposed to be royalty.”

Ember looked embarrassed. “I wouldn’t exactly call being Dragon Lord royalty,” she said.

“Nonsense, dear,” insisted Granny. “I heard from Spike about some of the things you’ve done, and now even want to make friends between ponies and dragons. But where are my manners? I’m Granny Smith, the owner of Sweet Apple Acres.” She held out a hand to shake.

Ember slowly raised her hand and grasped the elderly mare’s hand. “Nice to meet you,” she said.

Applejack stepped in front and broke off the handshake. She looked at Granny Smith with an irritated look. “Granny, you’re supposed to be resting! How the hay did you get past Big Mac and Cheerilee?”

“I have my ways,” answered Granny. “Especially when I make them think I’m resting, and see them making out on the couch.”

Applejack growled softly. “I’m gonna get ya for this, Big Mac.”

“Granny!”

The group turned around to see Big Mac and Cheerilee both running up with frantic looks on them. They both gasped as they looked upon Ember and Matches. Cheerilee stepped back and Big Mac put his arm around her to shield her.

“I take it you’re the dragons Applejack told us about?” wondered Cheerilee.

Ember nodded. “That is correct,” she replied. “I am Dragon Lord Ember, and this is my friend and guard, Matches. It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss…”

“Cheerilee,” she replied. “I teach at a nearby school, and this is my… um, coltfriend, Big Macintosh.”

The red pony nodded. “Howdy,” he said in a soft tone.

“We’d introduce you to Apple Bloom, but she’s at that dancing school with that Tender Taps fellow,” said Granny. She sneezed again and coughed violently.

Big Mac and Cheerilee ran up and comforted Granny.

“Granny, you can’t be out here,” said Cheerilee. “Come on back inside.”

“I ain’t done talking yet!” she argued. “I may be sick, but I ain’t letting this chance pass by!”

Applejack opened her mouth to speak, but Ember stepped forward. “Granny Smith?”

The elderly green mare looked at Ember. “Yes, dear?”

“It does look like you’re sick,” said Ember. “I know you probably have a lot of questions for me, but I really can’t talk right now. I believe Applejack wanted some help here at your farm.”

Granny said nothing for a moment, and then smiled. “That’s right,” she said. “I’m sorry for how I’ve acted. It’s not every day you get to meet the ruler of the dragons personally.”

“I’m not really the true ruler,” said Ember with a bashful look on her. “I just command them and summon them when I need them.”

“Well I appreciate the help,” said Granny. She let out another sneeze and sniffled. “Perhaps I could use some rest after all.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Cheerilee in a relieved voice.

Big Mac took Granny’s arm and smiled softly. “Come on. Let’s get you some soup.”

“One last thing, Big Mac,” called out Applejack.

“Hmm?” he muttered.

Applejack walked up to Big Mac, and suddenly grabbed his collar and pulled him down and see the furious look on his sister.

“No more ‘private lessons’ with Cheerilee. Got it?” she warned in an icy tone.

Big Mac gulped a little as he backed away. “E–eyup,” he nervously said.

As Granny was led back to the house by Big Mac and Cheerilee, the three waved goodbye until they went into the house. Applejack turned around and let out a sigh.

“Sorry you had to see that,” she said. “Granny can be a little stubborn when it comes to meeting royalty.”

“That’s alright,” said Ember. “She kind of reminds me of Master Ash actually. He can be rather stubborn as well.”

“I think maybe they would get together just fine then,” laughed Matches.

“Save the laughs for later, partner,” said Applejack. “Come on. The others are waiting for us.” She looked at Ember. “There’s also somepony here who I think you may like.”

Ember raised an eyebrow. Whoever it is can’t be any worse than Rarity.

She felt a tug and looked over to see Spike taking her hand. “Come on, Ember,” he said. “You gotta try this out.”

Ember looked a bit flustered and nodded. “R–right,” she said.

The group walked through the fields and passed by multiple trees. Ember looked around in awe as she saw the colorful leaves, the large apples hanging on the branches, and the thick trees around her. She couldn’t help but smile as she heard the birds chirping and saw the various apple trees. Soon enough, the group heard some chattering and came across a clearing in the field. Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Starlight stood around talking with each other. Around several of the trees were large wooden buckets, and a few wooden carts nearby.

“Sorry I’m late,” said Applejack. “I just thought I’d get a little more help.”

The group looked over and saw Ember and Matches standing nearby. They all greeted the two dragons and smiled at them. Rarity, on the other hand, looked irritated and scoffed softly. Ember saw the scornful unicorn and glared back at her.

Applejack looked around and frowned. “Hey, where is he?” she wondered.

“Where’s who?” asked Spike.

“I was hoping that Ember could’ve met somepony else,” said the farmer. “I asked him for help yesterday, and he should’ve been here by now.”

“Hey, Jackie!” a voice called out from above.

The group looked above and saw a pegasus descending from the sky, and landing in front of them. The pegasus was sky blue with a messy dark blue mane. He was muscular enough that his arms were stretching out the white shirt he was wearing.

Applejack smiled and ran up to the pegasus. “There you are! What took you so long, Pie Guy?”

The pegasus shrugged. “You know how it is, Jackie,” he said. “Paperwork to fill out to leave, getting approval, and making sure I’m not missing practice. Boring crap like that, but all worth it in the end.”

“I know, sugarcube,” grinned Applejack.

Ember stepped forward. “Um… excuse me, but who are you?” she inquired.

The pegasus looked at Ember, and he looked bewildered. “Whoa… Applejack, is that who I think it is?”

She laughed a little. “That she is. Why don’t you go ahead and introduce yourself?”

“Right.” The pegasus walked up to Ember and saluted her. “Um… hello, Dragon Lord Ember. I’m Lieutenant Soarin of the Wonderbolts.”

“The who now?” asked Ember.

Soarin looked a bit embarrassed and chuckled weakly. “That’s right. I don’t think you know what the Wonderbolts are. We’re only the best fliers in Equestria and love to put on air shows.”

Ember looked at Soarin with a puzzled expression. “Never heard of doing something like that before.”

“Maybe one day I’ll show you to them,” said Soarin. “Maybe Rainbow can do it considering she’s one of us.”

“You got that right,” said Rainbow. “Come by my house anytime. I got the complete history of the Wonderbolts to show you.”

“Alright, that’s enough, Rainbow,” said Applejack. She walked out to the center and had a serious look on her. “As you all know, Granny Smith isn’t feeling too good, so Big Mac and Cheerilee are taking care of her. Without them to help, I can’t harvest all the apples around the northern fields. That’s where you all come in.”

She walked over to a nearby tree and pointed to the buckets around it. “I’ve already gone ahead and placed buckets around the trees we need to buck. Once they’re full, take them to one of the carts I’ve set up nearby.” She pointed to the large wooden wagon near her. “Once it’s filled with buckets of apples, take them down to the barn, unload them, and then bring it back here to begin again.”

Ember looked around at the numerous trees and her eyes widened. We have to pick apples from all of these trees!? This makes the Gauntlet of Fire sound like a piece of cake.

“Since we have so many trees to buck, we’ll all divide into teams,” said Applejack. “You can even choose who you want to be if you want.”

Ember and Rarity looked at each other for a brief moment. Both had bitter looks on them as they stared at each other. The quickly ran over and grabbed Spike’s arm.

“We’ll go with Spike,” they both said in unison.

The group looked at Ember and Rarity with confused looks on them. Spike looked at the two in shock and looked just as lost as the others.

“I think Spike and I make a good team,” said Rarity. “We both work together so well collecting gems after all.”

“I’d like to stick around with Spike,” stated Ember. “Maybe he can show me what I need to do.”

“I’ll go with you as well,” offered Matches. “Considering what happened yesterday, I think maybe I should be around as extra protection.”

Ember nodded. “Good idea.”

“Well, I think that’s a big enough team for you all,” said Applejack. “I’ll be with Soarin and Twilight. Rainbow, you, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Starlight are a team. Hopefully we’ll get the northern fields cleared out before the day is over.”

“That’s not possible,” said Matches.

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Pardon me?”

“No offense, Applejack, but there’s no way we can get all these apples down in time. That would take probably a week to do.”

“Not with what you have to do,” said Applejack.

She went over to a nearby tree and looked at it carefully. A moment later, she raised a foot and with a loud grunt, she kicked the tree. The tree shook violently and the apples fell from the branches holding them, and went into the buckets around it.

Applejack looked at Matches with a satisfied smile. “How do you like them apples?”

Matches and Ember looked dumbfounded.

“How did you do that?” wondered Ember.

“I’ll show you,” offered Spike. “I’ve done it enough times that I can teach you and Matches.”

Ember rubbed her chin and looked doubtful. “Well, I’m not sure if I’ll like doing something like this. It does look a bit painful.” She looked over and saw the hopeful look in Spike’s eyes, and felt the guilt wash over her. “I guess I can give it a try though.”

Spike smiled and took Ember’s hand. “You’ll like it,” he insisted. “I promise!”

“Alright! Alright! Take it easy, Spike,” said Ember. “No need to get worked up over something like this.”

Applejack laughed and said, “Well, y’all take the trees to the west.” She pointed towards the group and deeper into the forest. “You’ll find some buckets and a cart not too far from here. Just do what I said, and we’ll be done with this in no time.”

The group nodded in agreement.

“Now let’s get to work,” ordered Applejack.

Spike, Ember, Rarity, and Matches walked off. While Matches asked Spike about where to kick a tree to get all the apples down, Rarity and Ember looked at each other with hateful expressions.

“Don’t try to make yourself look stupid when you can’t buck an apple tree,” mocked Rarity. “We wouldn’t want you to look useless in front of Spike, right?”

Ember growled softly. “I’m surprised you even want to do something like this. After all, you are a ‘lady’, and I don’t think you would want to get mud or something all over you.”

Rarity scoffed. “Please. I may be a lady, but that doesn’t mean I’m not afraid to get a little dirty.”

Ember’s eyes looked down and she saw near one of the trees a small brown puddle. She smirked and moved her tail in front of Rarity.

“Just remember to not make a fool of youuuuuu!” Rarity yelled as she fell over and her face hit the mud puddle.

Spike turned and saw Rarity slowly getting up and coughing, and quickly ran over to her. “Rarity, are you okay!?” asked Spike frantically.

Rarity rubbed her eyes and saw out of the corner of her eye a blue tail moving away. She looked up and saw the smug smile Ember was giving her. She was about to lunge at her in anger, but it was put aside as she felt Spike take her hand and help her up. She looked at him and saw the concerned look on him.

“You’re not hurt, are you?” he inquired. “How did this happen?”

Rarity smiled warmly at him. “I’ll be fine, Spikey Wikey,” she said. “Though I guess you can say that I… ‘tripped’.” She looked at Ember with a glare on her.

Spike frowned and rubbed some of the mud off of Rarity’s face. “There should be a small river nearby. I’ll take you over there and help wash that mud off.”

Rarity smiled and nodded. “That sounds good, Spike. You’re always so helpful and know how to treat a lady.” She looked back at Ember again. “Unlike certain creatures.”

Ember rolled her eyes. “Not my fault you couldn’t watch where you were going.”

“Ember, don’t be rude,” scolded Spike. “I’m going to help Rarity wash her face. We’ll be right back.” Spike took Rarity’s hand and helped escort her.

“We’ll stay here and wait for you two,” said Matches.

As she was being walked away, Rarity turned around and stuck her tongue out at Ember. The dragoness growled again and sulked as Rarity snuggled against Spike. She suddenly felt a hand on her, and she turned to see Matches with a stoic look on him.

“What was that about?” he inquired. “You’ve been acting really weird lately.”

Ember sighed and shook her head. “I’m just feeling a little worked up over this whole visit.”

“I get that, but you’ve been acting really weird; especially around Rarity,” said Matches. “Is there something you aren’t telling me?”

Ember said nothing for a moment as she looked away. She bit her tongue to hold back everything she wanted to say, and closed her eyes.

“Ember?”

The dragoness looked back with a solemn look on her. “It’s nothing,” she said. “Let’s just move on.”

Matches stared at Ember for a moment, and then slowly nodded. “Alright,” he said in a wary tone.

Ember turned around and looked at one of the apple trees. Matches looked on and frowned to himself.

For your sake, Ember, I hope nothing is wrong.

Spike and the others soon came across a clearing similar to where they met the others. There were large wooden buckets around a couple dozen trees, and there was a large wooden cart nearby.

“Alright, this is the place,” said Spike. He looked over at Ember. “Ready for me to show you how it’s done?”

Ember nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be. This isn’t going to hurt is it?”

Spike shook his head. “Not if you know what to do, and where to hit.”

He waved a hand over urging Ember to come over. She hesitantly walked over towards Spike and went up to a nearby tree.

“All you gotta do is kick the tree’s trunk in the right spot,” said Spike. “Usually, the best place to hit the tree is right in the middle. Just be sure to not kick it so hard, or you’ll hurt yourself. Like this.”

Spike looked at the tree’s trunk for a moment. He raised his foot, and with a loud grunt, kicked it in the middle and the tree shook violently. A few seconds later, the apples fells of the branches and went into the buckets around the tree.

“Just like that,” he said. “Why don’t you try it?” He pointed to a tree nearby with buckets around it.

Ember gulped and nodded. She walked over and looked over the tall tree towering over her. She looked at the tree trunk, and took a deep breath. Slowly raising her right foot, Ember’s eyes narrowed on the tree. She let out a yell and quickly kicked the tree.

“Ahh!” screamed Ember as she hoped around. She held her foot and bit her lip in pain.

She suddenly lost her balance and fell over. Before she hit the ground, she felt two hands catch her. Ember looked over and saw Spike smiling at her. The sunlight shined upon him making him look radiant. Ember blushed and looked away to hide it.

“Take it easy, Ember,” said Spike. “It looks like you kicked it a little too hard.” He put her down and helped her stand up. “You okay?”

Ember nodded. “I’ve felt worse,” she replied. “Did any apples fall?”

Both dragons looked into the buckets, and saw that some were halfway full to some that had one or two in them.

“Not bad for your first time,” said Spike. “You got more down than me. I barely got any apples down on my first try.”

Ember smiled softly. “Thanks,” she said. “It was really nothing though.”

“You still did good,” said Spike. “You just need a little more practice. If you want, you and I can work together and take care of these trees. I’ll help you practice bucking trees as well.”

Ember fidgeted a little. “I–I don’t need some babysitter or something,” she said.

“That’s not what I mean,” said Spike. “I was just going to help you.” He held his hand out to her. “What do you say?”

Ember looked at Spike, and then at his hand. She slowly reached out to touch it. Suddenly, another figure stepped in front of the two of them. Ember looked up to see Rarity with a glare on her, and growled softly.

Rarity looked at Spike with a smile. “Spikey, I appreciate your offer, but I think maybe I should be with Ember. Matches needs to learn about bucking too you know?”

“But I watched what Spike did,” said Matches. “I think I got an idea on what to do.”

Rarity shook her head. “There’s ‘seeing it’ and then ‘doing it’, darling,” she stated. “I’ll be around to make sure Ember knows what to do.”

Spike looked discouraged. “Well…alright, I guess,” he muttered. “Just come get me if you have any problems.” He looked at Ember. “I know you can do this. Just remember what I showed you, and you’ll do fine.”

Ember nodded.

“Matches and I will take the left side. You and Rarity get the right side. We’ll check on you two later.” Spike looked at Matches and ushered him over. “Come on. I’ll show you what to do.”

Spike looked at Ember and Rarity for a brief moment, and then turned around and walked away with Matches. As they walked away, Rarity and Ember looked at each other with venomous looks on them. Rarity narrowed her eyes and Ember clenched her fists until her hand was shaking.

After nearly a minute, Ember said in a venomous tone, “Look. I don’t like you. You don’t like me. I’m not going to waste any of my time talking to the likes of you. Let’s just go to work, and not talk to each other.”

Rarity scoffed. “Fine with me. Just don’t try to hurt yourself anymore, darling.”

“As long as you don’t play in the mud anymore, lady.”

Both Ember and Rarity went their separate ways. Ember approached one of the trees and looked over it. She heard talking nearby and looked over to see Spike and Matches laughing with each other. She glared and looked back at the tree.

Stupid Rarity, she thought to herself. Always getting in the way and always thinking I’m making some move on Spike. I don’t need that wingless runt at all anyway.

Ember lifted her foot up and with a yell, kicked the tree. It’s not like I want to hang out with him anyway. With his stupid friendship and stupid nice eyes and stupid warm smile and his stupid handsomeness!

“Ember!”

The dragoness broke out of her thoughts and looked over to see Matches and Spike with confused looks on them.

“What!?” she asked in an annoyed voice.

“I think you got the apples,” said Spike.

Ember looked back at the tree and saw that all the apples on it were gone. She felt a sudden pain in her foot and looked to see she had kicked the tree hard enough to leave the impression of her shoe on its bark. The dragoness blushed in embarrassment and rubbed the back of her head. She heard snickering nearby and looked over at Rarity who was covering her mouth and suppressing a laugh.

“Take it easy,” said Spike. “You don’t have to kick the tree so much that you’re about to knock it over.”

“Don’t get too frustrated now, Ember,” stated Rarity in a mocking tone. “I don’t think you’d want to make Applejack upset by destroying one of her trees, would you?”

Ember let out a frustrated groan and walked away to another tree. She gave it a kick and the apples fell from the branches and into the buckets.

“That’s better, Ember!” called out Spike.

Rarity huffed and went over to another tree. “Watch how a lady does it with elegance, Ember,” she said. She went over to a tree, and with a kick, the tree shook and the apples slowly fell down into the buckets. “That is how it’s done.”

Ember slapped herself. How is that any different from what I was doing!? What did you kick it softly or something!?

Rarity leaned against the tree and smirked. “Try doing something like that, dar–OW!”

The unicorn yelped as several apples fell right onto her head and hit her rather hard. One even landed right on her horn and was pierced by it. Apple juices slowly ran down Rarity’s angry face and she wiped it off.

Ember couldn’t help but laugh and point at her. “That certainly was an ‘elegant’ way to buck an apple tree,” she said in between laughs.

Rarity removed the apple from her horn and felt her anger boiling over. She gripped the apple and prepared to throw at Ember.

“What are you doing, Rarity?” wondered Spike.

The unicorn looked over and saw the curious look on both Spike and Matches. She groaned angrily and her eye twitched violently.

“Nothing...Spike,” she replied through gritted teeth. “I was just going to have this apple as a snack.” She bit into the apple and chewed it slowly.

Spike raised an eyebrow and shrugged. He and Matches turned and walked away into the orchard.

Ember laughed again and walked off to another tree, leaving Rarity fuming and red in the face.

“Don’t you dare walk away from me,” ordered Rarity.

Ember stopped and turned around. “What? You want to show me how to pick up an apple like a lady?”

Rarity ignored the mocking tone and shook her head. “No. You think you can buck an apple tree better? Well I can gather more apples than you ever will. Spikey be so impressed with how many apples I can gather.”

“Not if I can help it,” said Ember. “Your so called ‘elegance’ won’t help you this time.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Ember and Rarity stared at each other for a minute. Both of them waited to see who would make the first move, and their legs were twitching. Suddenly, they both took off towards the trees. Rarity reached one of them first and with a powerful kick, managed to knock the apples down. Ember, not willing to be outdone, ran up and kicked a tree, making all the apples fall down. She then took off into the air and flew to another tree. She spun around it and quickly picked as many apples as she could and dropped them off into the buckets.

Rarity saw it and glared. “So you have to resort to flying to win this competition, huh?” Her horn glowed up. “Well two can play at this game, darling!”

Around the tree Rarity stood at, it glowed a blue aura. The apples on the branches were tug violently and plucked off the tree one by one. Rarity gathered all the apples and gently lowered them into the buckets below.

Ember saw what Rarity had done, and scoffed. “Big deal. Your magic isn’t going to be of much help anyway.”

“I’ll be the judge of that!” yelled Rarity.

They both went back to work and went to different trees. Around the field, the shaking of trees and glowing lights could be seen from above.

Ember grunted as the last of the apples on the tree she was kicking fell down. She panted and wiped her forehead. She put her foot down, and winced in pain.

“Ah!” she groaned and rubbed her leg. “Maybe I went a little too fast with the kicking.”

She looked around the field and all the trees she had bucked. Some of them had shoe impressions on them from the excessive kicking. Ember nodded and smirked.

“Not too bad for a dragon who’s never done this before.” Ember walked over to the buckets, but winced in pain and grabbed her leg. “I just wish there was a better way to do this. I think my legs are going to be sore for days.”

She picked up two of the buckets and began carrying them away. Ember heard a grunting noise and looked over to see Rarity kicking a tree and struggling to get the apples down. She laughed to herself and smiled smugly.

“Serves you right,” she said. “So much for doing it a lady’s way.”

Ember continued walking off with the buckets and soon came upon the wagon. She stopped dead in her tracks as another sight caught her eye. Near the wagon, Spike was finishing placing a few buckets in the cart, and wiped his forehead. Ember’s eyes focused on the red buttoned shirt he was wearing, and noticed it was unbuttoned a little to show off his pecs and a bit of his flat abs.

Spike looked over and waved a hand. “Hey, Ember. You got some more apples?”

The dragoness broke out of her trance and nodded. “Y–yeah,” she muttered.

Spike looked around where Ember came from, and his eyes widened. “Whoa! You and Rarity got all of those apples down? How did you do that?”

Ember chuckled weakly. “Just a lot of hard work I guess.”

“Matches and I only got half of the trees done. Whatever you two did really worked out well. Maybe you can show us what you both did.”

“Maybe later,” stated Ember. “Shouldn’t we get these apples taken away first?”

“Good idea,” said Spike. “The wagon has enough room for two more buckets. Load them up, and we’ll take it to the barn.”

“Got it,” she said. Ember placed the buckets into the cart and turned to Spike. “Everything’s ready to go.”

“Alright we’ll take this cart to the barn. I could use your help unloading it.”

Ember looked around and scratched her head. “Where’s Matches?”

“Taking a break,” replied Spike. “He was really working himself down to the bone, so I let him go get some water and sit down. He said he’ll meet us at the barn to help unload the apples.”

“Well let’s not waste any time.”

“You got that right.” Spike walked over to the end of the cart, and lifted both handles up. “Let’s go. We’ll have to go near some slopes to the barn, so make sure the cart doesn’t go near the ledges okay?”

Ember nodded.

Spike walked off with the cart and slowly made his way down the dirt path before him. Ember walked behind him. The image of Spike and his body was still fresh in her mind. She tried to think of something else, but it wouldn’t go away.

Stay focused, Ember, she told herself. So what if you saw Spike and his handsome body? It’s not like I want him or anything.

“Oof!” Ember grunted as she walked into something hard. She looked to see it was the wagon.

Spike stopped and turned around. “Watch how close you follow,” he warned. “We’re close to a few hill slopes, so watch the cart.”

Ember rubbed the back of her head. “Sorry,” she said in a small voice.

The two of them took off again with the cart in tow.

Rarity grunted as she kicked the tree and the apples fell down. She looked at the tree and nodded. “That’s the last of those apples. I think it’s time for me to load these up.”

She picked up one of the buckets and carried it to the cart. She suddenly felt a little lightheaded and the world became blurry. She shook it off and groaned. “Perhaps I went a little overboard with my magic. It’s a small price to pay to win this competition though.”

As Rarity walked, she looked around and heard only the sound of birds chirping and leaves rustling. She came to a stop and raised an eyebrow.

“Hmmm. I don’t hear Ember,” said Rarity. “Maybe she hurt her foot from all that kicking that she had to stop. Oh, well. It’s not my problem.” Rarity soon came across the clearing, and gasped. She looked around in confusion. “That’s odd. Where did the cart go? I don’t hear Ember grunting, nor do I see her. In fact, there seems to be nopony around at all. Where could they have gone?”

Rarity closed her eyes for a moment, and thought to herself. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind and an image as well. In her mind, she saw Ember and Spike walking together with the cart. Slowly, they both stopped turned to look at each other with smiles on their faces. They leaned in closer together and their lips came closer to connecting together.

Rarity shook her head and her eyes narrowed. “Why that little…!” She groaned and threw down the bucket in frustration. “When I’m through with her, she’ll be lucky to even be able to chew an apple again!” The unicorn stomped off down the dirt path and gritted her teeth angrily.

“Okay, take it easy along this curve,” said Ember. “It’s a pretty steep slope.”

“Got it,” said Spike.

The cart slowly turned and Ember kept an eye on it. The wheels were close to the slope, and she held her breath. Eventually, the cart rounded the corner and continued down the path.

Ember let out a sigh of relief. “That was close.”

“I’ll say,” agreed Spike. “We’re almost there though. Just another hill to go, and we’ll be there.”

The wagon continued on the dirt path. Spike and Ember soon came upon the last hill slope, and the cart came to a stop.

Ember had to stop herself from walking into it. She looked over and raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong? Why did we stop?”

“You know how we’ve been avoiding the sides of the hills this whole time?” Spike asked. Ember nodded at him. “Well this time, we’re going down the hill.”

Ember walked over and looked down. The hill slope before them was a bit steep and beyond that was the path to the large red barn. “Looks a bit hard to go down there. What do we do now?”

“We’ll have to be very careful,” replied Spike. “Stay close to me and make sure the cart doesn’t roll out of control.”

“Alright.”

Spike began walking down the hill slowly, with Ember rushing up to his side to help hold the cart up.

“Thanks,” he said. “You did a really good job today.”

“It really wasn’t that hard,” replied Ember. “I just hope Applejack doesn’t notice that dent I made in the tree.”

“Don’t worry about that. Big Mac has done that by accident a few times.”

The two of them stayed silent as the wagon rolled down the hill. Ember’s eyes kept wandering over towards Spike. Despite the heavy cart he was lifting and pulling, he had a smile on his face, and his body was glistening with sweat. Ember looked up and down at his muscular arms, his chest that was partially exposed by his button opened shirt, and his toned legs.

Ember shook her head. Stop it, she told herself. I’ve seen plenty of muscular guys back at home. This is no different. She felt a tug in her chest and groaned softly. ...Right?

As they continued walking down the hill, Ember stayed close to the trees. She passed by one, and a branch brushed her shoulder. She waved it off, but he branch caught onto one of the straps of her white tank top shirt.

“We’re almost down this hill,” said Spike. “Just a bit further now, and we’ll be okay.”

Ember suddenly felt something tug at her. She grunted and forced herself to move. A soft ripping noise caught her ear, and she felt something flapping on her. She looked down, and her eyes widened.

“Ack!” she cried out.

Spike looked over with a worried expression. “What’s wrong?”

His question was immediately answered as he saw one of Ember’s shirt straps ripped and part of her top was exposed. Spike’s eyes were drawn to Ember’s chest, where he could see part of Ember’s rather generous bosom. His eyes wandered to the center and–

Spike closed his eyes and held up a hand to cover his eyes and his burning red cheeks. “Whoa! I–I didn’t mean to look at you like that!” he quickly shouted. “Can you cover it up!?”

“I can’t!” said Ember in an embarrassed voice. “I don’t know what to do! Just...just don’t look okay! I’m not trying to give you some kind of show!”

“I know! I know! But we must do something about–AH!”

Spike’s knees buckled as he felt a surging pain in his back. He tried to stand still, but the pain he was feeling became too much. He kneeled down and groaned.

What the hay is happening to me? he asked himself.

Spike felt the wagon push against him, and was threatening to run him over. He slowly got back up and tried to regain his bearings. He tried to put both arms on each of the handles, but the cart was still pushing against him and several apples fell out.

He looked over at Ember. “Help me!” he yelled. “I can’t control it!”

Ember grabbed onto the edges of the cart and groaned as she tried to slow it down. The cart jerked around as it sped up and then slowed down. Spike stomped his feet into the ground, and could feel dirt rubbing up against him as he tried to hold on.

“Hang on, Spike!” Ember tugged as hard as she could, ignoring the pain in her foot, and pulled as hard as she could.

The cart then came to a stop, and Spike and Ember stayed still for a minute. Spike slowly walked forward with the cart, with Ember in tow to hold it steady. They both carefully walked down the hill, and reached the bottom of the hill. Spike walked faster as he didn’t need to worry about the hill, and soon enough walked up to the barn.

Spike released his grip on the handles, and the cart dropped with a rather loud bang. He let out a sigh of relief and leaned against the barn door.

“That was far too close.” He looked at Ember. “Thanks for the help.”

“No problem,” said Ember. She felt a slight breeze, and looked down to see the strap of her shirt flapping in the wind. “Oh!” She covered herself and blushed. “You wouldn’t happen to have an extra shirt would you?”

Spike shook his head. “No, but I can get one for you. Let me go ask Big Mac if I can borrow one of Applejack’s shirts.” He walked off and went around the corner of the barn, leaving Ember by herself.

The dragoness let out a sigh and rested against the barn door. “This could’ve been better.” She looked down at her ripped shirt. “The only good thing I can say is that at least Rarity wasn’t around to see–”

“There you are!”

Ember closed her eyes and felt her heart sink. “Spoke too soon.” She turned around to see an infuriated Rarity stomping up to her.

“Just what do you think you’re doing!?” she demanded. “Running off from work to sneak in some time with Spike, huh!? Well you’ll have to try a little harder than that!”

“I wasn’t trying spend time with Spike!” argued Ember. “I was bringing some apples over to load up and I helped Spike take the cart back to the barn. It’s not my fault you were taking your time with how to buck an apple tree ‘like a lady’.”

“How dare you!? I should… wait, what’s that?” Rarity pointed towards Ember’s shoulder.

Ember flinched and covered it. Damn it.

“So this was your plan?” accused Rarity as she got in Ember’s face. “You ripped a shirt I made for you, and then seduce Spike with your body?”

“What!?”

“Don’t try to deny it! Your little ‘love letter’ failed you, and now I’ve foiled another one of your plans!”

Ember looked dumbstruck and frustrated. “Okay, this is beyond insane! First of all, I never wrote that stupid love letter! I don’t even know what was written on it! Second, I didn’t rip this shirt on purpose, it was caught on a branch and it was ripped that way! Third, you are being paranoid!”

“Maybe I am, but as long as I’m able to keep Spikey Wikey out of your grasp, it’s worth it!”

“Oh, that’s just great,” said Ember in a sarcastic tone. “I’m sure Spike will love a mare who’s obsessed and doesn’t trust other mares around him. I’m surprised you aren’t acting like this to your other friends.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” demanded Rarity.

“The way you’ve been acting and thinking that every moment I’m with Spike that I’m going to kiss him or something, I’m surprised you haven’t treated your friends the same way. What’s to say that they don’t like him too?”

Rarity flinched and gritted her teeth. “Well Applejack is quite smitten with Soarin, so that’s one friend who has no feelings for Spike.”

Ember laughed harshly. “Yeah one friend down, six more to go. Face it. You’re being paranoid, insane, and an overall whiny bitch.”

Rarity’s eye twitched and she gritted her teeth. “You...you...you…” Rarity pressed her face up to Ember’s. “I’ve had enough of you!”

Ember had a hateful expression on her face. “I didn’t want it to come to this, but I don’t think you leave me any choice.”

“Ember!”

Rarity and Ember looked over as they heard Spike’s voice. The dragoness struggled and pushed away Rarity.

“Get off of me!” she barked.

“Why should I!?” inquired Rarity. “Afraid I’m going to make you look bad in front of Spike?”

“No, but I’m sure you won’t like it when Spike sees you trying to hurt me. Think of what he’ll say.”

Rarity muttered under her breath and looked away. She closed her eyes and backed away. “...Fine.”

Spike came around the corner and had a green buttoned plaid shirt in his hand. He ran up to Ember and held it up to her.

“Here you go,” he said. “Big Mac says you can borrow this shirt.”

Ember took the shirt and put it on. “Thanks, Spike.”

The dragon nodded and then looked over. “Oh, Rarity! I don’t know if Ember told you this or not, but her shirt got caught on a branch and ripped. I hope you’re not too upset.”

Rarity forced a smile and shook her head. “Oh...I’m not, darling,” she said in a strained voice. “In fact, I was just talking to Ember about it.”

“I just hope you’re not too upset,” said Spike. “I know you worked hard to make it for her.”

“It’s honestly no problem, Spikey, but thank you for the concern.”

“Howdy, y’all!”

The group turned around to see Applejack, Soarin, Matches and Twilight coming up with their own wagon, and waving at them.

Applejack let out a loud whistle as she put the cart down and walked over. “Well I’ll be! You all got that many apples that quick, huh? I don’t think even Rainbow could do it that fast.”

“You could say we made our own magic,” said Rarity.

The unicorn suddenly felt dizzy again and she leaned on Spike’s shoulder.

“You okay?” wondered Spike.

Rarity nodded. “I just felt a little lightheaded.”

Applejack sighed and crossed her arms. “I see what you mean by ‘magic’,” she said in a disappointed voice. “Rarity, you know how I feel about using magic to get apples down.”

“Twilight used it before though,” argued Rarity.

“That was different,” said Applejack. “We were so behind that I didn’t mind when Twilight used her magic to get the apples down.”

Ember took a step forward, and her right knee buckled. “Ahh!” she cried out.

Matches rushed over to help her up. “Easy now, Ember,” he said. “I got you.”

“It’s...it’s nothing,” she said in a painful tone. “I just pulled something is all.”

Applejack walked over and noticed Ember’s leg shaking. She shook her head. “Looks like you went a little overboard with the apple bucking. I’d say you’re done for the day with how your leg is.”

“I can still fly and pick them off,” said Ember. “I did that earlier.”

Applejack shook her head. “No, you and Rarity better go rest up in the house. Besides, it looks like you both did your fair share of work.”

“I’ll help carry you in, Rarity,” said Spike.

Rarity gasped as she felt Spike lift her up, and blushed slightly. “Oh, thank you, Spikey Poo. You’re always such a gentledrake.”

Ember saw Rarity snuggling against Spike, and growled softly.

Matches raised an eyebrow. “You okay?”

“...I’ve been better,” Ember replied. “Let’s just go.”

Spike, Rarity, Ember, and Matches headed off to the small brown homestead nearby.

Big Mac walked in carrying two bowls of an orange soup, and handed them to Rarity and Ember, who were both sitting on a green couch.

“Here you are,” he said. “It’s some homemade vegetable soup.”

“Thanks, Big Mac,” said Ember. “We’ll be okay on our own.”

“If you say so,” he said.

The sound of violent coughing rang out in the room.

“I better go check on Granny. You two ring the bell if you need anything.” Big Mac left the room, leaving Rarity and Ember alone.

“Not bad,” said Rarity in an icy tone.

Ember looked at Rarity with a shocked look. “Yeah… you too,” she said.

“Don’t get too comfortable though,” said Rarity. “This doesn’t change anything.”

Of course it doesn’t, thought Ember as she rolled her eyes.

“If I hadn’t gotten so lightheaded from using so much magic, I would’ve won this competition, and Spikey would’ve been so impressed.”

“He was impressed with both of us,” argued Ember. “Even if you were feeling fine, I doubt Spike would confess his love for you.”

Rarity turned and huffed. “I guess you have a point. Perhaps we did go a little overboard.”

Ember sighed and went back to her soup. “I’ll say.”

The sound of a door opening nearby caught Ember and Rarity’s ears.

“We’re done!” called out Applejack.

A moment later, Applejack and the others walked in looking sweaty, exhausted, and dirty, but all had smiles on their faces.

“How are you two feeling?” inquired Applejack.

Ember wiggled her leg. “My leg doesn’t feel as bad anymore.

“I’m not feeling as light headed as before,” replied Rarity.

“That’s great,” said Spike.

Ember took another spoonful of soup and was about to eat it, but a shadow loomed over her. She looked up and saw Soarin standing there with a stern look on him.

“Lord Ember, if you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you something,” he said.

The dragoness looked at Applejack with a confused look who, in turn, looked just as lost and shrugged.

“Go ahead,” she said. “And it’s just Ember. No need for the formalities or anything.”

Soarin flinched and looked flustered. “Right. Um… anyway, I’ve been thinking about this since I saw you earlier, and I’ve made my decision.”

“On what?” asked Ember.

“How would you like to come to the Wonderbolts Academy?” asked Soarin. “You’d meet the other Wonderbolts and I’m sure they’d love to meet the leader of the new ally Equestria has.”

Rainbow came over with a huge grin on her. “Yeah! Maybe we can also see who is faster in the air; pegasi or dragons? I’ve been really wanting to know that for a long time! I would’ve done it with Spike, but we all know he doesn’t have–”

“RAINBOW!” barked Ember and Rarity.

“Honestly, darling, have some sense of decency!” berated Rarity.

“Yeah! Especially when Spike is around too!” scolded Ember.

Rainbow held up her hands and backed away with a shocked look on her. “Whoa! Okay, I didn’t mean to!” She looked over at Spike. “Sorry about that. I guess I got a little carried away.”

Spike rubbed the back of his head. “It’s okay,” he said softly. “I guess I’m used to it at this point.”

“Anyway, back to the question at hand,” said Soarin. “How about it, Ember? Would you like to come see the Wonderbolts Academy?”

Ember rubbed her chin and looked at Soarin and Rainbow. The former looked hopeful and a bit nervous, and the latter seemed overly eager.

“Well, I guess it couldn’t hurt,” she said. “I may as well see what’s so great about you all anyway.”

Rainbow jumped up and down. “Aw, yeah! I’m going to race a dragon! Just you wait and see how fast I am, Ember!”

“Rainbow, she’s not going there for a race,” said Twilight sternly. “She’ll probably want to learn about the Wonderbolts and who they are.”

Rainbow waved a hand. “Yeah, and I’ll even show her around, but I think this is the perfect chance to have this test.”

Twilight sighed and shook her head.

“Well I think we all deserve a reward after all this hard work,” said Applejack. “I’ll make us all a feast tonight.”

“Ooo! Can I help?” wondered Pinkie.

“Sure, Pinkie,” said Applejack. “Come on, y’all.”

The group headed out of the room and started going to the kitchen.

“Spike, wait a minute,” called out Ember.

The drake turned around with a blank look. “What is it?”

“While we were trying to fix the wagon, I noticed you were in a lot of pain. Is everything okay?”

Spike lowered his head and frowned. “I’m not sure what happened,” he said. “Maybe I hurt myself when I was apple bucking earlier.”

“Are you sure? You looked like somedragon had stabbed you in the back,” said Ember.

Spike waved a hand. “I’ll be fine. Come on, let’s get dinner.”

Ember and Spike walked off. As they did, the dragoness looked at Spike and saw the worried look on him, and frowned.

Spike, I hope that you’re right.

Garble walked through the Everfree Forest and was picking some fruit off a nearby tree. He ate it rather quickly and threw the remains away into the forest. He sighed and walked off again.

“What am I going to do?” he asked himself. “I need to find some way to break off this alliance.”

He saw a bunny nearby looking at him with a smile, and kicked it. “Even if I do see both Ember and that stupid pony finally tear each other apart, it wouldn’t change anything. I’d need proof to show it to the Dragon Council.”

Garble let out another sigh. He looked at a tree nearby and punched it. “I’ve got to find something, anything to help me.”

He started to walk off again, but a flash caught the corner of his eye. He looked over and raised an eyebrow.

“What was that?” he asked.

Garble saw another flash, and could’ve sworn he heard laughing. He slowly walked past the trees and through the shrubs around the forest. As Garble got closer her could hear the sound of a stallion talking and laughing.

He moved some branches and leaves and saw a clearing in the distance. In the middle was a rather chubby, elderly brown unicorn holding up a camera and smirking to himself.

The pony took off his explorer’s hat and fanned himself with it. “That’s another one,” he said in a Trottingham accent. “Soon, I’ll have a photo of every bird in Equestria. Then, my collection will be complete and my colleagues will be most impressed.”

He took a pair of binoculars out from his brown shirt pocket. “Let’s see what I can find next.”

Garble’s eyes were focusing on the camera hanging from the pony’s neck. He smiled sinisterly and rubbed his hands together. “I think I found what I need.”

He unfurled his wings and took off into the air. He made his way to the elderly pony, who was still looking around, and smirked.

“Now, what bird shall I find next?” asked the pony. His ears perked up as he heard flapping. “Oh! Is that another bird?”

He turned around, and was met with a red fist to his face. The pony yelled in pain and fell over. Garble went up to his head, and swiftly kicked it. The pony let out a soft groan and his body laid motionless.

Garble laughed coldly and leaned over. “I’ll be taking that now.” He ripped the rope around the camera and held it up.

“Hmmm...Not bad at all,” he said. He looked at the small, sleek black camera.

His finger slipped over the camera’s shutter button, and it flashed in his eyes. Garble flinched and rubbed his eyes. He shook his head and smirked.

“I now have what I need.” Garble held up the camera again. “You better be ready for your closeup, Ember. Whether you like it or not!” The dragon took off into the air laughing to himself.

Author's Note

So with the second half of season 6 here, I figured it would be the perfect time to update. I have been told that I have made Rarity go a bit overboard with how insane she is. I do plan on cutting down on it in future chapters. I sometimes think I'm playing this whole feud thing a little too hard, so I'll try to ease up on it. Hope you all enjoy it!

Flying High

High in the sky, a large purple hot air balloon appeared above the clouds along with three figures flying near it. In the hot air balloon basket, Spike pulled the lever to release more flames, and then looked out into the sky. Ember and Matches, both dressed in the armor they wore on the day of their arrival, were flying nearby, and Twilight was in front of the balloon. He kept staring at Ember, hoping she would acknowledge him, but he couldn’t tell if she noticed him underneath that helmet.

“Spike?”

The dragon turned to see Rarity next to him. “Hey, Rarity,” he said.

“What’s wrong, darling?” she asked. “You look a little tense.”

Spike sighed and looked down. “I guess I’m just worried about Ember.”

“Why? She seems to be enjoying her stay here so far.”

“Ember seems to be upset,” explained Spike. “She told me not only does Master Ash seem to have some family trouble about this bond between ponies and dragons, but it seems something is really making her annoyed. I tried to talk to her about it last night, but she didn’t want to talk. I hope everything is okay with her.”

Rarity frowned. “Spikey, I’m sure everything is fine,” she said. “She’s just under a lot of pressure is all.”

“I know that,” replied Spike. “I’m just nervous with how she’s been lately. Ever since the library incident, she seems more and more tense. I just want to help her. I don’t want everything I’ve done to help change the way dragons are be for nothing; especially after what I’ve done to help Ember.”

“Spikey, it’s okay,” assured Rarity.

“I hope so,” said Spike in a gloomy voice.

Rarity looked on at the discouraged look on Spike’s face, and felt a mixture of guilt and sadness in her. She looked down and sighed softly.

Perhaps I have been a little too hard on Ember, she said to herself. Spike has worked hard to bring ponies and dragons together as friends, and now I’m making it harder than it should be. Sure she may seem to… like Spike, but I can’t stand to see Spikey Wikey sad like this. I will do what I must to make him happy!

Rarity looked over at Ember for a moment and closed her eyes. Ember, I may not really like you, but I don’t want to ruin Spike’s efforts. For his sake, I’ll give you a better chance.

A loud gust of wind buzzed through the air, catching the group’s attention.

Matches looked around frantically. “What’s that noise!?” he asked.

Twilight turned around and beamed. “We’re near the Wonderbolts Academy!” she answered. “That sound is probably some of the members coming close to us!” She turned back and gasped. “Here they come!”

In the clearing below, two pegasi flew up and came towards the hot air balloon. Two blue streaks zoomed by it, leaving behind two trails of black smoke. The group gasped in surprise and the balloon to shake a little.

“Was that them right now!?” wondered Ember. “I couldn’t get a good look at them!”

“It is!” confirmed Twilight. “It looks like they’re giving us an escort to their base!”

“You got that right, Twi!”

Twilight and the others looked to their left to see Rainbow flying in her Wonderbolts outfit and giving them a warm smile.

“‘Sup, guys?” she called out. “You all ready to meet the Wonderbolts?”

Matches looked at Ember, and she nodded. “We’re as ready as we’re going to be,” she replied.

“You got it! Just follow us and we’ll give you an escort to the base!” Rainbow looked across the balloon and at the other Wonderbolt, a black stallion with a grayish mohawk. “Thunderlane! Stay close to the balloon as it descends to the landing strip!”

“Yes, ma’am!” said Thunderlane with a salute.

Spike pulled a long cord and the balloon slowly started to descend. Ember looked forward and saw a rather large mountaintop ahead. At the top was a large airstrip and what seemed to be a large crowd gathered around it. Ember looked around more and was shocked to see several buildings in the clouds and what looked like a rainbow waterfall flowing over the clouds.

Matches let out a loud whistle. “Whoa. Talk about having your head in the clouds, huh?”

“I’ll say,” replied Ember. “From the looks of that crowd, it seems we’re really going to get the welcome wagon.”

The hot air balloon descended more and more to the ground, and Ember, Matches, and Twilight followed them. Rainbow and Thunderlane stayed by their side and were looking around the area carefully. The others cheered in excitement as they got closer to the ground. The balloon then hit the ground. Rainbow and Thunderlane both landed nearby and stayed close to Ember and Matches.

Slowly, the others got out of the balloon basket and took a look around. Starlight looked on in awe and mouthed to herself quietly. Twilight noticed how she was acting and couldn’t help but chuckle.

Ember looked around the airstrip and got a better look at the crowd waiting for her. There were all pegasi and all stood still with the hands at their side like as if they were statues. Some of them were wearing the blue and yellow suit similar to what Rainbow was wearing. Others had on a similar outfit, but looked more like a leotard instead of a flight suit. At the end of the runway were more pegasi, but all of them were dressed in blue officer uniforms and wearing sunglasses and officer’s hats.

The sound of footsteps caught the group’s attention, and they looked forward. Ember saw two pegasi walking up towards them. She barely recognized Soarin in the officer’s uniform and sunglasses he was wearing. Next to him was an orange yellow mare that had a mane that looked like her head was on fire, and was dressed similar to Soarin.

Rainbow walked up and saluted. “Captain, Lieutenant, Privates Dash and Thunderlane reporting back from escort duty.”

“At ease, Dash,” said the mare in a rather stern tone. She looked over and stared at Ember and Matches for a moment. She looked back at Rainbow. “Are these those special friends I’ve heard about?”

Rainbow nodded. “Yes, mam.” She moved out of the way and held a hand out towards them. “Captain, this is Dragon Lord Ember and her personal bodyguard, Matches.”

The captain walked up towards the two dragons and stared at them intensely. Ember and Matches looked at each other and felt the piercing gaze of the Wonderbolts’ captain looking at them. She moved her head up and down slowly as she paced back and forth between the dragons.

The captain then stopped in front of Ember. She raised a hand up and saluted. “Lord Ember, it’s a pleasure to welcome you to the Wonderbolts Academy. I am Captain Spitfire, leader of this division.”

Ember hesitantly returned the salute. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said. “Just call me Ember please. I get called Lord enough back home.”

Spitfire nodded. “Very well. Lieutenant Soarin has told me a little about you and your mission. Since we’re all friends here, I believe it’s only fair to show the leader of our new ally the best air force Equestria has to offer.”

“I look forward to it,” said Ember.

“Also, Dash here asked if it was possible to do a race with you,” said Spitfire. “She said that she wanted to see who was faster; a pegasus or a dragon?”

Twilight groaned and rubbed her forehead. “Rainbow, why did you do that?” she asked irritably. “This isn’t really the time or place to ask something like that.”

“Actually, princess, I was a bit curious myself,” said Spitfire. “I want to see how dragons fly and maybe pick up a few things from them.”

Twilight blushed and smiled sheepishly. “Oh...um, that’s great,” she muttered. “I hope it turns out well.”

“That’ll be later though,” said Spitfire. “In the meantime, I’d like to give Lo...um, Ember and her guard here a tour of the base.” She looked over at the two Wonderbolts near the dragons. “Dash, Thunderlane, you two are to come with me and Soarin, and serve as the guards.”

“Yes, mam!” they said, both shouting in unison.

Spitfire walked up to Rainbow and leaned her head against her ear. “By the way,” she whispered. “I don’t want to see you two having another ‘private talk’ during this tour. Got it?”

Rainbow’s face turned a deep shade of red and she nodded. “Y–yes, captain,” she muttered.

Spitfire moved away and smiled. “Good.” She turned around and looked at the large crowd of assembled Wonderbolts. “All of you are dismissed!” she bellowed. “Return to your positions and stay alert! I don’t want any kind of incident here today!”

The crowd saluted and marched off. Row after row of pegasi took off into the sky and flew off in various directions. Ember and Matches looked on in awe as the sky was blocked by the numerous pegasi flying off.

Ember looked over at Spitfire. “I have to admit. I’ve never seen such a coordinated group of ponies like this,” she said.

“We’re one of Equestria’s first lines of defense,” said Soarin. “We’re always ready for whatever dangers come this way.”

“Then why have you all always been beaten by every danger you face?” asked Pinkie in a chirpy tone.

Soarin and Spitfire flinched and looked irritated. Pinkie felt a hand be put over her mouth and was pulled aside by an embarrassed Rainbow Dash.

“Heh, heh...good joke, Pinkie,” she said nervously. “She’s always joking around like that.”

Pinkie struggled and moved Rainbow’s hand over her mouth. “But it’s true though. They always lose in every battle. Tirek, the Changelings, and even Spike when–”

A purple blur tackled Pinkie, and she was sent to the ground. She felt another hand put over her mouth and looked up to a panicked Spike.

“Pinkie, be quiet about that!” he whispered. “I don’t want Ember to know about that!”

Pinkie muttered something and nodded.

Spike got off of Pinkie and helped her up. He looked over at the others, who looked puzzled, and smiled sheepishly at them. His eyes fell upon Ember, who narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him.

“Spike, what’s going on?” she inquired.

“Nothing!” he quickly answered. “Just Pinkie being Pinkie is all. Don’t worry about it.”

Ember stared at Spike, making the drake gulp nervously.

“...Let’s move on,” said Ember after a minute.

“That would be for the best,” said Soarin in an irritated tone. “Why don’t we begin by showing you around our barracks and training area?”

“That sounds good to me,” said Ember.

“Let’s move out then!” ordered Spitfire.

The group started walking off towards the barracks, but Spike stayed in the back and away from Ember. He felt an arm wrap around him, and he looked over to see to his surprise Rarity looking at him with a worried look on her.

“Are you going to be OK, darling?” she asked.

Spike nodded. “Yeah. I just didn’t want Ember to know about…that.”

“That’s understandable, Spikey,” said Rarity. “Just know if you need somepony to talk to, I’m right here for you.”

Spike smiled softly at her. “Thanks, Rarity. I don’t want to spend the day sulking around though. Let’s catch up to the others and see what Ember thinks of the Wonderbolts.”

“That would be a good idea,” agreed Rarity.

The two of them walked off, and Spike’s eyes drifted over to see Rarity’s arm still around him. His face turned slightly red and his heart skipped a beat.

Rarity has never done something like this before, he said to himself. I wonder what’s making her do this?...What am I even saying!? She’s holding my arm closely!

Rarity looked over and noticed her arm. She gasped and quickly removed her hold on Spike. She looked away and felt heat rise up to her cheeks. I don’t know what I was thinking there, she said to herself. I don’t want to freak Spike out like this; especially with how he may feel towards Ember.

The two of them remained silent and didn’t look at each other as they caught up to the rest of the group.

Three Wonderbolts marched passed a building and came to a stop. A red pegasus wearing a backpack in front of the other two turned around and narrowed his eyes.

“Alright, you two have your assignments,” he said. “Hurricane, you help Fleetfoot with patrolling the west side of the compound. Gusty, you are to stay by the main entrance and watch for possible intruders. Understood?”

“Yes, Sergeant McCloud!” both pegasi said in unison.

McCloud nodded. “Good. Move out.”

The two pegasi saluted and turned to take off into the sky. McCloud watched his two teammates fly off and then turned around to walk off. He turned the corner to walk an alleyway between two buildings. He stopped and took off his backpack to open it up. He pulled out a list and his eyes went down the paper.

“That should do it,” he said to himself. “I got all the men to their positions. I better report to my post before the captain chews my head off.”

A loud clank rang out from behind, making McCloud jump a little and turn around.

“Who’s there!?” he demanded. “Identify yourself right now!”

He looked around and aside from a few crates nearby, there was no sign of anypony else. He put the list back and put on his backpack. He turned back around and walked off again.

“Excuse me, sir?” a stallion’s voice called out.

McCloud turned and saw a red hand waving at him from behind a stack of crates near him.

“I could use your help, McCloud,” he called out.

“Who are you?” asked McCloud. “You don’t sound like somepony I’ve met here before.”

“Um...new recruit!” the stallion called out. “I’m having some trouble with my uniform and I could use your help.”

McCloud rolled his eyes and sighed. Typical recruits. Where does Spitfire find these ponies?

He walked over and narrowed his eyes. “What’s wrong with your uniform, newbie?”

McCloud turned the corner and was suddenly grabbed by the neck. He gasped as he was slammed against the wall and was hit in the face a few times. He groaned and slumped to the ground.

Above him, Hot Streak smirked as he looked over McCloud. “What’s ‘wrong’ is that I don’t have a uniform. I think I’ll borrow yours for a while if you don’t mind.”

Hot Streak unzipped McCloud’s uniform and chuckled to himself. “Don’t worry though. I’ll put you in a place so nopony sees you like this.”

A couple of minutes later, Hot Streak emerged from the alleyway and zipped up his uniform. He placed his old clothes inside the backpack and put it on. He looked back and smirked as he gave a salute.

“Thanks for the help, idiot,” he said. Hot Streak took off into the sky and flew off towards the barracks. “Now to give Ember a trip to this pony place she won’t soon forget.”

Ember and Matches looked around the Wonderbolts base and heard and saw various activities going on. They saw an officer barking orders at some pegasi doing pushups with their wings. Another officer was nearby shouting as more pegasi were running around a track. The feel of the wind blowing against them as several Wonderbolts were flying in the sky and through some rings. Ember and Matches looked at each other with impressed looks on their faces and nodded.

“What you see before you is the heart and foundation of the future of the Wonderbolts,” said Spitfire. “We mold these cadets into the best of the best, and they become the next generation of Wonderbolts.”

Matches saw some more cadets running nearby and were looking exhausted. “I see you really push them hard.”

“That’s the purpose of this camp,” said Soarin. “We push them vigorously and make sure they give it their all and much more. If these cadets want to make it to the Wonderbolts, we make sure they can prove they are Wonderbolts material.”

“That includes testing their flying skills and speed,” said Spitfire. “We have some of the finest pegasi in Equestria training these recruits. One of our best trainers should be around here to tell you more.”

Spitfire looked around the field and frowned. “Sergeant McCloud! Where are you!?”

She waited a moment, but nopony showed up.

Spitfire leaned over and whispered to Soarin, “Where is he? He should’ve been done by now.”

Soarin shrugged. “I don’t know,” he whispered back. “Maybe he’s doing a final security check.”

“You called for me?” a gravely voice inquired.

Spitfire looked over and saw McCloud panting a little and had a forced smile on his face.

“Where have you been!?” she demanded. “I thought you would’ve been done by now assigning security?”

“Uh...had to help a cadet out with his uniform,” he answered. “Nothing that I couldn’t handle.”

“Where is this cadet now?” asked Soarin.

“He’s currently ‘tied up’ with other duties,” said McCloud.

Spitfire raised an eyebrow. “You alright, sergeant? You sound a little off.”

McCloud laughed to himself. “I just have a bit of a sore throat. Nothing I can’t handle though.” He looked over and his eyes fell upon Ember. “Enough about me though. Who do we have here?”

Soarin frowned. “Did you hit your head getting out of bed this morning, sergeant?” he inquired. “That’s Dragon Lord Ember. Show some respect to her!”

McCloud flinched a little and his eye twitched. “Of course...sir,” he muttered irritably. He walked over to Ember and saluted her. “Pleased to meet you, Lord Ember”

Ember looked at McCloud for a moment and raised an eyebrow. She returned the salute. “A pleasure you meet you, sergeant,” she said hesitantly. “Please just call me Ember though.”

“Sergeant McCloud is one of our top trainers in preparing cadets for becoming full fledged Wonderbolts,” said Spitfire. “He always makes sure that all cadets give it their all and show how fast they can be.”

“Which is why he’s so interested in the race between you and Dash,” said Soarin. “He wants to see which is faster; a dragon or pegasus? Right, McCloud?”

McCloud jumped a little and gulped. “Uh...yeah!” he said in a shaky voice. “I’m ready for it alright! I can’t wait to see what you two have!”

Spitfire took off her sunglasses and narrowed her eyes. “What’s with you, sergeant?” she demanded. “You’re acting like you have your head in the clouds or something. Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”

McCloud gulped and nodded. “I’ve just been very busy with what I’ve had to do. After all, I got to make sure security is top notch.”

Spitfire looked at McCloud, who smiled sheepishly at her, and then looked away. “Anyway, I’m sure McCloud here would love to see what you’ve got, Ember.”

McCloud looked over Ember’s shoulder and stared at Spike. “What about him?” he asked.

Spike shrunk back a little and tried to hide himself.

Ember stepped forward and got in the red pegasus’ face. “Take it easy,” she ordered. “He doesn’t feel like flying.”

McCloud rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m here to make sure these ponies are ready for….um, whatever it is they have to do.”

Soarin tilted his head in confusion. “You sure you’re feeling alright there, sergeant?”

“Um...yes!” he hesitantly answered. “I guess I’m just a little nervous since we have a Dragon Lord visiting us.”

Spitfire and Soarin looked at each other with puzzled looks on them. Spitfire looked back at McCloud and said, “Alright, well I think you better get back to your duties. I expect you to be back here at 1400 for the race. Understood?”

“Right!” McCloud turned around and began to walk off.

“Aren’t you forgetting something, sergeant?” asked Soarin with a tinge of irritation in his voice.

McCloud turned around and even behind the sunglasses, he could see the furious look Spitfire had on her.

“Oh! Erm...sorry!” He gave a quick salute.

Spitfire returned it. “We’ll talk about this behavior of yours later, sergeant,” she said in an icy tone. “Dismissed.”

McCloud nodded and ran off. Ember looked on at the pegasus until he turned the corner and disappeared behind a building. She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head.

“You’ll have to forgive me about seeing that,” said Spitfire. “I don’t know what’s wrong with McCloud. He’s usually so level headed.” She looked over at Ember. “You okay there, Ember?”

The dragoness had a bewildered look on her as she watched McCloud walked off. She turned back after he was gone and nodded slowly. “I am. I just feel like, somehow, I’ve seen this guy before.”

“Seen him before?” asked Matches. “What do you mean?”

Ember shook her head. “I don’t know. I just get this feeling I’ve met him somewhere before.”

“Well, how about we change the subject?” asked Soarin. “We’re ready to take you on a tour of the Wonderbolts Academy if you’re ready, Ember.”

Ember smiled softly. “That sounds like a good idea.”

“You all go without me.”

The group turned their heads and saw Spike hanging his head and frowning.

“What’s wrong, Spike?” asked Ember.

“Nothing,” he said in a gloomy tone. “I just need some time alone. I’ll go walk around the base.”

“Is this about what McCloud said?” asked Twilight.

“It’s nothing, okay?” insisted Spike. “I just want to go walk around. Besides, Rainbow’s house has so much Wonderbolts memorabilia it may as well be a museum itself. I can always go there for a history lesson.”

Twilight frowned. “Alright, Spike. Just don’t get in the way of the Wonderbolts please.”

“I won’t.” He moved to walk away, but he was suddenly stopped by a hand holding onto him. He looked over and saw, to his shock, Rarity looking at him.

“I’ll go with him, darlings,” she said. “I think Spikey Wikey needs somepony to talk to.”

Ember glared at Rarity and grumbled.

“All I want to do is talk to him,” she said in a forceful tone. “I think it’s better if Spike had a friend to talk to about this with.”

Ember rolled her eyes. “Fine, but just remember to talk to him as a friend.”

Rarity scoffed and took Spike’s arm. “I’ll keep that in mind, darling,” she said the last word in an icy tone. She and Spike turned around and walked off.

Matches waited until the two of them rounded the corner and then looked at Ember. “What was that about?”

Ember waved a hand. “Nothing. Let’s get started with this tour.”

“But, Ember–”

“Just drop it, Matches,” she ordered.

A feeling of tension filled the air as the group looked at each other with puzzled looks on their faces.

“Maybe we should go ahead and get started,” said Spitfire. “Follow me please, Ember. I’ll show you around our barracks first.”

Ember nodded and together with the others walked off with the Wonderbolts’ captain into the small gray building.

Spike and Rarity walked along the grass and said nothing. Spike heard the whooshing of the wind blowing and looked up to see several Wonderbolts flying in the sky. He let out a sigh and looked down at the ground. Rarity frowned as she saw the crestfallen look on Spike’s face.

“Spike, I thought you were over this,” said Rarity. “Why are you still upset?”

The drake kicked the ground. “I guess it’s still just a touchy subject to me,” he said. “I know Ember told me about the Dragon Council seeing me about my lack of wings.”

“So what’s the problem then?”

Spike stopped and looked at Rarity with a solemn look on him. “I’m worried that they may not have the answer. Ember told me it’s possible my wing growth is delayed, but what if I truly can’t ever fly?”

Rarity frowned again. “Spike, you’ve lived your entire life without wings and never once felt bad about it. What’s so different about this?”

Spike close his eyes and clenched his hands. “Because every other dragon I’ve seen has them. I suddenly feel naked without them, and I’m certainly not like the other two types of dragons Ember told me about.”

“I understand, Spikey, but there’s still that other option.”

Spike shuddered at the thought. “No thank you. I don’t want some mechanical wings stuck to me and stick out like a sore thumb.”

Suddenly, Spike was pulled back and he turned to see a stern Rarity staring at him.

“Spike, I understand your fears, but you shouldn’t worry about this,” she said in a firm, but gentle, voice. “We’ve been friends for years and I’ve never thought that you would look better with wings.”

Spike looked away in shame. “I know what you’re trying to say, Rarity, but this is different. I’m learning more about myself, but now I’m even more lost than before.”

“Why do you think you’re lost? Having no wings doesn’t change anything in my eyes about you, Spike. You’re still one of my best friends and a wonderful gentledrake.”

Spike blushed a little and smiled softly. “Thanks, Rarity. I guess I just feel empty.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Empty? Why do you say that?”

Spike rubbed the back of his head and had a solemn look on his face. “Ever since I met Ember and went to the Dragon Lands, I’ve been learning so much about dragons. What Ember has told me about them is so amazing, but yet I feel like a part of me is missing.”

“I take it this is about your lack of wings?” wondered Rarity.

Spike slowly nodded. “I just don’t feel like myself anymore. The more I learn about dragons, the more lost and out of place I feel. What Ember has told me and what Twilight said in her letters have made me feel kind of lost. It’s changed me a lot; especially Ember.”

Rarity flinched a little and forced a smile. “What do you mean by Ember changed you?”

Spike blushed a little and looked away to hide it. “I...I don’t know,” he said hesitantly. “I guess it’s because Ember has had a pretty big impact on me.”

“Oh,” Rarity said in a hollow voice. “I guess she has.”

She looked away and wiped away a tear that had formed in her eyes. Suddenly, she felt a hand laying down on top of her hand. She looked back and saw Spike smiling warmly at her. She could feel her cheeks burning up as she smiled back at him.

“You know, Rarity, Ember wasn’t the only one who had a major change in my life” he said. “Sometimes I don’t know what I would do without you. I can always talk to you about anything it seems.”

“That’s what friends are for, Spikey Poo,” said Rarity. “I know that there are so many things you want to know, but don’t let it all get to you. Remember, you have not only me, but your friends as well.”

Spike nodded. “You’re right.

“Ah, there you two are.”

Rarity and Spike looked over and saw Spitfire, Soarin, and the others approaching them.

“You alright, Spike?” wondered Starlight.

The drake nodded. “Yeah. I just needed some time alone, and to talk to a friend.” He looked at Rarity with a smile.

Ember felt her blood boiling as she looked at the way Spike was staring at Rarity. She huffed and turned away. “...Jerk,” she muttered.

“What did you say?” asked Matches.

“Nothing.”

“I hope you’re feeling better there,” said Soarin. “I don’t think you two would want to miss seeing this.”

Spike and Rarity looked at each other with curious looks. “Miss what?” they both asked in unison.

“You’ll have to see for yourself,” said Spitfire. “You two coming, or should we leave you alone?” She winked as she finished her question.

Spike rubbed the back of his head. “Well...I…”

“Of course they’ll come.”

Everypony turned around and stared at a stern looking Ember.

“I mean, Spike and Rarity shouldn’t miss out on this, right?” she inquired. “The Wonderbolts haven’t told me what they want to do yet, but I think you two should come along.”

“Ember, don’t force them to do something they don’t want to do,” warned Matches.

“It’s okay, Matches,” said Spike. “I’m feeling better now. Besides, I don’t think I should make Ember worried about me.”

“But, Spike,” objected Rarity.

Spike waved a hand as he got up. “It’s okay, Rarity,” he assured. I’m feeling a bit better now thanks to you.” He walked over to the group and looked back at Rarity. “Come on. I don’t want to miss out on anymore of this.”

Rarity sighed as she felt her heart sink and slowly nodded. “Okay, Spike,” she said in a forced happy tone. She got up and walked over to join with the others.

“Follow us please,” ordered Spitfire.

The two Wonderbolts walked off with the others following shortly. As Rarity walked close to Spike, she noticed Ember came closer to the other side of Spike. They both looked at each other and glared at one another as they walked next to Spike. With a huff from both of them, Rarity and Ember looked away and followed the group.

Spitfire and Soarin led Twilight and the others out to a wide open field. Ahead, Ember noticed McCloud standing idly and a few red tubes stacked on a small metal rack nearby. She felt an uncomfortable twist form in her stomach. She could’ve sworn he was looking at her, but the goggles over his eyes made it hard to tell.

Spitfire turned around and smiled. “Welcome to our aerial acrobatics training course,” she said.

Ember looked around the open field and tilted her head. “What course? All I see is grass.”

“We don’t train our cadets for this kind of stuff on the ground. This is a more advanced course that takes place up there.” Soarin pointed a finger up to the sky.

The group looked up and saw a large number of hoops, some black clouds shooting out lightning every couple of seconds, a few balls tied to a pole and swinging around it, and another large black cloud with rain pouring down.

Matches raised an eyebrow. “This is what you consider acrobatic training?” he wondered.

“We have to be ready for any kind of condition,” explained Spitfire. “Rain, sleet, snow, wind, and other obstacles are stuff we have to prepare for when performing shows, doing rescue missions, or other missions we need to do.”

“Seems a bit excessive, but alright,” said Matches. “You said you wanted to show Ember something, right?”

The captain nodded. “Correct. Before we do that race between Dash and Ember, I would like to see her skills alone.”

Ember looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that you show us your moves in the sky,” answered Spitfire. “There’s one thing I’d like you to try out.”

She looked over and yelled, “McCloud! Bring me one of those canisters on the double!”

The pegasus gave a half-hearted salute and picked up one of the canisters. He ran over and quickly showed it to the captain. Ember looked at the red tank and noticed it had a spout at the bottom, but also black straps on it as well.

“What’s this for?” wondered Ember.

Spitfire tapped on the canister and took it from McCloud. “This is a smoke canister. It allows us to fly around and spray out some white smoke to write or make images in the sky. It’s something we sometimes use in shows.”

“You want me to use this thing?” asked Ember.

Spitfire nodded. “Correct. I want to see how good you are by using this tank, and writing something in the sky, or drawing something.”

Ember raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure if I’ll like it, but okay,” she said. “How do I use it?”

Spitfire pointed to a red button with a wire attached to it on one of the straps. “Just press this and smoke will start shooting out. Soarin told me he’d demonstrate how it’s done.”

She turned around. “Lieutenant, are you ready?”

Soarin nodded as he strapped on the tank. “Yes, captain.”

“Go for it then.”

Soarin nodded and flew off into the sky. The group watched as the sky blue pegasus went higher into the sky. He came to a stop and his finger pressed the button on the strap. Soarin took off again and flew around in a loop as the smoke trailed behind him. He went around the sky creating what looked to be a circle at first, but curved up at the bottom and down when he reached the top. Then he did one quick look around the top and flew off. He smiled and held out a hand to show his work.

The group applauded and whistled loudly. Applejack blushed and chuckled softly. She felt a punch and looked over to see Rainbow nodding and grinning at her. Applejack looked back up and smiled as she saw an image of an apple near Soarin.

“Heh. The only thing that pony loves more than pie is that farmer,” said Spitfire. “Alright, Lieutenant, come back down!”

Soarin nodded and flew back down quickly and landed near the crowd.

“Nothing to it,” he said. He looked over at Ember. “Your turn now.”

“Alright. It doesn’t look too hard.”

Ember walked over to McCloud, who held a canister out for her. She turned around and felt it being strapped to her body.

“You can do it, Ember!” called out Spike.

Ember smiled softly and chuckled to herself.

“He seems to like you a lot.”

Ember’s face turned red as she looked over at McCloud. “That’s because he’s my friend,” she replied.

McCloud smirked. “You sure? He seems to like you, and your face is red.”

“That doesn’t mean I like him like that,” she replied with anger building in her voice.

“Maybe, but I can see that you think of him as something special.”

“I don’t.”

“Then why is your face turning red?”

“Can we get this over with!?” demanded Ember in a nasty tone.

McCloud smirked and said, “Fine with me. Just don’t let those thoughts of Spike get in the way of your performance.”

He stepped back and slapped the tank. “It’s ready, captain!” he called out.

Spitfire nodded. “Whenever you’re ready, Ember.”

The dragoness shot a glare at McCloud for a brief moment, and then took off into the air. She flew up higher and higher until she got to the relative area Soarin was flying around. She looked down and nodded at the group below. She placed a finger over the button, and turned to fly off. She pressed it and could hear some of the smoke escaping as she flew around. She looked back down and saw McCloud staring at her with a smug look on his face. She scoffed and grumbled to herself.

“What’s that guy’s deal?” she asked herself. “He doesn’t know anything about me or Spike, and yet he thinks I somehow like him? And what did he mean when he said to not let Spike get in my way?”

She curved up and down at least three times and then started making a circle. “I don’t know what McCloud’s issue is, but he’s wrong about Spike. He’s my first friend, and nothing more than that.”

Ember moved over and began making a curve out of smoke. “So what if he is kind or pretty cute? It doesn’t mean anything to me. Besides, Rarity is insistent that Spike loves her.”

She looked back down and saw Rarity leaning against Spike. She felt a surge of anger course through her and she gritted her teeth. “Stupid bitch!” Ember shook her head and growled. “I don’t know why I’m getting so worked up. It’s just Spike hanging out with one of his friends after all.”

“Um...Ember?” Matches called to her.

The dragoness just kept flying. “She may have looks, and Spike seems to like her as well, but that doesn’t change anything! Spike is my friend, and that’s all there is to it.”

“Ember!”

“I am not jealous!” she shouted.

“Ember! Stop!”

She stopped for a moment and looked back down. “What!?” she bellowed. She then noticed the shocked look on Matches.

“Um...I think you made your message loud and clear,” he muttered.

Ember raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Matches pointed up at the sky. “Just look.”

Ember flew around and looked at the smoke formation she made. She clapped both hands over her face and her cheeks were burning red. In front of her was not one, but two smoke formations. One had an image similar to Spike’s head and to the right of it was a large heart. Ember felt all her anger give way to panic and embarrassment. She slowly turned around and looked down at Spike.

The drake stared back at her with a shocked look on his face, and could faintly see some red on his cheeks. Ember then felt a cold feeling wash over her again. Her eyes wandered over and she saw the livid look on Rarity’s face. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Her mind was racing with panic as she asked herself so many questions.

Spike felt a jab to his shoulder. He looked over and saw Rainbow with a smug look on her.

“Nice one,” she said. “Didn’t think you could make the Dragon Lord herself fall for you.”

Spike said nothing and looked away. His cheeks turned red and he could feel sweat building up on his forehead as numerous thoughts raced through his mind.

Ember quickly flew around the smoke formations until they were wiped out. She flew back down and looked panicked.

“I can explain!” she objected. “I...I wasn’t trying to do something like that! It’s just...well...I....”

“Just what exactly, darling?” inquired Rarity in an icy tone.

Ember waved a hand in front of her and stepped back. “You don’t understand!” she pleaded. “McCloud said some stuff, and I got caught up in my thoughts! I wasn’t trying to do something like that!”

“Then what was that we saw?” wondered Rarity.

Ember lowered her head. “I...I don’t know,” he said. “McCloud said some things, and I just got distracted I guess. I didn’t mean to make something like that though!”

Soarin raised an eyebrow. “What did McCloud say to you?” he wondered.

Ember rubbed the back of her head and looked down to hide the heat building in her cheeks. “Um...well…”

“Captain Spitfire!” a panicked voice cried out.

Spitfire turned and her eyes widened with shock as she let out a gasp. Two other Wonderbolts were running up to her carrying a red stallion stripped completely down to his black boxers. The stallion groaned and tried to raise his head up.

“What in Tartarus is the meaning of this!?” demanded the captain. “Who is that stallion!?”

“Captain, it’s...it’s McCloud,” answered a blue stallion.

Silence fell upon the group, and everypony looked at themselves with bewildered and shocked looks.

Spitfire looked furious and shook her head. “Ridiculous! He was just right here!”

“We found him though in a crate near the mess hall,” said a white stallion. “He was banging against it loud enough for us to hear it.”

Spitfire wiped the sweat building up on her forehead. “It...it can’t be though. What the hay is going on here!?”

McCloud raised his head up and groaned. “A...attacked,” he muttered. “Somepony attacked me...”

“What!?” yelled Soarin. “Sergeant, did you see who attacked you!?”

McCloud shook his head. “I...I couldn’t tell. It was pretty dark in that alley. I did see he was a red pegasus though.”

Soarin narrowed his eyes. “If you are really McCloud, then who the hay is that!?” He pointed a finger to his right.

“Lieutenant, look!” Thunderlane shouted.

Spitfire and Soarin looked up and saw a small figure running off and then taking flight into the sky. The two Wonderbolts looked at each other with stern looks on them. They nodded to each other.

Spitfire looked at the two Wonderbolts holding McCloud. “You two, get McCloud to the infirmary at once!”

“Yes, mam!” they both shouted in unison.

Soarin glanced at Rainbow. “Dash, get after that imposter!”

Rainbow saluted and smirked. “I’m on it, sir!” She looked over at Ember and shrugged. “I guess that race will have to wait.” She opened her wings and took off towards the fake McCloud.

“Thunderlane, get Lord Ember and Princess Twilight to the bunker at once!” ordered Spitfire. “The same goes for their friends too! I don’t want them caught in the crossfire! Soarin, you come with me and help secure the compound!”

“Yes, mam!” said Thunderlane with a salute.

“I’m on it!” obeyed Soarin. Together, they both flew off and headed towards the base.

Thunderlane waved a hand and narrowed his eyes. “Come on! We got to get you all to safety!”

Twilight nodded. “Come on, everypony!”

Matches began to walk with the others to the bunker, but stopped as he noticed there was one missing. He turned around and saw Ember still standing there frozen. He ran over and grabbed her arm.

“Ember!” he called out. “We have to go!”

She remained motionless.

“Ember!”

The dragoness gasped and looked around frantically. “What’s going on?” she wondered.

A loud blaring alarm started ringing out throughout the base. A few small groups of pegasi flew around in various directions. The sound of something cackling echoed from a nearby loudspeaker.

“Attention, Wonderbolts!” shouted Spitfire. “There has been a breach in the base’s security! All security teams are to be on the lookout for a red pegasus with a yellow mane and wearing a Wonderbolts uniform! This is not a drill! Repeat, this is not a drill!”

Matches tugged at Ember’s arm. “That is what’s going on! Come on, we have to hurry!”

Ember said nothing, but nodded anyway. The two ran off and caught up with the group waiting for them. As they ran, Ember looked back up at the sky and the small clouds of smoke still around from her message. She could still see the image she unconsciously made in her mind. She looked away and tried to get a glance at Spike. Rarity was holding his arm and looking right back at Ember with such a glare, she felt like a dagger had pierced her.

“I...I didn’t mean to,” she muttered to herself.

Ember looked around the bunker they were forced into. The room was circular with no windows, and it had some office chairs around a circular table. Around the table, the others were handling the sudden lockdown in their own way. Applejack tapped her foot impatiently and had an irritable look on her. Fluttershy looked around the room nervously and was shaking a little. Twilight hugged her pegasus friend and tried to smile, but she was looking nervous.

Then, Ember’s eyes fell on Spike, who was looking down at the ground, and Rarity holding him. The dragoness looked away, but could see out of the corner of her eye the daggers shooting out of Rarity’s eyes at her. She rubbed her head and sighed.

“You nervous too?” asked Matches. “I don’t blame you if you are.”

“Huh?” Ember asked in confusion. “Oh...yeah. I’m alright though. I just want some time to myself.”

“Do you want to talk to–”

“No!” snapped Ember.

Matches backed away and held his hands up. “Sorry!”

Ember groaned and lowered her head. “It’s not you, Matches,” she assured. “I just...well...I don’t know what happened out there.”

She turned away and sulked. I just wish I could explain what I did. McCloud, or rather that fake one, just distracted me about Spike! I don’t even know what I was doing! I wasn’t trying to do something like that!

Ember looked over at Spike again, and could see the awestruck look on his face. What am I even suppose to say to him now? I can’t just tell him that what I made was a mistake. It could hurt him even more! Wait, why do I even care what he thinks of me? I don’t like him like that damn it! I just...I just...I just….

A loud thud echoed throughout the room, and everypony jumped in surprise or, in the case of Fluttershy, hide under the table. The group looked over and saw Ember leaning over and shaking violently. Her fist was against the wall and it had cracks around it. The group looked at each other with concern on their faces.

“Are you alright, Ember?” asked Applejack.

The dragoness removed her fist and stood up. “...I’m fine,” she said coldly. “I’m just...I’m just frustrated is all.” She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to see a worried Twilight.

“I know you’re concerned about what’s happening, but try not to stress out,” she said in a comforting tone. “The Wonderbolts will catch whoever impersonated Sergeant McCloud.”

Matches rubbed his chin. “Do you think this has anything to do with our visit?” he wondered.

Twilight shook her head. “It could be possible, but I’m not sure. If this impersonator was trying to do something to you or Ember, he wasn’t doing a good job then.”

“I have to agree with Twilight,” said Starlight. “If I ever got that close to Twilight back before she showed me friendship, I would’ve taken full advantage of the opportunity.”

The group looked at her with perplexed looks.

Starlight blushed and chuckled weakly. “It’s just a thought,” she muttered.

“Well...she’s not wrong,” said Twilight. “It’s not known though what the fake McCloud wanted to do. We probably won’t know anything until he’s caught.”

The pounding of the door echoed in the room and made everypony jump again. They looked over and the door opened up. Spitfire, Soarin, and Rainbow marched in looking tired.

“Did you get him, captain?” asked Ember.

Spitfire removed her goggles and shook her head. “No. He got away,” she said with a tinge of frustration in her voice. “We combed this base and turned it upside down. We didn’t find him at all.”

“We even checked the perimeter around the base and nothing at all,” said Soarin. “We have patrols looking through the mountains right now. We can only hope he hasn’t gotten far.”

Rainbow growled and kicked the floor. “He even got away from me. I don’t know who that guy is, but nopony can outfly me.”

“Did McCloud say who attacked him?” asked Ember.

Spitfire shook her head. “No, but he was able to say that the pony did look pretty similar to him. We checked the area where he was attacked, and found this.” She held up a small bag that had a jagged black patch in it.

“What is that?” asked Matches.

“This looks like something from a coat we believe,” said Spitfire.”McCloud said that he was able to put up a small fight. This is the only evidence we have at this point.”

“So what happens now?” inquired Applejack.

“Now that the base is secured, the best thing to do is to get you and your bodyguard out and as soon as possible,” said Soarin.

The group gasped, but Twilight held up a hand and nodded.

“It’s probably for the best,” she said. “The Wonderbolts need to focus on the investigation about this break in.”

“Correct, your highness,” said Spitfire. “We don’t want to hold you all up here any more than we need to. Since the imposter McCloud is long gone, you all should be okay heading back to Ponyville.”

“We’ll still give you an escort back,” said Soarin. “Dash, that’s where you come in.”

Rainbow saluted. “Understood, sir. I’ll get Thunderlane and we’ll both escort them home.”

“Very well,” said Spitfire with a nod. “You have one hour to be back here to help in the investigation. So you two better put your personal feelings aside on your way back to base.”

Rainbow blushed heavily again. “Understood, ma’am.”

Spitfire nodded and moved out of the way. “Dismissed.”

The group started filing out slowly. Ember’s eyes fell on Spike, who still seemed shaken up. She opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn’t find the words. She wanted to say something, anything, to him, but just couldn’t think of anything. Before she could think of anything else, Rarity passed by and shook her head at her.

Ember looked down and kicked the ground. This just got a lot harder.

The moon had risen by the time the hot air balloon touched down near the castle. Ember and Matches landed on the ground shortly after. Rainbow and Thunderlane landed nearby and looked around the area.

“Looks clear,” said Rainbow. She looked over at Twilight. “We’re going to go ahead and head back to base.”

Twilight nodded. “Alright, but be careful on the way back. That imposter may still be around there.”

Rainbow shrugged nonchalantly and smirked. “He’s going to learn then that I’m not so easy to take down.” She looked over at Thunderlane. “Come on. I don’t want to be forced to clean the compound for a week because we’re late.”

Thunderlane nodded, and both of them took off into the sky. The group watched until they were specks in the night sky. The sound of a door creaking open caught everypony’s attention, and they turned to see Spike walking in.

“Where are you going, Spike?” asked Starlight.

He didn’t bother turning his head. “I’m just...tired is all,” he said. “I want to go to bed.”

Ember stepped forward. “If this is about what happened earlier, I can explain.”

Spike said nothing.

“Please, Spike. It wasn’t anything like that. I was just...well...um…” She felt her train of thought derailed and words failed her.

“I just want some time alone to think is all,” said Spike.

Before Twilight could say another word, Spike walked in and the castle door closed. Ember looked down at the ground and put a hand over her chest as she felt some sudden void in there.

Spike, what am I going to do? she thought to herself.

Spike laid on the bed in silence. His mind was racing with many questions and images of both Ember and Rarity filled his mind. He put his hands over his face and rubbed his forehead. He rolled over and his eyes fell upon a photo on his desk. He picked it up and looked at it. It was a photo of him and Rarity at the Crystal Empire shortly after the Crystalling. They were both smiling and sharing some cotton candy together. He felt a warm feeling in his heart, but yet the images of Ember flooded his mind again.

He groaned and sat up. “What am I supposed to do? I always liked Rarity when I first met her. Now I’m not so sure anymore. Sure I’ve only known Ember for a while, but she’s been really kind, sweet, gorgeous, and…”

Spike slapped himself and shook his head. “What am I even saying!? I like Rarity...and yet, Ember has had an impact on me as well. She’s the one who’s really shown me so much about dragons, and while she is a bit hard, she’s still nice and wants to help me out. She’s the kindest dragon I’ve ever met, and she’s even pretty cute.”

He looked back at the image of Rarity and frowned. “But Rarity taught me so much about being generous and I’ve always enjoyed being with her. I love helping her out and she always appreciate my help. I’ve always liked her so much, and she’s so beautiful in more ways than one.”

Spike leaned over and held his head. “What do I even do now? I can’t just pretend I didn’t see what Ember did today, but yet I’m not even sure she likes me like that. She’s never really shown much love interest in me. Rarity, however, seems to care so much about me. Yet, I’m not even sure what she thinks of me. They both see me as a friend, but yet I don’t know who I like more.”

Spike suddenly froze as a terrible realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He fell back onto his pillow and he had a look of pure shock on him.

“I...I think I’m in love with two of my best friends,” he said in awe. “Yet I don’t know who I like more.”

Author's Note

I am truly sorry with how long this chapter took, people. I never wanted it to get it out so late after the previous chapter. I've been overall busy with work and I've lacked motivation as well. I really hate just doing something like that when I'm sure you all don't want to be kept waiting for new chapters.

I can assure you all that we're pretty much at the halfway point now of this story. And I will do my best to work harder and get more chapters out soon. Part of the problem as well with this chapter is that I've been trying to tone down Rarity's actions in this story. I have to admit that I haven't been really writing her well for somepony who is jealous. I'm making her not so much jealous as I am making her an insufferable byayh. I hope this new chapter will make up for some of that.

Hope you all enjoy, and thanks for being patient!

Romance Advice

Silverware scrapped against plates and the sound of food being chewed echoed in the dinning room. Twilight looked over at Spike who was looking down and trying to hide the uncomfortable expression he had. She then looked over at Ember on the opposite side. She too was looking down. Twilight looked back over across from her to see Starlight and Matches each looking concerned.

An idea clicked in Twilight’s head and she turned to Ember. “So, what’s the plan for today?”

Ember said nothing and dragged a fork around the eggs.

“Anything new you want to show us? Some more of those magic crystals? Matches told me they are able to withstand extreme temperatures. Can you tell me more about that?”

Silence again.

Twilight frowned and looked down. She gasped as she saw a newspaper on the table and grabbed it. “Um...how about we find something interesting in the paper?”

She opened it and her eyes darted around frantically. Her eyes caught an article and she frowned again. “Oh! Listen to this! A pony was taken to the hospital after he had been attacked in the Everfree and robbed. It says the stallion had no idea who it was except for some red figure.”

Neither Spike nor Ember said anything. They ate their food silently and didn’t look up. Twilight looked back at Matches and Starlight and shrugged.

“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” said Matches. He got up and said, “Look, we all know about what happened yesterday. But let’s try to forget about it, okay?”

Neither Ember nor Spike looked up or said anything.

“Why don’t we try doing something to get your minds off of yesterday?” offered Matches. “There’s still some places in Equestria that we could take a look at. I’ve read up on Manehatten and some of its interesting landmarks. We could even try to go to Canterlot and see if the Royal Sisters will see us.”

Ember sighed and looked up at Matches. “You know what? I think you’re right.”

Matches beamed and looked at an equally happy Twilight and Starlight.

Ember got up from her chair. “I think I’ll just go to my room and just write a report I guess.”

Matches frowned. “Ember, you can’t be serious. We already made our report yesterday to the council.”

Ember walked past Matches and to the doors. She opened the doors and paused for a brief moment. “I’ll just think of something then.”

“Wait!”

The doors slammed and Matches sighed in defeat.

“I think Ember has the right idea,” said Spike in a solemn voice. “I think I’ll head for my room too. I got to clean it up.”

“Hold on, Spike,” said Twilight. “You can’t just hide what happened.”

Spike looked at Twilight with a blank look on him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He walked towards the entrance and slammed the doors like Ember did.

Twilight groaned and rubbed her head. “Great. Now what do we do?”

Starlight rubbed her chin and closed her eyes.

“Ember has been like this since last night,” said Matches. “When we made our report to the Dragon Council, she didn’t seem to care at all about that fake McCloud infiltrated the Wonderbolts’ Academy.”

“Spike hasn’t said anything to me since last night,” said Twilight. “I wanted to talk to him about yesterday, but he refused to speak to me.”

Starlight got up and looked at the princess. “I think I’ll go talk to him, Twilight.”

Twilight did a double take as her eyes widened. “What?”

“You heard me,” said Starlight. “I’ll go talk to Spike. I think with something like this, I can relate to him.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“I–I’ll tell you some other time,” said Starlight as her cheeks turned slightly red.

“I appreciate your desire to help, Starlight but maybe I should–”

The doors suddenly busted open. “Yo, Twilight!” a voice called out.

The group looked over and saw Rainbow walking in and removing the goggles covering her eyes.

“Rainbow, you’re back already?” asked Twilight in a surprise tone.

“Spitfire just released me,” she answered. “She said I earned the rest after I spent the whole night leading a squad through the mountains for that fake McCloud.”

“Any sign of him?” asked Matches.

“Not at all,” replied Rainbow. “It’s a good thing I was out on patrol anyway. Soarin told me that Spitfire has been chewing out all the security officers that were on duty. Her voice sounds so weak from all that yelling that it sounded like I was speaking to Granny Smith.”

Twilight winced. “Yikes. Remind me not to get on her bad side then.”

“There is some stuff we need to talk about though,” said Rainbow. “You got time?”

Twilight nodded. “I was going to try and talk to Spike again, but I think Starlight can handle it.”

The unicorn smiled warmly.

“I think I’ll leave you and Rainbow alone, Twilight,” said Matches. “I think it’s time I had my own talk with Ember. Something has been bothering me about her for a while, and I think it’s time I talked to her about it.”

“Alright. I’ll see you all as soon as I finish talking with Rainbow,” said Twilight.

Matches nodded and went out the door.

Twilight used her magic to close the doors, and then turned back to Rainbow. “So what do you need to talk to me about?” she wondered.

“It’s about that fake McCloud,” she replied. “I think you need to know about this.”

Twilight smiled. “Go on.”

Spike lied on his bed and let out a sigh. He reached over to the small table nearby and picked up the photo of him and Rarity. He frowned and put the picture back and stared at the ceiling. He let out a yawn and wanted to sleep, but his mind was still racing from yesterday. He looked over to the side and out the window to see a few pegasi moving the clouds around. Suddenly, the image of the heart and his head appeared before him. He gasped and shook his head. He looked back out and saw the clouds were gone. Spike groaned and rubbed his forehead for a minute.

A knock from the door made Spike jump a little.

“Spike?”

The drake recognized the voice and frowned. “Starlight, not now please.”

The door opened and Starlight came in. “No, I think we need to talk now.” She closed the door and walked over and sat on his bed. “Come on. You can’t just stay silent forever.”

Spike scoffed and turned away. “Watch me.”

Starlight narrowed her eyes slightly and sighed. “I think you’re overreacting a bit.”

“Well what exactly do you expect me to do?” demanded Spike. “After that yesterday, it’s kind of hard not to be shocked.”

“Let me ask you this then,” said Starlight. “You talked a lot about Ember and how you wanted to see her again. Why are you suddenly not wanting to talk to her? Don’t you like her?”

“As a friend,” said Spike irritably.

“You sure?”

“P–positive.”

“You hesitated.”

The drake didn’t respond. He turned away again and huffed.

“This isn’t helping and you know it,” said Starlight in a stern tone.

Spike said nothing.

Starlight thought for a moment, and then something clicked in her mind. “This isn’t just about Ember, is it?” she asked. “There’s another one you like.”

Spike gritted his teeth. “No there isn’t,” he said bitterly.

“Really now?” wondered Starlight with a smirk on her. “It wouldn’t happen to be a certain fashion unicorn, right?”

“No,” denied Spike. “Can you please go away? I just want some time to think.”

Starlight shook her head. “I can’t do that,” she replied. “You can’t hide your secret from me anyway. I already have proof about your other crush.”

Spike sighed and sat up, giving Starlight an irritated look. “Alright. Show me then.”

Starlight’s horn glowed, and something moved under Spike’s pillow. Suddenly, a familiar white plushie with purple hair came from underneath the pillow and was levitated in front of Spike.

“You’re not the best at keeping your love life secret,” said Starlight.

Spike snatched the plushie from the air and hid it back under the pillow. He looked at Starlight with a frustrated look. “Alright you got me,” he said with a heavy sigh. “What do you want for exposing a secret already known to Ponyville?”

“Just to talk to you,” said Starlight. “I’m sure that between your crush on Rarity and what happened at the Wonderbolts Academy, you’re feeling lost on what to do.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “I just want to think about this myself. Is that too much to ask?”

She put a hand on Spike’s shoulder. “You can’t just turn away from us like this. Besides, there’s actually something that you and I have in common.”

No response came from the drake.

Starlight took a deep breath and said, “I know what you’re going through, and have had this same problem before.”

Spike looked at Starlight with a shocked expression. “What!?”

“It’s true,” she said with a nod. “I actually know what it’s like to have two ponies wanting to be with you. Or, in this case, a dragon and a pony, love you.”

Spike narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “You’re lying,” he accused.

“Why would I lie about something like this?” asked Starlight.

“I just can’t really imagine you falling in love with some other pony.”

Starlight narrowed her eyes and snorted.

“Um...no offense,” said Spike quickly.

Starlight sighed and said, “I get what you’re trying to say. Back when I was still a well...crazed unicorn who thought cutie marks were evil and wanted to make everypony equal, I never really gave much thought to love. That all changed when I saw him again.”

Spike rubbed his chin and a thought clicked inside his head. “Sunburst.”

Starlight’s cheeks turned red. “Yeah. Even when we were foals, I thought he was pretty cute. He may be a bit weird and awkward, but he’s still pretty cute. We’ve been making time weekly to see each other.”

“Honestly, I’m not surprised you like him,” said Spike. “I remember after the Chrystaling I was watching you from the train window saying good bye to him and you were blushing. But I got to know; who is this other pony you like?”

Starlight’s face turned a darker shade of red and she looked down. “Well...that’s a little more complicated.”

“Can’t be any more complicated than this,” said Spike.

Starlight nodded slowly. “I guess you have a point. It’s just that this pony isn’t exactly on the best terms with all of you.”

Spike crossed his arms and smirked. “Try me.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Alright. It’s somepony who Twilight has trust issues with, and has had a rivalry with her.”

Spike nodded. “Go on.”

“She isn’t exactly a pony who isn’t well liked in Ponyville because of her past actions. Despite what she did, she’s a very close friend to me and we both know what it’s like to do something terrible and wanting to be better ponies.”

Spike rubbed his chin and thought to himself. Let’s see. A pony who isn’t liked a lot around her; especially by Twilight. Then, like a book hitting him in the head, Spike’s eyes went wide and he gasped. He looked over at Starlight. “You can’t mean her?”

Starlight nodded. “Yeah.”

Spike’s mouth dropped and he had to shake his head. “Trixie,” he said in awe. “What made you like her? Didn’t you like Sunburst more?”

Starlight held up a hand. “Hold on, Spike,” she said. “Let me explain. Yes, I know it’s a real shocker and that Trixie hasn’t exactly made the best impression for you or your friends.”

Spike nodded curtly. “So what happened then?”

“If you really want to know, Trixie really thought I was something special to her,” explained Starlight. “How similar we were, and how we had a hard time finding and making other friends.”

“Well you two did try to take over Equestria with dark magic,” said Spike.

Starlight shot a dirty look at him.

“It’s true,” he quickly said.

Starlight sighed. “Yes you’re right, but getting back on topic, Trixie apparently really took a liking to me after the battle against Queen Chrysalis.”

Spike shuddered. “Don’t remind me of that,” he said in disgust. “I spent three days just getting all that goo out of my scales.”

Starlight chuckled softly and continued. “Trixie thought not only was I somepony like her, but that I was smart and beautiful. She said she saw me in a way that wasn’t possible for her.”

“How did you hear about this?” wondered Spike. “Did she just tell you all that in a way to make you like her?”

Starlight shifted around uncomfortably. “In a way, yes and no.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that Trixie was intent on doing something like that,” replied Starlight. “She heard about my trips to the Crystal Empire, but never knew why I always went up there.”

Spike frowned. “I take it things really went bad fast?”

Starlight nodded. “Sunburst and I were on a date and walking around the park. When we took a seat on the bench, we both cuddled and he moved in to kiss me. Then, that’s when I heard a small yelp.”

“Trixie spied on you two?” inquired Spike.

“She did,” confirmed Starlight. “As soon as I heard the yelp, Sunburst and I looked over and saw Trixie stumbling from a nearby bush and dropping some flowers. She gave us a brief look and then ran off sobbing. I chased after her and eventually caught up to her at the entrance to the park.”

“I take it that’s when she confessed?” asked Spike.

“It took some coaxing, but I was able to get Trixie to tell me the truth,” said Starlight. “She admitted that she was going to wait until Sunburst left and then come up and tell me how much she loved me. It really shocked me to say the least.”

Spike took it all in and slowly nodded. “Okay, so what did you do? Did you just tell her simply you didn’t feel the same way?”

Starlight’s cheeks turned a dark shade of red. “That’s where things get complicated. In a way, I did admire Trixie too.”

Spike looked dumbfounded. “Wait. What!?”

“I know that’s a shocker, but in a way I kind of grew closer to Trixie than I thought. She was right that we were both similar in so many ways. Despite some of our differences though, I really grew to like Trixie myself. She was always doing her best for her shows and to be a better pony like me. And to hear how much she looked up to me and liked me so much really made an impact on me.”

Spike said nothing for a minute as he took in what he heard. He looked at Starlight with a puzzled expression. “So if Sunburst and Trixie both liked you, then what did you do? Weren’t you worried about breaking one of your friend’s heart?”

“I had a talk between Sunburst and Trixie about this whole thing,” answered Starlight. “I liked both in their own way, so I made a proposal to see about having an open relationship.”

“A polymorous one you mean?” asked Spike.

“Right. At first Trixie was really hesitant because she feared that I really liked Sunburst more than her. Sunburst thought that it wouldn’t work out and that it would become a fight between him and Trixie for me. I assured them that I wouldn’t forget either one of them, and that I would love both of them equally.”

“And how has that worked?”

Starlight shrugged. “It’s been about a week since then. Sunburst and Trixie took some time to get to know each other a bit more. When I was leaving from my recent trip, they were really starting to get along, and told me some ideas about what to do for our first date. When this visit from Ember is over, I hope to go back again and see where things go from there.”

Spike took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He said nothing for a minute as he tried to take in all he had heard. He lowered his head and placed his hands on it.

“Are you alright?” wondered Starlight.

Spike nodded. “This is just a lot to take in,” he stated. “So what am I supposed to do then? Do I just accept both Rarity and Ember as my marefriends?”

Starlight shook her head. “I can’t answer that for you, Spike. That’s something you will have to decide for yourself.”

“So what was the point of that story then?” he wondered. “If it was to make me feel better, I hate to say it but it made me more confused.”

“The point is that sometimes love isn’t just about being with one pony, or dragon, alone,” she said. “Sometimes, you may just like more than one pony so much, you can’t just choose to have one. I believe through compromise and understanding, you can make such a relationship worked out. While there’s still some disagreements between Sunburst and Trixie, and they both fought over me, they were able to find some common ground, and both seem to understand that I love both of them equally.”

“But I’m not sure I want a relationship like that,” said Spike. “Things were so much simpler when I just loved Rarity.”

“Then go with her,” suggested Starlight. “Since you really like her, just let Ember know that you aren’t interested in her.”

Spike frowned and shook his head. “I can’t just say that. Ember is my friend, and a great dragon. After everything we did together, I don’t feel right saying something like that to her.”

Starlight crossed her arms. “It sounds like you like her a lot too.”

“No! I mean yes! I mean I...I…” He placed both hands over his head and shook violently. “I...I don’t even know what to do at this point!” he cried out.

Spike slumped against the bed and groaned. He felt a hand touch his head and looked over at Starlight smiling at him.

“I understand you’re overwhelmed, Spike,” she said. “I admit that when I first suggested a polymorous relationship to Sunburst and Trixie, I was nervous and didn’t think it would work out. But a week later, and things are starting to look good.”

“But I–”

“I know you probably don’t want a relationship like that,” interrupted Starlight. “I can’t decide for you on who you should be with. That is up to you alone. What I can say is that sulking around isn’t going to do anything. You have to choose who you feel is the one perfect for you. When you make that choice, I hope you have no regrets.”

Spike sat up and closed his eyes. In his mind, he saw Rarity winking and smiling at him. Both Rarity and Ember are my friends, he thought to himself. But they’ve both had impacts on my life. Rarity, she showed me true generosity and was one of my first friends here in Ponyville.

The image of Rarity dissolved and was replaced by Ember smiling softly at him. I may not have known Ember for too long, but she quickly became one of my best friends. She may be a bit rough, but she’s come a long way in such short time. She even wanted to come to Ponyville to talk to me about my growth problem!

He frowned as a familiar thought crossed him. But what is Ember to me? Do I like her so much that I would give up on Rarity? Or do I stay with Rarity and hope she returns my feelings for her?

“Spike?”

The drake opened his eyes and looked over at Starlight. “I’m fine,” he assured. “I just needed some time to think is all.”

“So what will you do?” she wondered.

Spike shrugged indifferently. “I honestly don’t know yet,” he replied. “What I do know is that I can’t sit around doing nothing. I don’t know when, but when it’s time to choose, I’ll make the one I’m happy with.”

Starlight smiled. “That sounds like a good idea.”

Spike smiled back. “Thanks, Starlight. Never thought I’d get romance advice from you.”

“No problem,” she said. “You know since Twilight is busy right now, why don’t we both go hit Sugarcube Corner?”

Spike’s stomach groaned, and he gave an awkward smile. “I can’t argue with that.”

He and Starlight got up from the bed, and walked over to the door. Starlight put a hand over the doorknob and looked at Spike.

“Just remember, Spike,” she said. “When you make your choice, be sure it’s one you’re happy with.”

Spike nodded. “I understand.”

They both walked out of the room, and walked down the hallway.

The question is just will I hurt one of my friends by choosing one over the other? He wondered.

Matches walked down the hallway with a stern look on him. This has gone on long enough, Ember, he thought.

He walked up to the Dragon Lord’s door and knocked on it.

“Go away!” ordered Ember. “I’m busy right now!”

Matches crossed his arms. “Not gonna happen.”

“Matches?” asked Emer in a surprised tone.

The dragon nodded. “Yes, and since you claim to be busy maybe you can make some time to let me talk to you.”

He waited for a few moments and then heard the door unlocked. It opened and Ember stood there with a forced smile on her face.

“You’re just in time,” she said. “I need some help getting this report done.”

“Ember, that’s not why I’m–”

“We need to let them know about what we learned about the Wonderbolts,” she interuppted. “We didn’t put that in last night’s report.”

“Ember!” scolded Matches.

“Just help me find a new scroll and we’ll get started on it–”

“LORD EMBER!” boomed Matches.

The dragoness froze and stared at Matches, who looked furious.

He took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes. “You know exactly why I’m here, and there’s no getting out of this.”

Ember looked down and kicked her foot aimlessly. “I–I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said in a low voice.

“Ember, this isn’t getting us anywhere.”

“Can we please just drop what happened?” she asked in an irritated voice.

“Not until we talk about this. You can’t run away from this any further.”

Ember’s eyes darted around and she tried to say something, but words failed her. She let out a frustrated groan and collapsed into a red chair. She slowly looked up at Matches and sighed.

“So what are you going to do?” she asked. “Tease me some more about this?”

Matches shook his head. “Of course not. Ember, I was one of your first friends, and you trusted me to be your personal guard. Do you really think I’m going to tease you about Spike now? Especially after yesterday?”

Ember frowned and said nothing.

Matches sat down in the chair next Ember and put his hand on hers. “I know things have gotten a little crazy, but maybe it is time you talk to me about Spike. It’s obvious that stunt yesterday has really shaken you.”

Ember nodded. “I never meant for it to go that way yesterday,” she said. “That fake McCloud just talked to me about Spike, and thought I liked him. I told him that it wasn’t true though.”

“Then why those clouds yesterday?” asked Matches. “Princess Twilight and the others aren’t convinced of you seeing Spike as a friend only.”

