To Be A King: King Garble

Canterlot, the capital of ponykind. And a city that Garble and his newly titled generals, had recently finished exploring as part of their introduction to equine society.

Many sights had been explored, many places had been seen, and many nobles had been... introduced. One thing was for sure though for both Dragon Lord and his generals, neither enjoyed too much of noble company.

Thankfully time flittered by, as the sun shined from above. It’s rays came through open or closed windows in the surprisingly dim atmosphere where six dragons now waited, patiently. Half an hour had passed since four guards had led the group into this luxuriously kept parlor that Princess Celestia had so kindly provided. Say what you will about ponies, but their buildings certainly are more decent than anything I’ve ever seen, Aldera thought in the ‘silence’ that prevailed in the room. Apart from the other’s, the dragoness had to admit, she was slightly interested in Equestrian society, nobles being another story. The guards certainly looked weak, but then again from what she’d heard and the little knowledge she had on pony history, they might not be completely useless after all, even after centuries of being at peace.

The hands of a nearby clock ticked the seconds away to minutes as time went on. Accompanying its sound, the tapping of claws and in intervals, grunts and snorts of impatience as those minutes accumulated into yet another hour.

Many found the device’s ticking annoying.

There were a few attempts in trying to smash it till one guard had ended up walking in to check on the group when it was about to happen. Aldera had never seen dragon’s immediately try to pass off scorch marks as accidents after someone ended up sneezing too hard. The moment passed soon enough with a somewhat skeptical understanding from the pegasus guard known as Caleum. He went on to inform them that the meeting would be ending soon, and if they needed anything they should just call.

A second after he left the ticking continued. A  minute later and every dragon in the room was getting tired of that sound. Even Aldera wanted to put an end to its grating ‘nck’ noise, but no one found it as annoying as the dragon impatiently tapping his talons on the painted white furnished roundtable they all sat around.

Tapping became impatient drumming, impatient drumming went back to tapping. Till finally the dragon that had been mumbling about something or other snapped, picked up the empty box of pastries they’d been given and hurled it as hard as he could at the mounted clock.

A reverberating smack sounded through the parlor as everyone’s attention turned to their fellow general who’d been in nothing but a sour mood for quite some time now.

“Two months”, a voice of fruity nature stated in exhaustion, filled with pure agitation. “Two MONTHS!” the drake cried in anger. “Two months and what has Dragon Lord Garble done? Nothing! That’s what. He’s done absolutely, nothing! Nothing except make us, his top generals in a non existent army that we don’t even use let alone have, I might add. Plus-- will someone please get rid of that infernal thing!” the dragon shouted with sparks of ember flying into the air.

A frightened mare rushed into the room immediately and looked at the group of dragons nervously. “Y-yes?” she asked.

The only wingless dragon in the room and source of the display, pointed to the clock. “Please. Remove it” he stated in as controlled a voice he could muster.

The mare looked confused for a second, then looked at the other dragons nervously as well to see if they desired the same thing. Some nodded. Others, well it was tough to tell, they were still trying to figure out when they’d be getting that next box of sweets. They wanted more of those “dough-nuts” and “coup-cakes”.

A dragoness with amaranth red scales, nodded in gesture that the pony just do it so they can just move on. The clock was taken down. It was only a second after the mare left before she turned to ask if they needed anything else, only for the door to be slammed in her face by a stray tail.

“Thank you!” the drake called to the fading steps of the secretary, rubbing his temples as he tried to calm himself. “As I was saying, the only thing we ever do is go on expeditions with other dragons only out for themselves. Flapping wings or in my case using magic, to cross the barren lands of Badlands, prohibited islands near Zebrica -which could seriously get us in trouble if Lord Torch ever found out- searching for nothing but, treasure. Treasure. Gems, pearls, rubies, name it. It’s all treasure! Trea-sure, to build what? A HOARD!! I know he said he’d be doing this from the get-go, but he isn’t even distributing our bounty! Where is the plan?!! The elders don’t need them but what about the others?! Seriously, what was with him and all that talk and vigor from before.” The palulu complained, finishing his sentence with a loud huff and snort of mint green smoke.

A moment of silence passed as grumbling soon began. Coming from the sole talker in this entire conversation, a silver scaled dragon’s maw moved as he continued to complain about everything. Particularly how Garble had told him off for trying to act like he was the Dragon Lord, when he just got in because he and the new lord’s closest friend were cousins. As for the other five generals in the room, they maintained their distance. Occasionally casting glances at each other.

“ ‘Don’t worry guys,’ “ Shrnouwel grumbled mockingly. “ ‘ I’m gonna be the best lord of the dragons ever! You’ll see.’” He stated, going on to stand up and mirror every move he could recall Garble had made the week after his inauguration. “‘Just you wait, count on it. Those ponies won’t even knoooow what hit ‘em as soon as they figure out just how awesome we are! I’ll even make Lord Torch look like old news once my reign is over.’ Oh and look at how great  my horrible leadership skills have ticked off over 30% of the dragons our age!

“If we weren’t his generals, we’d. Be. Dead!” Shrnouwel shouted with a slam of his fist on the sun emblazoned table. A table that soon became covered in frost.

Heavy breathing of the huffing and puffing sort followed, as the older drake let out long heavy breaths. Shrnouwel or “Stool” as his fellow generals refer to him (much to his chagrin), sat back in his seat slowly beginning to feel a little better after speaking his mind.

To bad no one else seemed willing to speak theirs.

“Well?” he asked after he’d finally calmed down and the temperature in the room no longer felt frigid. “You all aren’t going to say something? Anything?” He asked, eyes staring at his comrades in curiosity.

One dragon with lemon yellow spines that covered most of his face, crushed the cup that had that strange dark caffeinated drink he was told was coffee and sighed. “Stool--”

“I’ve told you that is not my NAME!”

“Riiiight”, Ikris replied with a sly grin. “Look. I get you’re new to our region and everything since you’re from... where again?”

“North Amareica” the dragon hissed through barred teeth.

“Riiiight” Ikris, nodded. “Anyway, I’m just sayin’ here”, he said glancing around to the group. “Garble’s doing his best. Cut him some slack why don’t you. Not like you were there when all dragon’s were being called for the Gauntlet, so frankly you’ve got no right to complain. Besides, you’ve got you’re own Gauntlet don’t you? Wasn’t your uncle the last Vic Duke? I don’t see you holding the title of Duke, now do I?” The mockery in his voice almost dripping.

For a brief second both generals stared at each other in silence. Then slowly but gradually the entire room’s temperature began to drop to the point where Ikris could see his own breath. He grinned at the implied challenge. “Oh, I get it. Wanna, have a little tussle while we wait huh? I’m cool with that. It was gettin’ borin' in here anyways, plus it’s been awhile since I had a ‘friendly fight’ between ‘friends’ “ the dragon stated as he rose from his seat.

“I’m warning you Ik.” Stool said firmly. “Never bring up the Trial of Ignea before me like that again, unless you want me to have Garble demote you entirely from your pseudo position of general. You know, the one where you did nothing but gloat to all the others when it was announced about the power he gave you.”

Ikris’ grin turned to a tight lipped stare. The forest green dragon didn’t even bother moving any further from his seat. Him and Stool stood on opposite sides of the roundtable gauging each other. The temperature dropped another degree once more and one of the dragons on the sidelines growled at the display.

“Enough already.” Draut ordered, his beefy tail curling closer into his side for warmth. “You two want to fight, wait till we get back to the lair then you can bash each other’s brains out or whatever your pent up frustration is all about. Don’t do it in here unless you want to seriously tick Garble off, Shrnow. And those princesses.”

Both dragons didn’t budge. They continued to degrade each other through eye contact alone, Draut’s wings twitched in irritation at the display his cousin and friend were making. It wouldn’t do good for anyone to get on Garble’s bad side, since he hadn’t been looking forward to this meeting in the first place. “I said: Break it, up”, he commanded.

Shrnouwel’s nostrils flared and released a long trail of cold air before he sighed after a few seconds had passed. His claws unclenched and the frost that had been forming around him began to break and dissipate as the room gradually began to regain its normal temperature.

Ikris dropped his wings back to his side and let them fold in as well. He moved a seat down away from the others while Stool remained on his side of the table, alone.

Awkward silence became everyone’s companion after some time had passed and the tensions had settled. There was a cough that could be heard outside every now and then through the gates, making the atmosphere even more uncomfortable. No doubt from a listening guard.

“So...” Stool said trying to clear the air. No one made an attempt to respond. He decided to go along with it, not wanting to start something again or bring up his issues with Garble he began quietly tapping away at the table.

Rugilith was the one that eventually came to speak. “So...” she said, picking up where Shrnouwel had started. “Why exactly did the princesses decide now was the time to meet Garble after he’s been the Dragon Lord for two months now? It’s almost been three and they pick now to meet him? What’s up with that?”