“I don’t know!” she shouted in a frustrated voice. “I just was so distraced about what that fake McCloud said that I...I...I…”

“Wrote how you really felt subconsciously,” finished Matches.

Ember looked at him with an incrediolous look.

“It’s not that hard to figure out,” he said. “It’s obvious from what happened yesterday that you are hiding something about Spike.”

Ember’s eyes narrowed. “He’s just my friend,” she said.

“Is he?”

The dragoness’ expression softened and she looked away. “That’s what I keep telling myself,” she replied in a low voice. “Now I’m not even sure anymore. I don’t even know what to think anymore.”

“So what will you do now?” inquired Matches. “You can’t just hide from this. Eventually, you’ll have to talk to Spike about this.”

Ember shrugged and rubbed her head. “I don’t know anymore. I mean, where do I go from here? Romace is something I’ve never had to deal with.”

Matches nodded. “I understand, but I guess even dragons aren’t beyond the power of love.”

She looked at Matches with a worried look on her. “Can I tell you something?”

“Of course you can.”

“...I’m scared,” she muttered.

Matches raised an eyebrow. “Scared? Why would you be scared?”

“I just don’t know what to do anymore. Spike is important to me, but yet I don’t know what to even think about him anymore. I may have been Dragon Lord for only a month, but this already feels like the hardest decision I’ve had to deal with.”

“Well, hopefully this is as hard as it gets for you,” joked Matches.

Ember just frowned.

“Sorry,” he said.

“Don’t be,” said Ember. “I know you’re trying to cheer me up.”

Matches scratched the back of his head. “You know I never was good at this romance stuff. It’s not something that really interests me.”

Ember rolled her eyes. “Gee, that’s certainly going to help me.”

“But I do think I can tell you something,” said Matches.

“That is?”

“Spike is your first best friend,” he stated. “I know you really care about him. But maybe it’s time you started acting on whatever new feelings you have for him.”

Ember’s cheeks turned red and she looked shocked. “What did you say!?” she demanded.

Matches held up a hand. “Hold on. Don’t freak out on me. I was trying to say that maybe you should try being a little more open to him. He’s been freaking out himself over this, and maybe you should try to assure him about how you feel towards him. If you honestly have no feelings for Spike, and you let him know gently, I’m sure things will be okay.”

Ember moved around uncomfortably and nodded. “Got it. You mind leaving? I really need to think about this.”

Matches nodded. “Of course. Just please don’t shut me or any of us out okay?”

“I won’t,” she vowed.

Matches smiled and with a wave, walked out of the bedroom. Once she heard the door close, Ember sinked into her chair and let out a groan.

“Spike as a friend only?” she asked herself. “That’s what I want...right?”

She rubbed her head and closed her eyes. In her mind, she could see the familiar smile Spike would usually give her and all his friends. The glint in his green eyes. The way his spines were–

Ember slapped herself and shook her head. “No. Stop thinking like that already!” she told herself. “Remember what Matches told you. Just let Spike know that you’re not interested in him.”

Ember felt an empty feeling build in her. She clutched her chest and shivered as a chill ran down her spine.

“If it’s so easy, why is it so hard then?” she asked herself. “I’m sure he likes Rarity more than me.”

Ember’s blood boiled at the mention of the name. Rarity, she thought. The same bitch who’s been doing nothing but pushing me around. The same unicorn who likes to use Spike for labor. The same damn bitch who is trying to take Spike from me.

The memories of everything she had done to Ember raced through her mind. From her putting salt on her pancakes, to the accusations from Rarity when it was all a misunderstanding. Ember gripped her armrests tightly and smoke started coming out of her nose. An image then formed in her head of Spike carrying some gems and looking tired while Rarity was walking and not hearing Spike’s grunts.

She opened her eyes and her eyes had a fierce look on her. “No. Not again,” she said in an icy tone. “Spike is my friend, and regardless of how I feel about him, I won’t let that bitch Rarity take him away. If I have to, I’ll make sure she never uses him again for her own selfish needs.”

The door knocked again, and Ember turned around. “Is that you again, Matches?”

“It’s me,” came Twilight’s voice. “Can you come meet up in the Friendship Council chamber? There’s some news I need to tell you and the others.”

“Alright,” replied Ember. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”

“I’m going to go find Spike and Starlight while you get ready,” said Twilight.

The dragoness heard Twilight walk away, and she glared. “The others huh? That means Rarity will be there. I won’t let her use him anymore!” She marched out of the room with a determined look on her and snorted.

Ember entered the council chamber, and saw Twilight, Matches, and the others sitting around. Ember glanced over at Spike, who looked at her with a small smile. She waved at him, and then saw a white hand grab Spike’s shoulder. Ember looked up to see Rarity staring at her and frowning. Ember clenched her fist and glared at her.

Twilight stood up and smiled at everypony. “I’m glad you’re all here. Rainbow and I finished talking about what happened at the Academy. We have some good news about it.”

“The fake McCloud was caught?” wondered Matches.

“You know where this pony is?” asked Fluttershy.

“We’re going to have a party?” inquired Pinkie.

Everypony stared at her with confused expressions.

“What?” wondered Pinkie.

Twiligth groaned and rubbed betweeen her eyes. “No, Pinkie, that’s not what we’re doing. We found out something about this fake McCloud. The real one gave a few more details about him.”

“Like what?” asked Matches.

“We believe this pony may actually not be a pony at all,” said Twilight.

Everypony stared and looked at each other with shocked looks.

“Come again?” asked Applejack.

“Soarin found something interesting near where McCloud was attacked,” said Rainbow. She pulled out two photos and held them out. “Take a look!”

Everypony gathered around and looked at the photos. There were two sets of what looked to be footprints. The photo on the left had some large shoeprints near a dirt path. The other photo had shoeprints, but they were significantly smaller and leading away from a box.

“There are two different footprints?” asked Fluttershy.

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, and it got us thinking that maybe whoever it was wasn’t actually a pony, but something else.”

“A Changeling who hasn’t been reformed?” wondered Spike.

Twilight shook her head. “Not likely, Spike. Changelings always keep their prisoners in those coccoons. They wouldn’t leave them in boxes and easy to find.”

“True.”

“So where does that leave us?” inquired Applejack. “If it isn’t a Changeling, then who or what in tarnation is it?”

“We’re trying to figure that out now,” said Twilight. “They’re trying to figure out who the pony is, and what kind of magic was used to transform them.”

“So what’s this other news then?” asked Fluttershy.

“I’ve been thinking about this,” said Twilight. “I know that things have been stressful lately and that this visit has kind of gotten hetic for everypony here.”

“You can say that again,” muttered Applejack.

“So that’s why I was thinking that perhaps we could go down to Haytona Beach tomorrow!”

The group gasped.

“Haytona Beach!?” shouted Rainbow in a joyful voice.

“Wowie!” shouted an excited Pinkie. “I’ve always wanted to try and throw a party there!”

Ember and Matches looked at each other with puzzled expressions on them.

Twilight noticed the two dragons and raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong? Don’t you know what beach is?”

Ember shook her head. “We do. It’s just that it’s a bit sudden. Are you sure about this?”

Twilight nodded. “I think we can all use a break after everything that’s been going on. If you’re not feeling up to it, we can always do something else.”

“I don’t know.” Ember rubbed her chin.

Matches leaned in to her ear. “It’s probably not a bad idea,” he whispered. “It has been very stressful the last couple of days. Besides, we’ve been doing nothing but either teaching about our kingdom, or going on tours of military bases. I think we deserve a little fun in this trip.”

Ember rolled her eyes. “Well…”

Everypony leaned in with hopeful looks on them. Ember looked at the group and couldn’t help but smile.

“I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

The group cheered and jumped for joy.

“But there is a problem,” interrupted Ember. “Matches and I don’t have swimsuits.”

Rarity stepped forward and smiled. “Don’t have swimsuits? I’ll be glad to make something perfect for both you and Matches, Ember.”

The dragoness froze in terror. A swimsuit by her!? After everything else she did and yesterday!?

She looked down and gasped as she suddenly saw herself wearing a one piece swimsuit that was maroon and purple dotted, and it was very frilly. She heard laughter and looked up to see everypony pointing and laughing at her. Her eyes fell upon Spike, who was laughing like a maniac and embracing Rarity who was smirking and laughing coldly.

“No!” she cried out.

“Ember, what’s wrong?” asked Spike.

She opened her eyes and everypony was staring at her with concerned looks on them. She looked down and saw she was wearing her clothes and let out a sigh of relef.

“What happened?” wondered Matches. “No what?”

Ember took a step back and held up a hand. “I...I mean no. No I can’t just accept that offer. I think I’ll just go buy my own outfit.”

“Darling, I just want to–”

“No thank you!” shouted Ember.

She turned around and ran out of the room before anypony could say something. They all looked at one another with confusion on them.

“I was just going to make her a swimsuit,” said Rarity. “Where’s the harm in that?”

Matches furrowed his brow. Ember, what’s going on in that mind of yours?

Outside the castle window, Garble smirked and flew off from the castle and towards the Everfree Forest.

Garble landed on the edge of the Everfree Forest and laughed to himself loudly. “This was all too damn easy!” he said in between laughs. “I didn’t think it work out this well. I got Ember and Rarity right where I want them.”

He let out a sigh of relief and walked a little further into the forest. “This has all been a blast. It’s getting a little boring though. There’s only so much fun I can take from all of this.”

He rubbed his chin and closed his eyes in concentration. “So they are heading for a beach tomorrow, huh? What can I do to finally bring this all to an end?”

He stayed silent for a couple of minutes as he thought to himself. Suddenly, something crossed his mind and he gasped. A sinister smile formed slowly on his face as he thought to himself. He opened his eyes and took off his backpack. He opened it up and dug through the uniform he stole and the red crystal buried within.

“As much as it has been to toy with these stupid ponies and that weak excuse of a Dragon Lord, I think playtime is over.”

He pulled out some apples and a couple of gemstones. He felt something hard at the bottom, and his smile widened. He pulled out the camera and held it up his face.

“I think the time has come to finally bring this alliance down,” he said to himself sinisterly. “If I play my cards right, then I’ll be sure to make Spike watch that his efforts were for nothing. He and Ember will pay for what they’ve done!”

Garble laughed loudly again. Loud enough for several small cretures to run off and a chilling breeze ran through the forest. The maddening laugh echoed in the forest for what seemed to be hours as it got darker.

Author's Note

First of all, Merry Christmas to all of you out there. I know I promised I'd try to get chapters out faster, but things have been a little hectic as of late. With my boss on maternity leave, some extra shifts, and overall being a lazy bum, it hasn't been easy.

I wanted to try out an experiment by having Starlight serve a purpose of being the one having some romance experience. Initially, I was going to have it just be about Sunburst only, but since this is technically looking at a harem type relationship, I decided to add Trixie to the mix so that Starlight and Spike could relate to some level. That, and I do like the idea of Sunlixie

Admittedly, this chapter isn't fully edited completely since my proofreader is currently busy with finals, but he did look at it and thought it was good. If there are flaws, they'll be fixed as it goes along.

With that all said and done, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas to all of you out there. Thanks for being so patient again.

Meltdown

Author's Note: Due to some mature stuff in this chapter, I have decided to up the rating of this story from Teen to Mature. Hopefully, this doesn't bother any of you. Enjoy this long awaited chapter in the meantime!

P.S., I decided to also choose a different cover for this story. I felt the one by dm29 wasn't that good compared to some of the others out there.

A whistle echoed across a large field as a train chugged along. Passengers were walking around chatting with each other or eating. Crew members were going around with trolleys to serve stuff to customers or run the train. In one of the passenger compartments, Ember ignored what was going on outside her room and was staring outside the window. She watched trees and a few hills go by. Slowly, the scenery changed to a few buildings and grew steadily.

A loud crackling noise emitted for an intercom near the door. “Good afternoon, everypony,” said a stallion in a weary voice. “We are five minutes out from Haytona Beach Station. We ask you all to start returning to your compartments and gather your items before leaving.” The crackle died out and silence filled the room again.

Ember let out a sigh and turned her head back to the window. She heard the door slide and looked back to see Matches grinning and holding a cone with strawberry ice cream in it.

“You look like you had fun,” she said with a small smile on her.

“We should’ve tried to be friends with ponies years ago,” said Matches. “You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff that this train offers. Ice cream, games, and the food is fantastic. I can see why ponies enjoy riding trains now.”

Ember shrugged. “Yeah.”

Matches’ grin faltered and he moved towards his friend. “Ember, I’m really worried about you,” he said in a concerned voice. “Ever since Twilight announced this trip, you’ve been acting strange. Stranger than how you acted after what happened at the academy.”

“I’m fine,” she said in a firm voice. “Just got a lot on my mind.”

“Ember, what did I say yesterday?” asked Matches in a more stern tone.

The dragoness sighed and rolled her eyes. “I know; not to shut you all out with my problems. I’m okay though, Matches. There’s just some stuff I’m thinking about.”

“Well I don’t want you to–whoa!”

Matches stumbled into the couch near him as the train slowed down and the screeching of the brakes could be heard. Ember looked out and saw various ponies walking around with luggage.

The intercom crackled to life again. “Fillies and gentlecolts, we have arrived at Haytona Beach Station. Please gather your belongings and start filling out the train. Thank you again for riding the Friendship Express.” The intercom crackled again and fell silent.

Matches got up and rubbed his arm. “I guess I’ll go out and get the luggage.”

“You do that,” said Ember.

Matches opened the door and looked back at Ember. “Remember what I said.”

Ember waved a hand. “Yeah, yeah. I’m telling you that I’m okay.”

Matches stared at her for a moment, and then turned around to walk out. As soon as he stepped out, he grunted as he felt somepony bump into him.

“Sorry about that,” he said.

“That’s okay,” the pony said in a low voice.

Matches looked at the pony to see a red pegasus with a wild yellow mane. He pushed Matches out of the way and walked on. Matches stared at the pony with a curious look on him as he walked down the corridor and disappeared in the crowd of ponies coming out of their rooms.

“Matches?”

He turned around to see Ember looking at him as she walked out.

“Is there something wrong?”

Matches looked back and the pony had disappeared. He slowly shook his head. “Nothing,” he replied. “I just thought I saw somepony who looked familiar.”

He stared for another moment, and then turned to walk down the corridor along with Ember and the crowd of ponies around them.

Ember and Matches looked around in awe as they walked down the boardwalk. They looked over to the right to see the sun glistened sand, a seemingly endless sea of clear blue water that ponies were swimming around in, or surfing on a few waves, and ponies walking around the beach or being buried in the sand. On the other side, they saw various buildings and vendors selling food, beach equipment, and little novelty items.

Twilight turned and faced the two dragons. “Welcome to Haytona Beach,” she said. “What do you think?”

Matches let out a loud whistle. “It’s like nothing we’ve seen before.”

Ember nodded in agreement. “We have beaches back in the Dragon Lands, but this place just looks so clean and beautiful. It’s like paradise here.”

Applejack smiled. “We’re just glad y’all like what you see. Now come on. We’re near the beach entrance.”

The group walked further along up the boardwalk. As they walked, Ember’s eyes fell upon Rarity's back head. She couldn’t help but smirk as she glanced at her brown bag.

Once Spike sees what I’ve got, there’s no way that bitch is going to keep him under her trance, she thought to herself.

The group reached an opening in the railings, and turned to walk down some stairs and onto the beach sand. Ember and Matches both shivered as they both stepped onto the beach and felt the hot, crisp sand along their feet.

Twilight turned around and said, “Okay, girls, the changing rooms are over there.” She pointed to a rather large wooden building with mares going in and out of it. “Spike, you and Matches can go change over there.” She pointed to a similar building to her right that had stallions and colts around it.

“Okay, Twilight,” said Spike.

“We’ll meet out here in ten minutes, okay?” offered Twilight.

The group nodded in agreement. Spike and Matches went off to the stallion’s changing area, while the others walked off to their mare’s changing area. While the others were chatting happily with each other about what to do, Rarity’s eyes darted constantly towards Ember. She patted her purple bag proudly and smirked.

I have no doubt Ember wanted to get her own swimsuit to seduce Spike with it, she thought. I won’t be beaten that easily. Just wait until she sees what I’ve got.

The mares soon reached the hut and entered it. They walked down the hall, passing several mares who were walking into tiny booths on the right or coming out of the showers on the left. Eventually, the girls found booths of their own and walked into them.

Ember shut the door to her booth and placed her bag on the tiny bench near her. She opened the bag and smiled as she pulled out her swimsuit. In the booth next to her’s, Rarity had a similar proud look on her as she pulled out her swimsuit.

Wait until Spike sees this, they both thought in unison. They both began undressing and putting their swimsuits on.

Twilight and the others waited outside the changing hut and all of them were looking at their own bikinis. Twilight’s was a dark purple tankini with her cutie mark on her left top. Applejack’s was light green bandeau with her cutie mark on her right top. Pinkie’s was a one piece swimsuit that was hot pink and had little lines that looked like sprinkles, with a frill that was magenta around her waist. Fluttershy blushed a little as she felt others stare at her pink and white dotted skirtini. Rainbow smirked and looked proud in her hot red bandeaukini. Starlight was wearing a teal one piece swimsuit that had a purple wavy line similar to her cutie mark going down the middle.

“Rarity really did a good job on these,” said Applejack.

“Maybe a little too good,” muttered Fluttershy as she saw a stallion and even a mare stare at her seductively.

Twilight looked around the beach. “Speaking of Rarity, where are her and Ember?”

“And what about Spike and Matches?” wondered Rainbow.

“Here we are!”

The others turned to see the two dragons run on up and each carrying their own bag. Matches was wearing a black swimsuit with little red flames along the legs. Spike had a dark purple swimsuit with a green flame on both his left and front legs.

Rainbow let out a whistle. “Looking good, Spike. Maybe even good enough for Ember.”

Spike blushed and looked down.

Applejack slapped Rainbow in the back of the head. “Cut that out!” she barked.

Twilight frowned. “Rainbow, we’re here to relax and I don’t think Spike wants to talk about that.”

Rainbow rubbed the back of her head and scowled. “Sheesh. Isn’t joking around part of relaxing too?”

“Not like that, partner,” said Applejack firmly.

The doors to the changing hut opened. “Hello, darlings!”

The group turned around and were a bit startled to see what Rarity was wearing. She was wearing a rather skimpy purple string bikini that seemed to really clench against her body. Spike stared as she walked and her hips swaying.

Rarity noticed the shocked look on the drake’s face and giggled. “What do you think? Do you all like it?”

Applejack rubbed the back of her head and looked a little unsure. “It’s certainly nothing I’d expect from you.”

“What do you think, Spikey?” Rarity inquired. “You have a sense for fashion too with how much you help me out.”

Spike could feel the heat building up in his cheeks and could feel something growing in his trunks. He gasped and looked down. “I...I...ur….” His train of thought was derailed as he tried to desperately lower his tent.

“I take it you do like it,” said Rarity. “There’s no need to be shy about it. It’s certainly one of my best swimsuits if I may say.”

“So where’s Ember?” asked Twilight. “Did you see her?”

Rarity shook her head. “Probably still changing. She may not have found a good swimsuit to buy and must be embarrassed.”

The hut door opened up again. “Um...I’m ready now,” said Ember in a rather quiet voice.

Rarity turned around. “Well it’s about time, darling. Let’s see what you haAAAAA!” She stumbled back and into Applejack and Fluttershy.

The group gasped as Ember walked out. The dragoness was blushing profusely as she was wearing a skimpy string bikini similar to Rarity’s. The only major difference was that it was yellow instead. Matches’ jaw dropped and Spike was shaking violently as he stared at both her and Rarity.

Ember could feel the stares piercing her and she looked away trying to look tough. “S–stop staring,” she huffed as her cheeks turned red. “I was told by the pony who sold me this that t–this is what mares usually wear on the beach.”

Matches broke out of his trance and shook his head. “Ember, what’s going on?”

“I’m just wearing what ponies usually wear at the beach,” replied Ember. “I asked the salespony when I showed it to her, and she insisted that it was perfect.”

Matches raised an eyebrow. “By wearing something like that?”

Ember crossed her arms and huffed. “I don’t see what the problem is, Matches. I saw some mares wearing some swimsuits like this and you didn’t say anything.”

While Ember and Matches argued, Spike looked directly at Ember and could see how tight the bikini was on her. Her bosom was barely being held back by the yellow top on her. He could’ve sworn her nipples were pushing against it as well. He then looked over at a shocked Rarity and noticed how tight her top was over her breasts and how it was almost about to pop. The images of both her and Ember made Spike pant and his eye twitch wildly.

“I’m just saying that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” argued Matches. “You should be glad your dad isn’t here to see this. He’d be furious to see the Dragon Lord dressed like this.”

Ember scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I don’t see what the problem is. Spike probably doesn’t have a problem with it. Right, Spike?”

Spike let out a moan.

Ember looked over. “Spike?” She gasped as she saw Spike had fainted and was twitching a little.

Applejack and Twilight ran over to help Spike up.

“Are you okay, sugarcube?” asked the farmer pony. “You look like Rainbow after she overdosed on cider.”

“Applejack!” shouted Rainbow as her face turned red with embarrassment.

Twilight helped Spike stand and looked at him. “What happened?” she asked in a concerned voice.

Spike’s head tilted around and his breathing became more steady. He looked over at Twilight with a bewildered look. “What did you just say?” he asked.

“I asked what happened. You just suddenly passed out.”

Spike panicked as he could feel Ember and Rarity both staring at him with puzzled looks. His eyes darted around until he looked up and was temporarily blinded by the sun. An idea suddenly popped in his head.

“Um...must be the heat,” he said nervously. “I’m just not used to it.”

“We’re dragons though,” said Matches. “Heat normally doesn’t bother us.”

Spike gulped and he frantically tried to think of something. “It must be me then I guess,” he said. “He looked at Twilight. “I’m okay. Really I am.”

Twilight looked at Spike with an unsure look for a minute. The drake smiled sheepishly backed at her.

She sighed and let him go. “Alright, but try to take it easy, Spike,” she warned. “Drink some water too.”

Applejack leaned over and picked up Spike’s bag. “Come on, everypony. Let’s go find a place to set up.”

Ember looked over and saw the livid expression on Rarity. She glared and looked over at the others. “I’ll be right with you all. I just need to take care of something.”

“Same here,” said Rarity in an icy tone.

Twilight had a doubtful look on her as she heard Rarity’s tone, but nodded anyway. “Okay, but try not to be too long.”

They all turned to walk away. As soon as the group were a good distance away, they both looked at each other with flames in their eyes and cold glares.

Rarity looked at Ember and opened her mouth, but before she could Ember barked out, “What in Tartarus do you think you’re doing!?”

“I could ask you the same thing!” shouted Rarity. “Wearing something like that to try and seduce Spike?”

“Excuse me!? You’re wearing something like I am! Where do you get off calling me out on this!?”

“I would have made you a nice swimsuit if you let me!” argued Rarity.

Ember scoffed. “Yeah right! You would’ve made me some embarrassing swimsuit that would’ve made me a laughingstock! I know what you were going to do!”

Rarity gasped. “How dare you!? Thinking I would purposely put ponies in horrible clothes! I have standards you know!”

“I wouldn’t put it passed you to do something like that!”

Rarity got in Ember’s face and huffed. “You’ve crossed a line you shouldn’t have,” she threatened. “Perhaps it’s time I teach you a few manners.”

Ember pushed back. “Yeah!? I think it’s time I finally knock you from that pedestal of yours!”

They both stared at each other intensely. Rarity’s hand balled into a fist and she gritted her teeth. Ember had smoke billowing from her nostrils and she was shaking a little.

“Ember! Rarity!”

The dragoness and unicorn broke off and looked over to see Spike running up to them.

“What’s taking you two so long?” he wondered. “We’ve found a good spot.”

Rarity and Ember said nothing and glanced at each other for a moment.

“Am I interrupting something?” he wondered.

Rarity sighed and shook her head. “No, Spikey Wikey,” she tensely said. “We were just...talking is all.”

“Yeah,” said Ember through gritted teeth. “Just a nice talk.”

Spike waved a hand. “Well come on. I don’t want you all to spend the day talking to each other instead of resting and relaxing.”

Ember crossed her arms. “Fair enough.”

Spike turned to walk down the beach, with Ember and Rarity following behind him. They both shot glares at one another every couple of seconds.

“I’m watching you,” whispered Rarity.

Ember looked at Rarity’s back and smirked as an idea clicked in her head. “Yeah, but you better watch something else.”

“What’s that?”

“This.”

Rarity felt a tug and her top came undone. She gasped and screamed a little as she covered herself.

Spike turned around. “What ha–urk!” He froze as he saw Rarity’s arm covering her exposed breasts and felt his cheeks turn red again.

Rarity scrambled to bend over to pick up her top. She could hear some stallions whistling at her, which only made her feel more embarrassed. She grabbed the bikini top and quickly ran behind a nearby palm tree.

Ember chuckled and said, “Better make sure that top is secured, darling.”

Rarity growled and her free hand clenched the tree hard.

Ember took Spike’s arm and started leading him away. “Come on, Spike, let’s let her have time to properly dress herself.”

“But what about Rarity?” he asked.

Ember scoffed. “She’ll be alright. Why don’t you show me what ponies normally do on beaches?”

While Ember and Spike walked off, Rarity quickly put her top back on. She heard some laughter and saw a stallion gawking at her. She quickly slugged him in the snout and the stallion groaned and fell to the ground unconscious. Rarity looked in the direction of Ember and shook her fist.

“I promise you, Ember,” she vowed. “You’ve made your last mistake.”

While Rarity walked back onto the beach and followed the two dragons, a red pegasus peaked from the stallions’ changing room and smiled smugly to himself.

“Ha! They’re about to tear each other apart!” he laughed. “All I need to do is make one last push and just watch the fireworks.”

He followed behind closely and had a smirk on his face the entire time.

Spike and Ember walked along the beach, and said nothing. They both glanced at one another, but not for long. They took in the sound of water crashing along the shore, some ponies cheering as they surfed along the waves, and the distant sound of ponies laughing and talking.

Spike pointed and said, “There’s our spot.”

In the middle of the sand were three large red umbrellas planted in the sand. Underneath them were several towels lying along the sand, a few small coolers, sunscreen, and some sandals. Lying on one of the towels was Starlight, who was rubbing some of the sunscreen on herself. Next to her was Matches sitting on his towel and taking a sip from a bottle.

Starlight looked up and smiled at Spike and the others. “There you are,” she said. “The others have gone ahead to set up a game of volleyball.”

“That’s fine,” said Spike.

Matches raised an eyebrow as he looked at the two dragons. “Where’s Rarity at? I thought she was with you, Ember.”

Ember did her best to suppress the smirk on her face. “She just had a little ‘accident’ with her swimsuit. She’ll be right over.”

Matches frowned. “Yikes. I hope nopony saw her.”

Ember scoffed. “She’ll be fine.” She looked over at Starlight. “So what do we do?”

“I was going to join Twilight and Rainbow to play volleyball against Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie. You want to come?”

Ember shook her head. “I’m good.”

“No thanks,” said Spike.

“Maybe later,” said Matches.

Starlight shrugged and got up. “Alright, see you all later.” She walked off and headed towards a clearing where Twilight and the others were waiting for.

Ember waited until Starlight was near the volleyball court before looking over to Spike. “So what do we do now?”

Spike shrugged. “Well, we could do swimming if you want.”

“No thanks,” said Ember. “I’m not much of a swimmer. That and deep water kind of makes me a little nervous since...well...you know.”

Spike thought for a moment and then a memory rushed through his head of him swimming down through some murky water. “Oh! Um...sorry to make you remember that,” he said in a quiet voice.

Ember chuckled weakly and rubbed the back of her head. “Don’t worry about it,” she assured. “I’m grateful you were there to save my life.”

He’s a runt, but yet risked it all just to save me. He’s either brave or foolish.

“Something wrong, Ember?” wondered Spike.

The dragoness broke out of her thoughts and shook her head. “No. Just don’t think that saving me like that means anything is all.”

Spike frowned slightly. “Um...right.”

“Ahem!”

The three dragons turned around to see an irate Rarity crossing her arms and had a glare on her face.

Ember couldn’t help but smirk. “No other wardrobe problems, Rarity?”

“No, darling,” answered Rarity through gritted teeth. “I made sure of that.”

“Heh. We’ll see about that.”

Rarity clenched her fist and used every bit of her willpower to not jump at the dragoness. Her eyes wandered down and she saw a bottle of suntan lotion lying near one of the blankets. An idea suddenly popped in her head and felt all her anger turn to happiness.

She used her magic to levitate the bottle. “Oh, Spikey Wikey,” she said in a singing voice.

“Yes?” he replied.

Rarity hovered the bottle over to the drake. “Could you be a dear and rub some lotion on my back please?”

Spike’s eyes widened. “What?” he asked quietly.

Rarity laid down on her purple blanket, and used her magic to undo the knot around her bikini top. She looked over at Spike and winked at him seductively.

“Care to help me out?” she asked innocently.

Spike gulped and was shaking nervously. “Um…”

“Wonderful!” said Rarity joyfully. She levitated the bottle over to the drake. “Go ahead and rub some on me.”

“What are you doing?” demanded Ember in a threatening tone.

Rarity rolled her eyes and said, “Spikey Poo is going to apply some suntan lotion on me. I’m not sure about dragons, but ponies do need it to protect themselves from getting sunburn.”

Ember looked at Spike who was shaking a little, and narrowed her eyes. So this is your plan huh? Two can play at this game then!

Ember laid down on her green towel and quickly undo her bikini top. She looked at Spike and said, “Do me first. I think I could use some.”

Matches raised an eyebrow. “Ember, we’re dragons remember? Heat doesn’t–”

“Just ignore him, Spike,” interrupted Ember and waving a hand. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Back home, we barely see the sun from all the volcanic ash, so maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have you rub some of that stuff on me.”

Matches crossed his arms and huffed.

Spike’s grip on the bottle tightened causing it to spurt some white lotion out. He looked at Ember’s back and then at Rarity’s. He noticed that both ladies were looking at him with smiles on their faces. His mind raced with both thoughts of rubbing his hands around both their bodies, but also of worry as he frantically looked at both his friends.

“Come on now, Spikey Wikey,” said Rarity.

“Help me out first,” suggested Ember. “Isn’t that what friends are for?”

Um...maybe I should do Rarity first, thought Spike. No! Ember doesn’t see the sun a whole lot at home and could burn easily!

But don’t you want to feel Rarity’s body in your claws? You’ve dreamt about something like this.

That was different! I didn’t have two ladies on me then!

So? The more the merrier.

I don’t even know if I want to do something like that! They’re my friends only!

Are you sure about that?

....

Spike felt a claw firmly grasp his shoulder, and he was broken out of his inner thoughts. He looked over to see Matches staring at him and looking a bit worried

“Are you okay?” he wondered. “You’ve been just sitting like that for a minute.”

“Erm...yeah,” said Spike, nervously. “I’m just thinking to myself is all.”

Matches snatched the bottle of suntan lotion from Spike’s hand and squirted some into his palm. “Since you can’t make a decision, I will then. Spike, you get Rarity and I’ll rub some of this stuff on Ember.”

Ember looked over at Matches with a glare. “What!? No! I want Spike to–”

“It’s obvious he can’t make up his mind,” stated Matches. “Besides, if you really want to do this, Ember, I’ll gladly help you.”

“But I–”

Ember felt Matches put both hands on her and forced her to lie back down.

“Just stay still and I’ll make you comfortable,” he said.

Ember growled slightly as she felt the cool white lotion be rubbed into her back and shoulders.

“Go on, Spike,” said Matches. “Help Rarity out.”

The drake nodded slowly. “Yeah...I’ll do that.”

Ember watched Spike as he squirted some lotion into his hands and rubbed it into Rarity’s shoulders and back. She felt a surge of anger course through her as she watched.

“Oh, that’s so good, Spike,” said Rarity loudly. “You’re so good at this, darling. Those hands of yours are simply divine!”

Ember gripped her towel tightly. She’s doing this on purpose. I know she is!

Matches raised an eyebrow. “Ember, you’re really tense,” he stated. “Try and relax. That’s what we’re here for.”

“Yes, darling,” said Rarity. “Do try and relax.” She smirked at Ember.

The dragoness scowled and looked away as she laid helplessly on her towel. This isn’t over, you skank! Not by a long shot!

Hot Streak watched Rarity, Spike, Ember, and Matches from the boardwalk and grumbled as he lowered his binoculars. He tapped his foot impatiently and glared.

“Come on, do something already!” he groaned in frustration. “How can I make those two ladies tear each other apart if they aren’t doing anything!?”

He rubbed his chin and scowled. “I can’t just go up to them or something. I get this feeling they’re getting onto me. I can’t just do another note like before. What can I do?”

“That won’t do,” said a male voice. He sighed and said, “Not this story either.”

Hot Streak turned around to see a gray stallion in a brown business suit and fedora leaning against the boardwalk’s railing and his eyes darting around a notepad. He flipped one of the pages and shook his head in dismay.

“None of these stories will be good for the paper,” he said. “Who the buck wants to read a story about some new kind of shop? I’d get laughed out of the office by everypony.”

Hot Streak smirked as an idea came together in his mind. He slowly walked up to the pony and said, “Excuse me.”

“Go away,” said the stallion without looking at the pegasus.

Hot Streak held back his urge to grab the pony by the neck and forced a smile. “I couldn’t help but hear you didn’t have a story for your paper.”

The stallion looked at Hot with a raised eyebrow. “What do you know about a story? I’ve combed this city and found nothing juicy at all.”

“Oh? Well I have something really big for you.”

“I’ve heard that one before.”

“Just come with me and you’ll see,” said Hot Streak forcefully.

The stallion rolled his eyes and sighed. “Alright if it’ll make you happy.”

It will make me happy, thought Hot Streak.

Hot walked across the boardwalk and headed towards the town. He walked along with the stallion following suit to a nearby alleyway.

“Hey where are you taking me anyway?” asked the reporter.

“Your big scoop of course,” said Hot.

“In an alley? What am I going to find there?”

“This.”

The pegasus turned and decked the reporter squarely in the chin. He groaned and fell over to the ground. The reporter looked up slowly, but the last thing he saw was a foot coming towards his head. With another grunt, he fell unconscious and Hot Streak stood over him with a triumphant look on him.

“Here’s your headline, stupid pony,” he said. “Gullible reporter falls for the oldest trick in the book.”

Hot Streak leaned over and began unbuttoning the pony’s suit jacket. “Mind if I borrow this?”

The reporter laid motionless.

“I’ll take that as a no.” He went back to undressing the unconscious stallion.

Hot Streak poked his head out of the alleyway and saw nopony around him. He stepped out slowly and grunted uncomfortably.

“Of all the disguises I had to use, why did I get a stupid Earth pony’s clothes?”

He felt his wings strain against the back of the suit in a desperate attempt to free themselves, but Hot Streak relaxed them against his back.

Slowly, he began walking towards the beach and grinned sinisterly. “Get ready for some breaking news, Ember.”

Ember laid on her towel and grimaced as she tried to block out Rarity’s voice.

“You should have seen when Spike lead the rest of my friends to rescue me from those horrible Diamond Dogs,” she said to Matches. “It was truly one of his shining moments. Right, Spikey Poo?”

The drake blushed and nodded. “Yeah, but we all know what really happened.”

Rarity waved a hand. “Oh, but I do appreciate your efforts, Spike. You risked a lot to come and save me from those ruffians.”

Matches playfully punched Spike on the shoulder. “Sounds like you’ve made quite an impression on her.”

“Heh, heh, thanks,” said Spike, bashfully.

Ember turned her head around when she suddenly felt a shadow creep over her.

“Excuse me,” said a haughty voice.

Ember opened her eyes and saw a red stallion in a gray business suit smiling at her.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“Are you by chance Dragon Lord Ember?”

“Who wants to know?” demanded Matches as his eyes narrowed.

“Oh, sorry about that,” the pony said with a bow. “I am ace reporter um...Front Page, a reporter for the Haytona Star newspaper!”

“Newspaper reporter?” wondered Matches with a raised eyebrow. “What exactly do you want?”

“I heard a rumor that there was a Dragon Lord visiting our fair city, so I was thinking of interviewing her about what she thinks of this place, and how she’s liking Equestria so far.”

Ember sat up and looked at Matches for a moment, and then back at the reporter. “One moment,” she said.

She pulled Matches in and leaned into his ear. “What do you think?” she wondered.

Matches glanced at Front Page and glared. The reporter smiled innocently back at him. He looked back at Ember. “I don’t know about this,” he said in a skeptical voice. “There’s something about him that just doesn’t seem right.”

“What is it?” wondered Ember.

Matches shook his head. “That’s just it; I don’t know. I feel like I’ve seen this pony before, but can’t tell where. It’s almost like he’s been following us for a while.”

Ember smirked. “Maybe dragons do get affected by the heat after a while,” she joked.

Matches frowned and sighed. “I suppose this couldn’t hurt. I think this would be a good time to show the rest of Equestria what we hope to accomplish and strengthen our alliance with them.”

Ember nodded. “Then I guess it’s settled.” She looked over at Front Page and said, “Alright, but only for a–”

“Wonderful, you gul...I mean, your highness,” he said. “Shall we head for a more suitable place for an interview?”

Ember frowned as she turned to Spike. “I wouldn’t mind staying here to be honest. I want to be with my friends.”

“We won’t go far,” said Front Page.

“I insist we stay,” said Ember in a stern tone.

“We’ll be near the beach, okay? Stop being so st...erm, worried and just come with me.”

Ember opened her mouth to argue again.

“Go with him, Ember,” said Matches.

She looked at Matches with a glare on her. “Who asked you?”

“I’m just saying to not ruin this chance,” he said. “You know how the media is. They’ll try to make a big deal out of anything negative you do, and it could lead to some big trouble.”

Ember rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. “Fine,” she said in defeat. “But only for a very quick interview. I’m here to relax after all.”

“No problem, Lord Ember,” said Front Page.

“Just call me Ember,” she said.

“That’s fine with me,” the reporter said. Because I hear that more than enough back home, you pony loving traitor!

Front Page held a hand out towards the boardwalk. “Shall we?”

Ember rolled her eyes. “Okay, but remember this is just a short interview.”

“Of course,” he said.

Ember got up and walked off with Front Page to the boardwalk. Rarity’s eyes followed the two and smiled as the dragoness walked until she was merely a dot amongst the crowd of ponies on the boardwalk.

Rarity got up and said, “I think I’ll go for a nice walk around the beach.” She looked over and smiled. “Spikey, would you like to join me?”

Spike frowned and looked away. “I don’t know, Rarity,” he said hesitantly. “I want to see if Ember wants to do anything after her interview.”

“She’ll be gone for a while,” said Rarity. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if we took a walk along the beach.”

“Well, what about our stuff?”

“I’ll watch it,” said Matches. He let out a yawn and stretched. “I want to catch some sun anyway. You two go on for your walk.”

Spike rubbed his chin and looked down. I want to wait for Ember to come back, but at the same time I want to talk to Rarity. Maybe I can finally ask her what she really thinks about me. But what happens if she likes me back? How will that affect Ember?

He shook his head. Wait...I really like Rarity though. She’s the only mare for me….right?

“Spikey?”

He looked up to a concerned Rarity. “Are you alright?” she asked.

Spike nodded. “Yeah. I’ll go with you, Rarity.”

The unicorn smiled. “Thank you, darling.” She held a hand out to him. “Shall we?”

Spike gulped a little and hesitantly reached out to grab it. To his shock though, Rarity reached out and grabbed his. He looked up and saw her smiling warmly at him.

“Something wrong, Spikey Poo? You look like you expect me to bite you or something?”

The drake blushed and looked down. “Erm, must be the heat again I guess. I’m ready to go though.”

“So am I,” she said. And Ember won’t get in the way making it all the better.

Together, the two of them walked away from their spot, and down the beach.

Rarity and Spike walked along the beach. The crowd noise could no longer be heard, and was replaced by the sound of waves crashing, or the creatures stirring near the dense forest. Rarity looked down at Spike and could notice he was looking somewhat uncomfortable. She frowned a bit and pulled him in closer.

“You seem a little anxious, Spikey Poo,” she said. “Is there something wrong?”

The drake bit his lip and tried to avoid eye contact.

“Spike?”

“I’m alright,” he responded. “I just have a lot on my mind is all.”

“Such as?”

Spike stopped in his tracks and looked down. “Well...it’s not easy to talk about.”

“You know you can always tell me anything that’s bothering you, Spike,” assured Rarity.

“I know that, Rarity,” he said. “But this is really something hard to say.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. I think I know what it is. “Is it about Ember by any chance?”

Spike froze and his eyes widened.

“I seem to be correct,” said Rarity. “This thing with Ember; it wouldn’t happen to be about a certain incident at the Wonderbolts’ Academy, would it?”

Spike felt like somepony dropped a bucket of ice into his stomach, and he was shaking slightly.

“Looks like I’m right again,” said Rarity. “Spike, do you want to talk about it?”

The drake looked away and grunted uncomfortably. “I...I don’t know,” he muttered in a quiet voice that could rival Fluttershy’s.”

Rarity frowned and pulled Spike in for a hug. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, Spikey Wikey,” she said in a soothing voice. “I’m just worried about you is all. You haven’t been yourself since that day.”

“I just don’t know what to do,” said Spike. “I’m so sick of it all.”

“Sick of what?”

“I’m sick of just feeling so conflicted about her,” said Spike. “Things were so much easier before I met Ember.”

“Whatever do you mean, darling?” wondered Rarity. “I thought that you wanted to help ponies and dragons become friends.”

“I do of course,” said Spike. “But this is really hard to explain.”

“Try me,” offered Rarity. “Whatever is making you so worried, Spike, I’m sure I can help.”

Spike looked down and rubbed his chin. This could be my only chance to find out. Maybe, just maybe, if I play it right I’ll see what Rarity really thinks of me.

He took a deep breath. “It’s about another dragon I met in the Lands, Rarity.”

The unicorn quirked an eyebrow. “Another dragon you met? What’s their name?”

“Sp...um, Spines,” said Spike hesitantly. “He told me before we left the Dragon Lands that he had a problem.”

“What was it?”

“He’s been interested in this other dragoness for a long time, and he’s never been able confess how he feels to her. But he said now there’s another dragoness that’s trying to win his heart.”

“So I take it he doesn’t know who to choose?” wondered Rarity.

“Yeah,” said Spike. “He still loves the one dragoness he’s been chasing, but now isn’t sure what to do about the other.”

Rarity smirked. Ah, I know what you're trying to do, Spike. I commend you for trying to not hurt mine or Ember’s feelings, but I know what you want to know, and I’ll finally put it to rest.

“Spikey, your ‘friend’ should try to see what his first crush thinks about him,” she said.

Spike looked up with a perplexed look on him. “You mean confess?”

Rarity nodded. “Yes. This dragoness your friend is after may or may not like him, but he hasn’t asked her yet. If he doesn’t say anything now, who knows what could happen? He may never know if he accidentally broke the heart of a lady and hurt her.”

Spike winced and said, “I don’t want...um, my friend to have to go through that.”

“Then you should tell ‘Spines’ that he should let his first crush know about his feelings before it’s too late.”

Spike nodded. Maybe Rarity has a point after all. If I don’t say something now to her, who knows what will happen? Maybe she’ll be upset and won’t be my friend. All I have to do is tell her how I feel. Just how hard can it be?

He looked up at Rarity and gulped as the sun shined on her giving her a radiant glow to go with the warm smile she was giving him.

Maybe this will be a little hard. But I can’t back down now!

“Rarity,” he said. “There’s something I want to tell you.”

Rarity hid her smile. I think he’s finally ready to tell me the truth, she thought. “What is it, Spikey Poo?”

“I’ve been wanting to say this for a while now, but haven’t gotten the courage to until now.”

“Yes?” asked Rarity as a smile grew on her face.

“D...do you…” Spike felt his breathing get heavy and his heart was racing. Focus, Spike!

“Go on,” urged Rarity.

“Do you...do you…” Spike was shaking nervously and could feel his stomach doing flips.

“Yes?” Rarity leaned in and was grinning like a filly on Hearth’s Warming Day.

Spike took a deep breath. “Do you....do you want to go swimming?” he asked.

Rarity’s smile faltered a little. “W–what?” she asked in a small voice.

Spike, still shaking, forced a smile and said, “You um, want to go swimming? I’ve been wanting to get in the water for a while now and thought you could join me.”

Rarity smiled sadly and shook her head. “N–no, Spikey, you go ahead without me. I’ll just watch from here.”

Spike chuckled weakly. “Um, alright then. I’ll just go then by myself.”

“Have fun, darling,” said Rarity.

Spike slowly turned away from Rarity and walked into the water. The cold water made him shiver slightly, but didn’t distract him from the thoughts going on through his head.

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! he scolded himself. I’m such an idiot for what I did! I was so close and I chickened out at the end! Ugh! Rarity must think I’m an idiot or something for what I did to her!

Spike kept walking until the water was up to his chest and he was forced to start floating. He just floated around and let out a depressed sigh. “Way to go, Spike. You’ve made yourself look like a fool in front of Rarity. I bet she’s thinking how foolish I was acting.”

Rarity frowned as she looked at Spike. Oh, dear. I think I may have scared him or something, she thought to herself. Perhaps I was too forward, or maybe I didn’t do enough to convince him to come clean! Oh, Rarity, you’ve messed up big time!

She looked at Spike with a frown on her. “I just hope I get enough time to try and coax Spike to confess his feelings about me before Ember comes back.”

“And what exactly do you like so far here in Equestria?”

Ember rolled her eyes. “You already asked me that,” she said irritably. “That’s the third time you’ve asked me that actually. What kind of reporter are you?”

Front Page shrugged. “Just the kind of dr...um, pony to get their facts straight. It doesn’t hurt to ask anyway.”

“You’ve been asking me a lot of weird questions,” said Ember. “First about how I like it here, where I’m residing while staying here, and even about my favorite food. Are all you pony reporters like this?”

“Hey, I’m the one asking the questions here,” argued Front Page. “I’m not the one being interviewed; you are.”

Ember scoffed. “I think I’ve had enough of this. I think I should get back to my friends before–”

The dragoness gasped and abruptly stopped talking. A thought suddenly crossed her mind that made her feel cold.

“Excuse me,” she said.

Front Page smirked as he watched Ember run off. It’s okay; I think I’m about to get a more important story.

Ember ran across to the boardwalk and eyed a nearby souvenir stand. She saw several pairs of binoculars hanging on a stick and ran over to them. She snatched one off, which caught the attention of the blue unicorn manning the stand.

“Hey!” he yelled. “Give those back!”

Ember ignored him and raised the binoculars up to her eyes. She looked around and quickly found the area where her friends set up camp. She saw Matches lying on the blanket, but there was nopony else. A surge of anger rose in Ember and her hands were shaking.

That bitch! She did not do what I think she did! Ember thought.

“Pay up now, lady!” demanded the stand clerk. “You use them, you buy them!”

Ember threw the binoculars back to the clerk and leaped over the railing. The clerk yelled at her to come back, but she ignored him. Her eyes narrowed and she clenched her fists.

Rarity, you slut! You better not have done it!

Ember ran up to where Matches was resting. “Where is she!?” she demanded.

Matches flinched as he was suddenly awakened by Ember’s yelling. He looked up at the furious dragoness. “Where’s who?” he wondered.

“Rarity and Spike!” she answered. “Where did they go!?”

Matches raised his hands up and scooted back a little. “Whoa! Slow down, Ember! If you really want to know, they just went for a walk on the beach.”

Ember leaned over and snorted. “Which way?” she asked in an icy tone.

Matches slowly raised his hand and pointed to the left. “T–that way,” he said in a shaky voice. “Why?”

Ember didn’t reply and instead stomped off. Matches watched as the dragoness walked off towards where Rarity and Spike were, and gulped.

“I got a very bad feeling about this,” he said.

Matches got up and started running towards where Twilight and the others were playing volleyball.

“Something is going to happen; I know it,” he told himself. “I got to warn the others before it’s too late.”

Rarity watched Spike as he floated around in the ocean and let out a sigh. “Spikey was so close,” she said sorrowfully. “I was certain that my words would have convinced him to confess to me. Maybe I can still find a way to get him to do so.”

Spike bobbed around the water and looked up at the sky. “You’ve done it now, Spike. You had Rarity right there, the moment was perfect, and yet you blew it in the end.”

He turned around to face the beach. He noticed the sad look on Rarity’s face, which only made him feel worse. “Even Rarity seems upset about what I did. I made an idiot out of myself. I got to make it up to her.”

An idea clicked in Spike’s head that made him smile softly. “Yeah, and then maybe once I explain myself to Rarity, maybe I can work up the courage to ask her how she feels about me. It’ll be perfect!”

A small wave splashed onto Spike and he looked around. He noticed the water was up to his neck and looked back at the beach to see Rarity was a bit hard to see.

“I guess I floated around aimlessly for too long,” he said to himself. “I better head back.”

Spike raised his arms out and started to move them back and forth as he swam back towards the beach. He kicked his legs moderately fast to help propel him back to the shore faster.

Just you wait, Rarity, he thought to himself. This time I’m going to ask you something a lot better than swimming with me.

Spike kept on swimming but suddenly, a painful cramp in his back surged through him.

“Gah!” he cried out.

The drake was suddenly splashed by a large wave that overtake him and threw him off. He rose out of the water and gasped, but the pain still surged in his back and was moving slowly. Another wave crashed into him, which made Spike gasp again and some water accidentally went into his mouth.

Spike started to panic as he thrashed around and tried to desperately stay afloat. He coughed violently as he tried to swim back, but another large wave overtook him and he was sent into the depths again.

Rarity gasped as she watched. “Spikey Wikey!” she cried out in horror.

Spike popped out of the water again and waved a hand frantically. “Rarity, help me!” he cried out. Another wave hit him and was forced underwater.

The unicorn kicked off her purple sandals and ran into the water. As it got deeper, Rarity dove into the water and swam frantically towards Spike. She didn’t care if her mane was being ruined or if something like a crab or seaweed stuck to her.

Hold on, Spike, I’m coming!

Soon enough, she came across Spike floating in the water. Her eyes widened in horror as he didn’t move and his eyes were barely open. Quickly, she grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him up to her chest.

No time to swim back to the shore! I’ll just teleport!

Rarity’s horn lit up in the water, and both her and Spike disappeared from the depths of the sea. They both reappeared back on the shore of the beach, and Rarity was catching her breath. She slowly looked over to Spike, who wasn’t breathing at all.

“Spike!” she cried out again.

Rarity got up and put her hands on his chest. She started compressions on him. She forced open his mouth and was about to give him some air, but suddenly stopped as a thought crossed her mind.

I...I’m about to basically kiss Spike, she thought to herself. Is it really kissing though if you’re giving CPR? Or is it an indirect kiss? Rarity shook her head and narrowed her eyes. What am I thinking? This isn’t the time for stuff like this! Spike needs me!

She lowered herself and opened her mouth. She leaned into Spike’s open mouth and blew some air into it. Rarity tried again with the compressions and hoped for the best.

“Come on. Come on,” she said.

Spike suddenly flinched and coughed violently as water escaped from his mouth. He gasped as he leaned over to spit the water out and catch his breath. Rarity let out a sigh of relief and smiled as her panic subsided. She held Spike closely to make sure he didn’t choke.

After a few minutes of coughing and wheezing, Spike rolled onto his back and was breathing slowly. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at Rarity with a small smile on him.

“Thank you, Rarity,” he sad in a raspy voice.

The unicorn blushed slightly and smiled at him. “You’re welcome, darling. I just couldn’t bear losing you like that. Not when you mean so much to me.”

Spike’s heart skipped a beat, and a thought popped in his head. Wait...does this mean what I think it means?

“Rarity?” he asked.

“Yes?”

“Um...I have something I want to tell you. Something much more important than asking you to swim with me.”

“Go on,” she urged. Could he be actually confessing?

Spike took a deep breath. “I–I lo–”

“YOU!” boomed a furious voice.

Rarity gasped and looked up to see an infuriated Ember huffing and her left eye twitching wildly. The glare the dragoness gave Rarity sent shivers through her, and made her feel small.

“So this is your so called idea of a ‘walk on the beach’ huh!?” barked Ember. “Did you really think you could just get away with tricking me like that!?”

“Ember, this is not the time for–” Rarity tried to explain.

“SHUT UP!” she demanded.

Spike and Rarity gasped at the sudden outburst from the Dragon Lord.

“For once you’re going to listen to me, you skanky bimbo!” yelled Ember. “I should have known you were going to do something like this! Lure Spike away from me, and then seduce him with your so called charm to win him over! And you had the damn nerve to claim I was the one seducing him!?”

Rarity felt the anger in her grow again. She let go of Spike and got up. “Now hold it right there!” she ordered. “Spike was in trouble, and I saved him! And as for these claims I was seducing him, that is not true at all!”

“Spare me the lies, you jerk!” barked Ember. “You know that you were trying to win him without me noticing!”

“That’s not the–”

“You know that your tricks and charm that you used on Spike to make him do your dirty work no longer work! So you decided to come up with this to win him over for good! Face it! You just can’t accept that he has found some other dragon he likes far more than your ugly, no good, holier than thou, stuck up bitch face!”

Rarity felt something snap in her. Something that made any restraint and calm she had in her turn into burning hatred and anger. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists so tightly, it could possibly bend a steel pole.

“How dare you?” she asked in an icy tone.

“What was that?” asked Ember.

“HOW DARE YOU!?” boomed Rarity. She stomped over and got up into Ember’s face. “You dare to think that I trick my precious Spikey Wikey into doing ‘dirty work’ like he was some slave! I don’t ever treat any of my friends like that; especially Spike!”

“The way he’s told me some of the stuff he’s done for you, it does sound like as if you’re his slave master!” argued Ember. “You use him for your own gains!”

“Excuse me!?” asked Rarity, incredulously. “What about you? Don’t you use him too!? You’ve wanted him to help you around Equestria after all ever since you’ve arrived. And need I remind you of that so called ‘suntan lotion’ you wanted Spike to rub on you?”

Ember growled and leaned into Rarity’s face. “You know what? Maybe it’s time I show you what dragons are capable of, and what happens when you piss one off!”

“Do your worse, you jealous hag!” demanded Rarity. “You’ll see what happens when you piss me off.”

Spike, who had been watching everything unfold in horror, slowly tried to get up. “Girls, stop!” he cried hoarsely. “Please stop now! There’s no need to fight!”

They both turned towards the drake and shouted in unison, “Not now, Spike!”

The two ladies looked back at each other. The tension in the air built up. The wind blew harder than before. The water in the ocean started to get violent. Some clouds moved over the sky, blocking out the sun. Thunder started to rumble as Rarity and Ember stared at each other with pure hatred in their eyes.

“If you won’t let him find true happiness and continue to use him as some slave, then so be it,” said Ember in an icy tone. Her tail moved slowly up and she smirked.

“Let’s see what you got, whore!” Ember swung her tail and hit Rarity in the legs.

“Ahh!” Rarity cried. She stumbled a little, but she regained her balance quickly.

With a furious scream, she tackled into Ember hard and both were sent to the ground. The dragoness tried to get up, but Rarity pinned her down. She raised an arm up and punched Ember in the face. The dragoness countered with a punch of her own to Rarity’s chest that loosened her grip. Ember took the opening to her advantage and lifted Rarity up. She pushed her off and Rarity landed to the side.

Rarity groaned as she tried to get up, but gasped as Ember held her down and headbutted her. The two of them struggled and threw one punch after another at each other. They both rolled around the ground as each one tried to get on top of the other. They rolled over into a mud pit near the forest. They both stopped for a moment and panted, but neither Ember nor Rarity’s anger simmered down.

Rarity’s horn lit up, and she shot a beam of magic at Ember. The dragoness dodged the magical energy, but failed to miss the punch that followed after that. Ember fell to the side and rubbed her cheek. She tried to crawl away from the mud pit and get onto dry land, but her tail was suddenly pulled violently. She turned around to see Rarity, covered in mud, grinning wickedly at her.

“What’s the matter, darling?” she wondered in a mocking voice. “Afraid to get dirty!?”

Rarity got up and gripped Ember’s tail tightly. The dragoness cried out in pain as Rarity twisted her tail around like a piece of dough. Suddenly, Rarity started pulling the tail again, but Ember noticed she wasn’t being pulled back; she was being pulled around.

“How about we go for a spin?” asked Rarity.

Ember was lifted into the air as she was suddenly spinning around. The world around her became a blur as Rarity spun her around rather fast. Ember tried to grab the ground, but all she grabbed was mud and her grip slipped. Ember screamed as the spinning got faster and faster and the world became nothing but a big blur of colors.

“So long, Ember!” Rarity yelled. She let go of Ember’s tail and sent her flying rather far. Ember yelled as she floated around. She then fell and hit the ground harshly. She grunted as she rolled around the ground and bounced a little. As she rolled around, her top became undone and landed on the beach; exposing her bossom. She soon came a stop in the sand and groaned in pain.

Rarity got up and walked slowly towards Ember. Her smile widened with each step she took towards the dragoness.

Spike’s eyes went wide with horror and shock. “No…” he whispered.

“Had enough, darling?” asked Rarity.

Ember slowly got on her legs and was shaking. “Oh...I’ve had enough alright.”

Rarity smirked in triumph.

Ember suddenly whirled around and her eyes had flames in them. “I’ve had enough of you!”

She flapped her wings and flew towards Rarity. Before the unicorn could react, Ember tackled her and both were sent crashing into the mud pit. Ember raised her arm to punch Rarity again, but the latter rolled to the side in time to avoid it. Rarity’s top came undone in the struggle, but she didn’t care at all. She jumped on top of Ember and placed both her hands under Ember’s chin. Ember cried out in pain and Rarity pulled her head up violently. The two grunted and struggled as they glared daggers at one another.

“He’s mine, lizard bitch!” barked Rarity.

“No, he’s mine!” argued Ember in a strained voice. “He deserves better than you, you stuck up slut!”

“Jealous hag!”

“Slave driver!”

“Insecure whore!”

“Stuck up pony!”

“Ratchet dragon!”

“Manipulative bimbo!”

“Stupid dragon!”

“Stupid pony!”

Rarity and Ember grunted as one tried to overpower another, and deliver another blow.

“STOP!” a voice cried out. “STOP IT RIGHT NOW!”

The two ladies instantly recognized the voice. They looked over, and were shocked to see Spike on his knees and was looking down. Tears were steadily falling down his face and onto the sand. He slowly raised his head up and looked at Rarity and Ember with a somber look on his face.

“Look what you two have done!” he cried out. “What were you two thinking!?”

“Spike, you don’t understand,” said Ember. “I’m saving you from Rarity’s evil grasp on you. She’s been using you long enough for menial labor.”

“Don’t listen to her, Spikey Poo,” argued Rarity. “Ember just can’t appreciate how close you and I are, and is spreading lies. I’m merely showing her that she can’t have you.”

Spike shook his head and his jaw dropped. “You...you can’t be serious!” he said in disbelief. “I mean look at yourselves!”

Ember and Rarity looked at their own bodies. They were covered in mud, sand, grass, and had a few bruises here and there from the punches they landed.

“You know why I was so happy to have you here, Ember?” wondered Spike. “It’s because I was really hoping that dragons and ponies could become permanent friends. And now...now look what you two have done. You’ve ruined everything!”

Rarity frowned sympathetically. “Spike, it’s not like–”

“Rarity, I expected so much better from you!” barked Spike. “You taught me so much about generosity and kindness towards others! But now you’ve hurt Ember and you acted so selfish and heartless!”

The unicorn gasped and trembled in shock and sadness.

“And Ember, what happened to you!?” Spike berated. “I thought you were serious about friendship, and ponies and dragons getting along. But here you are starting fights with my friends like this! How can you do this after I showed you so much!?”

Ember felt the guilt overtake her and looked away in shame.

“It...It wasn’t like that, Spike,” she said in a small voice.

“Then what was I just seeing!?” demanded Spike. “Tell me what I just saw you doing right now!”

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air and both girls looked down in shame.

“Please hold on a minute, Spikey Wikey,” pleaded Rarity. “It’s not–”

“Don’t call me Spikey Wikey!” bellowed Spike. “I am not your ‘Spikey Wikey’ anymore!”

Rarity gasped and a cold feeling washed over her.

“Spike, hold on,” said Ember. “You have to understand that there’s something you need to know.”

“Save it, Ember! After what I saw and how you two acted, I don’t want to hear anything else! You and Rarity ruined everything I worked so hard to do! I don’t even know what to even think about you girls anymore!”

“Spike!” Rarity and Spike cried out in unison.

“Shut up!” demanded Spike. “I...I can’t stand you two right now! I can’t even look at you without feeling disgusted!”

He looked at both Rarity and Ember angrily, but tears were steadily falling down his face.

“I hate both of you!” he bellowed.

Rarity and Ember gasped as the words echoed through the beach and the air. Both ladies felt like they had been stabbed in the heart, and a deep chill coursed through their bodies. Rarity nearly fainted from hearing Spike’s outburst. Ember trembled in shock and sorrow. Both felt paralyzed and didn’t move at all. Not even after Spike got up and began walking away from them.

“What’s going on here!?”

Matches, Twilight, and the others ran up towards Spike. All of them looked worried as they saw the disheartened drake just stand there and stared at the ground.

Matches went up to Spike and put both hands on his shoulders. “What happened here, Spike?” he demanded. “What’s wrong?”

Spike sniffled a little, and just pointed over to Ember and Rarity. “Ask them,” he replied in a broken voice. “I don’t want to even look at them right now.” He pushed Matches’ hands off him and slowly walked back to the crowded beach.

“Spike,” said Twilight in a sympathetic voice.

“What did he mean ask Rarity and Ember?” wondered Fluttershy.

Rainbow gasp and pointed at them. “Look!”

The group looked at the dragoness and unicorn lying in the mud pit. Rarity was still sitting on top of Ember, but she no longer held the grip she had on her. Ember looked down at the ground to try to hide the anguished look on her face.

“They’re covered in mud,” said Pinkie.

“They have sand and grass on them,” stated Applejack.

“And I can see what looks to be bruises I think,” said Twilight.

The group gasped as a realization hit them.

“You don’t think they did that right?” asked Applejack.

“Did they?” wondered Fluttershy.

“It can’t be,” said Rainbow in disbelief.

“...Ember...no,” stated Matches in horror. “You didn’t...fight did you?”

Rarity and Ember both looked at the group with somber looks on them. They said nothing at all. The others knew that there was nothing else to say. They all stared with disappointment on them at Rarity and Ember.

“I think it’s time we head home,” suggested Applejack. She picked up Rarity’s yellow bikini top and tossed it to her. “At least make yourself decent first.”

Twilight nodded and noticed a flash coming from somewhere. “I think we should hurry too,” she said. “It seems a lightning storm is headed this way.” She walked over to Rarity and waved a hand towards the others. “Help me get her up.”

“On it, Twi,” said Applejack. She ran over and helped lift Rarity and walk her away.

“He...he hates me...he hates me...he hates me,” Rarity kept mumbling in a low voice.

Ember, still on her knees and looking down, felt a shadow loom over her. She slowly looked up to see Matches glaring at her and crossed his arms.

“I think it’s time we had a talk,” he said in a stern, cold voice. He tossed her the bikini top that fell off her earlier.

Ember didn’t bother to argue with him. She slowly nodded and got up, putting the top back on. Matches took her arm and marched her away, much to her shame.

As the group all walked away, a red pegasus popped up from the bushes nearby. As soon as they were a good distance away he started laughing hysterically to himself.

“That was too easy,” said Hot Streak in between laughs. “They actually fell for it like the lovestruck morons they truly are!”

He patted his camera gleefully and smirked deviously. “I may have gone a little overboard, but I got what I wanted on this at last. Soon this whole alliance will be gone in a flash like my camera.” Hot Streak chuckled to himself as he walked out of the bushes and onto the beach casually.

Matches was pacing around the train compartment, with smoke billowing from his nostrils. Ember sat on the couch and looked down to try and hide the shame on her face. Neither dragon said anything as the train rolled along and its whistle blew every few minutes. The room was deathly silent save for Matches’ footsteps. Ember glanced a quick look at Matches, and saw the furious look on him.

I hate both of you!

The words yelled by Spike echoed in Ember’s head and she clutched her chest tightly.

Matches turned towards her and put both of his hands on her shoulders. “Ember, what in Tartarus were you thinking!?” he barked. “Attacking Rarity like that and jeopardizing what we came here to do!? Do you have any idea what this means!?”

Ember shifted around uncomfortably. “I...I…” she spoke in a hollow voice and was shaking violently.

“What happened out there!?” he demanded. “You and Rarity have been silent this whole damn time, and I want the truth!”

Ember gripped her arms tightly and felt like her tongue was twisted.

“Ember, I want answers now!”

“...It...It was…”

Matches grabbed Ember by the shoulders and shook her violently. “It was what!? The sooner you tell me, the faster we can fix this and make things right again!”

“It was Spike!” she cried out.

Matches paused and the room fell silent. He shook his head in disbelief and groaned. “Are you kidding me!?” he exploded. “Are you honestly bucking kidding me!?”

Ember shook violently and could feel her heart racing.

“Ember, this is a disaster! How does Spike tie into what you did to Rarity?”

“She was...well...s–she was u–using him!” she stuttered. “You don’t understand! I’ve seen what she’s done with him!”

“Ember, I don’t care what your personal opinions are about Rarity and Spike’s relationship, and I don’t want to hear excuses!” barked Matches. “Attacking her has really set everything back for us! What am I supposed to report to the Council!?”

“W–we’ll just hide it!” suggested Ember.

Matches shook his head. “That won’t work and you know it! They would find out sooner or later about it! This isn’t just something we can pretend didn’t happen!”

Ember looked down and quivered with fear. “What do we do then?” she wondered in a small voice.

Matches took a deep breath and sat down on the seat across from Ember. He looked down and rubbed his head. “I don’t know,” he said in a small voice. “I really don’t know. This is bad, Ember; really bad.”

The dragoness nodded. “I know,” she said glummly.

Silence fell upon the room, with the only noise being the whistle blowing and the train rolling along.

Ember looked up and said, “Have you tried talking to Twilight?”

Matches nodded. “Yeah, but she said it’s best if we just stay away from each other for the time being.”

Ember felt a shiver run down her. “What about Spike?”

“I haven’t seen him at all,” said Matches. “Whatever happened between you, him, and Rarity must have really devestated him.

I hate both of you!

Ember felt tears building up in her eyes as those words echoed in her again. She shook her head and wiped them away quickly.

Matches sighed and got up. “Ember, whatever happened out there, whatever your reasons were, I just hope you understand about what you’ve done. You may be Dragon Lord, but I think you got some thinking to do about your own actions.”

He walked over to the door and opened it. “I’m going to try and think about what to do now elsewhere. For your sake, Ember, just stay in here please and don’t go see Rarity or the others.” He walked out the door and closed it, leaving Ember to her own thoughts.

A single tear rolled down her and fell to the floor. I know of what I’ve done, Matches. You don’t understand how much I hate myself right now, and how much I wish I could take back.

She looked back out the window and whispered one word, “Spike…”

In the dark sky of the Dragon Lands, Garble flew through it and looked like had just won the lottery. Through the thick ash spewing from the volcanoes and some fog, he soon saw a large stone castle coming up. He picked up the speed and landed in front of the large castle metal gate. Almost instantly, two dragons in silver metal armor flew down and held their spears up.

“Hold it right there,” one ordered. “Who are you and what is your business at the castle?”

Garble casually raised a hand and pushed the spear down. “Relax will you?” he said. “I need to speak to Master Ash and the Dragon Council at once.”

“For what reason?”

“It’s in regards to our beloved Dragon Lord Ember,” answered Garble. “This is something that the Council must see at once.”

The two guards looked at each other with puzzled expressions on their faces.

“If you just show me to where the Council is having their meeting, you’ll all understand what I have to say.” Garble raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “They are having their nightly meeting right now, aren’t they?”

The guard nodded. “Y–yeah, they are. But they should be getting ready to finish it very soon.”

“Then let’s hurry up before it’s too late then,” urged Garble.

The two guards looked at each other, and then back at Garble. After a minute, they looked back at each other again and nodded.

“Very well, but this better be worth the Council’s time.”

“Oh, trust me,” said Garble as he took off his backpack and patted it. “They’ll really love what I got to show them.” He flashed a sinister smile as the two guards escorted him into the castle.

Wait until the old man sees this.

Author's Note

It would be a mistake to think I would abandon this story without saying a word as to why. Let me tell you all, this was so much longer than it needed to be. So much went wrong in the months I've been trying to write and get this chapter out. Work related stuff swamped me, attempting to get some stuff straightened out, and other things have been going on. It has truly been a nightmare.

I've been thinking long and hard about how the inevitable explosion Rarity and Ember would have with each other. If anybody out there who read this can guess what pic this is based on, you win a gold star! The fight itself wasn't what slowed me down, it was how to build up to it and how it would go down.

I'm not going to say when the next chapter will be. Whenever I say something about how long it'll be, I somehow curse myself to take an eternity and a half on it. But I hope those who were patient enough to wait are happy with this.

Aftermath

In a large circular chamber, the sound of a gavel banging on a table echoed throughout the room. Sitting at a large circular stone table were seven large dragons in brown hoods. Directly in the middle, Master Ash placed his gavel down and looked around at the other Dragon Council members.

“I believe we’ve all reached an agreement,” he said. “Tomorrow we all make the preparations needed.”

The Council muttered in agreement.

“Are there any questions at all?” asked Master Ash.

None of the Council members said a word.

“Then it’s settled.” He picked up his gavel again. “This meeting is ad–”

The large metal doors suddenly swung open. “Hold it!” a voice shouted.

Master Ash and the Dragon Council looked over and saw three figures standing in the doorway. The one in the middle stepped forward. Master Ash’s eyes widened as he recognized the figure walking towards him.

“Garble,” he said in a surprised voice.

“The one and only,” he replied. “Here to save the Dragon Lands from a new threat.”

The Council looked at one another.

“Save the Dragon Lands?”

“From a new threat?”

“You heard that right,” said Garble.

“Enough!” ordered Master Ash. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at Garble. “What is this threat you’re talking about, Garble? We normally get intel about threats to our kingdom from the Dragon Defense Agency. How did you get information about some threat that our officers missed?”

“Because this is something they never thought about,” answered Garble. “It involves Dragon Lord Ember and the ponies.”

An eerie hush fell upon the chamber. Several Council members looked at each other with concern on them. Ash raised an eyebrow and his lip curled down.

“What do you mean by that?” he demanded. “What has happened to Dragon Lord Ember?”

Garble held out his hands and smirked. “Whoa slow down there,” he said. “Take it easy there, old man.”

“Garble!” Ash exploded in anger. “How many times have I told you to not address me like that! Especially in front of the Dragon Council!”

“Whoa! Alright, I’m sorry,” he said. “Let me make it up to you.”

“This better be good, boy,” said Ash, spitting out the last word in a mocking voice.

“Very funny,” he said irritably.

Garble took off his backpack and held up a finger. He leaned over and opened the bag, digging through it for a minute.

“Ah! Here we go!” he announced. He stood up and held out an envelope.

“What is this?” wondered Master Ash.

Matched opened the envelope flap and pulled out six photos. “Feast your eyes on these,” he said as he handed them to Master Ash and the rest of the Dragon Council.

The Council took the the photos and looked at each one. Almost immediately, muttering began to echo throughout the chamber.

“What the?”

“How horrible!”

“How could this have happen?”

“That pony has a lot of nerve doing this!”

“I hope Lord Ember is alright.”

“What kind of barbaric pony does this!?”

Garble lowered his head and smirked deviously as he heard the angry and shocked comments from each Council member.

“What do you think, Master Ash?” asked one Council member.

No response came.

“Master Ash?”

Garble and every other dragon looked at the head Dragon Council member. Ash was staring at the picture he was given, but his demeanor had changed. His eyes darkened from yellow to a burning orange. Black smoke started billowing from his nostrils. The flames that lit up around the Council Chambers shot up and their burning intensified. The Council members scooted away from Ash as an ominous feeling settled in the room.

Master Ash rose his head up at Garble. “Who is this pony?” he questioned in a threatening tone.

Garble, intimidated by the change in demeanor, stepped back a little. “Uh...that’s R–Rarity I t–think,” he said in a nervous voice. “S–she was one of t–those ponies in our kingdom not too long ago.”

Master Ash slammed his hand against the table, making all the dragons jump in surprise.

“You will tell me more about this Rarity pony at once, Garble,” he demanded. “I want details about this whole incident.”

He looked up at the doorway. “Guards! Inform Commander Cynder that I will be wanting a detachment of my army ready within an hour!”

“Yes, Master!” they both acknowledged.

“Now leave us!” ordered Master Ash. “It’s time to get to the bottom of this; starting with you, Garble.”

Garble smirked and bowed. “With pleasure,” he said.

The doors slammed shut, leaving Garble and the Council to themselves.

Ember stood on a metal platform and shook nervously. The wind was howling and there was thunder rumbling in the air.

“W–what’s going on?” she asked.

Suddenly, a light shined on her that blinded her for a moment. She lowered her arm as the light dimmed and gasped as several tall, hooded figures circled around her and towered over her. Ember couldn’t help but gulp nervously and her legs were shaking.

“Who are you all?” she wondered.

The one in the middle responded by lowering the hood. Ember gasped as she saw who was behind the hood and fell to her knees. Glaring at her with a burning hatred in his eyes was none other than Master Ash.

“Master? What’s going on?”

“Read the charges!” he announced, ignoring Ember’s question.

The dragon next to him pulled out a scroll and unfurled it. He boomed, “Lord Ember, you are charged with assault and causing an international incident. How do you plead?”

“N–not guilty!” she quickly replied. She looked at Ash. “Master, what’s going on here? Why am I here?”

“Did you not hear what you have been charged with?” he asked. “You have caused an international incident in attacking a pony! We can prove it!”

“How?”

“I can,” came a somber voice.

Ember’s insides froze up. “No...not you.”

From the shadows behind Ash stepped out an upset looking Spike.

“Spike, you have no idea what even happened!” pleaded Ember. “I–I was saving you! Rarity was manipulating you into doing stuff for her! Can’t you see that?”

“The only thing I see is a so called Dragon Lord hurting my friends!” argued Spike. He looked away as some tears rolled down his eyes. “You hurt me in more ways than you can imagine Ember. I thought you cared about friendship, and I thought you cared about me.”

Ember nodded and said, “I do! Please let me explain!”

“Enough out of you!” boomed Master Ash. “You have apparently committed one other crime as Dragon Lord; breaking the heart of a dragon. You have failed in your mission!”

“No!” Ember cried.

“And you have failed the Dragon Council! You’re a disgrace to the Bloodstone Scepter you hold in your claws!”

“No!”

“In fact, I think you’re not worthy of holding such an honorable scepter and title!” barked Ash.

Ember suddenly felt a tight pull that threw her off balance. She gasped as the Bloodstone Scepter she was holding was pulling away from her. She grunted as she tried to hold onto it desperately, but the pull became too much. She lost her grip and the scepter flew directly into Master Ash’s claws.

“I was wrong in choosing you as Dragon Lord, Ember,” said Spike. “I was really wrong.”

“I agree,” said another voice.

Ember felt her insides freeze again and stuttered madly as she recognized the voice. Out of the shadows a navy blue dragon with large yellowish horns stepped out and frowned disappointingly at her.

Ember gulped again. “F–f–father?” she asked.

“You have disgraced us all, Ember,” said Torch. “You have disgraced yourself, the Council, the family, and all of dragons everywhere!”

“I didn’t mean to!” she pleaded. “Let me explain!”

“No more words, Ember!”

The dragoness gasped as flames suddenly erupted from the black pit beneath her.

“Now burn for your failures in the one place you belong; in Tartarus!” boomed Master Ash.

“Ember waved her hands around. “Please wait! Don’t do this to me!”

The metal platform suddenly gave out, and Ember fell down to the fiery pits below.

“Nooo! Spike, help me!” cried out Ember as she fell deeper and deeper.

Ember rose up out of bed with a cold sweat covering her.

She panted and looked around the area. She was back in her guest room, with no signs of fire or any of the Dragon Council. A few flashes of light came from the window nearby, followed by some thunder rumbling.

Ember wiped her forehead and let out a sigh. She slowly got out of bed, but couldn’t move beyond the edge of it. Everything from yesterday still played out in her head. The huge blowup with Rarity. The fight she had with the unicorn. The struggle they had together. Finally, a dragon she called her first best friend saying five certain words to her.

I hate both of you!

Ember shuddered as those words echoed again in her head. She mustered up the strength to get up and walk over to the window nearby. She looked out it and let out a sigh as the weather outside perfectly reflected how she was feeling right now. A downpour of rain was pounding against the windows and made it hard to see outside. A few bolts of lightning shot out of the sky, followed by some rumbling thunder.

The dragoness put her head against the window and thought deeply. “What am I going to do?” she wondered.

The door suddenly knocked, breaking Ember out of her thoughts.

“Ember?”

The dragoness recognized the voice instantly. “Come on in.”

The door opened, revealing a rather weary looking Matches, but with a small smile on his face.

Ember raised an eyebrow. “What happened to you? You look like you haven’t slept a wink.”

Matches let out a yawn and stretched. “Been up almost all night.”

“All night?”

“Yeah,” replied Matches. “I just couldn’t sleep at all. Not with what’s been happening.”

Ember felt a new wave of guilt wash over her. “Matches, you shouldn’t be the one feeling like this,” she said. “I was the one who screwed up yesterday.”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t take responsibility, Ember,” said Matches. “I’ve been up thinking about where to go from here, and I think I finally got a solution.”

Ember’s ears perked up. “You did?” she asked.

Matches nodded. “Yes, but it’s going to be a bit tricky.”

“Can’t be any trickier than the position we’re in now,” said Ember. “So what is it?”

He looked behind and said, “Come on in.”

“Come in?” asked Ember.

The dragoness’ confusion was immediately replaced by surprise as Twilight, looking just as tired, walked in with a solemn expression on her.

“What are you doing here?” asked Ember.

“Twilight and I finally got around to talking,” said Matches.

Ember’s eyes went wide. “You talked to her?”

“More like she came to talk to me,” he said. “She’s been deeply worried about what happened between you and Rarity.”

“You’re telling me,” muttered Ember.

“Ember, there’s so much I got to ask you about what happened yesterday,” said Twilight. “Matches told me what you said to him on the train.”

Ember shot a glare at Matches.

“Don’t get mad at me,” he said. “She was just as curious as I was.”

“So what did you two talk about?” she asked.

“Twilight and I talked for a while, and came to an agreement,” said Matches. “She’s agreed to let you explain yourself for yesterday, but she’s got a few conditions.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to put this mess behind me,” said Ember. “Name it.”

“One, you will speak before me and my friends about your actions,” said Twilight. “They want to know everything that led to this.”

Ember gulped, but nodded. “Alright.”

“Two, Rarity will be part of the meeting as well, but you are ordered to stay a good distance away from her. I’ll stand by you just in case you two try anything funny. Starlight has agreed to stand by Rarity to do the same duty.”

Ember scowled a little as she felt like she was being treated like a child, but again nodded. “What else?”

“The third and final condition is this; you and Rarity are to tell us about how Spike factors into this.”

The dragoness froze and her stomach did a flip. She held up her arms and stepped back. “Whoa! Let’s not get crazy now!” she objected.

Matches crossed his arms and glared. “Ember, I think it’s safe to say that this whole thing involves Spike. It doesn’t take a genius to figure this out; especially after what happened at the Academy and what you told me.”

“I agree,” said Twilight. “I think I’m starting to see the puzzle come together and the cause of this whole mess. From what I could get from Rarity about her talking about Spike and what Matches said, it’s obvious that something is going on between you, him, and Rarity. I think it’s time we got answers about this.”

Ember cursed herself and let out a sigh. “Alright, but just don’t try to press the issue too much,” she said. “I don’t know how Spike would react if he heard that.”

Twilight looked away and frowned. “He’s not coming.”

Ember’s eyes narrowed. “What!?”

“He’s not joining us,” repeated Matches. “Twilight says he’s been just too miserable to even leave his room. I think it’s for the best we let him stay out of this.”

Ember lowered her head and the guilt she felt earlier built up in her. Reluctantly, she nodded and looked back at Matches.

“Fine, I’ll do it.”

Twilight smiled softly. “Good. I think it’s for the best we get to the bottom of this. I’ll go around and get my friends. Ember, you go eat and meet outside the Friendship Council chamber.”

Ember nodded. “I’ll be there shortly.”

Matches narrowed his eyes. “Remember, Ember, no lying this time. No deceptions or anything at all. We just want the truth about this, and it’s time for both you and Rarity to come clean.”

Ember simply gave a nod as both Twilight and Matches walked back out and closed the door, leaving Ember to her thoughts. Another rumble of thunder caught her attention. She looked outside, where the rain only seemed to be coming down harder and the wind howling against the window. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she took a deep breath.

“No matter what I will fix this; one way or another,” she vowed.

Shortly after breakfast, Ember stood outside the entrance to the Friendship Council chamber.
She couldn’t help but feel very nervous. She could hear some muffled talking coming from behind the doors, but couldn’t make out a single word. She took a deep breath to calm herself, but did little to settle her racing heart and mind. She looked over to Matches next to her, but he was unmoving, didn’t glance at her, and not even so much as smiling a little at her.

She tried to avoid looking at the other side of the door, but she couldn’t help but do a quick glance. Starlight was standing nearby too, but she looked concerned. Ember then noticed something that surprised her a little; the look of Rarity.

Usually, the unicorn would glare or stare coldly at Ember, but she did none of those to her. Rarity looked down at the floor, unaware, or possibly not caring at all, of Ember and her surroundings. Her usual well kept mane was a disheveled mess, with strands of her mane sticking out. Her eyes were a bit red and there was some black mascara running down her cheeks.

“What happened to her?” wondered Ember.

“Starlight told me that Rarity’s been like this since yesterday,” explained Matches. “Apparently she’s taking this whole thing very hard. From what Starlight has told me, Rarity hasn’t spoken much since the trip back, and hasn’t been herself since then.”

Ember looked on at Rarity with a puzzled expression. I guess she hasn’t taken what Spike said to her very well. She does kind of deserve it though after all the stuff she’s done with Spike. Maybe this will finally make her see how much of a shallow–

Ember shook her head and grimaced. No. Stop thinking like that right now. That kind of thinking is what got you into this mess, and it’s not going to get you out of it.

The creaking sound of the Council chamber doors creaking open broke Ember out of her thoughts. She, along with Matches, Starlight, and Rarity turned to the door and saw Twilight stepping out with a bit of a stern look on her.

She looked over at Matches and at Starlight. “Bring them in,” she ordered. “We’re ready now.”

“Yes, Twilight,” said Starlight.

“Yes, your highness,” stated Matches.

Ember and Rarity were both escorted into the chamber and the doors slammed shut behind them. Twilight and all her friends, except Rarity, sat in their respectful thrones and looked at both ladies. There were no smiles on any of the ponies’ faces; not even Pinkie Pie. Twilight and Applejack stared with a disappointed look on them. Fluttershy and Pinkie looked on sadly and shook their heads. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes and looked disgruntled.

Twilight cleared her throat. “I believe you all know why we’re here today.”

Ember and Rarity responded by nodding.

“I don’t think we need to explain how bad this is, girls,” said Twilight. “The whole point of Ember’s visit was to solidify the alliance between Equestria and the Dragon Lands. Now, thanks to what you two did yesterday, it’s at risk of falling apart. Needless to say, you two have a lot to explain about your actions.”

Ember raised a hand. “Twilight, can I ask something first before we continue?”

“Go ahead,” she replied.

Ember tapped her fingers together nervously. “Are we on trial or something?”

“In a way, yes, but not in the normal way,” she explained. “What we want to know is what happened yesterday by hearing from both you and Rarity. Once that’s done with, we will try to figure out how things can be fixed.”

Ember nodded slowly. “I understand,” she said. “What do you want to know?”

“I’ll begin,” offered Rainbow. “Ember, Rarity told me that you attacked her first. Is that true?”

Ember slowly nodded and looked down at the floor in shame.

“And what exactly did you do that for!?” demanded Rainbow. “Rarity had just saved Spike’s life, and this is what you do to her!? Attack her!?”

The dragoness bit her lip nervously.

“Just what the hay made you do something like–”

“That will be enough, Rainbow,” ordered Twilight. “I think we’ve heard enough.”

The pegasus looked at Twilight with a mixture of anger and confusion on her face. “What do you mean we’ve heard enough!? Ember hasn’t answered some of my other questions. How exactly have you heard enough?”

“Ember’s answer to your first question has made me suspicious to something I’ve been thinking about.”

“I think I know what you’re getting at, Twilight,” said Applejack.

“What are you two talking about?” asked Rainbow.

“You’ll understand soon, Rainbow,” said Applejack.

Rainbow crossed her arms and sulked in her chair.

“Um, Rarity?” asked Fluttershy. “There’s something I’ve noticed about you since Ember announced she was coming to visit.”

“What is it?” Wondered Rarity.

“You haven’t been yourself,” she said. “You’ve been so distant since Ember announced she was coming to visit. Why is that?”

Rarity darted her eyes around nervously and took a deep breath. “That’s a bit hard to explain, Fluttershy,” she said nervously.

“How though?” wondered Fluttershy. “Weren’t you happy to hear she was coming? She wanted to strengthen the alliance; an alliance, I might remind, was made in part by Spike.”

“You don’t need to remind me, darling,” said the fashionista, hastily. “I know what Spike has done.”

“But this is something that I’ve been wanting to ask about,” said Applejack. “You’ve been pretty snappish when it comes to Spike and Ember, haven’t you?”

Rarity gulped and her cheeks turned a slight shade of red.

“At my farm, you and Ember were arguing over who would get paired up with Spike. Then at the beach, you seemed more focus on Spike with that little swimsuit stunt you pulled. It’s like as if you did that on purpose.”

“I–I have no idea what you mean,” argued Rarity. “I was trying something new is all! Spike had nothing to do with this!”

“Really now?” wondered Twilight. “You have been acting funny even before Ember showed up. You even told me some things about Spike and Ember that you seemed concerned about.”

Rarity froze as a thought clicked in her head. No. She’s not going to bring that up, is she?

Twilight narrowed her eyebrows. “Judging from your reaction, I think I now understand what exactly is going on.”

“I can too,” said Applejack.

“See what?” asked Rainbow.

Twilight took a deep breath. “Rainbow, it’s all very easy to put together now. Rarity–”

“–Has secretly had her own feelings for Spike and is now jealous of Ember because she’s become his new crush. She kept her feelings bottled up until yesterday when she fought Ember for Spike’s heart, but ended up breaking his instead.”

Everypony in the room turned to Pinkie Pie smiling proudly. They all looked at each other with shock and awe.

“Um...right, Pinkie,” said Twilight, incredulously. “You got it right pretty much.”

“I’m amazed you figured it out with both me and Twi,” said Applejack.

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “With you two?” she asked. “Silly, Applejack, I had this figured out a long time ago.”

“WHAT!?” the group exploded.

“You’re joking, right!?” demanded Rainbow.

“Say what now!?” asked Matches.

“Pinkie, that makes no sense!” argued Twilight. “If you knew about this, why didn’t you say something earlier then!?”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you all didn’t figure it out sooner,” said Pinkie. “Besides, it was so obvious, Twilight.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?” she asked in an irritated tone.

“You knew Rarity was feeling pretty down about Ember coming over, and you didn’t see how she was feeling about it. When I was decorating the castle, I accidentally got some confetti in Rarity’s mane, and she didn’t complain to me once about it. Usually, Rarity makes a fuss about how long it will take to make her mane nice again and spend an hour cleaning the confetti out. Besides, being grumpy and so cold should have been signs that Rarity was jealous about Ember; especially when she heard about how much Spike liked her.”

Twilight’s left eye twitched. “Anything else you want to add, Pinkie?”

Pinkie rubbed her chin and shrugged nonchalantly. “Nope!” she answered.

Twilight groaned and rubbed her head frustratingly.

Rarity huffed and crossed her arms. “I don’t spend an hour doing that,” she whispered.

Matches shook his head. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand that mare.”

“Me neither,” Ember agreed.

A thought clicked inside Matches’ head. “Wait a minute then,” he said. “If this was caused in part by Rarity’s feelings towards Spike, then that means…”

Ember gulped. He’s not going to suggest that, is he?

“That would mean then that Ember’s own feelings towards Spike led to this,” he reasoned. “Remember what she made a few days ago?”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “That’s right. The cloud formation she made.”

“Ember even told me after that about her mixed feelings about Spike,” said Matches. “Which means…”

“Both of these things have caused a rift between Rarity and Ember,” finished Twilight. “Their feelings towards Spike must have reached a boiling point and fought over him.”

Starlight whistled loudly. “And I thought my relationship with Sunburst and Trixie was rocky,” she said.

Twilight looked over at Ember. “I’m right, aren’t I, Ember?”

The dragoness looked down and said nothing.

“Come on, Ember,” urged Matches. “It’s time to finally come clean. You know exactly how it lead to this, and the best thing to do is to admit it.”

Ember looked up with a fierce look in her eyes. “Fine!” she bellowed. “You want to know the truth!? I may have some feelings for Spike, but that doesn’t exactly mean I see him like that!”

“Ember, calm down,” ordered Matches. “You’re acting hysterical.”

“I am just trying to give my side of the story on things and clear some things up!” argued Ember. “You and everypony here think I somehow have a major crush on Spike, but I see him as a good friend and try to stay focused on my duties as Dragon Lord! I don’t have time to pursue romantic interests or something trivial!”

Rainbow leaned over to Twilight and whispered, “I think we hit a nerve.”

“Slow down,” urged Twilight. “I’m sorry if we brought up something you don’t like to talk about, but we just wanted to confirm the truth.”

“Well you did,” said Ember. “Twilight, I don’t like what I did yesterday and how I made Spike upset, but,” she pointed at Rarity, “if it wasn’t for her, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes. “Me!? What exactly did I do?”

“Don’t act so innocent!” barked Ember. “You’ve been harassing me from the start about Spike and keeping me away from him! You even accused me of some stupid love letter I didn’t write!”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you mean that crude love letter? Don’t try and hide the fact that it was in your book!”

“I never wrote that though!” argued Ember. “How about some of your actions? While I was doing that interview, you got the ‘clever’ idea of walking off with Spike and trying to have him confess to you! I know that’s what you were doing! Need I remind you of how I saw you and Spike on the beach yesterday?”

“I already told you and my friends that I was saving Spike from drowning in the ocean,” argued Rarity. “You can even ask Spike himself to confirm that.”

“You’re probably just saying that to make yourself look like a hero!” shot Ember.

“You are acting out of control!” berated Rarity.

“Bold words coming from somepony who used Spike for labor!”

“I treat him as a friend; not a slave!”

Ember and Rarity attempted to walk towards each other, but Matches held Ember back and Starlight used her magic to hold Rarity.

“He deserves better than you!” argued Ember. “I at least don’t use Spike!”

“He knows me more and has been a wonderful friend to me!” yelled Rarity. “You think you can just walk in and take him from me like that? You got another thing coming, lizard bitch!”

“Jealous hag!”

“Scaly bimbo!”

“Manipulative bitch!”

“Stupid dragon!”

“Stupid pony!”

“ENOUGH!” bellowed Twilight’s voice.

The room shook violently for a second and the group all looked at the furious princess glaring daggers at Ember and Rarity. Her horn glowed and both Rarity and Ember were lifted into the air.

“This is the kind of behavior that got you two where we are now!” she boomed. “Look at you two! Take a good long look around you and see the mess you two caused!”

Ember and Rarity looked down and were met with disapproval glares from Twilight, her friends, and Matches. The two looked at each other with worried expressions.

“You two have forgotten what the purpose of this visit was!” scolded Twilight. “It was supposed to solidify the friendship between ponies and dragons; not destroy it! Strengthen the alliance; not crumble it!”

“But...but Rarity was using Spike to–”

“Ember, that is enough!” ordered Matches. “Listen to yourself! You go on about Spike and care about him, but have you even thought about how both you and Rarity’s actions led to this?”

Ember looked away to hide her shame.

“You two have turned this whole diplomatic trip into a complete disaster thanks to your fighting!” scolded Twilight. “Let me ask you two this since this whole thing has been about Spike. Have you two ever considered Spike’s own feelings?”

Both Rarity and Ember opened their mouths to speak, but couldn’t say anything. They nervously darted their eyes around and looked away from the others glaring at them. Rarity felt a shiver run down her spine. Ember gulped loudly and tapped her fingers together rapidly.

“I think the silence alone is enough of an answer,” said Applejack.

“I know Spike has had a major influence on you, Ember,” said Matches. “He introduced friendship to you, and he’s your first friend. But is this really what he would want? To see you and Rarity fight like this?”

Ember looked down and felt a new wave of guilt rush over her.

“Rarity, I expected a lot better from you especially,” said Twilight. “You know how much of a close friend Spike is to Ember. He taught her about friendship and to carry on what he taught her. Need I also remind you that Ember saved Spike in the volcano when he fell down?”

Rarity bit her lip and couldn’t bear to look at the glare Twilight was giving her.

“Both of you let your emotions get the best of you in the end,” said Twilight. “Ember, you could have easily told me or Matches about what Rarity was doing. Rarity, your jealousy clouded your judgement and made things even worse.”

Rarity looked over at Ember and glared. “I made it clear to Ember to not do anything funny with Spike,” she argued. “It’s not my fault she resorted to love notes to try to win Spikey’s heart!”

Ember growled. “That again!?” she yelled. “I told you that note wasn’t made by me!”

“Don’t try and lie!” barked Rarity. “This whole thing could have been avoided if you just listened to me!”

“Well I think–”

“STOP!”

The group looked over at Starlight, who had a frustrated look on her. She walked up to Ember and Rarity and glared at both of them.

“So you two have been doing nothing but fight over Spike huh?”

Ember and Rarity nodded.

“Do you two really want to know something important about Spike?” wondered Starlight. “He actually did care a lot for both of you.”

Rarity and Ember looked shocked and confused.

“He cared about both of us?” wondered Ember.

“He liked both of us?” asked Rarity.

Starlight nodded. “The day after the Wonderbolts’ Academy visit, I got him to talk to me about what Ember did. He told me himself he liked both of you, and wasn’t sure what to do.”

Ember’s jaw dropped and Rarity’s eyes watered up and didn’t bother to hide it.

“I don’t believe it,” said Ember in shock. “He was serious about that?”

Starlight nodded again. “He was serious about it. After what you two did though, I think you broke his heart.”

Ember and Rarity frowned as the realization settled in.

“Don’t you two see?” asked Twilight. “Your love for Spike has turned both of you jealous and hateful. If you truly cared about Spike, you both wouldn’t have let this go as far as it did. If you loved him, you wouldn’t fight over him like this and hurt him. He never wanted you two to bitterly fight over him. He wanted to bring dragons and ponies closer together as friends, and what you two did went against everything he hoped for.”

Rarity and Ember looked around at their friends. All of them shook their heads in disgust and frowned at them. The two of the looked at each other and stared at each other remorsefully. Slowly, they were lowered to the ground and the aura around both of them disappeared.

“I think the two of you now understand what you’ve done,” said Twilight. “This has gone on long enough and it’s time to put it behind us. I think for starters, you two should apologize to each other for your own actions that lead to this.”

“What about Spike?” wondered Ember. “Can we talk to him?”

Twilight shook her head. “Not now. I think he needs a little more time, but when he’s ready, you two can talk to him and explain what happened.” Her horn glowed and both girls were pushed closer to each other. “Now go on and apologize.”

The room fell silent as everypony looked on; save for the rumbling of thunder from outside. Rarity and Ember stared at each other awkwardly. Rarity looked away and Ember dragged her foot around the ground. They both felt the looks from their friends intensify and both felt more and more uncomfortable as minutes passed.

Finally, Ember said, “She’s right, Rarity. This has gotten out of control. I know we’ve had our disagreements, but maybe it’s time we stop this. I mean just think about how Spike is taking all this right now. You heard what he said to both of us, and if we continue to fight, it’s not going to get any better. I don’t know how, but we got to somehow make it up to Spike.”

She held out a hand and took a deep breath. “What do you say? Truce?”

Rarity looked at Ember’s claw and then at the hopeful look on her face. She then looked over to her friends, who all looked at her with anxious expressions on them. Rarity closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She slowly raised her shaky hand up to the dragoness and could feel her heart racing.

Twilight smiled a little. “I think we’re finally ready to move on,” she whispered.

The room suddenly shook as something rumbled outside. The group all looked around in shock and wonder.

“What was that?” wondered Rainbow.

The ceiling shook and the crystals from around Golden Oaks tree roots rattled and clanged together violently.

Matches looked up and as lightning flashed across the sky, a silhouette appeared above the glass ceiling. He let out a gasp as he saw the large figure and stumbled back a little.

“What the?” he asked, incredulously.

“You saw that too?” inquired Twilight.

He looked over at the princess and saw she was just as shocked as him. He nodded and said, “I don’t believe what I just saw out there.”

“Who’s out there?” asked Applejack.

“If I’m correct, I think things are about to get a lot worse now.” Matches waved a claw. “Come on! We got to go out and see for ourselves!”

The others nodded and quickly followed Matches through the doors and down the hallway. As they ran, Ember felt a chill run down her and her stomach twist up a little.

I got a really bad feeling about this, she thought to herself.

The group ran outside in the pouring rain and looked up in the sky. Bolts of lightning flashed across they sky, revealing a lot of silhouettes flying around. Fluttershy fainted, but Rainbow quickly caught her. Twilight and the others stared at the sky in awe and fear. Ember, took a step back and gulped.

“What in Tartarus is going on here!?” She looked over at Matches, who looked equally worried. “What do you see?”

Matches shook his head. “It’s hard to tell in this rain,” he said. Lightning flashed across the sky, and he let out horrified gasp. “No! It...it can’t be! What’s he doing here!?”

“Who is here!?” demanded Ember.

“It’s...it’s…”

“Look out!” shouted Rainbow.

The group gasped as several large creatures landed on the wet ground. All of them were clad in black armor with gold trimming on them and helmets obscuring their faces. Many of them held spears, while others wielded swords. They all lined up and left a large opening that made it look like a hallway. Two more dragons landed in the clearing at the end. Both were carrying a flag that was waving and flapping in the wind.

Another flash of lightening briefly revealed the flags and Matches let out a gasp. “No! Why is he here!?”

“What’s going on!?” asked Twilight. She looked over at Ember, who was petrified and had a horrified look on her. “Ember, what’s wrong?”

The dragoness gulped and shook a little. “T–the...the flag,” she said in a shaky voice. “It’s his symbol.”

Twilight looked at the flag flapping wildly in the wind. Another flash of lightning allowed her to see it briefly. The flag was as black as the armor the dragons were wearing. In the center was a half shaped circle that was angled to look like a narrow eye. The eye itself was yellow and had a black line through it as if it was glaring at those looking at it.

“I don’t understand,” said Twilight.

“It’s the symbol of Master Ash’s army,” answered Matches.

Twilight’s eyes went wide. “Oh, no,” she whispered.

“There she is!” one of the armored dragons pointed. “Get her!”

Before Twilight and the others could respond, three black armored dragons ran up and grabbed Ember by the arms and dragged her away.

The dragon lord struggled and tried to break free. “Let me go!” she demanded. “What are you doing!?”

“Ember!” Twilight shouted as she ran towards her.

She was suddenly stopped when the third soldier held a spear up near her throat and growled at her.

“Back away, pony!” he barked. “She’s coming with us for her own safety!”

Twilight backed up and said, “Safety? What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t pretend that we aren’t aware of what happened! You’re lucky we don’t have orders to destroy this town for what you’ve done!”

“What are you talking about!?” asked Twilight.

“Allow me to explain,” a cold voice called out.

Ember’s insides froze as she heard the voice. “Not him,” she whispered.

From above, a large black dragon in golden armor and wielding a large sword landed with a tremendous thud that shook the ground. Twilight and the others looked at the dragon with awe. Fluttershy darted behind Rainbow, who tried to look brave but her shaky legs betrayed her. The dragon looked down at the group and glared at them.

One of the armored dragons ran up and saluted the golden figure. “Master Ash, we have managed to secure Lord Ember!”

“Very good,” he said. “Keep her away from the ponies and make sure they don’t get near her.”

“Yes, Master,” the soldier replied with a salute.

Ash’s eyes fell upon the nervous Twilight standing in front of him. “Princess Twilight, I assume?” he inquired.

“Y–yes,” she replied. “Are you Master Ash?”

The dragon nodded. “Indeed. You’re probably wondering why I am here and have brought an army big enough to burn this village to ashes.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” snarled Rainbow.

“Stop it, Rainbow,” ordered Twilight. She looked at Ash. “That’s what I was going to ask.”

“Well maybe one of your friends can answer me this question before I tell you why,” he said.

Ash looked around the other ponies and his eyes narrowed. “Where is the one called Rarity?”

Rarity stepped out from behind Applejack and Starlight and held a shaky hand up. “I am, but what does this–”

“SEIZE HER!” barked Master Ash.

In an instant, the guards quickly ran over towards Rarity. They all held their spears out and pointed them at the frightened unicorn.

“On your knees, pony!” one of the dragons ordered.

“W–what?” she asked in a terrified voice.

“I said on your knees, pony!” the soldier moved in closer with his spear. “Kneel over and put your hands behind your back!”

Rarity’s knees shook violently from the sight of all the dragons pointing their weapons at her. She kneeled over slowly and put her hands behind her back. One of the guards walked up and kicked Rarity in the back and forced her to the ground.

“AHH!” she screamed in pain. “Get off of me, you–AHH!”

The dragon pressed his foot into Rarity’s back. “Shut it!” he barked. “You have a lot to answer for after what you’ve done, you primitive pony!”

“Stop it now!”

The guards looked over to see Twilight and the others running towards them.

“Let go of Rarity right now!” demanded Twilight.

“You’re in no position to bargain, pony!” the guard responded. “Princess or not, this no good unicorn is coming with us!”

“WHAT!?” the group exclaimed.

Rainbow flew over to Master Ash and snarled. “What the hay do you think you’re doing taking our friend from us!?”

Master Ash looked over at the guard and glared. “Get off of her right now. She may be our prisoner, but that’s no excuse to hurt her like that.”

“Hey! What’s your problem with–whoa!” Rainbow was suddenly pulled away by a magical aura covering her.

“Rainbow, don’t provoke him!” berated Twilight. She looked over at Ash. “Why are you taking Rarity away? What has she done to anger you?”

“Do you still feign ignorance of your friend’s actions?” inquired Ash. “You know full well what she did, and how she must pay for it!”

Ember’s eyes widened as a cold feeling settled in her. Oh, no. He couldn’t have known about that could he?

“W–what do you m–mean?” asked Twilight, nervously.

Master Ash looked over at the guards and said, “Bring her to me at once.”

Two guards escorted Rarity out, who was whimpering in pain and had tears running down her face. She looked up at the tall dragon glaring at her and was shaking so much, the guards’ armor was rattling.

“Rarity!” he boomed. “You are under arrest for assaulting Dragon Lord Ember!”