Some shrugged, others didn’t make a real response. Ikris was the one that spoke after a couple seconds went by. “Apparently it’s some kind of rule or law or somethin', that the dragon lord before Lord Magma made about the previous dragon lord showing successors the rules or somethin’, one of the reasons why we didn’t see him so much whenever he sent us on those hoard scavenges.” His shoulders moved with indifference. “I don’t know, complicated stuff.”

“I’m amazed.” Stool commented with honest surprise.

Everyone in the room looked at him. “You know what ‘scavenge’ means?” genuine shock imbued into his tone.

“You know what” Ikris began, only for the doors leading to their parlor suddenly being thrown open by one particular red scaled dragon. Garble waltzed right in, scepter in hand with a jaded expression on his face as he looked to his generals in exhaustion.

“I’m done. We’re leaving” his voice stated with utmost finality. From his tone, there was no room for argument and it didn’t sound like they’d be going for any detours either. Ikris and Shrnouwel completely forgetting what they were about to argue about before, simply looked to the others, all nodding in agreement.

“Right.”

Garble cocked a brow, expecting something else to be said in that sentence. Aldera and Rugilith rolled their eyes, knowing what he was after and obviously relishing how he enjoyed this next part. “Right, Your Majesty” they all said in unison. Garble grinned.

“Excellent” he said with a smile. The group of generals and the Dragon Lord were escorted outside the castle within the next seven to ten minutes. Complimentary pastries were provided for the long flight back. Garble made a note to ask those pony princesses to bring some over when they met with him and Lord Torch in the following weeks to come.

“He did what?!” Lord Torch exclaimed.

Princess Cadance and Twilight had to cover their ears from the sheer force and volume, but Luna and Celestia did no such thing. They didn’t even flinch. The four princesses sat in small gaps that acted as their seats from within a hilltop that was a part of the historic meeting ground of Gavaerrok. Lord Torch sat perched upon the collapsed remains of a cliff staring at the four rulers with narrowed eyes.

Once the echoing had dimmed and Twilight no longer felt her ears ringing, she opened an eye and directed a glance towards her mentor, Princess Celestia. Celestia in turn nodded once she was sure her niece and student were okay to continue listening.

“From our meetings with Dragon Lord Garble--”

“Or His Great and Powerful Magistrate” Twilight saltily added.

“Yes”, Celestia replied in soothing undertones. “Garble seems to still lack some of the necessary...mannerisms that would be due in a meeting of diplomatic importance. And while I do understand he is still a young dragon, it has been almost four months since his ascension to power I would at least expect him by now to understand the importance of his position, Lord Torch.” The sun princess stated kindly. Voice full of understanding. You don’t go a thousand years and then some without having to deal with your runin with new rulers, figurative heads, and high officials some if not many, acting as if they should be bowed to and praised at every second, of every hour of the day. Especially when the one the leaders of Equestria now talked about, was one who had used one of Cadence’s guards to polish his scepter and allowed one of his generals to use a staff member to act as cushions for their feet.

Lord Torch didn’t say anything. His nostrils flared as he rose back to his full height on his perched seat and looked down upon the princesses in silent consideration. The blazing afternoon sky did nothing much for the princesses as Torch’s gargantuan size provided enough shade for more than two hamlets and possibly an entire town, but regardless both moon and sun regarded him with the same consideration as he did them.

Raising a claw and scratching beneath his jaw with a single talon, Torch looked past the never ending supply of copious dust, cliffs and small signs of vegetation accompanied with meager mountains, before he looked back towards the princesses, focusing his eyes on the youngest then the second youngest before moving his eyes over to his old allies.

“What else?” Torch asked. It lacked that loud depth it carried before but it was still loud enough to get the point across.

Luna’s serious expression broke and a small smile plastered her face, peppered with amusement. “It seems you have informed him well of our past, Lord Torch. I praise thee for such accomplishments. However,” the businesses expression returned. “While we understand young Dragon Lord Garble is still learning the ropes of being Lord to all dragons, we do not understand why he showed us and Princess Cadenza more respect than he did to Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Lord Torch’s tail swung lazily to his back and the massive dragon leaned forward to peer down at the princess of the stars with a quizzical look in his eye. “You expect me to know about a princess I only found out about a moon ago?” he demanded.