“WHAT!?” screamed Rarity. “No! This can’t be!” Her eyes fell upon Ember and she glared. “What did you tell him!? Is this your idea of revenge!?”

Ember struggled and finally managed to break the grip the guards had on her. She ran over to Master Ash and said, “Master, stop now! Rarity didn’t do anything wrong at all!”

Ash put a claw on Ember’s shoulder. “You don’t need to worry any longer about facing retribution from this pony, Lord Ember. Rarity will be dealt with and you’ll never have to worry about her attacking you again.”

Ember looked horrified, and turned towards Matches. “What did you even tell the Council in the report!?”

Matches shook his head. “I didn’t tell them anything about this! You should know that I wouldn’t say anything about this!”

Ash looked over at the green dragon and said, “That reminds me, Matches. Guards, seize him too!”

“What did you just say, Master?” asked Matches.

The guards surrounded him just as fast as they did Rarity and brought them to his knees. Matches struggled and grunted, but was soon restrained and handcuffed behind his back.

He looked at the elderly dragon with a mixture of confusion and fear. “Master, why?”

“Where do I even begin with what you did wrong, soldier. Or should I say, ex-soldier?” he asked.

“E–ex?” said Matches.

Ash leaned into Matches’ face. “The Dragon Lord is assaulted, and you weren’t there to save her? What exactly were you doing?”

Matches gulped loudly. “I–I w–was relaxing at a b–beach nearby.” He smiled nervously at him.

Ash looked like he was going to explode. “A BEACH!? You mean to tell me that while Lord Ember was attacked, you were relaxing at a beach!?”

“M–master, wait!” pleaded Matches. “Let me explain!”

“No more!” Ash boomed and held out a claw. “Guards, take this so called soldier out of my sight and into the prison carriage! We’ll deal with him later!”

“With pleasure, sir,” the guard said. He kicked Matches in the back. “Let’s go, you disgrace of a guard.”

Matches had both of his arms being pulled by two guards, and he struggled to make them stop. “Wait! Don’t do this! Let me explain!”

He soon came upon a large metal chariot being pulled by several dragons with a few iron barred windows. The doors opened and the guards threw Matches in violently.

“No!” he yelled. “Ember! Twilight! Help m–”

The doors slammed shut, silencing the dragon’s pleas.

Twilight looked at Ash with a nasty look. “Leave him alone! He didn’t do anything wrong!”

“He did worse than that!” he replied. “He failed to do his duties in guarding and protecting the Dragon Lord! He must be punished for his actions!”

“Master, no!” cried out Ember. “Matches shouldn’t be punished for something like this! I went on my own without him!”

“Be that as it may, he still should have been more alert in his duties.” Ash looked at the prison carriage and shook his head. “What a shame, corporal. You had so much potential and you wasted it.”

“Wait a minute, Master Ash!” called out Twilight. “If Matches never said anything in the report to the Dragon Council, then how did you know about what happened between Ember and Rarity?”

“A concerned dragon who had his suspicions and was correct,” he replied.

“Who is this dragon?” asked Ember.

“You can say I’m a close friend,” a sinister voice said.

Ember’s eyes widened and felt her blood boiling quickly. “No...it can’t be. It can’t be him.”

Behind Master Ash, another dragon stepped out in a brown cloak. The dragon removed the hood covering his head to reveal a smug looking Garble staring at Ember.

“Garble!?” Ember exclaimed in shock. She looked over at Ash. “Master, this is your source!? You can’t be serious!”

“Whoa there, Ember,” said Garble. “No ‘hello’ or ‘I’m happy to see you’, Garble? Isn’t that what friendsdo?”

Ember’s eyes narrowed. “You know full well we aren’t even friends!”

Garble gasped. “How dare you, Ember?” he asked in a mocking voice. “I thought we were friends!”

“Master Ash, you can’t be serious!” yelled Ember. “Garble has been against friendship from the very start! You can’t just accept anything he says!”

“Normally, I would take what my grandson tells me with a grain of salt, but he has proof,” said Ash.

“Grandson?” whispered Rainbow. “He’s related to that big dragon?”

“Quiet!” ordered Applejack.

Ember gulped a little. “He does?”

“You wound me, Ember,” said Garble. “Thinking I wouldn’t have proof of what happened between you and Rarity.”

The Dragon Lord’s eyes narrowed. “What is it then?”

Garble reached into his cloak and pulled out an envelope. “Why don’t you all feast your eyes on this?”

He opened the envelope and pulled out several small papers. He waved a hand over to signal Ember to come over. The dragoness ran over and leaned in to look. She gasped and stumbled back as fear gripped her and her legs started shaking.

Garble smirked. “Oh, I’m sorry about that, Ember. I forgot how painful that must have been. After all, reliving something like that would frighten any dragon.”

No! No! No! No! No!She thought to herself.

She looked again at the photos, hoping it was some bad dream, but wasn’t. There were five pictures of her and Rarity at the beach fighting each other. All of them showing them in different positions and hitting each other.

“How...how did you even get those?” she asked. “Where did you–”

“Get them?” finished Garble. He held up a camera hanging around his neck. “You could say that I took up some freelance photography with my camera.”

“Camera?” asked Ember. “You never were a photographer though! And where did you even get this so called camera!?”

Garble shrugged. “What can I say? I took up a hobby, and it looks like I did so in time to see Rarity’s true colors.”

Ember snorted and smoke billowed from her nostrils. She looked at Ash with a glare. “Master, this is all a mistake! There’s too many coincidences for something like this! Besides, you know Garble hates ponies and has been against this alliance from the start!”

“His hatred towards ponies may be true, Ember,” said Ash. “However, he has discovered the truth.”

“No!” cried out Ember.

Ash put his claw on Ember’s shoulder and had a solemn look on him. “I know you wanted to make peace between dragons and ponies, but I’m afraid what Garble has shown us is a sign that ponies are not ready to embrace this.”

“That’s not true!” objected Twilight. “We’ve been showing Ember and Matches around and they’ve had a good time!”

“I showed them the Wonderbolts’ Academy!” stated Rainbow.

“I showed them around my farm!” said Applejack. “They’ve had a great time here in Ponyville! You can’t just say that what happened between Ember and Rarity means ponies don’t want to be friends with dragons!”

“Oh, cut it out!” yelled Garble. “How do we know there aren’t more ponies like Rarity who would hurt Ember or one of our other leaders?”

“That’s not the point!” argued Twilight. “We’re saying that this incident shouldn’t just destroy this alliance!”

“Well it’s too late for that now,” said Garble with a devious smile. “Rarity did that the moment she landed the first punch on Ember.”

“That’s not true!” shouted Ember. “You don’t understand what was–”

“Enough!” barked Master Ash.

The group fell silent and looked at him.

Ash looked over at Twilight. “Princess, I understand that not all ponies are like what your friend did, and while I am furious about what happened, I too don’t want this alliance to crumble.”

“WHAT!?” exploded Garble. “Come on, old man, we shouldn’t trust these ponies again after what happened!”

Some of the guards around muttered in agreement.

“He’s got a point.”

“What’s to say another pony won’t attack my wife?”

“That unicorn could have killed Lord Ember!”

“SILENCE!” boomed Ash. “Let me finish what I have to say!”

The army fell silent while Garble scowled and looked away.

“Princess Twilight, I know that Rarity is a friend of yours and you care about her, but this is a matter that must be dealt with in the Dragon Lands.”

“But–”

“There is no changing my mind now,” interrupted Ash.

“Isn’t there anything we can do to help Rarity?” asked Starlight. “We can’t just leave her behind.”

Ash closed his eyes and thought to himself.

“Ignore them, old man,” said Garble. “We know Rarity is guilty of this and we shouldn’t waste anymore time about this. Let’s just go ahead and take her back and let every dragon watch her be burnt to ashes for what she did!”

“Burnt!?” Rarity shouted in horror. “No! You can’t!”

“Master, you can’t let this happen!” objected Ember. “You don’t understand what happened!”

Ash opened his eyes and looked at the Dragon Lord. “Really then? Do you want to tell me what happened between you and Rarity?”

Ember opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly felt something cold wash over her. She wanted to say something, but found herself tongue tied.

“Well?” asked Ash.

“Um...that’s a little hard to explain,” said Ember, bashfully. “You see, the truth is that–”

“Say no more, Ember,” interrupted Master Ash. “I understand that what happened to you was a horrible ordeal, and you don’t want to recall it so recently. You don’t need to tell us anything.”

He turned to Rarity and glared. “Sheis the one who will be answering about what happened. Whether she wants to or not, she will tell us the truth.”

Ash looked at the two guards holding her down. He pulled out a large metal ring with a red ruby on it. “Take her away! Make sure you put this magic nullifier on that unicorn’s horn so she doesn’t try to escape!”

“No! You can’t do this! It isn’t fair!” cried out Rarity.

“Quiet, pony!” ordered Ash. “Guards, put her in the second prison transport!”

“Yes, Master!” the dragon replied.

The dragon guards dragged Rarity away, who was still struggling violently.

“No! Help! Twilight! Spike! Anypony! Help me!” she yelled desperately.

The prison wagon doors opened and one of the guards grabbed Rarity. She looked into the cold look the dragon was giving her and froze up.

“Stay still and be quiet,” he threatened. “Or else there will be no dessert tonight for you.”

The guard placed the nullifier ring on Rarity’s horn and secured it tightly. He looked at the other guard and nodded. The two of them picked up Rarity and tossed her into the wagon violently.

“AHH!” Rarity screamed in pain. Her head pounded slightly as she crawled away from the wall she was thrown against. She slowly leaned up and managed to get a look at the castle.

Her eyes watered up and let out a whisper, “Spikey.”

The doors slammed shut, leaving Rarity by herself.

Ash looked over at Ember. “It’s time to return home now, Lord Ember. Until things have been settled between Equestria and the Dragon Lands, I won’t allow you to return here and put yourself in danger.”

“Master, does this mean that the alliance is...well…” Ember looked down and couldn’t find the courage to speak.

“Over?” questioned Ash. “That is a debate for another time, Lord Ember. For now though, we need to return home at once. Rarity will answer to her crimes and we will determine her fate.” He grabbed Ember by the arm and pulled her closely. “You’ll be escorted back by one of our carriages. If another attack happens, I will make sure you are protected.”

“Don’t you think that maybe you’re overreacting just a–”

“Soldiers!” barked Ash, ignoring Ember’s pleas. “Prepare to move out and return home!”

“SIR!” they all shouted in unison.

Ash turned to walk back to a nearby carriage and pulled Ember along.

“Wait a minute!”

The black dragon turned around to see a worried Twilight staring at him.

“What is it, princess?” he asked. “Our business here is concluded now.”

“I want to make sure Rarity will be given a fair trial!” demanded Twilight. “Ember is right! There’s too many coincidences!” She pointed at Garble. “He tried to attack me and Rarity during the Gauntlet of Fire! You can’t trust him over something like this!”

Garble laughed loudly and shook his head. “Wow! Being a princess in Equestria must mean being dumber than the rest of these ponies! Have you forgotten these?” He held up the photos. “This is proof enough about how much Rarity really had it in for Ember.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “That doesn’t change the fact that you just happening to be at that place and have a camera is enough to fully trust you. You may say that you were concerned about Ember, but I don’t buy it for a moment. Especially after the last two times we met you.”

Garble scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Save me your words, pony. You don’t have a shred of evidence that I did anything wrong. I, on the other hand, have proof your friend wanted to hurt Ember, possibly even more if she was given enough time.”

“I’m sure I can find some proof,” said Twilight. “There’s more to what lead up to Rarity and Ember fighting, and I’m sure you’re behind this.”

Garble looked at Twilight for a moment and then laughed again. “You really think so huh? If that isn’t the biggest load of bull–”

“Enough, Garble!” barked Ash.

The drake smirked at Twilight and backed away from her.

Ash looked at Twilight and narrowed his eyes. “It is unusual to have a defense team in our lands. Usually, the Dragon Council hears arguments from both sides and then decide the fate of the accused. However, it seems you do care very deeply for your friend there. The Council will consider this motion and decide on what to do.”

“WHAT!?” exploded Garble. “This is a joke right!?” He held up the photos again. “I got the ultimate proof right here! What more do you want, old man!?”

“Quiet, boy!” snapped Ash. “How many times do I have to tell you stop calling me that!? Furthermore, there is nothing wrong with Princess Twilight’s request for Rarity to have a lawyer!”

“But I have the proof!” argued Garble.

“I know you do, but unlike you wanting to rush to judgement, I want to know the truth,” shot back Ash. “You have a lot to learn about patience, boy. Right now you are really testing my patience with your attitude.”

“How long should it take to know, Master Ash?” wondered Twilight.

“Possibly a day or two,” he answered. “We will let you know of our decision by dragon mail. If we do decide to accept your request, you better have the proof to back up your claims.”

Twilight nodded. “I understand, and I will have it.”

“Very well.” Ash turned to his carriage and walked towards it with Ember by his side. “Soldiers, prepare to take flight!”

Ember looked back at Twilight with a remorseful expression on her. “Twilight, I don’t know what to say,” she said, sorrowfully. “You have to find something, anything, to prove Garble was somehow behind everything!”

“Don’t worry, Ember,” assured the princess. “I’ll find something to prove this. I promise you.”

“I’m just sorry about all this, Twilight,” she said. “I never wanted any of it to go like this. Just do one thing for me.”

“What is it?”

Ember looked down in shame. “Tell Spike I’m sorry, and that I was the worst friend he ever had.”

Twilight gasped. “Ember, wait!”

The dragoness turned away and walked off with Master Ash into the elegant carriage awaiting him. She paused for a moment and slowly turned her head back, but she stopped and walked into the wagon and the door was closed.

Ash looked at his army. “On my command, take flight!” He looked over at Garble. “Come now, Garble, it’s time to go home.”

The red dragon looked at Twilight with a smug smile. “Good luck trying to prove something that I didn’t do. Once you realize you got nothing on me, you'd better be ready to eat your own words.”

Twilight glared at Garble and watched as he walked away from her and joined Master Ash.

The elder dragon looked up and shouted, “Take flight!”

Slowly, the army took off into the rain and flew off into the mist. The carriages took off and for a brief moment, Twilight saw Rarity looking out the window of her prison carriage, but quickly disappeared in the rain. Ash and Garble followed behind after the rest of the dragons took off and flew off into the distance. Twilight watched until she couldn’t make them out anymore in the blinding rain and took a deep breath.

“Twilight!”

She turned around to see Starlight and the others looking at her with worried looks on them.

“What do we do now?” she wondered. “We can’t just let Rarity rot in jail.”

“Where are you going to find a lawyer, Twilight?” asked Applejack.

“How are you even going to prove Ember’s claims?” inquired Rainbow.

Twilight sighed. “I’m not sure yet, but I got some ideas. Some of the stuff Garble said or did has me concerned. It’s almost too convenient he was around and with a camera. We got to find something to connect him to this and fast!”

“What do we tell Spike?” wondered Fluttershy. “Don’t you think he should know about this?”

“I’m not sure what to even say to him,” she said.

Starlight looked over and her eyes widened. “Um...I think you better think of something fast then.”

“Why?” wondered Twilight.

Starlight responded by pointing her finger. The others turned around and were shocked to see Spike standing at the castle entrance. He had a shocked look on him as he stared at the sky. He then looked over at Twilight. She gulped a little bit and felt her insides freeze up.

“Twilight, what just happened?” he asked.

Author's Note

This chapter wasn't too hard to make to be honest. It went a lot smoother than the last one and didn't take nearly as long. I've just been preoccupied with a second job I have taken up, so it slowed me down significantly. Enjoy!

Crisis

“So Master Ash took Rarity back to the Dragon Lands to stand trial,” explained Twilight. “Now the alliance between dragons and ponies is at risk of being destroyed because of this and I don’t know what to do. That’s why I need your help now.”

Twilight looked across the map table at Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, both of whom looked at each other with concern on their faces. Silence fell upon the room as all three princesses sat in silence and thought to themselves. Twilight got up and paced around the room frantically and bit her lip.

Finally, Luna said, “This is a dire situation indeed, Twilight. I’m not even sure where to begin with this.”

“I agree,” said Celestia. “You said this was all because of a love triangle between Ember, Rarity, and Spike?”

Twilight nodded. “It escalated and resulted in both of them fighting each other. We were trying to patch things up between them yesterday, but just when they were looking like they were going to finally make up…” The alicorn grimaced and looked away.

Princess Luna glared. “Master Ash has a lot of nerve to show up in Ponyville with an army just to arrest Rarity for this. How is the town?”

“We did a look around, princess,” said Rainbow. “It looks like they were true to their orders. The army didn’t wreck the town.”

“Which is for the best,” said Applejack. “Those dragons were angrier than a wasp after its nest was hit with a rock.”

“They probably would have torn up Ponyville until Rarity came out and surrendered,” said Starlight.

“Princess Celestia, do you know Master Ash?” wondered Fluttershy.

The solar princess nodded. “It’s been a couple of years since we’ve talked. The last time I spoke to him was in regards to a truce between ponies and dragons.”

“Was it something like an alliance?” asked Twilight.

Celestia shook her head. “No. It was more of a ceasefire. You see, ponies had been going into the Dragon Lands to take eggs and sell them on the black market, and some dragons went in and destroyed some towns near the Dragon Lands.”

“That sounds worse than what Rarity and Ember did,” said Applejack. “So what happened?”

“I was able to negotiate with Master Ash,” said Celestia. “It took some time and convincing, but he and I did agree that war was something we didn’t want to take part in. So it was decided that we increase patrols around our kingdom’s borders to prevent rogue ponies or dragons causing trouble. Since then, the poaching and attacks have dropped massively.”

“Speaking of Ash,” said Luna. “Twilight, you said the dragon who reported this to him was his own grandson?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes, it was Garble, but I don’t believe he did this because he was concerned about Ember.”

“I see,” said the night princess. “If it’s true he tried to destroy a phoenix nest and attack you and Rarity in the Gauntlet of Fire, then this does raise a lot of suspicion. What proof do you have?”

Twilight lowered her head. “Nothing to be honest. Ember did say there was something she did find weird about Garble. She said that he was carrying a camera, but never expressed interest in being a photographer.”

“That’s hardly enough proof though,” said Luna. “Even if this was true, you got nothing to back it up.”

“You know, Twilight, something has been bothering me about this camera business,” said Starlight.

“What is it?”

“I can’t help but feel like I’ve heard something about this before. I can’t remember where though.”

Twilight frowned. “I appreciate your help, Starlight, but Princess Luna has a point. Without any connections or proof about Garble’s so called hobby, we can’t do anything.”

“Pardon me, Princess Celestia,” said Applejack. “Since you know Master Ash, can’t you go talk to him and try to reason with him?”

The solar alicorn rubbed her chin. “It won’t be easy,” she admitted. “Master Ash is angry about this, but he isn’t without reason. However, this will be very tricky. The Dragon Lord being attacked by a pony is something far worse than the border disputes.”

“But can you do it, sister?” asked Luna. “If Twilight wants to make sure Rarity will have a fair trial and lawyer, you may be her only hope.”

Celestia closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. “Like I said, it won’t be easy. I will go to the Dragon Lands myself and talk to Ash. I’m the closest thing to a friend he ever had, and he may listen to me.”

“Then it is settled,” said Princess Luna. “I’m sure if this goes well and Master Ash is convinced, Rarity will be happy to hear the news.”

A thought clicked inside Starlight’s head. “News...news...Wait! That’s it!”

The group looked at Starlight with raised eyebrows.

“What’s ‘it’?” asked Rainbow.

The unicorn ran over to the doors and opened them. She looked back and said, “I think I figured it out! I’ll be right back!” She ran out the door before anypony else could stop her.

“I think it’s best we let Starlight do what she must,” said Celestia. “There is one other thing I must know, Twilight.”

“What is it?”

“How has Spike taken this news?” wondered Celestia.

Twilight frowned. “I...I told him the truth. He was so shocked about what had happened, that he just ran off before any of us can stop him.”

“Oh, dear,” said Celestia with a frown.

“He seems more reclusive now than ever. I think what happened to both Rarity and Ember has really shaken him.”

“We’ve tried to convince him to come out and talk to us,” said Starlight. “But he won’t listen to us, and he’s been ignoring us.”

“He won’t come out of his room now; even for food or water,” continued Twilight. “I think these last two days have shaken him to his core.”

“Perhaps he needs some time alone to think things through and to settle down,” said Celestia. “Give him the space he needs to calm down.”

The solar princess reached into her white regalia robe and pulled out a piece of parchment paper. “In the meantime, Luna, I want you to see to it that you find a lawyer suitable to this case.”

Luna took the paper and read it. “Do you think they’ll be up to it, sister? These may be some of Canterlot’s best lawyers, but they’ve never faced a case like this.”

“We have little choice in this matter, Luna,” said Celestia. “The quicker we find a lawyer, the more time we’ll have to put together a defense for Rarity.”

She looked at Twilight. “I want you and your friends to see if you can find any proof to back up Ember’s claims about Garble.”

Twilight rubbed the back of her head. “I don’t know where to begin though. All we have right now is Ember said Garble doesn’t do photography.”

The doors to the council chamber swung open. “Twilight!”

Everypony looked over to see Starlight smiling and holding a newspaper in her hand.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” asked Twilight.

Starlight nodded and brought the paper over. “Take a look at this!” She opened the paper and pointed at it.

The two of them looked at the article Starlight was pointing at. Twilight skimmed through it quickly and then let out a gasp and smiled.

“Starlight, I think you’re onto something!” she said. “This may be what we’re looking for!”

“What is it?” wondered Rainbow.

“A few days ago, a pony was attacked and robbed in the Everfree Forest,” said Twilight.

“I fail to see how this helps us,” said Applejack.

“I read through the article and it says the pony in question was a bird watcher who took photos of wild and exoctic birds,” explained Twilight. “He says all that he could recall was a figure; a red figure.”

Applejack’s eyes went wide. “A photographer? Red figure? Are you thinking what I’m thinking then?”

The princess of friendship nodded in agreement. “This may be the camera Garble stole. According to the paper, the pony, Feather Flight, was admitted into the Ponyville Hospital. The investigation into the attack has just begun and are looking around at the spot where he was attacked for clues. If we can ask him about this incident, then we may have a chance.”

“That sounds great!” exclaimed Pinkie. “We’ll have this solved in no time!”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves now,” said Twilight. “I think we should all split up.”

“Split up?” asked Fluttershy.

Twilight nodded. “There’s a few places that’s caught my attention that need to be looked at. Pinkie, you and Applejack go to the Everfree Forest and look the crime scene.” She took a piece of parchment and wrote something on it. “Take this with you. This is permission from me to look around and see if anything can be found to connect Garble to it.”

Applejack took the parchment and put it in her pocket. “Got it, Twi.”

“See if you can ask Zecora too. She may have seen something the police may have missed.”

“Okie doki!” said Pinkie.

“Starlight, you and I will go to the hospital and ask Feather about the attack. Maybe he can give us a few clues.”

“Understood,” said the unicorn.

“Rainbow, you and Fluttershy need to go back to the Wonderbolts’ Academy and talk to Sergeant McCloud.”

Rainbow and Fluttershy looked at each other with raised eyebrows, and then at Twilight.

“Why him?” asked Rainbow. “We already know he was attacked by a pegasus, but we don’t know much more than that.”

“Ask him for more details about his attack,” said Twilight. “Something about those footprint photos you showed me the other day has me wondering if we’ve been missing something. There’s something not adding up to this, and we need more information.”

Rainbow nodded. “Alright, I’ll see what I can dig up.”

“We have little time to spare, girls. Let’s move out!”

“Right!” the group shouted in unison.

Celestia and Luna both got up. “We will attend to our duties then,” said Luna. “Hopefully by the time I have to raise the moon, we’ll have a lawyer for you, Twilight.”

“Just as long as Master Ash sees things my way,” said Celestia.

Twilight nodded. “I just hope Rarity is holding up well in the Dragon Lands right now.”

Outside of the Friendship Council, Spike leaned against the wall and had a hand over his chest. He looked down and had a solemn look on him.

“Rarity...Ember…” he whispered softly.

Rarity shook nervously as she was lead by two guards down the stone hallway. The chains shackled and clanked together as she was forced to walk and be lead to a pair of doors. The doors creaked open and Rarity was pushed inside the room. She walked down the stairs and looked around to see it was a large circular chamber that had audience stands, but no dragon was there. Her attention shifted to the center floor that was lit by several torches and a stone podium in the middle. Rarity was escorted to the podium and the guards halted.

One of them looked up and saluted. “Master, the prisoner is here.”

Rarity looked up and gasped to see Master Ash sitting in a large throne with a stone table in front of him and seven brown hooded figures sitting in some smaller red chairs. The unicorn gulped a little and shook a little more nervously.

“Thanks you, corporal,” said Ash. “Both of you leave us now. The council will deal with this pony.”

“Yes, Master,” the guard obeyed.

The two turned around and walked out. The doors slammed shut and the room fell silent, save for the flickering of flames, as Rarity and the Dragon Council looked at one another. The unicorn took several deep breaths to try to calm herself down, but the glare Ash gave her only made her more nervous.

“Read the charges!” boomed Ash.

One of the council members took out a scroll from his robe and unfurled it. “Miss Rarity, you are charged with assaulting Dragon Lord Ember and causing an international incident. How do you plead?”

Rarity looked down and muttered something.

Ash raised an eyebrow. “Speak up, pony,” he ordered.

Rarity looked up and, with a deep breath, said, “Guilty.”

The council muttered to themselves and Ash looked on stoically. After a minute, Ash raised his claw up and the council fell silent. He leaned over and looked down at Rarity with a perplexed look.

“Interesting,” he stated. “Already admitting your guilt before us? Not even going to deny it?”

“I–it’s hard to do so with those pictures,” said Rarity.

“At least you’re willing to admit your guilt,” said Ash. “But there is still something that bothers me about your actions.”

“What is it?” wondered Rarity.

“Why do this?” asked Ash.

Rarity lowered her head and her breathing increased.

“It’s a simple question, Miss Rarity,” said the elder dragon. “Was it out of pure hatred towards dragons?”

“Of course not!” objected Rarity. “There is one dragon I do care a lot!” She yelped a little and stepped back in fear she overstepped her response.

Ash rubbed his chin and frowned. “A dragon you care a lot huh?” he wondered. “Tell us more about this, Miss Rarity.”

“Well, that’s the funny thing,” said Rarity with a forced laugh. “It’s a pretty long story and I’m not sure this would help or hurt me.”

“We will decide that, pony,” said Ash. “Now talk.”

Rarity gulped and looked away.

“Miss Rarity, the longer you remain silent about your actions, the more difficult you make this for yourself. I’m giving you a chance to explain yourself. It would be in your best interests to take advantage of my generosity.”

Rarity nodded slowly. “I understand.”

“Now explain yourself,” ordered Ash.

“If you are so curious about this one dragon, he is a very close friend of mine,” said Rarity. “He may be a dragon, but he’s certainly not like any dragon I’ve seen before.”

“And who is he?” wondered Ash.

Rarity felt her cheeks burn a little. “Spike.”

Ash rubbed his chin. “Hmmm...I believe I’ve heard this name before.”

“If I recall, Lord Ember was the one who mentioned another dragon by that name,” said one council member. “She brought him up during her meeting with us about going to Equestria.”

“Ah, that’s it now,” said Ash. “I believe he also took part in the Gauntlet of Fire.”

“Yes he did,” said Rarity.

“So how does this tie into what happened? Were you upset that Ember was made Dragon Lord and wanted Spike to be it instead?”

Rarity gasped. “What? No! Spikey Wikey had no interest in being Dragon Lord. He was the one who gave the Bloodstone Scepter to Ember and made her Dragon Lord.”

The Dragon Council muttered to themselves.

“Is this true?”

“Why would a dragon do that?”

“Giving up such a prestigious role in the Dragon Lands? That’s preposterous!”

Ash held up a claw and the council immediately fell silent. He leaned forward and looked at Rarity. “So Ember was made Dragon Lord on account of Spike giving up the title to her? How does this tie into your fight with her?”

Rarity gulped, but pushed on. “As I said before, Spike is some dragon I care very deeply about. He cared a lot about me too since he first came to Ponyville all those years ago. It didn’t take me until after the Gauntlet of Fire to make me realize how much I cared for him. But then she had to come.”

“Ember?” asked Ash.

Rarity nodded. “Indeed. Shortly after we left the Dragon Lands, Spike always talked about Ember and wanting to see her. He would wonder how she was doing, and wanted to see her again. The more I heard him talk about Ember, the more upset I got. It was like he forgot about me, and that he cared more about Ember than me.”

The council once again muttered to themselves.

“A possible love triangle?”

“This is absurd! Attacking the Dragon Lord because of being jealous?”

Ash raised his hand once more and the room went silent. “So let me get this straight? You attacked Lord Ember over jealousy that Spike may have had feelings for her?”

Rarity rubbed the back of her head. “Well...when you put it that way, yes.”

Ash narrowed his eyes. “You mean to tell me that all of this was in regards to some affliction you have with Spike? You attacked Lord Ember all because of this? A crush on a friend of yours? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

The unicorn shrunk back a little and shook nervously.

“Look at where you are now; arrested for attacking Lord Ember over a love dispute? What exactly were you thinking?”

Rarity frowned and looked away. “I...I just wanted Spikey back so much.”

“Well I’m afraid that may not be possible after what you’ve done.”

“What will you do to me?”

“We’ll discuss your fate in private,” answered Ash. “I think we’ve heard enough from you.”

He looked at the doors to the chamber. “Guard!”

The doors opened and two soldiers entered.

“Yes, Master?” one asked.

“Take the prisoner back to the detention center,” he ordered. “We need to talk privately about what to do.”

The guards saluted and each one took Rarity’s arm.

“Come with us,” the guard said.

Rarity looked down and nodded in compliance. She turned around with the soldiers and was escorted out of the audience chamber. As she was being lead out, Ash let out a sigh and shook his head.

A love triangle? A possible crush on Ember? Lord Ember, have you been hiding something from us?

Twilight and Starlight both walked down the hospital hallway with Nurse Redheart walking between them. They moved out of the way of several doctors and nurses rushing to other patients.

“Thank you for letting us see Feather, nurse,” said Twilight.

“It’s no problem, princess,” said Redheart. “Normally we don’t allow this, but I’m willing to make an exception to help catch who did this and help Rarity.”

“I just hope this isn’t some false lead,” said Starlight.

“You’re about to find out,” said Redheart. She stopped and looked at the door in front of her. “Here we are. Room 404 is where Feather Flight is.”

“Thanks again, nurse,” said Twilight.

“Just try not to be too long with him,” warned the nurse. “He’s still suffering some trauma from the attack and he’s due for another treatment soon.”

“We promise to make this quick,” said Twilight.

Redheart smiled and knocked on the door. She opened it and poked her head in. “Mr. Flight, the guests are here.”

“Send them in,” he said in a weary voice. “Would you kindly get me some more ice too if you could?”

“Of course I can.” Nurse Redheart looked back at Twilight and stepped out of the way. “He’s all yours.”

Twilight nodded and walked into the room with Starlight. Nurse Redheart closed the door, leaving the three ponies by themselves. Feather was lying down in a large white bed and had several wires and tubes connected to his body. His head had several bandages around it and an eyepatch.

“Now who could be visiting me so late in the day?”

The unicorn opened his eyes and gasped as he looked to see who was standing before him. A smile formed on his face and his cheeks turned a little red in embarrassment.

“P–princess Twilight?” he asked. “My goodness. I didn’t think my attack warranted the attention of royalty. You must really care about your subjects here if you make the time to visit them in the hospital.”

“I do try to make the time if I can,” said Twilight with a soft smile on her. “I wish I could say that I was here for a formal visit, but there’s another reason I’m here.”

“Oh? What is it then?”

“It’s about your attack, Feather,” said Starlight. “We want to talk about what happened.”

Feather’s smile drooped a little and he looked down. “Oh,” he said in a low voice. “That again.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I take it the police has been asking you about it?”

The unicorn nodded. “Almost non-stop. They’ve wanted to know what happened. Where the attack was. How long I was out. The questions just went on and on and on.” He looked at Twilight. “Princess, please tell me the guards didn’t send you here just to get more information from me.”

She shook her head. “No. This is something completely different. We believe the attack on you may be connected to another incident.”

“Another incident?” wondered Feather. “Does it involve that shaking I felt yesterday? It felt like an earthquake was happening.”

“In a way yes,” said the alicorn. “It’s a bit of a long story. A week ago, we received a message from…”

Twilight went on to explain how Ember was sent to Equestria and the events leading up to what happened. As she told the story, Feather’s face changed constantly from surprise, to excitement, and then sadness. By the time Twilight finished explaining what happened, Feather had a solemn look on him.

“My word,” he said. “I don’t know what to even say about this.”

“I know it’s a lot to take in,” said Twilight.

“Which brings us back to you, Feather,” said Starlight. She held up the newspaper. “This paper said you were attacked by some red figure.”

“I’m sure you’ve been asked this a lot, but please tell us anything you can about who attacked you,” said Twilight.

Feather grimaced. “I already told the investigators what they wanted,” he said. “All I remember is a large red figure, but not much else.”

“Try to think back to that day,” said Twilight. “Try to describe what it looked like, if the figure had scales, or if it was flying.”

Feather’s head shot up and he looked bewildered. “Wait a minute,” he said. “What was that last one?”

“Flying?” Twilight asked. She unfurled her wings and extended them . “Did this figure fly at you?”

The unicorn stared at Twilight for nearly a minute, but then let out a gasp. “I...I remember!” he said.

“So this creature did fly at you?” wondered Starlight.

Feather nodded. “Yes. I heard something flapping and thought it was bird. When I turned around, I did remember seeing some red fist hit me in the face and knock me down. But something about that thing was off now that I think about it.”

“What was it?”

“It was the wings,” he replied. “They didn’t look like pegasus wings.”

Twilight and Starlight looked at each other, and then at Feather with raised eyebrows.

“What do you mean by that?” asked Twilight. “Were they misshapen or something?”

Feather shook his head. “No, they just looked huge and kind of jagged.”

Starlight leaned over and whispered, “You think this sounds good?”

Twilight nodded and her horn glowed. A pad of paper and a pen appeared in front of her and she levitated them over to Starlight. “Take these and write down this information,” she ordered.

“Right,” said Starlight as she snatched the pen and pad.

The princess looked at Feather with a small smile. “Can you tell us anything else? Any other features you can tell us?”

Feather closed his eyes to concentrate. He flinched a little and put a hand to his head.

“Are you alright?” wondered Starlight in a concerned voice.

The elderly unicorn slowly nodded. “Sorry, but whoever hit me must have really loved to make my head target practice.”

“We better hurry this up, Twilight,” urged Starlight. “If he’s starting to feel unwell, Nurse Redheart may make us leave.”

“You’re right,” said the alicorn. She looked at Feather. “I know this is a lot to ask and all, but just please tell us anything you remember. What happened before you were hit or anything about the attacker.”

Feather shook his head. “I’m sorry, princess, but I just can’t think of anything else beyond what I told you.”

Twilight frowned and let out a sigh. “Well, thank you for your help, Feather Flight. I hope you do feel better soon.”

“Thank you for coming to visit me,” he said. “Even if it was just for some questions like that, I appreciate you making the time to come see me.”

“Come on, Starlight. I think we’re done here.”

The two mares turned to walk towards the door. Feather let out a sigh and rested his head against the pillow. A light suddenly flashed from the window near his bed, followed by some rumbling thunder. Something suddenly clicked in Feather’s head and his eyes widened. He bolted up and looked at the two mares leaving.

“Princess Twilight, wait!” he shouted. “I...I remember!”

Twilight and Starlight turned around and hurried over to him.

“You remember who hit you?” Twilight asked with excitement in her voice.

Feather shook his head. “No, but I do remember one last thing before I fell unconscious.”

“What was it?” wondered Starlight.

“It was a flash of light.”

The two mares looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

“A flash of light?” repeated Twilight.

“I don’t get it,” said Starlight. “Was it like that lightning flash a moment ago?”

“No! Not like that,” said Feather. “I mean I remember lying on the ground after being hit and some large creature standing over me. I couldn’t get a good look, but I remember that thing held his arms up and something flashed. I think that what I saw was my attacker stealing my camera and accidentally taking a photo of themselves.”

Twilight gasped. “Are you sure that’s what you saw?”

Feather nodded. “Positive. My camera had its flash on the day I was attacked, so that’s what it must have been.”

Starlight wrote on the pad and smiled. “This is great, Twilight. If what he says is true, this may support Ember’s claims about Garble and the camera.”

“Thank you for telling us this, Feather,” said Twilight.

“I’m glad I could be of help to you two,” said Feather. “I sadly don’t remember much beyond that.” He groaned and rubbed his head. “I wish I could be of more help to you.”

“That’s okay, Feather,” said Starlight. “I think we got what we needed. Wouldn’t you agree, Twilight?”

The alicorn nodded. “I think some more of the pieces are coming together. A large, red creature. The huge, jagged wings. Then the flash from the camera. This does sound like things are connecting to Garble, but this is all mere speculation. We need more proof.”

“I hope Applejack and Pinkie are having some luck with where they are,” said Starlight. “Otherwise, this may be all for nothing.”

“Me too, Starlight,” agreed the princess.

The door was knocked on and Nurse Redheart peaked in. “Excuse me, your highness, but it’s time for Feather’s treatment.”

“It’s alright,” she said. “We were just finishing up here.” Twilight looked at Feather again. “Thank you for everything again. I’m sure what you told us will be useful in our investigation.”

“You’re welcome,” he said. “Just do me this favor please.”

“What is it?”

Feather narrowed his eyes. “Make sure you find the creature who did this and make them pay for taking my camera.”

Twilight nodded. “Gladly. If our suspicions are correct, he’ll have a lot more to worry about than theft.”

The two mares waved and walked out of the room.

“We better go see Applejack and Pinkie,” said Twilight. “Maybe they found something at the crime scene.”

“If the rain hasn’t washed any evidence away,” said Starlight.

“Let’s hope for the best,” said Twilight.

Ember walked down the hall of the castle, aimlessly wandering about with no destination. Her mind was racing with multiple thoughts ranging from the fight she and Rarity had not too long ago, to what happened yesterday. The images flashed in her mind of Master Ash arriving to take her, Matches, and Rarity away back to the Dragon Lands. She paused and leaned against a nearby wall as she felt overwhelmed with everything that had happened and how bad things have gotten.

“Hey, Stone,” a male voice said.

Ember stood back up and saw the silhouettes of two dragons around the corner looking at each other. She snuck up to the corner and kept her body against the wall.

“What’s up, Jade?” another male asked in a gravely voice.

“You hear about what happened to Lord Ember?” he asked.

“I’ve heard some rumors, but nothing else,” said Stone. “But is it true what they’re saying?”

Jade said nothing, which only made Ember nervous.

“Come on, man, tell me it isn’t true.”

Jade let out a sigh. “I’m afraid it is. From what I’ve heard, Lord Ember was attacked by a pony during her trip to Equestria.”

Stone let out a gasp. “But I thought Ember said the ponies were peaceful, and wanted to make friends with them. What made one of them want to hurt our Lord?”

“I have no idea. All I know is that the one who did it is being interrogated right now by the Dragon Council.”

“This doesn’t make sense though,” said Stone. “Ember said she wanted to give peace between dragons and ponies a chance, and be friends with them. Was she wrong?”

“I can’t answer that,” said Jade. “But I got to admit that maybe being friends with ponies and what Ember is trying to do may be a bad idea.”

Ember let out a gasp, but quickly covered her mouth.

Jade and Stone looked at the corner and held the spears out.

“What was that?” wondered Stone.

Jade slowly walked up to the corner and turned to face it. He saw nothing but the long, stone corridor and several lit torches lighting the hallway. He backed away and went back to his post.

“Must have been the wind,” he said.

Stone kicked the ground and frowned. “I still can’t believe it. What’s going to happen now?”

“That’s up to the Dragon Council to decide. Frankly, I think with what that pony did, we shouldn’t bother trying to be friends with them.”

“I don’t know about that. I mean, I hate what that pony did, but I don’t think it’s enough to make us break off ties with Equestria.”

“But what happens if there are more ponies like the one that attacked Ember? First it was the Dragon Lord. Next time, it could be your wife, your child, or maybe even Master Ash himself.”

Stone said nothing.

“You see my point now?” asked Jade.

Stone sighed and shook his head. “We should discuss this later. We better get to our next post before the commander chews our heads off.”

“Right.”

The two guards turned the corner and walked down the hallway with some rather loud clanking from their armor. On the ceiling, Ember looked down at the hallway and waited until the two guards were gone before moving back down. She flapped her wings and brought herself down to the floor gently.

The dragoness leaned against the wall and shook nervously. Her mind was buzzing even faster now and her heart was pounding. She wanted to go chase those guards for what they said, but couldn’t find the courage to do so.

“I don’t believe it,” she whispered. “This just can’t be happening”

Ember sat down and buried her head in her arms. Spike, if I ever needed a friend like you, now would be a perfect time.

Twilight and Starlight walked out of the hospital and into the town. Several pegasi were pushing and kicking the clouds away to clear up the sky and allow the sun to shine on the town again.

“Alright, we know the attack was in the Everfree Forest,” said Twilight. “We just gotta find where the attack happened and see what Applejack and Pinkie found.”

“Twilight!”

The alicorn turned around to see Applejack and Pinkie running up to her. She noticed that Applejack had something that looked like a manilla envelope in her hands.

“Well that was easy,” said Starlight. “What are you two doing here?”

“We just finished up looking around the forest,” said Applejack. “Took some time to convince the guards that Twilight sent us, but we were able to get in and look around.”

“It was so much fun!” exclaimed Pinkie. “It was just like that time we investigated together on the train, Twilight! Except Applejack didn’t seem to think it was as fun.”

“There ain’t anything fun about trying to help clear Rarity’s name,” said the farmer pony. “But that ain’t the point, sugarcube. The police did find something of interest near where Feather Flight was attacked.”

“What was it?”

Applejack held out the envelope to the princess. “Take a look for yourself.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, but took the envelope from Applejack. She opened it up and pulled out a few small pieces of paper. Her eyes darted around the papers as she looked at them all. The longer she looked at them, the wider her eyes got.

She lowered the papers and she had an excited look on her. “Good job, Applejack. Everything is starting to come together now.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Coming together? What do you mean by that?”

“I mean by these photos,” said Twilight. She held them out to her.

Starlight leaned in and saw they were photos. The pictures showed the dirt and bits of grass from the Everfree Forest, and some police tape around a small area. The photos showed a large dirt impression left in the ground that resembled what looked to be footprints. One of them looked to be washed out from the rain storm.

A thought clicked in Starlight’s head. “Twilight, these footprints look familiar.”

“They should be,” said the alicorn. “If I’m correct, then these footprints are something we’ve seen before.” She looked at Applejack. “Did the guards give a size of the footprint?”

The farmer pony nodded. “They gave a description of what they believe is the size of the footprint. They were kind enough to write it down and give it to us.”

“And we did check on Zecora,” said Pinkie. “She said she did hear something.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Hear something?”

“It’s a bit hard to explain, Twilight,” said Applejack. “When we got into the crime scene, the guards were talking to Zecora. She told the guards and us about something weird she never heard in the forest; laughter.”

Starlight tilted her head. “Laughter?”

“Not the ‘ha, ha’ kind after pulling a clever prank either,” said Pinkie. “She said it was the kind of laughter that was evil and wanted to do bad things.”

Applejack sighed and shook her head. “She didn’t say it like that, but she did say it sounded ominous.”

“Was there anything else?” asked Twilight.

“There was one last thing,” said Pinkie. “She said she saw some sort of shadow flying while she was walking around. When she looked up, she saw a red blur flying through the sky.”

Starlight looked at Twilight with a curious expression on her. “There’s our mysterious red figure again.”

“Everything is now coming together,” said Twilight. “I think we’ve done enough looking around and questioning for the day.”

“What about Rainbow and Fluttershy?” inquired Applejack. “They haven’t come back.”

“I’ll head to the Wonderbolts’ Academy and meet them there,” said Twilight. “I want to compare some things between what the Wonderbolts found and what we’ve discovered. If the footprints we found do match, we can connect the two of them together then.”

“What should we do?” asked Starlight.

“Go back to the castle and wait for me in the Friendship Council chamber,” she answered. “I’ll be back as soon as possible, and then we’ll make our next move.”

“Right!” the group said.

“And girls?” asked Twilight. “One last thing.”

Starlight frowned. “Spike?”

Twilight nodded solemnly. “Please just make sure he’s fine.”

“We will, Twilight,” assured Applejack.

The alicorn smiled softly. “Thanks, girls.” She turned back and took off and away from Ponyville.

Ember scowled as she walked around the castle. The conversation she eavesdropped on earlier still rang in her head. She tried to take several deep breaths to calm herself, but the more she thought about it, the more frustrated she got. She stopped for a moment and clenched her fist in anger. She raised her fist and was ready to hit it against the nearby stone wall.

“Hey, Garble!”

Ember stopped herself as she heard some dragon from nearby. “Garble? He’s here?”

Ember walked towards where the voice came from, but heard a few more voices as she got closer. She came up to an open doorway, and peeked around the corner. She recognized it immediately as the mess hall where the guards would normally eat. Her eyes quickly fell upon one of the long tables nearby, and she felt a new surge of anger course through her.

Sitting on in a chair with a smug smile on his face was Garble, and around him were several guards smiling and gawking at him. She ducked and moved towards a nearby pillar to listen to the conversation better.

“Garble, is it true what we’ve been hearing?” a green dragon asked. “A pony attacked Lord Ember?”

Garble gave an exasperated sigh and said, “Yeah, it was such a shame.”

“We’ve heard rumors you caught the action and showed it to the Council,” said a yellow dragon in a deep voice. “How did you do it?”

“I just followed my instincts,” he answered. “Ember may have trusted those ponies without a second thought, but I knew they weren’t interested in being friends like they claimed to be. With how ponies treated us for years, I knew they were lying.”

“It’s a good thing you were around,” said a blue dragon. “Otherwise, that barbaric pony may have gotten away with what she did.”

Garble shrugged. “Like I said, I went with my instincts and they were right. It’s just a shame Ember was too trustworthy to those ponies.”

The group muttered in agreement and nodded.

“With your heroic actions and your insight, maybe you should have been Dragon Lord,” said the yellow dragon. “It’s a real shame you didn’t win the Gauntlet of Fire.”

Ember narrowed her eyes and snorted.

“Ridge has a point,” said the blue dragon. “Maybe you were better off being Dragon Lord. Ember was far too trusting to those ponies.”

“You got that right.”

“Garble for Dragon Lord!”

Garble laughed and shook his head. “I appreciate it, guys. There’s nothing we can do though. The Dragon Lord herself has to decide when it’s time to retire and start a new Gauntlet of Fire.”

“Maybe this should be an exception,” said Ridge. “With everything going on, perhaps it’s time already for a new Dragon Lord. Maybe we should all go see the Dragon Council and convince them to remove Ember from her position. She’s clearly not strong enough and not smart enough to rule.”

Ember’s eyes went wide and she heard enough. She stepped out from behind the column. “Ahem!”

The guards gasped and immediately stood at attention. Ember walked up to them and glared at the four dragons.

“L–Lord Ember,” said Ridge, nervously. “What are you doing here?”

“Save the formalities,” she spat. “I couldn’t help but overhear your little conversation with Garble.”

The guards looked at each other and shrank back a little.

“Not strong enough? Not smart enough? Wanting a new Dragon Lord behind my back?” she asked. “Did I hear that right?”

The blue dragon gulped, “Well when you say it like that um…”

“I think I’ve heard enough,” said Ember. “I want the four of you to go back to your barracks and stay there. I’ll talk to the commander later to deal with you all.”

The guards shook nervously.

“NOW!” barked Ember.

The dragons saluted and ran off as fast as possible from the furious Dragon Lord. Once they rounded the corner and were out of sight, Ember turned to Garble, who was sitting back and had a smug smile on him.”

“What do you think you’re doing!?” she demanded.

“What?” asked Garble, nonchalantly. “I’ve just been telling the dragons about what happened in Equestria. No harm in them knowing that, right?”

“So you’re the reason the guards have been talking about this incident nonstop? Tell me, how many other guards have fallen for your so called ‘heroic’ actions?”

Garble shrugged. “It’s not my fault. I tell it like it is to them. They wanted to know what happened, and I told them the truth.”

Ember crossed her arms. “Somehow I doubt your version of the truth.”

“Don’t get upset at me, Ember,” said Garble. “Maybe those guards do have a point though. Dragon Lord Garble does have a bit of a nice ring to it.”

Ember snorted and got up in Garble’s face. “I don’t know how, but I know for a fact that you set this all up. You can talk all you want about being Dragon Lord, but the only way you’ll ever hold the Bloodstone Scepter and be the new one is over my dead body!”

Garble laughed again. “Whoa there, Ember! No need to be so dramatic about a position! If the guards and other dragons want to see a new Dragon Lord, that’s up to them. You don’t need to get worked up about this.”

Ember opened her mouth to respond, but an idea clicked in her head. She turned around and walked away.

Garble smirked. “At least you know when to give up, Ember. Try not to worry too much about what the other dragons are saying.”

Ember turned around and glared. “I haven’t given up, and this is far from over, Garble. I know not all dragons out there think the same way you or those guards do. I can think of a few right now, and I’m going to see him.”

Garble scoffed. “Big deal. You can say all you want I was responsible, but you don’t have any proof at all.”

Ember narrowed her eyes. “We’ll see about that.”

She turned and walked out of the mess hall. As she did, one thought crossed her mind. I just hope he’s okay.

Master Ash looked around at the hooded Dragon Council members and cleared his throat. “I believe what Miss Rarity has told us has cleared up a lot of things.”

The council members muttered in agreement.

“Is there any point to a trial now?” one member asked in a low voice. “We got the motive now and the reason for this.”

“I say we go ahead and declare her guilty,” said a female council member. “Her reasons were petty, selfish, and she must pay for what she did.”

“But there’s still a lot left to be answered,” said another member. “Perhaps a trial would be good to get all the answers. We’ve yet to ask Lord Ember about what lead to this confrontation.”

“I agree. Maybe we should pull in Lord Ember and ask her about happened before we render judgement upon the pony.”

“Any thoughts, Master Ash?”

The elderly dragon leaned forward and closed his eyes in concentration. “It’s true what all of you are saying. On one hand, we do have what Miss Rarity has told us, but on the other hand, we have yet to question Lord Ember.”

“What shall we do then?”

“I believe we should summon Lord Ember here as soon as we can and ask her some more about what happened. Then, we can make our final decision on what to do. Any objections?”

The council members were silent.

Ash raised his gavel and banged it against the table. “Very well.” He looked up. “Guard!”

The doors opened up and one of Ash’s soldiers ran in. “Master, we have a visitor here.”

Ash had a bewildered look on him as the Dragon Council muttered to themselves.

“A visitor?” he wondered. “Who exactly is it?”

The guard flew up to Ash and leaned into his ear. He whispered some words into the elderly dragon’s ear. Ash’s eyes got wide as he heard the guard talk to him. The rest of the council noticed it and were all looking at each other with concerned looks on them.

Finally, the guard stepped away and Ash was left with a baffled look. “I don’t believe it,” he whispered. “She is here? I figured she’d get involved sooner or later, but not this fast.”

“What’s going on, Master?” asked one council member.

Ash rose up from his chair and looked around. “An old ‘acquaintance’ has decided to get involve with the current case.”

The Dragon Council muttered to themselves. Ash held up a claw, and the room fell silent.

“All of you remain calm,” he ordered. “She personally wanted to talk to me alone. I’ll grant her this request. In the meantime, all of you return to your chambers. I will summon you all once I’m done with my private talk.” He banged his gavel again. “Meeting adjourned!”

As the Council members muttered to themselves as they got up and left, Ash stayed at his table and leaned over. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes.

“What do you hope to accomplish with this, Princess?” he whispered.

Starlight paced around the map table while the others sat on their chairs. The unicorn looked up at the clock hanging above the large doors and frowned.

“It’s nearly sunset,” she said. “What’s taking them so long?”

“Give them some more time,” said Applejack. “Maybe Twilight found out something and is investigating it more.”

“I know, but time is running out. Princess Luna said before she raised the moon, she would come back and tell us she found a lawyer.”

“I’m sure they’ll be back soon.”

The doors opened up. “Somepony call for us?”

The group looked over to see Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Twilight standing in the doorway. The latter of which was carrying a large vanilla envelope.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” said Rainbow. “But Twilight has this thing in the bag now!”

“Rainbow, I don’t exactly–”

“She does?” asked Applejack. “What did you find out, Twi?”

Twilight rubbed the back of her head. “Well, I did find out some more interesting things about McCloud’s attack.”

“What is it?” asked Pinkie.

“Like with what happened with Feather, it seems he and McCloud were ambushed. Both were attacked from behind, knocked out, and then robbed. So the M.O. is similar.”

“Sounds good so far,” said Applejack.

“McCloud told us more about who knocked him out,” said Rainbow. “He said something about a big red figure before being knocked out.”

“Just like with Feather,” said Starlight. “This is fantastic!”

Rainbow nodded. “Captain Spitfire was nice enough to not only give us a copy of the footprint photos, but also give us something else.”

Twilight opened the envelope in her hands and reached into it. “This.”

In her hand was a plastic bag with a piece of leather cloth in there.

Applejack rubbed her chin. “I think I’ve seen that before.”

“It is,” said Twilight. “This is the only other piece of evidence they got from the attack. It’s from some sort of leather jacket. Spitfire and I agreed that with all the coincidences coming together, it is possible the cases are connected, and wanted me to have this for Rarity’s case.”

“What about the footprints?” wondered Starlight. “Are they the same?”

Twilight nodded. “The footprint comparisons are the same. They are roughly the same size and length.”

The group gasped and smiled.

“So this means you’ve solved it again, Twilight?” wondered Pinkie.

Twilight let out a sigh. “Not really.”

The smiles fell from each pony’s face and they all looked at the alicorn with confused expressions.

“What are you talking about, Twilight?” wondered Rainbow. “We got the footprints, the descriptions from three ponies, and the same guy robbed them blind. I think we got this all connected to Garble.”

“There’s just one thing that makes no sense,” said Twilight.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “What else do you want to know?”

“The red pegasus.”

The group fell silent for a minute.

“The pegasus?” wondered Applejack.

“Remember that the fake McCloud was a pegasus,” said Twilight. “If it’s true that Garble is the one behind everything that’s been happening, where did this pegasus come from then?”

The room fell silent again. Twilight and her friend looked at each other, and hoped one of them would speak.

Rainbow snapped her fingers. “I got it! It’s a pony who joined Garble’s plan! They must have met up and came up with this plan together.”

“Impossible,” said Twilight. “Garble hates ponies a lot, and I doubt he would allow one to join him.”

“Maybe it wasn’t connected?” asked Fluttershy. “Maybe it was just another pony trying to do something at the Wonderbolts’ Academy and was caught in the act.”

“I have no idea,” said Twilight.

“So now what?” asked Rainbow. “It’s not like Garble magically turned himself into a pony or anything.”

Twilight gasped and she raised her head up. “Magically turned himself into a pony?”

Rainbow waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it, Twi. I’m just throwing guesses out now.”

The alicorn looked over. “Starlight, go to Ember and Matches’ rooms and see if you can find any of those magical crystals.”

“Um...okay.” Starlight’s horn glowed and she teleported away.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. “Hey, Twilight, I know we need an answer, but even I think my guess is out there.”

“Your ‘guess’ may actually be correct,” assured Twilight. “I think you may actually be onto something, Rainbow.”

The pegasus’ eyes widened. “I...am?”

Starlight teleported back in with two crystals in her hands. “I found these on Matches’ table.”

Twilight took a purple crystal and smiled. “Perfect.”

“Will you tell us what’s going on, Twi?” inquired Applejack. “How are those things going to help?”

“Just watch.” Twilight clenched the crystal and closed her eyes. “If I remember correctly, I just need to focus on the energy and let it flow through me.”

She felt a rush of energy course through her body. Twilight felt some pain, but ignored it and concentrated on the crystal. Suddenly, a bright flash went out and the group gasped.

Applejack lowered her hands. “Twilight?”

The alicorn opened her eyes and saw a purple dome surrounded her and made everything outside it looks purple too. She smiled and released her hold on the crystal, breaking the dome shield around her.

“I think I may have the connection.”

“What do you mean?” asked Fluttershy.

“When Matches showed us about crystal magic, he told us that there were various magical crystals that can do various things. This one forms a protective shield.” Twilight pointed to the white crystal in Starlight’s hand. “That one can make you fast. Another can grant you resistance from the elements, and even one can shoot out ice bolts.”

Starlight gasped. “Twilight, are you thinking that maybe, just maybe,...”

Twilight nodded. “Each crystal gives you a different ability. If I’m correct, then that means that there must be a crystal that can transform others.”

The group looked at Twilight with expressions ranging from shocked to confusion.

“Are you serious?” asked Rainbow. “I was kidding about what I said about the whole magical transformation thing.”

“But it’s probably the only possible explanation,” argued Twilight. “The clues seem to fit and are pointing to Garble, but the mysterious pegasus didn’t make sense until your guess, Rainbow. If Garble has something like a crystal to transform him, this is the only explanation then.”

“Come to think of it actually,” said Pinkie. “I do remember seeing some weird pegasus on the night of Ember’s welcome party. As soon as the party was in full swing, I think he left shortly after.”

“Did you get a good look at him?” wondered Starlight.

“He had a yellow mane, but I was having so much fun that I didn’t get a good look at him.”

Twilight frowned. “I don’t think that’s going to be much help, Pinkie.”

“What do we do now?” asked Starlight.

The doors to the chamber opened up, and everypony turned around.

“Pinkie, I think I know who you’re talking about.”

Spike stood in the doorway with a solemn look on him.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Spike, are you okay?”

The drake nodded slowly. “I’ve been better, but I’ll be fine,” he said.

The alicorn walked over and leaned in to embrace Spike. “I know things have been hard, Spike. I know you’re still upset about what happened, but I promise you that things will be okay.”

Spike returned the hug and nodded. “I hope so, Twilight, and I’m sorry for how I’ve been. There’s just so much that has happened that I just feel overwhelmed.”

“That’s why you got us, Spike,” she said with a soft smile on her. “I know that you’ve gone through a lot these past few days, but we’ll be here to help you out, okay?”

Spike looked away for a moment, and then nodded. “Thanks, Twilight.”

“Hate to break this touching moment, but didn’t Spike say something about knowing this pegasus?” asked Rainbow.

The group looked at the drake curiously.

Spike took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ve been listening,” he said. “I think I’ve heard enough though when Pinkie mentioned that weird pegasus.”

“You’ve seen him before?” asked Twilight.

Spike nodded. “The night of Ember’s welcome party, we both ran into this drifter named Hot Streak. He didn’t seem too happy about how ponies and dragons were becoming friends.”

“That does sound suspicious,” said Starlight.

“But what he said next made no sense,” said Spike. “I remember him saying ‘see you later’ in a rather creepy way.”

Rainbow’s eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute...” She turned around. “Pinkie, you ever hear of this Hot Streak guy?”

“Hmmm…” Pinkie thought and rubbed her head. “Nope!” She said. “Never heard of the guy before.”

Twilight smiled at Spike. “Thanks for telling us this. Although we don’t have any proof about this magical crystal, it may be our best chance to connect all of this to Garble. All we have to do now is wait for Princess Luna to come back with one of those lawyers and tell them what we now.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible, Twilight.”

Twilight and the others turned around to see Princess Luna with a somber look on her.

“Not possible?” asked Twilight. “What do you mean by that?”

Luna lowered her head. “Forgive me, Twilight, I have failed.”

A cold feeling ran down Spike’s spine. “You don’t mean…”

Luna nodded. “The lawyers turned down your request. Rarity has no lawyer to defend her.”

Author's Note

This one thankfully didn't take as long as I feared it would. With how I've been busy with a new job and having recently left my old one, I was surprised it didn't take me this long to get it out.

The next chapter may take some time as I turn some of my focus not just on my job, but on another possible project coming up. Hope you all enjoyed this!

Ashes

Ember pushed open two large metal doors and looked around the room she was in. It was spacious, with a large trophy case to the left showing various medals, trophies, and photos hanging up. On the right side were some chairs to serve as a waiting lobby, but no dragon was sitting there. Around the room were several armored dragons walking around, talking to one another, or two of them escorting another dragon in an orange jumpsuit across the large room.

I hope they haven’t been too rough on him, thought Ember.

As Ember walked up to the large desk in the center of the room, all the dragons froze in shock and immediately stood up straight and saluted. Ember ignored them and walked up to the nervous white dragon sitting behind the desk. He quickly got up and saluted her and tried to stop himself from shaking.

“Lord Ember, t–this is an unexpected visit,” he stuttered. “We’re honored by your presence here.”

Ember held up a claw. “Spare me the sweet talk. I’m here because I got some things to take care of here.”

The guard tilted his head in confusion. “Things to take care of? Is it an inspection?”

“No. I’m here to see a friend of mine,” said Ember. “He’s being held here.”

“Who is this prisoner?”

“Matches,” she answered.

The guard looked shocked. “Matches? Your personal bodyguard?”

Ember raised an eyebrow. “You have a problem with that?”

“Well, it’s just that there’s been some new orders given in regards to him. Happened shortly before you arrive.”

Ember leaned in and glared. “What is it?” she asked, coldly.

The guard gulped and said, “H–he’s being released.”

The Dragon Lord stepped back and looked shocked. “Released?”

The guard nodded. “Yes. From what I’ve been told, a deal has been reached with him. The process for his release is just about finished.”

Ember rubbed her chin. “Before he’s allowed to go, I do have one last thing I need from him.”

“One last thing?”

The dragoness nodded. “There’s something I need to discuss with him in private. Is there a room we can both use?”

“We do have a conference room the warden uses from time to time,” said the guard.

“That’ll do,” she answered. “Now take me there and bring Matches as soon as you can.”

The dragon nervously saluted again. “Y–yes, my Lord.” He walked over and pushed open the double doors. “This way please.”

Ember walked over to the doors and went through. She followed the white dragon down the rocky corridor. As she walked down, she couldn’t help but think of what happened not too long ago.

You can say all you want that I was responsible, but you don’t have any proof at all, Garble’s voice rang out in her head.

The dragoness snorted slightly. “I know he’s behind this, but where do I go from here?” she asked herself. “There has to be something I’m missing here. Something I just can’t put my claw on it.”

She closed her eyes. “Garble, how did you do it?”

“Lord Ember?”

She opened her eyes and stared at the confused guard.

“Did you say something?”

Ember waved a claw. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “I’m just thinking to myself is all.”

The guard stared at her for a moment, but then pushed open a large metal door. “In any case, this is it.”

The Dragon Lord stepped into a large, metallic room with some lit chandeliers hanging above. In the middle was a large table with several chairs around it, and at the end a large chalkboard.

The guard looked at Ember. “Shall I have some guards posted here, my Lord?”

Ember shook her head. “No. I want this to be a private conversation between me and Matches.”

“Very well,” he said with a bow. “We’ll bring him here at once.” He walked out of the room and shut the door.

Ember took a cushioned red chair at the end of the table and sat in it. She put her hands together and tapped her fingers.

“I know I’m missing something, but what?” she asked herself. “Just how did Garble do it? It’s too much of a coincidence that he was ‘concerned’ and had that camera. But there’s too many questions about his actions.”

Ember sighed and leaned back in the chair. “He’s taunting me about this, and I know it. He knows what he’s done, but won’t admit it. Somehow though, I will make him pay for this.”

The sound of the door knocking brought Ember out of her thoughts. She leaned forward and looked at the door. “Come in,” she said.

The door opened up and the white dragon was there. “Lord Ember, he’s here. I should warn you about something though.”

“What is it?” she asked.

“The prisoner is a little…restless,” said the guard, hesitantly. “His brief time here has made him a little on edge.”

Ember narrowed her eyes. “First of all, Matches is not a prisoner; he’s my friend. Second, I’m sure Matches is okay. He’s tougher than you think.”

The guard gulped nervously. “M–my apologies, my lord.” He moved out of the way. “Here he is.”

Ember saw Matches’ foot step in and smiled slightly. But as he stepped in, Ember’s smile faded and her eyes widened in disbelief. Matches was shaking slightly and had a petrified look on him. His eyes darted around and he gulped slightly.

Ember got up and walked over to him. “Matches, what happened to you?”

He said nothing.

Ember looked over at the guard and glared. “What did they do to him?”

The guard shrunk back a little. “Lord Ember, they’ve been interrogating Matches about the incident in Equestria and his failures in his duties. They may have pushed him a little during that time.”

Ember growled softly. “I’ll deal with some of the methods the guards use later, but for now, leave us alone.”

“Yes, my Lord.” The guard quickly hurried out and shut the door.

Ember looked at Matches with a concerned look on her. “Matches, what happened last night?”

Matches gulped again and his lips quivered. “They...they kept me up for most of the night,” he said in a hollow voice. “They demanded to know about everything that happened. I told them the truth, but they weren’t satisfied.”

“Why not?”

“They were asking a lot about why I wasn’t there to protect you. One guard thought I had committed treason by allowing something like this, and abandoning my duty.” Matches put a hand to his head and took a deep breath. “It just went on and on all night.”

Ember grimaced. “Don’t blame yourself, Matches. If I knew what was going on, I would’ve stepped in and stopped this.”

Matches walked over and sat in one of the chairs. “You couldn’t have known this would happen. Especially doing something like this.”

A thought clicked in her head. “Something does bother me, Matches. The guard said that you were released because of deal. What was it?”

Matches bowed his head down. “I...I had to confess to my crimes.”

“What!?”

“The captain gave me a choice, Ember,” he said. “He said if I confessed that I had purposely abandoned my duties and failed to protect you, they wouldn’t make me stand trial.”

“Well, that doesn’t seem too bad,” said Ember.

“On one condition.”

“Condition?”

Matches buried his head into his hands. “They dishonorably discharge me.”

Ember’s eyes widened. “WHAT!? Matches, you can’t be serious!”

“What choice did I have?” he asked. “If I didn’t take the deal, I’d stand trial and be thrown into jail. No matter how you look at it, Ember, I was done for.”

“They can’t do this,” spat Ember. “I’ll talk to the captain and make him take you back!”

“Ember, don’t even bother,” he said. “What good would it do? Even if you order them to take me back, I would never get the trust of the captain back again, and every guard there would see me as a failure.”

Ember frowned. “Matches, I don’t know what to say.”

The drake held his hand up. “Don’t say anything. All I got to say to myself now is what am I going to do now?”

Ember rubbed her chin and then snapped her fingers. “Matches, there is something you can do now.”

“And that is?”

“Help me prove that it was Garble who did all of this.”

Matches looked at Ember, and his eyes steadily narrowed. He got up and snorted. “Who did all of this?” he asked in an icy tone. “I’m looking at her right now!”

Ember gasped. “W–what?”

Matches pointed at the Dragon Lord. “It’s your fault everything led to this!” he barked. “If you just told me about what was going on between you and Rarity over Spike, we could have stopped it from getting as bad as it did!”

“But, Matches!” argued Ember.

“I don’t want to hear any excuses!” he shouted. “You held back this secret for so long, that it got out of control! Now look at what’s happened! The Dragon Council has stepped in and taken control of this matter! I’m officially no longer a guard! Now this alliance that a dragon you cared about so much created is in danger of falling apart because of this damn love triangle!”

Ember glared. “I wasn’t the one who started this!” she argued. “Rarity threatened me to stay away from Spike, and wouldn’t stop stalking me every time I was with him. She’s as much to blame too!”

“And that doesn’t make you any less responsible?”

Ember opened her mouth to respond, but couldn’t find the words.

“You don’t get it, Ember,” said Matches. “You’ve talked about how much you care about friendship, and how much you wanted to change dragons. Yet, I’ve seen the opposite from you.”

“What do you mean?”

Matches crossed his arms. “Remember the day you announced about going to Equestria to the fellow dragons? You said you wanted to learn about friendship, and pass on what you learned from Spike. Well, you’ve done a poor job showing that!”

Ember glared. “Hey! That’s not true!”

Matches raised an eyebrow. “Really now? When you first became Dragon Lord, you said you wanted to change the way dragons were. That instead of relying on brute strength and intimidation, you valued wisdom and compassion. Yet, I’ve seen the very same things you were against.”

“But I–”

“Just let me vent!” bellowed Matches. “If you truly cared about friendship, you would have trusted me! If you wanted to pass on what Spike taught you, you and Rarity would never have done something like this! Now look where it’s landed all of us!”

“I didn’t want it to get like this!” yelled Ember. “I was so tired of how Rarity treated me! I had to do something to tell her to back off!”

“So it never crossed your mind to tell me this!? Aren’t friends supposed to trust each other with stuff like this!?”

Ember shrunk back a little.

Matches took a deep breath. “I just have one question for you, Ember,” he bitterly said.

Ember gulped a little. “W–what?” she nervously asked.

“Was it worth it?”

Ember froze. “Excuse me?”

“Was it worth it?” repeated Matches. “Was this petty feud between you and Rarity had worth all of this? You have nothing now. I’ve heard some guards talk about how they don’t trust how you rule. The Dragon Council has taken over this entire investigation. The alliance is all but finished. Worst of all, Spike, the dragon you said you cared about, doesn’t even trust you any more. Was it all worth it in the end, Ember?”

The dragoness said nothing as she looked away in shame.

“You know what? There is actually one good thing from all of this,” said Matches.

Ember looked up. “There is?”

“Yeah, you and Rarity can now spend the rest of your lives bickering to each other about how much you cared more about Spike than the other.”

“Matches, wait!”

“Oh, please, Ember. You two will make such great friends,” he said, sarcastically. “She’s really about the only friend you have now.”

Ember gasped. “Matches, you don’t mean…”

The drake got up and walked over to the door. “Maybe some of those dragons were right. Maybe dragons don’t do friendship after all. Not after what I’ve seen.”

Ember got up. “Hold on, Matches.”

He opened the door. “Goodbye, Lord Ember,” he spat.

The dragoness froze from the cold way he said it. Matches walked out the door and slammed the door shut. Ember stayed frozen in place for what seemed to be hours. Everything around her seemed to become a blur and fall apart. All her hopes for making things right, had been snuffed out. She looked down at the ground and clenched her fist tightly. With a loud roar, Ember punched the wall nearby.

Ember ignored the throbbing pain from her hand and put her head against the wall. “I got nobody left now,” she said, sorrowfully. “Almost the entire Dragon Lands doesn't trust me now, Spike hates me for what I did, and now I’ve lost so many friends over something so stupid as a love triangle.”

Ember felt something click in her head. “Love triangle,” she said. “I wonder.”

She thought back to what Matches said. She’s really about the only friend you have now.

A mixture of guilt and nervousness filled the Dragon Lord. “Perhaps Matches is right. There is only one pony I can talk to. A pony I need to tell a lot of things.”

Ember walked over to the door and opened it. “It’s time to finally settle this thing once and for all.”

Twilight looked horrified. “What did you say?”

“For the third time, Twilight,” said Luna in a bit of an exasperated tone. “The lawyers turned down your request.”

“This isn’t fair!” objected Spike. “What’s the deal with those guys?”

“I agree with Spike,” said Fluttershy. “Why would they do this?”

Luna narrowed her eyes. “They were cowards in the end unfortunately.”

Starlight tilted her head in confusion. “Cowards?”

The princess nodded. “Oh, at first the lawyers were all too happy to take on the case,” she said, sarcastically. “They must have thought that the idea of coming to the defense of a hero of Equestria and one of the Elements of Harmony would have elevated their careers.”

“Somehow, I’m not surprised by that kind of thinking,” said Applejack.

“As irritating as I found their actions, I figured as long as one of them would help, things would be okay,” continued Luna. “But then I told them where they were going.”

“The Dragon Lands,” said Starlight.

“Correct,” said Luna. “Once they heard they were going there, they immediately changed their minds and refused to take the case.”

Rainbow snorted. “So they’re going to a different place to do their job. What’s the problem here?”

“The problem is that these lawyers cared more about their own lives than their personal gain,” replied Luna. “There have been stories about ponies going to the Dragon Lands that are grim. They refused to go there in fear the dragons would kill them.”

“So make them do it!” offered Rainbow. “Give them a lot of bits or something to make them change their minds!”

“I did offer them all a huge reward for their efforts,” said Luna. “But they said they’d much rather turn in their badges and retire than deal with the likes of dragons. I assure you though, that those cowardly lawyers will be more afraid of what I’ll do to them once this is all over.”

The group looked at one another with worried expressions on them.

“What do we do now?” asked Pinkie. “Summon a lawyer?”

“We’d probably get the same response Luna got from all those lawyers in Canterlot,” said Applejack.

“We can’t just leave Rarity like this,” said Fluttershy. “We need to find somepony fast.”

“You got any ideas, Twilight?” asked Rainbow.

The alicorn didn’t respond.

“Twilight?”

No answer came again.

Rainbow narrowed her eyes and turned to the princess. “Hey, egghead! You got any ideas!?”

The group turned around to see Twilight had a hand up to her chin and had her eyes closed.

“Twilight?” asked Spike.

The princess opened her eyes and got up. “I think I know what I need to do.”

Starlight smiled. “That’s great! What’s the plan?”

“I need to get to the library and read some stuff.”

Everyone in the room gave Twilight a deadpanned look.

“You can’t be serious,” said Luna.

“Twilight, is this really the best time for something like reading?” asked Rainbow. “Even if it was for a Daring Do reading club, I don’t think this is really the time for that!”

Twilight waved a hand. “Rainbow, it’s not for something like that,” she assured. “This is something I need to do immediately in case everything else fails.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “If everything else fails?”

“Correct, Spike,” said Twilight with a nod. “In fact, I think you better come with me to help. I could use your assistance.”

The drake looked shocked. “Help you with reading? Rarity is in trouble right now, Twilight! What good would reading some book be?”

“You’ll understand when we get to the library,” she replied. “But in the meantime, we should explore some other options.”

“Other options?” asked Fluttershy.

Twilight looked over at Princess Luna. “Did you go around Manehatten or the Crystal Empire to see if anypony would take the case?”

Luna shook her head. “I spent most of the day arguing with the Canterlot lawyers about taking the case. Why do you ask?”

Twilight looked at the clock to see it was about to be six o’clock. “I need you and the girls to do some quick looking around for a lawyer,” she said.

Applejack frowned. “This is going to be a bit hard, Twilight,” she said. “We got a long way to go and we don’t have a lot of time. It’s hard enough getting to Manehatten, but to go both there and the Crystal Empire is impossible.”

“We should split up then,” suggested Luna. “We can cover more ground that way.”

“That’s what I was going to suggest,” said Twilight. “Princess Luna, you take Applejack and Pinkie to Manehatten to search for any lawyers available.” She then turned around. “Starlight, you take Fluttershy and Rainbow to the Crystal Empire. All of you meet back here in two hours, okay?”

“Right!” said the group.

Starlight took Fluttershy’s hand. “Better hold on tight,” she said. “This is going to be a long teleportation.”

Fluttershy gulped a little. “O–okay,” she nervously said.

“Well, this isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with magic like this,” said Rainbow. “Did Twilight ever tell you about how she accidentally switched our–”

“RAINBOW!” Twilight’s face went red.

Starlight smirked a little. “I’ll have to ask about that later,” she said. “See you all later.”

Her horn glowed, and in a bright, pink flash, the three were gone and the smoke around them went up into the air.

Luna nodded and held out her hands. “All of you should take my hands too. We have little time to and a lot of ground to cover.

Applejack took Luna’s hand. “Let’s do this.”

Pinkie squeed in excitement. “This is going to be fun!”

Luna smiled softly. “We shall return, Twilight. Hopefully, with better news this time.

The night princess’ horn glowed and in a blue flash, they were all gone.

After they were gone, Spike turned to Twilight. “So what’s the big idea you got?”

Twilight smiled a little. “Let’s just say the Dragon Council isn’t going to know what hit them.”

Spike tilted his head in confusion and raised an eyebrow as the alicorn left the room.

The guard looked at Ember with an anxious look. “Are you sure about this, my Lord?” he inquired.

Ember nodded. “I’m positive. Now is she ready?”

“Yes, Lord Ember, but I have to express my concern. You’re talking to somepony who attacked you by yourself. Shouldn’t at least one or a few guards stay around in case she tries anything?”

“I’ll be fine,” replied Ember. “She’s got no way of attacking me here. Her magic is nullified with the ring on her, she’s in chains, and she and I are separated by this.” She put her hand up against a set of thick iron bars set into some thick, black stone. “Now bring her in.”

The guard hesitated a little, but bowed in acknolwedgment. “Yes, my Lord.” He left the room and closed the door.

Ember took a deep breath and took in her surroundings. Aside from the iron bars separating the room, there was little else. The stone wall around the bars were formed into a small table on both sides. A few torches lit the room since there were no windows. At the back of the room was a door similar to the one on Ember’s side.

The dragoness let out another deep breath. “I just hope she’s willing to talk; even if she hates my guts.”

The door at the back of the room opened and a green dragon entered. “Lord Ember, the prisoner is ready.”

“Bring her in,” ordered the dragoness. “Leave us alone. This is something I want to talk to her about in private.”

The guard saluted. “Very well, my Lord. Don’t hesitate to shout for us though if she tries anything against you.”

Ember grimaced. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think that’ll be needed. Now bring her in.”

The guard bowed and stepped aside to allow the prisoner in. Ember watched closely as the orange suited prisoner was let in and then escorted to the chair nearby. Upon the lights of torches allowing Ember to see her guest, her eyes widened a bit.

“Rarity?” she asked.

Ember figured that the unicorn was feeling down with her current situation, but was shocked at how she looked. Rarity’ mane was a complete mess with it being disheveled and was no longer curly like it was. Her eyes were bloodshot and Ember noticed a bit of moisture around them. She was shaking slightly in terror.

“Rarity…” she whispered.

“We’ll leave you now, my Lord,” said the guard.

Ember jumped a little as she was broken out of her thoughts. She cleared her throat and nodded. “Thank you. Now leave us.”

The guard bowed and walked out of the room. When the door slammed shut, an eerie silence descended upon the room, save for the crackling of the fire from the torches. Ember tapped her fingers against the table as she tried to think of something. Rarity was motionless and looked dead eyed as she stared at the floor.

Ember cleared her throat. “Um...hey, Rarity, how are you?”

The unicorn didn’t respond.

Maybe that was a bit too much? thought Ember. She rubbed the back of her head. “You doing okay? I know the Dragon Council talked to you about...well, you know.”

Rarity whimpered a little, but said nothing.

Okay that was too much. Perhaps a better approach is needed. She took a deep breath and said, “So, I figured you had to be lonely with nopony to talk to and I thought that maybe I’d come by to cheer you up.” Ember forced a smile, but tried to not make it too wide.

Rarity looked at the Dragon Lord with the same dead eyed look as before, but mumbled something.

Ember raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

Rarity closed her eyes and looked away. “Come to laugh at me, Ember?” she whispered in a hollow tone. “Laugh at how I’ve fallen? I bet you’ve been laughing this entire time I’ve been held here.”

The dragoness narrowed her eyes slightly. “No I haven’t,” she said, firmly. “Truth be told, I’ve been dealing with my own issues here, Rarity. Even if I wasn’t dealing with my own problems, I wouldn’t make the time to come here and laugh at you.”

Rarity scoffed and frowned.

“You don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to,” said Ember. “But I did want to come by and see you. There’s been a lot on my mind since that day at the beach, and I think it’s time to finally settle some things.”

Rarity slowly turned her head back to Ember, but was staring at the floor. “What do you want from me exactly? I’ve lost so much now. I’m stuck in this prison. I’ve got no friends around here. But worst of all, I’ve lost my beloved Spikey Wikey.” A few tears ran down her face, but she quickly wiped them away.

“I’m actually in a similar position to you.”

Rarity looked at Ember with a mixture of anger and incredulous on her. “Excuse me!?” she shouted. “You are in a similar position to me? Unless you’ve been arrested, you’re not stuck in this prison! Plus, you at least have a friend!”

Ember frowned as she looked down. “I don’t think so.”

Rarity stared at Ember curiously. “You don’t think so? What do you mean by that?”

“...Matches. It’s Matches,” said the Dragon Lord. “We had a bit of a fall out.”

Rarity looked shocked. “What!?”

“I was coming to the prison to see him and see what I could do to help him out, but he was being released after he made a deal with the guards. In exchange for his confession about failing his duties, he would be released, but would be dishonorably discharged from the Guard.”

The unicorn frowned. “That’s horrible, Ember. But why was he angry at you?”

Ember had a solemn expression on her. “It’s all because of what happened at the beach. He yelled at me about how I didn’t trust him about the feud between us, and that because of what I did, he lost everything. I tried to let him know that I never wanted things to get as bad as it did, but he wouldn’t listen. Now I don’t even know if he’ll ever want to see or speak to me again.”

Rarity moved a little and rubbed her arm. “I’m sorry to hear that, Ember,” she said.

Ember let out a sigh. “Don’t worry about it. In a way, Matches was correct; I’m responsible for this mess we’re all in. But it goes beyond that. Even here at home, I’m kind of a prisoner here now.”

“A prisoner?”

“It’s hard to explain,” said the dragoness. “Ever since the beach incident, dragons have been questioning my leadership skills. Some think I’m weak because I allowed myself to be beaten up by a pony. Others think I was too foolish to trust ponies so quickly and to encourage stuff like friendship. I’ve never felt so unwelcome here at home.”

Rarity looked a little remorseful. “Ember.”

Ember let out a sigh and looked down with anguish. “Some Dragon Lord I turned out to be. I let this whole thing get out of control. I’m not seen as a trustworthy leader with the other dragons now. My actions cost my only friend here his job and my friendship with him. Even my own feelings get in the way of what was best for both Equestria and the Dragon Lands.”

Rarity said nothing and looked away.

“Maybe Spike was better off being Dragon Lord,” said Ember. “If I convinced him to keep the title, maybe this all wouldn’t have happened. Maybe I wouldn’t have lost his friendship. Maybe I wouldn’t have the chance to...to…” The dragoness’ cheeks flushed red as she looked away.

“Stop.”

Ember looked back at Rarity. “What did you say?”

The unicorn’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I said stop. As in stop beating yourself up over this.”

The dragoness was confused. “What are you talking about? It’s my fault that everything led to this. If I wasn’t so stupid I wouldn’t have–”

Rarity slammed her hands against the table and glared. “You are not at fault, Ember!”

Ember was shocked by the sudden outburst of the unicorn. Her mouth was agape as she stared at Rarity.

“This was never your fault, Ember,” said Rarity. “The only one who is truly at fault for everything from Spike hating both of us, to my imprisonment, is me alone.”

Ember gasped and opened her mouth to speak. Rarity held up a hand though to silence her.

“Let me finish, darling,” she insisted. “I’ve had a while to think about this whole thing and my actions. I’ve thought about everything over the past couple of days and the way I acted around you and all of my friends. In the time I spent alone in my cell, I thought of the day I heard you were coming and how furious I felt.

Rarity narrowed her eyes slightly. “I thought about how Spike always went on about you, and how upset I was getting. I thought at first those thoughts were just because he was too worried about you when I knew Spike made the right choice, but those thoughts started drifting towards jealousy.”

Ember looked a little surprised. He talked about me that much?

“I was jealous about how Spike seemed to care so much about you more than me,” said Rarity. “But rather than find a better way to deal with how worried I was about Spike leaving me, I decided to do anything I could to make sure you would never make any advances on my Spikey Wikey.”

She let out a sigh and sunk back into her chair. “You were right about me in the end, Ember.”

The dragoness raised an eyebrow. “Right about what?”

“About what you’ve said about me,” answered Rarity. “You were right about how I’ve been around Spike. How I used him and how I’ve been around him. Instead of being happy for him about how felt about you, I selfishly held onto him like as if he was more of a piece of property than a friend. For all my talk about how much I care about him, I never even bothered to tell him how I really felt. Now because of what I’ve done, I’ll never have that chance.”

She looked down and tears streamed down her face. “I don’t deserve a wonderful dragon like him after all I’ve done to you and him.”

Ember leaned back as she took in everything she heard. A mixture of feelings overwhelmed her as she tried to decide what to do or what to say. She glanced back at Rarity shaking slightly and a few tears running dripping down.

She took a deep breath. “Rarity, I appreciate what you have told me; I really do. The truth is though, I’m just as much to blame as you blame yourself.”

“Ember, you weren’t the one who–”

“I was the one who hit you first that day on the beach,” interrupted Ember. “If I was truly the Dragon Lord I was supposed to be and carry on what Spike taught me, I wouldn’t have let my own feelings get the best of me, and I wouldn’t let things spiral out of control.” She looked away in shame. “In the end, I was no better than you.”

Rarity shifted around a little. “Ember, there is one thing I do want to know.”

“And that is?”

“What do you truly think about Spike?”

Ember froze up. She had heard that question and statement multiple times, and always felt a mixture of anger and embarrassment. But now, she felt no anger, no frustration, just a mixture of regret and nervousness.

“Ember?”

The dragoness let out a sigh. “I’ve been asked that so many times now over the last couple of days; by both you and Matches. I always gave the same response that I saw Spike as a friend only, but now, after everything that’s happened, I can’t lie anymore.”

“So it is true then.”

Ember nodded. “Spike wasn’t like other dragons I’ve seen here in the Lands. Some of the male dragons here were either overly macho, loud, boastful, and just obnoxious. Most of them weren’t like that at all. They were nice and all, but they never really interested me.”

“Like Matches?” inquired Rarity.

“He’s different for sure,” replied Ember. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s a really nice guy and he is pretty cool, but he and I were strictly friends. Even if I did have some feelings for him, I think Matches has his eyes on someone else.”

Rarity smiled softly. “I see what you mean.”

“But Spike was a different dragon,” continued Ember. “Sure, he was pretty childish, but yet very mature. He may be a runt and not as strong as some of the other dragons, but he’s resourceful and smart. He goes out of his way to help others and make friends with them. He even went out of his way to save me during the Gauntlet of Fire. Most dragons never cared much about one another that much, but Spike was something else. He was just...wonderful.”

“I know the feeling, darling,” said Rarity. “Truth be told, when I first met Spike, I thought he was just being childish by him chasing after me. But over the years, I saw how wonderful he was and just how he was there for me when I needed somepony. He led a rescue effort to save me from some Diamond Dogs and was always around to assist.”

“Something I’ve been wondering, Rarity,” said Ember. “You knew he loved you and you grew to have the same feelings. Why not tell him sooner?”

Rarity frowned. “I was going to tell him once he turned eighteen. I may have loved him, but I don’t think Equestria would smile upon hearing a famous fashionista was dating an underage man. I was going to tell him, but my nerves got the best of me. I feared he had moved on from me since he wasn’t doing any of his usual acts to sway me. I wanted to tell him, but I let my nerves and time ruin what chance I had.”

She looked up at Ember. “Then you entered the picture.”

“The Gauntlet of Fire happened,” said the dragoness. “Then I met you, Princess Twilight, and Spike.”

“And you know the rest,” finished Rarity.

Ember leaned back into her chair and took in what she heard. “You know, I’m glad we talked to each other.”

Rarity smiled a little. “I...I agree. It felt refreshing talking to you about this.”

Ember sighed. “Why didn’t we just do this in the first place?”

“Probably because we were both acting like stubborn mules. Though I admit that I was probably worse.”

Ember smirked. “At least you can admit that.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes slightly, but then burst into laughter. Ember laughed along with Rarity for a couple of seconds and then calmed herself down.

The Dragon Lord got up. “Listen, Rarity. I know this has been hard, but I promise to help you out in any way I can.”

“You mean it?”

“I promise you,” Ember held out a hand, “friend.”

Rarity smiled and a few tears rolled down her face. She tried to put her hand through the bar, but could only get a few fingers on Ember’s own claws.

“Thank you, Ember,” she siad.

“How touching.”

Ember’s smile faded as she heard the mocking voice. The door opened and a cold feeling fell upon the room.

Ember turned around. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.

At the doorway was Garble smirking and was leaning against the door. “I was just around and couldn’t help but overhear this conversation.”

“How did you even get here?” asked Ember.

Garble shrugged. “It’s not too hard when there are no guards around to protect the Dragon Lord. Another careless mistake on your part, Ember.”

“Get out of here!” barked Ember. “This is a private talk between me and Rarity!”

Garble laughed. “I’m surprised of what you’ve done, Ember.”

The dragoness raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”

Garble stepped forward and the door shut behind him. “I mean when I heard you say not all dragons had the same conclusion I had, I thought you were going to see that little bodyguard of yours, Matches. But this is just rich! The Dragon Lord talking with the very same pony who attacked her? Imagine what the other dragons will think if they heard about this!”

Ember glared, but said nothing.

“Your reputation as Dragon Lord is already bad,” said Garble. “If word reaches the other dragons how you were having a nice, friendly chat with this pony instead of dealing with her yourself, they’ll demand that you step down and let another dragon become the Lord.”

“Let them complain all they want,” said Ember. “They can say what they want, but I’m done moping around and beating myself up. I’m going to fix things one way or another.”

Garble scoffed. “I don’t know whether to call you brave or stupid.”

“What do you even want from us?” asked Rarity. “Is jail like a second home to you?”

Garble narrowed his eyes. “Watch it, pony,” he warned in an icy voice. “Otherwise my old man is going to make you really regret it.”

“Bold words coming from a dragon who has to rely on dear old grandpa to do your dirty work.”

Garble took a step forward. “Why you damn little–”

Ember put a hand in front of Garble and pushed him away. “Enough!” she ordered.

The drake grumbled and shot daggers at Rarity.

“You know Rarity does have a good point,” said Ember. “What more do you want from me or her? You’ve gotten what you wanted. The new friendship between ponies and dragons is now almost destroyed, you got dragons loving you and thinking that you’re their ‘hero’, and you even managed to get some of them to consider you for Dragon Lord. Why don’t you just beat it already?”

Garble smirked. “Hey, don’t get mad at me, Ember. I was just doing what any dragon would rightfully do.”

“You can say that all you want. I know for a fact that you did this just to spite me and this alliance. Nothing about your so called story makes sense. You weren’t there out of ‘concern’, or because you wanted to ‘protect me’. You did this just for some twisted revenge over how you lost the Gauntlet of Fire and I became Dragon Lord because of Spike! It’s only a matter of time before the truth is revealed for what you truly are; a lying, manipulative bastard!”

The smile on Garble’s face slowly turned into frown. “So, Ember, you think you’ve got it all figured out, huh? You think I did this all just to get back at you alone?”

“That’s the obvious solution,” said Rarity. “What else would make you do something like this?”

“Heh. You’re not too bright, pony,” said Garble. “Oh, sure I was angry at Ember for deciding to embrace friendship and all that other stuff dragons don’t do. There was one another dragon I really wanted to get back at.”

Ember’s eyes widened. “Spike,” she whispered.

The drake clapped his hands slowly. “And the gem hits the ground. I got to say it took you long enough to figure it out.”

Rarity got up and snorted. “You! Why would you do this to Spike!?”

“I wanted to hit him where it hurt most,” he answered. “I figured I couldn’t hurt him physically without attracting the attention of his stupid pony friends, so I went about another way to get back at him the best way possible; through that so called friendship he loves so much.”

Ember’s eyes narrowed. “So you just decided to have Rarity arrested through some insane scheme just to get back at him!? You didn’t have to go after her!”

Garble laughed coldly. “Oh, Ember, you don’t understand at all.”

“What?”

“Oh, I’ll grant you this much; you are correct for the most part. I was just going to break that friendship you had between you and Spike and watch everything fall apart. But then I heard an interesting conversation on the night of your welcoming party between you and Rarity. A talk about a certain dragon.”

Ember pointed at Garble. “You! I knew I saw something that night! You spied on us!?”

“If you want to call it that,” he said. “Once I heard about this fight over who would want that loser Spike more, I had to take advantage of the chance. It was far too easy to push you two to fight each other.”

“What did you do, Garble?” demanded Ember.

“Oh, a little misunderstanding here,” he replied in a mocking voice. “A little pushing there to pit you two against each other. Even a little love letter tossed in to really heat things up.”

A thought crossed Rarity’s mind and she narrowed her eyes. “Hey, wait a minute! You were the one who wrote that love letter in the library; not Ember!”

“Well it’s not my fault you fell for it like the idiot you truly are. It was all too easy to make you and Ember fight each other. Honestly, you two were doing all the work. I just sat back and watched the fireworks.” Garble laughed and shook his head. “It was so satisfying seeing Spike’s heart ripped in two as both of you fought one another. I managed to destroy this alliance and break his heart all in one swoop!”

Ember glared and black smoke started billowing out of her nostrils. “I don’t understand it, Garble,” she said, angrily. “I know you were against this alliance, but did you need to go this far? It’s not like I was forcing you to be friends with ponies. This isn’t fair and you know it!”

“Not fair!?” sneered Garble. “I’ll tell you what’s not fair! Being friends with a species that’s always portrayed us as if we’re nothing monsters! They always got in our way and pushed us around!”

“And you think doing this is going to change how ponies view dragons!?” inquired Ember.

“We are the dominant species, Ember!” barked Garble. “We haven’t had to rely on alliances or friendships with other kingdoms because we have always taken care of ourselves. We never needed those wimpy ponies and their so called friendship. After how ponies have treated dragons for so long, there is no way in Tartarus we should even be friends with them! If it were up to me, by now Equestria would have been invaded and burnt to the ashes!”

Ember clenched her fist tightly.

“What’s wrong, Ember?” asked Garble. “No witty comeback? Got nothing to say to me again?”

“Just why?”

Garble raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Why tell us this?” she wondered. “Why tell us this now and gloat about it? What’s to say I arrest you for what you’ve done?”

Garble laughed again. “I wanted you to know who it was that beat you and Spike for what you’ve both done. I wanted to see both of you see everything you’ve worked so hard for fall apart, and know that you can’t do anything about it. Besides, you can’t touch me at all!”

“What!?”

“I’ve already told that pony princess, so I’ll tell it you; you’ve got no proof.”

Ember’s eyes widened.

“Think about it. All you got is my word, and only you and Rarity have heard it. Even if you do arrest me, what have you got to prove I did this? What evidence do you got? You got not nothing! You can’t do anything to me at all! It all worked out so much better than I thought!”

Ember and Rarity stared in horror.

“There are two ways you can get out of this, Ember,” said Garble. “You could just let Rarity face up to what she did. If she’s lucky enough, maybe she’ll serve the rest of her life rotting in a cell.”

A sinister smile formed on his face. “Awww you can’t do that, can you?” he asked in a mocking tone. “That would make Spike hate you even more and would never forgive you. You’d lose two of your precious friends.”

Ember growled softly.

“Maybe you could try to arrest me and try to save Rarity by proving I did it.” Garble laughed coldly. “Awww you can’t do that either. Not only do you have no evidence, but you’d make a fool of yourself in front of the Dragon Council and all the dragons. They would never trust you again, Rarity would still be convicted, and you’d lose everything in the end.”

Rarity slammed her hands against the stone table. “Who do you think you are doing this!?”

Garble smiled confidently. “Just a dragon looking out for what’s best for his home.”

Ember was beside herself. “You!...I’m going to get you for this, Garble!” she bellowed.

The drake rolled his eyes and smirked. “Oh, come now, Ember. That’s a really cliche thing to say.”

“Just you wait, you lying sleaze!” she vowed. “You haven’t gotten away with it yet!”

“You’re serious, aren’t you? Well I’ll tell you another thing I told that pony princess. Good luck trying to prove something that I didn’t do.”

Ember smirked. “Don’t count on it yet, Garble. You’re not as invincible as you think you are. You should be the one watching your back.”

Garble rolled his eyes. “So be it then. You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into. Everything’s gone perfectly for me, Ember.”

“We’ll see about that,” she vowed.

“Ha! Just you try it.” Garble walked over to the door and looked back with a smug smile on him. “You’ll understand soon that there’s nothing you can do now. You can’t win.”

Garble opened the door, but a clinking noise caught everyone’s attention. Ember and Rarity looked over and saw a rounded red crystal with a yellow aura swirling around inside on the floor. Before Ember could open her mouth, Garble jumped on the crystal like a predator pouncing on its prey.

“G–give me that!” he demanded in a panicked voice. He quickly put the crystal back in his pocket and looked nervous.

He cleared his throat and smiled nervously. “I, um, got to get out of here. Good luck, Ember. You’ll need it.” Garble ran out the room and the door shut behinded him.

Rarity and Ember looked on in confusion and anger.

“What was that about?” wondered Rarity. “I’ve never seen him like that.”

“I don’t know,” said Ember. “But judging from the way he was going after that thing, whatever it was, it’s very important to him.”

“It looked like a crystal, but I couldn’t really tell. What’s so important about it?”

Ember narrowed her eyes. “It’s got to be connected to Garble’s plan. I know it has to. I’ll need to see what’s got him so riled up over a crystal.”

“Ember, what are we going to do now?” wondered Rarity. “Garble does have a point. You sent the guards away, so now only we know of the truth.”

The dragoness said nothing.

“Ember?”

She turned around and had a determined look on her. “There may be a way out of this, Rarity. It’s a bit of a longshot, but it may be the best choice we got to bringing Garble down.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “And that is…?”

“There are certain things a Dragon Lord can do when it comes to trials. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure Garble faces up to what he’s done. First off, I need to talk to Master Ash immediately.”

Rarity frowned. “Ember, no offense, but what good will that do? You heard Garble. We only got his word, but no proof.”

“That’s true, but it’s time I took back control now things. The Dragon Council needs a reminder as to who their leader is. I understand they want to know the truth as soon as possible, but it’s time I stepped in and straighten some things out.”

“What do you plan to do, Ember?” inquired Rarity.

“I need to tell them the truth,” she answered. “It’s time they knew the truth that day on the beach.”

Rarity’s eyes widened. “Ember, you don’t mean…?”

The dragoness nodded. “I’m going to let them know you never attacked me first. I was the one who struck first and instigated the fight. Once I do that, I’ll bring Garble in to explain about his actions.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Why not just have me acquitted and release me?”

Ember grimaced a little. “I know you want to leave this place as soon as possible, Rarity. However, most of the dragons believe Garble is a hero now. If I let you go now without much of an explanation, it would make things worse and only anger them more.”

Rarity nodded slowly. “I understand, darling. You do what you must to make sure Garble doesn’t get away with this.”

Ember nodded. “Just hang on a bit longer, Rarity. I promise you that you’ll be a free pony soon. Do this not only for your sake, but do it for Spike’s sake too.”

“I’ll be waiting,” said Rarity.

“I’ll be back later,” said the dragoness. “Hopefully, by the time I get back, your friends will find a lawyer so I can explain things to them.”

“I’m sure they have, darling,” assured Rarity. “I know my friends won’t let me down.”

Two flashes of light went off in the Friendship Council chamber. Princess Luna and all of Twilight’s friends were back with dejected looks on them.

The night alicorn looked at Starlight with a grim look on her. “Judging from the way you all are looking, I take it there’s been no luck on your end, Starlight?”

The unicorn shook her head. “Nothing at all. I even went to ask Sunburst for some help to track a few lawyers down, but they all refused. They refused to go to the Dragon Lands and face the wrath of the Dragon Lord.”

“We haven’t had any luck either, sugarcube,” said Applejack. “I asked my Aunt and Uncle Orange for some help, but even some of their best lawyers were too scared to face up against dragons. We ran around the whole city as fast as we could, but we got nothing.”

Starlight bit her lip. “This is really bad. No lawyer at all, time is running out, and even if the Dragon Council allows a trial, we don’t have anypony to defend Rarity.”

“I hope Twilight has had better luck on her end than us,” said Fluttershy.

Rainbow looked around the room and had an impatient look on her. “Speaking of which, where’s Twilight and Spike? Are they still in the library?”

“Maybe we should go check up on them,” said Pinkie.

“Good idea,” said Starlight. “Whatever she’s doing, it better be helpful for Rarity’s sake.”

They all headed out of the council chamber and walked down to the library. They pushed the door opened and looked around the vast room.

“Yo, Twilight!” called out Rainbow. “Where are you!?”

Applejack slapped Rainbow behind the head. “Quiet! I think we can find her without you yelling like a banshee.”

“Hey, I want to find Twilight as soon as possible,” argued Rainbow. “I want to know what she’s been up to.”

“We also got to let her know the bad news,” said Fluttershy, glummly.

“That you don’t have a lawyer?”

“Yes. What else would we…” Fluttershy’s voice trailed off. “Wait, who was that?”

“Over here.”

The group looked to the side and saw Spike smiling at them.

“There you are, Spike,” said Starlight. “What are you doing though?”

“I was getting another book.” He held up a thick, black one. “I was about to go back to Twilight when I heard Rainbow’s yelling.”

The pegasus smirked at Applejack. “Told you that would help us find Twilight.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Can you lead us to her, Spike? We need to let her know about this lawyer thing immediately.”

“No problem.” He waved a hand. “Follow me.”

The group followed Spike down the hall and passed by several bookcases. They came upon a clearing in the room and saw several books around a large table. Sitting at the table was Twilight, with her eyes racing across the page of an open book.

“Twilight?” asked Luna.

The alicorn looked up and smiled. “Oh! Welcome back, girls! How’d it go?”

The group had glum looks on them.

Twilight’s smile faded a little. “Could’ve been better?”

“You can say that again,” said Applejack.

Rainbow glanced at all the books around Twilight and glared. “Don’t tell us you’ve been doing nothing but reading this whole time.”

Twilight nodded. “I have, but this is for an entirely different reason.”

“Really now?” asked Luna. “Pray tell, Twilight. What exactly have you been reading?”

Spike handed over a book. “This.”

Luna took the book and everypony crowded around to read the title.

Court is in Session: A basic gude to court procedures

Applejack looked confused. “What in tarnation?”

The group looked at some of the books around Twilight’s desk and saw various other titles. The Rule of Law. Law for Dummies. So you want to be a Lawyer. It was just a few of the books around Twilight’s desk.

“What’s this all about, Twilight?” wondered Fluttershy.

“When Princess Luna mentioned about how she couldn’t find a lawyer, I came up with an alternative plan. Since it seems none of you could find a lawyer willing to take Rarity’s case, it’ll be up to me and Spike now.

Luna had a bewildered look on her. “Twilight, are you seriously suggesting what I think you’re about to say?”

Spike nodded. “She is, your highness.”

Twilight stood up. “I’ll take Rarity’s case by being her lawyer!”

Confrontation

Luna’s mouth was agape. “Twilight, tell us you’re not serious.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I be? Rarity will need somepony to defend her and prove it was Garble who’s been behind this.”

“But this is a bit much; even for you,” argued Luna.

“What choice do we have, princess?” inquired Spike. “You all admitted that you have no lawyer, and we need to prepare for the trial.”

“But we don’t know if there’s going to even be a trial!” shot Rainbow. “We haven’t heard anything from Ember or the Dragon Council since Rarity’s arrest. What’s to say they won’t let Rarity have a fair trial and just kill her?”