At least to Twilight that’s how it sounded. She found herself frowning at that statement. She’d done a lot since her ascension that could have at least earned her some recognition, heck she even fought an all powerful centaur that could’ve literally ruled all of Equus if he wanted. Not to mention stopped, then reformed and now fosters a surprisingly powerful unicorn that actually damaged the present and almost went on to do worse (although Princess Celestia still had no idea about that second part soooooo...)

Princess Luna rose from her seat and flared her wings. With a light jump and flap she hovered into the air to reach the lord’s eye level, and when she did, she simply stared him down right back.

The staring contest went on for a full minute with Celestia saying nothing through the entire thing. If Twilight didn’t know her mentor at all she would’ve missed the small sign of a smile that adorned her features. Luckily she didn’t. This was her first time meeting the Dragon Lord and he was... pretty intimidating, but he definitely displayed characteristics uncommonly known in draconic kind and while size was something to be wary off she’d certainly dealt with worse by now. Cadance, didn’t seem as troubled. Nervous, absolutely. Troubled? Not so much. She had caught on quite quickly to what was transpiring between Aunty Luna and the great lord that had managed to keep dragons and equestrians in line, and soon found she didn’t even need to inform her sister-in-law on what was even going on.

After the minute was up, dragon lord and alicorn princess snorted at the same time before a strong gust of wind blew through. It was disrupted when Lord Torch suddenly bursted out into loud cackles that seemed to create quakes on the ground itself.

Luna returned to the ground- gently, having a triumphant smile on her face, seemingly having won a silent battle between wits. Torch’s laughter died within the following seconds but its echoes carried on for quite some time. “Fine then lunar knight. I see your time on the moon didn’t weaken your stubborn nature.” The behemoth taunted.

Princess Luna merely beamed at the comment. “We assure thee, we are as stubborn as the skies are bright” the alicorn replied. “But we digress, Torch. We--“

“Yes, yes.” He stated dismissively. “I understand, Princess Twilight should have been given her due respect since her invitation to Garble had been nothing more than a congratulatory meeting. But you and Celestia know by now that dragon’s-- especially the ones that come from horde’s with hoards aren’t the brightest or most well-behaved.

“Besides”, the lord’s eye turned to Princess Twilight and stayed there. “Garble informed me on his return that he’d met you before.” A brow furrowed. “What exactly does that mean?”

Twilight having the spotlight on her now, nervously laughed. “Well...” she said kicking a pebble, “My... assitant/brother, may not have had the best interaction with him during dragon migration. And by extension when we went to help him, my friends and I didn’t exactly see eye-to-eye with him either.”

“Brother?” Torch inquired.

Princess Celestia didn’t shift in her seat as Cadence did, but her ears did flicker for a second. “Yes... Twilight as you know was” -her eyes glanced over to the alicorn in question- “is, my student. She was the one who took in the baby dragon egg we found and her family helped me raise him as one of our own.” Celestia explained calmly.

The lord’s eyes moved back to Twilight who slightly flinched as his pupils dilated before returning slightly to what could be considered “normal”. Torch’s nostrils flared for a second then he snorted a puff of smoke in the air before leaning back onto his seat. “I see.” He said silently. It was the first time Twilight or Cadance had heard him speak in what could be considered a normal volume.

“Twilight Sparkle, yes?” the lord asked. To that Twilight nodded with a small smile.

“That is um, correct. Your Lordship” she replied. Lord Torch said nothing further in response. He simply stared at Twilight for a couple more seconds in silence, almost like he was studying her. It was nerve wracking and exhilarating all at the same time. Finally after eighteen seconds, the lord shifted for the first time to readjust himself on his cliff before speaking.

“Bargh” he grumbled, “what were we talking about?”

“I believe we were discussing Dragon Lord Garble’s behaviour if he plans to maintain peaceful relationships with other nations?” Celestia reminded. Torch nodded, slowly.

“Right. Right...” his tail slammed into the ground and sent up a clump of dirt into the air before he made another another attempt to speak. Only he didn’t. Lord Torch seemed to be lost in thought for a couple seconds before speaking again or maybe trying to find the right words in what he wanted to say. “That dragon...” he started. “That dragon you call your brother, what’s the little drake’s name?” Torch asked.

The silence that filled the air could freeze water. Princess Celestia tensed for a quick second but it went completely unnoticed after spending centuries in situations like this, she cast a careful glance at Twilight and Cadence and nodded to them that either one could speak. Twilight, too caught off guard gave Cadence the opening.

“His name’s--”

“LOUDER!” The lord ordered, something that only caused Princess Cadence to wince. She casted a quick look at Aunty Celestia who merely offered her an apologetic smile before gesturing for her to continue.