“You forgot that my sister is making sure that Rarity will be given a fair trial,” said Luna. “Tia would never allow one of her friends and subjects be sentenced without a proper trial.”

“You know what those dragons did, right?” asked Rainbow. “No offense, Princess, but they were ready to turn Ponyville upside down until they found Rarity.”

“Master Ash did promise he would let me know in a few days,” said Twilight.

“But what’s to stop them from changing their mind?”

“You need not worry, Rainbow,” assured Luna. “If anypony can defuse a situation like this, it’s my own sister.”

“I’m more wondering if Twilight and Spike are up to this,” said Starlight. “I don’t doubt they can do it, but maybe we should explore a few more options before you two go to court.”

“Starlight raises a good point,” said Luna. “Perhaps if I offer to go as an aid to one of the lawyers, it may change their mind.”

“You can’t!” Spike yelled as he slammed his fist on the table.

The group looked at the drake with shock on them.

The drake shrunk back a little. “Sorry,” he quickly said. “I just want to help Rarity and Ember out any way I can. With everything Twilight has told me, it’s got to be Garble who’s done this. I want to prove it to every dragon in the Lands.”

“Are you sure you two want to do this, Twilight?” asked Fluttershy.

The alicorn nodded. “I’m sure of it. Rarity is our friend, and I’m not going to leave her alone and helpless.”

“I’m with you, Twilight,” said Spike. “I want to help Rarity out too and see her again.”

Rainbow smirked. “So does that mean you still have the hots for–OOF!”

Applejack smacked Rainbow on the back of the head. “Not the time for that kind of stuff, sugarcube,” she scolded.

Spike looked away and shifted uncomfortably. “I admit I’m still upset at her and Ember, but that doesn’t mean I want to see Rarity suffer in jail. I want to help Ember too and prove that Garble was behind this.”

“Which is why Spike and I will take on Rarity’s defense and uncover the truth,” said Twilight. “We already have most of the pieces put together, so we just need to connect it all to Garble and expose him for what he’s done.”

“Twilight, if it’s true you and Spike want to save Rarity and be her lawyers, there’s one thing you’ve forgotten,” said Luna.

“That is?” wondered Spike.

“The bar exam.”

Spike’s eyes widened. “The bar exam?”

“It’s a test to see if you can qualify to practice law,” answered Luna. “Usually, you have to study law school for a couple years before taking it, but considering the circumstances, this is an exception.”

“Do we have to take that test?” wondered Spike.

Luna nodded. “I’ll explain things to the Bar Association tomorrow morning. Once they learn about the situation, they should allow this as a one time exception deal. So they should allow you take it. Once both of you are finished, I’ll have your badges made for you immediately.”

“We better get back to studying then, Spike,” said Twilight. “We’ll have to be ready first thing in the morning.”

“I would advise you come with me back to Canterlot,” suggested Luna. “I have no doubt your library has its fair share of law books, but the Royal Library will be more helpful.”

Twilight smiled. “Good idea, Princess.” She turned to Spike. “Get some stuff to pack up for an overnight trip.”

“You got it,” said Spike.

Twilight turned to her friends. “Girls, meet back here tomorrow afternoon and wait for me and Spike. By the time we come back, we should hopefully be ready to take on Rarity’s defense.”

Applejack put a hand on Twilight’s shoulder and smiled. “Good luck, sugarcube.”

“You got this, Twi,” assured Rainbow.

“Both of you do your best,” said Fluttershy.

“Work on your objection pose!” encouraged Pinkie.

Everypony looked at her with confused looks.

“What?” asked Pinkie. “It’s important for a lawyer to have the proper pose.”

Starlight shook her head and looked at Twilight. “We’ll be waiting for you and Spike. Just try not to make it one of your overnight reading sessions. I don’t think the Bar Association would appreciate you two falling asleep in the middle of the exam.”

“We got this, Starlight,” assured Spike. “Twilight’s done plenty of late night studying, and I’m guilty of staying up late myself.”

Luna looked at the clock to see it was a little after eight. “We better get going. You two will need all the time to study before this test tomorrow.”

“Right!” Spike and Twilight said in unison.

Spike began walking down the library corridor and narrowed his eyes. Hang on, Rarity and Ember. I’m coming to help!

Ember marched down the hall with a determined look on her. Down at the end of the hall were two dragons in black and gold armor standing in front of a door.

Found you at last, she thought.

As Ember approached, the guards put their spears in front of the door.

The dragoness glared at them. “Put those weapons away and get out of my way!” she ordered. “I need to see Master Ash immediately!”

“Lord Ember, forgive us, but we have orders to make sure Master Ash isn’t disturbed,” said a teal dragon. “He’s currently in a private meeting with someone.”

Ember raised a suspicious eyebrow. “Who exactly is it?” she inquired.

The guard shrunk back a little. “We didn’t get a look at them. All Master Ash told us was that he wasn’t to be disturbed until he came back out.”

Ember rolled her eyes. “Well too bad. I don’t care if Master Ash has the whole Dragon Council in there. This is something that can’t wait!”

“Lord Ember, we have our orders! We can’t just–”

The large, metal door opened. “What is going on out here!?”

Ember and the guards looked to see a disgruntled Ash glaring at them. The guards froze up in fear immediately, but Ember pushed past them.

“Master Ash, it’s time we had a talk,” she said, sternly.

Ash raised an eyebrow. “Can this wait, Lord Ember?” he asked. “I’m currently busy with other matters.”

“I know you are,” said Ember. “But this is something that can’t wait. It’s time to talk about what happened between me and Rarity.”

The elder dragon raised an eyebrow. “How interesting. That’s exactly what me and my guest are speaking about. If you could just come back later, we’ll talk more about it.”

“No!” stated Ember. “I don’t care who it is you’re talking to! It could be my dad and I wouldn’t care! You need to remember one thing; you may be the head of the Dragon Council, but you still answer to me, the Dragon Lord!”

Ash stepped back and was left speechless.

“You should listen to her, Master Ash,” said a gentle voice. “She is your leader after all.”

Ember’s furious expression faded and was replaced by a curious one. “Who is that?” she wondered.

Ash let out a sigh. “Come on in and I’ll show you.”

Ember went in and the door slammed shut. In front of the dragoness was a large marble table with various parchments stacked neatly, a small photo frame of what she could see of himself and Garble, and a small globe on the table. In front of the table were two large, velvet chairs and behind it one large, black chair.

“Please take a chair, Lord Ember,” said Ash. “Perhaps you can give some insight to our guest here.”

“What guest?” asked Ember.

“Someone who’s been looking forward to meeting you, Lord Ember.”

A tall figure rose from one of the chairs and turned to face the dragoness. Ember froze up and gasped.

“P–Princess Celestia?” she asked in awe.

The solar princess smiled softly. “I see you’re already familiar with who I am.”

Ember rubbed the back of her head. “Um, Twilight told me about you in some of her letters. She mentioned a lot about you and how great it would be for me to meet you.”

Celestia's smile faltered a little. “It’s true that it’s good to finally meet the new Dragon Lord. I just wish it was under better circumstances.”

Ember nodded. “I know, princess, but I’m here about what happened that day on the beach.”

“Funny you should mention that, Lord Ember,” said Ash. “Princess Celestia and I were discussing about the incident and the idea of a trial for Rarity.”

“Master, I’ve come here because there are things that I need to clear up about that.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me, Lord Ember, but what do you mean by that?”

“There’s some things you don’t know about, Master,” she replied. “You’ve been so busy questioning Rarity that you haven’t even allowed me to explain what happened.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Is this true, Master Ash?”

The elder dragon frowned. “I admit we’ve been asking Miss Rarity a lot about the incident, but we were going to request Lord Ember come and testify about her own side of the story. However, during her hearing with the Council, Miss Rarity plead guilty to causing the whole incident and assaulting Lord Ember.”

Ember frowned. “She plead guilty?”

Ash nodded. “She admitted to the crime after she saw those photos. She told us herself during her hearing. During her hearing, Miss Rarity brought up something very interesting between you and her, Lord Ember.”

Ember’s eyes widened. Looks like he knows.

“Something about a dispute between you two over Spike,” continued Ash. “Something about a love triangle.”

Ember looked away.

“I take it that means Miss Rarity was correct?”

The dragoness nodded. “She is, Master, and it’s for that reason that I’ve come to talk to you. The incident on the beach was partially because of that.”

Ash tilted his head. “Partially? What do you mean by that?”

Here goes nothing. Ember took a deep breath. “Master Ash, Rarity wasn’t the one who attacked me first on the beach.”

Ash had a confused look on him. “But she plead guilty to the crime.”

Ember shook her head. “You don’t understand, Master. I saw Rarity didn’t attack me first. I was the one who hit her first and instigated the fight.”

Ash flinched and looked like someone slugged him. “W–what!?”

Celestia had an equally shocked look on her. “Lord Ember, can you explain what exactly happened that day and what lead to it?”

Ember nodded. “Truth be told, this started way back on the first day I arrived in Equestria. It happened shortly after I arrived with Matches. We were both getting clothes made by Rarity, and…”

Ash and Celestia listened to Ember’s explanation. As Ember went on, Ash looked had a mixture of shock and anger on him. Celestia listened and kept a straight face while nodding.

“...and then Rarity was arrested before I could explain things to Master Ash, and now you all know the rest.”

Celestia rubbed her chin and nodded slowly. “I’m honestly shocked by your actions, Lord Ember. Doing something like this to one of my subjects, and a close friend of mine.”

Ember frowned in remorse. “I know what I did was stupid, but I never wanted things to get like this. I never intended to take things this far or hurt Rarity. I just let my frustrations with Rarity and jealousy get the best of me.”

The dragoness looked down in shame, but was surprised to see Celestia put a hand under her chin and lift it up. The solar alicorn smiled softly at her.

“Love can do a lot of weird things to us, Lord Ember,” she said. “It can mess with our emotions and cloud our judgement. I appreciate you coming out and telling both of us the truth. This has all been a big mess, but I expect you as Dragon Lord to help clean up this mess. If you truly want to have a new beginning between dragons and ponies, this would be a good first step.”

Ember nodded. “I understand, your highness.”

“Since this revelation has come up, I believe this changes a lot. Wouldn’t you agree, Master Ash?”

The elder dragon leaned over his desk and grimaced. “I don’t understand this. What I was told the other day now concerns me.”

“What were you told, Master?” wondered Celestia.

“I believe I know what he’s referring to,” interjected Ember. “It’s about what Garble said.”

“Garble?”

Ash nodded. “My grandson brought me these photos.” He held up a vanilla envelope. “He claimed that he witnessed Rarity starting a fight and assaulting Lord Ember. Now with this information, I don’t know what to think of it.”

“It’s the truth, Master,” said Ember.

Ash tapped his fingers together. “Lord Ember, forgive me if I’m reluctant to believe this. How do I know you aren’t just saying this just to cover Miss Rarity?”

Ember narrowed her eyes. “What did you say!?”

Ash held a hand up. “Hear me out. I understand your friendship with the ponies you made is important, but what’s to say you aren’t doing this just to save Miss Rarity? All we have is your word to go on this.”

“You don’t understand!”

“What I do understand is that you were attacked regardless, and this is something that can’t be overlooked. Miss Rarity must answer to what she’s done.”

Ember raised a fist and slammed it on the table. Celestia and Ash looked at Ember in shock.

“Enough!” she declared. “Master, I know you’ve been worried about what happened to me and how I was attacked, but this has got to stop!”

Ash narrowed his eyes. “Stop what exactly? Justice being delivered?”

“No! I mean you need to step back already and let me handle this! Ever since you learned of this incident, you’ve taken control of everything without letting me tell you what happened! You’ve been pushing Rarity without letting me get a word in! You’ve gone around acting like you’re the Dragon Lord and I’m not! You even sent in your own army to ‘rescue’ me!”

Ash shook his head. “Lord Ember, you have to understand that there’s a reason I had to step up and do all this!” he argued. “You were attacked and as head of the Dragon Council, I had to do something!”

“Including sending an army to Ponyville?” asked Ember. “How many did you say you have?”

Ash was flummoxed and muttered quietly.

“I think I remember correctly,” said Celestia. “Twilight told me it was a large army that threatened to burn Ponyville down.”

“I’ll tell you exactly what he said,” said Ember. “He said, and I quote, ‘brought an army big enough to burn this village to ashes’ to Twilight.”

Celestia narrowed her eyes at Ash. “Is this true, Master Ash?” she demanded in an icy tone. “I knew you had brought some of your forces to Ponyville, but you were threatening to burn the town down?”

Ash slammed his hand on the desk. “I never gave the order to burn Ponyville down!” he shouted in a frustrated voice. “I ordered my forces to rescue Ember and capture Rarity for what she did! That whole thing was just an intimidation tactic to make Princess Twilight tell me where Miss Rarity was!”

“But did you need to do that!?” inquired Ember. “Did you really need to go that far!?”

Ash bit his lip.

“If you were so concerned about me, why didn’t you just come yourself?” asked Ember. “I understand you were worried about me, but you went too far in what you did.”

Ash leaned back in his chair. “What exactly was I supposed to do, Lord Ember?” he asked. “You were attacked, I saw the photos, and immediately had to spring to action. I had no idea how much danger you were in, so I had to rally my forces to come to your rescue. I admit, I may have gone overboard with how many I brought, but I couldn’t risk it. I had no choice but to send in the cavalry.”

Ember sighed. “It doesn’t excuse everything else you’ve done. You may be head of the Dragon Council, but you’ve forgotten that I’m the Dragon Lord, and that you have to answer to me for your own actions. Even if it was for the best intentions, I can’t overlook this.”

The elder dragon leaned over his desk and frowned. “I...I understand, Lord Ember. I was just worried about what had become of you. You’re the Dragon Lord, and I couldn’t just stand by after seeing those photos. I had to do something, and I felt the only way to do so was to bring Miss Rarity in to answer for her crimes.”

“I know you must have had the best intentions in protecting your leader,” said Princess Celestia. “But to go as far as sending a large army and take Rarity like that is no excuse.”

Ember nodded. “She’s right, Master Ash. Once this over, I believe I’ll let Princess Celestia decide your punishment for what you’ve done. Does that sound good to you, your highness?”

The alicorn nodded. “I accept it. I’ll be sure to include the soldiers he sent to Ponyville as well to be punished for their actions.”

Ash looked forlorn as he let out a sigh. “Very well, Lord Ember. I’ll accept whatever punishment Princess Celestia has in store once this is all over.”

“Speaking of that, I know you’ve been discussing about the possibility of a trial for Rarity,” said Ember. “Well there’s no need for debate. There will be a trial.”

“There will be?” asked Ash. “But the facts are clear though that Rarity assaulted you. She even plead guilty to it.”

“There are three reasons for this, Master,” said Ember. “First, I told you that I started the fight when I first hit Rarity. She was never the one who instigated it.”

“But that contradicts what Garble told me. What does this even mean?”

“That’s the other reason. Garble’s claims now come into question. He needs to explain why he said he saw Rarity first struck me.”

“What’s this third reason?” wondered Celestia.

Ember narrowed her eyes. “This is the most important one of all. What were Garble’s movements during his time in Equestria?”

Ash’s eyes widened. “His movements in Equestria?”

“Master, think about it,” urged Ember. “What exactly was Garble doing in Equestria?”

“He said he was looking out for you,” replied the elder dragon.

“But is that really true?”

Ash said nothing.

“Even you have to admit some things just don’t add up. He was doing this out of concern? I don’t buy it for a moment. You know he’s been against this whole alliance since the start and hates ponies.”

“That’s hardly a reason to question him though,” argued Ash. “There are dragons out there who feel the same way about this alliance.”

“If he was so concerned about me, then why didn’t he go to you and ask if he could secretly keep an eye on me? Garble never did tell you about any of this to you, did he?”

Ash froze up.

“You understand now, Master Ash?” inquired Ember. “There’s too many questions to Garble’s story that’s not adding up. It’s for this reason we need to call into question his so called ‘heroic’ actions. I know I’m not the only one who’s questioning his movements. Princess Twilight and her friends don’t believe he was doing this out of concern either.”

The elder dragon leaned back and said nothing. He looked down with a grim look on him.

“Master, whether you like it or not, there will be a trial,” said Ember, firmly. “You said it yourself that you didn’t want to rush to judgement. You probably want to know the full truth.”

Ash slowly nodded. “You’re correct, Lord Ember.”

“Good. As Dragon Lord, I’ll preside over the case as judge and make sure things are run fair around there.”

“Hold it, Lord Ember,” objected Ash. “With all due respect, you do have some bias about Miss Rarity. I fear you would purposefully lead the case to favor her.”

“I assure you that won’t happen, Master,” said Ember.

Ash frowned. “I’m not sure about this, Lord Ember. How do I know you aren’t going to try and manipulate everything in favor of the defense?”

“I told you that won’t happen, Master. I want the truth as much as you do. While I will serve as the judge, the Dragon Council will act as the jury in this case and decide on a verdict after hearing arguments from both sides.”

“What if the rest of the Council objects to this?”

“They can complain to me all they want, but I won’t change my mind,” stated Ember. “It’s my job to help uncover the truth about this incident. I want to ensure a fair trial will be held. Do I make myself clear?”

Ash said nothing for a moment, and then reluctantly nodded. “Very well then. Since this is your first time presiding over a case, I must warn you, Lord Ember. You can’t show any favoritism towards Miss Rarity or to the prosecution.”

“I understand fully, Master. Now can I trust you in finding a suitable prosecutor for the case?”

“It shall be done, my Lord.”

“Princess Luna should’ve found a lawyer by now,” said Celestia. “I think it’s best that I return to Canterlot and inform her of this news.”

An idea clicked in Ember’s head. “There’s one last thing I’d like to do, Princess Celestia.”

The alicorn smiled at her. “What is it?”

The dragoness grabbed a parchment paper and a quill from Ash’s desk. “Master Ash promised to let Princess Twilight know about if there would be a trial or not. Do you think you can give this letter to her first thing in the morning?” She wrote on the parchment quickly and handed it over to the solar princess.

Celestia took the note and read it. She nodded rolled the paper up. “I’ll do something better” Her horn lit up and the letter disappeared.

Ember raised an eyebrow. “What did you do?”

“I sent it to Spike,” replied Celestia. “It’s how I used to send Twilight letters back and forth. I just hope Spike doesn’t mind this one exception after all these years.”

Ember raised an eyebrow. “That’s interesting. I never knew Spike used to be Twilight’s personal mailbox.”

Celestia chuckled a little.

Ember turned to Ash. “Inform the Dragon Council about this trial. I expect them to listen to both sides and come up with a fair decision based on what both the defense and prosecution has to say.”

“Understood, Lord Ember.”

“While you’re at it, let Garble know he’s going to appear as a witness. It’s time he told us the whole truth about his trip into Equestria and what he was really up to.”

Ash stood up. “Lord Ember, I do have a question about this.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you suspect Garble is lying?”

Ember said nothing.

Ash narrowed his eyes. “You do, don’t you? You think my own grandson fabricated this whole thing to make himself some sort of hero?”

“His story contradicts what I’ve told you, Master,” assured Ember. “I’m sure even you have to admit that something isn’t right about what Garble’s done. I think he owes us all an explanation as to what he was doing in Equestria at the time leading up to my fight with Rarity.”

Ash looked down.

“Master, I promise you this much,” said Ember. “If it’s proven he didn’t do anything wrong, he’ll be let go. Do you understand?”

The elder dragon nodded slowly. “Yes, my Lord.”

“Good. I’ll leave you with finding a prosecutor for the case then. I’ll be back tomorrow evening to check on you.”

Ash smirked a little. “I already have an idea as to who to get.”

Ember and Celestia looked at each other with concerned looks on them.

“If you say so, Master,” said Ember. “Just be sure to see if they can do it.”

“Of course, Lord Ember.” Ash walked over and opened the door. “I need a little time to prepare for what I need to tell the Council. If you don’t mind, I’d like a little privacy.”

“We’ll leave you to it,” said Ember as she exited the room.

Celestia smiled at Ash. “Goodbye, Master Ash. Don’t forget about our deal.”

Ash bowed. “I won’t, your highness.”

Ember and Celestia walked out the room and the door shut. The two walked down the hallway a little bit. The dragoness turned back briefly at Ash’s door and frowned.

I’m sorry, Master, she thought to herself. You’re going to have to learn the truth the hard way.

She turned around and went around the corner, but before Ember could continue, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Celestia frowning at her. The alicorn gestured her head to the left. Ember looked over and saw a door next to it.

“You want to talk alone, don’t you?” asked Ember.

The princess nodded in response.

Ember walked over and pushed open the door to see a room similar to where she met Matches earlier. Only it had a large window with the moonlight shining in. Celestia walked in and shut the door.

The alicorn crossed her arms. “You know it’s him, don’t you?”

Ember was taken aback by the sudden way Celestia spoke. “What?”

“You believe it’s Garble,” said Celestia. “You know he’s behind what lead to this.”

Ember gulped a little. “How did you know?”

“Master Ash told me about what Garble did,” she answered. “He said his grandson was concerned about your visit to Equestria and secretly kept an eye on it. Considering what Twilight has told me of Garble’s actions in the past I had my suspicions, but you confirmed them in what you told Master Ash.”

“So you already know about Garble’s true colors.”

“Indeed I do. What I want to know from you is how you came to such a conclusion.”

Ember looked down and looked uncomfortable.

“You can trust me, Ember,” assured Celestia. “I want to know the truth too.”

The dragoness looked at Celestia. “Truth be told, I already had my suspicions the day that Rarity was arrested, but Master Ash was so furious about what happened, he didn’t listen to me. Ever since I’ve come back home, I’ve suspected Garble that he was somehow behind this.”

“Do you have proof he did it?” wondered Celestia.

“No, your highness,” replied Ember. “Garble actually confessed to me.”

Celestia’s eyes widened. “What did you say?”

“I said he confessed.”

“I don’t understand. What made him do this? Guilt?”

Ember rolled her eyes. “Not even close. I was having a private talk with Rarity and we decided to finally put the feud between us to an end. Garble eavesdropped on us and he admitted what he had done to both me and Rarity.”

Celestia rubbed her chin. “This doesn’t make sense. Why did he bother telling you this?”

“Because he knows I’ve got no evidence to prove he sabotaged this visit,” answered Ember. “As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. I don’t have any evidence except for his word.”

“So he just did it to spite you.”

“It wasn’t just me. It was to rub it in Rarity and Spike’s face. He’s got us all right where he wants us. He believes there’s nothing we can do.”

“Do you really believe that, Ember?” wondered Celestia.

Ember narrowed her eyes. “Of course not. I know for a fact he’s not invincible. No dragon goes through all this and doesn’t leave behind an evidence trail. It’s why I’m hoping Twilight and her friends will find some evidence to prove it.”

“I’m sure they’re doing the best they can, Ember,” assured Celestia.

Ember kicked her foot lazily and had a concerned look on her. “Princess, can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead,” answered the alicorn.

“Have you ever had to deal with something like this before?”

Celestia frowned. “I’ve seen a lot in my time as ruler of Equestria, Ember, but nothing like this.”

The dragoness looked down. “I was kind of hoping you could give me some advice. You know; between rulers?”

“What I can offer you is this. Trust in your friends to help you in this time of need. You do trust the friends you made in Ponyville, right?”

“Of course I do! Why wouldn’t I? Twilight herself told me she would find proof of Garble’s actions.”

Celestia put a hand on Ember’s shoulder and smiled. “Then you don’t have to worry. Twilight and her friends have always been able to overcome many obstacles and come out on top.”

“I wonder if any of them have ever had to do something involving a trial though,” said Ember.

“You have to be careful, Ember,” cautioned the princess. “I know you want to expose Garble, but since you’re going to be the judge for the trial, you have to be neutral in these procedures.”

Ember nodded. “I’m aware of that, your highness. As much as I want to help out, the burden of finding proof and proving it was Garble lies on Twilight and her friends. I just hope they’re up to it.”

“I’ll have to check in on Twilight in the morning. In the meantime–”

Celestia’s words were cut off as a green flame flashed in the room and a scroll dropped to the ground.

Ember looked at it with a bewildered look. “Is that a message from Spike?”

“It is,” confirmed Celestia. She bent over and picked up the scroll. “I didn’t think Twilight would respond so fast.”

She pulled open the scroll and her eyes moved across the paper. Celestia’s eyes suddenly widened as she read the paper, and let out a gasp.

“Oh, my,” said the alicorn in a surprised tone. “I didn’t expect this.”

“Expect what?” wondered Ember. “Is something wrong?”

Celestia rolled up the scroll. “I’m sorry, Ember, but I must leave at once. Something has come up and I need to get back to Canterlot at once.”

“What’s going on? Are you sure nothing is wrong?”

Celestia opened her mouth, but quickly shut it and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I have to keep this a secret for the time being. There’s one thing I must ask that you do for me please.”

“What is it?”

“Tell Rarity about the trial coming up, and for her to hang on a little longer. We’re coming to save her.”

Ember nodded. “I will, your highness.”

“Just call me Celestia,” said the alicorn with a smile.

Ember smiled back. “Right, you–...um, Celestia. I’ll send a message to you as soon as I get word on when the trial will be.”

“I’ll be waiting,” said the princess. “In the meantime. Prepare yourself, Ember. A lot is going to happen in these next few days, and it’ll shape things between Equestria and the Dragon Lands. It’ll be up to you to help improve things between our two kingdoms.”

Ember bowed. “I won’t let what Spike worked so hard for be for nothing. I helped make this mess, and it’s time to finally make things right again.”

“I’m sure that whatever Twilight and her friends found, it will prove Garble’s actions. Whatever they find, Master Ash will have no choice but to accept the truth; no matter how harsh it is.”

“I just hope they’re ready for a tough fight,” said Ember. “Whoever Master Ash finds as the prosecutor, they’ll no doubt put up a fight.”

Master Ash looked out the window of his office and watched the full moon shine down upon the desolate wasteland. In the distance, he saw some volcanoes erupt and shoot out lava and ash. He narrowed his eyes and turned his chair around back to his desk. His eyes fell upon the picture of him and Garble together and he picked it up. Ash had a small smile on his face in the photo while Garble looked uninterested as they stood in front of his desk.

“What did you want to talk to me about, old man?”

Ash put the photo down and let out a sigh. He looked up to see Garble slouching in the chair with an irritated look on him. “There’s a lot of things to talk about, boy, and quit calling me that. There’s been a development in Lord Ember’s assault this past hour.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Ash took a deep breath. “Garble, you need to tell me the truth about what happened in Equestria.”

The drake raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘tell the truth?’ I’ve told you everything, and even showed you photos of that pony’s crime.”

“Not according to Lord Ember,” Ash rebutted. “She came in and told me that it was her who started the fight with Rarity; not the other way around.”

“What?”

“I want the truth from you, Garble. Are you sure it was Miss Rarity who attacked Lord Ember first?”

Garble smirked. “I remember it perfectly. That no good pony did it. Ember’s just trying to save her flank. Why she would do that, I have no idea.”

Ash leaned back in his chair. “For your sake, Garble, you better be right. You’ve been summoned to be the witness at Miss Rarity’s trial.”

Garble narrowed his eyes. “What!?” he yelled. He rose out of his seat and slammed his hand against the table. “What in Tartarus are you talking about, old man!? We don’t need a trial!”

“Lord Ember herself ordered the trail, boy!” Ash shot back. “She’s brought up some points about what happened, and it does warrant further investigating.”

“Those claims can be thrown out easily,” argued Garble. “Does she have any proof?”

“No. I only have her word to go on.”

“But you have all the proof you need to prove that pony’s guilt! I even went out of my way to get proof those ponies were up to no good with those photos!”

Ash leaned forward. “That reminds me of something. Lord Ember brought up a very good point that I believe you need to answer.”

“Go ahead.”

The elder dragon glared. “What were you doing in Equestria up until the incident?”

Garble flinched a little. “W–what did you say?”

“You were in Equestria for nearly a week, but what were you doing all that time?”

“I already told you that I was keeping an eye on Ember.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “Without telling me or the Dragon Council?”

Garble pulled his shirt collar and chuckled weakly. “Hey, slow down there for a moment, old man. I did tell you all...eventually.”

“Why did you hide this from me? Garble, please tell me you didn’t do anything wrong. I want to believe you were doing this for the good of the Dragon Lands, but there’s still a lot of questions remaining.”

Garble crossed his arms and smiled confidently. “Of course you can trust me. Have I ever proven you wrong?”

Ash glared at Garble.

The drake waved a hand. “Okay, bad choice of words, but this time you can believe me. Besides,” he grabbed the vanilla folder and held it up, “these photos are proof of Rarity’s guilt and that I did it out of the goodness of my heart.”

The room fell silent as Ash looked at the smug look on Garble’s face. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Garble stared at him, continuing to force his smile at the elder dragon.

After a minute, Ash opened his eyes again. “I’ve decided.”

“Decided what?”

Ash put his hand on his desk drawer and pulled it open. “Garble, for your sake, you better be telling me the truth,” he warned. “When the trial happens, you’ll have to put these doubts to rest with your testimony.”

“You can count on me.”

“I hope I can trust you this time, Garble. If you’re speaking the truth, then you have nothing to worry about. Now, on to the matter of one last thing Lord Ember requested.”

“A request?” asked Garble.

Ash pulled out a small black box and placed it on the desk. “Yes. Lord Ember asked me to find a suitable prosecutor for the trial. I think I know exactly who to get.”

A sinister smile started to form on Garble’s face. “You don’t mean…”

The elder dragon nodded. “Yes, it’s time to bring it back again.”

The box opened and Garble beamed with delight as he looked inside the box.

Ember, Twilight, you two idiots don’t know what you’ve gotten yourselves into.

Into the Inferno

Starlight and the others sat around the map table with anxious looks on them. Except for the soft ticking of the clock, the room was silent as the six mares waited anxiously. Fluttershy glanced over at the clock and frowned.

“It’s been nearly an hour since we were supposed to arrive,” she said. “I wonder if Twilight and Spike are okay.”

Rainbow made a passive wave. “Ah, don’t worry, Flutters. They got this in the bag. You saw how many law books both of them were reading when Spike showed us where Twilight was. They’ll be fine.”

“Rainbow has a point,” said Starlight. “We’ll give her another hour before we head for Canterlot and check ourselves.”

“That’ll give me enough time to plan the party for when Twilight and Spike save Rarity!” Pinkie said, cheerfully.

“But we still haven’t heard anything from Ember,” said Applejack.

“She said she’d contact Twilight first though,” said Starlight. “Maybe she knows something we don’t.”

“Well, maybe we should consider thinking of what to do if there’s no trial,” suggested Rainbow. “Maybe we can find a way to sneak in and get Rarity out before that Dragon Council does anything to her.”

Starlight shook her head. “Rainbow, that would only make things worse. You saw what happened the last time the dragons came here for Rarity. We were lucky last time. This time, I think they would gladly burn the town down.”

“There’s also Princess Celestia,” said Applejack. “She ain’t going to let Rarity be burnt like my first attempt at making a pie.”

Rainbow crossed her arms and pouted. “Then why don’t we go to Canterlot and see Twilight right now?”

“That won’t be needed.”

The group turned around and saw Spike walking in with a weary look on him. His eyes were a little bloodshot and was having a little trouble keeping them open.

Applejack let out a whistle. “You alright, sugarcube?” she wondered. “You look deader than Granny Smith before her morning coffee.”

The drake let out a yawn and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I may stay up late from time to time, but it’s very rare for me to pull a near all nighter.”

Starlight frowned. “I told you not to do that,” she scolded.

“I pulled a ‘near’ all nighter, not a full one,” said Spike with a weak chuckle.

Starlight rolled her eyes. She looked at the doorway and raised an eyebrow. “Where’s Twilight? Didn’t you two come back together?”

“We did,” replied Spike. “She’s just in Ember and Matches’ rooms right now.”

The group looked at one another with confusion on them.

“Why there?” asked Applejack.

“It’s a long story,” explained Spike. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a scroll. “This’ll explain everything.”

He unfurled the scroll and everypony gathered around to read it.

Dear Princess Twilight,

I’ve settled things with the Dragon Council, and have ordered them to go ahead and do a trial for Rarity. I’ll be presiding over the case judge while the rest of the council serves as the jury and listen to both sides of the argument. Due to how the dragons are restless for answers and justice about Rarity’s “crime”, the trial shall be held tomorrow morning at 10 A.M..

I’ve given you and your friends special permission to come to the Dragon Lands to see the trial. I must warn you though that because of how some dragons feel right now about ponies, that they don’t go wandering around the place. You and your friends will say in the Castle of Flames and be under my personal protection during your time here.

When you and your friends arrive, I would like for you and your lawyer to come and see me in my room to talk privately. The sooner you get here, the more I can fill you in on the details of the case.

In regards,

Dragon Lord Ember

P.S. If you could please go into the rooms Matches and I stayed in and retrieve the books about crystal magic we brought along for the trip. The Dragon Council is requesting them back for the library.

Rainbow’s eyes widened. “The trial is tomorrow!?” she said in shock.

Spike put the scroll down and looked at his friends. “We don’t have much time to waste. Twilight wanted me to bring this message to you all before I get packed up for another trip.”

“That doesn’t leave a lot of time to get prepared for the trial,” said Applejack. “You sure you and Twi are up for this?”

Starlight held up a hand. “Wait a minute, Spike. Did you and Twilight even pass the exam?”

Spike smiled and straightened himself up. “Come on now, girls. Did you really think we would be heading to the Dragon Lands without being prepared?”

The group gasped and smiled at Spike.

“Does that mean what I think it means?” wondered Fluttershy.

Spike reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object. “You tell me,” he answered.

He held out a small metal badge that was no bigger than the button on his shirt. It was shaped like a little golden heater shield with a blazing sun in the middle and a white crescent moon beneath it. In the middle of the sun was a set of scales.

Pinkie squealed in delight. “Ooo! It’s so shiny!”

Applejack smiled and patted Spike on the shoulder. “Congratulations, partner. Never thought I’d see you as a lawyer.”

Spike grinned sheepishly. “Well, it’s really only a one time deal. The Equestrian Bar Association was stubborn in what Princess Luna said to them, but she was managed to convince them it would be for this one time only.”

“Was it that hard?” wondered Fluttershy.

Spike grimaced a little. “I barely managed to make it through without falling asleep, but I was able to pass it.”

“What about Twilight?” asked Pinkie.

“She did much better than me,” answered Spike. “She was nearly able to ace it, but missed the final essay question.”

“I still think that question wasn’t right. They just won’t admit it.”

Everypony turned around and saw Twilight levitating two large suitcases and several books.

“Hello, girls,” she said. “I take it Spike’s already told you all the news?”

“We just finished reading the letter,” said Applejack. “So the trial is tomorrow. Do you think you and Spike are ready for this?”

“It’s not going to be easy, but we got most of the evidence we’ll need to expose Garble’s lies,” replied Twilight.

“Most of it?” inquired Starlight.

“There’s still the matter of the connection between Garble and this red pegasus that’s been seen,” said Twilight. “Speaking of which, it seems our mysterious pegasus struck again not too long ago.”

“He was spotted?” asked Fluttershy.

Twilight nodded and pulled out a newspaper. “I asked Princess Luna if there were any incidents similar to what happened to Feather and McCloud, and she found an interesting news article. It seems something very similar happened the day we went to Haytona Beach.”

Applejack took the paper and opened it. The others gathered around her and saw an image of a grey stallion and what looked to be an alleyway. Below it was a large headline.

Stop the presses! Journalist assaulted and stripped of clothing speaks about attacker!

A journalist who was found unconscious two days ago has finally spoken out about what happened to him the day he was attacked. Printer Press, journalist for the Haytona Daily, was lured and attacked, by his recollection, by a red pegasus who claimed he found a big scoop for him. After being led to an alley (picture 2A), he was attacked by said pegasus and is now suspected of stripping his clothing for reasons unknown.

When asked about the attack, Printer Press had this to say, “I have no idea what drove that pony to do such a thing. It’s one thing to rob me, but to take my clothes? I fail to see what he would gain from this. Unless this is some sick, twisted way he gets off..”

The suspect hasn’t been located, nor has the clothing.The suspect has been described to be rather muscular, has a yellow mane and yellow eyes. Ponies who are aware of this red pegasus are encouraged by police to come forward with information leading to his arrest.

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “It’s that pegasus again.”

“Just who the hay is this guy?” asked Rainbow.

“If everything I’ve theorized is true, then it must be Garble,” answered Twilight. “We need to see if he somehow used magic to turn himself into one. All we need to do is ask Ember about it and hope she knows what we’re talking about.”

She levitated a suitcase over to Spike. “In the meantime, we need to get ready to head out for the Dragon Lands. Spike, pack up your best dress suit and take some of these books with you to put in it.”

He grabbed the suitcase and nodded. “You got it, Twilight.”

The alicorn looked at her friends. “Girls, I know Ember’s letter invited you all too, but you don’t have to come if you don’t want to. From what I’ve been told, the dragons there are on edge against ponies and I don’t want to put you all at risk.”

The group looked at each other and then at Twilight with bewildered looks on them.

“Twi, that’s just crazy there,” argued Applejack. “We ain’t gonna back down when Rarity needs us the most. I don’t care if those dragons are angrier than a swarm of wasps. We’re going with you.”

“Same here,” said Starlight.

“Those dragons won’t stand a chance against us!” said Rainbow, confidently.

“Those dragons messed with the wrong ponies!” shouted Pinkie.

“Let’s do this for Rarity,” stated Fluttershy.

The group let out a cheer while Twilight and Spike looked on and smiled at them.

“I guess it’s decided then,” said Spike.

Twilight nodded. “Girls, I want you all to pack up and meet back here in thirty minutes. Princess Celestia is sending a chariot to get us to the Dragon Lands. Her and Princess Luna will meet us there, and we’ll discuss where to go from there. Got it?”

“Right!” the group said in unison.

“Spike, let’s get going.”

A slight snoring sound filled the room. Everypony turned to see Spike’s head drooped and his eyes closed.

Twilight chuckled softly. “Perhaps I’ll do the packing after all.”

An hour later, a gold and silver chariot being pulled by twelve Equestrian royal guards was flying through the air. In the carriage, Twilight and her friends were sitting on the red velvet couches and were chatting to each other. All except for Spike, who was resting in the corner and snoring softly.

Applejack looked over to see Twilight muttering to herself as she looked through a book. “What’re ya doing, Twi?”

“Huh?” She looked up at the farmer. “Oh, I’m just going through some notes I’ve taken and brushing up a little bit on courtroom etiquette. I need to prepare myself as much as possible for tomorrow.”

“So what’s your plan, Twilight?” wondered Rainbow. “How are you going to prove it was Garble behind all this?”

“Let’s go over the facts again, girls,” said the alicorn. She pulled out a briefcase and opened it up. She pulled out two newspapers and the black fabric in the plastic bag.

“There’s been three separate incidents since Ember and Matches came to Ponyville. I’ve been noticing a pattern to all of these attacks; they’re in places we’ve been to in the past week.”

Twilight held up the newspaper to her left. “First, it was what happened with Feather Flight. He was attacked in the Everfree Forest.”

“But we never went there,” said Pinkie.

“I know, but the incident still happened on the outskirts of Ponyville. This means Garble must’ve been hiding there when he stole the camera from Feather. From there, I believe Garble used that very same camera to take those photos of Rarity and Ember.”

Twilight picked up the bag with the fabric in it. “From there, Garble followed us to the Wonderbolts Academy and stole the clothes off Sergeant McCloud. However, it seems McCloud fought back before he was knocked out.”

“But why would he do that?” wondered Rainbow.

“Most likely to spy on us,” answered Twilight. “But what I want to know is why he wanted to get so close to Ember.”

The alicorn picked up the newspaper. “Finally, there’s this article about a pony being attacked and stripped of his clothing. Sound familiar?”

“Just like with Sergeant McCloud,” said Starlight.

“Exactly. We never saw this pony, but I’m willing to bet it’s also Garble. Something tells me that he must’ve gone to see Ember that day. I’ll ask her myself once we get to the Dragon Lands.”

Applejack frowned. “Twi, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

“What is it?”

Applejack gulped a little. “What if things go south and you and Spike end up losing? What will you do then to save Rarity?”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t find the words to respond.

“Well?”

The princess frowned a little. “To be honest, I don’t want to think of something like that. I know Spike and I are more than capable of saving Rarity.”

“I don’t doubt that y’all can do it,” replied Applejack, “but maybe we should consider a backup plan in case things fall apart and you fail to prove Garble was behind this.”

“Don’t worry about that, Applejack,” assured Twilight. “No matter what, Spike and I will get Rarity off and prove Garble’s guilt.”

“I hope so, Twi. This ain’t gonna be easy.”

Twilight looked down. “I know, Applejack. I know.”

As the hour passed, the group remained mostly quiet, save for Twilight who was going through some more books. As time went on, the bright, blue sky turned a bit cloudy, then slowly became a gray haze, and then became a mixture of black and gray. The smell of sulfur filled the air and the visibility drastically decreased.

Twilight looked out the window and took a deep breath. “I think we’re just about there.”

“You think?” asked Pinkie.

Suddenly, a large figure bolted up near the chariot. Twilight and the others gasped.

“That would be a yes,” replied Starlight.

Twilight looked out the window again and saw a second figure fly up next to the first one. They flew closer, allowing Twilight to see two red dragons in gold armor.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle!” one of them bellowed. “We have been ordered to escort you and your group to the castle! Your chariot is to follow us to the landing site. Do not attempt to deviate from your course, or suffer the consequences.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Nice to know we’re getting a warm welcome already,” she said, sarcastically.

Spike groaned a little and rubbed his eyes. “What’s going on?” he muttered.

“Just getting what I think is how most dragons greet ponies when they come to their land,” answered Rainbow.

Spike straightened himself up and looked out the window. He could see a few volcanoes billowing with smoke, or lava pouring out of them. The desolate wasteland around the area was as bleak as he remembered when he was summoned here. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves. The carriage descended down until it reached the rocky ground. Twilight and the others waited to see what would happen, but they didn’t hear anybody approaching the carriage.

“No point in waiting any longer,” said Twilight. “Let’s go, everybody.”

Spike reached his hand out to grab the handle, and opened the door. The group was greeted with the smell of sulfur and the sounds of volcanoes erupting. They all stepped out one by one and looked around their surroundings. They were immediately greeted by the sight of several armored dragons staring at them. Even with the helmets on, Spike felt like they were all glaring at him and his friends as they stepped out. Around the guards, there was a large stone wall encircling them, and in front of Spike was a large, pair of metal doors.

“Princess Twilight, follow us to the castle,” said a yellow dragon. “Stay close to us, and don’t try to do anything funny, or else.”

“We understand,” she said.

The doors opened up and creaked loudly as they did. The guard moved forward, and Twilight and her friends followed suit. As they walked, the other dragons marched beside them closely. Fluttershy whimpered a little as she heard one dragon growl softly, and held onto Pinkie’s arm. As they walked through the courtyard, Spike shook a little as he saw more dragon guards glaring at him and the others. Twilight grabbed his hand and gave him a small smile.

“Just stay calm and be strong, Spike,” she urged.

The drake nodded and took a deep breath.

Another set of doors opened up, and they all walked into a large room. The room was brightly lit by chandeliers and torches. A large stairway was in the middle of the room, that split into two parts going into different directions of the castle. At the top of the stairs was a large, marble statue of a dragon holding a sword up into the air. The guards marched forward and positioned themselves on the edge of the red velvet carpet leading up to the stairs.

The yellow dragon stepped forward and bellowed, “Presenting our leader of the glorious Dragon Lands, Dragon Lord Ember!”

The door to the right opened, and Ember, in the armor she wore during the Gauntlet of Fire, stepped out with a stern look on her. Behind her, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stepped out and followed the dragoness. The three leaders slowly walked down the stairs. Twilight breathed a little heavy as Spike held her arm. The others nervously watched on and huddled close to one another.

Finally, they reached the end of the stairs and walked up to Twilight. Ember’s eyes never glanced over at Spike and she maintained her stern look. The drake couldn’t help but feel a mixture of nervousness and sadness as he looked at her.

Ember bowed her head. “Princess Twilight, it’s good to see you and your friends again,” she said.

Twilight bowed her head. “Likewise, Lord Ember.”

Ember’s eyes drifted over to Spike. Her eyes softened a little as they both gazed at one another. The dragoness didn’t say anything, but gripped her hand tightly.

“Lord Ember?”

She looked back over at Twilight.

“Is something wrong?” she wondered.

Ember glanced back at Spike, and then to the princess. “No,” she said in a hollow voice. “I was just thinking is all.” She cleared her throat. “The princesses told me there’s been a change of plans in regards to your lawyer situation.”

“That’s correct,” said Twilight.

“We’ll talk more about this in my room.” Ember waved a hand.

“What about my friends?”

“The guards will take them to their rooms. I’ve already prepared them for you and your friends.”

“We’ll go with them,” interjected Celestia. “We need to talk to them a bit ourselves.”

“Very well,” said Twilight. “We’ll see you all later.”

The group picked up their suitcases and waved to Twilight as they were escorted by the guards to one of the doors nearby.

“Come on, Spike,” urged Twilight. “We need to move.”

The drake said nothing.

“Spike?” Twilight turned around and saw he was shaking a little and looking down.

“What’s wrong?” she wondered in a concerned tone. She tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but he backed away.

“I...I don’t think I’m ready yet,” he muttered. “I don’t think I can face Ember yet.”

“But I thought you wanted to help both Rarity and Ember,” said Twilight.

“I do,” said Spike. “I just...I just don’t want things to get awkward. I just don’t think I’m ready yet to talk to Ember.”

Twilight frowned slightly. “Alright, Spike. If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I’ll let you know if there’s anything new later. Why don’t you go join the others and get some rest?”

Spike smiled a little. “Thanks, Twilight.” He hugged her, and the alicorn returned the hug back.

“Leave the suitcase with the books in it,” ordered Twilight. “I’ll give them to Ember while we talk.”

“Alright.” Spike laid down a yellow suitcase next to the princess.

Ember looked away and had a solemn look on her. Spike.

A door opened up, and Ember and Twilight walked in. The princess looked around the room they were in. Despite the spacious room, it was mostly empty. The only things around it was a large chandelier lighting up the room, a fireplace that wasn’t being used to the side, a large, black marble desk, and three chairs around it. Behind the large, red chair was a giant window allowing a view of the desolate wasteland and the few volcanoes erupting in the distance.

“Sorry if the room feels empty to you,” said Ember. “I haven’t had much time to decorate it. At least it looks a lot better than how my dad made it look. It made even the most stubborn of dragons quake in their boots.”

“Right,” said Twilight in an uneasy voice. She walked over and sat in one of the black chairs in front of the desk.

Ember took her seat and let out a sigh. “Sorry about that rather ‘warm welcome’ you got,” she said. “I’ll deal with the dragons who threatened you while you were landing soon enough. For now, let’s get to talking about this change in defense.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “And?”

The dragoness had a troubled look on her. “Twilight, this is a big risk you’re taking. You’re not in Equestria, and the dragons here have grown to really hate ponies after the incident at Haytona. This isn’t going to be easy you know.”

“I understand completely, Ember,” assured Twilight. “Spike and I though are more than ready for the trial tomorrow.”

Ember’s eyes widened. “So it is true then.”

“What’s true?”

Ember pulled out of her desk a folded piece of parchment. “When I got this letter from Princess Celestia about you and Spike taking on Rarity’s defense, I couldn’t believe he would be part of it. I thought after what happened between the three of us, Spike wouldn’t want anything to do with me or Rarity again; much less help us.”

“Spike said he wanted to help out again any way he can,” said Twilight. “I know things have been rough between you, Spike, and Rarity, but he’s doing everything he can to help you and Rarity out.”

Ember blushed a little. “I...I don’t know what to say. I thought he hated me after what Rarity and I did.”

The princess smiled softly. “I don’t think Spike hates you or Rarity. He was just upset at what he saw. If you truly care about Spike, then I’m going to need your help and ask you some questions about some of the days during your visit to Equestria.”

Ember raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that? You already know what we’ve done in Equestria. What more could you want to know?”

“There’s been some things that have been bothering me,” replied the alicorn. “It’s all about a red pegasus.”

Ember’s eyes widened. “The fake Sergeant McCloud?”

Twilight shook her head. “He’s more fake than you would imagine.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ember, you’ve said that Garble was behind this. During my investigation yesterday, I’ve discovered some interesting details. It turns out McCloud isn’t the only one who was attacked.”

The dragoness raised an eyebrow. “Go on,” she urged.

Twilight opened up her purple suitcase and pulled out a manila envelope. “The day before we went to the Wonderbolts’ Academy, there was an article about another pony who was attacked and robbed.” She pulled out a newspaper and laid it on the desk. “The item stolen is something we should be familiar with; a camera.”

Ember’s eyes widened. “The camera.”

“Exactly. Then there was the incident at the Academy where McCloud was attacked, and robbed of his clothing for some reason. It seems the very same thing happened to another pony too a few days later.”

“What?” Ember asked in shock.

Twilight laid down another newspaper. “This is an article in regards to another attack on a pony who was knocked out and stripped of his clothing. The day this incident happened was the day we all went to Haytona Beach.”

Ember looked on in awe. “Twilight, what’s the meaning of this?”

“It means that if I’m right, Garble has somehow been following us this whole time and was sabotaging this visit right from the start.”

“But how?” wondered Ember. “I’ve been trying to think of how Garble’s been able to do this without me seeing him.”

“Ember, I need you to think back to when we went to Haytona Beach. Did anypony strange come up and talk to you?”

The dragoness rubbed her chin in thought. Suddenly, the image of a red pony smiling creepily at her flashed before her eyes. She let out a gasp and flinched.

“Him?” she asked.

Twilight tilted her head. “Him?”

Ember leaned forward. “Twilight, there was somepony who came to talk to me. It was some reporter named Front Page who wanted to do a story about me. I thought it was a bit weird somepony would want to do something like that, but I thought at the time I could tell him what the purpose of this visit was. I didn’t think anything beyond that.”

“There’s only one logical conclusion to all of this, Ember,” said Twilight. “That pony you met was none other than Garble.”

Ember stared at Twilight with a dumbfound look on her. “That’s not possible,” she said.

“It is possible,” argued Twilight. “If Garble had the right magic to do it.”

“Magic?”

“Ember, what I’m going to ask you may be a bit strange, but I want you to be honest with me,” said Twilight. “Is there any Crystal Magic about transformation?”

Ember rubbed her chin and closed her eyes. Twilight gripped her armrests tightly as she waited for an answer from the dragoness.

“I’m not sure,” said Ember.

“Not sure?” asked Twilight.

“My memory is a little hazy right now with everything going on,” explained Ember. “This kind of crystal though does sound like something the Dragon Council would know more about.”

“They would?”

The dragoness nodded. “The Dragon Council keeps track and stores crystals like that in the vault. They aren’t available for all dragons to use like some of the ones I brought along to Equestria. Those crystals are meant for those who practice advanced forms of Crystal Magic.”

“So only the Dragon Council knows about crystals like that? Interesting.”

“That’s not really true,” said Ember. “The Dragon Lord is also let in on what kind of crystals they have.”

“And you know nothing about them?”

“No. The Council was going to show me the crystals, but they’ve been busy with other duties. They promised to show me them once my visit to Equestria was over.”

“You sure you don’t remember hearing about transformation crystal magic?” wondered Twilight. “I need you to try and remember.”

Ember closed her eyes again. “I...I…”

Twilight held her breath and leaned forward.

The dragoness opened her eyes and shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry, Twilight. Dad never told me about any crystals like that while he was Dragon Lord.”

“Great,” said Twilight in a dejected voice. “I was hoping that lead would get me somewhere.”

Ember frowned remorsefully at Twilight. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. “Well, there’s something else I can tell you about Garble.”

Twilight raised her head. “What is it?”

Ember grimaced a little. “He knew about it.”

The alicorn tilted her head in confusion. “Knew about what?”

“Garble knew about the feud between Rarity and me over Spike.”

Twilight looked alarmed. “What!?”

“It’s a long story,” explained Ember. “Yesterday, I went to see Rarity and talk to her about Spike. We admitted we both screwed up and made amends, but Garble was listening in and taunted us about what happened. That’s when he ‘confessed’ so to say.”

“He confessed?”

“More like he mocked me and Rarity. He rubbed in our faces about how he did everything and taunted me. He knew I could just arrest him for what he did without any evidence to back it up.”

Twilight shook her head. “At least we already know it’s been Garble all along.”

“What you’ve told and shown me Twilight is good evidence, but we need something conclusive to prove Garble was tied into all this. The prosecution could easily argue that the pony we’ve seen was working alone.”

“But the fact remains Garble was involved with this. I don’t have any proof, but he must have used some form of magic to turn into a pony. It’s the only explanation that makes sense.”

“I’m not familiar with something like that.”

Twilight buried her face into her hand and groaned. “This isn’t good. I need to figure out then if it’s possible Garble could do something like that.”

“There has to be an explanation for this,” said Ember.

Twilight looked at the dragoness. “Ember, would you mind if you gave me your statement about what we talked about?” she wondered. “It’ll be useful for tomorrow’s trial.”

“I don’t see why not,” she responded.

She pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill, and began writing it down. After a few minutes, Ember handed the paper over to Twilight.

“I’ll be sure to give a copy to the Prosecution,” she said.

“Do you know who the prosecutor will be for tomorrow?” wondered Twilight.

Ember shook her head. “No. I’ve tried to ask Master Ash, but all he told me was that he had it covered. Nothing more than that.”

“Whoever he gets, I just hope they would accept the possibility of Garble using Crystal Magic to transform himself.”

“Like I said, the vault in the castle holds crystals used only by those who practice advanced forms of Crystal Magic,” said Ember. “Maybe there’s something like that. I’ll have to ask the Dragon Council to see if such a crystal exists.”

A thought crossed Twilight’s mind. “That reminds me.” She lifted up a suitcase. “Here’s those books you requested. I’m sure the Council will be happy to have these back.”

Ember opened the case and pulled one of the books out. “Thanks. That’s one less thing the Council can complain to me about.”

“Have they been that hard on you?” wondered Twilight.

“Ever since I told them I would be the judge for the trial, they’ve been hounding me and have been worried I’ll be biased. I’ve told them constantly that wouldn’t happen, and had to remind them that as leader, I had the final say in this matter.”

“I see.”

Ember let out a sigh. “You do know tomorrow I won’t be helping you at all; no matter how much I want to. The burden of proof lies on you and Spike. Now in the meantime, I’ll...go...to…”

The dragoness’ words trailed off as something caught her eye. She looked over and saw a piece of paper sticking out of the book she held.

“What’s that?” wondered Twilight. “I didn’t see that when I packed it up.”

Ember pulled the paper out, and raised an eyebrow. “Looks like a note that’s been folded up.” She unfolded the paper until it was fully open. “Let me take a look.”

Her eyes raced through the paper, and something caught her attention. She let out a gasp and her eyes shot wide open as she read the line again.

The crystal in question is one that allows the user to transform into any creature they want to be.

Ember looked like someone just sucker punched her. She suddenly heard a conversation echo in her head.

“Ha! Just you try it.” Garble walked over to the door and looked back with a smug smile on him. “You’ll understand soon that there’s nothing you can do now. You can’t win.”

Garble opened the door, but a clinking noise caught everyone’s attention. Ember and Rarity looked over and saw a rounded red crystal with a yellow aura swirling around inside on the floor. Before Ember could open her mouth, Garble jumped on the crystal like a predator pouncing on its prey.

“G–give me that!” he demanded in a panicked voice. He quickly put the crystal back in his pocket and looked nervous.

He cleared his throat and smiled nervously. “I, um, got to get out of here. Good luck, Ember. You’ll need it.” Garble ran out the room and the door shut behind him.

The note fell from Ember’s hands, and her initial shock slowly turned into a boiling rage. Her eyes narrowed sharply. She gritted her teeth to the point where it looked like she was going to crack them. Smoke billowed out of her nostrils, and she was shaking violently.

Twilight leaned back and gulped a little. “Ember?” she whispered.

“He...had...it,” seethed the dragoness.

“W–what?”

Ember stood up and slammed her hands against the desk. “HE HAD IT!” she bellowed.

Twilight nearly fell out of her chair from the sudden outburst and looked alarmed. “Ember, what’s wrong?”

She panted a little and looked at the worried alicorn. “Twilight, you may be more right than you could ever imagine. There’s no time to waste. I need to find Garble right away before it’s too late.”

“But Ember–”

The dragoness ran passed her before Twilight could finish. She reached out to grab the door handle, but suddenly found herself stuck. She grunted and tried to reach the door, but instead of getting closer to the handle, she found herself being taken away from it. She then noticed her whole arm was encased in a purple aura, and snorted in anger.

“Twilight, let me go!” she demanded. “I need to get to Garble now!”

The alicorn turned Ember around and glared at her. “No, Ember, you need to stop!”

“You don’t understand!” argued Ember. “Garble tricked me, and I need to stop him!”

“Look at how you’re acting though!” Twilight shot back. “You’re acting like how you were in Haytona Beach!”

“What!?”

“Blinded by rage, running off without thinking of the consequences, and alienating your friends! You did those same things when you went to confront Rarity about Spike, and look how well that went!”

Ember said nothing and looked away.

“Whatever happened with Garble, you can’t just go running off and confront him like this,” said Twilight in a calmer voice. “You’ll only get into more trouble and probably make things worse. Just calm down, and tell me what’s going on with Garble.”

Ember wanted to open to mouth and say something, but the memories of what happened on the beach flashed before her eyes. The fight with Rarity, the way Spike yelled at them and was crying, and all the angry glares she got from the others. Her heavy breathing slowed down, her eyes eased and closed, and the smoke from her nose slowed down until no more billowed out.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’re right, Twilight,” she said, regretfully. “It’s probably not a good idea to do something like that again.”

Twilight smiled softly. “Are you ready to tell me what’s going on?”

Ember nodded. Twilight released the hold she had on the dragoness. Ember sat back down and Twilight did the same.

“It happened yesterday after Garble was finished taunting me and Rarity,” explained Ember. “Just as Garble was about to leave, something fell out of his pocket; a crystal.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “A crystal?”

“Garble quickly grabbed it and ran off before I could ask him about it. I didn’t think much about it at the time because I didn’t think something like that was important. Now that I’ve seen this letter, it all makes sense.”

Ember let out a sigh, and then pounded her fist against the table. “I should’ve stopped him when I had the chance,” she said with a hint of frustration in her voice. “I had him cornered, and I let him get away again.”

Twilight put a hand on Ember’s shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up,” she reassured. “You said it yourself that the Dragon Council was to show you the crystals they store in the vault.”

“But now what do we do? I need to see if he’s still holding that crystal or not.”

“You’re probably too late,” said Twilight.

Ember raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Garble is probably worried you know what that crystal is,” reasoned Twilight. “Although you didn’t know until now, Garble is probably paranoid about being found out and thinks you already know about the missing crystal. So he’s probably hidden it somewhere to throw you off.”

“Do you really think he did that?”

“It’s our best bet. What have we got to lose at this point?”

Ember folded her arms. “We need to find out where Garble hid that crystal and fast. The trial is tomorrow and time is running out.”

“What do you want to do now, Ember?” wondered Twilight.

The dragoness rubbed her chin. “If we’re going to catch Garble, we need to find out where he hid the crystal. We need to spy on him.”

“I can do that if–”

“No,” Ember sternly said. “If I send you or any of your friends out to spy on Garble, the other dragons may notice and Garble would know I’m onto him.”

“I know you can’t do anything to spy on him either,” said Twilight. “So who do we get then?”

Ember closed her eyes and said nothing for a minute. Then, something clicked in her head and a sense of dread filled her.

“That may be some dragon to help,” she said in a hollow tone. “If he’s willing to help of course.”

Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “Are you alright, Ember? You sound unsure of yourself. What do you mean if he’s willing to help?”

Ember grimmaced. “It’s...complicated. Let’s just say I messed up more than my friendship with Spike.”

“What do you mean?”

Ember turned away to hide the pained look on her face. “I’ll tell you on the way,” she said.

“But, Ember–”

“Let’s go.”

Ember walked off and Twilight was left feeling both confused and concerned about the dragoness.

Ember stared at the large door in front of her, and gulped a little. She wanted to reach out and knock on the door, but was paralyzed with fear.

“Ember.”

The dragoness looked at Twilight, who was frowning at her.

“You got to do this,” she urged. “This may be the only chance you got to make amends.”

“But you know what I told you,” said Ember. “How he acted and how furious he was. How do I know he even wants to talk to me?”

“You’re never going to know unless you stop running away. You know what you have to do and you have to face up to him again.”

Ember nodded slowly. “You’re right. I might as well get it over with.”

She closed her eyes and raised a shaky fist up. She held her breath and rapped on the door quickly.

I just hope I’m ready for what’s going to happen next.

Ember heard footsteps approaching the door and the sound of a lock being unlatched. The door creaked open slowly, and a male dragon stepped out.

“Yes? What do you–”

The dragon stopped in mid sentence as his eyes fell on a nervous Ember.

“Hello, Matches,” she said.

The drake’s eyes narrowed. “Lord Ember,” he spat. “What are you doing here?”

Ember ignored the venomous way Matches spoke to her. “I’m here to talk to you. There’s something I need to tell you.”

Matches rolled his eyes. “Spare me any of your pleading, Lord Ember. I’ve already made it clear to you.”

“Matches, you don’t understand. I know you’re still upset at me, but I don’t want to lose you as a friend.”

“I think you’re a little too late for that.” Matches stepped back. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to find a new job because a so-called friend cost me mine.”

“Wait!” pleaded Ember.

Matches grabbed the door.

“Matches, don’t do it!” ordered Twilight.

The drake stopped as he heard the alicorn’s voice. He stepped back out and was shocked to see Twilight standing near Ember.

“P–Princess Twilight?” he asked in awe. “What are you doing here? I thought I’d never see you again.”

She smiled softly. “I’m glad to see you too, Matches. If you must know, I’m here to represent Rarity in the trial tomorrow.”

“Well, that sounds–” Matches stopped himself and did a double take. “Wait, what!? A trial?”

“That’s right,” said Twilight. “Spike and I are going to be Rarity’s defense team for tomorrow’s trial.”

Matches looked dumbfounded. “Trial? Defense team? What in Tartarus is going on here?”

“Ember can tell you more,” answered Twilight. “She’s told me about what’s been going on since Rarity’s arrest.”

He looked at Ember, and his expression darkened again. “Really now? Tell me, Princess Twilight, did Lord Ember tell you why I’m out of prison and what happened to me?”

“Yes she did,” answered Twilight.

Matches looked stunned. “She...she did? How I was interrogated all night? Being discharged from the guard? All of it?”

Twilight nodded. “She told me on the way here. I know you’re still upset at Ember, but let her explain what’s going on.”

Matches stared at Ember with an impatient look on him. “Alright, but this better be good.”

“It started yesterday when I went to go see Rarity,” said Ember. “We talked about how we both messed up and…”

Matches nodded as he listened to Ember. As she told him more about the events of yesterday, he looked more shocked by what he was hearing.

“...So that’s why I came to you, Matches,” finished Ember. “I know this is a lot to take in, but that’s what happened.”

Matches had a mixture of shock and anger on him. He shook his head and leaned against the doorway.

“This is a joke, right?” he asked. “You mean to tell me that Garble was behind this? He did all of this?”

Ember nodded. “He’s been responsible for a lot of what’s happened lately. He made it clear yesterday when he came to mock both Rarity and I.”

Matches crossed his arms and looked deep in thought. “Part of me doesn’t want to believe this, but yet it does make sense with what’s been happening since our arrival in Equestria. The fake McCloud, the newspaper reporter, the claims of Lord Ember seeing something. It’s all starting to make sense now.”

“Matches, have you seen Garble around lately, and see him do anything strange?” asked Twilight.

“Not that I’m aware of,” he replied. “I’ve been home since yesterday and trying to think about what to do next.”

“There is something you can do,” suggested Ember. She pulled out the letter from the Dragon Council. “Remember the day you showed me this letter?”

Matches took the note and read it. He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah I do. You already told me about the crystal though.”

“Don’t you understand, Matches?” inquired Twilight. “That crystal is the key to connecting Garble to all of this and proving he was sabotaging the visit from the start.”

“Even if that was true, this raises a big problem,” said Matches. “How do we know Garble hasn’t already gotten rid of the crystal?”

Ember rubbed her chin and tried to think of an answer.

“See what I mean? It’s probably too late after you saw Garble drop the crystal. He’s probably gotten rid of it already.”

“I don’t think so,” said Ember. “Garble may be still hiding it somewhere. If he ends up being caught for what he did, he could try to get it from wherever he’s hidden it and use it to disguise himself.”

“That’s really stretching it,” said Matches.

“But it’s the only hope we have left,” replied Ember. “Which is why I came to you, Matches.”

The drake’s face darkened. “Oh, here we go,” he scoffed.

“Matches, we need someone to go spy on Garble and see where’s he’s hidden the crystal. You’re the only dragon I can trust for this.”

Matches rolled his eyes. “No way,” he said.

Twilight frowned. “Don’t you care though, Matches?” she wondered. “Ember is trying to do everything she can to help make up for what she did.”

“Why should I care? She says she trusts me, but she didn’t trust me when it came to the feud between her and Rarity. Instead of telling me and letting me help, just look where we are now. I’m out of a job and Rarity was arrested in the end. If she wasn’t going to trust me before, why should I trust her now?”

Ember looked hurt and shrunk back.

“Because friends do make mistakes, but always try to make up for their own failures,” said Twilight.

Matches raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Twilight put a hand on his shoulder. “Matches, I know things have been rough between you and Ember, but that doesn’t mean you should shut her out completely. She’s made a lot of mistakes, but here she is trying to make up for it by helping Rarity and coming to make amends with you.”

“But I–”

“Just hear me out,” pleaded Twilight. “Even though I’m the Princess of Friendship, there are times where even I have failed friendship and have hurt my friends inadvertently. Even though they were upset at me for my mistakes, I made up for what I did and we learned to forgive each other for our mistakes. Don’t you think maybe you should try to at least give Ember the benefit of the doubt?”

Matches said nothing.

Twilight felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Ember with a solemn look on her.

“I’ll take it from here,” she said.

Twilight nodded and backed off.

The dragoness cleared her throat. “Matches, I know I can’t do anything about your arrest and what happened to you in jail. I know you still hold a grudge against me for putting you through so much. You didn’t deserve what happened because of my own actions, but I don’t want to lose you as a friend. I promise that when everything is over, I’ll make sure you’re back in the Guard again, and that those who hurt you will pay for what they put you through.”

Matches looked down and stayed silent.

“I’m not asking you to do this as Dragon Lord or command you to do this for me out of just simply following my orders,” continued Ember. “I’m asking you as the first friend I’ve ever made in the Dragon Lands. I need you now more than ever to stop Garble and make him pay for what he’s done.”

She bowed and asked, “Matches, will you please help us?”

The drake looked at Ember, and then at the worried looking Twilight. He said nothing and just kept looking back and Ember and then Twilight constantly. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists tightly.

“Ember,” he said in a low voice. “These past few days have been some of my worst. From being arrested, to being interrogated all night, and even discharged from the Guard. It’s been nothing but Hell for me, and you’re partially to blame for all this.”

The dragoness looked away in shame.

“However,” he continued, “in the short time I’ve known you as Dragon Lord and as a friend, I know you’ve taken on a lot of challenges and responsibilities in trying to change the way dragons are with this friendship business. I have to admit after what happened, I have reservations about it, but just seeing you try to make up for your part in it had me thinking.”

Ember felt something swell in her. “You mean?”

Matches smiled a little. “If it means I get to catch the bastard who did all of this, then I’ll do it.”

Ember couldn’t help but beam. “Matches, I don’t know what to say, but...thank you,” she said in a relieved voice.

Matches smiled back, but suddenly gasped as he felt something around his chest tighten. He looked down to see Twilight smiling enthusiastically.

“I knew it,” she said, gleefully. “I knew you’d come around. You’ve learned something great about friendship, and I’m proud of you, Matches.”

The drake smiled sheepishly. “Um...that’s great, Princess Twilight,” he said, nervously. “You um, mind letting me go now? I’m not so used to this hug thing still.”

Twilight quickly backed off and blushed a little in embarrassment as she smiled. “Sorry,” she said. “Guess I got a little carried away.”

“Can we get back to Garble now?” wondered Ember. “Let’s save all this mushy stuff for later.”

Matches rubbed the back of his head. “Right. So what do we do now, Ember?”

“I need to go make some preparations for the trial tomorrow,” she said. “Matches, I want you to follow Garble and keep an eye on him. If he’s got that crystal, we need to know where he’s hidden it. Once we do, we can get it and prove Garble was the one behind this.”

“Got it,” he said.

“Just make sure not to get too close to him,” warned Ember. “If he notices you around, I don’t know what he’ll do.”

“Hey, I was a guard, so I’ve been trained to spy on others. This’ll be a piece of cake.”

Ember couldn’t help but smile.

Twilight noticed this. “You look a lot better now, Ember.”

The dragoness nodded. “Yeah. This is the first time in the last couple of days that I’ve felt relaxed. But I know I’ll never be relieved until I see Garble be caught for what he did, and I put him under arrest.”

Twilight put a hand on Ember’s shoulder. “With all of us working together, I don’t think Garble has much of a chance.”

Author's Note

Took me long enough to get this chapter out. With the holidays rolling in and work picking up at my job, I haven't had much time to write. I was going to make this one big chapter originally, but I decided to split it into two parts. The next part will focus on Spike's POV and, hopefully, shouldn't be as long.

Burning Desire

Spike laid back against the bed and shifted around. He took a deep breath and laid motionless for a minute. He stared up at the stone ceiling above him and listened to the sound of volcanoes rumbling in the distance. His head tilted to the side and he saw a box on the desk near the bed. He grabbed it and brought it up to his face. He opened it and pulled out his defense attorney’s badge. He looked at and his fingers rubbed it playfully.

Hard to believe a few days ago, I was showing Ember around Ponyville, he thought. Now I’m back in the Dragon Lands trying to help Ember and Rarity all because of...that.

A knock came from the door. “Spike?”

The drake sat up and got out of bed. “Come in,” he said.

The door opened to reveal Starlight and the others walking into the room. Applejack was the last one in and shut the door behind her.

“Hey, girls,” said Spike. “How’s it going?”

Applejack rubbed her back. “We’re doing alright, partner. I just wish those beds were a lot more comfortable. It feels like I’m sleeping on a rock.”

“Ooo! I’m sure Maud would love that as a birthday gift!” squealed Pinkie.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “We just wanted to check and see how you were doing.”

“I’m fine,” said Spike. He looked behind the others and frowned. “Where are the princesses? I thought they were still with you all?”

“They’ve gone to the Detention Center to talk to Rarity,” answered Fluttershy. “They said they needed to let Rarity know what was going on.”

The drake looked away. “I wonder how she’s going to react when she finds out I’m part of her defense team.”

“I’m sure she’ll be excited to hear about it,” assured Applejack. “Why are you so glum about it?”

Spike didn’t say anything.

“I don’t think we need to think hard for why,” said Starlight. “You’re worried about this whole love triangle, aren’t you?”

The drake said nothing.

“Why are you being like this, Spike? If you’re feeling fine, why didn’t you go with Twilight then to talk to Ember? I thought you said you wanted to help her and Rarity.”

Spike nodded. “Of course I want to,” he said. “I want to do everything I can to save Rarity and help Ember expose Garble’s lies.”

“Well lying around this room isn’t going to make that all go away,” stated Starlight.

“She’s got a point, Spike,” said Applejack. “This whole love triangle is the reason this has gotten so bad. You’re gonna have to talk to them about this sooner or later.”

“I know!” snapped Spike.

The mares backed off and looked shock.

Spike took a deep breath. “I’m sorry about that,” he said, calmly. “I know that’s the reason, but I’m just worried about it causing trouble again.”

“How? It can’t be any worse than it already is,” said Fluttershy.

“What I mean is that I’m worried that they may start trying to fight over me again,” said Spike. “They may just want to ask me who I like more; Ember or Rarity? The last thing I need right now is for them to start asking me something like that.”

“Spike, remember what I told you about what happened between me, Sunburst, and Trixie?” inquired Starlight. “I had this same problem too and look how things are now.”

“Yeah, but at least Sunburst and Trixie weren’t fighting over you like Ember and Rarity are. I know that’s going to be one of the first things they’ll ask me about or talk about.”

Rainbow shook her head. “Hate to tell you this, but you know they’ll want an answer eventually.”

“This is going to have to be settled soon, Spike,” said Starlight. “You know this will be brought up at the trial tomorrow. The only thing you can do now is either talk to them about it today or wait until it’s inevitably brought up in the trial tomorrow. It’s your choice, Spike.”

The drake looked down and turned away. He said nothing for a few minutes as he took in what his friends said. He paced around a little while the others watched on and waited for his answer. After nearly a minute, Spike stopped and looked at his friends. They all leaned in in anticipation of what he had to say.

Spike took a deep breath looked up. “You said the princesses went to the Detention Center, right?”

Starlight nodded. “That’s right.”

“I guess I better get going there then,” he said.

Starlight smiled softly. “That would be for the best.”

Spike nodded. “No more running away,” he vowed. “One way or another, it’s time to finally put this to rest.”

“Just try not to be too hard on them, Spike,” cautioned Applejack. “I know they upset ya, but I’m sure they need all the help they can get.”

“I don’t plan on abandoning them,” vowed Spike. “Not again.”

Spike walked down a long hallway and looked at his wrist. His watch showed it had just turned half past three. He looked up at a door nearby and saw the sign said, Visitor’s room.

Just in time, he thought to himself. Right before visiting hours are over. Hopefully, Rarity is still available to talk to.

He turned the turned the knob and slowly opened the door. His ears perked up as he heard voices coming from inside.

“Do you have any other questions, Rarity?” wondered Luna.

“None, your highness. I truly appreciate you and Princess Luna coming to visit.”

“Think nothing of it, Rarity," said Celestia. "We know this has all been a harrowing ordeal for you. We assure you that it will all be over soon.”

“I hope so," she said, glumly. I just hope that maybe, just maybe, Spike will at least be willing to stay friends with me. That is if he’s still willing to speak to me.”

“I’m sure he will, Rarity,” assured Celestia. “He just needs a little time to clear his head.”

Rarity let out a sigh. “We’ll see what happens. I just hope he knows that I never meant to cause him and Ember so much trouble.”

“I’m sure he knows,” assured Luna. “Maybe tomorrow in court, you and him can have a proper talk before the trial begins.”

“Perhaps, but it’s hard to tell what he’s really thinking after everything these last few days.”

Spike, having heard enough, pushed the door open. “Why don’t I tell you myself then?”

Everypony turned around in surprise upon seeing the drake.

“Spike,” said Celestia, “you came after all.”

“Your timing is perfect,” said Luna. “We were finishing talking to Rarity about the arrangements for the trial tomorrow.”

“I appreciate that, your highness,” said the drake. “If you don’t mind though, I’d like to talk to Rarity alone.”

Celestia nodded. “We need to get going anyway.” She turned to Luna. “Head back to Canterlot and keep an eye on things. Be sure to be back here in the early morning.”

Luna bowed. “Very well, sister. Just be careful around here. Master Ash and Lord Ember may have welcomed you here, but the way things are right now, you may want to be careful with the other dragons.”

The two sisters began to walk out, but Celestia stopped and looked at Spike.

“I know you have a lot to say to Rarity, but please be gentle on her, Spike,” cautioned the solar princess. “She’s been through a lot.”

The drake nodded. “I understand, m–….Princess.”

Celestia snickered. “Still a little embarrassed to call me that?”

Spike rubbed the back of his head, and his cheeks flushed slightly. “Not here, please.”

The princess rubbed Spike’s head and smiled. “Alright, I won’t embarrass you in front of Rarity.”

Luna raised an eyebrow at her sister. “Honestly, Tia, I think sometimes you tease him too much.”

“Oh, hush,” she responded. “Let’s leave them alone.”

The two walked out and the door slammed shut, leaving Spike and Rarity alone. The drake took a seat and both him and Rarity stared at each other. Silence filled the room as the two uncomfortably shifted around and looked around the room.

Rarity cleared her throat. “So...what was that about with the princess?”

Spike was startled by the question. “Um, what?”

“What was Princess Celestia asking you?” wondered Rarity.

The drake waved a hand. “I’ll tell you in a minute. I don’t have much time before visiting hours are over.”

“Of course.”

He took a deep breath. “Rarity, there’s a lot I want to say to you about these last few days. You and Ember hurt me with what both of you did, and all of this over me.”

Rarity shrunk back a little. “I know,” she whispered.

“That being said, the first thing I want to ask you is this.”

Here it comes, thought Rarity.

“Are you doing alright?”

The unicorn looked shock. “...What?”

“I asked if you’re doing alright,” repeated Spike. “I know prison has been rough on you from the looks of things, but I want to make sure you’re doing alright.”

A smile formed on Rarity’s face. “Oh, Spike, you’re so considerate even after what Ember and I did. I’m surprised you’re like this after what you said to us.”

Spike smiled a little. “I had some time to cool off and think it over. I admit I was upset and angry at what you both did, but that doesn’t mean I want you to be in jail, or for Ember to suffer like this. Despite everything, I still want to help you all.”

Rarity sniffled a little. “If you want to know, it’s true that these days in jail haven’t been kind to me. The beds feel like they’re made of rocks, the guards are nasty and unforgiving, and the food is hardly edible. If it wasn’t for the fact that they knew how to make gruel, they probably would’ve given me nothing but a few gems to eat.”

“Heh. If that’s the case, I’ll gladly eat those gems.”

Rarity couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “You always find a way to keep my spirit up, Spike.” She leaned forward. “So it’s true then. You and Twilight are my lawyers.”

“That’s right.” Spike pulled out his attorney badge.

“Oh, my!” said Rarity, joyfully. “It looks so beautiful!” She looked closely at the bagde. “Maybe I can decorate it with some gems along the edge, or a ruby in the center to bring it more flair!”

Spike chuckled weakly. “Um...maybe later, Rarity.” He tucked his badge back into his pocket. Better get back on subject.

The drake smiled sheepishly. “I’m just glad you’re fine; despite everything you’re going through.”

“There is one good thing that came out of this stay though,” said Rarity. “It made me stop and think about that day.”

Spike’s smile dropped. “Oh,” he said in a hollow voice.

Rarity looked down. “Spike, I know you still must be upset about that, but I had enough time to think about what I did.”

He crossed his arms. “And?”

“It’s something I deeply regret,” admitted Rarity. “At first I was angry at Ember because I thought it was her fault, but I realized over time that I have really no one to blame but myself for this mess. Ember tried to take full responsibility for–”

“Ember!?” interrupted a shocked Spike. “You talked to her!?”

Rarity’s cheeks flared red in embarrassment. “Oh, sorry about that, Spike. I should’ve mentioned that first. She did come by to talk to me.”

Spike sat there with a dumbfounded expression on him. “I don’t believe it. I thought after the beach, the last thing you two would want to do is talk to each other. Especially after all those things you called each other.”

Rarity looked crestfallen. “I know, darling, but you don’t have to worry about us doing such barbaric things anymore.”

The drake raised an eyebrow. “Why do you say that?”

“Because we realized this feud over you made the both of us look like fools,” answered Rarity. “Rather than talk to each other about our feelings for you, we both let this thing get out of control and dragged you and the rest of our friends into this mess.”

Spike just stared at her.

Rarity frowned slightly. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he said. “I just didn’t expect you two to make up so fast.”

“Why do you sound so confused then?”

“I’m not confused,” said Spike. He smiled a little. “I’m just a little shocked, and happy you two are finally seeing what you’ve done.” He looked away for a moment. “I just wish you two saw it earlier.”

Rarity nodded. “I know, Spike, I know. What matters now is that although we both ruined our chances for a relationship, I’m just happy we could be friends again.”

Spike fell silent again.

“Don’t tell me you’re so upset that you won’t even consider that, Spike,” said Rarity, in a worried voice.

“Of course not,” replied the drake. “I just...I just have something to say about what you just said.”

Rarity tilted her head in confusion. “Really now?”

Spike cleared his throat. “Rarity, the truth is I don’t know what I should do about you and Ember.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“What I’m trying to say is that I still care for you and Ember,” clarified Spike. “But as far as anything romantic, I’m still not sure about that. This whole thing has left me confused and I don’t know what to do.”

Rarity bowed her head. “I understand, Spike,” she said. “I just want our friendship between us back now. Whether you want to pursue a romantic relationship with me or Ember, I won’t interfere with your choice.”

Spike couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, Rarity.”

The unicorn let out a sigh of relief. “Well, now that we got that out of the way, there’s something I must tell you about when Ember visited me.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Something important? Tell me what happened.”

“As you know, Ember and I talked and made up with each other about that horrible fight we had. Before we could think about what to do next, a certain dragon came in.”

A cold feeling washed over Spike. “It can’t be,” he whispered.

Rarity nodded. “Garble,” she finished. “He was eavesdropping on us and mocked both me and Ember for what happened.”

Spike’s fist clenched. “What was he doing there anyway? Why would he listen in on you two?”

“I think he believed Ember was going to talk to Matches first, but didn’t know about her visit with me,” answered the unicorn. “But that wasn’t even the worst part.”

Spike looked bewildered. “What do you mean?”

Rarity’s eyes narrowed. “He confessed.”

The drake’s eyes widened and looked like they were about to pop out. “WHAT!?” he exclaimed.

“Spike, keep it down,” scolded Rarity. “The guards here are already nasty enough as is, but I don’t want them throwing you out for being so loud.”

He took a deep breath and wiped his forehead. “Rarity, what’s going on here? It’s bad enough Garble eavesdropped on you and Ember, but now this?”

He paused for a moment. “Wait a minute. If Garble confessed, why are you still in jail then?”

“Because he knows that without evidence, Ember can’t do anything against Garble,” she replied. “He knows she’s got nothing on him, and has us all right where he wants us to be.”

Spike said nothing.

“This is terrible, Spike,” said Rarity. “If you plan on accusing Garble, there’s no evidence to convince the Dragon Council otherwise.”

A small smirk formed on Spike’s face. “Don’t be so sure about that, Rarity.”

She looked puzzled. “What?”

“Twilight did some investigating of her own, and she believes we’ve got proof that Garble did do it,” said Spike. “I managed to look over what she and the others found, and it looks like we do have a case to prove Garble was involved.”

Rarity looked a little relieved, but a thought popped in her head. “Spike, as good as that is, there’s something else you’ve forgotten. How could Garble have done all of this? It’s pretty hard to miss a dragon like him around.”

Spike rubbed the back of his head. “Twilight does have an idea about that. You remember the day Ember and Matches showed us crystal magic.”

Rarity nodded.

“That’s exactly what Twilight believe Garble used. There must be a form of crystal magic allowing a user to turn them into another creature, but we’re not sure yet. It’s a stretch, but it’s the only lead we’ve got to go on.”

Rarity rubbed her chin. “Crystal magic huh?”

“I really hate to say this, but I need to find Garble and try to see if I can get him to talk,” suggested Spike.

Rarity leaned forward and closed her eyes. “Garble...Garble…” A revelation suddenly dawned on her, and she let out a gasp. “Spike, that’s it!”

The drake raised an eyebrow. “What’s it?”

“I noticed something very interesting when Garble was leaving,” said the unicorn. “Something small fell out of his pocket.”

“What was it?”

“I wasn’t able to get a close look, but it looked like a crystal.”

Spike was alarmed. “A...a crystal!?” He slammed his hands against the table. “What did it look like!?”

“All I can remember is that it was small, and it looked as red as Garble’s scales. When he dropped it, he looked scared at the thought of losing it.”

The drake took a deep breath. “Okay, it’s red. Maybe Ember knows something about this.”

“She did say that crystal may be connected to Garble’s plan. If Twilight’s theory is correct, that crystal has to be the key.”

Spike bowed his head. “There’s only one thing to do then. I need to go find Ember and see what I can get from her.”

The door behind Rarity opened up and a dragon guard stepped in. “Visiting hours are over,” he said, sternly. “Please leave at once.”

Spike nodded, and looked at Rarity. “Just hold on a bit longer, Rarity,” he urged. “I know this hasn’t been easy, but I promise to save you and Ember.”

Rarity looked at him with awe for a moment, and then nodded. “I know you will, Spike. I know you will.”

The guard came over and put a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s go.”

The unicorn stood up and was being escorted out of the room. Spike stood up and began walking out.

Halfway though, he turned around. “Oh, Rarity, one last thing. The thing Princess Celestia talked to me about was that she prefers I call her mom since she did raise me like her own child.”

Rarity nodded. “Oh, I see now.”

As soon as Rarity was lead out of the room and the door closed, the revelation hit her like a brick.

“Wait, WHAT!?” she shrieked.

Spike couldn’t help but chuckle as he left.

Spike walked around the castle courtyard and looked around. The place stood out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the castle. It was all nothing but some harded rock, but there were several white cobblestone paths leading around the courtyard. There were a lot of statues of different dragons in poses ranging from warriors to scholars around. In the middle was a large fountain with some lava slowly flowing from the top, and several stone benches near it.

The drake walked over and sat on one of the benches. A loud clang rang out, and he looked up at a tower nearby to see a giant clock was chiming at the top of the hour. He let out a dejected sigh.

“I’ve walked all over the castle for over an hour now, and still can’t find Ember.” He leaned forward and tapped his chin with a finger. “The guards said she wasn’t in her chamber, so where is she?”

He closed his eyes in concentration. “I need to figure this out quickly. If it’s true what Garble did, then I need to find something to prove it.” He leaned back against the bench and sighed again.

“Ha! I like to see you try that!”

Spike’s eyes opened up and he stood up. A cold feeling washed over him. Oh, no. That voice. It can’t be…

He looked over and his fears were confirmed. It was Garble with a smug smile on him, and a white male dragon next to him.

“Hello, Spike,” said Garble in a sinister voice.

Spike’s face darkened. “Garble.” The drake looked over. “Fizzle, it’s been a long time. What do you two want?”

“Hey, that’s not exactly a friendly way to greet an old friend, is it?” wondered Garble in a mocking voice. “I thought you wanted to spread friendship, love, joy, and–PFFT!” He started to laugh wildly.

Spike rolled his eyes. “Is there a point to this?”

Garble took a few deep breaths. “Oh, it was hard to keep a straight face saying all that crap.” He looked at Spike with a smug smile. “My ‘point’ is that I was just wondering if you were here to see your precious pony friend be punished for what she did.”

Spike felt his anger built up.

“It’s going to be fun to see what happens to her tomorrow,” remarked Fizzle. “Maybe she’ll be roasted alive.”

Spike gripped the stone bench so hard, he thought it was going to crack in his hands.

Garble laughed. “I’d love to see that happen!” He leaned forward. “What’s wrong, Spike? No stupid little remark? Got nothing you want to say to me?”

The drake took a deep breath and said, “Actually, Garble, for once I’m glad I could talk to you.”

This caught both dragons off guard, and looked at each other with confused expression on them.

“What the Hell is that supposed to mean?” inquired Garble in a cold tone.

“I’ve got some things I want to ask you, Garble,” stated Spike. “I already know you’re the key witness in the trial tomorrow, and I need some answers from you.”

Garble scoffed. “I’ve got nothing to say to you. I’ve got better things to do then spend it with some pony lover like you.”

Fizzle said, “But I thought you wanted to go and tease–OOF!” He leaned over and gripped his stomach in pain.

“Shut! Up!” barked Garble as he raised his fist. “You really are an idiot, you know!”

Spike smiled a little. “Funny way to treat your friends, Garble.”

The red dragon rolled his eyes. “What does he care? Dragons don’t do friendship and all that crap. They just know when to follow a good leader, like me. Right, Fizzle?”

He nodded hastily, making Spike frown.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I got some stuff to take care of.” Garble turned and began walking away.

“Hold it!” yelled Spike.

Garble turned around. “What now!?” he asked, impatiently.

“We still have to talk.”

“And I told you I’ve got nothing to say to you. Unless you got something to offer, then I’m out of here.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. Something to off, huh? Well, I got something for you then, Garble.

He reached into his pocket. “Oh, I got something for you alright.”

Garble scoffed again. “Alright, welp, what have you got?”

“Behold!” Spike held out his hand and showed his attorney badge.

Garble snorted a little and tried not to laugh. “What is that supposed to be? Your stupid little hoard?”

Spike sighed and said, “No. This is my attorney badge. I’m going to defend Rarity in court with Twilight.”

“Your attorney badge?”

Garble and Fizzle looked at each other with confusion on them. They then burst out laughing loudly and pointed at Spike. The drake grimaced as he looked on.

Garble wiped a tear from his eye. “You! An attorney!? What a jokester you are, Spike! I didn’t know you were such a comedian!”

Spike crossed his arms and glared at him.

Garble noticed this and stopped laughing for a moment. “Oh, wait. You’re serious. Let me laugh even louder.” He roared with laughter while Spike looked on with annoyance.

Yeah, yeah, laugh it up now, Garble, Spike thought to himself. Just wait until tomorrow and we’ll see who gets the last laugh.

Garble caught his breath and his laughter died down. “You know what, Spike? I’m actually feeling pretty good from that stunt you pulled. Since you made me laugh so hard, I’ll let you ask me anything.”

“Anything?”

“Are you deft? Of course I said anything. Now ask before I decide to change my mind.”

Better take up his offer. There’s just one thing I want to ask him. Spike cleared his throat. “Alright, Garble, there is one thing I want to know from you.”

“Go ahead,” said Garble, confidentally. “No matter what you ask, it won’t help you.”

“Rarity told me about a certain visit you made yesterday.”

The red dragon’s confident look turned cold. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“That damn pony,” cured Garble.

Fizzle raised an eyebrow. “Garble, what does Spike mean by that?”

Garble shot a nasty look at him. “Go away, Fizzle,” he said, icely.

Fizzle raised an eyebrow. “Hey, what’s wro–”

“Just go! Now!” bellowed Garble.

Fizzle stepped back and held his hands out. He gulped a little and nodded. He turned around and quickly flew off.

As soon as he was out of sight, Garble looked at Spike with a nasty look on him. “So, she told you about my visit to jail yesterday. What’s it to you?”

“She told me about your so called ‘confession’ and how you feel so confident thinking we have no evidence,” said Spike. “You’re not as invincible as you think you are, Garble.”

Garble narrowed his eyes. “Where are you going with this?”

“Rarity mentioned something you did before you left,” stated Spike. “Or should I say, you dropped something before you left.”

Garble froze up.

“You dropped a crystal on your way out, and Rarity noticed you were scared when you lost it for that brief moment. Now tell me, what exactly is so important about this one little crystal?”

Garble said nothing.

“Well?” wondered Spike.

Garble just smiled at him. “So what if that stupid pony told you that?” he asked. “What’s to say you or her didn’t make it up?”

Spike glared at him. “I know this wasn’t made up. Someone else was there yesterday, and you know exactly who I’m talking about.”

“Heh. You lie,” Garble said in a low voice.

“It’s Ember,” stated Spike. “All I have to do is ask her, and I’m sure she can confirm what Rarity told me.

Garble looked away.

“Well, Garble? What have you got to say about that?”

The red dragon flinched and some flames shot from his mouth. He looked at Spike with an annoyed expression on him.

“You think you’re so clever, Spike,” he spat, venomously. “So what if Ember can back up that pony’s story? It doesn’t make a difference?”

“Why do you say that?”

“One, she’s the judge, so she can’t testify or show any favoritism to either side. Two,” Garble pulled out his pockets and smiled sisterly, “I don’t have that stupid crystal you’re talking about.”

Spike’s eyes widened.

“You know, Spike, it doesn’t matter if you and that pony princess is going to defend Rarity. You can bring all the lawyers you want, but it won’t help save her.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

Garble leaned forward with a smug look on him. “I got a nasty surprise for you in court.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Garble laughed coldly. “You’ll just have to wait and see what happens. I’ve wasted more than enough time here with you, pony lover. Before I leave though, I’ll say one last thing.”

“What is it?” inquired Spike.

“Tomorrow in court, you and I are going to see who’s the better dragon. I promise you this much, Spike, you aren’t going to walk out of that courtroom until I make you suffer and make you watch your greatest failure.”

Spike snorted a little.

“See you later, Spike. I hope you enjoyed talking to Rarity because that’ll be the last time you get to speak to her.”

Garble turned around and took off into the air. As he flew off, Spike heard his laughter and he gritted his teeth in frustration.

“I swear I’m going to get him!” vowed the drake. “I need to find out what he did with that crystal though.”

“Don’t worry about the crystal, Spike,” a female voice said. “I’ve already got that covered.

Spike froze up. His heart started to race as he recognized the voice. He slowly turned around and saw Ember standing behind him with a stern look on her. Silence fell upon the two of them as they stared at each other. Spike felt a bit uncomfortable, but didn’t take his eyes of the Dragon Lord. Ember looked on with a neutral expression, but her cheeks turned a slight shade of red.

“Ember,” whispered Spike.

“Do...do you mind if I sit down?” she asked, hesitantly.

The drake quickly scooted over and made room for Ember. She took a seat and both of them looked at each other with nervous expressions.

Finally, Spike said, “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“So have I,” she replied.

Silence fell between the two again for a moment.

“How are you–” they both said in unison before stopping. They waited a moment and both said, “Are you doing al–” They stopped again.

Ember let out a sigh. “This is a lot harder than I thought.”

“Same here,” agreed Spike.

Ember noticed out of the corner of her eye that Spike seemed a bit uncomfortable. She looked at him and said, “Spike, I know this is probably hard for you to see me and must still hate me, but I want you–”

“Ember, stop,” interrupted Spike.

The dragoness shut her mouth.

Spike looked at her. “I don’t hate you, Ember.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “Really? Even after what I did?”

Spike nodded. “I overreacted a little that day. I don’t hate you or Rarity. I was just upset at what you both did.”

Ember smiled a little.

“Ember, I’m still pretty mad at what you two did,” said Spike. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help you and Rarity.”

“That’s all I want, Spike,” said the Dragon Lord. “I know what I’ve done and I’m doing everything I can to fix it.”

“Now I know you probably want to talk about this love triangle, Ember, but I–”

“I don’t care about that now,” she interrupted.

Spike had a bewildered look on him. “What did you say?”

She looked at him with a solemn expression. “Spike, I noticed earlier in the castle you didn’t want to go with Twilight to see me. I can only guess it’s because of Rarity and I fighting over for your love, right?”

Spike looked shocked.

Ember noticed. “Looks like I’m right. But you don’t have to worry about that, Spike. Rarity and I have–”

“Made up,” he finished. “I know. Rarity told me everything.”

Now, it was Ember’s turn to be shocked.

Spike smiled a little. “I’m glad you two finally made up.”

Ember let out a sigh. “Too bad it took the both of us looking like complete idiots to realize what we got all of you into.”

“At least you two admitted to it,” said Spike. “Ember, there’s a lot I need to ask you about tomorrow’s trial.”

Ember bowed. “Go ahead and ask.”

“You mentioned something about not worrying about the crystal. Why?”

“Twilight told me about her theory about Garble, and I believe that crystal you’re talking about is the key to everything,” explained Ember.

Spike frowned. “Ember, I’ve got bad news; Garble doesn’t have the crystal. Unless we find it, then Rarity will be found guilty for sure.”

Ember scowled. “Damn it. Twilight was right after all.”

“About what?”

“Twilight believed that Garble already got rid of the crystal after Rarity and I saw it. Looks like I was right after all.”

Spike gulped a little. “What do we do now?”

“Don’t worry about it, Spike,” assured Ember. “I’ve got my own ways of finding out what Garble did with it.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Okay, I guess,” he said in a skeptical voice. “Tell me more about this crystal.”

Ember pulled out a piece of parchment. “During my visit to Equestria, I got a letter from the Dragon Council about the crystal. They say the user wielding it can transform themselves into any creature they want to be. It’s the perfect way for Garble to disguise himself and spy on us.”

“When did you get this letter?” he wondered.

“The day after I arrived at Equestria,” she answered. “Remember the day I showed you, Rarity, and Twilight the history of dragons?”

Spike nodded. “So that means Garble took it sometime after you said you were coming to Equestria until the day at the library.”

“Exactly. Hold onto that letter now. You’ll need it for tomorrow.”

“Right.” Spike placed the letter into his pocket. A thought hit Spike, which made him frown. “But how can it be proven he stole it? I can’t just go into court tomorrow and show this letter and say Garble did it.”

Ember looked a little discouraged. “I’m not sure, Spike. You know as judge for the trial tomorrow, I won’t be able to help you or the prosecution. You and Twilight need to figure it out.”

Another thought clicked in Spike’s head. “Wait a minute. Who’s the prosecutor anyway? So far, I haven’t seen who it is.”

Ember shook her head. “I’m not sure myself, Spike. Master Ash told me he found the perfect choice, and that he would personally bring him to me before the trial begins tomorrow.”

“Do you know anything about him at least?”

Ember shrugged. “All Master Ash told me is that he’s a long time veteran, and was known for his mercilessness on attorneys.”

Spike had a deadpanned look on him. “Great,” he said, sarcastically. “Sounds like we’ll get along just fine.”

“I’m sure he’s just making some stuff up,” said Ember.

“There’s something else that’s bothering me, Ember,” said Spike. “Garble doesn’t have the court in his pocket, does he?”

Ember raised an eyebrow. “Why would you say that? I’m the judge for the trial after all.”

“Garble told me he had a ‘nasty surprise’ in court,” the drake replied. “I’m wondering what he means by that.”

“I’m not sure, Spike. Garble is a tricky dragon, but he’s going to slip up very soon. He may seem confident with everything going his way, but I think you and Twilight are going to finally expose his lies.”

A small smile formed on Spike’s face. “I hope so, Ember. I hope so.”

“Lord Ember!”

Spike and Ember turned around to see a dragon guard running up to them.

He stopped and saluted her. “My Lord, the Dragon Council is assembled. They’re ready to discuss final preparations for the trial tomorrow.”

“Very good,” she said. “Tell them I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”

“Yes, Lord Ember.”

The guard bowed and ran off to the castle.

Ember looked at Spike and said, “Well, Spike, that’s all I can do for you. The rest is up to you and Twilight.”

The drake nodded. “I understand. I’ll tell Twilight what I know when I get back to my room.”

Ember fidgeted a little. “So...see you tomorrow, I guess.”

Spike looked concerned. “Ember, what’s wrong now?”

The dragoness looked away. “It’s nothing.”

“Ember,” warned Spike. “Hasn’t hiding how you feel caused enough trouble?”

Ember cursed under her breath. “Good point. Spike, I just don’t understand something.”

“That is?”

“How can you be so forgiving like this? I know you said you didn’t hate me or Rarity, but how can you still want to help us? Dragons aren’t known for being so forgiving like this. They usually hold grudges over those who hurt them. Even after they’re long gone, they still hate them with all their heart. Why go to so much trouble to help me and Rarity?”

Spike smiled a little. “I’m not like other dragons, Ember, and you know it. While it’s true I was furious, I think I was just sad at what you and Rarity did?”

“Sad?” inquired Ember. “But you said you hated both of us.”

“I already told you I don’t hate you and Rarity. I was just sad and disappointed because…” Spike’s words trailed off.

“Because why?”

“Because I was afraid you were throwing away everything I told you about friendship,” said the drake. “I was disappointed that you not only hurt Rarity, but the two of you did it over me of all dragons. You should both know I care about you and Rarity. I just wish you two would’ve told me what was going on first.”

Ember looked down in shame. “I know. Rarity and I said something like that.”

“But,” Spike continued, “I’m glad to know you two have finally patched things up. As for my reason, you and Rarity are still my friends.”

“I don’t–”

“Let me finish,” interrupted Spike. “There’s something else you need to learn too about friendship.”

“That is?”

“A true friend never gives up on those they care and love. We all at times make mistakes and feel hurt by our friends, but that doesn’t mean we should give up on them completely. No matter how bad it is, or how the odds are stacked against you, you never give up on them. When they’re in trouble and need help, a friend is there for them always.”

Ember stood there and took the words in. She blushed a little and tried to hide it.

“I...I see,” she whispered. “I’ll be sure to remember it.”

“One last thing, Ember,” said Spike.

She looked up. “Yes?”

“When this is all over, I want to talk to both you and Rarity about this love triangle. We’ll settle this once and for all, and discuss what to do.”

Ember nodded. “I understand. And Spike?”

“What is it?”

Ember smiled at him. “Thanks for still being a friend to me. Just do everything you can to bring down Garble and make the fellow dragons see his lies. Spike, you and Twilight have to win tomorrow if there’s ever going to be friendship between dragons and ponies.”

“For you, Rarity, everypony, and everydragon, I will,” vowed Spike. “One way or another, Garble won’t get away with this.”

Ember just smiled confidently.

Rainbow Dash sighed as she walked back to her room. She looked up and saw the others talking to each other in the hallway.

“What’s up?” she asked them.

The group turned, and Applejack said, “We were just talking about what we saw around the castle.”

“More like what we couldn’t see,” interjected Pinkie. “Every dragon around here was just mean to us and would tell us not to go here, or do this.”

“Glad to know I’m not the only one,” said Rainbow. “I saw this really cool flying obstacle course for the dragon guards, and I wanted to see how they do it. I try to see, and the guards accuse me of trying to learn their techniques to use against them. They threw me out before I could even say a word.”

“Well, the way dragons view ponies right now, it’s not hard to see why,” said Starlight.

Rainbow crossed her arms. “Yeah, well they still don’t have to treat all of us like we’re monsters or something.” She looked around the others. “Have any of you seen Twilight or Spike?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No. We just got back and talked about what we did.”

“Maybe they’re back in their room,” said Applejack. She walked over to the door and raised a hand up. “No harm in checking.”

She knocked on the door, and waited. A few seconds later, the lock clicked, and the door opened to reveal Spike.

“Hey, Applejack,” He looked at the others. “Hey, girls.”

“Howdy, Spike,” said Applejack. “Is Twilight with you?”

The drake nodded. “Yeah. We were just discussing about what to do for tomorrow’s trial. So far, we’ve been thinking about what to do.”

Any luck?” asked Starlight as the others came in and shut the door.

“We’ve just been discussing about how to link Garble to everything from what’s been going on in Equestria, to the theft of the crystal itself,” said Twilight. “So far, we thought if we could bring up all those events and find a way to tie them to Garble, it’ll put pressure on him and he’ll start to crack.”

“What about the crystal though?” wondered Rainbow. “Have you found it yet.”

Spike shook his head. “Not yet, but Twilight told me about how Ember sent Matches to spy on him. We’re hoping that if Matches can find where Garble hid the crystal, we can bring it in to prove he took it.”

“How will you do that?” asked Fluttershy.

“We haven’t thought that far ahead,” answered Twilight. “All we got to do is wait for Matches to come back.”

The sound of pounding from the door made everyone jump.

“Princess Twilight! Princess Twilight! Open up!”

Twilight’s eyes widen. “That voice.” She quickly ran over and opened the door.

Matches tumbled in and had a panicked look on him.

“Princess! Spike! Everyone! I...I...I…” he said in a distressed tone.