“Of course. Sorry,” Cadence said spreading her wings and taking to the air. Twilight soon followed her. “His name is Spike” Cadence informed. The former dragon lord merely nodded silently in response.

“He is well?” the lord asked. Twilight thought for a slight second she heard something else layered under that strong deep voice but it could’ve just been her imagination. Torch’s question however and the way it was asked shortly after the previous, resounded like a bell to Cadence who seemed a little less displeased with being yelled at and a little more sympathetic for some reason.

“Yes...” she said gently. “He’s just fine, isn’t he Twilight?” the older mare asked. Twilight looked at Cadence slightly confused and didn’t register what was happening but after a quick look, gesture and movement of her sister-in-law’s head, she got a vague squiggly picture of things. Kind of.

“Yes, he’s um, fine. He’s in the castle handling certain issues with the other Elements at home.”

Torch blinked then nodded but said nothing more. Back on the hill Celestia and Luna exchanged looks before they too joined their fellow alicorns in the air.

“Lord Torch, excuse us for asking, but you seem to be out of sorts” Princess Luna inquired. “Something bothers you?”

The old dragon grumbled in reply, muttering incoherent words at a surprisingly low volume. “Nothing bothers me, Luna. I am- was a Dragon Lord, I’m fine.” he stated. Celestia and Luna looked to each other as Cadence and Twilight shared a glance of concern.

“Torch”, Celestia said. She glided over to the dragon’s muzzle and rested a golden horseshoe on a small point near his nose. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

There was no reply. The dragon lord’s eyes as large as they were, didn’t look at any one of the princesses but instead looked off to the distant lands that were occasionally overshadowed by passing stratus clouds above. For a long while, Torch said nothing and Celestia felt nothing but the exhales of his hot breath. After a minute passed, Celestia distanced herself and flew higher to align herself with the lord’s face.

Lord Torch wasn’t surprised at what happened next. Even when he was just a young dragon, the princess had always shown kindness when it was due. He felt the tingling feeling of magic gently drape itself like a blanket around the right side of his face, guiding him slowly to look at the sun princesses that now floated in front of him. For a long while the two completely ignored the existence of the other’s, Luna made sign for the other two princesses to follow her in distance, so that they could get a better look of the lord.

Twilight had to admit, while Lord Torch wasn’t the most charming dragon (considering there weren’t many dragons she knew aside from Spike and the one that inhabited that river in the Everfree), he certainly had his own decent attributes that could be taken note of. One of them, the many scars and scratches around his muzzle alone. It made her wonder what kind of challenges he had to face in the earlier points of his career as a leader to all of dragon kind. Well... not the only leader but certainly the head monarch. From what she’d learned in her most recent studies prior to Garble's arrival, dragons had more than one leader in their own nations outside of Dragonia colloquially known as Dragon Lands.

There were four other titles that dragons in other nations could have that went through a similar trial like the Gauntlet of Fire. Duke, Baron, Count, and Earl. These titles like the dragon lord also had to be ‘earned’, but they were nothing compared to the title of Dragon Lord. A position considered to be the highest in the nominal hierarchy.

It made her wonder if Lord Torch had thoughts on Garble being his successor that weren’t tied to any political cause or reasoning. It also made her wonder if that was the reason why he hadn’t said anything in almost two minutes.

Torch and Celestia looked each other in the eyes for an unknown amount of time. Finally having enough, Torch shook his head free of her magical embrace and flared his nostrils in slight annoyance. He turned his gaze the other way, refusing to look at any of them.

Celestia frowned. She lowered herself back to the others and looked to Luna with a sagely nod, a nod which her sister returned. Luna cleared her throat then spoke on the same level as Torch. “We apologize if the mention of Spike has brought up... unpleasant memories of Princess Ember, Lord Torch.”

The dragon didn’t respond to that either. Celestia continued, “It was not our intent to bring back anything you did not wish to dwell on. We understand how dangerous the Gauntlet of Fire can be and so we offer our condolences on her untimely accident.”

Cadence frowned as her ears drooped. Twilight stared at the lord in shock. Slowly she turned to look at her mentor, then to Luna, then to Cadence, lost for words at what she was hearing. For a second Twilight, wasn’t sure how the lord wasn’t lashing out at them for even mentioning the princesses name. Then she recalled the different behavior Lord Torch displayed in comparison to other dragons and felt like scolding herself for even thinking that way.