Spike put both hands on Matches. “Whoa! Slow it down!” he ordered. “What’s wrong with you!? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Matches took several deep breaths. “It’s...it’s the crystal,” he said in between breaths. “Garble, he...he...he…”

“He what?” inquired Spike.

“He got rid of it!” yelled Matches.

Everyone gasped. Twilight stepped forward and said, “What do you mean he got rid of it? Matches, you need to tell us everything.”

The dragon nodded. “Okay. It started right after Spike and Garble talked to each other. I was following him like Ember told me…”

Matches flew down to a nearby clearing and wiped his forehead. “Man, Garble sure gets around a lot. What’s he doing now?”

He ran behind a boulder and peeked around it. Garble and Fizzle landed in front of a small, rocky house.

“Me and the boys are thinking of doing some lava surfing. You up for it, Garble?” wondered Fizzle.

Garble shook his head. “Nah. I gotta take care of some stuff. Besides, you know I got that stupid trial tomorrow.”

“That’s right. That reminds me though; what was Spike saying earlier?”

Garble grabbed Fizzle by the collar and pulled him in. “I told you to shut up about that,” he said, venomously. “You didn’t hear anything; got it?”

Fizzle nodded hastily. “R–right.”

The red dragon let go of him. “Now get out of here,” he ordered. “I need to be alone.”

Fizzle waved. “Alright, see you later.” He turned and flew off into the air.

Garble looked around slowly; which made Matches duck behind the boulder. A few seconds later, he heard the sound of a door slamming. Matches slowly tiptoed to the house and saw some lights emitting from the window. He leaned against the wall near one of the windows, and heard rustling inside.

“Where is it? Where is it?” wondered Garble. “I know I put it here in my room. Just where exactly?”

Matches raised an eyebrow. “What’s he talking about?”

Some more noise came from inside the house and then silence. Matches leaned closer to the window.

“Got it!” shouted Garble.

Matches yelped.

“What was that?”

Matches gasped and quickly ran around the corner. He waited for a moment and held his breath.

“Probably another volcano eruption,” said Garble. “Erupting Season gets more and more violent every year.”

Matches heard the door open and saw he was close to it. He held back a gasp and ran around the corner again. He poked his head out slightly and saw Garble looking around him. A few seconds later, Garble ran off, and Matches followed shortly after that.

Matches made sure to stay far enough to make sure Garble couldn’t hear him, but he took cover behind some boulders. Eventually, Matches saw something bright that Garble was walking towards. The air filled with a very strong sulfur smell, and the the air around it was blinding hot. Matches walked over a small hill and was shocked to see a large lava pool in front of him.

“This is it!” vowed Garble.

Matches looked around and quickly hid behind a nearby boulder. He looked over and saw Garble reaching into his jacket pocket for something.

“I can’t take anymore chances with this,” said the red dragon. “Ember probably has figured it out, and told Spike about it. It’s only a matter of time before they come looking around for it.”

Matches’ eyes widened as he saw Garble take out a red crystal.

Garble looked at the crystal. “You’ve served your purpose, but it’s time to finally ditch the last bit of evidence. Once this thing is destroyed, they’ll have no chance of saving that stupid pony.”

He raised his arm up. “Well, Spike, looks like this time I have outsmarted you!”

With a grunt, he threw the crystal far and Matches scrambled to the edge of the pool. He watched helplessly as the crystal fell from the air and into the lava. He heard Garble laugh, but he didn’t care. Matches flew off and headed for the castle.

Damn! Damn! DAMN! he thought to himself.

“...So I had to get here as fast as possible and tell you,” said Matches.

Everyone looked at each other with shocked looks on them. Twilight, on the other hand, was hyperventilating and her eye was twitching.

“Okay, no need to panic,” she said, nervously. “We just need to um,...erm…” She threw her hands up. “I don’t know!”

Spike tried to comfort Twilight. “Matches, isn’t there anything we can do?”

“I don’t know,” he answered. “This is a disaster.”

“Think, Matches, think,” said Starlight. “There has to be something about these crystals. A book or something.”

Matches looked up. “Wait a minute; a book.” He stood up. “There may be a chance, but I need to get to the library fast.”

“What’s going on, Matches?” inquired Twilight.

He grabbed the doorknob. “No time to talk. I need to go!” He opened the door and ran off before anyone else could get a word out.

Everyone in the room looked at each other and muttered.

“What just happened?” wondered Applejack.

“I don’t know,” said Twilight. “But whatever Matches is thinking, it’s got to be something to help us.”

“But what?” asked Pinkie.

While everypony was talking to each other, Spike stood there with a worried look on him.

Just when things couldn’t get any worse, he thought. An unknown prosecutor, Garble saying he has something nasty for me us, and now he’s gotten rid of the decisive evidence we need! I don’t know where this trial will head for, but I can’t lose; I won’t lose! I got to win for Ember and Rarity’s sake!

Author's Note

As promised, I managed to get a new chapter out before February was over. To be honest, this chapter was a pain to write. Not only was I busy with work, but I lacked motivation too to work on it more. I'm hoping the next couple of chapters will be smooth sailing because it's time to finally go to court!

Trial (Part 1)

The following morning, Spike walked through a long hallway, ignoring the cold glances the dragon guards gave him. He took several deep breaths and tugged on his collar. His heart was racing as he passed several dragons and some doors. Each step he took felt like it took forever, and the hallway seemed to go on forever. Finally, after what felt like hours, he saw a golden plaque on a set of large, wooden doors being watched by two dragon guards.

Defendant Lobby No. 2

With another deep breath, Spike pushed the doors open and stepped in. Around the room, there were two large windows with bars over them. The far side of the room had a table with some cups and a coffee pot on it. On each side of the doors were two more guards watching over the room and stayed motionless.

Boy am I nervous! Spike thought to himself. Never thought I’d be stepping foot in court as an attorney; much less in the Dragon Lands. I gotta stay focused.

“Spike!”

The drake looked over and saw Twilight and Rarity waving a hand at him. They both got up and walked over to him. Twilight had her mane in a tight bun and was wearing a dark blue dress jacket with a white dress shirt underneath, with a matching medium dark blue skirt. Rarity’s mane still looked shrabby, but she had managed to clean herself up a little to be more presentable.

“Good morning, Twilight.” He looked up and down at her and let out a whistle. “Looking good, Twilight.”

The alicorn chuckled. “Thanks.” She looked at him. “Not looking too bad yourself, Spike.”

The drake was dressed in a back dress jacket and pants. He had a white dress shirt underneath and a black tie with it. Rarity stared at him dreamily and felt her heart start to race. She let out a contentful sigh as she felt all her troubles go away.

“Um, Rarity?”

She snapped out of her daydream. “Huh? What?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Are you feeling okay?”

Rarity chuckled weakly. “Oh, um, of course I am. I’m just wondering where you two got those clothes.”

“Since we became attorneys, we figured we’d better look our best for the trial,” answered Twilight. “We both went to see Sassy, and when we told her what was going on, she was more than happy to make us some clothes free of charge.”

Rarity smiled. “Well, I’ll have to be sure to pay her extra for doing such an act for you two.”

The doors to the lobby opened up again. “Hey, Twi!”

The trio turned around to see their friends all coming in with smiles on their faces.

“What’s up?” Rainbow asked Spike and Twilight. “You two ready for this?”

Spike rubbed the back of his head. “Um…”

“Of course they are, darling,” interrupted Rarity. “After what I’ve told them, they no doubt have a plan. Right?”

Neither Spike nor Twilight said anything.

Rarity’s smile waned a little. “Right?”

Spike stepped back and forced a smile. “Um, yeah. Twilight and I just need to discuss it again...in private.”

He grabbed the alicorn’s arm and walked to the other side of the room. He looked back to see the others were staring at them with bewilderment.

“Twilight, what’re we going to do?” he asked in a low voice. “After what Matches told us last night, we’re in trouble. What do we tell Rarity?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes slightly. “Nothing. If we let Rarity know what’s going on, then it’ll only make her feel more nervous then she already is.”

“But we have no plan,” argued the drake.

“I know,” said Twilight. “But telling Rarity this news won’t help at all. We just need to think of something.”

The doors opened again. “Good morning, Twilight.”

Spike and Twilight turned around to see Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Matches entering the room. The trio had grim looks on them. Matches looked down and had an anguished look on him.

“Good morning, princesses,” said Twilight. She looked at Matches. “Are you alright?”

Matches shook his head. “I’m sorry, Princess Twilight,” he said. “It looks like I was wrong.”

The alicorn looked confused. “About what?”

“Last night, I frantically did as much reading as possible about Crystal Magic and hoped for something to help, but I found nothing.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “What!?”

Princess Celestia put a hand on the Princess of Friendship. “Matches told us about what happened last night. Twilight, I have to admit that this isn’t looking good. If Garble got rid of the evidence, it’ll be very difficult to prove it was him as the cause for all that’s happened.”

“We still have the proof about the attacks he did in Equestria,” said Spike. “So maybe we can undermine his whole story by showing that evidence.”

“But the prosecution will demand evidence about this pony you claim you saw,” argued Luna. “Evidence that has been destroyed no less.”

A thought crossed Twilight’s mind and she looked at Matches. “Speaking of which, who is the prosecution? Ember said she’d see him today. Did you see them, Matches?”

The dragon shook his head again. “I saw Ember, but no sign of the prosecution. I let Ember know what happened, but she didn’t seem to be herself.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“She was upset to hear about it,” stated Matches, “But she didn’t react the way I thought she would. She seemed so out of it.”

“Why?” wondered Twilight. “Is it because she’s nervous about today?”

Matches shrugged. “Maybe, but I heard her mutter something as she left for the courtroom.”

“What was it?” inquired Twilight.

“It’s him of all dragons,” said Matches.

Spike and Twilight looked at each other. “Who?”

“No idea,” replied Matches.

“Hey! Are you going to fill us in on what’s going on?”

Everyone turned around to see Rainbow with an impatient look on her surrounded by the others.

Twilight smiled weakly. “Oh, sorry, Rainbow.”

“So what’s going on?” wondered Applejack.

“We were just discussing about last night,” said Twilight.

Celestia stepped forward. “Luna and I will be watching the trial.” She looked at Twilight and Spike and smiled. “Despite some ‘developments’, I believe they’ll find a way to win. After all they’ve been through over the years, I don’t have any doubts.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Developments? What’s going on?”

The group looked uncomfortable and didn’t look at Rarity.

“What is it?” she wondered.

Spike rubbed the back of his head. “Well, you see–”

“Excuse me.”

Spike turned around and saw a tall, green dragon guard glaring at him. “Yes?”

“Court is about to begin,” he said, stoically. “Lord Ember has told me to escort you, the prisoner, and Princess Twilight to the courtroom at once.”

Spike nodded and turned around. “I guess this is it.”

Twilight put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. “We’ll be alright, Spike.”

“She’s right, Spike,” Starlight agreed. “If anyone can pull this off, it’s you two.”

“Go get’em, sugarcube,” said Applejack, proudly.

“You can do it,” stated Fluttershy.

“I want to see Garble crying after you expose him,” stated Rainbow.

“I’ll prepare the party and confetti for when you win!” shouted Pinkie, jubilly.

Spike and Twilight smiled warmly at their friends.

“Good luck, you two,” said Luna.

“We have complete faith in both of you,” said Celestia.

Spike nodeed and his eyes drifted to the collar of his jacket. He looked at his attorney’s badge and gripped it for a moment.

This is it, he thought to himself. My first, and last, case as a defense attorney.

Spike, Twilight, and Rarity were lead down the hall by the guard. They both looked at each other, but said nothing as they walked. Spike could feel his heart race as he took each step closer. Twilight took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Rarity tried not to shake nervously and kept a brave face on her. They eventually reached a large set of metal double doors, where two more guards were waitings. The doors groaned as they guards pushed them open and allowed the trio into the room.

The room was spacious, with the ceiling reaching up very high to the point they couldn’t see where it ended. Around the room were stands circling around the room that were filled to the brim with many dragons talking and whispering to one another. On the opposite side of the room was a large square platform overlooking the entire room. In the center of the room on a golden chair was Ember, dressed in her battle armor and holding the Bloodstone Scepter, with a stoic look on her. Behind her were six dragons in brown robes and hoods sitting in chairs.

Spike felt a tap and turned to see Twilight urging him to go down the stairs. As they all walked down, the drake heard the whispers get louder.

“That’s them! The lawyers!”

“What’s that dragon thinking defending a pony? Has he no honor for our Dragon Lord?”

“That unicorn doesn’t deserve a trial! She deserves to burn!”

Spike took a few deep breaths. This is for Rarity and Ember. Got to stay focused.

When they reached the bottom, the floor was most bare except for a single stone stand in the middle, and two large tables on each side of the room near the high walls of the audience stand.

“The defense goes to the stand on the right.”

Spike and Twilight turned around to see the guard was behind them.

Twilight smiled a little. “Um, thanks.”

They walked over to the bench while Rarity was escorted by the guard to a chair to sit in and be watched by the dragon. Spike looked all around in awe and ignored some of the comments about him, Rarity, and Twilight. His eyes fell on Ember and stared at her. She looked very briefly at him and nodded curtly before looking over the rest of the room.

The crowd continued to mutter and talk with each other. Ember stood up and raised the Bloodstone Scepter. She brought it down, making a loud bang and instantly silencing the entire room.

Spike leaned over to Twilight. “That was cool.”

“Quiet,” she whispered.

Ember stepped forward and looked around. “Court is now in session for the trial of Rarity. Are both sides ready?”

“The defense is ready, your Lordship,” said Spike.

Twilight tapped on Spike’s shoulder. “Look over on the other side, Spike.”

The drake looked over and saw the bench was empty. “That’s strange. Where’s the prosecutor?”

“I have no idea,” replied the alicorn. “It’s time for court, and he’s nowhere to be found.”

Spike shrugged. “Maybe he lost his nerve?”

The metal doors opened again. “Sorry I’m late. Had a few things to take care of before coming in.”

Spike and Twilight gasped as they saw a dragon descend the stairs. The entire room seemed equally shocked. The dragon walked over to the prosecution table and stood there.

“It can’t be,” whispered Twilight.

“I don’t believe it,” said Spike.

It was Master Ash.

“My apologies, everyone,” he said. “There were some final preparations to take care of before coming in.”

“M–Master Ash?” asked a shocked Twilight. “What’re you doing here?”

The dragon smiled softly. “Your confusion is natural, Princess Twilight. What I’m doing is what I need to do to ensure justice prevails.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” inquired Spike.

“I’ve decided that to make sure the truth is shown to us, that I take the case as prosecutor,” he said.

“Objection!” yelled Twilight. She looked at Ember. “I thought the Dragon Council was supposed to serve as the jury! What’s Master Ash doing here then?”

Ember closed her eyes and bowed her head. “That may be true, but Master Ash is the most qualified prosecutor available.”

“But I don’t understand,” said Spike. “I thought he was just head of the Dragon Council.”

“That’s correct,” said Ash. “Before my time of being chosen as head of the Council, I served in the courtroom as a prosecutor for many years. While it’s true I retired shortly after joining the Dragon Council, I vowed to return to court if I’m needed again. The knowledge I have of this case and the facts before me put me in a perfect position to serve as lead prosecutor in this case.”

The room filled with chattering again. Ember raised the scepter and slammed it against the ground three times.

“Order!” she barked. She looked down at Ash. “Well, Master, are you ready?”

The black dragon lowered his head and his face darkened. “Not yet,” he said, coldly. “Princess Twilight, Mr. the Dragon, I hope you’re both ready for this. Show me what you got!”

Twilight and Spike both gulped.

Master Ash took a deep breath for a moment, and then flexed. “AAARRRGGGHHH!” He roared.

Twilight and Spike gasped as the brown robes around Ash ripped apart around his body. Beneath it was shiny, silver armor with gold trimming around it, and a large sword in a silver sheath. Ash rose his head up and had a confident smile on his face. He reached underneath and held up a steel barbute helmet.

He put the helmet on and said, “The prosecution is ready, your Lordship.”

The room filled with the dragons talking and whispering again.

“It’s him! The Silver Knight!”

“I never thought I’d see him back in court again!”

“Go get those lawyers, Master!”

Twilight, looking worried, glanced at Spike. “Looks like this prosecutor is the real deal.”

Spike looked just as concerned and slouched a little. “I got a bad feeling he’s going to be a ‘real’ pain.”

Ash smirked. “Ah, it’s just like how I remember it. It’s like I never even left the courtroom at all.” He looked at Twilight and Spike and scowled. “Too bad my return has me going against two greenhorns. I was hoping for something a little more challenging.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “What did you say!?”

“Don’t take it so personal, Princess Twilight,” warned Ash. “I’m just doing what is best for the Dragon Lands, and ensuring justice is served.”

“Does that include insulting us?” inquired Spike.

Ash rolled his eyes. “Take it easy. I’ve read up on both you and your princess, and from what I’ve seen, you both just very recently became attorneys. I commend you and your princess for doing such a noble thing when other ponies would run away in fear. It’s brave, but very foolish of you two.”

Spike smiled confidently. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I think we’ll see who the bigger fool is after this trial.”

Ash laughed and shook his head. “Strong words, Mr. the Dragon, but I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news for you and the princess. This isn’t Equestria. There’s no magic of friendship here to help you. Nopony is coming to save you two should you fail. Starting to feel a little scared yet?”

Spike and Twilight narrowed their eyes.

“They can do it!” shouted Pinkie.

Everyone looked up to see the party mare holding up a sign saying GO TWILIGHT AND SPIKE! on it. The others looked away with embarrassed looks on them.

“Don’t underestimate what Twilight and Spike can and can’t do!” she yelled. “We’ll be throwing a big party to celebrate when they win and free Rarity!”

Ash chuckled softly and looked at Spike. “Your friends definitely are interesting to say the least.”

He glanced at Pinkie and scowled. “However, should your pink friend keep disrupting the court, she’ll be having a party of one in her own little jail cell!” he boomed.

“Eep!” Pinkie yelped and ducked under her chair.

Spike nervously tugged on his shirt collar. Scary.

Twilight gave Spike a glare. “Come on, Spike, stay focused!”

Ember banged the scepter on the ground. “Master Ash, your opening statement please.”

Ash bowed and said, “As you wish, my Lord.”

He took a deep breath, and let out a blast of black fire from his mouth. A scroll dropped from the fire, and the dragon grabbed it. He opened the scroll and his eyes darted across it.

“On July 16th, an unspeakable crime was committed against dragons everywhere,” he said while reading. “Dragon Lord Ember was on a diplomatic mission to strengthen the new relationship between us and the ponies of Equestria.”

He slammed a metal gauntlet on the table. “However, one pony refused to accept such peace between the two kingdoms, and attacked our Dragon Lord.” Ash pointed a metal finger. “The defendant, Miss Rarity, had the audacity to attack Lord Ember. The prosecution intends to prove her guilt beyond a doubt.” He sighed and crossed his arms. “However, things have changed and some things need to be cleared up.”

Ember looked at Ash. “Master, explain yourself.”

Ash smirked. “Thanks to information provided by Lord Ember herself, it seems we may’ve been lead away from the truth.”

The crowd muttered amongst themselves. Ember brought the scepter down three times.

“Order! Master Ash,” Ember said with a bit of hesitation in her voice, “tell us what you mean by this.”

The black dragon shook his head. “Forgive me, my Lord, but have you already forgotten what you told me and Princess Celestia? Or are you saying you made it all up?”

Ember flinched a little. “N–no!” she quickly said. “Continue by all means.”

“Thank you.” Ash looked at Spike and Twilight. “If it’s fine with the defense, I’d like for the accused herself to testify. I want to know if what Lord Ember is saying is true.”

Twilight and Spike huddled next to each other.

“What do you think?” asked Twilight. “Should we let him do this?”

Spike thought for a minute before slowly nodding his head. “It’s the only thing we can do. I’m curious as to what Ember told Master Ash. Whatever it is must be something big if Master Ash is being forced to look at the case again. Maybe it’ll help us out.”

“I hope you’re right, Spike.” Twilight looked at Master Ash. “The defense has no objections. Please proceed, Master.”

The drake smiled a little. “Thank you, princess. You’ve made this a lot easier.”

Spike narrowed his eyes. What’s that supposed to mean?

Ash slammed his fist on the table. “Miss Rarity, take the stand at once!”

Rarity was escorted by the guard up to the witness stand, and tried to keep her legs from shaking in fear. Almost immediately, the courtroom filled with jeers and boos from the various dragons as they all looked at Rarity with hatred burning in their eyes.

“That’s her! Let’s burn her ass!”

“Yeah! What’re we doing here at some trial!? We know she did it!”

“How can Lord Ember even allow this to happen? How can she side with a stupid pony like this? She’s probably trying to go easy on her!”

“DEATH! DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!” chanted the crowd.

Rarity whimpered and lowered herself as the insults and boos got only stronger.

Ember pounded the scepter three times and stepped forward. “ORDER! ORDER IN THE COURT!” she bellowed. “IF THERE’S NO ORDER, I WILL FORCE THE AUDIENCE OUT OF HERE!”

Several guards flew up and pointed their spears at the unruly crowd. It took a couple minutes to get the crowd silenced, and some lead out of the room.

Ember was livid. “For those of you think about letting this happen, I want you all to see and know the truth about what happened to me! If you think I’m doing this to ‘go easy on her’, I promise I won’t go easy on the next dragon who decides to disrupt the court like this!”

Some in the crowd muttered to themselves, but things soon quitted down again.

Spike couldn’t help but whistle in awe. “Man, I sometimes forget how tough Ember is. She just took control back like that.”

Ember took a few deep breaths. “Now then,” she said calmly, “proceed, Master Ash.”

Ash nodded and turned to the stand. “Miss Rarity, you’re a promising fashion designer in Equestria. You’ve got a few shops set up from what I’ve read about you, and you’re known for your heroism in saving your country from several disasters.”

“That’s right,” said Rarity. “But what does this have to do with–”

“Quiet,” scolded Ash. He tapped his gauntlet fingers on the table. “There’s something though that I’ve come across recently thanks to Lord Ember herself. Something about your own love life.”

Spike and Twilight looked alarmed.

“Did he just say…” began Spike.

“...her love life?” finished Twilight.

Rarity blushed in embarrassment. “W–what?”

“Don’t try to hide it,” warned Ash. “Lord Ember filled me in on what she claims was the ‘truth’ about your fight. It appears that it wasn’t over the fact that you hated our Dragon Lord, but rather something more personal between someone in this courtroom.”

Spike held his breath in anticipation.

“A love triangle between you, Lord Ember,” Ash smirked as he looked over, “and our upstart lawyer, Mr. Spike the Dragon.”

Spike looked shocked and couldn’t think of anything to say.

Twilight slammed a hand against the table. “Lord Ember, you told him?”

The dragoness looked down and nodded. “It was the only way Master Ash would listen to reason. I told him the truth about Haytona Beach, and I wanted every dragon here to know as well.”

The room filled with chattering amongst the dragons in the audience.

“Lord Ember in a feud over that dragon lawyer? That’s ridiculous!”

“I don’t know. I think he looks pretty cute.”

“How can our Dragon Lord be caught up in something as stupid as love? Dragons don’t do love!”

“Which brings us back to you, Miss Rarity,” said Ash. “I need you to tell us something very important about this revelation.”

“What?” she asked.

“First, I want you to tell me what exactly happened that day that lead up to this.”

Rarity nodded. “Spike and I were walking on a quiet part of the beach, and he wanted to go for a swim. I watched him swim out, but suddenly the waves overcame him and he started to drown. I went out and saved Spike, but then Lord Ember appeared, and well...you know the rest.”

“Not exactly,” said Ash. “There’s something critical here that’s become a contradiction.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Miss Rarity, you know the full truth of the matter here. So, let me ask you this; which one of you struck first?”

The crowd gasped and Rarity froze up.

Spike leaned over to Twilight. “What’s he trying to do?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. “Be ready, Spike. He could have something up that armor of his.”

“I’ll ask again,” repeated Ash. “Who struck first?”

“Why are you asking me?” wondered Rarity. “I thought you said I was the one who attacked Ember.”

“Just answer the question,” he demanded.

“Objection!” yelled Spike as he pointed. “Master Ash, if she doesn’t want to answer your question, she doesn’t have to!”

“Hmph!” scoffed Ash. “I’m surprised at you, Mr. the Dragon. I’m pursuing the truth, and yet you’re willing to turn a blind eye to it? You call yourself a lawyer? You wouldn’t even be fit to be the janitor of this courtroom.”

Spike growled softly.

“Let’s see where this goes,” suggested Twilight. “Come to think of it, we never found out who really struck first.”

“A wise choice, princess.” Ash looked at Rarity, and slammed a hand down on the table. “Now talk!”

Rarity shivered in fear. “Well...if you must know. It was...it was…” She slowly raised a finger up and looked away. “Lord Ember.”

The crowd gasped in shock again. Immediately, every dragon talked to one another and some fainted.

“How dare she accuse our Dragon Lord of such a thing!?”

“The nerve of that pony! She can’t take responsibility for her actions!”

Ember pounded the scepter. “Enough! That’s enough!” she bellowed. The court slowly quieted down again and Ember could feel her heart racing. She took a deep breath and said, “What Rarity says is true. On the day of the incident, I was the one who hit first; not Rarity.”

Ash smirked. “So it’s true what Lord Ember said after all. Here I was thinking it was just an attempt to try to save the defendant.”

Spike leaned forward. “Okay, so you got your question answered. What does this change?”

Ash rolled his eyes. “Must I point out the obvious all the time? Miss Rarity can actually get a more lenient sentence; maybe even freedom.”

Spike’s heart nearly stopped. “What?”

“You heard me right. Miss Rarity wasn’t the one who started that brawl. Lord Ember decided to after letting her feelings get the best of her. So, how about an offer?”

“An offer?” asked Twilight. “For what?”

“If you accept that Lord Ember instigated and started the fight, then I’ll be willing to go easy on Miss Rarity. At the very most, I can argue for a permanent ban from the Dragon Lands.”

Twilight opened her mouth, but Spike quickly said, “But what about Ember? What will happen to her?”

Ash crossed his arms. “Hard to say for sure. Such an act like this is unbecoming for our Dragon Lord. A love dispute or not, such behavior can’t be overlooked. We’ll deal with her later, but the important thing is Miss Rarity would receive a more lenient sentence.” He held out a metal claw. “How about it?”

Twilight and Spike huddled. “Spike, you know we can’t do this,” she said.

The drake nodded. “I know. As tempting as it is, we know the truth. If Master Ash wants it so badly, we’ll give it to him.” He glanced up at Ember, who seemed a bit worried. “Even ignoring that, who knows what’ll happen to Ember. I won’t let anything happen to her, Twilight.”

The princess nodded, and turned to Ash. “Sorry, Master, but your so called ‘truth’ isn’t as good as you think it is.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

Spike shook his head. “There’s more to this, and you know it. We’re prepared to show you otherwise.”

Ash’s face darkened as he leaned forward. “So be it. I tried to be fair to you and let you both take an easy way out before being humiliated. You’re going to learn, really fast, how over your heads the two of you are.”

Spike couldn’t help but shiver a little.

Ash looked at Ember. “My Lord, I’d like to call my witness to the stand.”

Ember nodded. “Very well, Master Ash.” She looked up at a guard. “Bailiff, bring in the witness!”

Twilight glared. “This is going to get tough, Spike. Be ready for anything.”

Spike just nodded and took a few deep breaths.

A few minutes later, the doors opened again, and Garble walked in with a confident smile on him. Unlike the others, Garble made a sloppy effort to look presentable in court. The only major difference Spike could notice was he put on a clean pair of blue jeans and a new leather jacket in contrast to the tattered one he wore yesterday.

Ash scowled in disapproval as his grandson took the stand. “Will the witness please state his name and occupation for the record?”

Garble tilted his head back. “Garble’s the name! As for occupation,” he pointed to himself, “you’re future Dragon Lord!”

The courtroom bursted in applause and loud cheers. Some dragons whistles loudly and some screamed in delight.

“It’s him! The hero of the Dragon Lands!”

“We’re behind you all the way, Garble!”

“All hail Lord Garble!”

“GARBLE! GARBLE! GARBLE!” The room chanted.

The drake waved his hands and didn’t bother hiding the smug smile on him. “Whoa! Take it easy, everybody! There’s plenty of me to go around!”

Spike looked on in disgust. I never thought I’d see the day where I meet someone more egotistical than Blueblood, but here we are.

Ash slammed his gauntlet on the table, which instantly silenced the courtroom. Even Garble gulped a little bit in fear from the sound.

“Garble!” he bellowed. “This is a court of law! Show some respect here!”

Garble scoffed. “Whatever.”

Ash took a deep breath and said, “Garble, you know exactly why you’re here. For your sake, boy, your testimony better be as solid as you claim it is.”

“Fine, but I got one thing to say,” he looked over, “to our dragon lawyer here.”

Spike glared. “What is it?”

Garble smirked. “You must think you’re so clever thinking you can try to save your precious pony friend. Let’s see how good you really are, or if you and your case will be burnt to a crisp by the old man.”

Ember banged the scepter. “The witness will refrain from making such remarks to the defense!”

Ash nodded. “She’s right, boy. You’re here to testify and tell the truth; not taunt the defense.”

Garble rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll do it.” He looked at Spike again. “Let the game begin, pony lover.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Get ready, Spike,” she warned. “This is going to get tough.”

“Now tell us what you know,” ordered Ash.

“With pleasure,” said the red drake. He cleared his throat and said, “I was following Lord Ember to make sure she was safe while in Equestria.”

“I noticed her and Rarity were looking angry at one another, and ready to fight.”

“I watched Ember on the beach the entire time until she left when she noticed Rarity and Spike walking off together.”

Garble shrugged. “There you go. A short, simple explanation as to what happened. Nothing more than that.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that,” said Spike. “But one thing I have to ask is this. I know you don’t like Ember at all; so why go this far then?”

Garble scoffed. “I may not like her, but I was protecting her for the good of the Dragon Lands. Nothing wrong with that, right?”

“I think there’s a lot wrong with what you just said,” replied the drake.

“If you’re so sure, then proceed with your cross examination,” said Ash.

Spike froze. “Cross examination?”

“You do know what that is, right?” asked Ash, with a sinister smile on his face. “Or in your reckless attempt to save your friend, you forgot one of the most important aspects of court?”

“O–of course not!” said Spike, hesitantly. I just need to jog my memory.

Twilight sighed. “I told you to read that book again before we left.”

“I do remember it!” he protested. “I just kind of lost my nerve for a moment.”

The alicorn shook her head. “Well, Spike? Do you really feel comfortable taking the lead from here?”

Spike nodded. “You bet, Twilight.” He looked over at Ash and put on a confident smile. “I’ll show you, Master! I’m not some rookie!”

Ash smirked. “Heh! You’re quite the confident greenhorn; even with that slight quiver in your voice.”

Spike gulped a little.

“Alright then, rookie,” said Ash. “Let’s see what you got.”

“I think you’re in luck,” whispered Twilight. “I noticed something odd with Garble’s testimony.”

“Same here,” said Spike. “He’s already made a big mistake, and I’ll show everyone here what it is.”

Ember slammed the scepter. “Mr. the Dragon, your cross examination please!”

Spike nodded. “Garble, go over what you said again.”

“Fine, but just this once,” he said. “I was following Lord Ember to make sure she was safe while in Equestria.”

“I noticed her and Rarity were looking angry at one another, and ready to fight.”

“I watched Ember on the beach the entire time until she left when she noticed Rarity and Spike walking off together.”

Spike smirked. Gotcha. He pointed and shouted, “Objection!”

Everyone immediately looked at the drake.

“Garble, are you sure about that last statement you made?”

“Of course I am,” he said. “Lord Ember never left the beach at all. The only time I saw her move was to follow you and Rarity to the other side of the beach.”

Spike shook his head. “Sorry to break it to you, Garble, but Ember didn’t just follow me and Rarity. She went somewhere else.”

Garble raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Spike held up a piece of parchment. “This is the statement Lord Ember made in regards to what happened recently. She included something interesting during her visit to Haytona Beach.” He leaned forward and banged the table. “She was approached by another pony!”

Garble flinched. “Ack!”

Spike glared. “Garble, if you were really were watching Ember the entire time, then you should’ve noticed that key detail! How do you explain that?”

Garble tugged on his shirt collar. “Um...well…”

Spike crossed his arms and grinned. Bingo! This should help turn the case around!

“Tsk, tsk, tsk!”

Spike raised an eyebrow and looked over at an amused Ash.

“I certainly hope the defense isn’t seriously thinking this should help them turn this case around,” he said with a smug smile.

Spike’s smile waned. “What did you say?”

Ash chuckled and held up a parchment paper. “This is the copy of that statement Lord Ember provided me with. I looked over everything she said and even asked her myself before coming into court. If you’re really thinking this will turn the tide to your favor, I’m afraid you’re mistaken.”

Spike grimaced. “But...but how did you get that?”

Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Um, I may have forgotten to tell you that Ember did promise she’d give a copy to the prosecution.”

Spike groaned. “Now you tell me.”

Ash scoffed. “What amateurs! It seems the defense has a hard time staying on the same page with one another. If this is the best defense Equestria can muster, then this will be easier then I thought.”

Spike gritted his teeth. This guy is really starting to get on my nerves.

Twilight glared. “Don’t you think though something like this is worth looking into? Garble said he watched Ember the entire time, so why didn’t he mention it before?”

Ash bit his lip. “I’ll admit, such a key point is unusual for Garble to not mention.”

“Hey, it was just some pony coming up to talk to her,” said Garble. “I didn’t really think it was that important. Besides, it’s not like he ended up hurting her or something.”

“But it’s still a crucial piece in this case!” argued Twilight.

Ember slammed the scepter against the ground. “The defense has a point. Garble owes the court an explanation about this.”

Garble grumbled to himself.

“Answer her, Garble!” ordered Ash.

The drake groaned. “Fine, I did end up following her when she was approached by that guy. The only reason I didn’t include it in my testimony was because nothing happened.”

“I doubt her talking to some reporter is ‘nothing’ to ignore,” said Spike.

“We’ll determine if that’s true or not,” vowed Ember. “Now testify about spying on me and the reporter, Garble.”

“And make sure you tell everything you know,” said Ash. “You know how much I despise lying in court. Understand?”

Garble rolled his eyes. “Take it easy, old–

“Understand?” he asked again, forcefully.

Garble froze up and quickly nodded.

“Looks like the only thing Garble fears is his own grandpa,” said Spike. “Maybe we can use that to our advantage.”

Garble tugged on his collar. “Alright, where was I? Oh, yeah! After Lord Ember was asked to follow some pony, I decided to follow behind them.”

“I kept myself far enough away to hear their conversation. The guy wanted to know about the visit for his paper.”

“After a little bit of talking, Lord Ember lost her patience and decided to leave the reporter by himself.”

“I saw the reporter leave shortly after that.”

“There. Happy now, Spike?” inquired Garble.

Spike shook his head. “Not by a long shot.”

Twilight smirked. “Spike, you know what to do, right?”

“I’ve got this,” he answered. “Garble, re–”

“Yeah, yeah,” he interrupted. “You don’t have to keep asking me to do this. I know what you want.”

“After Lord Ember was asked to follow some pony, I decided to follow behind them.”

“I kept myself far enough away to hear their conversation. The guy wanted to know about the visit for his paper.”

“After a little bit of talking, Lord Ember lost her patience and decided to leave the reporter by himself.”

“I saw the reporter leave shortly after that.”

“Hold it!” yelled Spike. “Why did you watch the reporter leave? I thought your goal was to keep an eye on Ember.”

“That reporter looked angry,” answered Garble. “He was getting a good story for his paper, and then she left him hanging. I was afraid he would try to do something against her.”

“In a crowd of ponies though?” inquired Spike. “He’d be attracting way too much attention.”

Garble frowned. “Um…”

“Objection!” bellowed Ash. “It sounds more like the boy was watching out for her lordship. In the heat of passion, others will disregard who’s watching them and decide to do something rash without thinking it out.” He smirked. “You’re going to have to do better than this, you know?”

“Then let me ask something,” suggested Spike. “If Garble was watching that pony, what did he do after Ember left?”

“That’s irrelevant and you know it,” scolded Ash. “He wasn’t the one involved in the altercation; it was Lord Ember and Miss Rarity. That reporter has nothing to do with this.”

Spike slammed his hands against the table. “It’s very important we know everything though about what happened! Even something that you may think is ‘irrelevant’ may turn out to be important, Master!”

Ash gritted his teeth. “Fine,” he seethed. “Do what you will, but this will be a waste of time!” He looked at Garble. “Tell us what happened after the reporter left.”

“Fine,” he spat. “He just walked off and I watched him for a couple minutes, but nothing else happened.”

Spike smirked again. “Objection!” he barked. “That’s twice now you’ve tripped up, Garble.”

“What!?” he said in surprise.

“You said nothing happened to the reporter, right?” inquired Spike.

“Yeah, and I stand by it!”

Spike shook his head. “Then you should be aware of this!” He held up a newspaper. “This is an article about an attack at Haytona Beach. An attack on a newspaper reporter.”

Ash glared. “What’s this?”

“Garble, you said you watched the reporter leave! If that’s the case, why didn’t you see him being attacked?”

Garble panted a little. “I–I didn’t watch him for very long!” he shot back. “I wanted to get back to Ember as soon as possible!”

“Objection!” yelled Twilight. “Garble, you said you watched him for a couple minutes. That should’ve been enough time for you to notice something!”

“Objection!” bellowed Ash. “My Lord, this is irrelevant to the case at hand! What happened to that reporter doesn’t matter.”

“I’m not so sure about that, Master,” said Ember. “Objection overruled.”

“Even if it was connected, which it isn’t by the way, tell me something,” he slammed his gauntlet on the table. “What proof do you have of such a thing!?”

Spike froze up, and looked at Twilight. “I’ve got nothing.”

The alicorn smiled. “I got this, Spike. The answer’s pretty obvious when you look at another piece of evidence.”

“Let’s have it, Princess Twilight!” snapped Ash. “What evidence do you have to connect these two cases?”

Twilight laid down the parchment. “This is our proof!” she declared.

Ash raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“This is the statement Lord Ember made earlier,” said Twilight. “I want you to take a look at the names of the reporter on both her statement, and in the paper.” She levitated the paper over to Ash, who snatched it out of the air.

His eyes went back and forth between both papers. His eyes widen in shock. “What in Tartarus is this!?” he demanded. “This can’t be!”

“I think the prosecution sees the problem here,” said Twilight.

“Well I’m glad somebody knows what’s going on because I don’t!” complained Garble.

Spike grinned. “Let me ask you this then, Garble. You were close enough to hear the interview, so what was the name of the pony who talked to Ember?”

Garble looked flummoxed. “What!?”

“You heard me. What’s his name?”

“This is insane! I don’t have to answer that!”

“Just tell us, Garble!” ordered Spike. “Because this will determine where this case goes!”

Garble wiped his forehead. “Um...well...it was...it was…” He gulped.

Come on, Garble! Spill it! thought Spike.

“Front Page!” blurted out the drake. “It was Front Page! I’m sure of it!”

The room fell silent. Ash dropped the paper and gripped a piece of his armor tightly.

Garble looked around. “What!?” he bellowed. “What’s the problem!?”

Spike smirked. “The problem lies with the name of the reporter you gave us. According to the newspaper, the reporter’s real name is Printer Press; not Front Page. How do you explain this?”

“Um…”

“Objection!” barked Ash. “Perhaps he misheard him. He probably said something along the lines of ‘I’m going to put your name on the front page’.”

“Objection!” Spike shot back. “Why don’t we ask Lord Ember herself?” He looked up at the dragoness. “What was the name of that guy?”

“Front Page,” she replied. “And not only can I confirm it, but another dragon can to.”

Ash looked shocked. “You don’t mean…”

Ember nodded. “That’s right. Matches can confirm it too. He was near me when that guy came up to me.”

“Ack!” Ash stumbled back as his armor unexpectedly was bashed by some force. “What does this all mean?”

“I’ll explain,” offered Spike. “Based on the two names alone, we can determine one thing.” He leaned forward on the table. “The real reporter never made it to the interview!”

The courtroom started chattering and gasping in awe.

Ember banged the staff three times. “Order! Order in the court!” She looked at Spike. “Mr. the Dragon, are you trying to imply that Garble had something to do with the attack on Printer Press and the fake reporter?”

Spike nodded. “The possibility is there and can’t be ignored.” He slammed the table. “Well, Garble? What do you have to say now?”

Garble looked down with hatred shaking inside him and smoke billowing from his nostrils. “You...I...You see…”

“OBJECTION!”

Everyone gasped as they looked at Ash, smiling confidently.

“Heh,” he chuckled. “Ha, ha, ha!” He slapped his hand against the table. “You tell a good story, Spike, but that’s all you got.”

“What do you mean?” he wondered. “Garble’s clearly hiding something.”

“Tsk, tsk, Mr. the Dragon,” warned the elder dragon. “You’ve weaved for all of us a good story, but you lack the most important thing in court; decisive evidence.”

Garble stood up, albeit still shaking a bit, and glared. “That’s right! Let’s see some evidence there, pony lover!”

Spike slouched over and gulped. “Well, now that you say that…”

Ash banged his gauntlet against the table. “Evidence is everything here in court, Mr. the Dragon. Without it you have nothing; you are nothing without it.”

Garble recompossed himself and flashed a smug smile. “You tell them, old man!” He looked at Spike. “Nice try, you pathetic excuse of a lawyer. Trying to get me involved with something I had no part in.”

“Objection!” yelled Twilight. “But this can’t be ignored! Garble’s story has too many inconsistencies, and he even got the name of the reporter wrong! We demand more testimony from him!”

“Objection!” barked Ash. “What more do you need from him? You can only press him for so long before you run out of options. Any more of your questioning would be a waste of the court’s time, and I won’t tolerate it.”

Twilight froze and shrunk back a little. “What do we do now?” she whispered to Spike.

“I’m trying to think,” answered the drake. “We’re on the right path, but we need to think of something else.”

“How? Master Ash won’t let us question Garble about being in Haytona Beach.”

Spike rubbed his chin, and then something clicked in his head. “Wait a minute. Maybe we don’t have to ask Garble about just being at Haytona Beach.”

Twilight tilted her head. “I don’t get it.”

“Just watch.” Spike turned back and slammed his hands on the table. “Master Ash, you’ve made a good point. We can’t just keep questioning Garble about this.”

Ash raised a suspicious eyebrow. “Where are you going with this?”

“I have an idea,” suggested the drake. “The defense would like to question Garble on his whereabouts before the Haytona Beach incident.”

Garble looked shocked. “My whereabouts? Give me a break! We don’t need to know that! What matters only is what happened at the beach!”

Twilight shook her head. “No, we need to know everything about your movements. We need to determine if you were truly looking out for Lord Ember, or had some other motive.”

“You can’t do this!” Garble looked at Ash. “Come on already! Tell them this is a waste of time!”

“Objection!” Spike pointed at Garble. “I wouldn’t call it a waste of time! I’m sure even Master Ash has figured it out.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“You said earlier that you did this for the good of the Dragon Lands, right? If that’s the case and you were so concerned, why didn’t you ever tell the Dragon Council about this?”

Garble snorted in frustration. “I was going to tell them...eventually.”

Spike shook his head. “Lord Ember, we have reason to believe Garble knows far more than he’s letting on. We demand testimony about what he was doing in Equestria during his so called ‘mission’!”

Garble banged his hand on the stand. “You can’t do this!”

Ember brought the scepter down. “That’s enough! The court’s opinion is this. While the defense has established the possibility of Garble being involved with the fake reporter, they have no direct evidence to prove their claim. However, as I’ve discussed with Master Ash two days ago, Garble’s actions before the Haytona incident needs to be looked at. Especially considering his track record and how he didn’t fill the council in on what he was doing.”

“Hey, I resent–”

“Be quiet, Garble!” ordered Ember. “As I was saying, I do believe we need some more information before consulting with the jury for a verdict. As such, this court will go into a twenty minute recess for both sides to prepare. Before I do so though, I do have one thing to suggest to you, Master Ash.”

“Yes, my Lord?” he inquired.

“I’d advise you encourage Garble here to tell the truth,” she said. “And I would also advise you to start reconsidering your position in this case if you want the truth.”

Ash bowed. “As you wish, Lord Ember.”

Garble growled softly.

Spike wiped his forehead. We made it, for now.

“Court will now adjourn for twenty minutes!” Ember banged the scepter against the ground, and the room started clearing out.

Author's Note

This chapter would've been out sooner, but my prereader/editor has been busy as of late. Still, I'm glad I can finally get this chapter out and finally get the last couple of parts of this story out. Depending on how much I do for the next chapter, the trial could take another one or two parts.

I did try to do a Phoenix Wright-esque vibe to the trial. I know it may not be the best, but I figured I'd have a little fun and try to do something similar to it. Hope you all enjoy regardless!

Trial (Part 2)

Spike threw his head back against the coach and groaned. “Tell me, Twilight. Is this what it feels like to be a lawyer? I feel like we’ve been trying to swim out of quicksand, but no matter what we do, we can’t seem to reach the surface.”

Twilight rubbed her head. “I’ll admit, that was a bit tougher than I thought. Still, we made it through the first hour of that trial and made some progress.”

Spike raised his head and looked shocked. “That was only the first hour!? I feel like this has been going on much longer!”

Rarity smiled warmly. “If it helps, I think you two are doing wonderful out there.”

Spike couldn’t help but smile back. “Thanks, Rarity. I just never expected Master Ash to come in and prosecute. I guess this is the so called ‘surprise’ Garble told me about yesterday.” He looked at Twilight. “So what’s next? We’ve managed to undermine Garble’s story so far.”

“We’ve only started to scratch at the surface, Spike,” said the alicorn. “We need to show Garble was behind everything, and it’s not going to be easy.”

The doors opened up. “Princess Twilight.”

The trio turned around to see Matches and all of their friends walking in.

“You did good out there, Twi,” complimented Applejack.

Twilight smiled back. “Thanks, girls, but we’ve only gotten started. I have a feeling from this point on, it’ll get a lot tougher.” She looked behind the group. “Where are the princesses?”

“Master Ash called them to the prosecution’s lobby to speak with them,” answered Matches. “I figured I’d check in on you two on behalf of them.”

“What did Master Ash want?” wondered Spike.

“No idea,” replied Matches. “I must say though, you two are handling yourselves well against him.”

“Barely,” said Spike. “With how much he keeps pressuring and getting under our skin, I wonder how long we’ll last.”

“That’s one of his best methods,” stated Matches.

“You’ve seen his cases before?” asked Twilight.

Matches nodded. “When I was a kid, my parents would sometimes drag me to court to watch. Master Ash, known as the Silver Knight, was a prosecutor that was respected for his work, but feared in the courtroom. One of his best tactics was getting under the scales of other defense attorneys and make them so frustrated, they’d lose focus and he would use that to his advantage to win.”

“I guess we got to see that up close and personal,” said Spike.

“I’m worried about what’ll happen,” said Twilight. “If he’s already this ruthless to us, it’ll only get worse the more we dig up Garble’s crimes.”

“Maybe or maybe not.”

Spike looked at Matches with a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”

“Master Ash is tough in court, but he does value the truth above all else. When I watched him in court, he always wants to make sure that there’s no doubts left when he takes on a case and get the full truth.”

Spike rubbed his chin. “So if we somehow plant some doubt into Master Ash’s mind, it should then help us.”

“Exactly,” stated Matches, “but I don’t know how he’ll react when it comes to his grandson being the culprit. He may have a hard time believing such a harsh truth.”

“We have no choice,” said Spike. “We need to completely unravel Garble’s story and show Ash the truth.”

“We should probably then start at when he came to Ponyville,” suggested Twilight. She looked at Spike. “Are you sure you saw Garble on the night of the party?”

The drake nodded. “I’m sure of it. That pony I met must’ve been him, and he wanted to get close to Ember.”

“But you still can’t prove that because–” Spike quickly slapped a hand across Pinkie’s face.

Rarity looked alarmed. “What did she just say?”

Spike looked down with an angry expression on him. “Damn it, Pinkie,” he muttered.

“Because we still haven’t connected them yet!” Twilight quickly explained. “We still need to show that before we can finally corner him on that.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow at the forced smile the alicorn had on her, and then looked at Spike. “What’s going on here?”

“Don’t worry about it, Rarity,” assured the drake. “We first need to show everyone of Garble’s other crimes. If we can do that, it should all but make Garble’s ‘heroic’ actions be questioned and doubt the jury.”

Rarity stared suspiciously at Spike. “Okay,” she said, hesitantly, “I’m not sure what’s going on between you and Twilight, but I hope you both have a plan on taking down Garble.”

“Of course we do,” Spike said with a forced smile of his own. Just as soon as we think of one.

“Court is about to reconvene,” announced a guard at the door. “Head back to the courtroom at once for the proceedings to resume.”

Spike sighed. “Guess it’s time again.”

Rarity smiled softly. “Spikey, I appreciate what you and Twilight are doing. Just don’t let Master Ash get to you two. Who knows what else he has up that armor of his?”

“Depending on where this trial goes, I’m not sure what he’ll do next. It’s going to be a tough fight.”

Twilight frowned slightly. Spike couldn’t be anymore right. I just hope Master Ash is ready for the whole truth about Garble.

The courtroom was filled with dragons muttering and talking to each other. Ember raised the scepter and banged it on the ground; silencing the room instantly.

“This court is back in session,” said the dragoness.

“During the recess, I talked to the Royal Sisters of Equestria,” said Ash. “I asked them about the reporter who was attacked.”

Ember raised an eyebrow. “What have you discovered, Master?”

The elderly dragon crossed his arms. “It looks like what the defense said is true. The victim’s name isn’t Front Page after all.”

“Does that mean you’re willing to accept the defense’s claim about Garble being involved?”

Ash scoffed and smirked. “Of course not. Whoever did this most likely had an agenda against you, Lord Ember.”

“Do you have proof?” wondered Spike.

“I could ask the same for you,” Ash shot back. “You claim Garble has some connection to what happened to Printer Press, and you have nothing.”

Spike clenched his fist. He’s right. There’s nothing I can do to prove it.

“Now, when we left off, the defense wanted to question Garble more about where he was in Equestria before the Haytona incident. I’ve made sure though that Garble will tell us the whole truth.” He looked over. “Isn’t that right, boy?”

Spike looked over and saw a rather nervous Garble tugging his collar.

“His confidence has faltered a bit,” said Twilight. “He’s probably realizing his story is starting to fall apart.”

“R–right,” muttered Garble. He looked over and glared. “Spike, you think you’re so smart that you tripped me up a few times. This time, you won’t find any flaws in my testimony.”

Spike narrowed his eyes. “We’ll see about that.”

Ash slammed his hand on the table. “Enough from the two of you! Now, Mr. the Dragon, what is it you want Garble to testify about?”

Spike took a deep breath. “That’s easy. We want to know what he was doing when he first came to Ponyville.”

Ash nodded. “Very well.” He looked at his grandson. “Garble, testify about what you did in Ponyville when you arrived. Remember what I told you though during the recess.”

Garble gulped. “Alright already! You don’t need to say it again!”

Ember banged the scepter. “Now, Garble, testify about your arrival in Ponyville.”

The red drake nodded and cleared his throat. “I followed Lord Ember and Matches secretly after they left.”

“I kept myself out of distance for them to see me because Lord Ember wouldn’t have believed me about wanting to watch out for her.”

“I kept an eye on her in the shadows as she went from that pony princess’ castle to that fashion shop.”

“Then there was this party they had to welcome Lord Ember, but I stayed outside to make sure I didn’t reveal myself.”

“Later, I decided to go back to where I was staying and continue my mission from there.”

Ember closed her eyes. “Hmm...you seem to have perfectly described everything I did on my first day in Equestria.”

Garble smirked. “See? Even Lord Ember can back up my claim. What do you say we start wrapping things up now?”

Spike shook his head. “Not so fast, Garble. I still want to do my cross examination.”

Garble scoffed. “Sheesh! You never give up, do you? Go ahead and see if you can find anything if you can.”

“Proceed with your cross examination, Mr. the Dragon,” ordered Ember.

Spike looked over at Garble and nodded at him.

“I followed Lord Ember and Matches secretly after they left.”

“I kept myself out of distance for them to see me because Lord Ember wouldn’t have believed me about wanting to watch out for her.”

“I kept an eye on her in the shadows as she went from that pony princess’ castle to that fashion shop.”

“Then there was this party they had to welcome Lord Ember, but I stayed outside to make sure I didn’t reveal myself.”

“Hold it!” yelled Spike. “How did you know it was a welcome party if you were outside the castle?”

Garble smirked. “I heard it being talked about from a nearby window. They said it was to welcome Ember to Ponyville.”

“Did you see anything suspicious at the party?”

Garble rubbed his chin. “I tried to keep an eye on Ember, but there were times I couldn’t see her because of the big crowds.”

“Did you see a red pegasus talk to her?”

Garble narrowed his eyes slightly. “A what now?”

“A red pegasus,” repeated Spike. “Did you see one talk to Lord Ember?”

Garble scoffed. “There were so many colorful ponies, it was hard to keep track. You really think I should be paying attention to all of them?”

“If you’re intention was to protect Ember, then you must’ve wanted to know the ponies that talked to her, right?”

“Objection!” bellowed Master Ash. He slammed his fist on the table. “Mr. the Dragon, is there a point to all of this? If there was a pony who presented a threat to Lord Ember, Garble would’ve told us this already, wouldn’t he?”

Spike shrunk back a bit. “Well...when you put it that way.”

Ash shook his head and scowled. “Honestly, is this all your questioning going to be; a waste of this court’s precious time? The only thing you’re so far gaining from this is testing my patience.”

Twilight nudged Spike. “Better drop this line of questioning,” she suggested. “Looks like Garble isn’t going to make it that easy for us.”

“I should’ve known,” he muttered. He looked back at the red drake. “Alright, Garble, go on with your testimony.”

“Later, I decided to go back to where I was staying and continue my mission from there.”

“Hold it!” Spike yelled. “Where exactly were you staying at?”

Garble rolled his eyes. “What does that have to do with anything? Isn’t the party more important than where I was resting?”

“Just answer the question, Garble,” ordered Spike. “We need to know everything about where you were during your time in Equestria.”

The drake growled softly. “Fine. I was staying in some forest near Ponyville. I think it was called the Everfree Forest or something.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “You were staying there, boy?”

“Yeah and what’s it to you?”

Ash narrowed his eyes. “I’ve read and heard a lot of the dangers there. To the citizens of Equestria, it’s considered a dangerous place full of traps, vicious creatures, and even some plants capable of turning others into trees. It would be foolish of you to stay in such a dangerous place.”

Garble waved a hand lazily. “Whatever. I can handle myself. Besides, I don’t think the citizens there would exactly want some strange dragon crashing in their house, right?”

He’s got a point, thought Spike.

“I think we’ve heard enough,” said Ash. “There’s clearly no signs of any contradictions in Garble’s story. He arrived secretly and watched Lord Ember during her welcoming to Ponyville. There’s nothing more to it.”

“Objection!” Spike stood there with a smirk on his face. “Not exactly, Master Ash. There’s something really wrong with Garble’s story.”

The elder dragon furrowed his brow. “I take it you have proof to back up that bold claim of yours?”

Spike nodded. “I have evidence alright.”

Garble looked down and snorted. “Yeah right,” he muttered.

Spike held up a paper and put it on the table. “This is my evidence!” he stated.

Ember raised an eyebrow. “Is that another newspaper?” she wondered.

The drake nodded. “Yes, Lord Ember. This is about another incident very similar to the one at Haytona Beach.”

Ash looked alarmed. “You can’t be serious.”

Spike shook his head. “Oh, I’m serious alright. If you read the paper, you’ll find out the incident took place in none other than the Everfree Forest!”

“What!?” Ash barked.

The courtroom filled with muttering for a couple of seconds. Ember brought her scepter down three times.

“Order in the court!” she barked. Ember looked at Spike. “Mr. the Dragon, explain what happened there.”

“Gladly, your lordship.” Spike held up the paper. “A few days after Ember’s welcome party, there was an incident in the Everfree Forest. A pony named Feather Flight was attacked and was robbed.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “Wait a minute. You said he was robbed? What was taken from him?”

Spike smiled triumphantly. “I’m glad you asked, Master. It’s something you and the Dragon Council should be aware of. Isn’t that right, Garble?”

Garble looked down as smoke slowly billowed out of his nostrils. He muttered something under his breath.

Ash slammed his gauntlet on the table. “Enough waiting! Show us what this evidence is now!”

Spike held up the paper again. “Let’s go back to the article again. Master, why don’t you read it for yourself?”

Twilight used her magic to levitate the paper over to the elder dragon. He snatched the paper and read over it. His eyes widened in surprise and he looked back shocked and furious.

Ash slammed the paper down. “What kind of trickery are you trying to pull here, Mr. the Dragon!?” he bellowed. “If this is your idea of a joke, I’m not laughing!”

Spike shook his head. “I think Master Ash sees exactly what the problem is.” He pointed a finger. “The item that was stolen from Feather Flight was his camera!”

“Argh!” Ash yelled as his armor was hit again.

“No!” Garble shouted. He rose his head up and flames shot out of his mouth.

The room filled with muttering again, but Ember quickly silenced them with one slam from the scepter.

“Order! I will have order!” she boomed. “Mr. the Dragon, what’s going on here?”

“Lord Ember, I was there the day Rarity was arrested,” explained Spike. “I remember hearing you talk to Garble about something he had; a camera.”

Ash closed his eyes. “Come to think of it, I remember Lord Ember questioning Garble about that camera. I believe she said something about how unusual it was for him to have one. Isn’t that right, Lord Ember?”

The dragoness nodded. “That’s right. Garble never did tell us where he got that camera.” She glared at the red drake. “Where did you get that camera, Garble?”

He said nothing as he stared at the ground.

“I think it’s starting to come together now,” said Spike. “A camera being stolen and then Garble shows up with a camera a few days later? There’s no way this isn’t connected.”

“Objection!” yelled Ash. “There’s no direct evidence stating that though. For all we know, this could just be a coincidence and the camera Garble had is different.”

“Objection!” Spike shot back. “The possibility can’t be ignored though! It’s too convenient for Garble to suddenly have a camera shortly after one was stolen. He was even staying in the same place where the attack happened.”

“Objection!” barked Ash. “I’ve heard about the dangers in the Everfree Forest. For all we know, a creature could’ve easily attacked the victim and the camera somehow got lost in the struggle. Besides, you have no direct proof that Garble took the camera anyway.”

Spike groaned in frustration. He looked at Twilight. “We’re so close. Master Ash won’t listen to reason though.”

Twilight smirked. “I got this, Spike.” She turned towards the elder dragon. “Master, we do believe the camera was stolen and Garble used it.”

Ash scoffed. “Tell me, are you as daft as your friend there? You don’t have direct proof Garble stole it. It’s all mere speculation on the defense’s part.”

Twilight crossed her arms. “I wouldn’t say that, Master. The only way to break this gridlock is by looking at the camera itself.”

“What good would that do?” inquired Ash. “There’s nothing suspicious about the camera itself.”

Twilight smiled confidently. “Ah, but there’s one place you haven’t checked yet.” She pointed a finger. “We need to examine the camera film itself!”

Ash looked stunned. “T–the film itself? But the photos Garble gave us came from that camera. Nothing else mattered.”

“Are you sure about that, Master?” wondered Twilight. “Have you checked on what else the camera’s film had?”

Ash said nothing.

Twilight slammed her hands on the table. “The defense requests that the camera film be developed! It could tell us who’s camera it really is!”

“Hold it right there, pony!” objected a furious looking Garble. “I’m not going to let that happen! That camera is mine and mine alone! Who cares about the rest of the camera film anyway? What matters is the photos I got of Rarity attacking Lord Ember!”

Ember brought the Bloodstone Scepter down with a loud boom. “That’s enough, Garble! The defense’s request is granted! Does the prosecution have any objections?”

Ash looked down to hide his expression, but said nothing.

Garble banged the stand in frustration. “Hey, old man! What’re you doing!? Stop this right–”

Ember banged the scepter again. “Guards, take the camera and get that film developed and bring back all the photos immediately!”

The two dragons saluted and ran out of the room.

Ember let out a sigh. “While we wait for the film to develop, perhaps it’s time to ask Garble more about this camera. Master Ash, what’re your thoughts?”

The black dragon said nothing.

Spike raised an eyebrow. “What’s with him?” he asked Twilight. “He’s been silent for a little while.”

“Maybe he’s trying to think about what to do now,” suggested Twilight. “This revelation must be a shock to him after what Garble told him.”

“Master Ash?” Ember asked again.

The elder dragon reached to his side. “AARRGGHH!” He roared furiously. Suddenly, he pulled out a longsword and slammed it against the table with a thunderous boom.

Spike stepped back in fear. Uh, oh.

Twilight yelped in terror. “H–his sword!”

Ash raised his head up with a sadistic smile on his face. “You’re quite the persistent lawyer there, Mr. the Dragon. When I heard you and Princess Twilight were going to take the case, I thought it’d be easy with how green you two are. It appears though I severely underestimated you two.”

He held out his sword and took a deep breath. He blew out a blast of black fire at the sword and slowly moved it up to the top of the blade. The sword itself was soon engulfed in black flame and Ash held it out to Spike and Twilight.

“Behold the flames of fury! The fires of Tartarus are upon you!” he bellowed. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been forced to fight back!”

Spike gulped and shook violently. I–I’m too young to die!

Ash raised his sword and slammed it against the table, causing the flames from the torches to shoot up and intensify for a brief moment. Everyone gasped from the sudden ignition of flames.

Twilight wiped her forehead and tugged her collar. “Is it me, or did it get hotter in here?”

Ash laughed. “Well, Mr. the Dragon and Princess Twilight. Let’s see if you two can survive the fires of Tartarus and see if you can both be forged into true lawyers, or be burnt to a crisp!”

Ember slammed the scepter against the ground. “Master, that’s enough! I won’t have you use your sword like that against the defense!”

Ash placed the blade of the sword in his hand and brought it up and down lazilly. “Relax, my Lord. I was merely letting these two know that playtime is over. If they can’t handle the heat, then they should leave the courtroom now!”

Spike slammed his hands on the table. “N–no!” he shouted nervously. “You will be the one getting burned in the end!”

Master Ash smirked. “Still as defiant as ever I see. We’ll see if you have what it takes though to keep your promise to save Miss Rarity.”

Twilight wiped her forehead. “Be careful, Spike. There’s no telling what Master Ash will do to us now.”

Ember slammed the scepter once more. “Let’s get back to the matter at hand.” She gazed at Garble. “I’ve been very curious about something, Garble. Where exactly did you get that camera?”

He looked down at the floor, but said nothing.

Ember banged the scepter again. “Garble, answer me!”

“It’s just a camera I had!” he argued. “Who cares how I got it!?”

Spike banged the desk. “I think all of us care, Garble. Now where did it come from?”

Garble gulped a little. “Um...I got it somewhere outside of Ponyville. Some travelling merchant or something.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “We’ve never seen travelling merchants on the outskirts of Ponyville.”

“Maybe you aren’t looking hard enough!” Garble snapped.

The large double doors burst open. “Lord Ember!”

The dragoness looked up. “What is it, guard?”

The soldier held up two large envelopes. “We have the film developed and the photos ready. We got copies for both sides”

Ember nodded. “That was fast of them. Let’s see these photos.”

The guard walked down and placed the envelopes on both Ash and Twilight and Spike’s desks. Immediately, both sides opened them and glanced at the photos. They all raised eyebrows as they saw various photos of birds flying in the sky, perched on tree branches, or on the ground.

Ash looked baffled. “What in Tartarus am I looking at?” He glanced at Garble. “Since when did you become a bird watcher? I know in the past you’ve enjoyed hunting them down, not taking photos of them.”

Garble tugged on his collar. “H–hey! I can have a hobby! What’s wrong with me taking on birdwatching?”

Ash just narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

As Spike flipped through another photo, his eyes widened as he gazed at the next picture. He nudged Twilight. “Look at this.”

The alicorn leaned over and her mouth nearly dropped. She slammed her hands on the desk. “Your Lordship, the defense has a problem with this photo!”

Ember nodded. “Let the court see this final photo you have a problem with.”

Twilight held the picture up and narrowed her eyes. “Does this look like a photo of a bird?”

Ash glared and quickly flipped to the last photo. “What the? What is this?”

The last photo showed a blurry red face that was hastily taken.

Ember’s eyes widen. “This must be the attacker who did this. But why does the picture look messed up?”

Spike smirked confidentiality. “Maybe it’s because our thief accidentally took a photo of himself while stealing the camera.”

Garble panted heavily as smoke billowed from his nostrils. “Ergh...you!”

“Objection!” barked Ash. He brought his sword down on the table. “How do we even know if that is this so called thief? For all we know, this could’ve been some bird that flew too close to the camera as it went off!”

“Objection!” yelled Twilight. She shook her head. “That’s not possible, Master Ash. I want you to take a look behind the red blur.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “The blur itself? What about it?”

“Take a closer look behind it and you’ll see what I mean.”

Ash scoffed at her, but looked at the picture again. For nearly a minute, his eyes narrowed and squinted slightly as he looked over the picture. Finally, they shot wide open in surprise.

“Argh! What is this? This can’t be!”

Twilight smirked. “I think the prosecution understands now?”

“Understand what, Princess Twilight?” wondered Ember. “Show the court what’s wrong with this picture.”

Twilight pointed to a place on the picture. “I want you to take a look behind this red blur and you’ll see where Master Ash’s theory falls apart.”

Ember glanced at the photo. Her eyes slowly went over the picture for nearly a minute, but then looked up in shock. “W–what is that!?”

Ember pointed to what was a skinny brown stick behind the blur. “It looks almost like a leg or something.”

Twilight nodded. “That’s because it is a leg. It confirms a piece of evidence I’ve got.”

Ash gritted his teeth. “A piece of evidence? What is the meaning of this!?”

Twilight pulled out a sheet of paper. “Starlight and I went to talk to the victim in the attack, Feather Flight. There were two key facts he told us in his statement. The first being he saw a large creature stand over him before falling unconscious. He saw the flash come from his camera, meaning the thief accidentally took a photo of themselves.”

“And the second thing?” inquired Ash.

“It was the creature himself. He remembered it was large, had jagged wings, and was red.” Twilight pointed a finger. “And who really fits that description the victim gave?”

Garble panted faster and was starting to shake. “Hey! You can’t...I mean…”

“Objection!” barked Ash. “You’re making quite the claim here, Princess Twilight. I still believe though it was a creature that attacked the victim, not Garble.”

“Objection!” Twilight shot back. “Sorry, but that’s not possible. Not when another witness who can tell us more about the incident.”

Ash glared at the alicorn. “Another witness? What evidence do you have of such a claim?”

Twilight pulled out another paper. “This is a statement from Zecora, a zebra who lives in the forest. She says she heard something like laughter, and then a large red blur flew over the sky. No creature in the forest is able to laugh or take photos, but one red dragon here sure fits the description.”

“Objection!” yelled Ash. “This still doesn’t prove Garble was at the scene! For all we know, he could’ve been flying in that area and that zebra just happened to see him!”

“Objection!” yelled Twilight. “That’s not possible, Master. There’s one key piece of evidence that ties him into the scene.”

Ash’s sword was burning with more intensity, but said nothing.

Twilight took out a photo and put it on the desk. “The police did a thorough look over the crime scene and found something interesting; footprints.”

“Footprints?” asked Ash.

Garble tensed up in fear.

Twilight nodded. “They found several footprints around the victim.” She looked down at Garble’s feet. “And I think those shoes are big enough to match the description of the shoe size the police gave. All we have to do is measure Garble’s shoes and see if it’s a perfect fit.”

“Argh!” Ash’s armor was hit again by some force. He leaned over and used his sword to keep himself up. “Garble, you didn’t!”

The drake leaned over the witness stand and gripped it tight enough that it cracked a little.

“Well, Garble?” inquired Twilight. “I’m sure if I ask Feather Flight, he could easily identify you as the one who did this to him?” She pointed a finger at him. “What have you got to say now!?”

Garble raised his head and let out a small column of fire. “NOOO!” he boomed.

The crowd muttered to themselves for a little bit. Ember slammed the scepter against the ground.

“Order! I will have order” Ember looked down. “Garble, explain yourself right now!”

The drake’s panting only got faster and pitch black smoke was billowing from his nose.

“Admit it, Garble!” ordered Twilight. “You’re not getting out of this!”

Garble slammed his fist against the witness stand. “Fine! I admit it!”

Spike looked shocked. “That was easy,” he whispered to Twilight.

“I took the camera off that stupid pony!” explained Garble. “But I did it because I thought he was already dead!”

Twilight leaned over. “Already dead?”

Garble nodded. “I remember hearing some laughter, but by the time I got to where it was, I saw the pony lying on the ground and that camera of his. I thought he was dead, so I just took the camera to use for myself.”

Spike slammed his hands on the desk. “Why didn’t you check to see if he was alive?”

Garble banged his hand against the stand again. “Damn it, Spike! I’m a dragon, not a doctor!” he snarled.

Spike glared at him. “It doesn’t change anything. The fact remains Garble stole the camera. As for his claim about thinking Feather was dead, all we have to do is ask Feather again and he can easily identify Garble as the culprit.”

“Garble,” Ash said in an icy tone. “You’ve lied multiple times in court, stolen a camera, and now a suspect in the attack on Feather Flight. Remember that talk we had during the recess?”

Garble nervously looked away. “T–take it easy, old man! Who cares if I was around at the scene? It still doesn’t change what happened at Haytona Beach. ”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Garble,” warned Spike. “If anything, those footprints you left behind have placed you at another place we visited.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “What?” He brought his sword down and the flames around the room intensified. “Explain yourself, Mr. the Dragon. How do those footprints put him somewhere he was already at?”

“With this!” Spike pulled out another photo. “During Lord Ember’s trip to Equestria, one of the places we went to was the Wonderbolts’ Academy. This picture of footprints is from that same place. Now if were to compare Garble’s shoe with the two sets of footprints there, it’ll prove he was there.”

Ash gripped his sword tightly. “What’s going on here?”

“Stop me if you’ve heard this one, Master,” said Spike. “A pony is attacked and–”

“Wait!” interrupted Ash. “Something was stolen from them?”

Spike nodded. “That’s right. This time, it was clothing again.”

Ash flinched. “Just like the reporter.”

Spike slammed his hands on the desk. “The victim in that case was Sergeant McCloud. He was beaten up, stripped of his clothing, and put in some crate. The only thing he can remember about his attacker was that it was a red figure. Doesn’t that sound familiar?”

Garble looked down and said nothing.

Spike held up a bag. “McCloud was able to fight back briefly and tore off a piece of clothing. It appears to have come from a leather jacket. Now who here is wearing a leather jacket?”

Garble growled and gripped the witness stand.

“Let’s see that leather jacket of yours, Garble. I’m sure it’ll match this piece of your jacket.”

“Not so fast!” objected Garble. He stood up and smirked confidentiality. “I have a new jacket on!” He grabbed it and showed it off. “No tears, no holes, no nothing! I burned that old one to ashes and got this!”

Damn it! Spike cursed to himself. He probably knew about what McCloud did and got rid of the evidence!

Garble snickered coldly. “Better luck next time, Spike.”

Ash crossed his arms. “You’ve put on quite a show, Mr. the Dragon, but I’m afraid this is as far as this goes.”

“But his footprints are there!” argued the drake. “That puts him at the crime scene!”

Ash brought his sword down with a thunderous boom. “For all we know he could’ve left them before the attack on McCloud happened! You have no direct evidence linking Garble to the crime!”

Spike growled in frustration.

“Sorry, Spike, but it looks like it’s game over for you!” Garble said with laughter. “YIKES!” A small column of fire whizzed past his face.

Ash brought his sword down on the table. “Don’t get so carried away, boy!” he barked. “You’re still in a lot of trouble, and now you’ve been found trespassing on a military base! I’m going to see to it personally that you’re punished for your actions!”

Garble grumbled and looked away.

Spike sulked and groaned. “We were so close!” He pounded his fist on the table. “If only there was a way to prove Garble was the one who did it!”

Twilight just smiled. “Not exactly, Spike.” She handed him a picture. “Take another look the footprints and compare them.”

“But–”

“Do it.”

Spike frowned, but looked back at the photo. For nearly a minute, his eyes looked around until something caught his eye. He held back a gasp as his eyes widen.

Ash shook his head. “Heh! What’s wrong, Mr. the Dragon? Finally realizing how hopeless this is?”

The drake shook his head. “Not even close, Master. If anything, Garble’s made a serious mistake.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “Explain yourself.”

Spike held up a second photo. “This is another picture of the crime scene. There’s something very interesting about the footprints here.”

Ash was given both pictures. He looked back at them and gritted his teeth. “What’s the meaning of this?”

Spike slammed his hands on the desk. “As you can see, Master, there’s a big problem with your theory.” He pointed a finger. “Those second set of footprints are walking away from the crime scene!”

“Argh!” yelled Ash. He used his sword to keep himself straight up. “But that’s impossible! What’re a second set of footprints doing here?”

Spike smirked. “That’s because after McCloud was knocked out, his attacker took his clothes and walked off in this direction.”

“Objection!” barked Ash. “That’s damn impossible and you know it! Look at these footprints! There’s clearly a size difference between the two! This doesn’t even prove anything! Garble could’ve easily been at another place while McCloud was attacked!”

“Objection!” Spike shot back. “Don’t you find it a little convenient though, Master? Garble not only snuck into the academy, but was at the same spot McCloud was attacked. The connection can’t be just a coincidence.

Ash banged his fist on the table. “You have no hard evidence! Unless you’ve got something, your theory holds no water!”

Spike rubbed his chin. “Well, what if we did something different to show Garble was involved?”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “Something different? What’re you getting at?”

Spike smiled. “Why don’t we take a look at the footprints walking away from the crime scene?”

Ash glared. “Hmmph! So first you make a big deal out of Garble’s footprints, and now you’re going after those other footprints? You’re getting desperate!”

“We’ll see about that,” vowed Spike. “The defense requests to know the footprints of the figure that walked away.”

Ember nodded. “Any objections, Master Ash?”

The elder dragon scoffed. “If the defense is this damn persistent over something like this, I’ll humor them and allow it only to show how pointless this is.”

Garble looked down as smoke vented from his nose.

Ember brought the scepter down. “Very well. Let’s see if we can get those other set of footprints identified.”

“I’m already on it, Lord Ember.”

Everyone turned up to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna at a balcony.

The solar princess was writing something on a parchment. “Just allow me to finish filling out the order for the Wonderbolts to identify those footprints and send it off.” She rolled up the parchment and in a puff of smoke, the scroll was gone. “Now all we do is wait.”

The room fell silent for a couple minutes as they awaited a response. Ash lazily rose his sword up and down in his hand. Garble just looked down and hid his face. Spike and Twilight both looked at one another with worried expressions on them.

A sudden puff of magic then went off near Celestia. “Ah, that was fast.” She took the scroll and opened it. She levitated the scroll down with her magic. “Let’s see how funny you think this is, Master Ash.”

The scroll appeared in front on him and he snatched it. He looked over it and did a double take. “This has to be a joke! This can’t be happening!”

Ember looked shocked by the reaction Ash had. “What is it, Master?”

The elder drake rose his head and slammed a metal gauntlet on the table. “The footprints. They’re...they’re identical to that of Sergeant McCloud!”

The courtroom muttered among themselves for a minute. Ember brought the scepter down three times.

“Order in the court!” she barked.

Spike slammed his hands on the desk. “This changes everything now, Master! We all know that McCloud was knocked out in the struggle, so these footprints mean that this belonged to the one who attacked and stole his clothing!”

“Objection!” yelled Ash. He brought his sword down on the table and glared at Spike. “You logic makes no sense though! You keep on insisting that Garble was the one who did it, but the fake McCloud was a pegasus! A pegasus! Unless all of Equestria either forgot the difference between dragons and pegasi are or went blind, there’s no way this is true!”

Spike smirked. “Master, there’s something I think you need to realize. I want you to think back to the other crimes we’ve discussed earlier.”

The elder drake tilted his head in confusion. “The other crimes? Why?”

“Think about what the most common thing has been about those crimes,” suggested Spike.

Ash closed his eyes in concentration. “They’ve all involved a red pegasus,” he replied. “The attack on Feather Flight. The assault on Sergeant McCloud. Printer Press being knocked out. All of them involved a red pegasus.” He opened his eyes. “But the assault on Feather wasn’t confirmed if it was a pegasus or not! Where are you going with this?”

Spike slammed his hands on the desk. “All of the attacks have had a red pegasus and Garble was near each of those crime scenes! He’s been involved with each crime!”

“Objection!” yelled Ash. He brought his sword down on the table again. “Wait a minute, Mr. the Dragon! Are you trying to suggest that Garble was not only involved with the attacks on those ponies, but also had an accomplice helping him?”

Spike shook his head. “You know full well how Garble feels about ponies, Master. It’s not possible Garble had anypony helping him.”

“Your logic is flawed then!” the elder dragon argued. “How can you explain the pegasus then?”

Spike cross his arms. “I think we should ask this red pegasus ourselves.”

Ash flinched in surprised. “What did you say?”

“Twilight and I have done some investigating,” explained the drake. “We’ve been able to figure out who exactly this red pegasus is and why he did it.”

Ash narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Where is he?”

“Very close by,” answered Spike.

The courtroom gasped and whispered to themselves.

“The attacker here? Where’s he hiding?”

“Call the guards! He could try to do something against Lord Ember!”

Twilight leaned over into Spike. “Are you sure about this, Spike? You know we don’t have the evidence.”

Spike nodded. “It’s only been a matter of time before we got to this, Twilight. We’ve been able to connect Garble to all the crimes so far. Although we don’t have the crystal itself, I think we got something that could help us connect Garble to it.”

Twilight looked unsure of herself, but nodded anyway. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Spike.”

“Me too, Twilight.”

Ash slammed a gauntlet onto the table. “Enough of this! You’re so confident about who this pegasus is aren’t you? Well I say we match that confidence with the punishment you’ll get if you’re wrong!” He held his sword out towards Spike. “One chance is all this hot shot lawyer gets! If you end up wasting our time, this trial is over!”

Spike gulped nervously.

Ember banged the scepter against the ground. “Mr. the Dragon, for your sake and Miss Rarity’s sake, you better be prepared. Now tell us who this pegasus is.”

Spike narrowed his eyes. I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but things are about to get a lot more interesting. I’ve just got to hope that with what I’ve got, it’ll bring Garble down!

Spike stood up. “When you consider everything about Garble’s whereabouts, him admitting to stealing the camera, and all the same methods used by the criminal, it becomes very clear who our attacker really is.” He pointed a finger. “It’s none other than Garble!”

Garble’s eyes narrowed. “What?” he wondered in an icy tone.

“Objection!” barked Ash. He held his sword up and looked beside himself. “It appears I overestimated you, Mr. the Dragon!” he bellowed. “Here I was thinking I could take you seriously and instead you make a mockery of the courtroom! I should strike you down for this!”

Spike held his hands up in fear. “Whoa! Whoa! Wait a minute! Let me explain!”

“Explain what!?” he roared. “How none of your reasoning makes absolutely no sense!? Do you have some other crackpot theory!?”

Spike slammed his hands on his desk. “Let’s go over this again, Master. The purpose of Lord Ember’s visit was to strengthen ties between the Dragon Lands and Equestria. Ember herself was passing on what I taught her about friendship and vowed to spread it across the Dragon Lands.”

He glanced at Garble, who was looking down and shaking violently. “Then we have Garble, who was not only against this alliance, but hates ponies with a deep passion. Why would him of all dragons, who despises everything about ponies and was against what Ember was trying to do, go and try to protect her?”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “What’re you trying to say?”

“I’ll tell you what it means!” He pointed a finger. “The purpose of Garble following Lord Ember in secret wasn’t to protect her! He wanted to sabotage the visit!”

The crowd muttered amongst themselves again. Ember banged the scepter three times against the ground.

“Order! I will have order!” The dragoness narrowed her eyes. “Master Ash, what do you have to say about this?”

The elder dragon scoffed in defiance. “Nothing. This theory is just a desperate attempt by the defense to try and pin the blame on someone else. Garble may have had his fair share of getting in trouble in the past, but this is impossible!”

“But you know how much Garble despises ponies and this alliance,” said Spike.

“So do a lot of other dragons. Are you going to accuse each and every one of them then of sabotaging the visit? It’s a very weak motive to propose Garble intentionally sabotaged the visit!”

“Put the pieces of this puzzle together, Master,” urged Spike. “All the attacks that happened on those ponies had the same M.O.; they’re attacked and robbed of something.” He pointed at a furious looking Garble. “Garble did the same thing to Feather Flight! He even admitted he took the camera! Do you really think with all the same locations he was at and all the contradictions in his testimonies that he wasn’t involved?”

“ARGH!” Ash flinched as his armor was dented. He looked up and gritted his teeth. “You can’t just say though that his hatred for the alliance between Equestria and the Dragon Lands is enough motive! As I said before, many dragons are against it too!”

“Objection!” yelled Spike. He shook his head. “Have you forgotten something Garble said earlier, Master? Remember when he walked into this room and you asked for his name and occupation? What did he say?”

“What did he say?” the elder dragon wondered. He said nothing for a moment, but then his eyes widen in realization. “Wait! He said ‘your future Dragon Lord’.”

Spike nodded. “When Ember became Dragon Lord, it meant Garble had lost his chance. Since some dragons don’t trust ponies still, Garble used that to his advantage when he decided to ruin the visit.”

“But that only raises more questions!” argued Ash. “How exactly would this help him?”

Spike smirked. “Master, I’m surprised at you. I’m sure even you must know it by now with those photos Garble gave you.”

The elder dragon grunted in frustration.

“If a dragon was able to show that a pony attacked the Dragon Lord, it would destroy the alliance,” reasoned Spike. “Not only that, but the dragon who made others think ponies hated dragons and attack their leader would receive praise from the other dragons. They believe that someone who was willing to look out for their fellow dragons was more worthy of a leader than one who tried to become friends with ponies.”

Spike pointed his finger and waved it around the room. “You heard every dragon in here, right? How they chanted for Garble, cheered him, and praised him like he was a hero.” He glanced at Ash. “Tell me, Master. Do you think that’s not a good enough motive?”

The drake’s eyebrows narrowed. “Are you meaning to tell me this was all a plan for him to just take power and become Dragon Lord?”

Spike nodded again. “His purpose all along on his so called ‘mission’ was never to protect Lord Ember, but to instead make other dragons not trust her leadership as Dragon Lord!”

Ash slammed a gauntlet on the table. “Only the Dragon Council though can decide whether a fellow dragon is unfit to be the Dragon Lord! Even if your so called theory holds up, Garble wouldn’t become Dragon Lord unless we decide that Lord Ember wasn’t fit to lead!”

Spike crossed his arms. “And what would you’ve done, Master?”

The elder dragon raised an eyebrow.

“Would you’ve done it?” inquired Spike. “Were you and the rest of the council prepared to force Ember to step down after what happened?”

Ash scowled. “We weren’t even going to discuss such a thing until after the trial was over. Even if there wasn’t one, it’s hard to say what would’ve happened.”

“But it’s a possibility,” said Spike. “If you did force Ember to step down, the other dragons would’ve let Garble become the new Dragon Lord. Then, Garble would’ve finally been in a position to do what he wanted. His so called ‘heroism’ would’ve been enough reason for the other dragons to follow him.”

“Objection!” barked Ash. He took several deep breaths. “This is all baseless though! You have no evidence pointing to him stealing the crystal, or anything to prove he sabotaged the visit!”

“Hold it!” yelled Spike. “I wouldn’t say that yet, Master. We can prove Garble had a way to ruin the trip.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “You...can?”

Garble looked down and growled.

“All you need to do is ask Rarity,” suggested Spike. “She can tell you about how he listened in on a conversation between her and Lord Ember.”

“W–WHAT!?” Ash exploded.

The audience muttered amongst themselves.

Ash looked at Ember. “This is insanity! Why didn’t you tell me you met with the accused, Lord Ember!?”

“I wanted to finally make amends with Rarity,” replied the dragoness. “I was going to tell you all eventually, but not until the time was right. If you want proof I did so, you can ask the guards down in the detention center to confirm my story.”

“What happened in that meeting!?” demanded Ash.

“Rarity and Ember finally made up in that meeting,” answered Spike. “However, Garble ended up listening in on the meeting and ‘confessed’ about what he did.”

Ash looked shocked. “Confessed!?”

Spike nodded. “He bragged about everything he did from the crystal theft and even admitted he knew about the love triangle between me, Rarity, and Ember.”

Ash grunted in frustration.

“Now let’s look over the case again,” said the drake. “Garble somewhere during his trip in Equestria learned of the feud between Rarity and Ember and used that to his advantage. He steals a camera from another pony. He then uses it to take photos to show every dragon here that ponies and dragons couldn’t get along and to make Ember looks bad for wanting to be friends with ponies.”

“Objection!” yelled Ash. “This...this is impossible! I’ve heard some really insane claims, but yours takes the cake, Mr. the Dragon!”

“Objection!” Twilight shot back. “Why don’t you ask Lord Ember herself then about what happened? She can tell you the same thing that Spike just said.”

“You can also ask Rarity,” suggested Spike. “Both of them can confirm what Garble did.”

Ash tried to say something, but couldn’t find the words.

Spike pointed a finger. “Garble, it’s over now! Why don’t you give up now and admit that you did this all! Your testimonies are unreliable, you’ve been to every crime scene in Equestria, and you’ve even admitted to stealing the camera!” He slammed his hands on the table. “Well, Garble? You’ve got nowhere to go now! It’s time–”

“OBJECTION!” bellowed a contorted, furious voice.

Everyone shook as the voice echoed throughout the room. They all looked down at the witness stand and saw Garble looking down and shaking violently.

“Spike,” he said in a low, icy tone. “You think you’ve figured it out. You think you’re so smart with what you’ve done. It would actually be hilarious to think you’ve won, but there’s one problem.”

Garble’s head shot up and had a demonic look on him and a fire in his eyes. “You haven’t won by a longshot, pony lover!”

He took a deep breath and looked up. Suddenly, he let out a large spew of fire that rained down around him. Some in the audience cried in surprise. Ember looked on in shock and awe. Twilight and Spike stood there paralyzed; unsure about what to do. The fire continued going down around Garble until it hid him completely under a small dome.

A minute later, the fire dome slowly started to die out and Garble emerged from it. Everyone gasped as they looked upon him. The drake had a fiery aura around him, with his jacket covered in flames. His eyes were completely yellow, with no pupils at all. His panted heavily and flames shot out of his nostrils. His facial expression was demonic and his sharp teeth glistened.

Twilight gulped and stepped back. “H–he’s completely changed!”

The crowd around the room chattered as fear and panic started to descend into the courtroom. Ember banged the scepter constantly.

“Order!” she cried out. “I will have order! If there’s no order, Master Ash won’t be happy!”

The elder drake just looked on in shock.

Spike shook his head. “Even Master Ash can’t believe what just happened.”

“Spike!” barked Garble.

The drake flinched in fear. “W–what?”

“You think you can just accuse me, of all dragons, of doing all of this!?” he boomed. “You think it’s funny to try to make me look like the bad guy here!? This isn’t funny anymore, you damn pony loving bastard!”

Spike slammed his hands on the table. “I don’t find it funny either with what you did, Garble. You’ve hurt a lot of ponies and dragons just to get what you want.”

“You think you can do this, huh?” asked Garble in an icy tone. “You’re making a fool out of me, Spike. I’ve had more than enough of you constantly making me out like I’m some sort of big criminal! Since you’re so determined to make me out as the bad guy, let me ask you a few things about your half assed theory!”

“W–what?”

“First of all, what proof do you have that I was ever in that meeting with Lord Ember and Rarity?” he wondered. “They may say the same story, but how do we know they didn’t come up with this plan to try to frame me!?”

Spike didn’t say anything.

“Secondly,” continued Garble, “can you even prove I was there? Did a guard see me at the Detention Center?” He brought his hand down with a thunderous boom on the stand. “Bring me the guard that saw me there! Have him testify!”

Spike groaned in frustration. “Well, what about how you came into the courtroom earlier? You said you were the ‘future Dragon Lord’!”

“Objection!” barked Garble. “Ha! You really think I did this all to ruin Lord Ember? The reason I said I was the next Dragon Lord was because after what happened to her in Equestria and this stupid trial ends up being a waste of time, she’ll be so disgraced by what she did, she’ll have no choice but to step down!”

Spike banged his hand on the table. “But we’ve proven you’ve been at all the crime scenes! You’re connected to all of them!”

“Objection!” Garble shouted again. He laughed coldly. “I admit I took the camera, but you already know why I did it. As for what happened to that reporter and that stupid pegasus, I don’t know who did that. You’ve got no evidence to show I did it anyway!”

Spike felt his heart nearly stop.

Garble smiled sinisterly. “Oh, but here’s my final question to you, Spike. One I really want to hear an answer from you about.”

Spike gulped a little. “What is it?”

“Where’s the crystal?”

The drake didn’t say anything.

Garble chuckled. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t you? You claim I have that crystal, but like I told you yesterday, I don’t have it on me. So do you mean to tell me you found it?”

Spike said nothing again.

Garble banged his hand on the stand again. “I’ll ask again, you pony loving bastard!” he bellowed. “WHERE. IS. THE. CRYSTAL!?”

The words rung out around the room and made everyone shiver. Spike tried to think of something to say, but his thoughts were scrambled. He just stared at the intimidating glare Garble was giving him and shrunk back a little.

He looked at Twilight with a remorse on him. “Twilight, I’m sorry. I thought maybe if we could just use logic and try to connect some evidence about the crystal, it would bring Garble down.”

Twilight forced a small smile. “Spike, I knew this was going to be difficult without the crystal. To be honest, I’m not even sure how we could’ve done it.”

“Enough!”

Twilight and Spike looked over to see Master Ash had regained his senses and looked furious.

“It’s obvious from the lack of an answer from the defense they don’t have, or know, where the crystal is. This whole line of logic has been nothing more than a farce by the defense to throw the blame on someone else for two crimes!”

“Objection!” yelled Spike in desperation. “Master, look at Garble!” He pointed at the fuming drake. “You can’t tell me from that reaction that he’s innocent!”

Ash looked at Garble for a moment and then said, “Guards! Take Garble out of here to the lobby to calm himself down!”

Two dragons flew down and grabbed Garble by the arms.

“Let me go damn it!” protested Garble. “I want to see Spike beaten and have no choice but to accept that he was wrong!”

“Enough, boy!” barked Ash. “Your actions here will be answered later on, but you’re obviously unfit to stand here at the moment! Now go or you’ll be held in contempt of court!”

Garble growled as the flames around him died a little. The two guards started to drag him away.

“Spike!”

The drake looked up to see Garble smiling sinsterly at him.

“I knew you had no chance of winning,” he said, smugly. “When I become Dragon Lord, I won’t forget what you tried to do to me. That much I promise.”

Spike looked down at the ground.

The guards dragged Garble out and the doors slammed shut.

Ash brought his sword down on the table. “I think this has gone on long enough,” he declared. “The defense has failed to prove their client innocent, and on top of that, they try to pin the blame on my own grandson! It’s time for a verdict!”

“Mr. the Dragon,” said Ember, nervously. “Do you have any last objections or evidence?”

Spike slowly shook his head in defeat.

Ember closed her eyes in frustration. Damn you, Garble.

Ash banged his sword against the table again. “No objections from the defense!” He pointed his sword at Rarity. “The defendant will surrender herself to the court at once!”

Rarity looked on in horror and tried to hide herself. Both Twilight and Spike looked down in shame and defeat as they heard their friend cry out in terror.

Rarity...Ember, I’m sorry, Spike thought to himself.

“HOLD IT!”

Everyone gasped again as they looked at the stand. Twilight and Spike looked over and were both shocked to see who was at the witness stand.

It was Matches.

“You can’t end this trial here!” he objected. “Not while I know something about the case!”

The audience muttered to themselves for a few moments. Ember brought the scepter down three times.

“Order!” she shouted.

“Objection!” Ash brought his sword down on the table. “This trial is all but over! Get off the stand this instance before I have you arrested for contempt of court and obstruction of justice!”

Matches’ eyes narrowed. “No.”

“What!?”

“I can’t, Master. Not while I know something vital to this case.”

“What are you talking about?”

Matches looked up. “I know what happened to the magic crystal that went missing! Garble destroyed it!”

“ARGH!” Ash’s suit was bashed in.

The audience muttered and gasped as the accusation rang out around the room.

“Listen to me, Matches!” ordered Ash. “I won’t allow you to make the same baseless accusations the defense has been throwing out! Leave the stand at once and I’ll go easy on you.”

Matches scoffed. “Do your worst, Master.”

The elder drake looked shocked.

“I’ve got nothing to lose anymore, Master,” he said. “My career in the guard is ruined by this whole incident, I’m seen as a disgrace to others, and I’ve suffered at the hands of the interrogators at the Detention Center. There’s nothing more you can do to me now. I won’t leave this stand until I finally tell you what I saw Garble do with that crystal.”

Ash scowled. “Matches, I admit that maybe I shouldn’t have lost my composure like that. What if I were to offer you a chance back in the guard if you step down and retract your ridiculous statements?”

Matches looked at Ash with disgust. “Never.” He pointed at the elder dragon. “You know, Master, I watched you as a kid in this very same courtroom. I remember you always valued the truth above all whenever you prosecuted a case. You never left any stone unturned.”

The elder drake stared at Matches.

“I know Garble is your grandson, and despite how he is, you still care for him,” he went on. “I know you probably don’t want to accept the truth that he did it, but you know deep down that whatever story he told you isn’t true. There’s far too many inconsistencies and questions to his story.”

“The defense has no–”

“Forget the evidence for a moment, Master,” interrupted Matches. “Think logically. After what you’ve seen and heard, do you still believe that Garble is innocent? All the inconsistencies, him admitting he took the camera, and as Spike pointed out, look how he reacted. When Spike put pressure on Garble about all the events, he exploded and lashed out. Do you really think Garble is still innocent, or are you trying to deny something that you don’t want to believe?”

Ash leaned forward. “Even if what you’re saying is true, why did you follow him?”

“I told him to, Master,” answered Ember.

The courtroom filled with gasps and muttering.

Ash looked like he was about to explode. “Lord Ember, what’s the meaning of this!? How can you send a former member of the Dragon Guard to do something like this!?”

“I’ll explain everything, Master,” said Ember, calmly. “What I will say is that I’ve long since had my suspicions about Garble’s true intentions. Suspicions you ignored the day you arrested Rarity and refused to listen to me.”

Ash jerked back and shook a little.

“Master,” said Matches, “Lord Ember’s telling the truth. She did ask me to help her out. All I ask for is one chance to testify about what I saw.”

The elder dragon looked down and said nothing.

“Master,” stated Matches in a stern tone, “you have a choice. You can either believe a comfortable lie, or you can face the harsh truth. You told Lord Ember to put aside her personal feelings for the trial, and now you should too!”

The room fell silent and tension filled the air. Spike and Twilight looked on nervously as they stared at Master Ash. Ember closed her eyes and hoped for the best. Matches continued staring at Ash as he waited.

Finally, the silence broke as Ember said said, “Since Master Ash seems unwilling to answer, my opinion is this. It’s important that we hear from every witness to prevent a wrongful conviction. I think before we ask the jury, we should hear from Matches.”

Ash rose his head up, looking somewhat defeated. “Very well, Lord Ember. The prosecution will hear from him.”

Spike couldn’t help but let out breath of relief. Twilight soon followed after him.

“However,” warned the elder dragon, “I should warn the defense this. If there’s no way to connect Garble to the crystal incident through this testimony, I will bring this trial to an end.”

Spike nodded. “We understand, Master.”

Ember banged the scepter against the ground. “We’ll take a thirty minute recess.” She looked down. “Master Ash, Matches, I’ll want to see the both of you in my chamber. Master, I’ll tell you everything about why I sent Matches to spy on Garble.”

Ash bowed. “Yes, my Lord.”

Matches bowed too. “Yes, Lord Ember.”

“Guards,” continued the dragoness, “check on Garble and make sure he’s cooled off. We may need to speak to him again depending on where this goes.”

The two dragons near the door saluted.

Ember brought the scepter down. “This court is adjourned!”

Spike had his hand over his racing heart and leaned back against the couch. “Whew...that was too close.”

Twilight shook her head. “I feel like several years of my life were taken from me from what happened. I’m just glad Matches decided to step in. This could be the big break we’ve been waiting for.”

“Looks like Matches was able to appeal to Master Ash’s desire for justice. Matches does have a point. I think he already knows something’s wrong with what Garble told him. It’ll be hard for Ash, but he’ll have to see what Garble really did.”

Twilight nodded. “It’s just a matter of showing Master Ash proof that Garble destroyed the crystal. I don’t know how, but we’ve got to prove Garble destroyed the crystal.”

“Spike,” a sorrowful voice whispered.

The drake felt a wave of regret wash over him. He looked over and saw a distraught Rarity.

“Why didn’t you tell me the truth about the crystal?” she wondered.

Spike frowned. “Rarity, Twilight and I thought if we told you, it would only make you feel worse. To be honest, I knew that we’d have to say something about it eventually, but we just didn’t want to make you more worried than you already are. I’m sorry we lied to you, Rarity, but we didn’t know what else to tell you.”

Rarity nodded slowly. “I understand, darling, but you don’t have to hide such things from me. What I want to know though if it’s true Garble did destroy the crystal.”

“Yes,” Twilight answered. “Matches told us about how he did it to prevent anyone from connecting him to the crimes.”

Spike grimaced. “Maybe I shouldn’t have confronted Garble about the crystal. I probably made him go over the edge and destroy it.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Spike,” said Rarity. “Ember and I saw the crystal when Garble dropped it. Even if you didn’t say anything, Garble probably thought Ember would be onto him and would destroy it either way.”

The drake shrugged. “Maybe you’re right. I’m just more worried now what he’ll try to do. After that outburst, he’s getting desperate to try to end this trial as fast as possible.”

“The only question is how far will he go?”

“I have no idea,” said Spike. This trial is about to come to an end soon, and there’s no telling what’ll happen now. There’s no telling what Garble will do now. If we don’t do something soon, or find some way to connect Garble to the crystal being destroyed, it’s all over. Matches, we’re counting on you to help us.

Author's Note

I'm sorry this one took out longer to get out than it should've been. A combination of laziness, work, and other stuff going on with me just prevented me from making much on this chapter. I know that's not much of an excuse, but I'm sorry again it took so long. I've also been thinking about how to make this chapter progress and see where to take it. I assure you the next part is the last part of this trial. Hope you all enjoy regardless!

Endgame

The crowd was chattering as usual in the courtroom for a couple of minutes. Ember then slammed the Bloodstone Scepter onto the ground and silenced the room.

“Court shall resume now,” she announced. She glanced over. “Master Ash, is the witness ready?”

The elder dragon crossed his arms and looked way. “Yes, my Lord. Before we do so, I still have my reservations about this. We’re going off testimony from someone you sent to follow Garble.”

Ember nodded. “I understand, but we have to listen to all witnesses before passing judgement.”

Ash said nothing.

“I’m sure you’re also unsure about this because of what Matches said to you about Garble. He does have a point, Master. Regardless of your personal feelings for Garble and how he’s family, you have to put it aside so the truth can be shown to everyone here.”

The elder dragon nodded solemnly. “I understand, my Lord.” He looked over and said, “Matches, come forward!”

The green dragon walked up to the stand and looked determined.

“Matches, you were sent on a mission by Lord Ember to spy on my own grandson,” said Ash. “You do understand that should what you claim is the truth ends up being nothing more than a waste of time will result in dire consequences for you, correct?”

Matches nodded. “I understand, Master. I’ve got nothing to lose at this point, and I assure you and everyone in this courtroom what I’m about to say is the truth.”

Ash said nothing again.

Ember banged the scepter against the ground. “Matches, your testimony please. Tell us exactly what happened on your mission.”

The drake nodded. “Yes, my Lord. I was following Garble around by order of Lord Ember. She believed that he was the one who sabotaged her trip to Equestria and wanted me to find evidence proving so I kept following him until he went to his house next to Brimstone Lake. I listened in on him until he came back outside and walked towards the lake and followed him until he reached the lake and he pulled out a crystal. He said he was going to get rid of the last bit of evidence to connect him! There was nothing I could do as he laughed loudly and threw the crystal into the lake, so I ran back to the castle to inform Spike and his friends.” Matches looked a little disappointed. “That’s all that happened. I wish I could’ve reacted faster to stop Garble.”

“Your Lordship,” said Ash. “I decided to bring a map around my grandson’s house.” He held up three pieces of parchment paper. “They show the area around his house and the edge of Brimstone Lake nearby. I’d like to submit this as evidence.”

Ember nodded. “Very well. This court accepts this into the record.”

Two guards flew over and handed a copy of the map to Ember and Spike. The drake looked over the map and saw a house with a small opening on the side and a lake to the right of Garble’s place.

“I guess that opening must mean it’s a window,” said Twilight as she looked over.

“Tell me, Matches,” said Ash. “Did you get a good look at the crystal and what it looked like?”

“To be honest, it was pretty hard to see,” he replied. “There were very few hiding places between Garble’s house and the lake. So I had to mostly crouch to keep myself out of Garble’s sight. What I did see was something that did look like a crystal in his hand.”

“What color was it?” asked Ash.

“Red,” he answered. “I remember it being red.”

The elder dragon hesitated for a moment before saying, “I see.”

“I believe it’s time for the cross examination now,” said Ember. “Mr. the Dragon, please–”

“Hold it!” barked Ash. “This trial has been going on for a long time now, and it’s so far been relying on a lot of wasting the court’s time with crazy theories from the defense.”

“Hey!” objected Spike. “They’re not–”

Ash slammed his sword on the table. “I’ve already warned you if nothing fruitful comes from Matches’ testimony, I would bring this trial to an end. That’s why I don’t want you two to stall any further. No useless questions, just find any contradictions or drag out further information.”

Spike nodded. “I understand.”

Ember cleared her throat. “Now then, Mr. The Dragon, your cross examination please.”

Spike nodded and looked over at Matches. The green drake nodded back at him as he knew what he had to do.

“I was following Garble around by order of Lord Ember.”

“She believed that he was the one who sabotaged her trip to Equestria and wanted me to find evidence proving so.”

“I kept following him until he went to his house next to Brimstone Lake.”

“Hold it!” yelled Spike. “Matches, there’s something I do want to know about who was there.”

“What do you mean?” he wondered.

“Yesterday when I talked to Garble, there was another dragon with him. Was there anyone else around with Garble when he went home?”

Matches rubbed his chin, and then it hit him. “That’s right! There was another dragon who was with him.”

Spike leaned forward. “Who was it?”

“Objection!” yelled Ash. “I told you no useless questions! What do you hope to gain from who Garble was with?”

“Objection!” Spike yelled back. “I talked to Garble myself yesterday and there was another dragon he was with. If he followed him home, then this should help confirm Matches’ claims!”