“I...I’m sorry I didn’t know. Lord Torch, I apologize if--” The lord finally turned his gaze to the four and offered them a weary grin. That grin spoke volumes more than any words ever could to Cadence. She felt a warm sensation coming to her eyes when the dragon lord rose himself to his full height again and simply nodded, in appreciation for their words.

“Thank you, Celestia, Luna.” His eyes locked on to the other two and he offered them that same grin, “And you, Twilight, Cadence. I’m alright, I just dislike thinking about it is all.” His wings flicked after that remark and his smile died away soon after.

Awkward silence save for the whistle of wind and flapping of wings was the only thing that filled the land of Gavaerrok. No one said a word for a while, all for different reasons. Twilight wishing she could do something to lighten the mood, Cadence wishing she had had the chance to meet another princess from another nation, Celestia for the loss of the hatchling she used to visit when she’d just hatched. Luna for the dragon she never truly got to know.

After a second of silent thoughts and deep contemplation, the group was snapped out of their dour mood by Lord Torch’s small chuckles of clearly forced but well disguised mirth. “Relax, princesses. What’s passed has passed, we aren’t here to discuss the departed. Besides, you have nothing to be sorry for. You played no hand--” a brow arched up, “err, hoof in what happened. Now then,” he stated in change of topic, “where was our discussion headed?”

Twilight frowned, feeling as though this shouldn’t be something simply brushed aside. She opened her mouth to speak but feeling a tug on her tail made her stop when she noticed Cadence staring at her like a babysitter coming across a child having done something wrong. She shook her head and whispered, “Don’t. I don’t think it would be a good idea.” She said gently.

Twilight’s ear flicked and she sighed in defeat. “Alright.” Another minute of silence went by as Torch waited for anypony to speak, his tail gently tapped the ground and created another ditch, before he took note of the clouds forming above.

“What do you think, of Garble’s ascension as ruler?” Twilight blurted out.

The cry of an eagle filled that void when no one responded. Celestia and Luna looked at Twilight with patiently raised brows and Cadence simply held her tongue, wanting to see what exactly the former Dragon Lord would say. At first, Lord Torch said nothing. He clearly heard Twilight as she saw his eyes look her way, briefly, but he didn’t really make any other response or show any motive to reply.

Then all of a sudden Torch grinned. He thrusted a large talon at Twilight and asked her the same question but rearranged it considerably and said: “What do you think of Garble’s ascension as Dragon Lord, Princess Twilight?”

Twilight was caught off guard. The large talon thrusted in her direction, while still a good three to two feet away surprised her and made her throw a hoof to her barrel as her heartbeat quickened. Well, at least now I understand why Fluttershy’s so wary of dragons she thought with a nervous chuckle. Flapping her wings, the distance between said talon and herself increased greatly before she dared to respond. Torch merely chuckled at the display before he rested his claw back on the ground and waited for her response, a smug smile still present on his face.

“Uh, well I-- I don’t um”, she fumbled trying to think of the right words. “Uh, hehe. Wellll, I mean... when I first heard that Garble was going to be Dragon Lord, (and then I found out what a Dragon Lord actually is)” she muttered the last bit to herself- Torch raised a brow in response his grin fading. Twilight coughed and spoke up, louder.

“Well I just, honestly wasn’t sure how to react. When we met Garble, he didn’t really come off as the sort of type of dragon that could really handle something like, ahem, this” Twilight gestured with a squint and shrug of her shoulders. Torch responded by moving closer to the flying alicorns and raised an amused brow but kept his expression blank.

“Oh really?” Torch asked with amusement.

Twilight simply smiled nervously. “Hehe, yeah, kind of. I mean when we were there, I noticed how the other dragons around him kind of just followed and did what he said, so I guess he has some charisma to be a leader, but he kinda seemed a bit...” she coughed into a hoof and looked at the others for help. There was none. Cadence acted like she had found an interesting fly to stare after. Princess Celestia merely kept a small smile in place, while Luna watched with pure amusement as she squirmed at the massive dragon’s gaze. Twilight could tell Lord Torch was enjoying the situation out of her expense from the mischievous grin that threatened to break his stoic stare.

“He just kinda seemed, um- a little too close-minded and maybe a bit quick to anger if he was crossed in the wrong way” Twilight finished, after expressing her disapproval of the others lack of support with a look of her own. She quickly flashed the Lord a smile as compensation.

Lord Torch chuckled, “And now?” he asked.

Twilight looked at the others again, but this time she knew there wasn’t going to be any help.