Ember brought the scepter down. “Objection overruled, Master. I too saw Garble with another dragon when he talked to Spike yesterday.” She looked over. “Mr. the Dragon, continue with your questioning.”

Spike nodded. “Matches, who was it? Who was with Garble at his place?”

Matches thought for a moment and then snapped his fingers. “Fizzle! I saw Fizzle with him!”

The audience muttered to each other, but Ember quickly slammed her scepter down. “Order!” she commanded. “Matches, please go on.”

“When I saw Garble and Fizzle talking to each other, I remember Fizzle asked Garble about what Spike said to him. Garble suddenly got angry and told him not to say anything.”

“Objection!” barked Ash. He slammed his fist on the table. “How do we know this isn’t another insane theory of the defense? For all we know, this is all a fabrication to stall for more time.”

“Objection!” Spike shot back as he pointed a finger. “Remember, Master Ash, that I spoke to Garble yesterday and I saw Fizzle with him.”

Ember nodded. “I saw them too when I was passing in the courtyard. Objection overruled, Master.”

The elder dragon growled softly. “Well what makes you think he’s connected?”

Spike slammed his hands on the desk. “Why don’t we ask him ourselves?” He looked around. “Is Fizzle here?”

Matches rubbed his chin. “I think I saw him sitting not too far from me. He was like two rows below where I sat.”

Ember slammed her scepter against the ground. “Fizzle! Come forward right now!”

The white dragon cautiously stood up and gulped nervously as every eye in the courtroom fell upon him. He flew down the witness stand and approached it as Matches stepped away. He walked up to the stand and looked up to be met by Ember’s stern gaze, which only made him more nervous.

“Fizzle,” said Ember, “did you hear everything that was just said?”

“Y–yes, Lord Ember,” answered Fizzle in a shaky tone.

“Then is what Matches said true? Were you there at Garble’s place that night?”

Fizzle said nothing and looked down.

Ember slammed the scepter down. “Fizzle, it’s important that we know what happened that night. Now tell us what happened between you and Garble that night.”

The white drake gulped. “I...I...I can’t.”

Ember raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean you can’t?”

Fizzle rubbed the back of his head. “Well, I mean, it’s just that nothing really happened that night. I asked Garble if wanted to do some lava surfing, but he didn’t want to go. That’s it.”

“Hold it!” shouted Spike. “Fizzle, that’s not true and you know it.”

The white dragon froze up.

“Listen to me, Fizzle,” ordered Spike. “You were with Garble up until he went home. You must know something wasn’t right with Garble after I talked to him. You saw how quickly his mood changed when I brought up the crystal.

Fizzle scoffed. “You just made him upset because you were trying to accuse him of something he didn’t do. Of course he’s going to be angry.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that, Fizzle? After how Garble acted yesterday do you really believe that?”

“Well...I…”

He leaned forward. “Fizzle, you’ve seen everything that’s happened here today. You know something’s been wrong with Garble.”

Fizzle narrowed his eyes. “That’s because you’re trying to make him look like a criminal. He saved Lord Ember from what that pony did. He’s looking out for us dragons.”

Spike grumbled to himself. “We’re not getting anywhere,” he whispered to Twilight. “How can we get him to tell us?”

Twilight rubbed her chin. She then snapped her fingers. “Fizzle, let me ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“If you believe Garble is looking out for other dragons, why is he then threatening you?”

Fizzle opened his mouth to respond, but couldn’t find the words.

“I know you may think Garble is looking out for other dragons and is a friend to you, but after what you’ve seen and how he’s treated you, can you be sure of that?”

Fizzle scoffed. “I don’t do friendship. I just follow Garble because he’s a good leader.”

Twilight smirked. “Ah, but don’t friends follow one another like you do with Garble? You hang out with him and do stuff together. Whether you want to admit it or not, you already have a grasp on friendship.”

“Uh...well…” Fizzle tugged his shirt collar.

“And you know that deep down, Garble’s been acting strange since he showed those photos. If you want to look out for other dragons like you think Garble is doing, then you’ve got to tell us the truth. If not, then nobody here will ever learn the truth about what happened.”

Fizzle gulped a little. “Well...I…”

“Fizzle.”

He looked up at Ember.

“I know you’re probably afraid of what Garble may do to you if he finds out you talked, but I promise you that I’ll do what I can to protect you. Unlike Garble, I do look out for other dragons and want to protect them. If you know something, this is the only chance you’ll get to say something.”

Fizzle felt a sharp pain and rubbed his stomach. He remembered the punch Garble delivered to it and the nasty expression he gave him. He glanced over at Spike who gave him a bit of a sympathetic look. He looked down and thought to himself. The room fell silent as everyone had their eyes on Fizzle and waited to hear what he had to say.

His mouth muttered something incoherent.

Spike raised an eyebrow. “What did you say?”

Fizzle looked up and frowned. “What...what Matches said is true. I was with Garble up until I went to his house.”

The crowd muttered amongst themselves.

Ember slammed the scepter on the ground. “Order!” she bellowed. “Fizzle, please continue.”

He nodded. “I did notice something has been off with Garble for a while now. Ever since what Spike asked him about Lord Ember visiting that pony, he’s been...hot headed to say the last, or more so than usual.”

“How so?” wondered Twilight.

“Garble can get angry, and I mean really angry,” said Fizzle. “Whenever I asked him about what him and Spike talked about, he told me not to talk about it and not to say anything about it. I didn’t think much beyond that, but after what I’ve been hearing today and what I saw yesterday, I’ve had some second thoughts.”

Spike slammed his hands on the table. “This proves it! Fizzle has confirmed what Matches has said!” He pointed a finger. “The defense would like to call Garble back to the stand!”

“Objection!” Ash slammed a hand on the table. “Fizzle has confirmed only half the story! We don’t have any other witnesses who saw Garble supposedly destroy the crystal; much less have proof he’s the thief!”

“Yet his story matches most of what Matches said!” argued Spike. “With what’s been proven so far, this is something worth questioning too! Garble’s been at the center of this whole thing, and after all the lies he’s told, what’s to say he isn’t lying about the crystal too?”

“GAH!” Ash’s armor was dented. He leaned forward and panted a little. “This...this can’t be though. It just can’t be.”

Ember brought the scepter down. “Enough! The defense has made a point. Most of Matches’ story collaborates with what Fizzle has told us. Master Ash, you’re to bring Garble back here at once for further testimony.”

She looked down. “Fizzle, I know you were hesitant to talk about this, but know that I will remember this. Once this is all over, I’ll reward you for coming forward with this information. This much I promise you.”

Fizzle blushed a little. “Th–thank you, Lord Ember,” he said as he bowed.

Ember turned to the right. “Master Ash, I want you to bring Garble in at once for more testimony.”

Ash looked almost furious, but nodded anyway. “I shall do so at–urk!” He leaned over the table.

“Master Ash?” asked Ember, sounding concerned. “Are you alright?”

He held up a hand and raised his head. He let out a flame and a scroll popped up in the air. Ash snatched the scroll in his claw. He looked at the black seal on the scroll and raised an eyebrow.

“What’s that?” wondered Spike.

“Since the theft in the vault, I’ve been asking the investigation team to keep me informed of any new information,” explained the elder dragon. “They usually bring me reports to my desk or when I’m looking over the scene, but I’ve never gotten one yet through dragon mail.”

“Why would they do that now?” asked Twilight.

“No idea, princess,” replied Ash. “This must be urgent to send me a report like this.”

He broke the seal and unfurled the scroll. His eyes slowly moved down the scroll. Spike and Twilight looked on as they saw Ash’s face change expressions from anger to a look of shock.

Ash slammed the scroll on the table. “What is the meaning of this!? This can’t be right!”

“Master?” inquired Ember.

“What was in that report?” wondered Twilight.

“It appears...we’ve been deceived.”

“What?” asked Spike.

Ash raised his head up. “This report...it says that more crystals were stolen than previously thought!”

“Wh–WHAT!?” Spike stepped back in surprise.

The crowd muttered amongst themselves.

Ember repeatedly slammed the scepter down. “Order! I will have order at once!” She looked at Ash. “Master, what exactly is going on here?”

The dragon shook his head. “I...I don’t know to be honest, my Lord. This report has told me that more magic crystals. Apparently, an investigator was walking through the vault when he noticed something from behind a crate that looked like a scroll. Upon closer look, he found several more scrolls and some broken wooden chests.”

“Chests?” asked Twilight.

“Yes,” replied Ash, “it’s where we keep our magic crystals and knowledge of magic on each scroll stored in those chests. All the small chests were broken and all the crystals were stolen.”

“Which means our thief was only concerned about the crystal and wanted to get it quickly,” reasoned Twilight.

“From what they’ve gathered so far, it looks like six chests in total were stolen and broken into. Once all the crystals were taken, the remains look like they were hastily hidden behind the crate.”

“Why didn’t they find this sooner when the first crystal was reported missing?” asked Ember. “Some other dragon had to have noticed those chests missing.”

“Once it was discovered the transformation crystal was stolen, it became the top priority to find it immediately,” explained Ash. Inventory had just begun anyway and most of the chests containing magic crystals hadn’t been inspected when the theft was reported. The transformation crystal was one of the first to be looked at, and once it was gone, all focus shifted on locating it.”

“Was there anything else about the report?” asked Twilight.

Ash looked at the scroll. “It appears there’s one thing that’s come to light. A patrol was preparing to pass around that area and heard something strange like a cracking.”

“Cracking?” asked Spike.

“When they went to go look, they saw nothing, but one guard stated they could’ve sworn a silhouette. They did another check, but never found any dragon in the vault.”

“When was this?” wondered Spike.

Ash looked at the scroll again. “It happened a few hours after Lord Ember announced her plan to go to Equestria.”

The crowd muttered to themselves again.

Spke slammed his hands on the desk. “Master Ash, were all dragons summoned for Lord Ember’s announcement to go to Equestria?”

The elder dragon raised an eyebrow. “With the exception of some guards patrolling the castle, yes. All dragons were ordered to attend.”

Spike looked over, “Fizzle, one more question!”

The drake looked surprised. “W–what?”

“Was Garble with you at all after Lord Ember’s announcement?”

Fizzle scratched his head. “He...he wasn’t actually. He wanted to stay behind a little longer.”

Spike’s eyes widened. He looked up. “Lord Ember, I believe we need to search Garble’s house at once!”

The dragoness looked baffled. “Why would you say that?”

“We’ve just learned Garble stayed around the castle and then a few hours later there’s a theft in the vault! With how he’s acted and been defensive about the crystal, it’s obvious he’s hiding something from us! The defense argues that Garble stole those other crystals and tried to figure out which one was the crystal to use for his scheme!”

“Objection!” bellowed Ash. “You have no right to order something like this! You’re basing an outrageous claim over a witness that Lord Ember sent to spy on my grandson, and one of Garble’s friends! You have no definitive proof of Garble being in the vault!”

“Objection!” Spike shot back. “The defense has proven Garble’s story to be unreliable and we’ve confirmed Matches’ story about what he saw!”

“Only part of it though!” argued Ash. “Fizzle was never around to see Garble dispose of the crystal in the lava pool! Besides, only the Dragon Council and the Dragon Lord know about those hidden crystals!”

“Yet based on Fizzle’s words and how Garble’s been acting, it’s obvious Garble knows something about the stolen crystals!” Spike pointed a finger. “You can’t keep denying he’s been hiding something, Master!”

The elder dragon growled.

“Excuse me.”

Every eye fell back on Fizzle again.

“What’s wrong, Fizzle?” inquired Ember.

He gulped a little. “I...I do have one last thing I’d like to say.”

“That is?” wondered Ash.

“I just remembered there’s one last thing I heard Garble say shortly after he talked to Spike,” he replied.

Spike raised an eyebrow. What could this mean?

“He muttered something about a crystal, but he quickly stopped talking about it once he saw me. I tried to ask what he was talking about, but he denied he was saying anything about it.”

Ash looked like he was about to explode. “N...NOOO!” He stumbled back as his armor was bashed in.

The room filled with whispers immediately.

“What’s going on with this trial? Wasn’t this about some attack on Lord Ember?”

“Is what that lawyer saying really true? Was this all a plot by Garble?”

“I don’t even know what’s going on at this point? Who do we even believe anymore?”

Spike slammed his hands on the desk, silencing the room. “This is your proof, Master! Garble’s been talking about a crystal and is trying to hide about it! You still think he isn’t connected?”

Ash was shaking a little. “This...this can’t be...it just can’t be.”

Ember brought the scepter down. “Enough! The defense has made a valid point! Considering Garble’s actions and the recent circumstances, I believe a search of Garble’s house is warranted.” She looked down. “Matches!”

He quickly straighten himself up. “Y–yes, my Lord?”

“I want you to go with a group of guards to help search the place,” she ordered. “If you find anything, I want you to bring it back here at once.”

“Objection!” barked Ash. “He’s not even a member of the guard! He was discharged!”

“Unfairly I might add,” said Ember, sternly.

Ash looked confused. “What!?”

“He was discharged because he failed to do his job, right?” wondered Ember.

Ash nodded.

“Well, I already confessed that I was the one who started the fight with Rarity, and Matches didn’t know about it until it was too late. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Why defend him though?” wondered the elder dragon. “Regardless, he was relaxing on a beach instead of watching over you.”

Ember looked down. “Because when he offered his help about the feud between Rarity and myself, I turned down his offer. I put him through so much because of my own actions and I swear not to allow something like this to happen again. He looked out for me like a good friend should, and I let him down. The only one who failed was me for what I put him through, and it’s why I’m officially allowing him back into the guard effective immediately.”

Ash said nothing as he took it all in.

“Matches,” said Ember, “or should I say, Private Matches? I want you and an investigation team to look into Garble’s place at once.” She looked over. “Master Ash, send a message about this recent change and about Matches’ involvement.”

The elder dragon hesitated for a moment before nodding. “As you wish, my Lord.”

Matches bowed and said, “Thank you, Lord Ember. I won’t fail you.”

Ember smiled slightly. “I know you won’t. Now get going.”

Matches stood up and with a salute, turned and ran out of the courtroom.

Master Ash raised a scroll up and with a burst of flames, he sent the paper away. “It’s done, my Lord. I’ve sent orders to search Garble’s house.”

Ember nodded. “Very good,” she looked up. “Guards, one of you take Fizzle away for protection. The other, bring Garble back in at once!”

The dragons saluted and one escorted Fizzle out of the room. A few minutes later, the other soldier returned with Garble. If there was any chance that the red drake had cooled down, it was quickly destroyed as he still looked furious and was fuming smoke through his nostrils.

Spike took a deep breath. “This is it,” he whispered. “Our chance to finally bring him down.”

“Just be careful, Spike,” warned Twilight. “There’s no telling what he’ll do now.”

“What’s going on here!?” demanded Garble. “I thought this trial was over!”

Ember brought the scepter down. “This trial is far from over, Garble. Shortly after you were forced to leave, we learned some new information surrounding you.”

Garble slammed his hands on the stand. “I don't have anything to do with this!”

He looked over and pointed a finger. “That stupid pony is guilty, do you get it!? Guilty! Even if you don’t think she is, you have nothing on me at all! Spike has just been making stuff up to make me look bad!” He looked to the other side. “Come on, old man! You aren’t going to let this go on, are you?”

Ash slammed his hand on the table. “Boy, you’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

Garble raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“There’s been some developments since you were forced out,” explained Ash. “It appears the defense has managed to establish the possibility of you being involved with the stolen crystal.”

Garble looked like he was going to blow up again. “How!? They don’t have any proof!”

“Two witnesses say otherwise, boy. Matches claims to have seen you take the crystal and destroy it.”

Garble’s eye twitched slightly.

“And just now, Fizzle claims that he heard you mention something about a crystal, but when he asked you, you didn’t want to talk about it.”

Garble slammed his hand on the stand, nearly cracking it. “FIZZLE! YOU TRAITOR!” His eyes darted around the room. “After all I did and what I went through, this is how I’m repaid for my efforts!? I have every dragon here thinking I’m suddenly a criminal! Is this my reward for looking out for Lord Ember!?”

He looked over and pointed a finger at Spike. “You did this, you pony loving pansy! You think it’s funny to do this to me!? Well I’m not laughing!”

Spike crossed his arms. “Well I guess we’ll see who has the last laugh after this.”

Ember brought the scepter down. “That’s enough! Garble, you will testify about your actions after you got home last night. The court won’t accept anymore excuses or attempts from you to stall.”

Garble panted a little as he turned to Ash. “Come on, old man! You can’t let this happen!”

Ash looked down. “Garble, you’ve put yourself in this position. For once in your life, do try to get yourself out of this; not rely on me to bail you out.”

Garble growled and huffed. “Fine! Be that way! I guess it’s up to me to finish what you couldn’t do.”

Ash glared at him.

Ember slammed the scepter again. “Garble, testify about what you did last night!”

“With pleasure,” he said. “The defense is lying; plain and simple.”

“I was at home the entire time after I decided not to go lava surfing.”

“I just prepared myself for court like any witness would do.”

“I didn’t see or hear any dragon out my window; especially one that had a magic crystal.”

“This is all just a waste of time and another attempt by the defense to make me look bad.”

Ember rubbed her chin. “So, you say that nothing happened at your place?”

Garble nodded. “Yeah, and I can even prove it; unlike a certain lawyer here.”

Ember held up the map. “Show us where on the map your window is.”

Garble rolled his eyes as he was handed all the maps and a quill. He quickly drew on them to show a cone near his house.

“Here!” he announced. “My window has a perfect view of the lake nearby. No way would I have been able to miss seeing a dragon or hear one; even at night.”

As Ember was handed the map back, she nodded. “I see then.” She looked down. “Very well, Mr. the Dragon your–”

“HOLD IT!” bellowed Garble.

Everyone in the room froze up.

The red drake pointed a finger. “I know what’s going on here and I’m not falling for it! Spike’s going to just constantly badger me until I slip up and he tries to make me out as the bad guy!”

“Hey! I’m not the one who–”

Spike’s argument was cut off as Garble continued. “Listen up, Spike! Every time you ask me something stupid, you’re going to pay for it!”

Ash crossed his arms. “In other words, don’t waste any time pressing needless statements.”

“Don’t think I won’t forget what you’ve done to me, Spike,” spat Garble with a venomous smile on him. “I’ll make you wish you never were born once I’m done with you.”

Spike gulped a little.

Ember slammed the scepter down. “Mr. the Dragon, in light of Garble’s recent...anger problems, I believe it’s best you stay on topic.”

Spike nodded. “Yes, Lord Ember.”

Garble smirked. “I’m ready for you this time, Spike. You aren’t going to catch me that easily.”

“Now Mr. the Dragon, your cross examination please!” ordered Ember.

Spike looked over to Garble.

“The defense is lying; plain and simple.”

“I was at home the entire time after I decided not to go lava surfing.”

“I just prepared myself for court like any witness would do.”

“I didn’t see or hear any dragon out my window; especially one that had a magic crystal.”

“Objection!” yelled Spike. He shook his head. “So much for you saying I wasn’t going to catch you that easily, Garble.”

The drake leaned forward. “What?” he said, coldly.

“I’m afraid that a certain witness has something to say about that.” He pointed a finger and said, “Matches can easily tell you that’s a lie!”

Garble flinched a little. “What does he have to do with this!?”

Spike leaned forward. “Garble, you said that you didn’t see or hear any dragon at all. Matches though said you were laughing loudly when you threw the crystal into the lake!”

“NO!” Garble looked up as a small tower of fire erupted from his mouth.

The crowd muttered to themselves. Ember slammed the scepter down three times.

“Order!” she commanded. “Garble, what do you have to say about this?”

The red drake was panting. “I...I must’ve...well…” He stood straight up. “Wait! I do remember a sound, but it wasn’t laughter. It was...it was just some explosion nearby. Probably just another volcano going off.”

Spike shook his head. “There’s a difference between laughter and an explosion.”

Garble glared. “Y–you can’t prove though what Matches said was true!”

Spike frowned. He’s right. I don’t have any definitive proof.

Garble laughed loudly. “I knew this was a waste of time! Now let me–”

“OBJECTION!”

Everyone looked over and saw Ash holding his sword out.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, boy,” he said. “In fact, I’d say you’ve only made things worse for yourself.”

Garble looked baffled. “What’re you talking about!?”

The elder dragon smirked. “It’s true that there’s a volcano in the distance from the lake, and it’s equally true it’s Erupting Season right now. However, there’s something you’ve overlooked, boy.”

Garble said nothing.

“The volcano already erupted,” said Ash. “You were staying with me when it happened.” He brought the sword down. “I’d say this kills your argument about the explosion you apparently heard.”

Garble looked stunned. The courtroom filled with muttering again.

“Old man, what do you think you’re doing?” Garble asked in an icy tone. “I thought you would’ve been on my side.”

Ash shook his head. “In the courtroom, the only side I take is justice. I want the full truth, Garble. You’ve done nothing but make things worse for yourself. Now then, what did you really hear outside your house?”

Spike looked on in awe. Master Ash.

Garble bit his lip and looked down. “I...I was just uh, thinking…” He slammed his hands on the stand. “Alright fine! I did hear laughter!”

Twilight leaned over. “Think Master Ash is on our side?”

Spike shook his head. “Hard to say,” he whispered. “He did say that he wanted justice served, so maybe he’s finally decided to let go of his personal feelings for Garble.”

Ember slammed the scepter on the ground. “Garble, I must warn you that your testimonies have been unreliable. Like Master Ash said, you’re only making things worse for yourself. Perhaps it’s time you told the truth at last instead of trying to lie your way through court.”

Garble huffed and looked away. “Fine! I’ll tell you what really happened this time.”

“Your testimony once again, Garble,” ordered Ember.

He cleared his throat and said, “Alright, so I did hear some laughter, and I looked out my window to see what it was.”

“I saw some dragon standing near the lake laughing at something.”

“I didn’t give it much thought because I thought he just remembered something funny and was laughing about it.”

“After that, I just went back to preparing for court.”

Garble shrugged. “That’s all there is to it.”

“Did you get a good look at who the dragon was?” inquired Ash.

Garble shook his head. “Not really. It wasn’t bright enough to see who the dragon was. All I saw was a shadow figure standing near it.”

Ash crossed his arms and said nothing.

Ember slammed the scepter. “Mr. the Dragon, your cross examination please.”

“Just remember, no stupid questions,” reminded Garble.

“I haven’t forgotten,” said Spike. “Now let’s get started.”

“Alright, so I did hear some laughter, and I looked out my window to see what it was.”

“I saw some dragon standing near the lake laughing at something.”

“Objection!” yelled Spike. “Garble, you sure you saw only one dragon?”

“What kind of question is that?” he wondered. “I have an excellent view of the lake and I know for a fact that I saw only one dragon.”

Spike smirked and said, “That’s not according to what Matches did last night.”

Garble looked up. “What?”

Spike slammed his hands on the table. “Matches went to spy on the dragon who stole the magic crystal, Garble! In fact, he even told us last night about how a certain dragon laughed as he threw the crystal into the lake!”

“Ack!” Garble flinched.

“Take a look at the map!” Spike slammed the paper on the table and pointed at it. “Garble’s window view is wide enough to see the dragon, but yet he couldn’t see another close by?”

“So here’s my question to you, Garble. If you claim to have a good view of the lake,” Spike pointed a finger, “why didn’t you see Matches as well?”

“Ergh...ARGH!” Garble let out another small burst of fire.

“Objection!” barked Ash. “He said all he could see was a shadow standing near the lake. Perhaps he couldn’t see Matches.”

“Objection!” Spike shot back. “Remember what Garble said though. He said he would hear or see a dragon; even at night. So why is it he can’t tell what the dragon he saw looked like; much less see Matches nearby?”

“Gah!” Ash’s armor clanged again.

Garble was huffing as more smoke billowed from his nostrils. “I...I...um…” He stopped in mid sentence again and then he smiled. “Wait, I now know what happened!”

Spike leaned forward. He’s probably got another excuse ready. Wonder what his ‘truth’ will be this time.

“I can explain it!” Garble hastily said. “Let me testify again!”

Ember glared at the red drake. “Garble, the court has gotten tired of your actions. I’ll let you testify this one last time, but this’ll be your last chance to prove yourself.”

Garble chuckled. “One chance is all I need,” he said, sinisterly. “Wait until you here this.”

“It’s true there were two dragons down at the lake.”

“I didn’t get a good enough look at the one near the lake, but I saw out of the corner of my eye Matches walking up to him.”

“I saw Matches give something to that dragon and then fly off.”

“A few minutes later, that dragon standing near the lake threw something in its direction and began laughing.”

“I didn’t know what I just saw, so I didn’t think much of it.”

“Matches must’ve been the one who stole the crystal! Why else would he be around that lake last night?”

Ember gripped the scepter tightly and gritted her teeth. “Garble, do you have any idea what you’re saying?” she asked, tersely.

Garble shrugged. “Hey, I just tell it like I see it. I know what I saw.”

Twilight slammed her hands on the desk and looked livid. “How dare you!? You’re trying to put the blame on Matches!? How can you even say that!?”

Garble smirked. “Not my fault he was hanging around that area. What else would he be doing there at night meeting with some dragon?”

“He’s our friend though! You’re just trying to put the blame on someone else for your crimes!” argued Twilight.

“Maybe he was faking it,” suggested Garble. “He could’ve been against this alliance the whole time and was planning to destroy it. That dragon he met up with may’ve been someone he worked with to destroy the alliance.”

Twilight’s mane looked like it was about to light up. “You monster! After all he did to help us, you try to do something like this!?”

“I could say the same about Spike and him trying to pin the blame on me,” Garble said, smugly.

Ember slammed the scepter down more forcefully than normal. “Mr. the Dragon, get to your cross examination, now!” she barked.

Spike was taken aback by the dragoness’ sudden outburst. I can’t really blame Ember or Twilight for being upset. He glared at Garble. Time to pick apart this last testimony, and bring Garble down!

“Bring it on, Spike!” Garble said with a confident smile.

Spike merely nodded at him.

“It’s true there were two dragons down at the lake.”

“I didn’t get a good enough look at the one near the lake, but I saw out of the corner of my eye Matches walking up to him.”

“Hold it!” ordered Spike. “How did you know it was Matches?”

“He was close enough for me to recognize him,” answered Garble. “He did look shifty when I saw him.” Garble smirked.

Damn it, cursed Spike. “Go on, Garble.”

“I saw Matches give something to that dragon and then fly off.”

“A few minutes later, that dragon standing near the lake threw something in its direction and began laughing.”

“I didn’t know what I just saw, so I didn’t think much of it.”

“Matches must’ve been the one who stole the crystal! Why else would he be around that lake last night?”

“Hold it!” Spike interjected. “Why would Matches do something like that? He’s Lord Ember’s friend after all, and has helped us out.”

Garble laughed. “There are plenty of dragons who don’t like being friends with ponies. Matches just probably pretended to like it, but worked with some other dragon to ruin everything.”

“What makes you think he’d do something like this?” wondered Spike. “He was even arrested for not protecting Ember! If he had the crystal, they would’ve found it on him!”

“Objection!” barked Garble. “Use your brain, Spike. He didn’t have the crystal; the other dragon did!”

“Then how do you explain why Matches supposedly gave the crystal to the other dragon?”

Garble scoffed. “He probably hid it somewhere and told Matches to go get it from his hiding place to throw off suspicion. Who knows what really happened? Why don’t you ask Matches himself and see what he’s got to say?”

Spike lowered his head. “It’s no use, Twilight,” he said. “No matter how much we keep picking at his testimony, he just comes up with one excuse after another.”

Twilight looked frustrated. “We’re so close though. We know the truth, but without decisive evidence, he’ll never be exposed for what he did.”

Garble laughed coldly. “Finally giving up I see! It’s about time you did too!” His gleeful expression changed to fury. “It’s over, Spike, I’ve won. Your attempt to make me look like the villain has failed. When I become Dragon Lord, I’ll make you watch all of Equestria and your friends burn for what they did to Lord Ember.”

Spike pounded his fist on the table.

“However, if you decide to apologize and bow before your soon to be next Dragon Lord, I may show some mercy on you. How about it, Spike?”

The drake looked up with a glare on him and said, “Never.”

Garble smirked. “I was hoping you’d say that. I’ll enjoy making you suffer for what you’ve tried to pull.”

Ember gulped a little. “Are there any more objections from either side?”

The room fell silent as Spike looked down and Ash had his eyes closed in concentration. Ember kept looking to Spike, hoping for him or Twilight to speak up, but never did.”

Garble clapped his hands together. “Well, that answers that! Let’s end this trial once and for–”

The doors to the courtroom busted open “HOLD IT!” a voice called out.

Everyone looked up to see Matches leaning over and panting. He held up a green bag in his hand and had a weary smile on him.

“Lord Ember, I’ve...I’ve got it!” he announced in between pants. “The final piece of evidence!”

The dragoness looked shocked. “The final piece of evidence?”

The courtroom filled with muttering from all sides.

Matches nodded. “Yes, my Lord. We’ve found something that’ll blow this case wide open! It’s the decisive piece of evidence to this case!”

Ember held back a smile and sigh of relief. “Well, it seems this trial has taken another turn. If there’s no objections, I think we should look at–”

“NO! NO! NO! NO!” bellowed Garble. He pointed a finger. “No more waiting damn it! This trial is over!” He looked over. “Old man, tell them this is over! This has got to be another pathetic attempt to pin the blame on me!”

Ash crossed his arms and said nothing.

“Come on, old man,” pleaded Garble. “You’ve got this trial in the bag! You can easily object to this and refuse to let this so called trial go on.”

“I’ve told you before, Garble,” said Ash. “I’m interested in the truth. I want to know whether what the defense has claimed is true or not.”

Garble banged his hands against the stand. “Who cares about the damn truth!? You’re going to win this trial! You’d rather let your own flesh and blood take the fall for something he didn’t do!?”

Ash glared at Garble, and then looked down. He muttered something and his expression softened a little.

Spike tilted his head in confusion. What’s with Master Ash?

“Come on, old man!” urged Garble. “Do it! Bring this damn trial to an end!”

Ash said nothing as he looked down. All eyes fell upon the elderly dragon as they waited for a response from him. Spike held his breath in anticipation and Twilight wiped the sweat from her forehead. Garble looked at him with a furious look on him.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Ash raised his head and with a pained look said, “The prosecution has no objections to the new evidence.”

Garble’s eyes widened. “Wh–WHHAATT!?”

Spike looked stunned. “He...he’s going to allow it?”

Garble slammed his hands on the stand. “What do you think you’re doing, old man!? This trial was going to be yours! What are you–YIKES!” A streak of fire whized close to his face.

Ash held his flame sword out and looked livid. “BE! QUIET!” he ordered in a commanding tone.

Garble shook nervously as he backed away slowly.

“I’ll give them five minutes,” said Ash. “That should be enough time for them to see if they got what they needed.”

Ember slammed the scepter down. “Court will take a quick five minute recess to allow the defense to look over the evidence!”

Spike and Twilight quickly raced out of the room with Matches. As they ran down the hall to the defense lobby, they saw their friends running towards them. They all went in and quickly slammed the doors shut.

“What’ve you got, Matches?” wondered Spike. “We’re just about out of time there.”

The green dragon held up the bag. “We just finished searching Garble’s place found five crystals underneath is bed.”

“That’s great!” Rainbow said, happily. “That should then let Spike and Twilight win.”

Matches held up a hand. “Not so fast. The crystals are being treated as evidence, so we couldn’t determine them. Four of them were sent to the lab to see if they have the properties of a magic crystal.”

“Four?” asked Starlight. “Where’s the fifth?”

“Here.” Matches pulled out the bag a rather small orange crystal. There was a yellow spot in the middle of the crystal. It was being held inside another bag that was clear.

“This one’s already been tested for fingerprints and they’ve confirmed that Garble’s fingerprints were over this crystal.”

“That was fast,” said Fluttershy.

“Garble’s had trouble with the law in the past,” said Matches. “They’ve had his prints on file and were quickly able to match them up with the ones on the crystal. They think all five crystals may be the missing ones, but we won’t be sure until the results come back.”

“Yay!” Pinkie hugged Spike and Twilight. “You guys are going to do it!”

Spike pushed Pinkie away and frowned. “I’m not sure about that,” he said.

Everyone looked at Spike in shock.

“What do you mean?” wondered Starlight. “We’ve got the evidence here.”

Spike shook his head. “Garble may just try to once again come up with some story about the crystals. I don’t even know if Master Ash will let the trial go on until the results of the crystals come back.”

Twilight frowned. “Spike does have a point. Garble’s been constantly able to slip away every time we’ve got him cornered. He’s tricked everyone with his so called ‘truth’ and–”

“Twilight, stop,” ordered Spike.

The alicorn looked over. “What is it, Spike?”

The drake just held a hand up and turned away. Everyone watched him curiously and raised eyebrows at one another as to what their friend was doing.

Spike snapped his finger. “Of course! Why didn’t I think of it sooner?”

“Think of what?” inquired Matches. “Want to let us in on what’s going on?”

Spike turned around and had devious smile on him. “Garble loves to rely on fooling others, right?” Everyone nodded. “So, what do you say we give Garble a taste of his own medicine?”

“How?” asked Twilight.

Spike looked over. “Starlight, I think we’ll need your help.”

The unicorn looked surprised. “Me? What can I do?”

Spike smirked. “I’ve got a plan.” He waved a hand. “Come on, I’ll tell you all.”

The doors to the courtroom swung open and Spike and Twilight quickly made their way back to their stand. The room that echoed with dragons muttering quickly fell silent as they saw the two lawyers go back down.

“Mr. the Dragon,” said Ember, “is everything ready?”

Spike nodded. “Yes, my Lord.”

Garble scoffed. “You don’t have anything on me! This is just another waste of time!”

“Quiet, Garble!” ordered Ember. She looked over. “The defense will present its final piece of evidence.”

This is it, thought Spike. I’ve got to hope I’ve got things figured out.

He closed his eyes in concentration. We know Garble’s the one who sabotaged the visit and that he was the fake pony who’s been following us for so long. He used one of the stolen magic crystals, but got rid of it once he realized we were onto him. He believes that he’s gotten away with it all. He thinks he’s left no way to connect him to the theft of the crystal.

What he shouldn’t know though is what Matches and the guards did. He should be in the dark about what just happened. If everything works out, he’ll be completely caught off guard.

Ash slammed his sword on the table. “Mr. the Dragon!”

Spike broke out of his thoughts and looked at the elder dragon.

“No more stalling,” he ordered. “I allowed you to look at the new evidence because I thought it would show the truth.”

His expression turned to one that looked like he was in agony. “I want to know,” he pleaded. “No, I need to know here and now. Show this final piece of evidence,” he gulped a little, “please.”

Spike felt a little sad. I think he’s finally gotten it.

He looked over at Garble and narrowed his eyes. A phony pony, a phony act of heroism, and a phony way to make dragons hate ponies. Everything Garble has relied on has been tricking everyone into believing him. Sounds like a good time then for some phony evidence!

“Very well, Master.” He looked over. “Garble, you’re tricks aren’t going to work now!” He pointed a finger at the furious drake. “Behold! The final piece of evidence that’ll seal your fate!”

Spike slammed his hands on the desk. “Everyone knows about the stolen magic crystal. However, thanks to Matches’ efforts, we’ve finally found it!” He held the bag up. “This is the missing crystal!”

The courtroom filled with muttering. Ash just looked on and said nothing.

“We’ve even been able to get some fingerprints from the crystal itself that belong to Garble!” Spike continued. “Furthermore, we’ve been able to determine that this is the transformation crystal!”

“What?” Garble asked, coldly.

Ash continued to look on.

“If you don’t believe me, why don’t I let Twilight try it out?” inquired Spike. “It’s all I need to do.”

“Hey! She can use magic!” objected Garble.

“Just watch her horn and you’ll notice it won’t glow like she’s going to use pony magic,” said Spike. He looked over. “Ready to show them?”

Twilight nodded and took the crystal. She closed her eyes and everyone watched on. A couple of seconds later, a bright flash went off in the courtroom; making everyone shield their eyes. Once it faded, they all lowered their arms and the courtroom started filling with gasps and awes.

Standing next to Spike was not Twilight the alicorn, but a griffon.

“It...it’s amazing! The pony managed to use that crystal!”

“I’ve never seen something like this before. It’s beautiful.”

“What power!”

Another flash went off and Twilight was back to her normal self again.

“I think that’s enough proof there,” said Twilight. She handed the crystal back to Spike.

Garble was shaking a little.

Spike held the crystal up. “Garble, you can’t get out of this one! All your lies will be exposed! You’ve finally been caught!” He pointed a finger. “What do you have to say about that, Garble!?”

The red drake huffed and looked down. His shaking became more violent as he gripped the witness stand.

“...Heh…”

Spike raised an eyebrow.

Garble raised his head and laughed loudly. “That’s a good one Spike! You really got me there!”

Spike looked perplexed. “What’re you talking about?”

“Shut up!” snarled Garble. “I know what’s going on here! You can’t fool me! That’s not the transformation crystal!”

Spike shook his head. “No, wait! We just proved it by Twilight–”

“Shut up!” yelled Garble. “I can see straight through your lies! The crystal was red and smaller than that thing! That crystal looks nothing at all like it!”

The courtroom fell deathly silent. The Dragon Council members shifted forward and had bewildered looks on them. No dragon, or pony, in the audience said anything. The only sound that echoed seemingly loud was that of the fires from the chandeliers hanging above and the candles around the courtroom.

Spike let out a mental sigh of relief. Got him! At last I got him!

Garble noticed that everyone was staring at him and was feeling a bit on edge. He raised his arms up and looked around. “What!? What’re you all looking at!? What’s with all of you!? I just said–”

Spike held a piece of parchment. “Is the crystal like what Master Ash described in his letter to Lord Ember?”

Garble was handed the letter and nodded and tossed it back to Spike. “Yeah! That’s it! But I already told you that I don’t have it!”

He flashed a sinister smile. “Thought you could just trick me with Matches ‘finding’ the crystal? That’s probably just some cheap trick to fool us all.”

Garble put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. “Go on, old man! Tell that so called lawyer where to go!”

Ash said nothing.

Garble opened an eye. “Old man?”

The flames around the courtroom intensified. All eyes fell on a violently shaking Ash looking down. Garble gulped nervously as smoke was billowing from his nostrils.

He raised his sword up. “You…” The elder dragon slammed it on the table with a thunderous crack. “FOOOOOOOL!” he boomed in a menacing tone.

“AAHH!” Garble scream in terror. He ducked behind the witness stand.

Ash was panting as he glared daggers at the red drake. “Do you realize what you just said!?”

Garble was shaking. “W–what? What did I say?”

Spike smirked. “You know, Garble, for someone who claims that can’t be fooled, you really made one out of yourself.”

The red drake said nothing.

“While it’s true we mentioned about the crystal theft, we learned what it looked like after you were forced to leave,” continued Spike. “If you truly didn’t know what the crystal looked like, you shouldn’t know the details about it. Like what it looked like or what color it was.”

Garble’s insides froze. “But...but…” He pointed at the orange crystal. “What about that then!? That crystal did what you said it really was!”

“Oh, this?” Spike picked up the crystal. “This is just one of the crystals Matches and the guards found when they searched your house?”

Garble’s jaw dropped. “M–m–m–my house!?” he stammered.

Spike smirked. “Yeah. You weren’t here when we heard about the report Master Ash got about the theft in the vault. How they had found more chests broken, their crystals stolen, and the broken chunks thrown behind some crates. After connecting the dots, they went over and found five of the six stolen crystals.”

“While we have proven that the fingerprints on the crystal are Garble’s, they didn’t know if they were the ones stolen or not,” said Twilight. “We know this isn’t the real transformation crystal.”

“Then how did you do it!?” demanded Garble.

Twilight smiled confidently. “A little trick of our own,” she looked up and waved. “Starlight, you really outdid yourself this time.”

The unicorn smiled meekly. “What can I say? I learned from the best.”

Garble looked like he was about to explode. “THIS ISN’T FAIR!” he bellowed. “They...they tricked me! This has to be against some sort of rule! I...I...I was tricked!”

“Stop your whining, Garble,” ordered Ember. “You’re the last to complain about tricks after what you’ve pulled.”

Spike slammed his hands on the table. “Which means one thing! Garble, you were the thief in the vault and you’re our mysterious red pegasus!”

Garble looked down and tried to hide the fear on his face.

“Isn’t that right, Hot Streak?” wondered Spike.

“Or is it, Sergeant McCloud?” asked Twilight.

“Front Page?” inquired Ember.

“Which pony are we talking to today, Garble?” asked Spike. “Or, are you ready to finally admit to everything you’ve done?”

“You...you can’t do this to me!” the red drake growled. “You...you cheated! You think I’m letting some pony loving dragon one up me!?”

Spike shook his head. “Sure, that last piece of evidence was fake, but it’s what you deserve after all the tricks you’ve pulled and how you manipulated everyone!”

Garble raised his head. “NO!” He let out a small burst of fire.

Ash was leaning over and huffing. “No...this cannot be! GAH!” He flinched as his armor was bashed in. “ARGH!” The armor was dented again. “ACK!” The suit was hit again. Ash was dazed by the constant attacks and had a weary look on him.

“Bested...by two rookie lawyers?” he asked in a defeated tone. “I...I never thought I’d see that.” His armor was hit again, but there was a scraping noise from it.

Spike and Twilight gasped. On Master Ash’s chestplate, a large gash had opened up. The elder dragon looked down at it and placed a hand over it. He used his sword to keep himself up.

“Mr. the Dragon,” he said, softly.

Spike leaned forward.

Ash looked up with a sad smile on him. “Thank you...for showing us all the truth,” he said, solemnly. “And thank you, for opening my eyes. I couldn’t have asked for a better lawyer to go against.”

The elder dragon closed his eyes and slumped against the desk. The grip on his sword loosened and he let go of it. The blade dropped to the ground, clanging loudly and echoing throughout the room. The flames on it slowly died out until only smoke remained.

Garble looked around nervously. “No…” he whispered. “This can’t be! My plan was perfect! How could I’ve been beaten!” He slammed his hands on the witness stand. “Somebody tell me! It’s not fair! There was no way I could lose! No way I tell you!”

“Garble, I have one last question for you,” said Spike.

The drake looked on in fear.

“Here, or in Equestria: where would you like to stand trial for your crimes first? Either way,” Spike pointed a finger at Garble, “it’s game over for you!”

The red drake said nothing and covered his head with his hands. The whole courtroom disappeared around him, which made him only more nervous. Suddenly, he saw something glowing from his pocket. His heart raced as her nervously reached into it. He pulled it out and gasped as her saw a red crystal.

“Hey! H–how did that get there!” He demanded.

He let out another gasp as he looked at his hand. It wasn’t scaly like the rest of his body, but instead was covered in fur. He looked at himself and saw his other hand wasn’t scaly either. He felt his face and panicked as he felt soft fur over him.

“No!” he yelped. “This isn’t me!”

He tossed the crystal away, but then noticed a glow from the other pocket. He gasped and pulled it out to show another red crystal. He then noticed he was wearing a blue and yellow suit and looked at himself again.

“What’s going on here!?” Garble threw the crystal away again. “This isn’t funny!”

He saw another glow and quickly threw the crystal in his pocket out. He desperately tried to throw each crystal he had away, but they kept somehow falling back into his pockets. In a rage, he ripped his jacket off to stop it all and let out a furious howl that sounded almost outworldly.

He looked at himself and noticed he was a complete mess. He had the right arm of his normal self, but his left arm was wearing part of the Wonderbolts’ uniform, his torso had part of a pinstripe suit on him. His legs were constantly shifting between that of a pony and a dragon.

“NOOO!” He screamed. He put his hands up to his face and felt his left side was furry and his right side was scaly. “Stop it! This isn’t me! Stop this! NO! NO! NO! NO! AaaaaaaRGGGGggggggHHHHHHHHH!”

Garble raised his head up and let out a powerful blast of fire. It covered him completely and made it impossible for others to see him. Garble saw all he had done from stealing the crystal, to him standing over Feather Flight’s body, to Ember and Spike, all flash before his eyes. All the while, he continued roaring in anger.

Suddenly, the fire died from Garble’s mouth and the screaming ceased. As the fire around Garble died out, everyone got a good look at the drake. He was leaning over and was covered in his own soot. The beastly look he had earlier was now just replaced by a broken dragon shivering. The confident look on him was now nothing more than a furious scowl on him.

Garble banged his hands against the stand. “I...I should’ve been made Dragon Lord! Me!” He pounded the stand again. “Spike, you bastard! If you just didn’t get in the way, I would’ve been in complete control! It was all perfect! I had everything basically given to me and still you somehow beat me!”

Ember slammed the scepter on the ground. “So you finally admit it, Garble?”

“Yes!” snarled Garble. “I went into the vault shortly after your announcement was finished. It was so easy since most of the guards were protecting you and the security was light. I thought I could just get in there and quickly take the right crystal, so I started busting open the chests that had them.”

“But once the guards came to investigate the noise, you panicked,” said Spike.

Garble nodded. “I had no choice but to hide and wait for them to leave. I couldn’t just take all the contents of the chests, so I just took what crystals I found and quickly got out of there. I kept testing them out until I found the real one and threw the rest under my bed. It was then just a simple matter of following Ember and Matches to Ponyville and spy on her. Once I heard about how her and Rarity were fighting over Spike, I knew I had the best chance to destroy this damn alliance. I slowly pushed them over the edge and made them hate one another more and more. All I had to do was just make them think one of them was taking Spike for themselves.

I stole the camera off that stupid pegasus and took photos of them fighting. I went to that academy and goaded Ember about Spike and her feelings for him. I threw the crystal into the lake after Spike and Ember were onto me. It was all working so well, and my revenge would’ve been complete at last. No damn alliance with Equestria, or embracing friendship. I would’ve expanded our borders and wipe out those ponies for good!”

“I do have one question for you, Garble.” Ash had risen up and holding his broken chestplate. “How did you even know about the crystals? Only the Council and the Dragon Lord know about them.”

“I heard some rumors about stuff in the vault,” answered Garble. “Stuff like powerful magic crystals, artifacts, treasures, and everything. I didn’t really think it was all true, but then I came across a drunk guard hanging out at the Smoldering Crater. He pulled me aside and told me he was being discharged for failing to do his duty. He decided to tell me about what the vault had as ‘revenge’, he put it, to let others steal from there.

At first I thought it was because he really hammered, but I did some checking around. Heard some things here and there. The more I learned, the better it sounded. I just needed to wait for the perfect chance. It was my best chance to make myself Dragon Lord and make this a better place.”

“You really think you were going to make the place better?” wondered Spike. “I know this isn’t my home, but I’ve seen the dragons in my time here during the Gauntlet of Fire. These dragons have their own ambitions as well. I know some of them don’t fully embrace what Lord Ember is doing, but I don’t think they’d go to the extremes you did just to get power.”

“I would’ve made this place better!” argued Garble. “We would’ve been free to do what we want!”

“Who would be free?” wondered Spike. “Every dragon would be under your rule and considering how you treat your ‘followers’ like Fizzle, everyone would suffer.” He looked up. “Let’s ask your so called ‘fans’ now if they still think you’d be a good Dragon Lord.”

The room filled with muttering and discontent. Garble noticed every dragon glaring at him or shaking their heads.

“I can’t believe it! To think we’d consider him to be the next Dragon Lord!”

“What a monster! Has he no shame or honor?”

“Mama, is the big red dragon going to hurt us?”

“Don’t look at him, dear!”

Garble narrowed his eyes at Spike. “Why you…”

Ember slammed the scepter against the ground, silencing the courtroom. “That’s enough! Garble, in the name of the Dragon Lands, you’re under arrest for theft, obstruction of justice, and treason to the kingdom! Guards!” Two dragons flew down. “Take him away!”

They both walked towards Garble. One had a spear pointed at Garble while the other drew his short sword out.

“Put your hands in the air!” the dragon with the spear ordered.

Garble backed away as the guards approached. He glanced at Spike and a new surge of anger filled up in him. He looked over at Rarity and smiled sinisterly. As the guard with the spear approached, he let out a roar and used his tail to smack him in the face. The guard fell over and groaned in pain.

“Hey!” The other guard charged at Garble and raised his sword up.

Garble tackled him and the two of them struggled against one another. Garble managed to get one punch across at the guard’s stomach, making him flinch and drop his sword as he clenched his stomach. Garble quickly grabbed it and looked over at a terrified Rarity. Before anyone could say something, the red drake flew over and tackled the unicorn.

“RARITY!” Spike and Twilight cried out.

Garble put a hand around Rarity’s body and held the sword up to her throat. “Back off, all of you!” he demanded. “I’m not finished yet!”

“Garble, let her go!” barked Ash.

“Shut up, old man! I’m through taking orders from you and Ember!” He pressed the edge of the sword against Rarity’s skin. “If you think I’m going to go peacefully, you’ve got another thing coming! One wrong move, and I’ll slit this pony’s throat wide open!”

Spike felt his heart nearly stop.

“Spikey!” cried out Rarity as she struggled. “Forget about me! You’ve got to stop Garble!”

Garble elbowed Rarity in the head, knocking her out. “That’s enough out of you!”

“YOU FIEND!”

Everyone looked up to the ceiling and saw a livid Princess Luna.

“YOU DARE TRY TO HARM ONE OF OUR FRIENDS!” she boomed in the royal Canterlot voice.

Garble laughed coldly. “Back off, moon butt, or else!” The tip of the sword slowly dragged across Rarity’s throat.

“Luna, stop!” pleaded Celestia. “We can’t risk Rarity’s life!”

“Sister, I shall make sure she’s safe!” Luna’s horn glowed.

“Don’t you dare!” barked Garble. “The moment I see you try to use magic on me, the pony dies!”

Luna growled furiously.

“Can you do it?” mocked Garble. “Can you really risk your ‘friend’s’ life, or not? If you fail, it’ll haunt you forever.”

Luna’s eyes darted between Garble and Rarity. She yelled out in frustration as the glow from her horn disappeared.

Garble smirked. “Smart of you.”

The courtroom descended into chaos as dragons screamed in horror and everyone watching helplessly as Rarity desperately tried to break from Garble’s grasp.

Twilight’s horn lit up. Careful now. Just got to do it right.

Garble saw out of the corner of his eye Twilight’s horn. “NO!” he yelled. He shot a fireball out of his mouth and was racing towards the alicorn.

“Twilight, get down!” Spike pushed Twilight over.

“AAHH!” Twilight screamed in pain.

Unfortunately, it was a little too late. The fireball nicked Twilight in the shoulder and was clutching it in pain. Spike held her up and tried to help keep her calm.

Matches leaped down from the audience stand and looked beside himself. “MONSTER! I’ll rip your arm off and beat you with it!” As he flew towards Garble, the red drake used his tail again to smack Matches and sent him falling to the ground.

“Spike!” Garble called out. The drake looked up. “You and me aren’t done yet. Not by a longshot. If I can’t become Dragon Lord, then you and I will settle this away from the others.”

Spike glared. “What do you mean by that?”

Garble chuckled. “If you want to know, you’ll have to come face me.” He pulled Rarity closely. “And know that if you run from this, if you decide to bring help to fight me, then I’ll end this pony’s life. You do want to save her, right? Do you still care for her, or do you hate her?”

Spike growled. “Where do you want me to meet you?”

Garble smirked. “Where it all began.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Wait, what?”

“GUARDS!” ordered Ember. “Don’t let him escape! Lock down the castle at once!”

Garble took a deep breath and let out a stream of fire everywhere. Screams filled the courtroom as other dragons started running for it. The whole place was soon on fire and the sound of crackling flames filled the room. Spike shielded Twilight as the flames intensified around them. Although he was able to resist heat, the smell of smoke made him cough violently and he knew Twilight and his friends wouldn’t last very long unless he did something.

“Spike!”

He looked over and saw Celestia and Luna with a magic shield around them.

Luna held her hand out. “We must leave! The others have already fled!”

Spike picked Twilight up and looked around. “What about Matches? Where is he?”

Celestia frowned. “We didn’t see him. He must’ve already left too.” A piece of rock fell over nearby. “Come on! We have to escape!”

Spike nodded and ran out with the princesses.

The world seemingly shut off for Spike as he sat on the couch and helped keep Twilight comfortable. The wound on her had thankfully not been as bad as he thought, but she still needed some bandages and some of the fur on her was burnt. He saw guards running around the castle, but didn’t pay any mind to what they were saying. Some dragons were bringing in hoses to the burning courtroom that had smoke pouring out of it. All the chaos and yelling around the castle seemed insignificant to him as he held Twilight’s head.

“I’ll be alright, Spike, honest,” said Twilight.

The drake shook his head. “Not after what happened. If we hadn’t gotten out of the courtroom, who knows what would’ve happened to you?”

“I agree, Twilight,” said Celestia. “If Spike hadn’t pushed you over, I fear things would’ve turned out much worse.”

Starlight frowned. “Why did you do that, Twilight? You heard what Garble said.”

Twilight grimaced. “I thought with him distracted, I could somehow free Rarity without him noticing. I was wrong though.”

“Your intentions were good, princess, but foolish.”

Everyone looked up to see Ember and Master Ash approaching them.

“What’re you doing here, Master?” wondered Spike.

“Master Ash and I wanted to check on Twilight,” answered Ember. “Right now, we have guards running around the castle searching for Garble and Rarity. So far though, no luck at all.”

Ash looked down. “I can’t believe it though. I knew Garble had issues, but…” his voice trailed off as he looked away.

Ember put a hand on his shoulder. “Master, it’s not your fault. He fooled you and everyone the whole time.”

“It doesn’t excuse though how I didn’t question his story too much. I shouldn’t have let my own emotions cloud my judgement for what was best for the Dragon Lands.”

“Lord Ember!”

She turned to see a guard run and salute her. “What’ve you got to report? Have you found Garble and Rarity yet?”

The guard’s expression drooped. “My Lord,” he said in a nervous tone, “I’m...I’m afraid he managed to escape.”

“What!?” exclaimed Ember, furiously. “How!?”

The guard shrunk back a little. “My Lord, it appears that while we were busy locking the castle down and scrambling the guards, Garble took advantage of the confusion and snuck out one of the rooms we didn’t check. He broke a window open and managed to escape from there. We looked around outside, but he was long gone. We’re currently sending out guards now to check across the land, but since we have no lead where he went, it could take hours to possibly track him down.”

Ember growled and punched the wall nearby. “Damn it!” she shouted in frustration. “We almost had him, and he slips from us again!”

Ash looked over at Spike, “Mr. the Dragon, what did Garble mean when he wanted you to meet him at where it all began?”

Spike shrugged. “I really don’t know to be honest. Could be anyplace really. I know it has to be here in the Dragon Lands, but I don’t know where.” He let out a sigh. “It doesn't matter though. We don’t even know where Garble took Rarity. He could be anywhere now.”

“Don’t be so sure.”

Everyone turned around to see Matches walking up to them and was panting.

Ember smiled. “Matches, it’s good to see you.”

He bowed. “Likewise, my Lord.” His eyes fell upon Twilight and he leaned down to her. “How bad is the injury?”

The alicorn blushed a little. “It...it’s fine. It was a minor burn, but nothing too serious.” She raised an eyebrow. “The question I should be asking though is where did you go? We thought you were trapped in the courtroom.”

Matches shook his head. “No, I managed to escape shortly after Garble set fire to the room. I refused to let him get away, so once he escaped with Rarity, I chased after him. He was probably too worried about evading the guards to notice me, so I managed to keep up with him. I saw him go into one of the rooms and heard a shattering noise.

When I went in, I saw the window was broken and he was flying away with Rarity. The guards hadn’t made it to that part of the castle yet, so I took off to chase him down. For a while, he flew around, and I was able to stay far behind so he didn’t notice me. As we passed over the land though, I noticed he was heading to the Scale Sea for some reason.”

Ember raised an eyebrow. “Why there? There’s nothing that interesting out there.”

“There was one place I saw him head to,” said Matches. “An island with a volcano around it. It’s off of the Sawtooth Cliffs.”

A thought crossed Spike’s mind. “Wait a minute. A volcano? A cliff near it? In the middle of an ocean?”

Matches nodded. “That’s right. Once I saw that, I figured I should return and let you all know.”

Ember’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute.” She looked over. “Spike, you don’t think it’s where I think it is, right?”

The drake nodded his head. “I think I know where we need to go. Garble wasn’t kidding when he said it’s where it all began.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “I’m not following. What exactly are you talking about?”

Spike narrowed his eyes. “The Gauntlet of Fire. That’s where Garble is.”

Author's Note

Well, here it is at long last. The final chapter of this trial. It took a lot longer than usual to get this chapter out because of how I wanted it to play out. Had to think about how to make things progress, the handling of how Garble's scheme should've fallen apart, and how to set up the final parts of the story.

The amount of work I've had lately and some laziness hasn't exactly helped make this chapter much easier to be honest. Thankfully, I do have most of what I want to do in the final few chapters of the story thought out, so I'm remaining hopeful things will be alright.

Hope you all enjoy regardless!

Resolve

Ember and Rarity both sat down in the command tent. Ember glanced up at Rarity and saw she was just as nervous as her. The unicorn was cleaned up a bit and hand some bandages for some of her cuts. Ember then looked over to the entrance and saw a few shadows passing, but none approaching the tent.

“Ember?”

The dragoness glanced over and saw Rarity smiling softly at her.

“Darling, we know what Spike wants to talk about,” said Rarity. “I just want you to know something.”

Ember raised an eyebrow.

“Despite everything that’s happened this past week, no matter what happens now about what Spike decides, I just hope we can remain friends.”

Ember smiled a little. “I’d like that too.” She looked away and sighed. “But I think we can both agree that we’d just like Spike as a friend back. I want this mess put behind me and all this end for good.”

Rarity nodded. “Indeed. I believe we both have no one to blame but ourselves for ruining any chance of being with him.”

“Well whoever Spike finds as a mate, I hope he’s happy with her,” said Ember.

“Lord Ember!” a voice called from outside the tent.

The dragoness looked up. “Yes?”

“Mr. the Dragon is here,” he said. “Shall I send him in?”

Ember looked at Rarity and they both nodded together. “Go ahead.”

The tent flaps opened and the drake stepped in. Rarity and Ember looked over Spike and noticed he had several bandages around his arms, a large patch on his chest and stomach, and his left hand wrapped up. The three looked at one another, unsure of what to say. The noise from outside the tent fell silent and the tension inside it seemed to fill up.

“So, are you two alright?” asked Spike.

Ember and Rarity looked up at the drake in surprise.

“Much better now that I’m free from Garble,” said Rarity. “My ankle will be fine, but I just need these crutches for a few days.” she pointed to them next to her.

Ember rubbed the back of her head. “Um...yeah,” she said, softly. “Just got some cuts, but I’ll be okay. You should’ve heard what Master Ash said to me after I was patched up.”

“Did he lecture you or something?” wondered Rarity.

Ember smiled a little. “Actually, he said what I did was brave. When he learned what Garble did, he said I did the right thing to go in and save you, and that he was proud of what I did.”

Rarity smiled back. “Maybe he’s seeing you for how good of a leader you truly are after all.”

Ember nodded. “Yeah.”

Silence fell upon them again for a couple minutes.

“Girls…” said Spike.

“Wait, Spike!” Ember held up a hand. “We have something to say.”

“Indeed we do,” agreed Rarity. She looked at the drake with a smile. “Spike, you don’t have to worry about choosing who you want to be with.”

“What?” Spike tilted his head in confusion.

“What she means is that we know you probably don’t want us as mates,” said Ember. “All we want at this point is just to be friends again. We know that after what we both put you through, you probably don’t want to have either of us.”

“Spike, you don’t have to tell us anything about your decision,” said Rarity. “We know what we’ve both done and how we messed up.” She took Spike’s hand. “Can we please just be friends and forgive us for this?”

Spike removed Rarity’s hand from his own and looked at both Ember and Rarity. The two had a mixture of worry and a pleading expression on their faces. He looked down and took a deep breath.

“Are you two done?” he asked.

Ember and Rarity nodded.

“Good. Now listen, I thought I made it clear to you two that I do want to be friends with both of you again, but I still want to talk about what’ll happen now.”

Ember and Rarity looked at each other in confusion.

“But I don’t understand,” said Ember. “If you said you’d like for me and Rarity to be friends with you, what’s there left to talk about? We thought you wouldn’t want anything more than that after what we’ve done.”

“No, there’s more I need to say about the two of you.” He crossed his arms and his eyes narrowed slightly. “You two caused a lot of the trouble this past week. Fighting against each other, keeping secrets from me about how you two loved me, and you hurt all of us with this feud between the two of you.”

Ember and Rarity looked down and frowned remorsefully.

“But...in the last few days, I see you two understood what you’ve done,” continued Spike. “You realized how pointless this fight was when I cared about both of you. You talked and made up with one another. You even helped me stop Garble from trying to kill one of us. You two have tried to make up for this whole mess.”

The drake let out a sigh. “But no matter what you both may think, you two aren’t completely at fault.”

Rarity and Ember raised their heads.

“But it was the two of us that fought against each other for you, Spike,” said Rarity. “You said it yourself; we caused nothing but trouble with this love triangle.”

“Let me explain,” said Spike. “You two do share a portion of blame, but in the end it was really Garble who was to blame for helping get as bad as it did. He wanted to destroy the alliance between Equestria and the Dragon Lands. He even admitted in court he pushed you two to fight against each other, remember?”

The two ladies nodded.

Spike looked away and frowned. “And...and I share some of the blame too.”

“What!?” Rarity and Ember shouted.

Rarity shook her head. “Spikey, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Yeah, why are you blaming yourself?” wondered Ember.

“Remember the Academy and that cloud formation Ember made?” inquired Spike.

The dragoness raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything? Garble goaded me about my feelings for you.”

“Well, I remember when I got back to the castle that I wasn’t sure what to do. I even realized shortly afterwards that I had feelings for not just Rarity, but for you too, Ember.”

The dragoness blushed a little.

“Instead of talking to you two though, I just shut myself in and hid from you two about what to do,” said Spike. While I did talk to Starlight and she gave me some advice, I really should’ve gotten all of us together about what Ember did and talk about how much you both mean to me.”

He let out a sigh and shook his head. “I said I would choose the right time when to talk to you two, but I think it should’ve been earlier before it got out of control. Maybe we all could’ve saved ourselves so much trouble.”

Ember frowned. “Starlight told us about the feelings you had for both me and Rarity. I know you didn’t know what to do, but it wasn’t your fault, Spike. We both let this spiral out of control.”

Spike rubbed his chin in thought for a minute. “You know, I think maybe there were some good things that came from this though.”

Rarity and Ember looked at Spike with shock on their faces.

The drake held his hands up. “I know this sounds weird, but think about it. If Garble didn’t try to break up the alliance, who knows what he would’ve done to you, Ember?”

The dragoness’ eyes widened.

“You know how much he hated you and what you were doing,” he reasoned. “If we didn’t catch him now, he could’ve done something worse to you.”

“I suppose you have a point,” said Ember.

“But we both acted horribly to you and to each other,” argued Rarity. “Look where it landed us all.”

Spike smiled a little. “But now look at you two. After everything that happened, you both finally realized how you’ve been acting and patched things up. Sure, it wasn’t what any of us wanted, but through this whole thing, you both realized what you’ve done and make up for it.”

Rarity and Ember both couldn’t help but smile to themselves.

“Which brings me back to what to do now,” said Spike. “I know you two have been wondering what’ll happen now that everything’s come out in the open.”

Rarity gulped a little. “And?”

Spike crossed his arms. “To be honest, I’ve had a hard time deciding what to do, but after all this time and thinking, I believe there’s only one way to settle this once and for all.”

Ember and Rarity leaned forward and held their breaths in anticipation. Spike looked down, making it impossible for both of them to see his expression. Rarity bit her lip while Ember gripped the armrests of her chair so tightly, they were about to break.

Spike looked up after a minute and had a sad look on him. “The truth is, I don’t think it’s possible for it to work out without one of you feeling hurt.”

Ember and Rarity’s hearts sank and they looked down with remorseful expressions on them. Neither of them said anything as the words sunk in. Ember felt a hand on on her own and looked to see Rarity smiling sadly. The dragoness nodded at her and took a deep breath.

“We understand, Spike,” said Ember, solemnly. “We figured after all of this, the last thing you’d want to do is to have any kind of romantic relationship with me or Rarity.”

Rarity nodded. “We’re just happy to know we’re friends again. Whoever you find as your marefriend, we hope you’ll both be happy together.”

Spike frowned. “I don’t think you understand at all.”

Both ladies looked at Spike with confused looks on them.

“What do you mean?” wondered Ember.

Spike answered by reaching out with his hand and grabbing both Ember and Rarity’s hands. The two of them gasped and felt heat build up in their cheeks. Neither of them knew what to say or how to feel. Ember could feel her heart racing like as if she had run the Gauntlet of Fire back and forth. Rarity just kept staring at Spike’s hand and breathed heavily.

Ember shook her head in disbelief. “I...I don’t understand,” she stammered in shock. “You said there was no way for it to work.”

“Without hurting any of you,” corrected Spike. “If I only chose one of you, I know the other would be hurt and really, I can’t just choose one of you alone. I want to be with both of you.”

“But why?” wondered Rarity. “Why both of us?”

“I have to agree with Rarity,” said Ember. “Spike, this isn’t really making any sense at all.”

Spike smiled a little. “Well, you both mean a lot to me in so many ways that you influenced and helped change me.” He looked at Rarity. “You taught me about being generous and to help others out. If you hadn’t shown me this, I may never have gotten over my greed rampage on my birthday. I love to help you out, and I know you always look forward to me helping you out. And no matter what happens or big your business grows, you never let anything like fame and fortune make you forget your friends.”

The unicorn blushed and smiled.

Spike turned to Ember. “When I first met you, Ember, I knew there was something different about you. You weren’t like the others dragons I’ve met before that just look out for themselves or were cruel. There was something in you that made me realize you weren’t like the others. Even before you accepted friendship, you helped me and protected Twilight and Rarity from Garble’s wrath. When I chose you to become the next Dragon Lord, it’s because I knew after everything I showed you and how you saved me, that I knew you’d be a great leader and help show dragons that greed and looking out for themselves wasn’t everything.”

Ember’s eyes widened and could feel her face burning up, but made no attempt to hide it.

“But are you sure about this, Spikey?” inquired Rarity. “I know you weren’t sure what to do when you realized you loved both of us, but this…” her words trailed off as Spike put a finger to her lips.

“I’m sure,” he responded with a smile. “But I think I should be the one asking you two if you want to do this. After what happened between you two, I want to make sure you both won’t be trying to kill each other just to have me.”

Rarity and Ember looked at each other and both blushed a little.

The dragoness rubbed her head. “Truth be told, I think after everything we did and how we made up, I kind of feel closer to Rarity now than when I first met her.”

Rarity nodded. “Indeed. We both got to know each other and I think we’ve become good friends after all this. It’s a shame both of us had to look like mules before we became true friends.” She took Ember’s hand and smiled at her. “Well, Ember, I think this is the best choice for all of us. I’ve thought for a long time of having Spike to myself, but I know you love him too. I wouldn’t mind sharing him with you after all of this.”

Ember looked at Rarity and then at Spike. “But, there’s one thing, Spike. You know I’m the Dragon Lord, so I gotta stay here and watch over the kingdom. How can we make something like this work if I’m so far away from you two?”

Rarity frowned. “She has a point, Spike. What exactly are we going to do?”

Spike just smiled. “Well, if I remember right, Starlight is in a relationship with Sunburst and Trixie. Sunburst lives in the Crystal Empire and Trixie travels a lot for her shows. Their relationship is working out great from what she told me. So if their relationship can work out, I think ours can too.”

“Are you sure, Spike?” wondered the dragoness. “I don’t want to feel like I’m neglecting you or Rarity because of how busy I am.”

Spike nodded. “Ember, you and Rarity both mean a lot to me, and after all this, do you really want to turn down something like this?”

Ember smiled and shook her head. “I’ve never heard of a Dragon Lord having two mates, but I guess there’s a first for everything. I’d love to be a part of this and be with you and Rarity, Spike.”

The two girls stood up and all three of them hugged each other. Spike closed his eyes and sighed in content. Rarity and Ember pulled away from him and smiled at him. Rarity and Ember pulled away and both had alluring expressions on them. Spike couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

Ember looked towards the tent entrance. “How do you think they’ll react?”

Spike took both Rarity and Ember’s hands. “There’s only one way to find out.”

Rarity grabbed her crutches and and the trio walked up to the tent flaps. Spike looked at Rarity and she nodded, and then at Ember who also nodded. The trio walked out together and were instantly greeted with guards lined up and looking at them. Almost immediately, the murmurs and whispering started to fill the air.

“Hey, look at them.”

“Wait, that’s Spike, but he’s holding hands with Lord Ember and that pony?”

“What’s going on here? What happened in that tent?”

“Lord Ember!” a voice boomed.

Everyone fell silent as Master Ash, Princess Celestia and Luna, and Twilight and the others came walking up towards them.

The elder dragon bowed and said, “My Lord, we’ve been wondering when you would step out. I’ve just received word Garble’s been transferred to a hospital and is under heavy guard. How are...things...with…”

Ash’s words trailed off as his eyes caught the sight of Ember holding Spike’s hand and the drake holding Rarity’s hand. He stared back at Ember with a puzzled look on him. “My Lord, what’s going on here?”

The dragoness smiled. “Well, Spike talked to me and Rarity and convinced us that rather than him being with one of us, the three of us will be in a relationship together.

The guards all gasped and some looked like they were about to faint. Master Ash’s eyes widened in shock and stepped back.

“A...polygamous relationship?” he inquired. “This is unheard of. There’s never been a Dragon Lord who’s–”

“Been in a three way relationship,” finished Ember. “I know, but Spike convinced us this was the best way to make us all happy.”

The elder dragon glanced at Spike. “Mr. the Dragon, explain yourself.”

Celestia frowned. “Now, Master, if this is what they want to do, we shouldn’t intervene.”

Spike held a hand up. “It’s okay, Princess, I know you all want to know.”

The others looked on in anticipation.

“I didn’t realize it up until the day at the Wonderbolt Academy, but after what Ember did, I realized how I had a crush on both her and Rarity,” explained Spike. “For a while, I didn’t know what to do or how to act.” He looked over at Starlight and smiled. “It wasn’t until a friend gave me some advice about what to do and shared some of her experiences.”

The unicorn blushed a little and smiled back.

“But both Miss Rarity and Lord Ember fought each other over you,” said Ash. “Even if you three wish to do this, what’s to say they won’t start fighting over your affection again?”

Spike rubbed his chin and looked at both Rarity and Ember. “We all know what they did, but they’ve made it clear how much they regret it. However, I think I want to hear from both of them.”

The drake brought the two ladies to the front and looked at both of them with a stern expression on him. “Now listen, I want you both to promise this; no more fighting. I don’t want to see or hear you two do something like this again. The reason I’m letting this happen is so we can all be happy and I know you two are better than this. If there’s some other mare that seems to like me or is just talking to me, I don’t want you two pulling this stunt again, got it?”

Rarity and Ember nodded. “Yes, Spike,” they said in unison.

“But there’s still one thing,” said Ash. “Distance. While there are no laws prohibiting polygamous relationships here, the fact that Lord Ember has a mate living far away will make it difficult to maintain a good relationship.”

Ember stepped forward. “Master Ash, I know you may not be completely on this idea, but this is something we all agreed to. I don’t care if Spike lives in Equestria, he’s my…” she looked at Rarity briefly, “...no, our mate. After all this, we’ve grown closer to one another now, and we l...lo…” The dragoness’ face turned red.

Spike chuckled a little and patted Ember. “We know what you’re trying to say, Em–”

“LOVE HIM!” she blurted out, loudly. Ember could feel the heat in her cheeks build up more as she looked around at everyone staring at her. She gulped and gripped her fist. “We...love him,” she said in a shaky tone, “and we don’t care if any dragon, or pony, says otherwise. He’s everything I think a dragon could be; smart, brave, and willing to help out no matter what.”

Rarity cuddled against Spike. “Not to mention, cute as well.”

Ash looked down and nodded. “Lord Ember, if this makes you happy, then we won’t stand in your way.”

Rarity and Ember hugged Spike tightly. The two girls looked at Spike with warm smiles on their faces, and their eyes drooped a little. Rarity slowly closed her eyes and moved in slowly towards Spike’s cheek. Ember, still blushing, did the same thing as the unicorn. Spike gasped as he felt two lips kiss each of his cheeks. Spike saw out of the corner of his eye how Rarity was getting into it, and how Ember’s blush seemed to fade away and looked more relaxed. He just closed his eyes and let the moment go on as the world seemed to be nothing more than a blur, and the two girls in his embrace were all that mattered.

Spike’s eyes suddenly shot wide open. “ARGH!” he cried out.

Ember and Rarity broke the kiss and looked on in concern at Spike.

“What’s wrong, Spikey?” wondered Rarity.

The drake broke the embrace and stumbled back. He fell to his knees and groaned in pain. “My...my back!” he yelled. “It’s hurting way worse than before!”

Spike gripped the rocky ground hard enough to break it and panted. He banged his hand against the ground and fell to the side, kicking his legs. His groans soon turned to yelling as he felt like someone had cut him deeply in the back. The others watching on in horror.

Rarity ran over. “SPIKE!” she cried out in horror.

She was suddenly stopped by a blade appearing in front of her. She looked up and saw Ash with a neutral look on him.

“Master, what’re you doing!?” demanded the unicorn. “Spike needs help now! Call a medic or something!”

“There’s nothing worry about,” he said, calmly. “In fact, this is actually normal.”

“What!?” the ponies questioned in unison.

Celestia frowned. “Explain yourself, Master,” she demanded. “What is happening to my son?”

“I remember Mr. the Dragon talking about his back pain while on the way to the Gauntlet of Fire,” he said. “I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now that I’m seeing it, I finally understand now what’s been making him experience such pain.”

“What’re you talking about?” inquired Twilight.

“Twilight, don’t worry.”

The alicorn looked over and saw Ember with a rather calm look on her. “I know what Master Ash is talking about. I should’ve been able to realize it sooner, but now I see what’s going on.”

Starlight groaned in frustration. “Will somedragon please tell us what’s going on!? Spike’s having another back spasm and you’re all taking this easily!”

Ash shook his head. “No, not another one, the last one.”

Spike continued to scream in pain and rolled around on the ground in pain. His panting became more rapid and could feel his heart racing. He desperately tried to crawl over to his friends for help, but as he put his hand out, he gasped at the sight before him. His hand was slowly being covered and turned to stone.

The drake struggled to get up and looked at the others. “Twilight! Ember! Mom! Someone help me!” he called out.

Celestia began to move forward, but Ash put his hand up in front of her. The elder dragon shook his head.

“Master, are you sure this normal?” the solar princess inquired. “If something goes wrong with my son…”

“Just watch,” said Ash. “You’ll understand soon enough.”

Spike looked on in horror as his body continued to turn to stone slowly and crawl up to his head. As the rock reached up to his neck, he looked at his friends with a pleading expression for help. Suddenly, everything went black for him as the stone covered his eyes and silenced him completely. The others looked on at the drake turned statue and didn’t know what to say, or how to act.

Rarity turned to Ash and glared daggers at him. “What’s happened to him!? What happened to Spikey Wikey! Tell me!”

“He’s undergoing something that should’ve happened to him a long time ago, but only now is it happening. He was a slow grower, but it’s finally come around.”

“What’s come around?” wondered Rainbow.

Ember smiled. “You’ll see.” She pointed a finger at the statue.

A cracking noise echoed throughout the area. A large crack ran down Spike’s stone arm, then another appeared around his chest area. More and more cracks appeared around the statue until soon the entire thing looked like nothing but loose rock barely held together. The rocks then slowly fell off piece by piece, revealing the drake again. Twilight and her friends gasped as they saw Spike emerge from the stone and looked on in shock.

Spike groaned as the last of the stone broke and fell to his knees again. He rubbed his head and opened his eyes. Everything was a blur before him, making it impossible to tell what everyone was looking at him for.

“What...what happened?” he asked, weakly. “I remember pain, but then I blacked out.”

Ember and Rarity looked on with blushes on their faces.

The dragoness leaned against Rarity. “I knew this kind of a thing would affect him, but not like this.” Rarity just nodded back at her.

Rainbow’s jaw dropped. “Whoa! Check those out!”

Applejack let out a whistle.

Fluttershy nearly fainted, but was caught by Pinkie and Starlight.

Twilight rubbed her eyes in disbelief. “Spike, what happened to you?”

The drake looked up and noticed his vision was clearing up. He saw the shocked looks everyone had on their faces and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “What happened to me?” He looked down. “And why do you all look a little smaller?”

Celestia stepped forward and her horn glowed. A large mirror appeared near Spike. “Why don’t you take a look for yourself?”

Spike got up and slowly walked towards the mirror. When he got in front of it, the drake gasped and stumbled back a bit. He slowly reached his hand out towards the reflection to check if it was his, and did a double take. He looked at his body all over and was at a lost for words about what to say.

He noticed he was now taller than before, and not only that, he was more muscular now instead of the lean muscle he was, he now looked more ripped than before. But what really caught his attention and made him freeze was something on his back he never thought he’d see; wings. The wings popped out and were shown to be rather large. They were mostly purple, like the rest of his body, and had a white webbing going on between each finger of his wings.

Spike shook his head. “I...I don’t believe it. I sprouted wings.” He beamed and pumped his fists. “I JUST SPROUTED WINGS!” He looked around and chuckled weakly as everyone stared at him. “Um...sorry.”

Ash smirked. “Don’t be, Mr. the Dragon, you have every right to be happy about what happened to you. I’m surprised though it took someone like you so long to finally grow wings.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “But what happened to me? How did this happen?”

“The molt, Spike.”

The drake looked over at Ember.

“Spike, remember that day in the library when we talked about different types of dragons?” she asked. Spike nodded. “I said to you those who are about to grow wings get back pains the closer they get to the time. There was one thing I forgot to mention; the molt.”

“Which is what?” he inquired.

“When dragons are about to grow their wings, they get a massive back spasm and feel like they’re in massive pain. It’s part of the final stage, but there’s more. The dragon’s body slowly turns to stone to protect them for the few brief minutes they end up being unable to move. During that time, they undergo a change as they grow taller and sprout their wings. You must’ve been one of the rare cases of a dragon being delayed to grow their wings.”

“I thought it took some kind of magic power though,” said Spike.

Ash rubbed his chin. “Mr. the Dragon, a question for you.”

“Go ahead.”

“On the day of the Gauntlet of Fire, you picked up the Bloodstone Scepter first, correct?” he questioned. “Did anything happen to you when you picked it up?”

Spike nodded. “That’s right. I remember that some sort of power went through me when I picked it up. It was hard to describe it, but it felt like some kind of magic power that…” The drake’s words trailed off. “You don’t think that was it, do you?”

Ash nodded. “Perhaps it was. The Bloodstone Scepter is usually seen as a symbol of leading the dragons and being the Dragon Lord, but at times it does contain mysterious power that can help whoever wields it. In your case, perhaps it sensed that despite being an adult dragon, you hadn’t grown your wings yet. So perhaps that served as some catalyst to awaken it.”

Spike looked at his wings and touched them. They shivered a bit from the touch.

“Easy now,” cautioned Ash. “They’ve only recently sprouted, so they’ll be rather sensitive.”

“But what made me finally sprout them?” wondered Spike. “I was feeling the pain for a while, but only now did I sprout them.”

Ash looked at Ember and Rarity and smiled. “Perhaps there was another catalyst. Usually wings take around a week or so to grow after the pain begins, but sometimes there can be other factors too.”

Spike looked at Rarity and Ember. The trio smiled at one another as they all came together and hugged each other. Both ladies snuggled against Spike’s shoulder and he just smiled.

Twilight looked at Ash. “So he’ll be okay?”

The elder dragon nodded. “More than okay, he’ll be perfectly fine now. I would suggest though having one of our doctors check his wings to make sure there are no complications.”

Twilight smiled and nodded.

Rainbow pumped her fist. “Aw, yeah! I got a dragon racing buddy now!”

Twilight frowned. “Rainbow, Spike isn’t there to be just for racing against you.”

“Well, I want to see how a dragon does against a pegasus. Besides, I got to find a way to see who would win since my race with Ember got cut short.”

Ember chuckled. “We’ll just have to get a rematch one day then. I don’t think it would be fair for you to take on some dragon who’s learning to fly against an expert.”

Rainbow smirked. “You’re on!”

Ash crossed his arms and smiled. “Well, I guess this finally ends this whole ordeal.” He looked over at Ember. “My Lord, I know this has been herrowing for you, but I’m just glad Garble’s treachery didn’t end up with you or your friends hurt.”

“Not so fast, Master.”

The elder dragon turned to Celestia and Luna walking up to him.

“I’m afraid it’s not over yet,” said the solar princess.

“Indeed,” said Luna. “There’s still one last matter that needs to be taken care of.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “What else is there? We stopped Garble and a conspiracy against Lord Ember has been halted. What other threat remains?”

“A promise,” said Celestia.

A clicking noise echoed throughout, and all the guards gasped. Ash raised his hands up to show a pair of large chains cuffing him. He looked at the stern expressions of both Celestia and Luna.

“Master Ash of the Dragon Lands, you’re under arrest for crimes against Equestria including invasion, causing an international incident, and illegal extradition,” said the solar princess, coldly. “You haven’t forgotten the deal we made, did you?”

Ash looked down and frowned. “No...I haven’t. I understand fully, Princess.”

Suddenly, the guards started yelling and were letting out blasts of fire from their mouths.

“What’s that pony doing to the head of the Dragon Council!?”

“She can’t do that!”

“Those ponies are going to pay for this!”

“ENOUGH!” roared Ember.

The yelling ceased as all the dragons looked at the furious Dragon Lord.

“If you all must know, Master Ash himself agreed to turn himself over to Equestria once this whole ordeal was over,” she said. “Once I let him know what really happened and what he did, Princess Celestia would have him taken to stand up for his crimes against Equestria.”

One guard stepped forward. “My Lord, even if Master Ash agreed to this, we were under orders to rescue you! Master Ash believed you were in danger and we had to rescue you at all costs!”

Ember nodded. “While it’s true Master Ash’s intentions were good, it doesn’t mean this can be overlooked and must face up to what he’s done.”

“This isn’t fair though!” another guard yelled. “Those ponies are just looking for payback! They can’t do this to Master Ash! He had no idea Garble set up the whole thing!”

“That much is true,” said Ember. “However, he still needs to answer for what he’s done. Regardless of his good intentions, he nearly got a citizen of Ponyville wrongfully imprisoned.”

“But what’ll we do without the head of the Dragon Council?” another guard asked. “If those ponies are being like this over a mistake, then we don’t need them”

Ember’s eyes narrowed. “That’s where you’re wrong!” she barked.

All the dragons looked at Ember with curious looks on them.

“If you think we don’t need Equestria, you’re all wrong,” she said, sternly. “If anything, I believe this whole thing has shown us how much have to learn still.”

A silver dragon stepped forward. “My Lord, what do you mean?”

“We’re dragons, and we’re supposed to be a proud race, right?” All the guards nodded. “I’ve seen a lot of dragons boast about everything from how big their hordes are to even seeing who can do the longest burp. For everything we claim we’re so good at, I’ve seen a lot of the worst aspects of dragons, and this whole incident proves it.”

All the guards looked and muttered at each other.

“My ‘rescue’ from Ponyville showed how quick we are to react without thinking. I know you all must’ve been feeling angry about what Master Ash told you all, but without even letting me get a word in, you all assumed something terrible had happen to me. When I came back home, I heard you all talk about how ineffective I was as a ruler and were ready to turn on me. Now, here when Master Ash did something wrong, you all overreact again and think ponies are somehow to blame for something you all did.”

“But Lord Ember,” a guard shouted. “We were following orders! Those ponies don’t have a right to punish Master Ash for thinking you were in danger!”

Ember crossed her arms. “I know Master Ash meant well and was tricked by Garble, but he nearly got a pony wrongfully sent to jail for something she didn’t do.”

“But what does this have to do with us needing Equestria?” another guard asked.

Ember looked down. “All my life, I’ve always been told by my dad how strong and proud us dragons are. How we didn’t really need anyone else, and that it’s the strong survive while the weak serve them. I thought that for a long time myself, but not to the extreme I’ve seen others show. I thought dragons didn’t do stuff like hugs, friendship, and all that other stuff,” she sighed. “That was until I met Spike.”

The drake raised an eyebrow.

“When I first met Spike, I thought he was just some runt dragon and all his talk about friendship was some fluffy garbage not worth my time. But...the longer I hung around him, the more I came to see how different he was from other dragons. He didn’t know much about me, and he trusted me to help him through the Gauntlet of Fire. He wanted to make sure I was okay and looked out for me and his friends. I know other dragons wouldn’t have stopped to help someone like me when I fell into the ocean unconscious during the Gauntlet. If it wasn’t for Spike coming to help, I know I wouldn’t be here.”

The other guards looked at Spike in awe.

“By the end of the Gauntlet, I felt uncomfortable by abandoning him to try and go off on my own for power. I realized that despite how goofy it sounded, there was something about what Spike said to me about friendship that hit me about what I did was wrong. Even though he ended up winning the Gauntlet of Fire, he left me in charge to continue what he told me about. He could’ve easily stayed here and lead us all, but he left me to do this because he trusted me, and thought I was the best choice.

During my first month as Dragon Lord, I told all the dragons about friendship, and while many disagreed on it at first, I did notice some changes. Dragons were no longer being aggressive towards each other. They looked...happy, and not like they found a pile of treasure happy, but it looked more peaceful now. It was a major change compared to how dragons would either beat each other up to see who was better, or just have one of them have a pack to boss around and treat like dirt.”

Ember pointed a finger. “Spike showed me how we can all be better. He’s not only kind, but he’s smart, willing to help others out, and brave. Despite growing up in Equestria, I believe he’s shown us how better we can all be. He even gave me a chance to prove how sorry I was when Rarity and I messed things up and made him upset. Any other dragon would never have been that forgiving.”

The dragoness scowled. “Garble, on the other hand, showed me how we need to change and become better. He was willing to do anything to get rid of me and become Dragon Lord himself. He used others, threaten other dragons, believed all creatures were inferior to dragons, and tried to kill both Spike and Rarity before I came to help. He showed everything wrong with dragons and why I feel we need to try and be better.”

“And how does Equestria fit into this?” the silver dragon asked.

Ember smiled. “I believe we can all learn a lot from these ‘pathetic ponies’ you all like to consider useless. Spike was raised in Equestria and while he’s far different from the other dragons we’ve seen, I believe we can learn a lot from them. In my time there, I’ve seen so much and while some of the ponies there are a bit...eccentric we’re not too different from them. There’s so much though that we can learn from them.”

“Like what?”

“Trusting each other, helping each other, and friendship,” said Ember. “There was no trusting me when I went to Equestria and you all thought I wasn’t fit to rule. Dragons don’t help each other out when they need it like I did when I knew Garble was lying. Friendship because we shouldn’t always be trying to look out for themselves, but to look out for each other.”

The dragoness stepped forward with a confident look on her. “For so long we’ve always stuck to the idea that we’ve been better than all creatures and what we do is right. If we learn more from Equestria, I believe we can all live in peace. Not just as allies, but as friends too, and I believe it’ll start with making up for what Rarity was put through. I know most of you still think friendship is corny and we don’t need it, but after what Spike’s shown me and what he’s done, I think we could learn some things about how much better we can be. I don’t care if you all want to think I’m crazy, we dragons can improve and by passing on what Spike has taught me about friendship, we can become stronger than before!”

Ember looked around the crowd waiting for someone to say anything, but none of the guards moved. They all stared at her in awe and said anything at all. Suddenly, she heard a slow clap and turned to see Spike smiling at her. Rarity then joined her, then Twilight, her friends, and the princesses. Ember turned to Spike who nodded at her slowly, making her blush a little.

“Lord Ember.”

The dragoness looked at Ash, who was smiling himself.

“That was quite the speech there,” he said. “Hard to believe in such a short amount of time you’ve become quite the leader. You’re father would be proud to know the Dragon Lands are in safe hands with you leading us.”

Ember beamed. “Thank you, Master Ash.”

The elder dragons’ face drooped. “It’s just Ash now, my Lord,” he said, solemnly. “After today, I no longer am the head of the Dragon Council; nor am I prosecutor. I’m just merely Ash now.”

Ember frowned. “I understand, Ma...erm, Ash.”

Princess Celestia stepped forward and had a stern look on her as she looked at the guards. “There’s one last part of the deal Lord Ember and I had made with Ash. I want all the guards who were responsible for the invasion of Ponyville to come forward and turn themselves in here and now! I assure you all that if you come forward now and surrender yourselves, I’ll be lenient on you.”

The princess’ eyes narrowed sharply. “However, if you were one of the guards responsible and you run or someone else covers for you, know this! Know that I won’t be so merciful to you for running from what you’ve done! Now come forward!”

At first none of the guards moved and just looked at the alicorn in both fear and awe. Then, a gold dragon stepped forward, dropped his spear and put his hands up. Then a second guard, then five, ten, twenty five, fifty. More and more guards stepped up and put their hands in the air and looked down in shame. The sound of weapons falling and clattering on the rocky ground echoed throughout, nearly drowning out the noise of the volcanoes exploding in the distance.

Celestia looked at Ash. “How many guards did you bring with you on the day of the invasion?” she inquired.

Ash grimaced. “Three hundred. I brought at least three hundred guards to Ponyville.” He squinted his eyes. “I believe that’s most, if not all, of them. I can help identify them as I personally oversaw who was coming with me to Equestria that day.”

Princess Luna nodded. “Very well. We’ll see if any of them either ran off or tried to have someone else take their place.”

“Leave it to me,” said Ember. She turned to face a black dragoness. “Commander Cynder, inform the other guards to start having those who stepped forward placed in chains and have their weapons taken away. Get a message back to the castle we’ll need several large chariots to transport the guards to the jail and have them held until it’s time to transfer them to Equestria.”

The dragoness saluted. “Right away, my Lord.” She turned around to two guards. “Alright, let’s move out!” she barked.

Ember watched as Cynder walked off and shouting orders. She turned to Spike and smiled at him. “Well, I guess this is it.”

Spike looked confused. “What do you mean?”

Ember’s smile drooped a little. “It’s going to take a while to get things straightened up here, Spike. With Ma...Ash gone and the fallout of what happened with his actions, I’ll be needed to help make sure things don’t get worse. I need to inform the Dragon Council about this change and where to go next from here. As much as I want to be with you, Rarity, and all your friends, they need me now more than ever.”

Spike looked down and frowned. “Just when you and Rarity finally get along too.”

Ember put a hand on Spike’s shoulder. “Look, I really don’t want to either, but you chose me to be the Dragon Lord because you trusted that I’d make a great ruler, right?” The drake nodded. “It’s time I really stepped up now and assure the dragons who’ve doubted me they’re wrong about me.”

Spike snapped his fingers and looked up. “Why don’t we all stay here then? Maybe we can help you with–”

Ember held a hand up. “I know you want to help, but this is something I need to do. I won’t be by myself though.” She looked up and saw Matches walking up to her. She placed a claw on his shoulder. “I got a friend to help me here already. I just need to remember to listen to him and tell him any problems I’m having. I’m going to need a good sergeant around to help keep the other guards in check too.”

Matches looked shocked. “S–sergeant?” he stammered.

Ember nodded. “I think a promotion is in order for what you’ve done in helping out. There’s going to be some changes in the Dragon Army too after what I’ve seen and learned. How about it, Matches? Are you ready?”

Matches smiled and bowed. “It’ll be my honor, Lord Ember.”

Ember looked back at Spike and Rarity. “I think there’s only one thing left to do now.”

“What’s that?” wondered Spike.

Ember answered by bringing both Spike and Rarity in for a sudden hug. Spike and Rarity didn’t know how to react. They both looked at the warm smile the dragoness had on her face, and just returned the hug themselves.

Spike couldn’t help but chuckle. “Whatever happened to being hesitant about hugging, Ember?”

Ember laughed back. “You know what? I don’t think I mind it with you or Rarity. There’s one last thing I nearly forgot though to go with this goodbye hug.”

“And that is?”

Spike’s question was answered with another gesture from Ember. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. The drake froze up and his eyes widen at first. However, they soon slowly closed and found himself returning the kiss himself. The world slowed down between the two and the noise around them drowned out. After what seemed to be hours of being like this, Ember broke the kiss and slowly opened her eyes.”

“A goodbye kiss,” she answered, sweetly. “I’ve read sometimes mates kiss one another when they have to leave each other for a while.”

Spike smiled and giggled a little. “You got that right. But...you’ll be back soon, right?”

Ember nodded. “Of course I will.”

Rarity smirked. “Well, Ember, looks like you got the first kiss from Spikey Wikey. I was kind of hoping to be his first, but since the three of us are together, I guess it’s time for both of us to have our first kiss with him.”

The unicorn grabbed Spike’s head and turned it towards her. Before the drake could react, she leaned in and kissed him on the lips as well. Spike quickly returned the kiss with her and leaned against her. Ember smiled a little as she let the two have their own moment. Suddenly, Spike’s wings flapped wildly, causing him to break up the kiss.

“Whoa!” he yelled as he grabbed his wings. “What was that?”

Ember laughed. “Probably a reaction of how you felt from what Rarity and I did to you. Maybe before you leave you should see one of the doctors to make sure your wings are healthy.”

Spike nodded. “Good idea. Hope they can help tell me how to control them too.”

Ember looked at Twilight. “Can you use your magic to give me two scrolls and an inked quill?”

Twilight nodded and her horn lit up. The scrolls and a red quill both popped up seconds later. Ember took them and wrote on the paper for a few seconds. She rolled up and the scroll and took a deep breath and in a blue flame, the scroll was gone.

“What did you do?” inquired Twilight.

“I sent a message to one of the doctors at the castle. I told him to see Spike as soon as you all get back there.” Ember handed the other scroll to Twilight. “Just use the chariot we all came in from the volcano and let them know I ordered you all back to the castle. I’ve also given them orders to help take you all back to Equestria after Spike’s been cleared.”

Twilight nodded. “Will do. Thank you for everything, Ember.”

The dragoness shook her head. “No, thank you all for everything you’ve taught me. I hope the next time we meet, it’ll be a proper visit; not some stupid fight.”

The group waved at Ember, and the dragoness returned it. They all walked towards the chariot and stepped into the ride. Spike and Rarity took one final glance at Ember and waved tearfully at her. The dragoness waved harder than ever and bowed at the two of them. Rarity and Spike bowed back and walked into the carriage. The door slammed and a few seconds later, the guards pulling it slowly flapped their wings and took off into the sky above. Ember noticed as the chariot went off into the sky, the clouds in the sky started to clear and the sun shined on the ground below.

Matches whistled. “Wow. We don’t usually see the sun during Erupting Season. Must be a good sign.”

Ember sighed contently.

Matches looked over and raised an eyebrow. “Ember, are you...are you actually crying?”

The dragoness froze up and quickly looked away. “No!” she barked, “Some of the ash got in my eye! Dragons don’t cry so easily!”

The green drake chuckled. “Whatever you say, my Lord. I didn’t see anything strange at all. But if I could ask one thing.”

“What is it?”

“What was it like?” he asked. “You’re first kiss with some dragon you love?”

Ember smiled and looked up at the sky. “Like the sweetest Fire Ruby any dragon has ever had.”

Author's Note

Holy mother of mercy, I am so sorry to everyone. If you recall my previous chapter's A.N., I mentioned about training for my career. Not gonna lie, it kicked my ass. For the last 4 months or so, I've been working really hard either at training, or at work. I barely had any days off and it was draining me big time. Any day I had off, I tried to do some writing, but I lacked motivation and energy. All I wanted to do was recover from all the work.

We're just about at the end though, people. There's only a few chapters left. A possible clop chapter, one to wrap up some minor things, and then an epilogue. And yes, I didn't forget about Ash like some people thought I would. Although, I should say this isn't the full end for him...yet. There's still one last bit of business to deal with him.

I also know some people may find the overall choice Spike made to be a rather cop out way to resolve things. This has been something hinted throughout the more recent chapters about Spike's dilemma about his conflict with Ember and Rarity, an what to do.

Thanks for being patient as usual, and hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Departure

“Is everyone ready?” asked Spike.

Applejack sighed. “For the tenth time, Spike, yes,” she said in frustrated tone. “Y’all are giving Twilight a run for her bits about being so worked up.”

“Hey!” the alicorn exclaimed.

The drake was looking outside at the clear, blue sky. “I can’t help it, Applejack,” he said. “This time, I want things to go right. I got to make sure everything’s ready to go.”

“Spike, darling.”

He turned around as he heard the familiar voice of Rarity walking up to him. She put his hands around his back and kissed him on the cheek.

“This isn’t going to be anything like last time,” she reassured. “You don’t need to worry this time. I know you and I have been waiting for this for some time, but there’s no need to get so worked up. Just relax, darling, and be patient.”

Spike opened his mouth to speak, but Rarity raised an eyebrow at him. He sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Rarity. I just want everything to be ready for her. She’s going to have a great welcome party and I want to make sure it’s perfect!”

Rainbow chuckled and shook her head. “You’ve been hanging around Twilight way too long.”

Twilight frowned. “Well, ignoring Rainbow, I’m anxious too. I’m hoping the right books are being brought along. I want to see what I can do.”

Rainbow looked at Spike and raised an eyebrow. “What’s she talking about?”

Spike shrugged. “Twilight’s been telling me about something big she wants to work on. In my letters to Ember, she wrote some books down she wants to take a look at. She even took the time to learn how to read the Dragon language so she doesn’t need a translator.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “That’s our egghead for you.”

“Now, Spike,” Twilight cautioned. “Just remember that they haven’t been here for fun.”

Spike sighed. “I know, Twilight but this is the first time I’ll see her in a few weeks. She’s told me what’s been going on, and she’s really working hard. I just want to let her relax a bit and hang out with her and Rarity.”

Starlight smirked and looked at Twilight. “He really does take after you.”

The alicorn grumbled and looked away.

Rarity snuggled against Spike. “Spikey Wikey, you and I know Ember. I know she’s been very busy, but I’m confident she knows what she’s doing. She’s probably just as anxious to see us again as you are.”

The drake smiled. “You’re right, Rarity.” He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “I just can’t wait to catch up with her again. I hope mom isn’t keeping her held for much longer.”

Twilight frowned. “Listen, everyone, I’ve been meaning to tell you all this, but I was at Canterlot, and I talked to Princess Celestia and Luna. We’ve all agreed to a deal.”

“What kind of a deal?” inquired Applejack.

“You see, I–”

“Hey!”

Everyone looked up and saw Rainbow descending from the sky.

“They’re coming!” announced the pegasus. “Just saw them coming from across the Everfree Forest.”

Spike beamed and looked up at the sky with his friends. The group saw three dots over the forest like Rainbow said. The dots soon became clearer as they got closer and closer. Spike’s smile widened as he recognized the familiar golden armor on one of the flyers. The three flyers landed on the ground with enough force to slightly shake the ground.

Spike walked up to the one in the middle. “Ember?” he asked.

The helmet was removed to show the dragoness smiling at him. Before she could open her mouth, Spike and Rarity ran up and hugged her. She returned the hug and could feel both her mates snuggle up against her. The drake and unicorn leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, making Ember blush a little. After a couple of seconds, they broke the embrace and looked at each other.

“Spike, Rarity, it’s good to see you two again.” Ember looked at Spike. “How are your new wings doing?”

Spike smiled. “They’re doing great! Rainbow’s been trying to teach me how to fly. It’s tough for sure, but I’m getting better.”

Ember frowned a little. “I know Rainbow means well, but I don’t think she understands flying for dragons and pegasi are a lot different than you two think.”

Rainbow flew up and looked annoyed. “What do you mean? I’ve been showing Spike some moves and he’s not doing too bad. Sure he’s made some mistakes and crashed here or there, but I’m trying to get him to do better.”

“I’ll show you what I mean later, but for now I think you should already know who’s with me.” Ember looked over at the two dragons on her side.

The dragon in silver armor removed his helmet. Twilight gasped and smiled.

“Matches!” she cried out.

The green drake smiled and bowed. “Hello again to you, Princess Twilight, and to your friends as well.” He lifted his hand up to show a large brown suitcase. “Princess, I got what you requested right here.”

Twilight clapped her hands happily and bounced a little. “That’s great!” She looked at Ember and bowed. “Thanks for the book! This will be perfect for what I’ve got planned!”

“Um...Twilight?” Fluttershy asked. “What exactly are you going to do with those books?”

Pinkie popped up next to Fluttershy, making her jump a little. “Isn’t it obvious, Fluttershy? She’s going to throw a great book reading party! Although I’m not sure how fun that can really be.”

Twilight chuckled and shook her head. “I can’t say for now. Let’s just say that if I’m right, we’ll all be a lot closer than any of you will think.”

“You sure you don’t need a translator, princess?” inquired Matches. “Those books are quite advanced and the last thing I want you to do is misread something and get it wrong.”

The alicorn waved a hoof. “I’ve done enough studying of the dragon language to know how to read it.” She blushed a little. “But...if you insist, I could use some dragon to help check and make sure I got things wrong. Just as long as you don’t say anything about what I’m working on.”

Matches smiled. “For you, princess, it’ll be my honor.”

“Excuse me, Lord Ember?” a rather shaky voice asked.

Everyone looked over at a white dragon in emerald green armor. He removed his helmet and Spike nearly did a double take upon seeing who it was.

“Fizzle?” he asked in shock. “What’re you doing here?”

He shied away a bit. “Um, I’m actually Lord Ember’s personal assistant now. After the trial and everything, she offered me a chance to help make the Dragon Lands a better place. She offered me a job to help keep track of her schedule and to help plan out what to do.”

Ember placed a hand on Fizzle’s shoulder. “He’s a lot smarter than you would think. He’s a little nervous about this, but he’s been doing a good job.”

Spike smiled. “I’m glad you kept your promise about the trial. Didn’t think you would do it to be honest.”

Ember smirked. “Hey, he helped put Garble away and I meant what I said. I believe a good leader rewards those who help.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Speaking of which, whatever happened to Garble? Princess Celestia hasn’t said anything about him coming to stand trial here yet.”

“Don’t worry, he’s being held in the Dragon Lands first,” assured the dragoness. “He’ll be first answering to his crimes for treason against the Dragon Lands. But Princess Celestia and I have finished up a deal about what to do with them.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Them? Who’s them?”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you all,” said Fizzle. “Lord Ember, the prisoners should be here any moment now.”

A large shadow passed over the group, making them look up. They gasped as they saw a large wagon being controlled by several royal guard pegasi soaring through the sky. A few more passed over the town, catching the attention of the citizens walking around. The wagons descended and hit the ground around the town.

“What’s going on?” wondered Spike.

The group looked over to the nearest wagon and saw a few royal guards surround the doors on the back. Two of them opened the doors and saw several dragons in orange jumpsuits and chains being escorted out. Spike looked on in shock.

“Dragons? What’re they doing here?” Spike squinted his eyes a little. “Hey, they look familiar. They look just like...like…”

“Master Ash’s army,” finished Twilight. “They’re finally here.”

Applejack grimaced. “Will somepony please tell me what’s going on here?”

“Allow us to explain,” said a voice.

The group looked up and saw Princess Celestia and Princess Luna descending from the sky. The group immediately bowed before them, but the solar princess gestured to them to rise up.

“Mo...um, Princess, what’s going on here?” wondered Spike.

“We’ve made a deal about what to do with those who took part in Ash’s invasion,” said Luna. “While they were just following orders from their leader, we believe they still need to make up for what they’ve done. Lord Ember here made an offer about what to do. Rather than a prison sentence, she made an offer about giving them a new purpose outside of being just soldiers. She wanted to give them some new skills.”

“New skills?” asked Applejack.

“You see, in the Dragon Lands, being a member of the Dragon Guard means always being ready to fight and to spring into action at any moment,” explained Ember. “But for dragons, that’s mostly what they love to do; fight. Sure, you have those who are historians or builders, but most dragons prefer to fight and prove their skills. Some who join the Dragon Guard look mostly for action, but I want to give them something more than that.”

“So the three of us, Twilight, and several other city leaders have made a deal about what to do with them,” said Luna. “We’ve decided these dragons will be serving a community service sentence for at least four months. Our hope is that these dragons use the skills they learn here to take back to the Dragon Lands and use them there.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Look, I’m all for reformation, I mean look at me after what I’ve done and all, but are we sure this will work? I mean those dragons could probably overpower all these ponies and try to get away.”

“Don’t worry, Starlight,” assured Ember. She pointed a finger at one of the prisoners. “You see that metal necklace around their necks?”

The group looked over and saw a silver necklace with a red crystal around each dragon’s neck.

“Those things have been magically created to help keep the dragons in check. They prevent dragons from using their fire breath and I’ve been told they reduce the strength of a dragon to that of an average pony.”

“They’ll all be monitored by the guards while they work here,” said Twilight. “Once the day is over for them, they’ll all be taken back to Canterlot and held in the jail. Then the next day it all starts again.”

“Y’all said there were other city leaders in Canterlot?” asked Applejack. “They agreed to do this as well?”

Celestia nodded. “Indeed. The dragons will each be given a specific job based on what they’ve told us they’re good at. Some will do baking, gardening, repairing, or even building.”

“I talked it over with Mayor Mare and some of the business owners, and they agreed to do this,” said Twilight. “Some are a little skeptical, but want to give them a proper chance.”

Starlight pointed a finger. “Look!”

A few dragons were headed over to a flower stand where three mares waited for them.

“Welcome to our flower shop,” said an Earth mare with a beige coat. “My name is Roseluck.” She pointed to a pink mare with yellow hair and another pink mare with green hair. “These are Lily Valley and Daisy. Ready to learn about the wonders of flowers here?”

A green dragon scoffed. “Hardly. They look so...colorful it kind of hurts my eyes.”

“Well, why don’t you take a sniff and see what you all think?” Daisy asked as she presented a bouquet of yellow flowers.

The dragon hesitated for a moment, but moved in to sniff it. He took a deep breath in and smiled. “Hmm that’s not bad at all,” he said. “Smells rather sweet. Come on and see, Ridge.”

The yellow dragon walked up and took a sniff too. He smiled and licked his lips. “Smells nice. Do we eat flowers?”

“NO!” yelled Lily. “Do you know how terrible it would be to see someone eat something as delicate as a flower?” She patted a nearby blue flower. “They’re wonderful plants that bring out the beauty of the world.”

Ridge’s eyes fell upon a large dirtbed and saw some green sprouts. “Hey, are these flowers too?”

Roseluck nodded. “Yes, but they’re growing right now so don’t touch them.”

“How do those tiny things become flowers?” asked the green dragon.

“We’ll show you,” said Lily. “Why don’t you two try planting some of these?” She handed both dragons a packet of seeds.

Ridge shrugged. “Um...sure, I guess. I got to admit I’m curious how this all works.” Both dragons followed the flower mares and talked to each other.

Spike and the others looked around town and saw other dragons working with various ponies. Some dragons were seen carrying large wooden planks to nearby construction areas. Others were working some of the market stands with other ponies. Spike could see the dragons look a little nervous trying to do their work, but tried it out anyway.

“Not bad at all for a dragon,” one pony said.

“This isn’t really that bad,” said a dragon.

“Hey, look what I’m building!” another dragon said proudly.

Ember smiled. “Not only do these dragons learn new skills, but they bond with other ponies as well and hopefully they become friends.”

“Let me help you out,” a unicorn said to one of the dragons carrying wood.

“I...ergh, got it,” he said. “Dragons don’t need help.”

“Well I guess it’s a good thing I’m not a dragon then.” The unicorn’s horn glowed and helped lift the wood for the struggling dragon.

The drake grumbled a bit. “Um...thanks I guess. Maybe ponies aren’t as terrible as I’ve heard.”

Spike smiled. “I think something tells me things will be alright here.”

“I would hope so after all this mess,” an elderly voice called out.

Everyone turned around and saw to their surprise none other than Ash. The elder dragon had a solemn look on him and was dressed in a similar orange jumpsuit and was chained around the wings like the other prisoners. Flanking him nearby were two royal guards with their spears pointed near him.

“Master Ash,” said Spike.

The elder dragon held a hand up. “Please, it’s just Ash now. I no longer hold the title or rank now. I, like all my former soldiers here, am just a prisoner.” He smiled softly. “I was hoping to see you though.”

Spike pointed to himself. “Me?”

Celestia nodded. “Ash wanted to speak with you, and give you something. I decided to grant his wish before he begins his sentence.”

“Give me something?”

“You’ll see,” said Luna.

Spike, Ember, and Rarity all approached Ash and looked at him with curiosity. The elder dragon closed his eyes and had a regretful look on him.

Spike opened his mouth first. “Ash, how are you feeling now?”

He shrugged. “Better now I guess. This whole ordeal is something that’ll take me a while to get over.” He sighed and had a pained look on him. “I can’t believe Garble would do something so treacherous for power. I knew he was an ambitious dragon, but I never expected him to go as far as try to undermine the Dragon Lord for his own gain.”

Spike shook his head. “It’s not your fault, Ash. Garble tricked you, the Dragon Council, and everyone. He wanted you all to think things his own way and make you all think he was some hero.”

Ash sighed. “It still doesn’t excuse the fact that I gave the order to come to Ponyville and take Lord Ember away for this.” He looked down. “I thought for once in his life that Garble had done something good. He was doing something good for the Dragon Lands for once and I wanted to believe it so badly.”

Spike frowned. “But he tricked you.”

The elder dragon nodded. “I thought after his parents died, I could somehow raise him to be a better dragon. I was very patient with him and tried to curb him from his criminal actions.” He shook his head. “I was wrong though. Can you imagine it? Knowing full well someone you tried to raise to be a good dragon only for them to commit the ultimate betrayal and leave you heartbroken?”

Spike didn’t say anything and looked away.

Ember stepped forward. “Ash, I know this has been hard. I know the truth wasn’t exactly what you were hoping it to be, but I had to show you some way. Know this though, Garble is to blame for everything that happened; even turning you against me.”

Ash smiled a little. “The truth is hardly sweet, my Lord. It’s like a double edged sword. While the truth can be beneficial, it can also hurt you in a way you never thought possible. Sometimes it can even fatally wound you and leave your spirit broken. I appreciate your kind words though.”

“What’s going to happen to you now?” wondered Rarity.

Ash looked up. “Well, I was expecting a lengthy sentence, but Lord Ember was able to convince the princesses I wasn’t completely at fault. I agreed to a plea deal between the princesses and the other members of the Dragon Council.”

“What was it?” asked Spike.

“The remaining Dragon Council members who didn’t resign out of disgrace for letting this go so far decreed I was to be exiled from the Dragon Lands and never to return. On top of that, my entire unit was to be transferred to Lord Ember herself as her own personal bodyguard.”

Ash looked at Princess Celestia. “The princesses have decided that I too would serve a community sentence for my actions and learn more about pony culture during that time. As for a prison sentence, I’m looking at least a year in the Canterlot Dungeon until I’ll be free.”

Spike tilted his head. “That’s quite the punishment. I’m actually surprised you didn’t get off completely. Usually around Equestria if someone apologizes for their actions, they’re forgiven.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“Yup.”

Ash slapped his head against his forehead. “This place is stranger than I thought.”

“Well you aren’t wrong about that,” said Rarity. “Almost something is going on around here everyday.”

“Enough,” said Ash. “I need something to tell you, Mr….no, Spike.”

The drake looked shocked as he heard Ash call him by his name.

“I’ve had a long time to think about everything that’s happened, Spike.” Ash gave him a confident smile. “After everything you’ve done for both Lord Ember, Miss Rarity, and this alliance, I can easily say you’re the best dragon I’ve ever met, and you’re the future of what dragons can really become.”

Spike blushed a little and rubbed his head. “Oh, it was nothing really.”

“I’m serious,” he said sternly. “You’re not like other dragons, but in a way that shows what we can become. You’re not a dragon who looks for fights, hordes stuff, or be cold. It’s what Lord Ember says, you’re brave, smart, and willing to do anything for your friends. I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done. You helped bring an end to a possible war between Equestria and the Dragon Lands. You’ve shown me and all the dragons that a dragon can learn friendship and become better for it.”

Spike couldn’t help but smile goofily. “Um, thanks.”

“As such, I want you to have something from me.” Ash looked over. “Princess Luna, do you have it?”

The alicorn’s horn glowed and a large white sheet wrapped around appeared.

“Give it to him,” he ordered.

Luna walked up to Spike and presented the sheet to him. The drake didn’t know what to say, so he started unraveling the sheet. Ember and Rarity leaned in to see what was underneath it. As he uncovered more, Spike saw a black pole at first, but as the last of the sheet fell off, he gasped at the sight before him.

Ember looked just as stunned. “Ash, this...this...this is your…”

“My sword,” he finished. “I want Spike to have it. He’s earned it after what he’s done. He’s a fierce and true warrior that saved us all from disaster.”

“Ash,” said an awestruck Spike, “I don’t even know what to say. I don’t even know if I should accept this or not.”

“Take it,” he urged. “A great warrior such as you has earned it. You said you were training in sword fighting, so I figured I’d give you something to use the next time you’re in a fight.”

Spike took the sword out of its sheath and looked at it in awe. The silver blade glistened in the sunlight and the red and black handle at the bottom fit almost perfectly in his hand. He stepped out and swung the sword around a bit before returning it to its sheath.

He looked back and bowed. “Thank you, Ash. I’ll take good care of it. But how do I light it on fire like you did at the trial?”

Ash smirked. “Just light it up with your fire. Be careful though as it takes practice to use it in such a way without burning something or someone you care about.”

“Will do,” said Spike with a nod.

Ash’s smirk faded into a solemn look. “You know, Spike, I can’t help but wonder. If you stayed behind as Dragon Lord instead of passing it to Lord Ember, would things have been different? Could we’ve avoided such a mess and things turn out differently?”

Spike shrugged. “I don’t know, but Garble was more than determined to destroy everything for his own gain. Who knows what he would’ve done just to get his way?”

Ash nodded. “You have a point, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about from Garble ever again after what I’ve arranged.”

Spike looked at Ember with a confused look and then at the elderly dragon. “What do you mean by that? He’s going to jail and won’t be back again.”

“Oh, it’s more than that,” he said. “I had a few contacts and called in a few favors to contact someone.”

“Who?” asked Rarity.

“An old colleague is coming back to see the boy,” Ash said with a smirk. “I don’t think Garble is going to know what hit him after what he heard what happened.”

Ember tilted her head in confusion. “Ash? Who was it?”

The elderly dragon laughed. “Someone who’s proud of you.”

Celestia stepped forward. “Is there anything else, Ash?”

The drake shook his head. “No, it’s done now. My time has come to an end, but I can rest knowing that the Dragon Lands are in such capable claws after what I’ve seen.”

Ember and Spike both looked at each other and smiled.

“Lord Ember,” said Ash. “I know you’re going to be a great leader and become one of the Dragon Lands’ best leaders. Spike, you’ve shown what we dragons can become. I believe both Equestria and the Dragon Lands are going to enjoy a new age of prosperity.”

Ember stood up straight. “We’ll make it happen, Ash.” She took Spike and Rarity’s hands. “We’ll all make it happen.”

Ash nodded. “I know you will. Farewell to all of you. I hope the next time we meet it’ll be under better circumstances. And Spike, there’s one last thing to remember.”

The drake looked on in curiosity.

Ash smiled sadly at him. “The spirit of the warrior will always be with you.”

One of the guards took Ash’s arms. “Alright, prisoner, let’s move out. You got a date in the dungeon.”

The elderly dragon nodded and with a final bow towards everyone, he turned around. He was lead to a nearby wagon that had its doors opened. The group watched as Ash entered the wagon and be secured in it. As the doors closed, Spike and Ember saw him look at them and he gave them a wink. The doors slammed and in a matter of seconds, the chariot took off into the sky. They all watched until the chariot became more distant and then it disappeared behind a cloud.

Ember stared up at the sky. “Ash,” she whispered solemnly. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Spike smiling at her.

“Don’t worry, Ember, he’ll be okay,” he assured. “You heard it yourself from him that you’re going to be a great leader and I believe you already are.”

Rarity snuggled up next to Ember. “We believe you’ll be fine, Ember.”

The dragoness turned around and saw Twilight and the others nod and give her a confident smile. Ember smiled and nodded back to them.

“I think if we can make it through something like what Garble did, there’s nothing we can’t handle then,” she said proudly.

“So what’ll you do now?” asked Twilight.

Ember rubbed her chin. “Well, things are still rather unsettled in the Dragon Lands. Ash did mention that the Dragon Council only has several members left.”

“Why’s that?” wondered Twilight.

“Since they let Ash’s invasion plan go through without even considering other options, several of them have agreed to resign out of shame for what they’ve done. The rest remained but have agreed to some reparation payments to Equestria for the invasion. Needless to say, they’re shorthanded and are trying to figure out who they recommend to me about becoming a member, and who the next Master will be.”

“Sounds like there’s still a lot of work to be done,” said Spike.

“Indeed.” Ember smirked. “However, I’m not due back until tomorrow and the day is still early. So I was thinking maybe I could spend some much needed time with my mates.”

Spike smiled. “That’d be great! There’s still some stuff around Ponyville I never got to show you!”

“And perhaps I can put together a nice assemble for you,” suggested Rarity. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get only the best from me. I got to make sure my dragoness looks beautiful.”

Ember blushed a little.

“Oh, and maybe one thing.” Rarity pulled Ember’s head to her side.

Spike looked on as the unicorn whispered to Ember. He saw Ember nodding slowly, but her face turning more and more red. After nearly a minute, Rarity pulled away and giggled a little. Ember looked completely flustered and tried to hide her blush.

“What was that all about?” asked Spike.

Rarity giggled and said, “Sorry, Spikey Wikey, but that’s a secret we can’t tell you. Right, Ember?”

The dragoness nodded quickly and muttered, “Yeah...um, can’t really tell you for now.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “This better not be–”

“It’s not, darling,” interrupted Rarity. “I know you’re still weary about what we both did, but trust us when we saw that’s all behind us now.”

Spike stared at them for a moment, but slowly nodded. “Alright, but maybe it's best the three of us spend some real time together now. What do you say we hit up Sugarcube Corner first? Never showed Ember that place.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” said Rarity.

“Yay!” Pinkie shouted joyfully. She grabbed Ember’s face and leaned in closely. “I’ll make you all a great big cake! It’ll be so delicious!” Suddenly, in a cloud of smoke that resembled the party mare, she was gone.

Ember blinked several times and had a perplexed look on her. “I think no matter how long I stay in Equestria, I’ll never get fully used to that pony.”

“Agreed,” said Matches. He looked at Twilight and smiled. “Why don’t we head in and see what this project is you’re working on? I’m curious to see what this is.”

Twilight smiled and blushed a little. “Let’s not waste any time then. Maybe with your help I can work on it faster.”

Celestia stepped forward. “I believe we’ll both be going back to Canterlot now. I got some work planned for Ash, and I need to let the other nobles know not to get scared should they see him doing any service around Canterlot.”

Luna looked at Ember and bowed. “Farewell, Lord Ember. We wish you luck on your continuing efforts to help your fellow dragons.”

The dragoness bowed back. “Thank you, both of you. I’ll come to you two if there’s any leadership advice I need.”

The sisters waved at the group and Celestia’s horn glowed. In a moment, both her and Luna were gone.

Spike took both Ember and Rarity’s hands. “I guess we better get going. There’s so much to show you all.”

“Exactly,” said Applejack. “There’s still some Apple family stuff I need to give y’all.”

“Maybe we can finally settle who’s faster,” suggested Rainbow.

“Maybe I can show you the woodland creatures around here,” said Fluttershy.

Spike brought both Ember and Rarity close to him. “As long as we all do it together.” He gave each of them a kiss on the cheek.

“Better get moving then,” said Applejack.

“You all go ahead,” said Twilight. “Matches and I are going to get to work.”

Spike chuckled. “If you say so, Twilight.”

The drake looked over and saw Fizzle standing alone and looked a little nervous. “Hey, Fizzle!” he called out.

The white drake yelped and looked over at the group. Spike was smiling and waving a hand at him.

“Come on! I’ll show you around Ponyville! You’re free to come with us!”

Fizzle smiled a little. “Really? Usually, Garble doesn’t do anything like–”

“Put that guy behind you, Fizz,” said Ember. “We’re nothing like him. We at least care about our friends, unlike him.”

Fizzle stepped forward slowly at first, but soon his slow walk turned to a run towards them. He looked at them with a smile on his face.

“Alright I’m in,” he said. “I’ve been hearing about this thing called a cupcake I’ve been wanting to try out. Where can I get one?”

Spike waved a hand. “Just come with us and you’ll see.”

The group started to walk off, with Twilight and Matches both walking off towards the castle, and made their way towards town. Spike suddenly froze as a thought hit him.

“Ember, there’s one last thing I don’t understand,” he said. “Ash said he called in an old friend to take care of Garble. Who exactly was he talking about?”

Ember rubbed her chin for a couple of seconds. A devious smile formed on her lips and she chuckled.

“Oh, I think I’ve got a good idea who it is,” she said sinisterly. “I think after he deals with him, Garble will never be the same again.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Him?”

Ember smirked. “I’ll tell you all later.” She looked out into Ponyville and smiled. “Let’s enjoy the time we’ve got together.”

Together, the group all headed out as the sun shined brightly on the town below.

The distant sound of a fire crackling on the wall echoed throughout the dark cell Garble was in. He grunted in pain as the chain against the wall pull him back to it again. He panted and let out a furious roar. In his mind, he saw Spike, Ember, and Rarity all laughing at him mockingly. The drake gritted his teeth and tried again to move, but the chains pulled him back again.

Garble looked down at the ground and narrowed his eyes. “No...I can’t let it end this way,” he said venomously. “I’ll get out and when I do, they’ll all pay for this.”

The sound of footsteps caught Garble’s ears and perked up. He looked up at the outline of the door and heard some jingling from the outside.

“Must be another stupid guard,” the drake scoffed. “If I could I’d kick them for doing this to me.”

The door slammed open, and as Garble thought a red dragon guard stepped in. Although the room was still rather dark, he could make out something that looked liked a smile on the guard’s face.

“What’re you happy about?” asked Garble. “Happy to see me chained up?”

“You got a guest today, traitor,” he said. “He insisted that he come see you in his cell personally.”

Garble raised an eyebrow. “Who exactly? Spike come back to gloat? Ember to rub it in? Well if it’s any of those ponies, don’t even bother then.”

“Or it could be someone who wants to talk to you about what you’ve done,” a thunderous voice echoed.

Garble’s confident smile vanished and felt a chill run down his spine. He looked up and saw a large shadowy figure in the entryway.

No….it can’t be! He thought to himself.

The figure walked up to the guard, who saluted him. “Leave us,” he commanded.

The guard quickly left and shut the door behind him. Garble was petrified by fear and had a panicked look on him. He was shaking enough to rattle the chains he was connected to.

“You and I have so much to discuss, Garble,” said the figure. “How long has it been since we’ve met last? A month or so?”

Garble didn’t answer.

“What’s wrong?” the figure asked in a mocking tone. “Nothing to say this time? Usually, you’ve got some smart comment to make. Since you’re not willing to say anything, let me tell you a story.”

The figure paced around the room and Garble watched him nervously.

“For so long I worked hard for the Dragon Lands to make sure it remains peaceful,” he said. “When Ember took over as Dragon Lord, I was skeptical at first; especially at most of her changes for friendship and other stuff. I gave her a chance to prove it could work and from what I’ve heard, it seemed to be going fine. I thought with everything in her control I could take a nice vacation for the first time in years.”

The figure stopped and turned to Garble. “But what did I hear instead happen?” his voice grew cold. “I hear about how Ember was seen as an unworthy ruler, rumors of her being attacked, and a plot by a certain dragon to overthrow her for power.” He took a step forward. “To make things worse, said dragon tried to have her killed as well.”

Garble shrunk back and gulped nervously.

“Thanks to an old colleague, he let me know what exactly happened while I’ve been on vacation,” said the figure. “I felt many things as I read the letter, but the one thing that I felt above all was rage. Rage towards the one who tried to hurt not only the new Dragon Lord, but my own daughter as well!”

The room shook violently from the yell. Garble tried to open his mouth to speak, but only gibberish came out. The figure stepped out of the shadow and into the light and confirmed Garble’s worst fear:

Torch looked at him with a death glare and could see little fires in his eyes.

“So, after hearing this little incident, I figured I’d come back and teach a certain dragon what happens when you mess with their own kin!” he boomed.

Garble could feel his heart racing and was a gibbering mess.

Torch leaned in and smirked. “You know, Garble, they say that dragons are fireproof and can take extreme heat. You have my congratulations though.”

Garble gulped. “Wh–wh–what f–f–for?” he nervously asked.

Torch grinned sinisterly. “You’re about to be the first dragon to know what it’s like to be burnt!” He walked towards the helpless drake.

“Wait!” pleaded Garble. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Throughout the dungeon, Garble’s screams echoed throughout the desolate place.

Author's Note

Before anyone says something, nope Garble isn't dead. He's just being "taken care of" by Torch before going on trial.

I'm happy this chapter came out as fast as it did. I really wanted to try and get this one out of the way before things got more hectic on my end. So I'm glad this one got out when it did.

Only two more chapters to go, people. We're just about at the end, and it's been a long ride, but it's just about over at last.

P.S. I've seen an early airing of Sweet and Smokey, so the events of that episode will be disregarded. And yes, there shall also be some post season 8 stuff in it as well.

Reward

The sound of music could be heard coming from Twilight’s castle. Despite the full moon shining down upon it, the place was jumping around. In the main area, the chatter of various ponies and dragons could be heard throughout the place. Some of them were dancing around with each other, eating, or just talking to each other and laughing. On the far end of the room, Vinyl Scratch and Neon Lights were finishing mixing up another song. Once it ended, everyone cheered happily and the DJ couple waved at them.

“May I have your attention please!?” a voice called out.

The crowd’s cheering died out and they all turned up to see Twilight, Spike, Ember, Matches, and Rarity all looking down at them from the second floor banister.

“I wanted to take this time to congratulate every creature here,” said the alicorn. “From our new dragon friends learning new skills and bonding with our fellow ponies. To the townsponies themselves for helping these dragons and giving your time to help make them better dragons.”

Every creature clapped and cheered.

Ember stepped forward and had a proud smile on her. “You all came here four months ago as prisoners, but today you all get to go back home. With the help of Equestria, we’ve been able to help set up everything needed for those who want to continue doing what they’ve learned here.”

Everyone cheered and clapped again for both the Dragon Lord and the Princess of Friendship.

Ember held a hand up and everyone fell silent.

“You know, when I first met Spike and learned about friendship, I was nervous and worried it wouldn’t work. However, after seeing all of this, I can easily say that he was right in the end. I know you all must’ve felt the same way too when you came here, but I’m proud of all of you for coming this far. For now, I encourage all of you, dragon and pony alike, to celebrate our new friendship and the solidification of our alliance!”

Everyone cheered and clapped wildly. Ember, Rarity, and Spike looked at each and embraced one another.

“Alright, every creature!” Neon Light announced. “Let’s really kick it now with Equestria’s number one DJ pony couple!” He looked over. “Hit it, Vinyl!”

The unicorn nodded and put her hooves on another record. The sound of music filled the room and everyone started dancing once again.

“Hey, everyone!” a voice called out.

The group looked over to see Starlight with two other ponies. On her left was a blue mare unicorn in a black miniskirt, a purple shirt with a big yellow star on it, and a matching purple cape and hat with stars all over it. To Starlight’s right was a rather scrawny orange unicorn stallion that had huge glasses, a white shirt, green pants, and a blue cape with stars all over it. The trio walked over to the group and all had smiles on their faces.

“Sorry I’m late,” said Starlight. “The train from the Crystal Empire was running late.” She put a hand around the unicorns around her and brought them closer. “Hope we’re not too late for the party.”

Twilight chuckled. “Not at all, Starlight. I think though you better introduce your friends to Ember here.”

The blue unicorn walked up and had a confident smile on her. She bowed before the dragoness. “Lord Ember, it’s an honor to meet you.” She stood up and raised her hands in the air. “You are in the presence of the Great and Powerful Trixie! World famous magician!”

“Trixie, what did I tell you?” warned Starlight.

The magician sighed. “My apologies. The Great and Humble Trixie is truly honored to finally meet you. Stary has told me so much about you.”

Ember smiled. “I’ve heard of you too from Spike. He’s told me about some of your more...past meetings.”

Trixie frowned. “Well, regardless of what he’s said, I’ve become a better mare thanks to Starlight.”

The orange unicorn stepped forward, and bowed. “My name’s Sunburst. We’re all honored to have you here, Lord Ember.”

The dragoness smirked. “So you’re Sunburst. Tell me, how have you handled being in a relationship like me, Spike, and Rarity are in?”

Sunburst rubbed his head. “It’s been a little rough, but Starlight’s been helping the two of us get along more. Trixie and I have really hit it with our love for stage magic.”

Trixie laughed and snuggled up against the stallion. “He may not look much, but Sunny here is really into the art of stage magic. He can also be quiet the stallion in bed.”

Sunburst blushed wildly.

Starlight chuckled and embraced the two unicorns in for a kiss on each of their cheeks. “Ignoring what Trixie just said, we’ve done well and have gotten along better, despite some bumps here and there.”

“Can’t be any worse than us,” said Rarity.

Spike walked up and hugged Rarity. “Don’t worry about that. That’s all behind us now.”

Ember smiled and kissed Spike on the cheek. “Yeah. The less said about that, the better. For now, why don’t we all just celebrate this alliance being solidified?”

The others agreed unanimously.

Trixie walked up to Spike and whistled. “Starlight wasn’t kidding when she said you changed. Trixie has to admit you’ve become quite the stud. No wonder Starlight talked about–MPFH!”

The unicorn’s mouth was magically sealed shut by a nervous Starlight. “Er...let’s just get to the party, Trixie. Spike, we’ll see you later.”

Sunburst smiled at Spike. “Congratulations again on what you’ve done. See you later!”

Starlight walked away with her lovers, although Trixie was struggling a bit as the trio left. Spike felt two hands on his shoulder and turned to see Ember and Rarity with warm smiles on their faces.

“Shall we dance, Spikey?” asked Rarity.

The drake responded by bringing both his lovers together and kissing them. “Sounds like a good idea.”

Twilight watched as the trio left, and sighed.

“Want to pick up on that dance we left off?” a voice asked.

She looked over and saw Matches holding a hand out to her. Twilight blushed a little and smiled. She took his hand, and the two headed off with their friends to the dance floor.

The party went on well into the night. There was plenty of dancing, fun, and talking between dragons and ponies. As the night went on though, the crowd thinned out until everyone had left. In the castle, Spike, Twilight, and their friends were finishing cleaning up. After throwing out the last bag of trash, Spike leaned against the wall and wiped his forehead.

“Thanks for your help, girls,” said the drake. “Hope you all had a good time.”

Applejack chuckled. “That was the most fun I’ve had in awhile, sugarcube.” She looked around the empty hall. “Too bad Rarity wasn’t here to help.”

Spike shrugged. “She said she and Ember were feeling really tired and wanted to go to sleep. I can’t blame them from all the partying we did.”

Fluttershy yawned and stretched out a little. “I think they have the right idea. Why don’t we all get going?”

“Yo, Applejack,” a voice called out.

The farmer turned around and beamed at who was calling her. “Soarin! What’re you still doing here?”

Soarin smiled and walked up to Applejack. “I was thinking maybe we can spend a little more time together. We don’t have anything important coming up soon, so I was thinking maybe we could spend a little time in the fields.” He winked at her.

Applejack blushed and smiled. “I–I’d love to, partner.” She looked back at her friends. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.” She took Soarin’s hand and the two ran off together.

Rainbow rubbed her chin and smiled. “Maybe Thunderlane is available too,” she muttered to herself. She headed for the door and looked back. “Eh...I got to get going too. Got some erm…rain I need to bring in early in the morning.” She took off like a bullet into the sky.

Fluttershy headed for the door with Pinkie, who was bouncing happily. “Good night, you two,” said the pegasus.

Pinkie let out a contentful sigh. “That was the best party I’ve thrown in a long time. It’s gonna take me awhile to figure out how to outdo that.”

Twilight and Spike waved as their friends left. The alicorn let out a sigh of relief. “I got to head for bed myself. Got a um...a lot to plan for the Festival of Friendship coming up.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Why not do it now? You like to do late night planning.”

The alicorn blushed a little. “Um...I feel a little tired is all.” She slowly walked away. “I’ll see you in the morning! Good night!” she quickly took off down the hall, leaving a confused Spike.

The drake chuckled and shook his head. “There are just some things about her I’ll never understand.”

He walked down the quiet hallway and let out a yawn. “A nice, hot shower is what I need right now. This has been quite the night.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Spike saw a shadowy figure ahead of him. “What the?” He looked over, but saw the shadow was gone. The drake scratched his head and looked around the corner to see nobody there. “Must be seeing things. I really need that shower.”

Spike continued on his way down the hall and let out a rather loud yawn. As he continued walking down, he saw something that caught his eye. The door to the bathroom was cracked open and the light inside was on. The drake raised an eyebrow and looked around to see nobody around.

“What gives?” he wondered. “Twilight already went to bed, and even if she wanted a shower she’s got a closer bathroom near her room.”

Spike slowly approached the bathroom and started to hear something coming from the room. He heard the sound of water running and could see some steam seeping from the room.

“It can’t be Ember or Matches,” said Spike. “They both went to bed shortly before the party ended. I was sure we all checked and got the guests out of the castle.”

Suddenly, Spike heard a soft moan coming from the bathroom and froze. “What was that? Is someone hurt?”

He slowly pushed the door open and was greeted immediately with steam in his face. He looked around and could barely make out the sink and toilet, but what caught Spike’s eye was the shower in front of him. He saw what looked to be a large shadow behind the blue curtain. Gulping a little, Spike slowly approached the curtain and put a shaky hand on the edge of it. Taking a deep breath, Spike pulled the curtain open and his jaw dropped at the sight before him.

Rarity and Ember stood before him naked, their tongues danced with each other as they kiss passionately and moaned. Their bodes were pressed against each other, allowing Spike to see their breasts push and rub against each other. Rarity moved her hands towards Ember’s privates while the dragoness used her hands to caress Rarity’s plump ass. Spike could feel his rod quickly becoming erect.

The two ladies opened their eyes and broke off their kiss. They stared at Spike with a seductive smile on each of them. The drake didn’t know what to say and felt paralyzed from the sight before him.

“Enjoyed the show, Spikey Wikey?” inquired Rarity.

The drake muttered and tried to speak, but couldn’t find the words to respond.

Ember chuckled. “I think we did a great job, Rares.” She spanked Rarity’s ass, making the unicorn moan.

“W...Wha...What is this?” Spike stuttered. “I….I...I don’t….”

Rarity put a finger on Spike’s lips. “This is your reward, Spike,” she answered. “We never got a proper chance to thank you properly for all you’ve done for both of us.”

“So we’ve been thinking of how to thank you,” said Ember. “Rarity and I talked about it, and we both came up with this idea. We both left the party early just so we can have everything ready.”

Spike blinked. “So...that shadow I saw was…”

“That was me,” said Ember. “Once I heard you were coming to the shower, we both got ready.” She rubbed a finger around Spike’s chest and licked her lips. “So, now that you’re here, I think it’s time to show you our thanks by first cleaning you up.”

Spike’s eyes widened. “Um...well...I…”

“Shhhh,” whispered Rarity. Her horn glowed and the door shut behind Spike with her magic. “Just let it happen, Spikey. It’s time for your reward at last.”

Before Spike knew it, his clothes disappeared in a poof and was naked too. He was pulled into the shower and his face was shoved in between Ember’s rather large bosom. The drake pulled himself out of it and was quickly embraced from the front and back . Ember snuggled up against his neck and Rarity rubbed against his back. Spike could feel his phallus getting harder, but made no attempt to hide it.

Ember took a bar of soap and winked. “Let’s get you nice and clean for the night ahead.”

She began rubbing the bar around Spike’s body gently and used her free hand to caress his body. Rarity took another bar and rubbed against his back, slowly rubbing her own breasts against his back and moaning quietly. Spike couldn’t help but sigh contentedly as he felt both of his lovers press and rub their bodies against him.

Suddenly, Spike felt a hand around his crotch. He looked down and saw Ember rubbing his phallus and looking at it like a kid eyeing a toy they wanted. The dragoness looked up at him and winked.

“I got a better way to clean this than with soap,” she said in a seductive tone.

Ember slowly leaned down and got on her knees. She crawled around and looked at Spike’s thick member and licked her lips seductively. Bigger than I remember the first time I saw it.

Ember yelped as she felt her rump be spanked and looked behind to see Rarity laughing. She looked back at Spike and opened her mouth. Her eyes never left Spike’s face as she slowly stuck her tongue out and licked the tip of Spike’s member. The drake held his breath and froze up from the feeling.

He shuddered a little as Ember ran a finger from the base of his member, all the way to the tip. Despite the water dripping over him, Ember could smell the musk coming from Spike’s crotch. She leaned in and kissed the tip of Spike’s phallus, making him gasp a little. She slid a hand to his balls and brushed against them. Spike moaned softly as the dragoness fondled them and ran her fingers over them.

Spike was already panting and looked down to see Ember slowly slid the phallus into her mouth and could feel Ember’s hot breath all over it. Spike stifled a breath as Ember wrapped her tongue around Spike’s rod and her mouth enveloped it. She slowly started bobbing her head back and forth, using her tongue to lap and swirl around Spike’s phallus. The drake shuddered in pleasure as Ember’s tongue danced around and felt his member be pushed to the back of her head.

The dragoness pulled her mouth out of it and stroke Spike’s member as she lapped her tongue over the tip, emitting a sigh of pleasure from him. She kissed the tip and slowly slid her mouth into it again and wrapped her thin, dexterous tongue all over it.

“MPFH!” Ember’s eyes shot wide open in surprise and paused.

Spike looked over and his jaw nearly dropped. Rarity was behind Ember, holding her tail up and had her face in between her cheeks. The unicorn spread Ember’s folds and was grinding her face against her delicate flower. Her tongue licked around the inner walls and lapped up any juices that were dripping.

The trio moaned as it went on and felt their bodies heat up more. Spike found himself thrusting his member into Ember’s mouth, pushing it deeper until it reached the back of her throat. Ember stepped up how fast her head was bobbing back and forth and used her tongue to lick every inch of Spike’s phallus. Rarity dug herself more into Ember’s slit and used her tongue to push it deeper into her and lick against its walls.

Spike soon felt a pressure building in his loins and closed his eyes. “Ember,” he panted. “I...I can’t hold it much longer. I’m gonna…”

Ember felt Rarity slap her ass a few times and slowed down. She released her mouth from Spike’s rod with a loud pop and looked back at Rarity with a rather irritated look.

“Already making him that close, Emby?” she wondered. “And without letting me have a taste myself?” She pouted at the dragoness.

Ember smirked. “How about we both finish it together?”

“Maybe we should continue this elsewhere,” suggested Rarity. “As fun as this has been, I think we need to bring the fun elsewhere.”

Rarity nodded. “Agreed.” She used her magic to shut the shower off and slowly stood up. “What better place to do it than in Spike’s room?”

The drake blushed profusely. “Well, if you insist.”

Rarity smiled. “Perfect!” She stepped out of the shower and used her magic to levitate three white towels. “Let’s dry off and head over there!”

As Spike took the towel and wiped himself dry, he looked around the room and noticed something odd. “Hey, Rarity, where did you put my clothes?”

“Oh, I teleported them to your room,” she answered.

“Who said we need clothes?” inquired Ember. “Your room’s not too far from this place, so we’ll just walk there naked.”

Spike’s eyes widened. “Whoa! Um...what if Twilight or even Matches see us?”

Rarity winked. “That’s half the fun, Spikey Wikey.”

Spike hesitated at first, but was suddenly pushed from behind by Ember out into the hallway. The drake quickly covered his semi erect member and looked around. Thankfully, he saw nobody was around to see this. He felt a slap on his rump and turned to see Rarity giggling at him. Ember followed behind and they both started walking. Spike quickly followed the two to avoid getting caught.

Spike quickly walked behind Rarity and Ember, keeping his crotch covered and looking back constantly. When he turned around, he saw something that caught his attention. Rarity and Ember were both swaying their hips, allowing their rumps to shake slightly. They had a hand on each other’s cheek and looked back at Spike with a seductive look on them. Spike could feel his rod getting hard again and was shaking a little.

Ember chuckled. “You know, this is actually fun. Running around naked like this kind of feels great. We should try to do this more often.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow and smiled. “My, my, Ember, I didn’t realize you were into stuff like that. What’re you thinking, exhibtionism or some stealth sex around town?”

Ember smirked. “Maybe a bit of both.”

Rarity growled seductively. “Mmm we should talk this over another time.” She looked behind. “For now, I think we have something else to take care of.”

Ember turned around and saw Spike with wide eyes and could see his erection twitching a little. She chuckled and said, “I’m guessing from his reaction he likes that idea too.”

Rarity giggled again and turned around. “Ah! Here we are!” Her horn glowed, enveloping Spike in a magic aura. “Come along, Spikey Wikey.”

As soon as they entered Spike’s room, Rarity closed the door and locked it. Spike was pushed onto his large bed by Ember and felt both her and Rarity pin him to the bed by his arms. The two ladies stared at him like a predator that caught its prey and was about to eat it. Spike felt both nervous and excited at the same time. His eyes drifted towards the bosoms of both Rarity and Ember, both being mere inches away from his face. He could feel his erection returning as he stared at them.

Ember felt Spike’s rod poke her. Rarity and her looked down at it, and then at each other. They both smiled seductively at each other and nodded. They crawled down towards his rod and stared at it. Spike could feel the breathing from both of them on his member, making it tremble a little.

Rarity leaned in and winked at Spike. She stuck her tongue out, licking up the precum from the drake, making him shiver a little. Rarity opened her mouth and slowly took the tip into her mouth and wrapped her tongue around it. She slowly bobbed her head slowly back and forth, using her tongue to lick around the tip. Spike threw his head back and was panting again.

Ember stuck her forked tongue out and slowly drags it along Spike’s sac. She used her hand to fondle one of his stones and dragged her tongue around the other. She took the one she was licking and puckers her lips around it and then takes it into her mouth. Spike gasps as Ember began suckling his ball and gripped the edges of his blankets tightly.

Both girls continued to please Spike in their own way. Rarity bobbed her head a little faster and took more and more of his shaft down her throat. She used her rather skilled tongue to lick and drag it slowly around. Ember released her hold on Spike’s stone she’d been licking, only for her to quickly go back and took both into her mouth relatively easy. Her tongue danced all over his sac and sucked on both his privates.

Spike felt the same pressure from earlier before building up again, only stronger this time. “Rarity...Ember…” he said between gasps. “I...I really can’t hold it for much...ah!”

Both girls stopped what they were doing and looked at each other. With a nod, they both stuck their tongues out and moved towards the base of Spike’s rod. They slowly licked his phallus on opposite sides until both mouths reached the tip and licked with their tongues. The two brought their mouths closer and kissed each other.

The drake, unable to hold it any longer, lets out a roar as his seed squirts out and catches both Ember and Rarity a bit off guard with his yell. Both girls felt Spike’s seed go into each of their mouths, but it was coming out too fast for them to take in and moved back to stand up. The last bits of Spike’s seed shot out and landed on both Ember and Rarity’s faces. Spike panted and his head plopped on his pillow. Despite how tired he felt, Spike couldn’t help but smile from what he felt.

“I...I...hope I wasn’t too loud,” said Spike in between gasps. “I don’t want...Twilight to come in here and....see this.”

Rarity smiled. “Not to worry, Spikey Wikey. I put a sound proof spell in this room before Ember and I stepped into the shower. So nopony will be disturbing us tonight.”

Ember noticed some of Spike’s load slowly sliding down her face and smirked. “Looks like you’re a bit messy, Rares.” She leaned forward and growled seductively. “Mind if I ‘clean’ you up?”

The unicorn blushed and gave a devious smile of her own. “Only if I’m allowed to ‘clean’ you up as well.”

Both ladies moved in and started licking Spike’s seed off each of their faces and swallowed it. The licking soon turned to kissing as they got more and more of the seed off their faces. Their mouths then moved towards each others lips as they kissed again and shared the last bits of Spike’s cum between themselves. The two ladies moaned in passion as they went on. Rarity groped Ember’s rump and the dragoness in turn squeezed one of Rarity’s breasts.

All the while, Spike watched on in a hypnotized state. Whatever feeling of drowsiness he felt after unleashing his load quickly went away from what he was seeing. The way Rarity and Ember’s tongues danced between each other and how they were caressing each other made his jaw nearly drop. He could feel his phallus getting hard again.

As they made out, Ember opened her eyes and glanced at Spike. She saw the shocked expression on him and looked down to see his erection. She winked at him and broke the kiss off. Rarity looked over at Spike and noticed the same thing. Both her and Ember smile at each other and leaned back over.

“I think it’s time we moved onto the main event, darling,” Rarity told Ember.

The dragoness nodded and both moved onto the bed. They both stared at Spike’s rod for a moment and then at each other.

“How do you want to do this?” asked Ember. “I figured I’d let you have him first seeing how I got to taste him first and all.”

Rarity smiled. “Like how we discussed.” She looked at Spike. “Darling, move to the bottom of the bed.”

Both dragons complied and quickly moved. Spike found himself kneeling at the end of his bed and Ember her legs spread wide open to show her delicate flower. Rarity nodded in approval and moved in the middle between the two of them and was on all fours.

Rarity looked back and wiggled her rump at Spike. “Well, Spikey? Ready to make me yours?”

The drake stared at her, in particular her dripping wetness. He used his hand to steady his phallus and slowly brought it to Rarity’s outer folds. He pressed the tip against her opening and felt her shudder a little. Spike smirked and released his hand from his rod and instead raised it and spanked Rarity’s rump with it, making her gasp in pleasure.

He began thrusting his hips slowly and rubbed his phallus against Rarity’s folds. The unicorn moaned as she felt the ridges of Spike’s member rub against her. Spike could feel Rarity’s juices dripping and getting all over his member as his thrusting got a little faster. Ember was entranced by what she was seeing and her hand slowly slid to her cooch and started rubbing it slowly. The room soon started to fill with moans from all three of them.

After a few minutes, Spike stopped and looked to see his member was drenched in Rarity’s juices and smirked. He repositioned himself and slowly slid his rod into Rarity’s wetness. The unicorn gasped as she felt the penetration and moaned. Spike moaned as well as he felt the tightness of Rarity’s inner walls slowly slide against his member. Ember, all the while watching this, rubbed her flower faster and moaned too.

Spike felt Rarity’s cooch reach the base of his crotch and didn’t move. Rarity was panting a little and was shaking. She turned her head up slightly and her eyes met Spike’s and gave a nod to him. The drake nodded back and slowly began to pull out a little, shuddering a little as he felt the walls press against his phallus. Slowly, he began gyrating his hips and he began to thrust his rod slowly in and out of Rarity’s flower.

Rarity’s panting started to increase as she felt Spike’s member thrust in and out of her. She could feel the ridges of the drake’s rod rub against her. She suddenly felt a weight press slightly against her back and turned to see Spike leaned over against her. She let out a gasp as she felt his hands move down to her breasts and he began fondling them. The unicorn moaned as she felt Spike’s thrusting get faster and the way Spike’s hands rubbed her breasts and pinched her nipples.

Ember by this point was rubbing herself furiously from what she was seeing. Rarity noticed how hot and bothered the dragoness was and moves her hands around Ember’s hips. She dragged the dragoness over to her face and buried her snout into Ember’s flower. The dragoness let out a small burst of fire and moaned loudly as Rarity’s tongue swirled and licked deeply into her wetness.

The three lovers moaned in pleasure as they got lost themselves in the moment. Spike’s thrusting became more intense the longer he went on to the point he was almost ramming against her fast. Rarity could feel herself melting away from what she was feeling from Spike’s rod in her, to the way he was caressing her bosom, and from tasting Ember’s flower. Ember was panting wildly and felt like she was going to melt.

Spike started to feel the pressure build up in his loins again and his thrusting became more frantic. “Rarity,” he panted. “Where–Ah!–do you–Oh!–want me to–Ah!–shoot?”

Rarity raised her head and gasped, “Spike, stop!”

The drake paused and pulled himself out of Rarity’s cooch. The unicorn moved herself away from Ember, who seemed a bit agitated from the sudden interruption.

“What now?” asked Ember, irritable. “I was so close too!”

Rarity got up and smiled. “I know you’ve been wanting to feel Spike be inside you, Emby. I just want to try something else out first.” She looked at Spike. “Spikey, I want you to pick up Ember and put it in her.”

Both dragons looked at each other and then at Rarity. “I’ve never thought about doing something like that, but we’ll give it a shot,” said Spike. “What about you?”

Rarity used her magic to pick up a box and opened it. “I’ll be right there.”

Spike looked at Rarity and shrugged, and then at Ember. “You ready?” he asked. “I’ll try to keep you steady as best I can.”

The dragoness nodded and put her hands around Spike’s upper back. Spike wrapped his arms around Ember’s back and took several deep breaths. He lifted her up, but instead of having some trouble, he lifted her up almost easily. Both dragons stared at each other and blushed.

“Wow,” Spike said in awe. “I...I didn’t think I’d be this strong. I must not know my own strength.”

Ember leaned in and kissed him on the lips. “With how Rarity’s told me of your feats of strength, I’m not surprised at all.”

Spike blushed a little. He looked down at Ember’s dripping cooch and slowly lowered her down to his rod. He glanced back at her, who just gave him a nod and then lowered her down to the tip of his member. The dragoness held her breath and tightened her grip on Spike as he slowly lowered his rod into her flower.

“Ah!” Ember moaned and buried her head in Spike’s shoulder.

Spike stifled a moan as he pushed Ember down deeper to the base of his rod. He could feel not only the tightness from her, but felt a warmth to her walls. It almost felt like a relaxing heat to it, and the juices from her wetness drenched his rod like warm oil was being covered in it. The sensation was unlike anything Spike felt before.

Ember let out another gasp as the base of Spike’s phallus hit Ember’s flower. The two stared at each other and panted wildly. Ember leaned in for a kiss and forced her tongue into Spike’s mouth. The drake offered no resistance as her quickly returned it was his tongue dancing along with Ember’s.

Ember suddenly felt a pair of hands around her stomach and turned around to see Rarity smiling at her.

“So what’s this thing you got, Rarity?” wondered Ember.

The unicorn’s horn glowed and a bottle went straight to her hand.

Ember raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

Rarity winked. “You’ll see,” she said, in a singing voice. She opened the bottle and poured some clear lotion on her hand.

“What do you m–EEEEEEEE!” Ember yelped loudly.

The dragoness gasped several times as she felt numb for a moment. Ember felt something slowly penetrate her other hole. She quivered as the object went more and more up her rump and let out a moan that sounded a bit painful.

Ember looked behind and asked. “Rarity, wh...what is that?”

The unicorn smiled. “My surprise of course.” She spanked her hip and showed off part of a black harness. “Just a little something I’ve been waiting to use for quite some time.” She frowned a bit. “You’re not in any pain, are you?”

Ember shook her head. “No,” she said in a strained tone. “I...I just didn’t expect it is all. I never really experimented with anal before. Got to say, it feels different.”

Rarity chuckled. “Well, I hope it’s different in a good way.”

Rarity slowly moved her hips and pulled her strapon in and out of Ember. Spike followed suit by alternating Rarity’s moves by slowly thrusting up whenever Rarity went down and so on. Ember grunted and panted with each thrust done by both Spike and Rarity. With each thrust, both of them tried to go deeper into her. Ember threw her head back and let out a rather loud moan as ecstasy overwhelmed her.

Rarity panted and slapped Ember’s side. “This is truly wonderful,” she said between pants. “I’m glad you’re enjoying your surprise, Ember.”

The dragoness panted and huffed with each thrust she felt. She smirked to herself and chuckled. “You’re–Oh!–not the–Ah!–only one with–Yes!–surprises!”

Rarity just kept thrusting her toy up Ember and started to go faster and harder with each move. Suddenly, she felt something tickle against her rear. She tried to look over, but saw nothing. She then felt something squeeze between the band between her cheeks.

“Wahaha!” Rarity cried out in pleasure.

She felt something penetrating her hole and looked down. She noticed Ember’s tail was wrapped partially up her leg and the end of it was nowhere to be seen. The unicorn moaned as she felt the tip push itself into her and her knees nearly buckled. Ember’s tail prodded and rubbed against her hole until she managed to penetrate into her.

Ember laughed. “How’s that?”

Rarity responded by letting out a loud moan. Ember took the chance to push her tail further. The tip squirmed and slowly shoved its way into Rarity. She moved it around slowly and rubbed the edges of her tip between Rarity’s rear. The unicorn quivered in pleasure and fought the temptation to buckle under pressure. Instead, she forced herself to go faster and harder in the dragoness’ rump.

Spike and Rarity were gyrating their hips in synchronization by this point. They both pushed their rods into Ember’s holes until it reached the bottom of their shafts. Ember was lost in total bliss as she felt herself get pounded and moaned louder than both her other mates. The dragoness felt a tongue over one of her breasts and looked to see Spike licking and suckling her nipple. She cooed in pleasure and put a hand on his head to encourage him to continue.

The room filled with both musk and the sounds of dragons and a pony moaning continuously. Rarity’s thrusts became more powerful to the point she was slamming into Ember’s rump. Spike’s hips moved faster as he pumped his rod quickly and rammed it as deep as he could into Ember’s cooch. His tongue swirled around her nipple and used a hand to spank Ember’s side. Ember had a look of total bliss and pleasure on her.

Rarity slowed her thrusts and panted wildly. Spike noticed this and slowed down as well. Both him and Ember looked over at the unicorn.

“You alright, Rarity?” wondered Spike.

She nodded. “I am.” She slowly pulled out her strapon and started to unfasten the harness. “I just figured we’d finish this another way.”

Ember looked confused. “Another way? How?”

“Spike, pull yourself out of her and let her down,” ordered Rarity.

The drake frowned as he was forced to remove his phallus from the warmth of Ember’s inner walls. Ember in turn removed her tail from Rarity’s rear, looking a bit disappointed herself. After he put her down, Ember turned to Rarity.

“So what’s–MFPH!”

Ember was cut off as Rarity pounced her and kissed her. She pushed the dragones over and both of them fell on top of Spike’s bed. Rarity’s tongue forced her way into Ember’s mouth. The dragoness’ shock quickly wore off as she opened her mouth and once again danced her tongue with the unicorn’s. Rarity used her legs to spread Ember’s, exposing both their delicate flowers to Spike. The drake’s eyes widened as he stared at the dripping wetness from both ladies.

Rarity cut off the kiss and both her and Ember looked at Spike. “What’re you waiting for, Spike?” teased the unicorn.

“Yeah, come on,” said Ember. “Your Dragon Lord commands you to please both of us!”

Spike smiled rather sinisterly and licked his lips. He moved in and got on his knees on his bed. He grabbed his member and slowly slid it between Rarity and Ember. Spike shuddered as he felt both mares rub their openings against his phallus as he slowly pushed it in. He pushed it until it reached the end and remained motionless for a moment.

He grabbed Rarity’s rear and playfully slapped it with both hands. The unicorn moaned in pleasure. Spike slowly began moving his hips back and forth between both cooches. The ridges of Spike’s phallus rubbed gently against both flowers as he went on, making both ladies shudder and moan in pleasure.

Spike’s thrusting got faster and faster with each passing minute. His roughness and speed on how he was thrusting his hips between both Rarity and Ember drove them wild. Ember leaned in and kissed Rarity again. The unicorn returned the kiss and both opened their mouths to let their tongues dance between each other again.

Spike was pounding his rod between both ladies to the point it was shaking his bed violently. Both Ember and Rarity could feel their bodies heat up from the intensity of Spike’s thrusts. The way he moved himself and the ridges against both their flowers drove them wild and felt like their bodies were on fire.

“Oh!” moaned Ember as she felt Spike’s ridges against her.

The bed was shaking and looked like it was coming close to falling apart.

“Ah!” Rarity yelped as Spike spanked her again.

The room was filled with musk and a bit of smoke from both Spike and Ember.

“Yes! Keep going!” Ember shouted in pure ecstasy.

“Hah...hah...hah…” panted Rarity.

Spike grunted as he felt the pressure build up in him. Rarity and Ember felt their loins burn up intensely and panted wildly as they kept rubbing against Spike’s rod. The drake looked down at both ladies, and they stared at him back. The trio each had a loving look at them as they felt themselves moments away from their peak.

Their eyes opened as all three reached their climaxes and released their loads. Spike remained motionless as his load shot out between both Ember and Rarity’s bodies. Ember and Rarity kissed again passionately. They both felt the heat of Spike’s load against their bodies and rubbed their bodies against each other to share it. The world stopped around the trio as they bathed in the moment and let themselves embrace for as long as they could.

Spike eventually felt the load in him slow down and the pressure in his loins lightened up. Once he felt the last of his seed shoot out, he took several deep breaths and was shaking a little. He let out a moan and nearly fell over on top of Rarity. Both her and Ember moved out of the way to allow Spike rest on the bed. The three laid there for a few minutes. They caught their breath and tried not to move too much.

Ember broke the silence and said in a tired, but excited voice, “Wow...that...that was fantastic! I’ve waited...so long for this, but...it was worth it.”

Rarity nodded. “Indeed,” she said in a similar tired, but happy tone, “I figured our first time would be memorable, but this was nothing I thought would be like this.” She looked over. “Spikey, how are you feeling?”

The drake groaned and slowly rolled onto his back. He looked like he ran a marathon from Ponyville to Canterlot and back. Despite how drained he felt, Spike still forced a smile and looked at both Rarity and Ember.

“That...that was amazing,” he whispered. “Thank you...both of you. I just hope if you both go for that stuff you talked about, it’s just as amazing as this.”

Rarity smiled and snuggled against him. “Anything for you, Spikey.”

Ember followed suit and kissed him on the cheek. “Anything at all.”

They rested against him for a minute before they heard a loud noise. They opened their eyes and saw Spike had fallen asleep and was snoring slightly. Both ladies smiled and kissed the drake on his cheeks. Rarity’s horn glowed and the blanket rose up and covered all three of them as the trio fell asleep.

Spike groaned as he shifted around in his bed. He turned his head to the side as he felt a little uncomfortable. His drowsiness faded away as the feeling went on and on. He felt something wet in a familiar area and his eyes shot wide open. He saw two huge bulges at the foot of his bed and smirked as he put it all together. He pulled the covers off him to reveal Rarity and Ember licking his rod.

It didn’t take the drake too long before the pressure got to him and before he could try to hold it, his load shot out. Ember and Rarity licked up his seed and cleaned his member of any excess. They looked at Spike and gave him a seductive smile.

“Guess that’s one way to wake me up,” said Spike.

“Well better get used to it,” said Ember with a laugh. “Because if we’re up before you, that’s how we’re gonna get you up.”

Spike chuckled. “Guess I’ll sleep in more often then.”

Rarity smiled and got out of bed. She stretched and let out a yawn. “Well, I think we all could use a shower after last night.”

Spike smelled himself and his face scrunched up. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”

Ember nodded. “That sounds good.”

Both dragons got out of bed and the three of them got dressed from the clothes they wore last night. After they were dressed, the three left the room and walked down the hallway. Both Ember and Rarity leaned against Spike, and he put his hands around both their hips and brought them closer.

As they rounded the corner, the trio gasped as they saw none other than Starlight, Sunburst, and Trixie right in front of them. From the looks of the unicorn trio, they looked out of it as well. Trixie barely seemed to be covering her body aside from her miniskirt and white laced bra. Sunburst’s shirt looked more disheveled than normal and his pants were sagging. Starlight had looked like she tried to dress herself the most.

Trixie smirked. “It looks like we weren’t the only ones who had their fun last night.” She squeezed her breasts together and jiggled them a bit.

Starlight pulled her back and had an annoyed look on her. “Sorry about that. We were just on our way to shower after last night’s...fun, as Trixie put it.”

“That’s just what we were gonna do too,” said Spike. “You’re lucky Twilight hasn’t run into you yet; especially with what Trixie’s doing.”

“Trixie is just teasing!” she objected.

Sunburst sighed. “She can be a real hooffull at times, but she’s rather playful.”

The showmare smiled. “At least somepony understands.”

Starlight frowned. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Twilight at all.”

“She said she had to do some studying,” said Spike. “She’s probably in the library.”

“We did pass the library though,” said Sunburst. “We didn’t see her in there at all.”

Spike raised an eyebrow and looked over at a nearby clock. “It’s after ten and she’s still not up? Odd.”

Ember rubbed her chin. “Now that I think about it, Matches hasn’t been trying to find me either. Usually he’s up pretty early himself.”

The hallway fell deathly silent, with the only noise being the clock’s ticking.

“You don’t think…” said Ember as she looked at Spike.

The drake smiled. “I think it’s time we checked on her.”

Everyone walked towards the alicorn’s bedroom and stopped in front of her door. Spike nervously reached a hand out to the doorknob and tried to turn it. The door didn’t budge though, much to Spike’s annoyance.

“Allow me,” said Starlight. Her horn glowed and a small beam shot at the keyhole. The sound of the lock being undone could be heard and the door opened. She held hand out. “After you.”

Spike pushed the door open, and the group had to step back for a moment. The drake coughed a little. “Man, something really stinks in here.”

After letting it air out for a moment, they all walked in and were shocked at what they found. Twilight’s usually clean room was messy with clothes thrown everywhere and the smell of musk hung in the air. The group turned their attention to the bed itself, which was covered in a large purple blanket and saw something shifting.

Spike frowned and shook his head. “I can't do this,” he whispered. “Even if it’s true, I can’t just look at Twilight naked. She’s practically my sister. Judging from the smell, I think we know what happened. Let’s just get out of here.”

Trixie smirked and walked over. “Then let Trixie handle this.”

She slowly reached a hand out to the blanket and grabbed it. Trixie froze for a moment as something shifted slightly under the cover. She slowly pulled the blanket off and a smile formed on her from the sight before her. Spread across the bed was Twilight herself, naked and showing off her rather generous bosom. The alicorn breathed softly and mumbled something as she shifted a little.

Trixie whistled. “Nice. I think she has breasts that rival yours, Stary.”

“Trixie!” the unicorn scolded in a whisper. “Get away from her! I think we all got an idea about what happened, so let’s get out before she wakes up!”

The showmare huffed. “I was just trying to compliment you. I’m not gonna suggest this princess become a part of our relationship, or anything.”

“Girls,” warned Spike. “Maybe we should take this outside.

“Spike’s right,” said Sunburst. “We should leave before she–”

Twilight groaned and her eyes cracked up. She could see a blurry image of a blue figure standing before her.

Sunburst gulped. “–wakes up.”

Twilight frowned and closed her eyes. “Get out of my room,” she muttered.

Twilight’s eyes then shot wide open and bolted up. She yelped as she saw the group staring at her. She then noticed her breasts were exposed and quickly pulled the blanket up.

“What’re you all doing here!?” she yelled.

Trixie stepped back and put her hands up. “This wasn’t Trixie’s idea!” She pointed at Spike. “He wanted to go check on you!”

The drake frowned. “I wanted to check on her, not see her naked body like you did!” he argued.

Rarity stepped forward. “Twilight, darling, let me clarify something. There’s been something we’ve been wondering and when we put it all together, we wanted to see for ourselves.”

“See what?” inquired the alicorn in a furious tone.

Another groan came from nearby and a figure emerged from the blanket next to Twilight.

“Twilight, could you please keep it down?” he asked, groggily. “I’m still a bit beat from last night.”

Ember couldn’t help but smirk. “Well, this is a surprise indeed.”

Spike laughed a little. “I was wondering when he’d finally move in on her.”

The figure’s eyes widened.

“Hello, Matches,” teased Ember. “Having fun ‘studying’ you two?”

The drake quickly covered himself over the blanket. “M–my L–lord! I can explain!”

The dragoness laughed. “Matches, I knew you were bold, but to mate with a princess of Equestria? That’s something else. I’m honestly surprised you did it so soon.”

Starlight pumped her fist. “Yes! I knew it!” She smiled deviously. “You owe me five bits, Trixie!”

The showmare crossed her arms and huffed. “Here I was thinking the princess played for the same team.”

Twilight’s eye twitched. “Wait, you bet on us about this relationship!?”

Matches peeked his head out of the covers. “You...you knew, my Lord?”

Ember rolled her eyes. “Matches, it wasn’t that hard to figure out to be honest. The way you spent time with Twilight and how you flew into a rage when she got hurt.”

“All the times you danced with her,” said Rarity.

“Honestly, Matches, my crush on Rarity wasn’t as obvious as yours on Twilight,” said Spike. “I don’t know why you sound so surprised.”

Matches and Twilight blushed profusely.

“Well, we didn’t want to do it at first,” explained Matches. “We were studying last night but one thing lead to another and well...you know.”

Ember smiled. “No need to worry about it. I just hope this doesn’t mean you’ll shirk from your duties.”

Matches shook his head. “No, my Lord. You know I’ll be ready to serve and help as much as I can.”

The room fell silent again for a moment.

Trixie leaned towards Matches and grinned. “So how was it? Did she moan loudly? How did it feel? I got to have details about–”

“OUT!” boomed Twilight. “GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!”

The group was pelted by pillows and books by the irated princess. They all screamed as they ran out of the room and the door slammed shut behind them.The group caught their breaths and heard some muttering from Twilight’s room.

Trixie rubbed the back of her head. “That pony needs to read books that aren’t so heavy.”

Spike frowned. “Maybe we should all just go get dressed and get breakfast.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Ember.

Starlight grabbed Trixie’s ear and had an annoyed look on her. “You’re not gonna join me and Sunburst for a while for that.”

The showmare frowned. “Oh, come on! Trixie was just wanting to know all the juicy details!”

Starlight groaned as she dragged Trixie. The group followed the pair back down the hallway.

The dining room was filled with laughter and talking as the group ate. Rarity and Ember were talking to one another and laughed a little. Matches and Sunburst were discussing something. Starlight rolled her eyes as Trixie went on about what she thought happened between Matches and Twilight. The alicorn hit Trixie with a spoon and shook her head in disapproval. Spike couldn’t help but laugh at the exchange between the two.

A thought then clicked in Spike’s head. “So, what is it you were studying with Matches?” he asked Twilight. “And I’m not talking biology.”

Twilight groaned. “I’d rather not say too much. What I will say is that this could really change everything for ponies and dragons if I can get it right. I’ll just have a lot of work to do, but I believe with everything I’ve learned, I can make it.”

“Make what?”

Twilight winked. “I’ll show you and everyone when it’s ready.”

Spike sighed and finished up the rest of his gem sprinkled eggs. He looked over at the table and smiled to himself.

“What’s got you so happy?” wondered Twilight.

The drake leaned back in his chair. “It’s been so crazy for so long. From the feud between Rarity and Ember, to Garble’s attempts for power, and our more recent adventures, it’s been so chaotic that Discord himself would be proud. Now, I’m just happy it’s all calmed down.”

He heard laughter and looked over at Ember and Rarity. He smiled and said, “I’m also lucky to have two wonderful girls with me. After everything that we’ve been through, I don’t have any more doubts about this relationship.”

Twilight hugged him and smiled. “I’m glad to know that.”

“Oof!”

Spike looked over and saw Ember clutching her stomach. He got up and walked over to her. “Are you okay?” he wondered.

The dragoness nodded. “I...I think I may have eaten something weird.”

Rarity frowned. “Darling, let me get you something to help make your stomach better.”

Before the unicorn could move, Ember let out a loud belch and a scroll popped up in the air. Rarity grabbed the scroll before it could fall into Ember’s juice and helped raise the dragoness back up.

“You okay, Ember?” asked Spike.

The dragoness nodded and coughed a little. “That wasn’t really pleasant, but I’ll be okay.” She looked at the scroll in Rarity’s hand and raised an eyebrow. “That’s strange.”

“What’s strange?” wondered Starlight. “Spike’s been usually a messenger for the princesses.”

“Yeah, I know that, but I don’t normally get messages like this. Usually there are other dragons who bring me any urgent news or messages through them. The only time a Dragon Lord gets a message like this is if…” Her voice trailed off.

“Is what?” wondered Sunburst.

Ember snatched the scroll out of Rarity’s hand and looked at the seal. Matches ran over and both looked concerned at what they saw.

“What is it?” inquired Twilight.

“A black dragon seal,” said Ember. “This is usually reserved for emergency messages only.”

Spike looked alarmed. “Open it!” he urged. “Read what it says!”

Ember ripped the seal off and opened it. Another object fell from it, but Matches caught it and looked at it. Ember’s eyes ran past each line and her eyes grew wider with each moment she read. The others looked at each other with worry and concern.

“What happened?” questioned Spike. “Is something wrong in the Dragon Lands? Did Garble somehow escape?”

Ember handed the letter to Twilight. “I think you better read this.”

The alicorn took the scroll and opened it. Everyone else gathered around her to read the scroll with her.

Lord Ember,

We apologize for this sudden message, but there’s been some troubling news on the outskirts of the Dragon Lands. Recently, a pair of scouts were patrolling the sky when they saw something strange. They saw what looked at first to be a huge storm going across the sea, but they noticed something was wrong. One of the scouts noticed a large airship in the storm clouds. He said that they weren’t trying to even escape the storm, but rather stay in it for some reason.

The other scout reported she saw a few more ships deep in the storm clouds. What’s even more troubling is that this storm seems to be following the ships, like as if it’s a cover for them. The scouts have come to a conclusion from the route they were going, they were headed directly towards Equestria. We know you’re there overseeing final negotiations, but whatever this fleet is, we fear you’ll get caught in their path. We encourage you to come home at once before this fleet arrives and you be put in harm’s way.

We’ve enclosed a photo inside this scroll. The scouts managed to take a photo of this air fleet before they reported back. Hurry back soon, my Lord.

Yours faithfully to serve,

Master Singe

Twilight put the scroll down and looked worried.

“What’s all this mean?” wondered Spike.

“I’m not sure,” she replied. “There was something about a photo though.”

Matches handed it over. “I got it.”

Everyone gathered around to look at the photo. The image showed a large, violent lightning storm hovering over the ocean and some jagged rocks peeking from it. At the front of the storm, they saw a large, black airship flying with it. Twilight noticed the airship’s side had a symbol on it and squinted her eyes. She barely made out what looked to be a jagged lightning bolt on the side of it.

“Who are these creatures?” wondered Starlight.

Twilight frowned. “I don’t know, but if they’re coming for us, it’s at a bad time.”

Spike snapped his fingers. “That’s right! The upcoming Festival of Friendship!”

Ember raised an eyebrow. “Do all you ponies have this many festivals celebrating friendship?”

Spike went on without answering Ember. “We should let the princesses know.”

“Who knows how many airships there are though?” wondered Sunburst. “There could be over a hundred there.”

“That’s true,” said Twilight. “Maybe I can call Shining up and he’ll send some forces here to help.”

“Ahem!”

Everyone turned to look at an impatient Ember tapping her foot. “I think we can be of help.”

Twilight gasped. “Ember, are you really considering that?”

The dragoness nodded. “I’m not gonna go home and leave my friends to fight off against some threat. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t help my allies?”

“Do you think we’ll be ready?” asked Spike.

Ember took his hand and Rarity’s and looked up with a determined look on her. “I don’t think whatever threat comes this way can stop us.”

Spike nodded, as did Rarity. “You’re right. Now, what should we do?”

Ember smirked. “We’ll teach whoever is coming what happens when you cross with us. That much I promise you.”

Together, the group walked out with determination on their faces, and ready to face this threat.

Author's Note

Well, it's taken me a bit longer than I wanted to, but here's the chapter a lot of you have been waiting so long for. I have to admit, this was a bit tough to put together. Mostly because while in the past I've done clop stuff of two characters, this is my first one involving a threesome couple. I read a few fics and took some inspiration from some pics to help me out. If you can figure out some of those pic references, that's awesome of you then.

And yes, I decided to place the story at the timeline before the events of the movie.

One more chapter to go, people, and then it's over. The end is almost here.

Epilogue: Unity

“And that’s how Equestria and the Dragon Lands became allies. Through many trials and hardships, today both nations remain close allies and both dragons and ponies have been making peace between themselves. While there are still some who’ve been reluctant to peace, both Equestria and the Dragon Lands continue to work towards total acceptance and hope to one day be in harmony and friendship.”

Twilight put her book down and smiled at the class. “That concludes our history lesson for today.” The class applauded at this.

A sky blue changeling raised her hand up.

“Yes, Ocellus?” asked Twilight.

“Is it true that the dragons helped Equestria during the Storm King’s assault?” she asked.

The alicorn nodded. “Indeed, but that’ll be a lesson saved for tomorrow’s class.”

A tall and bulky yak crossed her arms and huffed. “Aw, Yona wanted to hear about that. Yona wanted to hear about such a battle and see if it measures up to yak standards.”

A skinny blue griffon scoffed. “Considering everything you claim is that yaks are better at everything, you probably won’t like it.”

“Don’t be so mean, Gallus,” a pink hippogriff said. “I’ve been wanting to hear how it happened myself! Aunt Novo never really told me anything!”

An orange dragoness leaned back and grinned. “I’ll give you the short and easy version, Silverstream. We kicked that Storm King and his so called army back to whatever frozen wasteland they came from.”

A lanky sea green pony chuckled. “Not from what I’ve heard.”

The dragoness raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

“Sandbar’s correct, Smolder,” corrected Twilight. “What I’ll tell you all is that the fight still wasn’t that easy, but we made a lot of new friends in the end.”

Gallus leaned in to Smolder. “I heard they even made friends with that weird pony with horn issues.”

“She has a name you know,” said Twilight, sternly.

The griffon yelped as the alicorn stood in front of his desk.

“You’ll find out more in tomorrow’s class about the Storm King crisis,” she said. “For tonight, I want you all to write a paper about why despite their differences ponies and dragons can still be friends.”

The whole class groaned. The bell rang and slowly the class started gathering their things and leaving.

Ocellus and Silverstream flew over to their friends. “Want to meet up at the usual spot in the library?” the changeling asked.

“That sounds good,” said Sandbar. “I just need to go ask Professor Pinkie some questions about the project she assigned and I’ll meet you there.”

Smolder yawned. “I want to take a nap first.” She glared at Yona. “Someone was snoring again last night.”

The yak looked down and frowned. “Yona sorry for making friend tired.”

“We really need to do something about that,” said Ocellus. “Maybe we can see this zebra some ponies talk about. They claim she’s a potions master.”

Smolder stretched a little. “You all do that. Wake me when you all get back with a solution.” The dragoness was about to fly out of class when she accidentally bumped into something. “Sorry about that. I didn’t see you there.”

She looked up and was met by a tall, rather muscular purple dragon in a black suit.

“Oh, sorry about that, Vice Head-drake Spike,” said Smolder.

Spike laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I hope Twilight wasn’t boring you all too much with her history lecture.”

“Spike!” scolded Twilight. “They’re not boring at all!”

The drake laughed again and held his hands up. “Easy there, Twilight. I was just kidding.”

Smolder rolled her eyes. “Speak for yourself,” she muttered. “It made me even more tired.” She flew off again and out of the classroom.

Sandbar got up. “Guess we better head out ourselves.” As the others gathered their things, he noticed Gallus was looking away and remained seated. “You alright, man?” he wondered.

The griffon jumped a little. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he quickly said. “I’ll catch up with you all. I just need a moment is all.”

Silverstream flew up to his face and frowned. “What’s wrong, Gallus? You can tell me!”

Gallus’ eyes widened as he looked at the hippogriff. “Um...thanks, Silverstream, but it’s nothing to worry about,” he said. “I’ll be right with you, okay?”

The hippogriff beamed and hugged him. “Alright, we’ll be waiting outside the classroom!”

The group walked out of the classroom, leaving Spike, Twilight, and a flustered Gallus by himself.

“What’re you doing here anyway, Spike?” wondered Twilight.

The drake held up a scroll. “This came for you.”

The alicorn took the scroll and her eyes widened from the sight of a blue flame with an “E” in the middle of it. She opened the letter and began reading it. She gasped and grinned like a filly who was waiting to open presents on Hearth’s Warming Day.

“Spike, I got to get our friends!” she explained, quickly. “Can you lock up and meet me in the castle entrance?”

The drake rubbed his head. “Um…”

“Thanks!” Twilight ran out the room, leaving a confused Spike behind.

Spike leaned against the desk and crossed his arms. “I’ll never fully understand her.”

“Um...Vice Head-drake Spike?”

The dragon looked down to see a rather nervous Gallus standing before him and frowned. “Hey, are you okay?”

Gallus nodded. “I just need to ask you something between us guys if that’s alright.”

Spike slowly nodded and escorted him towards the back of the class. They both sat down at a desk and looked at each other.

“So what’s up?” asked Spike.

The griffon rubbed the back of his neck and looked down. “This...this isn’t easy to ask at all. I’ve been having some problems lately.”

The drake raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you go see Counselor Starlight? I’m sure she can help.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to talk to her, but I think you’d be the only one I can fully trust on this,” said Gallus.

“What do you mean by that?” wondered Spike.

Gallus shifted around. “It’s just that this is something that I know you’ve had trouble with in the past and I feel you’re the best I can come to for something like this.”

Spike looked a little surprised by the revelation.

“I...I heard about how you, Professor Rarity, and Dragon Lord Ember became a couple,” explained Gallus. “I don’t know all the details, but I’ve heard how you all became a couple and well…” The griffon looked down.

Spike straightened himself. “You came to me about romance ad–”

“Shhh!” Gallus looked around the room and out the door to see his friends talking to each other. “Not so loud!” he whispered.

The drake nodded. “Alrighty then, so what’s this about?”

Gallus fidgeted his claws a little. “There ...there is some creature that’s been really nice to me and I don’t know what to do.”

“Your friends?” inquired Spike. “They’ve all been really nice to you though.”

The griffon shook his head. “No, I mean there’s been just one of them has been really nice to me and well...I don’t know how to react or what to do. It’s something I’ve never really dealt with before.”

Spike crossed his arms. “Can you at least tell me who it is?”

Gallus shook his head.

The drake smirked. “Secret crush, huh? I now know what you mean.” He leaned in. “Why do you feel this way? It’s obvious you know about love and this friend of yours seems to care deeply about you. What’s wrong with that?”

Gallus rubbed his arm. “I just fear that I’m not good enough for her.”

Spike raised an eyebrow again.

“She’s like royalty and all, and just look at me.” Gallus sighed and had a dejected look on him. “I’m an orphan. No royalty, no family, no friends until I came here, and even Grandpa Gruff treats me like a burden then another griffon. I got nothing to impress her with. If I try to do anything with her, I’m afraid I won’t be making her happy and drag her down.”

Spike opened his mouth to speak, but they were both interrupted by the sound of laughter. They both turned to see Gallus’ friends laughing at something. The drake noticed that Gallus was sighing contently as his eyes fell upon one specific creature’s bubbly laughter echoing loudly.

The drake chuckled. “Well, I think I get the picture now. Gallus, I want to ask you something now, and be honest with me.”

The griffon gulped a little. “What is it?”

“Do you really care for her?”

Gallus hesitated to answer.

“Do you really care for her?” Spike repeated.

Gallus took a deep breath and muttered, “...Yes.” He suddenly felt the drake put a claw on his shoulder and looked up to see him smiling.

“Look, I know it can be scary to face a crush who may or may not return your feelings,” Spike explained. “When it came to Rarity and Ember, I had a hard time myself too. I’m not sure what you’ve heard, but let’s just say things got really crazy before it got better. I’ll give you some advice about what to do with her though.”

Gallus raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“I’ve seen the way she looks at you too, you know? She may be royalty, but it’s obvious she cares about you too. She doesn’t care about how you’re just an orphan, or if you aren’t royalty. Underneath it all, you’re some special griffon to her, and doesn’t care where you came from, but who you are. If you want to make her know you care, then she her in your own way that lets her know how much you mean to her.”

Gallus gulped. “And...and if she doesn’t?”

Spike smiled. “I know she will. But you have to be the one to act on this. You got to let her know how much she means to you. And don’t think you can’t do it either. If you and the others can take down Cozy Glow and stop her plan, then I know you can tell her your feelings for her.”

Gallus said nothing. He sat there and looked down at the ground as he took in everything. After a minute of staying silent, he looked up and smiled a little.

“You’re right,” he said. “I got to do this. I may not be anything but a griffon orphan, but I’ll do anything to make her happy after how much she’s cheered me up.”

Spike smiled. “That sounds like a good idea.” He slapped Gallus on the shoulder. “Now go get her.”

The griffon nodded. “Thanks, Vice Headdrake.”

“Think nothing of it. Now run along. I got to see what’s got Twilight so worked up.”

Gallus nodded and ran off from the classroom. Spike got up and pushed in his and Gallus’ chair and left the room. He locked the door and began walking down the now empty hallway.

A loud joyful scream suddenly echoed from nearby. “EEEEE! Of course I will, Gallus! This’ll be so much fun!” a jubilant voice rang out.

Spike smiled to himself as he kept walking down the hallway.

Spike opened the door to the castle and saw his friends standing around. Rarity immediately ran forward and embraced him in a hug, which he quickly returned.

“Twilight told you all to meet her here too?” he asked them.

Applejack nodded. “Eeyup. She looked really wound up when she came to us. You know what’s up, Spike?”

The drake shook his head. “Not a clue.” He glanced at Rarity. “I take it she didn’t say anything to you?”

Rarity nodded. “Not a thing at all.”

“I hope it doesn’t take too long,” said Starlight. “I promised Sunburst and Trixie I’d be at the train station to welcome them back from the Crystal Empire.”

“I just wish I knew what it was,” said Fluttershy.

“Hey there!”

The group turned around and was met by Twilight beaming a smile at them.

“Kept us waiting, huh?” asked Spike.

“Sorry, but I needed to make sure everything was in place,” said the alicorn. “What I’m about to show you all will change everything!”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Wait, are you talking about that project you’ve been keeping secret?”

Twilight nodded. “I’ve worked on it night after night whenever I could, but I’m ready to show you all.” She waved a hand. “Come on now!” She ran off down the hallway.

The others looked at each other and shrugged. They all quickly followed after the princess down the hallway. They kept following her until they reached a large set of double doors and Twilight was waiting for them.

The alicorn pushed the doors open to reveal a dark room and stepped aside. “Come on in,” she urged.

The group walked into the dark room and the last bit of light went away as Twilight shut the doors.

“Ooo! I know what you’ve been working on Twilight!” exclaimed Pinkie. “You’ve been working on a new kind of darkness; advanced darkness! Heh heh!”

Twilight chuckled. “Let me get the light and you’ll see.”

With a click, the room illuminated and revealed a large, spacious room, but what caught everyone’s eyes was the very large white sheet covering something in the middle of the room. Everyone looked at it in awe and wonder.

“What in tarnation is that?” inquired Applejack.

“Maybe Twilight’s working on setting a record for the world’s biggest bed sheet,” said Pinkie.

“And why would a bed sheet cover something?” asked Rainbow.

The party mare shrugged. “Maybe she needed to put it somewhere and this was the only place.”

Rainbow slapped her forehead. “Twilight, please show whatever you got to us before Pinkie comes up with another crazy idea.”

“With pleasure.” The alicorn’s horn glowed and the sheet was lifted up slowly.

The others looked on in anticipation as to what was beneath it. Pinkie tried to get on the ground to look, but Applejack pulled her back up to her feet. The sheet was thrown to the side and everyone gasped at what they saw.

There was a large machine that towered over the group. There were multiple wires all connected to various smaller machines. There were a few large electrical rods sticking up behind the machines. In the middle of it all was a large bronze circle that had a rather large blue crystal at the top.

Starlight whistled. “Wow…I don’t even know what to say. I know you said it was a big project, but nothing like this. What is it anyway?”

Twilight smiled. “This is a teleporter!”

Everyone looked at her in confusion.

The alicorn raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Um, Twilight?” inquired Rainbow. “Why would you need to build a teleporter? You can do that you know? Even Starlight and Rarity can do it too. What’s the point of it?”

“It’s true what you say, Rainbow,” said Twilight. “This teleporter works by utilizing quantum physics and that–”

“Can you get to the point?” asked Rainbow. “No offense, but we’re not all science majors like you are.”

Twilight frowned. “In short, this device works with another one that’s been built and can serve as a means to quickly go from here to another place.”

“Wait a minute,” objected Starlight. “Another one? You mean there’s another one of these things built?”

“Exactly!” answered Twilight.

Everyone looked shocked at the revelation.

“Where is it?” asked Fluttershy. “Canterlot?”

Twilight shook her head.

“The Crystal Empire?” inquired Pinkie.

“Nope!” said Twilight.

“Seaquestria?” wondered Applejack.

“No.”

“The moon!” exclaimed Pinkie.

Twilight shook her head. “Maybe it’s best I show you all.” She handed Spike a sealed scroll. “Send this away, Spike. I was told to do so once we were ready.”

Spike’s eyes widened. “You...you mean we’re going to…”

Twilight nodded. “Activate the teleporter.”

The drake frowed. “Is it even safe to use? I mean what if it blows up?”

Twilight put a hand on Spike’s shoulder and smiled. “Relax. I’ve been testing it out and we’ve gotten a lot of the kinks worked out.”

Starlight sighed. “I guess that explains all the power failures and those explosions I’ve heard. I’m surprised you’re not badly hurt from this, Twilight.”

The alicorn shrugged. “I’ve been hit with worse.”

Spike took a deep breath and let out a stream of green fire briefly. The scroll disappeared in in the flames. “Alright, it’s been sent. I hope you know what you’re doing, Twilight.”

“Just stand behind that wall there.” Twilight pointed to a part in the room where there was a small wall with a window to look out of. “I need to calibrate the teleporter and turn it on.”

The group went over the wall and hid behind it. Twilight ran around turning on machines, cranking knobs, and pushing buttons. The electrical poles lit up and the hum of electricity filled the air. The others watched in awe as they heard the machines beeping and the electricity buzzing through the air.

Spike leaned in to Starlight. “Tell me your shield spell has been improving.”

The unicorn nodded. “Trust me. After everything that I’ve seen Twilight do with her crazy schemes, I’ve learned to be prepared.”

“It’s ready!” Twilight exclaimed, happily.

She ran behind the wall and towards another machine. She quickly pushed some buttons and twisted a knob. The electricity intensified and the humming became louder.

“Get ready!” said Twilight.

The electricity suddenly shot out towards the crystal on the arch one by one. The crystal began to shine brightly. The group shielded their eyes and looked away. Starlight’s horn started to glow and waited to cast her spell. Twilight just looked on happily and smiled. A loud cracking noise suddenly echoed throughout the room like a lightning bolt that struck closeby.

Suddenly, the noise fell eerily silent. Spike opened his eyes and expected the worst, but saw everything was still standing. He heard a low humming nearby and slowly got up to see where it was coming from. He looked over the window and gasped as he saw the arch now had a blue hue to it. Slowly, the others got up and were just as mesmerized by the arch as Spike was.

“Oh, my,” Fluttershy said in awe.

Applejack let out a whistle. “What’s on the other side?”

Twilight smiled and walked up to the arch. “Alright, it’s ready!” she shouted through the blue hue.

The alicorn stepped back and the group looked on in confusion. A foot then appeared from the arch, much to their shock. Then, a blue hand appeared and grabbed the arch. Spike gasped as he recognized the familiar looking hand. The figure emerged from the teleporter, and the drake’s heart nearly stopped from who he was looking at.

The figure smiled. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Spike?”

Spike smiled and ran up to the figure and hugged them tightly.

“Ember!” he happily exclaimed.

Rarity ran over and hugged the dragoness. “Darling, it’s so good to see you!”

Ember returned the hug between her lovers. “I’m glad to see you all too.”

“But...but how though?” asked Spike. “You just emerged from there!”

“I think the princess and I can both explain that,” a voice said.

Everyone turned around and saw Matches walking through the portal. Twilight quickly embraced him and kissed him on the cheek.

“So how did you pull this off?” asked Starlight.

Twilight broke off the embrace and turned to the group. “I’ve been thinking that since we’re now close friends and allies, we needed a quicker way to see each other. Especially since some of us have a certain special someone far away.” She brought Matches in closer.

“The princess and I have been collaborating together about how to make this work,” said Matches. “When I first heard of it, I admit I was skeptical about it, but I went through with it. Truth be told, teleportation has been something the mages in the Dragon Lands have struggled with. The most they could do was create a crystal that made it possible for them to teleport them a short distance.”

Matches pointed to the blue crystal on the arch. “See that?” The group nodded. “That’s a teleportation crystal, and it’s one of the rarest crystals ever. Normally, they can teleport you, at the very most, twenty or so feet away. Twilight, however, found a way around that problem.”

The alicorn nodded. “I theorized that if I could channel enough power and magic into the crystal, it would increase how well it worked. At first, I slowly expanded how far it could go. Then, I just had to calibrate how far the crystal’s power needed to expand to reach the Dragon Lands.”

“While she was doing that, I figured that the best way to teleport from one specific point to another,” said Matches. “One of the mages suggested that to do that, I would need another teleportation crystal to create a link so to say.”

“We’ve been exchanging ideas and theories about what to do,” said Twilight. “I eventually managed to put all the stuff together needed to create the teleporter. I sent the ideas to Ember, and she ordered that a similar teleporter be built like this.”

“We’ve been testing it for a few months now,” said Matches. “We’ve had some power issues and making sure the magic intake wasn’t overloading the teleporter. Through trial and error, we’ve managed to finally get it to stabilize on both ends.”

“Thanks to the combination of both Dragon and Equestrian magic, the first teleporter is finally up and running!” Twilight happily stated.

“What if someone else tries to use it?” wondered Starlight. “Aren’t you worried that some dragon or pony will try to use it to sneak through?”

“Impossible,” said Matches. “Both teleporters have to be active to allow the user to go through. If they try to do it without both teleporters active, they get rejected immediately.”

“And when we need to get back, I’ll just send a message back to Master Singe and he’ll inform the mages of my return to activate the teleporter.”

“Speaking of which.” Twilight turned a knob, and the blue aura disappeared.

Spike smiled. “So, Rarity and I can see Ember any time we want to? All that without having to travel for so long to the Dragon Lands by chariot?”

The alicorn nodded. “As long as she lets you come that is. We can use it to visit her, or if they need help and we can send aid.” She turned to the dragoness. “Speaking of which, Ember, do you need any more guards? I’ve been hearing reports of the remnants of the Storm King’s forces are around the Dragon Lands.”

Ember shook her head. “Thanks, but we got it. Our forces have things well under control.” She put a hand on Matches’ shoulder and smiled. “All thanks to our new captain of course.”

Twilight gasped and squealed in delight. “Captain!? Oh, I’m so proud of you, Matches!”

The green dragon smirked. “Those guys are much easier without their leader giving them orders. Especially since she isn’t commanding them anymore.” Matches shivered a little. “How can one pony be that damn tough?”

Twilight frowned. “I know she did some terrible things, but she’s vowed to become a better pony. She’s even taken part in helping uncover any remaining bases the Storm King had around.”

Matches furrowed his brow. “It still doesn’t mean I have to fully trust her. I’m still not sure how you did it, Twilight, but the moment she thinks about turning against you all again…”

The alicorn nodded. “Don’t worry. She’s given her word and has changed. You have to remember how blinded she was by her loneliness and rage.”

Matches sighed. “Sometimes I think you ponies are way too forgiving.”

“Alright, settle down, Matches,” ordered Ember. “What Princess Twilight wants to do with her is up to her.” She pulled Spike and Rarity close to her. “The Council has got things covered with recovery efforts to allow us to be with our mates. Let’s make the best of it.”

Matches bowed. “My apologies, Lord Ember.” He looked at Twilight with a remorseful look. “I’m sorry too. It’s just been hard to keep those forces off our land.”

“I understand,” said Twilight. “There’s been some skirmishes too on the borders of Equestria, but nothing we can’t handle.” She took Matches’ hand and smiled. “Come on, I told Shining and Cadence I’d have a surprise waiting for them. They’re waiting at the Sunflower Cafe for me.”

Matches chuckled weakly. “Oh, goody. Another visit with your brother.”

Twilight chuckled. “Don’t worry. Cadence made him promise he wouldn’t be hard on you like last time.”

Matches sighed. “I sure hope so.” He looked at the others. “We’ll catch you all later, okay?”

Ember laughed. “Have fun, you two.”

The alicorn and drake waved and walked out of the room.

Applejack looked at a clock nearby. “I’d like to stay and all, but I got a date with Soarin tonight. He said he’d take me someplace really nice.”

“His bedroom?” joked Rainbow.

Applejack slapped the pegasus. “Could ask you the same thing about your date with Thunderlane last week,” she scolded.

Rainbow blushed and muttered incoherently as both her and Applejack walked off.

“I better get back to the animal sanctuary,” said Fluttershy. “It’s time for Harry’s checkup after that accident he climbed that tree.”

“I should get going to the train station myself,” said Starlight. She turned to Pinkie. “Want to come? Maybe give them your traditional Ponyville welcome?”

Pinkie beamed. “Of course! I’m waiting for someone else at the train too! He and I have so much to catch up on!”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Who exactly?”

The pink pony sighed dreamfully. “He’s like me. It’ll be so good to see him again after all this time, and maybe just maybe…” Pinkie blushed a little.

Starlight smirked. “Ah, I see. Well, let’s not keep them waiting.” The two ponies walked off, leaving Spike, Ember, and Rarity by themselves.

Spike sighed and looked at his ladies. “So what do you all want to do first?”

Ember and Rarity looked at each other and nodded.

“We do have something in mind,” said Ember.

“Something fun to do together,” added Rarity.

“Like what?” asked Spike.

Rarity gave him a seductive smile and her horn lit up. Before Spike knew it, the world disappeared in a flash and suddenly went away as he heard chirping nearby. He looked around to be met with trees, bushes, and the sounds of ponies nearby.

“What’s going on?” wondered Spike.

Suddenly, another flash went out and the drake gasped as he saw both Rarity and Ember naked in front of him. He looked down and realized he was naked too and covered his member.

“What the?” the drake inquired in shock.

“Remember what I said on our first night together?” asked Ember. “I figured we’d try that out.”

Spike gulped. “But...but where are we?”

“Near Ponyville Park,” answered Rarity. “I figured we’d have a little fun with ourselves.”

Spike felt his heart racing. “What if we get caught though?” he whispered.

Rarity chuckled. “That’s half the fun, darling.”

Ember walked up to him and put her arms around him. “Just relax, Spike. Rarity told me if we’re about to get caught, she can teleport us out of here. For now,” she took Spike’s hand and put it on her breast. “Why don’t we just have some fun?”

Before Spike could ask, Rarity walked up and kissed him on the lips. The drake was caught off guard and stumbled back. He, Ember, and Rarity fell to the ground and moaned passionately.

A mint green unicorn embraced a tan Earth pony. “How are you doing, Bonny?” she asked.

Bon Bon smiled and kissed the unicorn on the cheek. “This is relaxing, Lyra. I always love coming here. We have so many good times together here.”

Lyra nodded and nuzzled against Bon Bon. “The first date we had, the night I kissed you for the first time. It’s something I’ll never forget.”

“Yeah,” said Bon Bon.

As the couple relaxed, Lyra’s ears perked up and sat up. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” asked Bon Bon.

“Shh! Listen!” urged Lyra.

Both ponies listened closely and distinctly made out the sounds of soft moaning nearby. Both turned back and had blushes on their faces.

Lyra chuckled. “I remember that too, you know? How many times we went around doing it and seeing if we’d get caught?”

Bon Bon smiled deviously. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

Lyra nodded and smiled seductively. “The usual spot?”

“I was thinking more close to the main square,” said Bon Bon. “I know there’s a lot of ponies there today and that’ll make it more exciting.”

The two ponies got up and with a chuckle, they ran off into the woods nearby.

Author's Note

Well, it's finally over. It's been a long ride and all, but it's finally come to a conclusion. I know this story went on much longer than usual, but that was mostly due to work, focusing on my career, and feeling drained and unable to motivate myself. In the end though, it's finally over.

I do hope you all enjoyed this story. I'm not sure what I'll do next for a story. Maybe I'll try to explore a little more outside the romance genre. Not sure what it'll be, but sometime in the future. For now, I think it's time I took a brief break before going back and try to put together another story.

Thank you all for reading, and special thanks to FlimFlamBros. for the help in this story. See you all next project.

Prologue: A Lord's Invitation

Prologue: A Lord's Invitation

The rumbling of volcanoes could be felt from a distance. The smell of sulfur filled the air. The thick, gray clouds blotted out the sunlight, making the sky a washed out blue. It was a familiar sight and smell to a tall and slender Ember as her asher metallic boots clanked along the rocky landscape. She was dressed in her golden and brown armor that covered most of her body, but it was designed to allow her wings to stick out and let her fly whenever she needed to. Her helmet was as golden as her armor and had fangs and horns on it to make her more ferocious.

She heard somebody talking nearby and looked over to see a rather chubby green dragon in a black shirt and faded blue jeans talking to a muscular white dragon in a red tank top and black shorts. The green dragon was saying something, but the blue dragoness couldn’t hear it. She did hear the white dragon laughing and the green one soon joined in. She smiled and continued on her way.

It’s good to see dragons interacting better with each other, she thought to herself. I have to admit this is rather strange though. Usually dragons are not this friendly to each other. They’re either bragging about what they’ve destroyed, or what treasures they have.

She laughed a little to herself. It’s silly that most dragons talked like that a lot. Now things actually feel a little more quiet and peaceful. I have to say that I don’t think this would be possible if it weren’t for Spike.

At the mention of his name, her smile faltered a little and she felt a nagging feeling inside her. She looked up at the sky and let out a sigh.

… Spike, she thought to herself. Hard to believe a little over a month ago you showed me about friendship. It’s silly, goofy, and cheesy, but… it seems to have made some dragons happier now. She looked down and frowned to herself. As weird and bothersome as he could be, I kind of wish he was around to see the changes I made.

“Lord Ember!”

She looked back down and saw an emerald male dragon with a rounded snout, two long and sharpened horns on his head and dark green spines, and dressed in silver armor, similar to Ember’s, running up towards her.

“Hey, Matches,” she said. “What do you need?”

“Just thought I’d come see you,” he answered. “Isn’t that something you wanted us dragons to do to become friends? Hang out and talk with each other?”

Ember nodded. “I know about that. The way you were running though, you acted like something really big was happening.”

“I did try calling to you,” said Matches. “You were looking up into the sky though like the sky was falling or something.”

Ember grimaced a little. “I was just thinking is all. I have a lot on my mind.” Her eyes looked down and saw some brown paper in his hand. “What’s that?” she wondered.

Matches looked down and slapped his forehead. “Oh, that’s right! I forgot that this came in through the Dragon Mailing Service.” He held out his hand and opened it to show a rolled up parchment paper with a purple ribbon in the middle and a golden seal with a star on it.

Ember took the parchment and smirked. “Princess Twilight Sparkle is writing to me again, huh?”

“Do you think she wants to know something else about dragons?” Matches wondered.

“If she does, I hope it’s nothing too embarrassing like last time,” Ember said as she shuddered a little. “Let’s see what she wants this time.”

Ember ripped the seal and ribbon off the parchment and opened up the scroll. Matches walked up next to Ember and both read the scroll together.

Dear Lord Ember,

I hope I’m not disturbing you with this message. I know things have been rough for you since you became Dragon Lord. However, I’m happy that you’ve devoted some of your time to telling me about dragons and their customs. They’ve really helped me learn more about your society and biology!

I know that you are trying to help dragons change their ways, but the reason I’m writing to you is not because I want to know about any holidays you celebrate or anatomy. I am writing to you because I am growing concerned about Spike.

Truth be told, a couple of weeks before we came up there, we celebrated Spike’s eighteenth birthday, and while he has grown a little and is a bit taller, he still feels discouraged about his overall height and lack of wings. It hasn’t helped that he saw all of those dragons that easily towered over him in height. He tries to say he’s fine, but I’ve heard him talk about it when he’s alone and I’m worried about him.

Perhaps he needs some more insight into dragons in general. Do you think you can send any information about what makes a dragon truly grow? We know that being greedy is one way, but Spike has rejected that and learned about being generous from his close friend, Rarity. Is there anything about how a dragon really grows and possibly gets wings? If you can, please let me know as soon as possible.

Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle

Ember put the letter down and frowned to herself. She felt pity as she looked back at the letter and read about what Twilight said about Spike. “I didn’t think the little runt there felt so sensitive about his height.”

Matches laughed and said, “Well, we dragons are known for our height and strength. You have to admit that little guy was short for a dragon.”

Ember whirled around and had a fierce look on her. “Hey! Watch what you say about him!” she berated. “He’s the one who helped make me Dragon Lord after all!”

Matches held his claws up and stepped back. “Whoa, whoa! Alright already,” he hastily said. “No need to get angry about me making fun of your drakefriend.”

Ember gasped and her cheeks flushed. “What did you just say!?” she yelled. She stomped over to Matches and got in the nervous dragon’s face. “You did not just imply that I like Spike that way, did you!?”

He rubbed the back of his head. “Well… he did seem to take a liking to you, and you seemed really friendly around him.”

“That’s because he’s my friend,” argued Ember. “It’s not that I like Spike in that way at all. He showed me about friendship and its benefits. It doesn’t automatically mean that I’m going to go prancing around with him in a flower field and kiss him. He and I are just friends, and that’s it.”

Matches backed up and laughed a little. “Lord Ember, relax. I was just having some fun is all. It was nothing personal.”

Ember closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. She opened her eyes and smiled a little. “I know some dragons like you think that what happened between me and Spike was something romantic, but the truth is that he’s just my friend. You make friends with one little half pint of a dragon, and suddenly every dragon thinks you’re in love with them or something.”

“Well you do talk about him a lot,” said Matches. “You keep bringing him up like you’re really close to him.”

Ember’s face went red again and turned away. “That’s only because I’m remembering about what Spike told me about friendship. I’ve been trying to spread what Spike taught me to other dragons, and I’ve seen it work with most of them.”

Matches’ face twisted into a frown. “Not every dragon is on board with that idea,” he solemnly said. “A lot of dragons aren’t exactly ready to change the customs and ways they’ve been following for years in favor of friendship.”

Ember’s smile faltered into a frown. “I know that,” she said. “But at least dragons like you are willing to give it a shot.”

Matches smiled and put a claw on Ember. “Well you are Dragon Lord and while I don’t really agree on this whole friendship thing, I want to give it a shot and help you out.”

Ember looked at Matches and smiled a little. “Well thanks for that,” she said. “Now if only–”

The sound of a horn blaring drowned out her words. She looked over to a nearby stone castle in the distance and saw several figures in the sky flying towards it.

Ember’s eyes went wide. “Oh, no! The Dragon Council meeting! I forgot that was today! I have to hurry!” She looked over at Matches. “Come on! I need to be there to address the dragons!”

“What about the letter?” wondered Matches. “Princess Twilight wants some help for that little runt.”

Ember stopped and groaned a little. She closed her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could. Think, Ember, think! It’s already enough that I have dragons disagreeing with my rule, but now there’s Spike again. What am I even supposed to tell Twilight? I can’t describe something like growth to her through a letter! The only way I could help her with that is if I…

An idea suddenly clicked inside Ember’s head. She smiled and looked over at Matches. “I think I know of a way to knock out two birds with one stone.”

“What do you mean?” inquired Matches.

“I’ll tell you later,” answered Ember. “We have a meeting to get to.”

“Right, let’s fly to the castle,” said Matches.

Ember slapped her forehead and groaned. “That was really cheesy of you to say.”

Matches laughed and the two dragons took off into the air and towards the building.

The main room in Carousel Boutique was normally clean and well organized. Rolls of fabric, mannequins posing in clothing, and desks that had some papers and clothing designs drawn onto them. Today though, the floor was littered was several large bags of gems of various colors. The sound of somepony grunting could be heard and then a loud thud and jingling of gems could be heard.

Near one of the bags, a rather muscular Spike wearing a green polo shirt and blue jeans put down one of the bags. He stood up and wiped his forehead as he looked around the room. Each bag of gems were all filled to the brim with them and glistening in the light. He smiled to himself and nodded.

“Rarity, I finished organizing the gems!” he called out.

She walked into the room, she was wearing a red shirt, a black miniskirt, and a pair of red glasses. She looked at each bag and then at the dragon and smiled.

“Spike, you did a wonderful job,” Rarity said with an applause. “With all these gems, who knows what I could think of next?”

Spike blushed a little and kicked his foot. “Ah, it was nothing, Rarity,” he said. “I’m always happy to help out and be your assistant.”

Rarity giggled and walked over to give he a hug. He froze a little as he felt her warm touch. He slowly returned it and tried to hide the red on his cheeks.

Rarity broke the hug and smiled. “Well, Spikey Wikey, I think you deserve a reward for your hard work so far. How about I take you out to lunch and then when we come back, we start on designing the dresses?”

Spike couldn’t help but grin. “That sounds great!” He looked down and saw his clothes were a little dirty. “Maybe I should go home first to change.”

“Why did you say that, darling?” she wondered.

Spike flinched a little. “Um… I was just wondering if I should change,” he nervously stated. “I mean, I want to look good in front of you instead of being dirty and sweaty from helping you. I just didn’t want to look bad for our lunch… meeting.”

Rarity blushed a little and hid a smile. She walked over and put a hand on the dragon’s chin. “That sounds like a good idea, Spike,” she said.. “Since you insist that you need to change out of those clothes, I can probably whip up something for you really quickly.”

“There’s no need to do that, Rarity,” said Spike. “I can go home and–”

“Nonsense, Spike,” stated Rarity. “I still know your measurements and can put together a new set of clothes for you. After that, we’ll get lunch together.”

Spike rubbed the back of his head. “Thanks, Rarity,” he said.