She was wrong.

“Well as Twi-- Princess Twilight said, Garble does seem to be a bit short tempered or easy to upset. He didn’t  express any of that sort of behavior when I  was there, but Twilight seems pretty sure about it and I don’t really doubt it too much from what my own staff informed me went on, when I wasn’t around. Also, he does seem to still be a little”, -Cadence’s face turned to a thoughtful expression as she searched for the right way to say this.

She bit her lip and spoke carefully, “He still seems a little, arrogant about his position. I’m not saying I don’t understand the feeling or reasoning behind it. But, there are limits. He told my husband to get him a glass of water because he thought he was our secretary not long after I introduced myself, just before I could introduce Shiny.” She explained.

Lord Torch’s grin widened. “And you, Celestia? Luna? What does the new Dragon Lord’s impression imply to you?”

Princess Celestia had to clear her throat before she dared attempt to speak, after the amusing explanations from her niece and student, she simply had to. “As you know, Lord Torch. I’ve dealt with these sorts for, centuries. I’m quite happy to inform you that Garble, was well behaved and as Lulu said, I commend you greatly for informing him ahead of time of our history as well as his generals.”

Torch snorted. “Generals” he said the word with some varying degrees of aversion. “Why he wanted ‘generals’ to begin with, I’ll never know. The Dragon Lord is meant to be firm and the sole figure in our monarchy. A pillar for all the other heads in other draconic nations, even though I advised against it he ignored my suggestion and went ahead with his own ideas.” A snort mixed with fire and smoke blew forth. “Stubborn, would be something else to add to that list.”

Celestia held back a laugh and let out a light chuckle instead. “Yes, well, as the princesses have said Lulu and I do agree, that Garble is quite prideful of his position.”

“Quite”, Luna intoned, with a roll of her eyes.

Torch’s smirk returned. “HA!” a claw slammed into the ground and the wave of air it brought accompanied by his own laugh, forced Twilight and Cadence to flap harder to stay with Celestia and Luna.

“Yes, he is something else. But since he will be arriving in the next hour or so and we have the time I’ll inform you of my initial thoughts then and my own thoughts now.”

“At first I’ll admit to you, I wasn’t at all pleased when I found my daughter had not won as I intended.” He paused for a second and then continued, “Regardless, what happened, happened. And Garble won, but I did not think he deserved to win. On few occasions he pulled one or two cheap moves that earned my disapproval as I watched the course go through its transition. But, most of them if not a majority he did on his own. He got reckless and carefree when he thought he was pulling ahead a few times, then got serious once more when he saw he might not win. It was a constant flux, that I found both annoying and irritating to watch. But” he added with another playful smile. “It was amusing.”

“I hadn’t expected him to win, but he did win. And to be honest my initial thoughts on him was that he was unworthy. He may have passed some of the trials but even a dragon that had done nothing but hoard all his or her life, could complete those trials eventually. He wasn’t exceptionally skilled, but he was a strong fighter. I’ll admit he impressed me to some degree that he could face off against other dragons that were far above his own weight class, but he seemed like a fighter to me. Not fit for a ruler. To rule these dragons as I have done for centuries, you need to use your head sometimes.”

A claw slammed into the ground and picked up a boulder. “Not just simple brute force and strength.” He stated, crushing the giant rock and then watching it crumble back down to the earth below.

“Are you saying that you don’t need as much power in the physical department to lead dragons?” Cadence asked.

A loud laugh was the response she got. “Of course you do. At some point you’ll need to display some form of strength if you want all dragons in all nations to fall behind you. If you just have wits and don’t manage to balance both out in the long run, rely on one or the other, the dragons will begin to doubt you no matter how much our law and custom states you are to follow the Lord without question and unequivocally. Ember’s mother, Flare, taught me that before she went into Slumber. Ember reminded me of that as I watched her grow. It was why I set up the trial intending on her to win because I expected she would. It was meant to push her and all the other dragons that participated to make sure a leader would be chosen that was worthy. I suppose I should’ve known there would or could, have been... problems.” He stated with a scowl.

Luna was quick to move the discussion along. “Are you saying that you think Garble is still unworthy of the title of Dragon Lord? I admit, we still do have our own doubts. He is young and still full of youth. He’ll make mistakes, but given what you say--”

“Make no mistake Luna. I still believe Garble is unworthy. How--”

“What?!” Twilight cried, flying right up to the dragon in anger. “You can’t say that about your own student or apprentice or-- URGH! Whatever a title would be given to someone in his shoes. That’s awful! A student looks up to his or her mentor no matter what. While I do agree with you that Garble is more of a fighter and in my personal opinion I don’t really think he has the temperament to be a leader--” she paused. “Anyway!” she said quickly, “saying that’s just plain unacceptable.” She chastised.