“Anything for my favorite little dragon.”

Spike chuckled a little weakly and his smile drooped a bit. “Yeah… little.”

Rarity frowned. “Darling, what’s wrong? You used to like it when I called you that.”

“It’s nothing, Rarity,” said Spike as he waved a claw. “I’m just a little tired is all.”

The fashionista shook her head. “Spikey, I’ve known you long enough to know when something isn’t right with you. You’ve been acting a bit distant lately anyway, and I just want to help you.”

“I really don’t want to talk about it.” Spike began to move away, but was pulled back by Rarity’s hand and forced to look at her stern expression.

“Spike, I’m not going to let you walk away from this,” she said firmly. “I will not let you suffer from whatever is making you so distant any more. Now please tell me what’s wrong.”

Spike looked into the sad eyes of Rarity and he let out a sigh. “Well… you know how last month you, me, and Twilight went to the Dragon Lands?”

“How can I forget? Those dress ideas really helped me out and ponies loved them,” answered Rarity. “What does this have to do with anything though?”

“Do you remember seeing all those dragons around? How big they were and how all of them had wings?”

Rarity scratched her head and then something dawned upon her. “Spike, are you trying to tell me that you are feeling upset about how tall those dragons were?”

He blushed and slowly nodded.

“Why, darling?” wondered Rarity. “They’re just dragons and are not really much different from you.”

“But you saw what they looked like and how huge they were,” argued Spike. “Some of them were as tall as giants. All of them even had wings and could fly. Me? I may be as tall as to your neck, Rarity, but I’m still considered a runt there, and have no wings.”

Rarity shook her head in dismay. “Spike, you are overreacting,” she chastised.

“But, Rarity–”

“No buts,” she interrupted. “Spike, I don’t care what those dragons thought of you not having wings or being very tall. You’re perfect in my eyes, and you shouldn’t let stuff like what you saw in the Dragon Lands get you down.”

Spike said nothing for a minute, and then smiled a little. “I guess you do make a point,” he softly said. “I’m just wondering why I’m still short by dragon standards and have no wings. I mean I’m an adult now, but still have no wings like other dragons.”

“The only thing I can tell you to do is wait,” replied Rarity. “Remember, Twilight is writing weekly to Ember about the customs and lore of dragons. Maybe she can find out something about your problem.”

Spike let out a sigh. “I do wish I could see Ember again,” he said. “Maybe if I saw her myself, she would have the answers.”

Rarity felt some sort of emptiness in her stomach at the mention of Ember’s name. She shook it off and said, “Spikey, she’s much too busy with her new duties as Dragon Lord. I doubt she has time right now.”

“Well I wouldn’t mind seeing her again,” said the dragon. “I mean, it would be nice to hang out with her again since she is really my first dragon friend I’ve had.”

Rarity felt the emptiness in her start to change. She felt a bit angry and resentful as Spike talked more about Ember. She shook it off again and took a deep breath. “Spike, I understand you want to see your… friend, but she’s very busy,” she said in a strained voice.

“I was just saying it would be nice to see her again,” said Spike. “I do kinda miss seeing her, and I think she could help me with this.”

“Well she isn’t here!” snapped Rarity.

Spike flinched again and stepped back and held his claws up. He saw her cheeks had turned red and had a glare on her face.

“Hey, what did I do?” asked Spike. “I just wanted to see Ember again and talk to her.”

Rarity saw the worried look on Spike’s face and quickly realized what she just did. Her anger quickly melted into remorse as she looked down and frowned.

“I’m sorry, Spike,” she apologized. “I didn’t mean to overreact like that to you. It’s just that I’ve been rather stressed about making all these new dresses. I have no problem with you wanting to talk to Ember or anything.”

Spike rubbed the back of his head. “Look, why don’t we just forget this?” he asked. “If you’re not feeling that well, we can always do this tomorrow when you’re not feeling so stressed.”

Rarity shook her head. “That’s not necessary,” she assured. “I’m just trying to remind you that despite her being your friend, Ember is very busy with her new role as Dragon Lord, and while I’m happy that you have made a new friend with a dragoness like her, she’s probably got her plate full.”

Spike looked dejected and kicked into the air. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he said sadly. “Maybe I should give her some more time before I talk to her again.”

Rarity smiled and felt something in her that felt like triumph. “I agree, Spikey.” She waved a hand at him to come forward. “I think maybe you are right that we should continue tomorrow. Why don’t we both go get lunch anyway?”

Spike smiled and nodded. “That sounds great!” he answered.

“Well let’s not waste any time then. I think maybe Sugarcube Corner has–”

The sound of a door opening interrupted Rarity’s sentence.

“Spike, are you here?” a mare’s voice asked.

Spike raised an eyebrow as he heard a familiar voice and looked at Rarity. She shrugged back at him and looked confused.

“I’m in here, Twilight!” he called out.

The sound of approaching footsteps could be heard, and a moment later, Twilight walked in. She was wearing a black formal shirt and a blue skirt that reached to her knees. Spike noticed two things with Twilight; that she had a scroll in her hand, and an excited smile on her face.

“What are you so happy about, Twilight?” wondered Spike. “Got a new Daring Do book?”

“I think Rainbow would’ve been the first to tell us, darling,” said Rarity.

“It’s even better than that, Spike,” said Twilight. “I just got a letter from Ember!”

“Ember?” both Spike and Rarity asked in unison.

Twilight nodded and held up the scroll. “She just sent me this letter not too long ago. She says she’s coming to Ponyville and wants to see you, Spike!”

Spike felt very enthusiastic and jumped for joy. “Alright! I can’t wait to show her more about what ponies do! Maybe I can introduce her to the others! Doesn’t that sound exciting, Rarity?”

She said nothing.

“Rarity?” asked Twilight.

Spike looked at Rarity and saw she had a shocked look on her and her eye twitching a little. “Are you okay?” he wondered.

Rarity shook her head and laughed a little. “Oh… I’m feeling fine,” she said in a shaky voice. “I’m just shocked that she would decide to come here. I thought her being Dragon Lord meant she would have to stay there. Didn’t she say she wanted to try and help dragons by changing their ways?”

“That’s the thing,” said Twilight. “She says the Dragon Council has agreed to allow her to come to meet me and learn more about Equestria. Since Spike was the one who showed her about friendship, they want him to be her guide as well.”

Spike looked like a foal who got something they wanted on Hearth’s Warming Day. “I… I don’t know what to say!” he said enthusiastically. “There’s so much to do and so much to show her!”

“Well, let’s get the others and we’ll meet up in the castle to discuss this more,” said Twilight.

Spike gave a salute. “You got it, Twilight.” He looked back at Rarity. “Come on, Rarity. Let’s get going.”

Rarity said nothing, but slowly nodded and moved with her friends out of the boutique and out into the bright sunny outdoors. She could see Spike talking with Twilight and smiling while the alicorn smiled back at him and nodded, but she couldn’t hear the words. She felt hollow on the inside, but yet couldn’t understand why. A friend Spike had made not too long ago was coming, and yet she wasn’t feeling happy.

I should be happy for Spikey Wikey, she said to herself. It’s just a friend he made coming to learn about Equestria and visit him. I shouldn’t be getting so worked up over a dragoness coming to see Spike.

She tried to smile, but other thoughts started crawling through her mind and made her feel worse.

A dragoness that’s beautiful in her own way, showed some affection for Spike, and is considered a close friend of Spike. Rarity looked down and was shaking a little. What’s wrong with me? I shouldn’t be treating Spike’s friend this way, especially when he talks about her, but I just feel… something inside me that makes me upset, and I don’t know why. Spike has a dragoness as a friend, and yet here I am acting so… so…

Rarity stopped as the realization hit her and she gasped.

“... Jealous,” she whispered.

Author's Note

So here's something I've been meaning to do for a while; a Spike romance story with two love interests. While I've had some ideas for Spike being paired with two potential love interests, I didn't really do much on those ideas. When it came to Ember though, I had to do something like this.

As you all know, Sparity is my OTP, but I do like Spember as well. I think it's a rather cute shipping and kind of adorable. I don't ship it super hard or anything, but I do like the overall interactions between Ember and Spike as they became friends.

I know since this episode's release, there's been some drama between the Sparity and Spember shippings. While this story contains both of those shippings, I ask to not bring any of that in the comments section. The last thing I want to see in my comments section is a flame war between the two shippings instead of criticism or the overall presentation of the story. I expect you all to please keep it civil and not bring any of that mess into this.

I may also bring in Starlight Glimmer to the story, but I haven't decided it as of yet. I haven't thought much about what to do with her, but I may ultimately cut her from the story. I'll think about it though.

Finally, thanks to all my friends on Skype and this website for their help in proofreading and editing this story. With that said and done, enjoy the story and I hope to have more to come soon.

How to Teach Your Dragon

Ember emerged from her bedroom and let out a loud yawn as she walked down the hallway. She had a bleary look on her and her eyes were halfway closed. She felt halfway dead with how little sleep she got last night. Despite her efforts, Ember’s mind raced all night about Spike, and the fallout between her and Rarity at the party. She almost wanted to turn around and go back to bed, but that thought was put down the moment she saw Matches waving at her.

“Hey, good morning, Ember,” he said. “How are you feeling?”

Ember let out another yawn and said in a small voice, “I’ve been better. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“I hear you,” said Matches. “That bed was really comfortable, but maybe a little too comfortable. It needs something more firm in them.”

“You can talk to Twilight about that. Speaking of which, have you seen her?”

Matches shook his head. “Not at all, but I think she’s probably in the dining room eating breakfast. I just hope she isn’t too upset after last night.”

“What do you mean?” wondered Ember.

“Eh… I kind of went a little overboard with the dancing with her,” he replied as his cheeks went red. “I didn’t exactly dance all the great, and I think she was a little embarrassed with me dancing with her.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Ember. “Spike showed me how to dance, and he thought I did fine.”

“Speaking of Spike, do you think today you should talk to him about his problem? I figured the sooner you talk to him about his wing issue, the better. Besides, Twilight did talk to me last night about wanting to know about our use of magic.”

Ember paused and put a hand to her chin. Hmm… this wouldn’t be a bad idea. I think Spike does need to learn more about dragon customs. This would be a great time to learn about it. Besides, I’m sure it’ll beat him doing more work for Rarity.

Rarity. The mention of the name made Ember frown as she said it in her head. However, instead of feeling angry, she felt relieved. Best of all, Rarity won’t be getting in the way. Once she sees that I’m helping Spike out with some dragon stuff, maybe she’ll leave me and him alone. It’ll be killing two birds with one stone. Rarity leaves us alone, and I get to hang out with Spike and see that wonderful smile of his, the way he looks out for me, and his kindness that…

The dragoness shook her head and sighed. Stop it, Ember, she told herself. He’s a friend only, and that's it. No more, no less. I already get enough grief with Matches poking fun about it, and I don’t want him to get any ideas.

“Ember?”

She broke out of her trance and looked at Matches. “Yeah… that is a good idea. Be sure to get everything to show after breakfast.”

“You got it,” said Matches.

“I’m going to go shower,” she said.

“Alright, see you then.” Matches waved and walked down the hallway.

Ember let out a sigh and slowly walked down the hallway. She looked at each door and tried to think. She walked for a little bit and frowned as she passed the same exact door.

“I never noticed how every door looks so similar,” she said with a tinge of frustration in her voice. “How do Spike and Twilight live here and remember where everything is? You’d need signs to be told which room is which.”

She soon came across another door and stopped. She shook her head. “I’m just going to choose this one and hope for the best.”

She turned the knob on the door and opened it. Steam poured out of the room, which blinded Ember for a moment, but it quickly disappeared. In its place was a sight that made Ember gasp and her face turn crimson red. Spike, who too had a shocked look and his face red, was stepping out of a glass shower and Ember got a good look at his toned body, his big muscles, and her eyes drifted to below his waist, where a white towel was barely covering his–

Ember slapped herself and quickly looked the other way to hide the embarrassment on her face. “Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!” she cried out.

Spike quickly ran over and closed the door. “I–it’s okay!” he called from the other side. “I d–didn’t think about locking the door!”

“Let’s just forget what just happened, okay?”

“Um.. fine with me,” he replied.

“I’ll see you at breakfast then!” Ember turned around and tried to run for it, but was stopped when she saw Starlight Glimmer standing behind her with a bemused look on her.

“Oh! H–hi um… Starlight, is it? How long have you been there?” she wondered in a nervous voice.

“I heard you saying you were sorry when I came up,” Starlight answered. “Don’t feel bad about walking in like that. I’ve done that a few times myself.”

Ember felt a little relieved, but her heart and mind was racing at a fast rate. “Is there another place to shower? I kind of need a little time to myself.”

Starlight nodded and pointed down the hall. “There’s one at least ten doors down on the left. I don’t think anypony else is using it, so–”

“Thank you!” Ember complimented and quickly ran down the hallway.

Starlight heard a door slam a little down the hall, and she was left with a puzzled look on her. The bathroom door opened up and Spike, fully dressed now, stepped out and saw Starlight. They both looked at each other for a moment with awkward looks on them.

“What just happened?” asked Starlight.

Spike held up a hand and walked past her. “Nothing,” he bluntly said.

Starlight wanted to ask more about it, but Spike quickly walked down the hallway and out of sight. She shrugged indifferently and went into the bathroom.

Ember pushed open the double doors and walked into the dining room. In the center of the room, Spike, Twilight, Starlight, and Matches were sitting at large round purple table with plates and silverware on it. Spike and Ember’s eyes met each other, but they both looked away as they still felt a little uncomfortable. She looked over to see Matches and Twilight talking to each other.

Twilight looked over. “Good morning, Ember,” she said.

“Hello, Twilight,” she greeted. “I see you and Matches are becoming good friends.”

The alicorn blushed a little. “Well, it’s easy to do so when you find somepony else who can’t dance well like me.”

“I can relate to that,” said Ember.

“Matches also talked to me about showing your method of magic, and teaching Spike some more about dragons,” said Twilight. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to show Starlight how you all use magic.”

Starlight nodded and looked at Ember. “I figured since Twilight has been teaching me about friendship, maybe I can learn something about magic from you all. I always thought dragons were immune to magic from the stories I’ve heard.”

“That’s a myth, but we’ll talk more about it after breakfast.” Ember looked around the table and frowned. “Speaking of which, where is breakfast?”

Spike rubbed the back of his head. “Well usually I make breakfast, but somepony else came over and insisted on making it this morning.”

“Who?” wondered Ember.

The sound of the door opening caught the group’s attention.

“Breakfast is ready, darlings!”

Ember froze in place and felt her anger slowly building. No… You gotta be kidding me.

She slowly turned around and saw Rarity with a pleasant smile on her face and levitating a large silver dinner tray that had eggs, toast, pancakes, and some orange juice. She walked up to the table and levitated each dish around it while the others watched in awe. Ember gripped the armrests on her chair hard and her eye twitched a little.

Rarity noticed the dragoness and said in a forced happy tone, “Good morning, Ember. I hope you don’t mind, but I just wanted to come over and cook breakfast for all of you. Spikey does it so much that I thought of doing it for him this morning out of the generosity of my heart.”

“Yeah right,” whispered Ember sarcastically.

Twilight smiled at her friend. “Rarity, you really didn’t have to do this. I’ve never even seen you offer to cook breakfast for any of us before.”

“I was feeling very generous today,” answered Rarity. “Besides, I wouldn’t want my Spikey Wikey to work so much while he shows Ember around Equestria.” She looked at Spike. “I even made your favorite, Spike. Gem filled pancakes for you, Matches, and Ember.”

“Wow! Thanks, Rarity!” said Spike enthusiastically.

“Anything for you, my Spikey Wikey,” said the unicorn.

Ember could’ve sworn that for a brief moment, Rarity looked right at her with a smug triumphant look. She felt her anger building more and bit her tongue to not say anything.

Rarity walked over to Ember and levitated some pancakes and eggs and put them on the plates. “Don’t be so upset, darling,” she told Ember. “Just relax and eat the food I worked so hard to make. I made this batch especially for you.”

Ember glared at Rarity for a moment, and took the plate of food. She poured some syrup on it a pancake and cut a piece. She took a bite out of it, and her eyes went wide. She gagged and spat the piece out and coughed a little.

“Are you okay, Ember?” wondered Matches.

She took a quick drink of orange juice and coughed a little. She looked at Rarity with a glare. “What was in those pancakes? It tasted so salty!”

Rarity smirked a little, but covered her mouth with a hand. “Whoops! I must have gotten the sugar and salt mixed up while putting it on your pancakes. My apologies, Ember.”

Somehow, I have a hard time believing that, the dragoness thought to herself.

Suddenly, Ember’s plate was taken away and she looked to see Spike putting his remaining pancakes in front of her.

“What are you doing, Spike?” wondered Ember.

“I don’t want you to go hungry,” he replied. “I’m sure Rarity didn’t mean it, so take my pancakes instead.”

Rarity gasped. “But, Spike!”

Spike waved a hand. “I don’t mind it at all. Besides, I can just have those eggs and toast.” He looked at Ember with a smile. “Hope you enjoy these more than what you got.”

Ember felt the anger melt away into a sense of calm. She blushed a little and hugged Spike. “Thank you, Spike.” She leaned back and smirked at Rarity. “I’m sure these will be really good.”

Rarity huffed a little and sat down to begin eating. Ember looked at the sullen look on her and smiled triumphantly like Rarity did as she ate.

Twilight had an eager look on her as she waited outside the library with Ember, Spike, Starlight, and Rarity. Ember looked at Twilight, and then at Spike.

“What’s her problem?” she wondered.

“Twilight always gets this way whenever she gets the chance to learn about something; especially when it comes to other species and their history,” he said. “You should’ve seen how she acted once Gilda and Rainbow became friends again.”

“Who?”

Spike waved a hand. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it some other time.”

Matches came down the hallway carrying two of the suitcases in each of his hands and a scroll. He put them down and let out a sigh of relief. “Sorry I’m late. I just needed to make sure that I didn’t end up taking something along for the trip.”

Ember raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?” she wondered.

“Take a look at this, Ember,” he answered and held out the scroll.

Ember walked over and took the scroll. She unrolled it and began reading it.

Dragon Lord Ember,

We are writing this letter to you in regards to a missing magical crystal. During an inventory check, it has come to our attention that one of the magical crystals was stolen. The crystal in question is one that allows the user to transform into any creature they want to be. We are currently trying to figure out the whereabouts of the crystal, and we thought that maybe you were given it by mistake.

We eagerly await your response to this grave matter. If you don’t have it, we fear then that some dragon may have taken it for their own uses. In the meantime, watch yourself and observe those you have seen. If you see anydragon, or anypony at all, that acts suspiciously then let us know immediately and we’ll send the guards to arrest this thief.

Sincerely,
Master Ash of the Dragon Council

Ember looked at Matches with a concerned look on her. “Tell me you have that crystal,” she whispered.

Matches shook his head in response. “I was checking through the suitcase and found nothing. I already wrote to the Council about this and told them we don’t have it.”

Ember frowned to herself. “This isn’t good. Do you think maybe this has anything to do with our trip?”

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence this happened around the time of our trip, but what can we do right now?”

Ember looked at Spike and the others, all of whom had confused looks on them, and then back to Matches. She bit her lip and thought to herself for a moment.

“... As much as I hate to say it, there’s nothing we can do at the moment,” she said. “Don’t say anything about this to Spike or Twilight. I don’t want to make them worried. For now, we need to get to teaching them about some of our culture.”

Matches grimaced, but slowly nodded. “You’re right. We’ll deal with this later. Shall we get started?”

The dragoness nodded and turned towards Spike and the others. “Sorry about that,” she apologized. “I just needed to read something from the Dragon Council.”

“Is everything okay?” wondered Spike.

“Y–yeah,” she hesitantly said. “They were just telling me how impressed they were about the welcome I got yesterday.”

“That’s great,” said Spike. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“Well, no time to waste,” said Matches. “Why don’t we go ahead and get started on this?” He handed Ember one of the suitcases.

She took it and nodded in agreement, but raised an eyebrow as she saw Rarity preparing to go in. “Why are you coming? All we’re doing is showing some history and magic.”

“I was wondering the same thing,” inputted Twilight. “I thought you didn’t like history, Rarity.”

Rarity chuckled weakly. “Well, I just figured since dragons and ponies are technically friends, I would want to know more about them myself. Since I’ve met Spike, I’ve slowly grown more curious about dragons and their culture. There’s nothing wrong about learning about that now is there?”

Twilight thought to herself for a moment and then smiled. “I don’t mind at all, Rarity. I’m glad you’re being so open and willing to learn about dragons like we are.”

“I wouldn’t miss it at all.” Rarity rubbed Spike’s head and smiled at him. “Besides, maybe I can learn some things that could help you, Spike.”

The dragon laughed a little and blushed. “No use in standing here. Let’s go!”

The group started to move into the library, but Rarity felt her arm being tugged. She turned to see Ember with a stern look on her.

“You all go on ahead,” she said. “I want to talk to Rarity alone for a moment.”

The group nodded and walked into the library. As soon as they disappeared, Ember pulled Rarity close to her and glared at her.

“Look. I know what you’re trying to do with all of this,” she said in a cold tone. “That whole breakfast thing, and now this?”

Rarity glared back at Ember. “I told you I wouldn’t give up Spike so easily.”

Ember sighed and released her grip on Rarity. “I’ve already told you that Spike and I are friends only. Do you really think I’m just going through all of this trouble of helping Spike with a problem he has just to kiss him or something?”

“I’m not sure, but I’m not going to risk it either,” she said. “Besides, I’ve already told Spike that he has nothing to worry about his lack of wings, and that he was perfect enough.”

Ember opened her mouth to argue again, but a thought crossed her mind. She raised an eyebrow at Rarity. “You mean to tell me that Spike told you about his problem?”

The unicorn nodded. “Indeed. It’s a rather sensitive thing to talk about, and I wanted to reassure him that he had no reason to feel so inadequate about his size and having no wings.”

Ember said nothing and turned away. Let’s see. What would Spike do? I don’t think he’s ever gotten into a big fight with any of his friends. Maybe I can try to find some neutral ground and try to put this whole thing to rest.

She let out a deep breath and looked at Rarity. “Look, I know we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot, but I don’t want to spend this whole visit just fighting with you. I want to help Spike out, and he wants to help me by making sure this visit goes well. Since you are aware of Spike’s problem, how about I make a proposal?”

Rarity thought for a moment, and then nodded. “I’m listening.”

“You can sit with me and Spike as I tell him about some of the dragon lore and why he doesn’t have wings,” said Ember. “I promise you that I won’t do anything else, alright? All I ask for you is to please not get in the way, and let me teach Spike some our history. Does that sound fair?”

Rarity thought to herself while Ember waited. The longer she took in reaching a decision, the more on edge the dragoness became. A minute later, Rarity nodded slowly and smiled softly.

“Very well, darling.” Rarity’s smile turned to a glare. “But I’ll be keeping an eye on you just to make sure.”

Ember gritted her teeth and held back a sigh. “Fine, whatever. I’ll keep my eye then on you just to make sure you’re not going to do anything yourself.”

Rarity turned and huffed. “Fine.” She walked into the library and left Ember alone.

The dragoness let out a sigh and rubbed her forehead. “That could’ve gone better.”

As Ember walked into the library, Hot Steak looked around the corner and smirked to himself.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that, Ember. I think things are going better than I thought.”

In the library, Ember and Matches looked around the numerous bookshelves of books that lined the walls and the hall.

Matches let out a loud whistle. “I thought our library back home was huge. All these books here. I can’t imagine anydragon being able to stand reading all of these books.”

“Oh, please,” said Spike with a scoff. “Twilight could read all of these in a weekend if she wanted to, but she’s already read all of these books.”

Matches had a shocked look as he turned to Twilight. “What are you anyway?”

“Just a pony who really loves to read,” she replied. “And Spike is exaggerating a little. I could read all these books in a week.”

Matches laughed a little. “You are a very interesting pony, Twilight.”

The alicorn blushed a little. “Thank you.”

The sound of a door creaking caught the group’s attention. They looked back and saw the library door was shut.

“What was that?” asked Spike.

“I’m not sure,” replied Twilight. “Maybe it was just the wind.”

“That’s got to be the weirdest sounding wind then,” said Starlight.

Twilight continued looking at the door for another minute, and then shook her head. “Must have been something else I guess. Come on, let’s get going.”

They all walked off again, and from around the corner, Hot Streak poked his head.

“That was too close,” he whispered. “I think I know what I need to do, but I just need some paper.” He looked around the room and saw the various books lining the bookshelves. He grinned and chuckled a little. “I think I know where to get some.”

Twilight and the others soon came across a circular clearing with several round blue tables and chairs around the area.

Ember took the suitcase from Matches’ hand. “Okay, me, Spike, and Rarity will take what we’ll need. Matches, I want you to take the magic crystals we brought along with this trip and the tome of magic in there and show Twilight and Starlight how to use them.”

“Yes, Ember,” he said with a salute. Matches, Twilight, and Starlight walked off to another table across the room.

The dragoness placed the suitcase down and scrolled through some numbers on the lock hatch. A soft clicking noise rang out and Ember unlatched the suitcase to open it. Spike eagerly looked in the suitcase, but Rarity held him back with an arm. Ember pulled out five large and thick books that looked as big as a dictionary. The covers were worn and the pages were yellow with age. Each cover had some gold imprint that neither Spike nor Rarity could make out.

“My goodness,” said Rarity. “I don’t think even Twilight could read something so thick like this in a day.”

“Especially with those weird words,” said Spike. He looked over at Ember. “Is that really everything we’ll need?”

The dragoness nodded. “Oh, it is indeed. These five tomes contain most of our history and heritage.” She pointed to a green book that had a golden triangle, a circle inside it, and the shape of a flame in the circle. “This book covers the entire history of the Dragon Council from when it was formed, to around a hundred years ago.”

Rarity’s eyes went wide. “How can you fit so much into that book?” she asked in amazement.

“We dragons make sure to put as much detail as we can in writing our history. Whenever anydragon reads upon our history, we make sure to explain into detail about important events like wars, the past Dragon Lords we’ve had, and the formation of our kingdom.”

“Whoa,” said Spike in awe.

She took the green book and pushed others aside. “This book is probably the best place to start. It’ll give some insight about certain things dragons do; including about dragons and wings.”

Spike looked eager and jumped for joy. He quickly sat down and grinned. “What are we waiting for? Hearth’s Warming Day?”

Rarity and Ember laughed a little and both sat down. Ember opened the book and muttered to herself as she flipped through various pages and muttered to herself.

“The Dragon Civil War… the rise and fall of Dragon Lord Boiler… “ she said to herself. She finally came upon a page and smiled. “This is it. This describes about the different kinds of dragons across the land.”

Spike and Rarity looked at the page and both had confused looks on them. The text in the book had various symbols and letters in it ranging from what Spike could tell as triangles, weird looking b’s and a’s, and upside down horseshoes.

Rarity looked up with a frown. “I’m afraid we can’t exactly tell what ‘it’ is.”

Spike rubbed his chin. “It kind of looks like greek letters,” he said. “I can’t really read it though. I’ve only been learning the basics of the language.”

Ember smiled and rubbed Spike’s head affectionately. “So you’re already familiar with the language, huh? Don’t worry though, I’ll read it out loud for all of you to listen.”

She took the book back, but something caught her eye. She looked over and saw Rarity glare at her. She mouthed something that Ember figured it meant, “I’m watching you.” She shrugged it off and looked back at the book.

“Much like how there are four kinds of ponies in Equestria, there are at least three kinds of dragons known around the world. Earth, Flying, and Water. Each type of dragon has their own purpose and abilities. Earth dragons have a ability to find gems and are often pathfinders for the Dragon Army. Water dragons can manipulate the currents and tides, and are protectors of the sea. Flying dragons serve as the scouts of the Dragon Lands and are the most common type of dragon around.”

“What does this have to do with me?” wondered Spike.

“I’m getting there,” said Ember. She turned the page and mumbled to herself as she dragged a finger down the page. She smiled and pointed it out. “Ah, here it is. Flying dragons are often born with their wings already, but there are times where those types of dragons are born without them.”

“So how do they get them then?” asked Rarity.

“You know how there’s growing pains as you get taller?” Spike and Rarity nodded at Ember. “For those dragons without wings, they can have growing pains as well along their backs. As they grow up, they can get some pain in their back as their wings try to grow out.”

Spike waited to hear more, but Ember just looked up at him. “Is… is that it?” he inquired. “Is there anything else?”

“There’s some detail about how these dragons fly, but I don’t think you’d want to hear that,” said Ember.

Spike’s smile faltered a little. “Come on. There has to be more to this, right? I got to know more about this.”

“I’m sorry, Spike, but that’s really it,” said Ember. “Maybe you were born as an Earth dragon and that’s why you have no wings.”

“But I can’t be,” argued Spike. “You said that they are really good at finding gems, but I can’t.”

Ember raised an eyebrow and frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. I saw in Rarity’s shop yesterday all those gems, and she told me that you help her with getting them.”

“I can explain that,” said Rarity. “I actually am the one who finds gems with my magic. Spike helps me out with gathering and carrying them while I look for more.”

Ember shot an evil eye at the unicorn. In other words, you use him for work again. What does Spike even see in her?

Rarity saw the evil look she got from Ember and glared back at her. “For the record though, Spike volunteers to help me out, and does so out of the kindness of his heart, Ember.”

She shook her head and sighed a little. I can’t let this get to my head. I promised Rarity that I wouldn’t try anything, and I don’t want to keep fighting with her.

“So I got to be able to grow wings, right?” asked Spike.

“Have you felt any pain in your back as you grew up?” inquired Ember.

Spike shook his head in dismay. “No… no I haven’t.” He looked down and sighed sadly to himself.

Rarity put a hand on his shoulder. “Spike, there’s no need to be upset,” she said.

“She’s right,” agreed Ember. “Maybe you are an Earth dragon, but have trouble finding gems.”

He broke off the embrace and forced a sad smile. “It’s really okay, Rarity,” he tried to say in a convincing tone. “I guess I just got my hopes up a bit too high about learning more about myself.

Ember saw the discouraged look on him and panicked a little. She looked at the other books and her eyes darted across each of them.Her eyes fell upon a blue covered book and took it. She opened it and muttered to herself again. “Average height of a dragon… types of cells in a dragon… types of wings…” She grew more impatient as she flipped through the book quickly. “Where is it?”

She turned another page and she something that made her smile. She pointed and said, “I think I figured it out, Spike.”

The dragon looked over at the book and saw some lines and two images of a small dragon and a large one with wings on it. He looked up at Ember. “What does this have to do with me?”

Ember slapped herself in the forehead. “I forgot that you can’t read this. This book is actually about the anatomy of dragons, and this page goes into more detail about their wings. I think I have figured out what may be the problem.”

“And that is?”

“The growth of your wings may be delayed.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow and had a perplexed look on her. “Now hold on a moment, Ember,” she objected. “How can something like wings have a delay in growing?”

Ember looked back at the book and read the lines. She stopped at one part and her eyes went wide. “What the?” she asked herself.

Spike looked at the book. “What is it, Ember?” he wondered.

“According to this book, apparently there are cases where Flying dragons never grow their wings.”

Spike felt like somepony sucker punched him and his eyes went wide with shock. “W–what?” he whispered horsely.

“You can’t be serious,” said Rarity in an appalled tone. “I’ve never heard of something happening like that with a pegasus, or any other type of pony.”

Ember sighed and frowned. “That’s what the book says. It says that some Flying dragons just are either born without wings, or it could also be the delay in growth.”

“What happens to those dragons who don’t ever get their wings?” wondered Rarity. “Do they remain grounded forever?”

Ember grabbed the green history book and flipped a couple of pages. She stopped at one and read it. “There are ways to get around that. The book says that Flying dragons that are born without wings actually build mechanical ones to take to the skies.”

Spike’s mouth was agape in awe. “That’s impossible,” he said in a low voice. “There’s no way something like mechanical wings can work, right?”

“I have to agree with Spike,” said Rarity. “I’ve never seen anything like that before in Equestria.”

“The wings are made of a special type of metal that makes them possible for flight,” Ember explained as she read the book. “Wingless dragons take the materials needed to one of the blacksmiths and they forge it together for them. The process can take several days as wingless dragons are measured to take into account how big the dragon is, and how large the wings need to be.”

“So it’s like getting measured for some clothes,” said Spike. “Except far more complicated. That sounds pretty cool though.”

“How exactly do they fly though if they are just metal wings?” wondered Rarity. “I can’t imagine you’d just put them on and immediately fly.”

Ember looked back at the book. As she read more about the book, her expression changed to disgust and she shuddered a little. “You’re right about that, Rarity,” she said. “They aren’t just wings you put on; they’re surgically placed on those dragons.”

Spike’s smile turned into a horrified expression. “Um… maybe this isn’t such a good idea after all.”

“The book says that wingless dragons undergo surgery to place them onto their backs, and it takes several weeks to recover from it,” said Ember. “Though it’s been stated that cases like this are very rare, and that the last one reported was well over 200 years ago.”

Spike said nothing for a moment as he took it all in. He looked down and placed a hand to his head. The images of some doctors taking a scalpel to his back and some large metal wings sticking out made him shudder in fear.

He looked up at Ember with a worried look on him. “Is there any other way? I’d rather not end up being more machine than dragon.”

Ember flipped through the book and skimmed each page as quickly as possible. She soon came upon a page that made her eyes widen again. She read the page over and over again and she couldn’t help but grin.

“I think there is one other possible way,” she said. “It’s a bit out there, but I think this may be the only chance.”

Spike shrugged. “Anything has got to be better than having metal attached to you.”

“It says that it’s possible that wings that aren’t grown sometimes needs some force it seems,” said the dragoness.

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Force? Do you mean something like magic?”

Ember shrugged and said, “I’m not sure. The book says that there’s been only one case like that, but the records about it were lost in a fire before they could be written down about it.”

Spike let out a sigh. “So it’s back to square one.”

Ember rubbed her chin and closed her eyes. There has to be some way around this. What would the Council do about this? Suddenly, something clicked in her head. “That’s it. The Dragon Council.”

“The Council?” asked Spike.

Ember nodded. “Yeah, they may know about this kind of thing. It’s a longshot, but I think it’s the only chance we got at figuring out why you don’t have wings.”

Spike smiled and felt his despair melt away. “That’s great, Ember! When should we see them?”

The dragoness held up an arm. “Hold it there, Spike,” she objected. “I need to set up a meeting for you first. I can’t promise this will work out, but I figured it would make you feel better.”

Spike smiled a little. “Thanks, Ember,” he said. “Even if I don’t get the answer I want, I am thankful for all the help you’re giving me. I think leaving you as Dragon Lord was for the best with how helpful you are.”

Ember felt her stomach do a little flip she looked at Spike. She quickly looked away and tried to hide it, but could feel the heat on her cheeks rising. “I–it’s nothing,” she said. “I was just helping you out is all like any friend would. It’s nothing to get all sappy about.”

Spike chuckled weakly and rubbed the back of his head. “I really mean it though, Ember,” he said. “I know you’re still trying to learn about friendship, but I am grateful for everything you’ve done to help me.”

Ember covered her face to hide her blush. “I was just doing what you taught me, and that was to help other friends.”

“So how soon can I see the Dragon Council?” asked Spike. “I’ve got so many things that–”

Rarity clamped a hand over Spike’s mouth and shushed him. “Spikey, I know you’re excited, but don’t be asking her so much.” She looked at Ember with a forced smile. “I think you should leave her alone for a while.”

Spike frowned. “I’m sorry, Rarity. I just wanted tooooo!”

The drake’s words were cut off as he felt a strong gust of wind blew by. Spike, Ember, and Rarity looked nearby to see Starlight standing nearby and smiling like she got something she wanted.

“Spike, you and Rarity have got to try this!” she implored. She held out her hand and opened it to reveal a white crystal that was glowing. “Who knew crystal magic could be so interesting? It’s nothing at all like what I learned. This crystal can make you really fast!”

“Don’t go running around the library, Starlight,” Twilight warned. “I just reorganized these books a few days ago.”

“Sorry, Twilight.” Starlight looked at Spike and Rarity. “You two should see what these other crystals can do. There’s one that grants you resistance to the elements. Another makes a shield around you. There’s also one that can make you shoot out ice bolts!”

Rarity smiled and got up. “I’m not one to use magic like that, but I do want to see this.” She looked at Spike and took his hand. “Don’t you want to see what magic dragons can do, Spike?”

Spike looked down and saw she was holding his hand tightly and then looked at her to see she was smiling warmly at him. He felt his heart soaring a little as she looked at him.

“Um… sure!” he said. He got up and Rarity pulled him to her side. He tried to hide the redness on his cheeks.

Rarity, however, saw it and smirked. I got Spikey Wikey where I want him; rightfully next to me.

Ember watched as Rarity wrapped her arm around Spike, and her left eye twitched angrily. That cheater! Just because I’m not trying to do anything doesn’t mean you should get a pass too!

Ember stomped off with Rarity and Spike, and muscled her way in between them. She looked at Rarity with a cold expression. “I think I’ll come along just to demonstrate a few more crystals. I think Spike needs some time alone anyway to think about what he’s learned.”

Rarity glared back at Ember and turned away.

As the group went over to Twilight and Matches, Hot Streak watched from the shadows of the bookshelves. He quietly stepped forward and poked his head around the corner.

“It’s about time,” he whispered. “I never thought she’d stop talking about history. I felt like I was back in school again.”

He saw the others were looking at some gems and were facing away from him. He smirked and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

“How about something else to read?” he asked as he snuck up to the table. “It’s a mushy romance note by yours truly.”

He snuck up to the table and lifted the pages of the history book left open. Hot Streak looked up to see the group was still looking at the magic crystals. He put the note in the cover and then set the pages down on top of them. He made sure the note was visible enough to be seen, and then quickly walked back to a row of bookshelves and hid himself in the shadows.

“Let’s watch some fireworks,” he said with a sinister smile.

Matches put a purple crystal in Spike’s hand. “Remember to concentrate on the crystal,” he said. “Focus on the energy coursing through your body and let it flow through you.”

Spike nodded and gripped the crystal. He closed his eyes and felt some aura coursing through him that made him feel like he was hit by a bolt of lightning. He shook off the feeling and concentrated on the crystal in his hand. He kept his eyes for nearly a minute before a flash went out.

Starlight gasped. “Look at yourself, Spike.”

The drake opened his eyes and he was shocked at what he saw. Around him was a purple shaped dome that made everything and everypony around him look purple from the inside.

Spike laughed as he looked around. “Check me out, Twilight! It’s just like the shield spell you use!”

Twilight laughed softly. “It sure does. A lot of these magic crystals are like spells used by unicorns.”

“I guess that’s one thing that dragons and ponies have in common,” said Matches. “That’s only some basic magic as well. You should see some of the advanced crystals for dragon mages.”

Twilight gasped and a smile formed on her. “There are dragon mages!?”

Matches laughed a little and nodded. “Yeah, but it’s in that book Ember was showing Rarity and Spike.” He looked at Ember. “Speaking of which. Are you all done with that?”

Ember nodded. “Just wrapped things up. I couldn’t give Spike the answer he wanted, but we’ve decided to try and see what the Council can do.”

“Can I see it?” inquired Twilight.

“I don’t see why not,” replied Ember. “We’re all friends here.” She looked over at Rarity. “Can you grab it? I want to show Twilight a few more crystals.”

“Very well, darling.”

Rarity walked over to the desk she, Ember, and Spike sat at and looked at the books. “Which one was it?” Her eyes fell upon an open book with green covering, and picked it up. “Here it is.”

Suddenly, something fell out of the book that caught Rarity’s eye. She grabbed it out of the air and put the book down. “What’s this?”

She opened her hand to see a crudely folded piece of paper. “What is something like this doing in a book?”

Rarity thought for a moment and suddenly gasped as a thought crossed her mind. She glared and her hands were shaking. “She did not do what I think she did.”

Rarity quickly opened the paper and saw a note in it with sloppy handwriting in black ink.

Spike,

You are so handsome, dreamy, and cute! I love you so much!

XOXO Ember

Rarity’s eye twitched and she had a repulsive look on her. I don’t know what’s worse; this crude and mushy romance note, or that Ember thought she could get away pulling something like this!

Rarity stomped over and tried to maintain a straight face. She looked around and saw Spike and Ember were gone.

“Twilight, where is Spike and Ember?” she asked in a strained voice.

The alicorn looked away from Matches. “Oh, she went with Spike to go get some books. Do you have that history bo–oof!”

Rarity threw the book into Twilight’s chest and quickly walked away before Twilight could say anything. She frantically looked down each row of shelves and panted a little.

“Did she really think she could get away with doing something like this?” she muttered to herself. “When I get through with her, she’ll be lucky to ever write again.”

Rarity turned her head and saw Ember and Spike both looking at a bookshelf. She quickly hid behind it and quietly walked down the hallway. She heard both dragons’ voices getting louder until she was right behind some books. She pulled a few off the shelf and got a look at Spike and Ember looking at each other.

“Thanks again for the help,” said Spike.

“It was nothing,” said Ember. “Friends do help each other out, right?”

Spike nodded. “Yeah, but I really do appreciate it. I’m just happy that we can hang out again.”

Ember blushed a little. “W–well, you know I’m just here for business.”

Spike’s smile drooped a little. “Oh,” he said dejectedly.

Ember saw the gloomy look on him, and slapped herself. “No, no, no. That’s not what I meant at all. I mean… well, I’m happy to see you too. I figured since you were in trouble, I wanted to both help you and make relations better between dragons and ponies. So far I’d say things are going well.” She looked away for a moment and glared. “Except for Rarity,” she muttered.

“What?” asked Spike.

Ember shook her head. “It’s nothing. I was just thinking to myself.”

“I’m glad you’re here. I know we’ve only been friends for a month, but I really did miss you.”

Ember’s heart skipped a beat. “I’m not sure what you mean. Don’t you like the other pony friends you have here?”

“Oh, I do,” said Spike. “They are my best friends, and they appreciate my help; especially Rarity.”

The unicorn couldn’t help but smile. I haven’t forgotten at all, Spikey Wikey.

Ember’s eyes narrowed a little. “I’m sure she does appreciate your ‘help,’ but that doesn’t really answer my question.

Spike felt his cheeks turn red. “The thing is that you’re really the only dragon I’ve run into who’s not… well…” He found himself unable to speak as he suddenly grew scared to say anything.

“Bad?” wondered Ember.

Spike winced a little, but nodded. “Yeah. Every dragon I’ve met has either been greedy, violent, or willing to kill innocent phoenixs. Even when you abandoned me to win the Gauntlet of Fire, you still saved me and chose friendship; no matter how weird it sounded to you.”

Ember blushed again. “Well as weird as friendship sounded, I think somehow it did feel right, and that you were right about it. You may not be like any dragon I’ve met before, but you’re really something else.”

Spike felt Ember place her hand on his head and rub it. He smiled a little and giggled. “I was just doing what I do best; helping others and trying to pass on what I’ve learned as well.”

“I think you’re doing a good job being a teacher.”

Spike laughed a little. “I don’t think I’m anything like that, but I do like the sound of it.”

“I’m serious,” said Ember. “You really are a very interesting dragon. I am glad to have met you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Ember turned and huffed a little. “Just don’t think that this whole thing means something deeper or something. Got it?”

Spike looked at Ember with a perplexed look, but nodded anyway. “Okay…”

Ember let out a sigh. “Listen, Spike. You really are a good friend. I don’t think I’d be where I am today if it weren’t for you.”

“Heh… thank you,” he said with a blush on him.

Ember moved closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “You know. Sometimes I do miss seeing you around. I think maybe one day I’d like to give you a personal tour of the Dragon Lands myself. I think you’d like it.”

The drake look awestruck and smiled. “Really?”

Ember nodded. “Really.”

Spike moved a little closer to Ember and embraced her into a hug. Ember had an embarrassed look on her, but she returned it as well.

Rarity could feel her blood boiling and gritted her teeth in anger. She looked up and saw a loose book above both of them. She grinned wickedly and her horn lit up.

Oh, no you don’t! she said to herself. You’re not going to sway him that easily, you lizard!

Ember chuckled a little and patted Spike’s head. “Come on. We need to get the book that we were looking fo–ow!” Ember winced and rubbed her head in pain.

A loud thud echoed and Spike gasped. He looked down and saw a large book nearby.

“Are you okay?” he asked in a worried tone.

Ember groaned in pain. “I’ll be fine,” she replied. She opened her eyes and noticed the book nearby. “How did that even happen? We weren’t looking at that shelf.”

“I’m not sure,” said Spike.

Rarity smirked as she walked around. She quickly hid as she turned the corner to look at Spike and Ember. “What’s wrong, Spikey?” She feigned a gasp as she looked at the book on the ground and at Ember. “Did that book fall on you, Ember?”

The dragoness nodded. “I’ll be fine,” she insisted.

“Nonsense, darling.” Rarity looked at Spike. “Why don’t you go get Twilight for me, Spikey Wikey? I’ll tend to Ember.”

“But she looks fine, Rarity,” said Spike.

“Just go on and let her know that she needs to be careful putting books away,” said Rarity. “We don’t want anypony else getting hurt.”

The drake hesitated for a moment and then nodded. “Alright, I’ll be back.”

Rarity watched as Spike ran down the hall and turned the corner. She waited until Spike’s footsteps faded, and then looked at Ember with a furious look on her.

“You better watch out, Ember,” she warned in an icy tone. “Sometimes knowledge hurts.”

Ember froze for a moment as something clicked in her head. She clenched her fist and glared at Rarity. “You did that to me?” she accused. “You were the one who hit me with that book!?”

“Be glad it was just that one loose book. I just needed to make sure you weren’t going to try anything with Spike.”

Ember’s body shook violently and she looked almost beside herself. “We had an agreement!” she barked. “You agreed you wouldn’t get in my way!”

“That was before I saw you trying to charm Spike with that talk of yours, and before this!” Rarity pulled out the folded note.

Ember looked at the paper with a puzzled look. “What is that?”

“Don’t pretend to play innocent with me,” said Rarity. “You know what’s written here. I gotta say though that your cleverness is as bad as your way of writing a love note.”

Silence fell upon the two for a moment. Ember looked shock and then her expression turned into an enraged look. “What!? Love note!?” she yelled. “What in Tartarus are you talking about!? I didn’t write any letter!” She reached out a hand to grab it.

Rarity pulled her hand back and put the note in her jeans’ pocket. “Another lie!” she argued. “You thought you could pull a fast one on me, but you aren’t as clever as you think you are.”

Ember’s eye twitched wildly and she got up in Rarity’s face. “You know, I’ve been trying to be nice and didn’t want to fight. You’ve done nothing but treat me like as if I’m some sort of murderer. You watch over me constantly whenever I’m with Spike even when I’ve told you I’m just his friend.”

“I’ve already told you I’ve seen the way you look at him,” Rarity shot back. “You like him more than that. I’ve seen it in your eyes and the way you act. I’m just reminding you to watch how you act around him.”

“Maybe you should be the one watching yourself,” warned Ember. “Remember that Spike created this alliance, and I don’t think he’d be happy to know that I’m breaking it off because of one jealous bimbo.”

Rarity looked like she was about to explode. “What did you say!?” she bellowed.

“You heard me!” shouted Ember. “One. Jealous. Bimbo.”

Rarity closed her eyes for a moment and let out a deep breath. She opened them again and she had fiery look on her eyes. “So that’s how it’s going to be, huh? I was kind of hoping that maybe you’d learn something instead of being a bitch. I guess you’ll have to learn things the hard way.”

Ember opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly heard another voice.

“What’s going on here?”

The two ladies broke off their stare and looked over to see a distressed Spike.

“I heard yelling, and I ran back over here,” he said. “What’s wrong, girls?”

Ember and Rarity turned away from each other and scoffed. “Nothing, Spike,” they both said in unison.

“But… but I heard you both yelling,” he said in a small voice. “I couldn’t hear the words, but it sounded like you were both angry.” He walked over and put himself in between both Ember and Rarity. “I don’t know what’s going on, but let’s just try to calm down. I can’t find Twilight and could use your help. After we find her, I’ll make all of us some lunch to eat.”

Rarity and Ember looked at Spike and both felt their anger melting away. They both smiled at him and hugged him. They briefly looked at each other, but looked away quickly.

“That sounds like a plan,” said Ember.

“Let’s go find her then,” said Rarity.

A loud scream suddenly rang out through the library that caught the group’s attention.

“That sounded like Twilight!” said Spike in a panicked voice. “Come on!”

As they all ran down the hallway, Spike suddenly felt a sharp jab in him and yelped in pain. He stopped and leaned over onto a bookcase.

Ember and Rarity stopped and both looked with worry on them at Spike.

“Spikey!” cried out Rarity.

“Are you okay!?” asked Ember.

Spike nodded and got up. “I’ll be fine,” he assured. “I just felt… something for a moment.”

“Do you need help?” inquired Ember.

Spike grunted a little as the pain went away. “I’m alright. I guess I must’ve pulled something.”

Rarity looked unsure, but nodded anyway. “I hope so, Spike.”

Spike took off running again and looked back. “Let’s go!” he ordered.

The group ran off and started running down the hallway. Hot Streak emerged from another row of book and looked both furious and a bit worried.

“That didn’t do go how I planned,” he said. “That scream I heard didn’t sound so good either. I think it’s time I get out of here and try not to push my luck.” He quietly walked out into the hallway and silently followed Spike and the others.

Spike, Ember, and Rarity ran as fast as they could and soon reached a small clearing near the entrance. They all looked over and saw Matches holding onto an upset Twilight, and Starlight standing there with a spooked look on her. On the ground was an open blue book that was upside down.

“What happen?” asked a frantic Spike. “Did somepony try to attack Twilight? Did you find one of my magazines?”

Starlight looked at Spike with a puzzle look. “Magazine?”

Spike waved a hand frantically and laughed softly. “Nothing! Nothing!” He looked over at Twilight. “What happened here, Twilight?”

The alicorn looked up with a livid expression on her face. “What happened?” she asked coldly. “I’ll tell you what happened. I was going to show Matches some of my favorite books that he may like to read.” She pointed to the book to the ground. “I was going to let him read one of my Daring Do books, and I found it not just lying on the ground, but somepony did the unthinkable to it!”

Spike looked at the book, and then at Twilight. He moved towards the book and picked it up. He looked at the cover and back, and saw nothing wrong with it. He flipped through some pages and saw nothing out of the ordinary. That was until he reached the final page, and he gasped. There was a large tear on the final page of the book. Some of the text was still on the page, but most of it was removed forcefully.

“How did this happen?” wondered Spike.

“I don’t know,” said Twilight angrily. She broke Matches’ grip and took the book from Spike. “This book was a limited edition too. I can’t think of anypony who’d do this.”

Starlight pulled Twilight in for a hug. “I’m not sure what’s going on, Twilight,” she said. “I don’t think any of us will know why somepony did this, but they’re probably long gone by now.”

Twilight looked down and let out a heavy sigh. “You’re probably right. I just can’t understand why they would do this.” She walked over to the door. “Come on, everypony. I think I need to relax after seeing something like that.”

Matches picked up the book and gave it to Twilight. “I think you better hold onto this,” he said. “You probably want to keep it safe after this.”

Twilight blushed a little and smiled. “Thanks,” she said in a soft tone.

“I better get going as well,” said Rarity. “I just remembered I have some fabric to go get.” She looked at Spike with a seductive look on her. “Would you like to help me, Spikey?”

Spike nodded. “I’d love to, Rarity.” He looked over at Ember. “I’ll see you later, Ember! Thanks again for the lesson today!”

Rarity smirked sinisterly as she looked at Ember. “I’ll see you around as well, darling. In fact, you’ll be seeing me around quite a lot.” She scoffed and walked out the door with Spike.

Ember stood there and clenched her fists so hard, she thought she could break a diamond.

Matches saw the livid expression on Ember and raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong, Ember?”

“I’m… fine,” she muttered through her teeth. “I just need to be alone for a while.”

“But, Ember…”

“Just stay and help Twilight.”

“Shouldn’t I come with you to–”

Ember held up a hand. “Just do it!” she barked as she stormed off.

Twilight, Starlight, and Matches stood there in shock.

“What’s with her?” Starlight asked Matches.

He shrugged. “I’m not sure. Maybe she’s upset about what happened here.”

The group watched as Ember walked down the hallway and disappeared around the corner.

Ember muttered to herself angrily and felt like wanting to punch something to give her some relief. She soon came across her room and went in, slamming the door shut. She leaned against the door and let out a loud groan.

“I don’t know how much more I can take!” she yelled. “I’ve tried being nice and reasonable, and this is what I get! I get accused of writing some love letter and then hit with a book when I was just talking with Spike!”

She walked over to her bed and fell onto it. She closed her eyes and could see the image of Rarity smiling smugly as she walked with Spike. She huffed and turned around tirelessly in her bed.

You’ll be seeing me around quite a lot, Rarity’s voice echoed in her head.

Ember’s eyes opened and she had a fierce look on her. She sat up and lowered her head. She looked around the room and noticed a picture frame on a small desk. She leaned over to pick it up. The picture was that of Spike smiling warmly and relaxing on a red chair. Ember smiled softly and rubbed a finger against the picture.

“I can’t believe he would think some manipulative unicorn like Rarity is perfect for him,” she said in a cold voice. “Alright, Rarity. If this is how you want to be, then I’m through playing nice. I didn’t want to do this, but you’re about to learn what happens when you cross a dragon.”

She looked at the picture of Spike again and grinned. “Wherever you go with Spike, I’ll be sure to follow.”

In the middle of the Everfree Forest, Hot Streak panted as he ran through the bushes and between the trees. He soon came across a clearing and came to a stop. He panted wildly as he looked around and saw only thick brush and the sounds of various wildlife in the forest. He pulled out the crystal in his jacket and in a flash turned back into Garble.

The dragon punched a tree in frustration hard enough to leave a fist print in the tree. “Damn it!” he yelled. “I was so close to having those two go off on each other!”

He kicked the ground and let out a frustrated growl. “I can’t even go back to that castle. That pony princess is onto me, and she’s probably going to keep an eye out for any suspicious dragons or ponies. I can’t even believe she got all worked up over some stupid book like as if it was her child or something.”

Garble paced around a little. “I’m never going to get this alliance broken off by playing matchbreaker it seems. I think I need to rethink how I do this.”

He took off into the air and flew above the trees. In the distance, Garble saw Ponyville and glared.

“I can wait though,” he said. “All I need to do is wait for that opportunity and take advantage of it.” He smiled to himself. “Sooner or later, Ember, you and Rarity are going to slip up, and I’ll be there to see it all come apart.”

Author's Note

At last, the new chapter is out. A major problem I had with this chapter was just coming up for the various types of dragons and their wings. I discussed it with some of my friends and they suggested a few things to me.

I'm not sure when the next chapter will come out since I have a lot of stuff coming up, but hopefully it won't be as long as this one was. Enjoy!

Gauntlet

Ash looked alarmed. “The Gauntlet of Fire? Are you sure about that?”

Spike nodded. “It’s where it all began,” he stated. “It’s where I met Ember and we became friends. It’s where the alliance started between the Dragon Lands and Equestria. It’s where I became Dragon Lord and passed on the title to Ember. It makes sense that Garble wants to settle this where it all began.”

“At least you know your way around the volcano,” said Ember. “If what you’re saying is true, Garble may be holding Rarity where the Bloodstone Scepter was located.”

“This isn’t good,” said Ash in a worried tone. “We need to move fast before it’s too late.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong, Master?”

The elder dragon paced back and forth. “Miss Rarity is in far more danger than I thought. It’s bad enough Garble has kidnapped her, but he’s taken her to a place that’s about to blow up.”

Ember gasped. “Erupting Season!”

“What’s this all about anyway?” asked Rainbow.

Ash grimaced a little. “Every year for two months, the volcanoes around the Dragon Lands become violently active. Throughout the land, several volcanoes go off for hours or sometimes even a few days.”

Spike gulped a little. “And the volcano at the Gauntlet of Fire hasn’t gone off yet?”

Ash solemnly shook his head. “Garble may not realize it, but he’s put himself and Miss Rarity in danger. If he does know about the volcano hasn’t gone off, that may be why he chose that place. He knows we have little time.”

“When would the volcano go off?” wondered Twilight.

“Could be any day now,” answered Ash. “I know around this time though, that’s when it would erupt.”

A feeling of dread fell on Spike.

Ember narrowed her eyes. “We don’t have any more time then.” She looked over. “Master Ash, get your forces ready. We need to prepare to rescue–”

“No!” shouted Spike.

Ember looked over and frowned. “We’ve got no choice, Spike. Rarity’s in trouble and we can’t just stand around doing nothing.”

“He wanted me to come alone though,” said Spike. “You heard what he said. If I don’t come, or if I bring help, he’d kill Rarity.”

“I’m not letting you go alone,” said Ember, firmly. “I...I don’t want to lose you.” She said the last part with a blush on her.

Spike blushed softly. “Ember, I know there’s still things you want to say to me, but I need to save Rarity. Garble wants me though, and I’ve got to finish this. If it’s me he wants, then I’ll do it. And if I fail and the volcano destroys us all, I’d rather have my friend be around to be the leader the Dragon Lands need.”

Ember said nothing, but felt her face heat up more. She looked away and tried to cover it, but to no avail.

“Mr. the Dragon,” said Ash, “I admire your bravery in facing the boy, but I do agree with Lord Ember. I know Garble wants you, but we need to consider an option to rescue Miss Rarity if we absolutely need to.” He pointed to his back. “Besides, you’ll need some help getting to that island since you have no wings. No offense.”

Spike sighed. “None taken.”

Ember nodded. “Then it’s decided. Master, I want you to get your forces ready. We need to set up near the edge of the Sawtooth Cliffs near the island. Take Matches with you as well, we’ll need as much help as possible.” She turned to Spike. “You go with them as well and get suited up. I think you’ll need to be more prepared than just wearing some suit to take on Garble.”

Spike looked at his messed up suit and nodded. “Good point.”

Ember looked at Twilight and her friends. “The rest of you are free to come with us. Maybe we can all think of an idea if it looks like we need to get in there and save both Spike and Rarity.”

Rainbow smacked her fist against her hand. “Count me in!” The others joined in and muttered in agreement.

“Let’s hurry then,” urged Celestia. “The faster we get to work, the sooner we can save Rarity.”

Spike walked out with the others and glanced at Ember. The dragoness made a brief glance at him, but quickly looked away and maintained a stern look on her. Spike looked forward and narrowed his eyes as the group walked down the hallway.

The journey to the Sawtooth Cliffs was a solemn one for Spike. As the chariot rocked a little in the air, he looked around at his friends. All of them had equally stern looks and looked like they were ready to fight. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and felt a hand placed on his shoulder. He looked over to see Celestia giving him a small smile, which he returned.

A thud broke Spike out of his thoughts and the carriage came to a slow stop. The door opened up and Spike and his friends walked out one by one. They were greeted by a very large group of Master Ash’s army around. Some were talking to each other, others were running around barking orders. Some were setting up tents and some papers.

Applejack let out a loud whistle. “They sure know how to move fast.”

“Indeed they do.”

Everyone turned to see Master Ash and Ember walking up to them. The elder dragon’s broken chest plate was replaced with a brand new one.

“How goes everything, Master?” inquired Celestia. “Is everything ready?”

He nodded. “Just about. We’ve been waiting for you all to show up.” He looked over at Spike. “How’s the suit holding up for you, Mr. the Dragon?”

Spike looked at what he was wearing. It was almost similar to the one that Ember had been wearing, but was silver and was wearing a black undersuit beneath it. He moved and flexed his arms around. “Not too bad I say. You all really know how to make comfortable armor.”

Ash chuckled a little. “Well, it’ll be more important that it protects you more or less from whatever Garble throws at you. That reminds me though, you’ll need this too.” He pulled out a small sword in a brown sash. “You ever use a sword before?”

Spike took the blade. “Yes I do. I did practice with Shining Armor when I was a kid. He gave me some pointers and trained me a little. I still make time to practice with him from time to time.”

“I hope those lessons you got come in handy,” said Ash. “You’ll need it for the fight ahead. No doubt Garble will try to strike you down with his own sword.”

“We’ve been working on another plan just in case time runs out,” said Ember.

The ground shook underneath them for a few seconds.

Ash nodded. “Speaking of time; that’s not a luxury we have.” He waved a hand. “This way to the tent.”

The group walked over and approached a table with a large map of the island covering most of it. The map had several blue figures on it and some pencil lines that looked like arrows scattered about.

“So far, Commander Cynder has been thinking of a plan to rescue Miss Rarity,” Ash looked over. “Commander?”

A black female dragon walked up and saluted. “We’ve been marking potential routes to send in teams to rescue the pony. So far, we’ve been able to come up with three possible ways to pull off the rescue without alerting Garble.”

Spike frowned. “No offense, Commander, but it’s me that Garble wants. I don’t know if Master Ash has told you, but if Garble knows I brought help against him, he’d kill Rarity. I need to do this myself.”

Ember nodded. “He’s right. This is a fight Spike has to face himself. We should only send in teams if it looks like we’re almost out of time before the eruption. Garble’s crazy enough to pull off any threat he’s made at this point.”

She walked up to the map and placed a finger on it. “Here’s what we’ll do. We’ll take Spike to the island itself and drop him off.” She dragged her finger up. “Spike, you remember the route we took to get to the Bloodstone Scepter, right?” The drake nodded. “Take that same route if you can and try to reach the end. It should be where Garble is holding Rarity.”

“What do you want me to do with Garble?” wondered Spike.

Ember hesitated for a moment. “Try to bring him back alive if you can. If not, do what you must to make sure he doesn’t return to cause more trouble.”

“I’m not one who usually supports personal vendettas, but considering the circumstances and how much of a threat Garble poses, we’re willing to turn a blind eye,” said Ash.

Spike nodded, but felt a little cold inside.

Ember pointed back at the map. “We’ll drop you off around here at the cliff entrance where you and I went through the Gauntlet.. After you rescue Rarity and deal with Garble, head for that spot so we can pick you up. We’ll have scouts watching the area and will head out as soon as they see you and Rarity.”

“Anything else I should know?” inquired Spike.

Ash stepped forward. “There’s one last thing. I checked the status on the volcano, and unfortunately it looks like what I said earlier is true; it’s due to erupt very soon.”

“How soon?”

Ash grimaced. “Two hours is what they’re estimating.”

Spike felt his insides turn cold.

“We’ll give you an hour and a half to do the job, but if it comes down to it, I’ll send the calvary to help,” said Ash. “The main priority though is to save Miss Rarity. If you can somehow do it without Garble noticing, that may draw him out and we can deal with him in another way.”

Spike took a deep breath. “I guess I better get moving then.” The ground shook under his feet again.

Ash nodded. “We’ll prepare the chariot.”

Spike turned to leave with the elder dragon.

“Wait!”

Everyone turned around and looked at Ember.

“I want to speak to Spike...alone,” she said.

The group looked at each other, and then at Ember. They nodded at her and all left one by one until Spike and Ember were alone. The two stared at each other as the noise outside the tent seemed to shut off for both of them. Spike looked away bashfully while Ember kicked her foot lazily.

“So, what is it?” asked Spike.

Ember jumped a little from the sudden break in silence. “Oh, I just wanted to say a few things to you.”

Spike frowned. “Ember, you know what I said. I still have a job to do.”

“I know, but I still have some things to say. It’ll be really quick.”

Spike hesitated for a moment, but nodded. “Alright.”

Ember looked down. “I know you need to do this and what Garble has threatened, but I still feel I should go with you.”

“But you just said–”

“I know I said this was your fight,” she interrupted. “Still, I put you and Rarity in danger. I helped make all this happen and now things are probably even worse now.”

Spike put his hand on Ember’s shoulder. “Listen to me, Ember. I know you may feel responsible for what happened, but this wasn’t your fault. Garble made all this happen and he won’t stop until he finally has who he wants; me.”

“But he wanted to become Dragon Lord,” said Ember.

“I think he always wanted me though,” said Spike. “I’ve been the one who’s gotten in his way of everything he’s done. I stopped him from destroying some phoenix eggs, beat him in the Gauntlet of Fire, and now exposed his plan to become Dragon Lord to every dragon. This isn’t about you anymore, or him becoming leader of the dragons; this is now personal.”

Ember frowned. “To be honest, it does sound like what Garble told me and Rarity at the Detention Center. I think he said something similar to us. He wanted to hurt you where it hits the hardest. He wanted to ruin me, but now that his plan was foiled, he’s turned to the one thing you care for the most; your love for Rarity.”

Spike nodded. “You know he’ll just keep coming back until he gets his revenge on me.”

“But I–”

“I know, you want to help, but this is my fight. I’m the only one who can stop him now. It’s the only way to stop this once and for all.”

Ember looked down. “You still amaze me, Spike. I know you said you didn’t hate me or Rarity, but you’re still putting your life on the line for her; despite what we’ve both done.”

Spike smiled a little. “Like I said yesterday, Ember. “A true friend never gives up on those they care and love. No matter what happens, I’m not going to let Rarity die.” He turned around. “Now then, I think it’s time I got going. Time is running out and I need to get to the chariot.”

As Spike walked away, he felt another tug. He turned around and found himself face to face with a blushing Ember. Before Spike could ask, Ember leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. The touch felt warm and soothing. He put a hand up to it and stared at Ember, who was shaking nervously and her face looking almost completely red. Neither of them knew what to say, or how to act.

Finally, Ember said in small voice, “I...I’m sorry. I just think you’d want a kiss for luck. I was...was just um, don’t know what came over me. I’m sorry that I–”

Spike held a hand up, silencing her. “I...I get what you’re trying to do.” He turned back around. “Like I told you, we’ll talk more about this later after I’ve dealt with Garble. I promise you this though; I will be alright and I will return.”

“Mr. the Dragon!”

Spike looked up at a silhouette outside the tent, and recognized the voice belonging to Master Ash.

“The chariot is ready,” he said. “We need to move out now.”

The ground rumbled again beneath Spike’s feet. “I’ll be right there,” he said.

As Spike walked out, he took one last glance at Ember, who was still blushing wildly. Her eyes met his briefly, but quickly turned away. Spike took a deep breath and walked out of the tent.

The chariot rocked a little from the turbulence, but it didn’t bother Spike. He took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves, and occasionally glanced out the window. He peeked his head out and saw the island getting closer and closer with each passing second. The volcano at the top wasn’t emitting any smoke...yet.

“Nervous, Mr. the Dragon?”

Spike looked away and turned to Master Ash, who was sitting across him. “A little bit, but I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Just remember, we’ll have several teams on standby in case things go wrong,” said Ash. “I must warn you though to not get too caught up in settling the score with Garble. There’s not much time for you to pull this mission off.”

Spike looked down. “Master, there’s something I have to ask you.”

Ash frowned. “It’s about Garble, isn’t it?” Spike nodded. The elder drake sighed and leaned forward. “It’s what Lord Ember said; do what you must to make sure the boy doesn’t cause more trouble for the Dragon Lands.”

Spike felt that cold feeling again.

“He’s a traitor now,” said Ash. “You must stop him at all cost now, Mr. the Dragon. Whether it be bringing him back alive, or killing him, he must be stopped now. Even if I was going with you, I won’t stop what you would have to do to bring down Garble. Just do one thing for me.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

Ash smiled a little. “Come back alive. It’s obvious Lord Ember cares deeply about you from the conversation I heard from the tent.”

“You listened in?”

“I heard some things about it. I think though it would crush her to see some drake who had such an impact on her be killed.”

Spike narrowed his eyes and nodded. He felt his back spaz out of him and rubbed it.

Master Ash raised an eyebrow. “Are you alright?”

Spike groaned. “It’s my back again. I swear, ever since the Gauntlet of Fire, it’s just been hurting more and more.”

Ash leaned forward and put a hand on Spike’s shoulder. “Well, let’s hope whatever’s causing this doesn’t hinder you. When you return, I’ll have the medics check you out.”

“We’re approaching the drop off!” a dragon announced.

Ash stood up. “Alright, this is it. The path leading to the volcano should be relatively easy. The traps leading into the volcano shouldn’t be active. However, given the recent tremors, it may cause some problems.”

“So what should I do?”

“Just navigate your way through the volcano and reach the center of it. There, Miss Rarity and Garble should be there. Be careful though, the recent tremors may’ve loosened some of the rocks and some the tunnels may have already collapsed.” Ash opened the door for Spike to see he was a few feet from the cliffside entrance of the volcano. “You have an hour and a half to get in, grab Miss Rarity, and get out. Understand?”

Spike nodded.

“Good luck, Mr. the Dragon. The fate of your friend rest in your claws now.”

Spike jumped out of the chariot and landed on the rocky ground. He turned around and with a wave, Master Ash closed the door and the chariot took off. Spike felt the ground shake beneath him again and turned back to the volcano’s top. A little smoke was emitting from it, which made his eyes widen.

“Alright, let’s get going.”

Despite the lack of traps around the volcano this time, Spike still felt nervous going through it. Every slight tremor there was, he heard the cracking of rock underneath. He even saw one tunnel completely cave in before his eyes from down below. He gulped, but pushed onwards and remembering the route he took. As Spike walked on, he remembered his last time through the volcano and what happened.

What do you think you're doing?

Only saving your ungrateful scales!

Ponies?! What are they doing here?!

They're my friends!

Friends? Dragons don't do friends.

Well, this dragon does.

He heard bubbling from below and saw the lava pools below starting to get a little violent. The smell of sulfur made him cough a little as he wasn’t entirely used to the smell. The further he walked on, the stronger the smell became.

Spike! Are you sure it's a good idea to team up with Ember? You don't know her too well.

I do know she could've told Garble about you, but she didn't. I think we can trust her.

Her behavior does seem contradictory to everything I've noted about dragons so far.

Hey, you, little fella! I've thought about it, and your plan makes sense. Let's do it.

Really? Great! It's a deal!

Just so you know, this doesn't mean we're gonna pick flowers or exchange necklaces or whatever pony friends do.

Good luck. We'll meet you at the top.

He looked up and saw a shadow, but when Spike looked again, it was gone. He could’ve sworn he heard someone snicker sinisterly.

You just risked everything to save her! And they're putting themselves in danger just to support you!

Well, that's just what friends do. Don't you have anyone who looks out for you?

Not really. Unless I count you.

Spike walked along the narrow rocky arch. He saw a bright light ahead and recognized the path. He started running towards the light.

Look! We made it! I can't believe I'm the only dragon to make it this far!

You're not! And I'm not losing to a puny pony-loving dragon like you!

Spike narrowed his eyes. You’re going to lose again, Garble. I promise you that much.

He entered the center of the volcano. The place looked almost the same as when Spike saw it the first time. The narrow rocky arch, the stalagmites and stalactites covering the cavern. He noticed some smoke billowing around the cavern and the smell of sulfur was getting really strong for him. Spike’s eyes drifted towards where the Bloodstone Scepter was held at and gasped in horror at what he saw.

It was Rarity, unconscious and looking roughed up.

Spike looked around to make sure the coast was clear. He began running towards the unicorn, but was stopped when a figure quickly landed right in front of him.

Spike narrowed his eyes. “Garble.”

The red drake crossed his arms. “Welcome, Spike. I was wondering what took you so long. It’s good to see my ‘friend’ made it.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “Save it, Garble. I know what your twisted definition of friendship is.”

Garble smirked. “What’s the rush, Spike? We have so much to catch up on.”’

“You don’t get it though!” argued Spike. “You and Rarity are in danger!”

Garble raised an eyebrow. “What’re you talking about?”

The ground shook again. “That is what I’m talking about!” shouted Spike. “This volcano is going to go off in less than two hours!”

Garble said nothing for a moment, and then laughed coldly. “Perfect! That’s the way it shall be then! The two of us against the clock in one last fight!”

Spike couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Garble, listen, if you give up now, you’ll probably be shown some mercy. This doesn’t have to go down like this.”

Garble glared. “Your wrong, Spike. There’s no turning back for me now. I’m considered a traitor to the Dragon Lands. I’ve got nothing to lose at this point now. I want to finally finish this once and for all. This place is where I lost everything because of you.”

The drake raised an eyebrow. “Because of how many times I’ve gotten in your way?”

“Of course!” barked Garble. “You took away everything from me! My chance to become Dragon Lord! My chance to rule! My chance to lead the Dragon Lands to lead a brave, new world order! You humiliated me with what you had me do!”

Garble smirked and looked around. “Brings back memories, doesn’t it?”

Spike narrowed his eyes. “All I remember is how much I hate you.”

“What I remember is that you couldn’t beat me alone,” said Garble. “You had to rely on your friends to come to your rescue.” He laughed coldly. “I do regret now not asking you to bring your friends.” He glanced over at Rarity. “That way I can show how I’ll take something precious from you.”

Spike growled. “What did you do to her?”

Garble shrugged. “Oh, nothing. She tried to make a few attempts at trying to escape, but I just had to make sure she didn’t leave so soon.”

Spike clenched his fist.

“You know, it’s funny. While I was making sure she wouldn’t leave, she kept crying and muttering your name out for help.” Garble scoffed. “Stupid girl! Thinking some dragon would fall in love; much less with a pony!”

Spike looked down. “I do like her.”

“Liar!” roared Garble. “I heard you say it yourself how you hated her and Ember! And even if you still care for that pony, dragons don’t do love! They don’t care about others or love one another! They look out for themselves!”

“Well, this dragon does!” roared Spike as he pulled out his sword.

Garble smirked and pulled the sword he stole from his jacket and smirked. “I’ve waited so long for this, Spike. Here, the eyes of other dragons don’t look here. Run or fight for your life; it doesn’t matter. I promise you this though; only one of us is leaving here alive, and I can assure you it’s not going to be you!”

Spike narrowed his eyes. “We’ll see about that.”

The two stayed still for a couple of minutes; waiting to see who would make the first move. The ground shook underneath them both, throwing Spike a little off balance. Garble took the chance to charge and raised his sword up. Spike quickly saw what was happening and raised his own sword to block Garble’s own blade. The metallic clanging echoed through the room. Spike jumped back to give himself some space, but Garble lunged at him again.

Again, Spike raised his sword to block the blade. Garble pushed forward and kept jabbing at Spike with his sword. Each time, the blade narrowly either missed Spike, or he blocked it just in time. Spike kept walking back as he tried to defend himself and tried to look for some opening, but was too busy keeping his eye on Garble’s sword to avoid getting hit by it.

Garble smirked as he moved his tail around Spike’s leg. Before the drake could react, Garble tripped him and made him fall over. Spike grunted as the armor pushed into him and hurt him a little. He heard Garble roar and bring down his blade. Spike quickly rolled out of the way and avoided the strike in the nick of time.

Garble grunted as he tried to pull the blade out of the ground, and Spike decided to take advantage of it. Getting up, he brought his own sword up against Garble, but the red drake pulled his sword out and quickly raised it to block the attack. Spike, remembering what he learned from Shining’s lessons, kept striking fast, but not so much that he tired himself out. He jabbed his sword around unpredictably, which made Garble nervous and try to either dodge or block the attacks. The movement kept going on until finally…

Garble roared in pain as he dropped his sword. He clutched the wound on his right arm as blood started trickling out of it. Spike, not wanting to give Garble another chance, kicked the sword over the edge and heard it clang against the rocks below. He put his sword up to the red drake’s head and narrowed his eyes.

“It’s over, Garble.”

Garble raised his head and, much to Spike’s confusion, he was smirking. “You’re pretty good! Didn’t think you had it in you to do something like that. But…” He raised his tail up slowly. “I’m not done with you yet!”

He swung his tail and hit Spike in the side of his head. The drake yelped in pain and dropped his own sword in the confusion. Spike looked down and saw that Garble was gone. He looked around frantically, only to be met with the large, rocky stalagmites around him. A shadow fell over Spike and he looked up only to see nothing but rock.

“So, you think you can just wound me that easily and expect me to give up so easily?” Garble’s voice echoed throughout the cavern. “Clever, but not clever enough, Spike!”

Spike grabbed his sword and glared. “Garble, show yourself! Come out and fight!”

“Relax, Spike,” said Garble, “I’m not going anywhere. You, on the other hand, will be going to Tartarus!”

Spike heard a whooshing sound and turned around. He gasped as he saw Garble flying at him and delivered a swift kick to his face. Spike grunted in pain and fell over. He opened his eyes and saw a fireball heading for him. He quickly scrambled out of the way, but was caught by the impact and fell over again, but was dangerously close to the edge of the walkway. Spike quickly stopped himself and crawled away. He got up and looked around.

“How can you save a pony, Spike when you can’t save yourself?”

The drake turned around and was met with another punch to his face from Garble. Dazed, Spike couldn’t do much as Garble grabbed him from the neck collar of his armor and punched him again. Spike fell over and tried to catch his breath and regain his bearings, but Garble reached for his armor and ripped it off him; allowing Garble to deliver a powerful punch to his stomach. Spike coughed violently as he leaned forward and clenched his stomach in pain.

Garble kept up the attack with one punch after another at Spike. He laughed sadistically while pounding the drake. Spike attempted to crawl away, but Garble grabbed him by the leg and threw him across the room. He hit the rock wall and groaned in agony. He heard Garble roar and barely moved out of the way from another punch. Garble cried out in pain as his first went into the rock and was struggling to get it out. Spike saw his sword nearby and went to pick it up, but Garble flew in and knocked Spike over.

The red drake hovered and laughed. “Catch me if you can, Spike! If you can even find some way to.” He grinned sinisterly.

Spike narrowed his eyes as Garble flew away.

Master Ash pointed at the map. “Alright, it’s decided. We’ll send three strike teams through the upper part of the volcano and head for the center. Two more teams will take the lower path and rush towards the lower part of the center of the volcano. If they can reach it, maybe they can fly up and take Garble by surprise.”

“What about the top of the volcano?” wondered Rainbow. “Can’t you all fly through there?”

Ash shook his head. “The smoke from the volcano would impair their vision, so there’s no chance for that.”

Ember sat as she listened to Master Ash talk to Twilight, her friends, and the princesses of Equestria. She peeked her head out of the tent and saw smoke rising from the volcano. She frowned and looked away.

Come on, Spike, you’ve got to make it!

“Master Ash! Lord Ember!”

The dragoness quickly brought her head back into the tent and looked over. A yellow dragon she recognized as Ridge was standing there and saluted them both.

“What is it, private?” inquired Ash. “We’re in the middle of a discussion.”

“My apologizes, Master, but we’ve just learned some bad news about the volcano.”

Everyone fell silent and looked at each other nervously.

“What about it?” inquired Ash. “Don’t tell me that...that…”

Ridge nodded solemnly. “It appears the intel we got was wrong. The volcano is actually going to erupt in less than an hour.”

Ember felt her heart nearly stop.

Ash narrowed his eyes. “We need to move now! Private Ridge, inform Commander Cynder to assemble Inferno Squad at once and I’ll lead the charge!”

Twilight stepped forward. “We’ll go too, Master.”

The elder dragon frowned. “With all due respect, Princess Twilight, there’s no reason to put yourself and your friends in danger needlessly. You all stay here and–”

“No, Master,” said Twilight, firmly. “We’re going to save both Spike and Rarity. They’re our friends and there’s nothing you can do to talk us out of it.”

“You got that right,” agreed Applejack. “We’re going to help any way we can.”

“I can probably fly in and grab them before that volcano blows up,” said Rainbow, confidentally.

Ash crossed his arms and smiled a little. “I guess there’s really no other way around it. Very well, I’ll have the chariot ready to take you all. Lord Ember, is there anything else you can suggest before we leave?”

There was no response.

Ash raised an eyebrow. “Lord Ember?” He turned around and gasped to see the dragoness was gone.

Celestia looked just as shocked. “Where did she go?”

Ash saw part of the tent open where Ember was standing and rushed over to it. He walked out and looked around frantically, but was met with his soldiers running around, or talking to each other. Ash looked all over the area, but saw nothing but more of his own men and women.

“Master!”

The elder dragon looked over and saw Matches approaching him.

“I think I saw Lord Ember run off,” he said. “I tried to call out to her, but she was moving too fast. Where’s she going?”

The ground shook underneath Ash’s feet and he looked over at the volcano. “Oh, no,” he whispered in horror.

Spike rolled out of the way of another fireball. Garble laughed as he flew around Spike, all while the latter could do nothing but keep his eye on where he was flying to next. Spike shot out a few fireballs as well against Garble, but he kept dodging them. He flew behind some of the stalactites, and Spike just waited for him to appear again.

“What’s the matter, Spike?” asked Garble, mockingly. “Not witty comeback? No clever comment?”

Spike growled in frustration. Garble flew out and let out another fireball. Spike quickly jumped out of the way, but was again caught in the blast and he fell over.

“Whoa!” he cried out.

Garble smirked. “Whoa? That’s it? I was really looking forward to one of your clever comebacks, Spike.”

The drake panted and tried to get up, but felt something metallic press against him. He looked down and saw he was lying on top of his sword. Spike smiled to himself as an idea hatched inside his head.

“Come on, Spike!” called out Garble. “Don’t tell me you’re giving up already!”

Spike got up slowly, but didn’t turn around.

The red drake glared. “You know, Spike, I’m disappointed in you. I thought you’d at least try to put up a fight, but I guess it’s better you realize you can’t beat me.” He leaned forward and flapped his wings. “I’ll make sure this won’t hurt....that much, at least.”

With a powerful roar, Garble charged forward and flew towards Spike. The drake didn’t move as he flew down and readied himself to punch him. Garble sinister smile grew wider the closer he got and raised a fist. Suddenly, Spike leaped to the side, much to Garble’s confusion. Garble gasped as he saw a blade being raised, and had no time to react as Spike brought it down with a powerful strike.

Garble bellowed in agony loud enough to shake the cavern a little. He skidded against the ground and flailed around in pain; screaming constantly. He had a panicked look on him and some tears running down his face as he kicked his feet in the air. Spike took several deep breaths as he watched the red drake flailed around to reach around to his back and then looked over.

There, lying on the ground, was a piece of Garble’s wing with some blood coming from it. Spike looked at his sword and saw some of the blood on it. He couldn’t help but feel satisfaction about what he did to Garble, but he felt a little nauseated from doing such a thing. Garble’s gaze met his for a moment, and saw the fury in his eyes.

“Hey, Garble,” he called out.

The red drake was shaking violently.

Spike smirked as he pointed his sword at the cut off wing. “Looks like you’re grounded. How’s that for a clever comeback?”

Garble pounded his hands on the ground and roared. He tried to get up, but he saw a shadow fall over him and looked up to see Spike’s foot hitting him in the face. He rolled back and yelled in pain. Spike jumped forward and held his sword up, but Garble used his tail to smack him and the sword. As Spike fell back, he noticed the sword had slipped from his hand and tried to grab it, but it was too far away. He grunted as he hit the ground, and watched the sword sail off the walkway and heard it clank against the rocks.

“Now we’re on even footing!” Garble smirked, triumphantly. “Let’s finish this once and for all!”

Garble and Spike slowly got up and glared at one another. They yelled and charged at one another with their fists ready to hit one another. They managed to hit each other and were both left dazed. Spike, though, managed to recover faster and move in to kick Garble. He then moved in for another kick to the stomach and punch him in the face. Spike felt his heart racing as he landed one blow after another on Garble. The red drake was groaning in pain as Spike prepared to deliver the final blow.

Suddenly, Spike felt a sharp pain jolt through his back. Oh, no! Not now!

He yelped and leaned over in pain. Spike felt like he had a sword cut through his back; only it was on fire. He panted and grunted as he tried to shrug off the pain, but it lasted longer than any of the other back spasms he had before. He went to his knees and yelled in pain as it seemed to go on and on for him. Eventually, it slowly went away and Spike was trying to catch his breath.

He tried to get up, but as he looked up, he was met with a foot in his face and fell over. Spike groaned as he saw Garble walking up to him and had a confident smile on him. He tried to fight back, but Garble grabbed him by the neck and started choking him. Spike gasped and flailed around a bit as he suffocated.

“You know, Spike, I was always the better dragon,” said Garble. “I could always do things better than you. While you were busy in pony land making friends, I made myself stronger, faster, and better.”

“You’re...not...that good,” gasped Spike.

“That’s what you think,” said Garble. “You should’ve taken my offer while you had the chance to be a real dragon like me. I could’ve made you into something if you stuck around and forgot those ponies.” His smile turned into a scowl. “But instead of that, all you care about are you stupid, damn friends!”

Spike struggled to break free, but Garble only tightened his grip.

“Ooohh,” a voice moaned.

Garble looked up and saw Rarity moving around a little and slowly opening her eyes. He smiled sinisterly. “Spike, I think you owe me for cutting off my wing. So, since you’re beaten and can’t do anything so stop me, I think it’s only appropriate I do this now.”

He picked up Spike by the neck and dragged him to Rarity. She opened her eyes and saw to her horror Spike struggling against Garble’s grip.

“Spikey!” Rarity glared at Garble. “What did you do to him, you monster!?”

Garble laughed coldly. “Just had to remind him who the real dragon was around here.” He took a step forward and grabbed Rarity by the arm. “I figured I’d show that I beat him before I take care of you.”

Spike’s eyes widened.

Rarity gasped and tried to get away, but Garble tugged her arm and forced her to the edge of the cliff. Rarity whimpered as she looked over the edge and saw the sharp rocks below and some lava bubbling below. Desperate, Rarity raised her leg and kicked Garble in the shin. The drake grunted in pain, but shrugged it off and pushed her back.

“You’re just as annoying as Spike,” he growled. “Don’t worry though, once he sees your lifeless body at the bottom of the pit, I’ll let him join you!”

“NO!” Spike cried out. “Garble, no! Don’t do this! It’s me you want; not Rarity!”

Garble flashed a sadistic smile at Spike. “This is for ruining everything I’ve done and for cutting my wing off!” He shoved Rarity over the cliff.

“SPIKEY!” Rarity screamed as she fell down the pit.

Spike’s insides froze up and his heart nearly stopped. He watched helplessly as Rarity went down the pit and got closer to the jagged rocks below. He wanted to look away, but his body was paralyzed from what he saw seeing happening. All the while, Garble laughed loudly and made sure Spike could see the unicorn fall to her death.

A blue blur suddenly whizzed past the two dragons, leaving Spike and Garble dumbfounded.

“What was that!?” demanded Garble.

Spike looked down and gasped. “There!” he pointed down.

The blur whizzed down at an incredibly fast rate that seemed to rival Rainbow’s speed. It reached Rarity and grabbed her mere seconds from hitting the sharp rocks and flew back up with her. Rarity put a hand over her racing heart and felt a little dizzy from the near death experience. She looked up at her rescuer and both her and Spike gasped simultaneously.

“Ember!” they both cried out in joy.

Garble threw Spike down and looked livid. “What’re you doing here!? You’re not supposed to help Spike!”

The dragoness smirked. “You said don’t help Spike. You never said anything about helping Rarity!”

Garble growled furiously.

Rarity hugged Ember. “Oh, thank you, darling! I don’t know how I can ever thank you!”

Ember struggled a little and felt a little awkward. “Um...you can stop hugging me. Still feels weird with that hug thing.”

Rarity let go and blushed a little. “Well, I now know why Spike thinks so highly of you. To save me even after what happened, I don’t–YIPES!” a fireball whizzed passed Rarity and missed her by inches.

“NO FAIR!” bellowed Garble. “Ember, I’ve had enough of your meddling!” He took a deep breath, but a hand turned him around and was punched in the stomach. Garble yelled and held his stomach.

“And I’ve had enough of you hurting my friends!” barked Spike.

Spike kicked Garble and made him stumble back. Garble countered with a punch, but Spike dodged it and socked Garble in the face. The red drake was bobbing his head up and down and looked out of it.

“You know, Garble, I never needed you to make me a ‘real dragon’ at all,” said Spike. “I already am one!” He punched Garble again and made him fall to the floor.

Spike stood over him and glared. “You talk so much about being the better dragon and how to be a true dragon, but you’re not a dragon at all; you’re a disgrace!” He kicked Garble again.

“You don’t care about any dragon but yourself! You make others do your dirty work! You don’t care who you hurt or use as long as you get what you want! What kind of dragon is that?”

Garble yelled as he got up and charged at Spike, but he was kicked in the stomach and fell over again.

“The Dragon Lands may not be my home, and I may not know much about dragon culture, but I do know one thing; you’re not a dragon at all!” He kicked Garble in the face. “A real dragon wouldn’t do what you just pulled!” He kicked him again. “A real dragon wouldn’t try to get a pony killed for power!” He delivered another blow to Garble. “You never were a true dragon you talk about, Garble, and you never will be!”

He picked up Garble and punched him several times. Each punch pushed the dragon closer to the edge. Garble noticed it and tried to push back, but Spike punched him again and he stumbled back. Just as Garble was about to plummet though, Spike leaped forward and grabbed his ankle. Garble looked up and had a scowl on him.

He smirked a little. “Saving me? For friendship, Spike?”

Spike narrowed his eyes. “No, for me.” He released his grip on Garble’s ankle.

The red drake screamed as he fell down into the pit. Garble flailed his arms wildly as he plummeted to his death. Spike watched for as long as he could, but a lava geyser shot up around where Garble was falling and blinded him. Spike crawled away and slowly got up. He held his arm and grunted in pain.

“Spike!”

The drake looked up to see Ember, still holding Rarity, descending and landing near him.

“Are you okay?” she wondered.

Spike nodded slowly. “I’ve been better, but I’ll be okay.” He looked down at Rarity. “Is she okay?”

Rarity looked over and jumped out of Ember’s arms. She leaned forward and hugged Spike tight. The drake gagged a little from the sudden embrace and returned it with a hug of his own.

Rarity broke the hug and smiled. “Does that answer your question, darling?”

Spike smiled back, but a thought hit him and looked at Ember. “Thanks for saving Rarity, but I do have to ask. What’re you doing here anyway?”

“No time for that now, Spike,” she answered. “We have to get out of here now!”

Spike looked confused. “What’re you talking about? The volcano isn’t supposed to erupt for around two hours.”

“That’s just it! The volcano isn’t erupting in two hours!”

Spike felt his stomach sink and a shiver run down his spine. “When does it then?” he wondered, solemnly.

The ground around the trio started rumbling violently. Several stalactites started to fall from the ceiling and crashed against the ground below. Lava started spewing up in this distance. A loud cracking noise caught the group’s attention and turned to see the area where the Bloodstone Scepter was held crumble before their eyes and fall into the pit below.

“I think it’s just about to,” said Ember. “They got it wrong for when it would erupt!”

Spike looked around frantically at the rumbling cavern. He pushed Rarity into Ember and said, “Okay, listen up, I want you to take Rarity and get out of here!” Ember opened her mouth to speak. “No! Listen, you’re the only one who can fly out of here fast enough to get her out! I’ll find my way out! I can survive the lava and extreme heat, but she can’t!”

Ember shook her head. “I know dragons are lava proof, Spike.” A rock stalactite fell nearby. “But we’re not rock proof!”

“That’s why you need to–”

Ember grabbed Spike’s hand and her cheeks flushed red as she looked at him. “No! I’m not leaving you behind again! If I hadn’t come when I did, Rarity would be dead, and from the way you look, it looks like you nearly got killed yourself!”

Spike looked at himself and saw he had some cuts around his body, blood, and several bruises.

“You said it yourself too. A true friend never gives up on those they care and love. When they’re in trouble and need help, a friend is there for them always. I’m here for you and Rarity, and I’m not going to leave any of my friends behind!”

Spike took the words in and a smile slowly formed on his face. “Ember, you really have come a long way.”

Another rock falling nearby caused everyone to gasp.

Ember had a worried look on her. “I think we should save the mushy stuff for later.” She looked around and pointed a finger. “The entrance! Let’s get out of here!”

The trio started running for it and tried maintained their balance from the shaking ground. Stalactites continues to fall around the area, some even coming close to the group, and the sound of lava bubbling filled the room. Spike and Ember soon reached the entrance outside the room, but turned around to see Rarity having trouble keeping up.

“Hurry, Rarity!” called out Ember.

She grunted in pain as she tried to run harder, but she tripped and fell over. Before Ember could move, Spike ran in and quickly picked her up. He turned around and ran off with her just as a large boulder crashed where Rarity was. As soon as the two got back to the entrance, more boulders crashed around and the whole entrance caved in. The trio let out a sigh of relief and quickly moved away.

Ember looked at Rarity and frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”

Rarity rubbed her leg. “Garble wanted to make sure I didn’t run away, so he twisted my ankle.” She gasped and nearly fell over, but grabbed onto the wall. “I can move, but not by a whole lot.”

Spike growled. “If I knew what he did to you, I would’ve beaten him up more.” He looked over to Ember. “I want you to carry her out of here. Let’s head back to where I came in from.”

Ember nodded and picked up Rarity. A thunderous explosion rocked the place and the trio looked down to see lava building up and making its way up.

“Hurry!” urged Ember.

Spike and Ember, with Rarity in tow, began to run and made their way to the room with multiple tunnel entrances. The sound of rocks falling caught Spike’s attention and he looked up. He gasped as one of the tunnels near them collapsed before their eyes.

“That was the way I got in!” said Spike. “Now what do we do!?”

“I’ll take a look around for way out,” offered Ember.

She ran over to a nearby tunnel, but the shaking collapsed the tunnel just as she was about to walk.

“Damn it!” She ran over to another tunnel and saw some of the rock shifting around inside it. “Not this one either!”

Spike heard some bubbling and looked below to see the lava slowly making its way up. “Um...Ember!” he called out.

“Here!” she called out. “This tunnel looks safe!”

Spike quickly ran over and together with Ember and Rarity, they went into the tunnel. The rumbling became more violent with bits of rock and dust falling from the ceiling. As they ran, Spike heard more explosions and looked around. There were tunnels collapsing from the earthquake, and more lava geysers spewing up. Spike prayed that they would be okay and that the tunnel would hold up for them.

“Spike, up ahead!” called out Ember. “Can you see it?”

The drake looked forward and squinted. Far ahead of them was very small white dot that he could barely make out.

“Is that...daylight?” he wondered.

“It looks like it,” said the dragoness. “Keep going! We need to–”

A fireball went passed the trio, cutting of Ember’s sentence. They turned around and gasped at a figure standing in the distance. It was Garble, panting, clothes torn up, and bleeding from some cuts, but had a demonic look on him.

“Not yet, Spike!” he boomed. “It’s not over yet!”

“Garble!” Spike yelled back.

“What do we do?” asked Ember.

“Keep running!” ordered Spike. “I’ll try and hold him off!”

The trio took off again, and Garble chased them. The rumbling became more violent and larger rocks were starting to fall from the ceiling. Spike briefly turned around and fired another fireball, but Garble dodged it. The red drake in turn let out a fireball of his own, but Spike ducked out of the way.

Garble let out a roar and the sound of his footsteps inching closer made Spike a little nervous. He looked back and saw Garble with an evil grin on him and was reaching a hand out. He raised his tail up and smacked Garble in the face hard. The dragon yelped in pain and was left dazed from the impact. He quickly regained his bearings though and took off after the trio again.

The group continued running for what seemed to be for an eternity. Spike and Garble constantly tried to slow one another down. Garble kept on blasting out fireballs and Spike did the same thing. Ember held Rarity close to her as she tried to shield her from the attacks. All the while, the tunnel continue to shake and rocks kept coming down around them. The shaking got worse with each passing second and the sound of rock crumbling echoed throughout the tunnel.

Ember gasped. “Look, Spike! Daylight!”

Garble narrowed his eyes and leaped forward. “Oh, no you don’t!” He tackled the trio and knocked all of them over just as they reached the mouth of the entrance. A loud explosion rang out and rocks tumbled all over.

Spike opened his eyes up slowly and was met with dust swirling around and several boulders nearby. He tried to raise his head, but his vision was blurry and he felt like his head was hit with a sledgehammer. He then tried to get up, but felt something weigh him down. He looked behind to see some large rocks had buried his legs. He tried to move them, but they were stuck deep into the rock.

“Spike?” a weak voice asked.

The drake looked over and saw Ember, like him, lying on the ground and rocks covering her legs next to him.“Ember, are you okay?”

The dragoness nodded. “I’m a little shaken up, but I’m fine. I just wish I could move my legs.”

A thought then popped in Spike’s head. “Where’s Rarity? Is she still with you?”

Ember’s eyes widened and she looked around frantically. She reached her hands out in hopes of reaching out to the unicorn, but she couldn’t see or feel her. A sense of dread filled both her and Spike up.

“She’s got to be okay,” said Spike. “We made it out, so I think she did too.”

Ember gasped. “What about Garble? He was right behind us.”

Spike looked over the now clear area to see he was on the beach side of the island. There were lots of rocks and a few boulders, but no sign of him or Rarity.

“I don’t think he made it,” said Spike. “Garble is dead.”

Suddenly, rock started to move from nearby. Spike and Ember looked up and were horrified at what they saw.

“Uh, oh,” said Spike.

Garble, bloodied and bruised, slowly walked from behind a boulder and was limping over. “SPIKE!” he boomed.

Ember struggled to move. “What does it take to finish him!?”

Garble leaned over and picked up a large rock. He slowly walked over to the two struggling dragons and grinned.

He raised the rock up. “SPIKE!”

The drake gasped and felt his body freeze up. Ember tried to let out a fireball, but let out a nasty cough instead and was gasping. Garble laughed coldly and prepared to throw the rock down.

A beam of light suddenly went passed Garble’s hand. The drake gasped and had a panicked look on him. Ember and Spike gasped as they saw his right hand slowly slide off and land to the side and the rock fall over on top of it. Garble stepped back and gripped his arm. He let out a painful roar as he fell to his knees and held onto his arm. His sorrowful cries echoed throughout; nearly drowning out the sound of the volcano exploding behind them.

“What was that?” wondered an incredulous Ember.

Spike looked over and smiled. “I don’t believe it.”

Ember looked over and her jaw nearly dropped. Standing behind Garble was a furious Rarity who was panting and her horn glowing. The unicorn limped over and stood over a weeping Garble. She shot a nasty look at him and gritted her teeth. In a rage, Garble tried to punch Rarity with his other hand, but he was levitated up into the air and brought inches from Rarity’s face.

“This is for hurting my Spikey Wikey, Ember, myself, and everything you’ve put us through,” she said in an icy tone.

Rarity decked Garble square in the nose. The drake let out a painful cry as he fell over to the ground and laid there. He moaned in pain and he twitched a little, but he showed no signs of trying to get up again. Rarity stepped on Garble hard with her good foot and made her way to Spike and Ember, who were still staring in disbelief at her.

“Rarity,” Spike said in awe, “when could you do that?”

“More like how did you do it,” said Ember. “You had a magic suppression ring on you. How did you break it?”

“When Garble tackled us, I was knocked out of Ember’s grip,” answered the unicorn. “I landed against some rocks nearby and I hit one of them against my horn. My horn was fine, but the lock on the magic suppressor was damaged. I managed to pry it off and remove the cone.” She held out a small metal cone and the remains of a small lock..

A loud explosion rang out and the ground shook. The group looked up to see thick smoke filling the sky and lava bursting from the top of the volcano.

Rarity’s horn lit up. “Let’s get you all out of here now! We need to find a way off this island and fast!”

“How though?” wondered Spike. “We can’t just swim for it!”

“Master, over here!” a voice called out.

The trio looked up to see a chariot and several guards, including Matches, approaching them. The door opened up and Master Ash, Twilight, and her friends ran out of it. They all gasped at the sight before them.

“Lord Ember!” cried out Ash. He turned to the guards and glared. “Don’t just stand there, let’s get her and Mr. the Dragon out of there now!” He ran in to help, but felt a hand tug his shoulder. He looked behind to see Twilight.

“Allow us, Master,” she offered.

Twilight and Starlight’s horns lit up and the rocks were surrounded in a magic aura. The rubble was lifted up slowly, allowing Spike and Ember to start crawling their way out. Two of Ash’s guards stepped in and helped the pair stand up and support them.

Ash nodded slowly. “Efficent to say the least.” The smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils and his face scrunched up. “What is that horrible stench?”

Matches pointed to the ground. “Master, look!”

The elder dragon gazed down and his eyes widened. Garble lied near him and was weakly groaning. Twilight and her friends looked just as shocked at the state the red dragon was in.

“Whoa,” said an awestruck Rainbow.

“You can say that again,” said Applejack.

He looked at Spike with a shocked expression on him. “It appears you did quite a number on him, Mr. the Dragon.”

“Well, I had some help.” He winked at Rarity. The unicorn in turned blushed a little.

Ash looked at Ember. “What should we do with Garble, my Lord?”

Ember looked down at the fallen dragon and said, “Bring him back. I want him to answer for all his crimes. I think after what happened to him, he won’t be causing any more trouble for us ever again.”

Ash nodded. “Very well.” He turned to two more guards. “Get him onboard, now!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Right away, Master!”

As the guards approached Garble, the red drake opened his eyes and sat up straight. He pushed the two guards away and got up.

“NO! This isn’t over! I won’t–”

Spike grabbed Garble by the neck and picked him up. Ember and Rarity surrounded him.

Spike roared, “Will! You! Just!”

Spike, Rarity, and Ember each raised a fist, and together hit Garble in the face. The red drake groaned and his head slumped back as he fell unconscious for good.

“Stay down!” finished Spike.

Another explosion rang out, making everyone gasp. The lava was coming down the volcano faster and ash was starting to rain down around them.

“That’s our cue to leave.” Ash looked at Twilight and the others. “All of you, back onto the chariot at once!”

The group wasted no time and hurried back into the large chariot. Spike helped Ember carry Rarity over. Matches picked up Garble’s unconscious body and tossed him onboard as well. The chariot immediately took off into the sky and everyone watched as the lava flowed from the top of the volcano and covered the whole island up. The island soon disappeared from the cloud of ash spewing from it and they all looked away.

Spike let out a sigh of relief and slumped against his chair. He suddenly felt two heads rest against him. To his left, Rarity had closed her eyes and smiled softly, and on the other was Ember who was smiling a little too. The drake looked down and closed his eyes in thought. He didn’t say anything or move at all.

Rainbow leaned over to Applejack. “What’s with him?” she whispered.

“Maybe he’s just tired,” she answered. “Spike does look like he was thrown like a rag doll.”

“But now what will he do with Ember and Rarity?” wondered Fluttershy.

“I’m not sure, Fluttershy,” said Twilight. “But maybe we shouldn’t speak of it now.”

“It’s okay, Twilight,” said Spike.

Everyone looked at him.

He opened his eyes. “I know what I need to do.”

Rarity and Ember raised their heads up and looked at Spike with a confused look on him.

“I think it’s time to talk,” said Spike. “But let’s wait until we get back to camp.”

Ember and Rarity exchanged nervous looks at one another.

Author's Note

Well, here it is at long last. I said that the next chapter wouldn't take too long in my blog post I made back on Christmas Eve. For those who missed it or didn't read it, we're nearing the end of this story at last. I'd say there's at least 3-4 chapters left.

Now I have no idea when the next part will be out. I'll work on it as much as I can, but I'm currently going through some training for my career. Still, I do plan to work on the next chapter as much as I can. I'm hoping it won't take too long like this chapter, but no promises.

So enjoy this chapter!