“You didn’t let me finish” The lord growled. Twilight’s ears slightly dropped but she held her ground.. Or place in the sky, sharing her own glare with the dragon.

Magic wrapped around Twilight and pulled her back down. Princess Cadence rested a hoof on Twilight’s head to appease her. “Please continue” Cadence said.

“As I was saying. Garble to me is nothing but a fighter. To be Dragon Lord means more than just being big and strong, and being a fighter more or less implies both terms. The title of Dragon Lord is unworthy for a fighter, and Garble still is a fighter. But,” he began when he noticed Twilight begin to speak.

“I was a fighter also. If Magmus hadn’t helped me out here and there, I still may be a fighter now. Being ruler, means growth and progress. Learning to do what is right and what is necessary when the time counts and how to handle difficult situations when they come. As you’ve informed me, Celestia, Luna. Garble is young, but he will learn if he learns to throw away his arrogance and head-strong behavior to actually listen to my words of advice and those around him. If he does that, he’ll outgrow his ‘throw and brawl’ nature and finally be fit for the Dragon Lord title. It’s why I haven’t said a word about his actions as of yet, he needs to get it all out of his system while he still has the chance. And from what your meetings tell me, he is.

“With time, he’ll make a good Dragon Lord. Maybe even a great one, but as of now he’s still unworthy. That doesn’t mean he isn’t growing yet.” Torch finished with a smirk and flap of his wings.

“And from the looks of it here he comes now”, Torch announced. From the distance, Torch saw several specs heading their way. He smirked and blew several large embers into the air as a signal before looking back to the princesses.

“Now we can finally get this meeting on it’s way.”

“What do you mean ‘not worthy?’ “ Garble demanded.

Brock let his wings fold behind him and shrugged. “C’mon dude. You saw the way he looked at you when we went to lay Ember to rest. It’s obvious, he doesn’t think you’re fit for lordship. Besides”, the sepia colored dragon looked around and leaned in closer, moving away from the sturdy rock wall and whispered: “You and I both heard him say it once while we were heading in their direction yesterday. Who else could he be talking about?”

Dragon Lord Garble shoved Brock and stared at the scepter firmly gripped in his hand. His reflection on the gem showed the anger and complete disbelief in his eyes.

Garble snorted loudly and looked at Draut and Ikris. “What do you guys think?” he asked, small doses of uncertainty laced in that question.

Draut and Ikris looked at each other and shrugged. “I don’t know Garb. There were a lot of whispers going on when you announced you’d be making us you’re generals, cause you know war and all, but we just shrugged it off as paranoia.” Draut stated.

Garble’s scowl deepened as he turned his back to the others and stared out through the crevice that acted as a window in their lair. “I bet that pony princess, Twilight and her pansy, wamby assistant Spike had something to do with this. Them and that love princess or whatever it is she represents.” A puff of smoke left both nostrils. Garble’s expression darkened.

Brock, Draut, Ikris, and Shrnouwel -who just walked in- looked at each other. “What’s going on?” Stool asked.

Garble ignored the question as his tail wagged slightly in agitation and uncertainty. After a second he gave the others an order. “Leave”, he stated.

Draut hesitated. So did the others. Stool repeated his question, louder. “Hey, what’s going on here?” he asked. Demanded if one listened or knew him well enough.

Garble turned on his heel, looked Stool right in the eye and pointed with his scepter. “I said, get out of here. I need to think this over.”

Brock glanced at Ikris, then the rest of the group. Then looked at Garble. He froze. After several seconds of Garble’s ever increasing repugnance of their hesitation the dark brown dragon left. Ikris followed next, glancing back at his buddy before leaving through the door.  Draut and Stool remained.

Garble flared his wings and flexed them. “I said: GET OUT!”  Embers went by like rain and died in the air.

Draut and Stool looked at each other, then Garble. Stool looked at his cousin with a slightly peeved look before he began trudging away, angrily. Mumbling insults under his breath.

Draut looked Garb once more in the eye, then clearly seeing that he wasn’t wanted here at all, (unless he wanted to get into a fight with the lord, something that not only was, but is practically impossible on his part) he left offering one word of advice. “Try to take it easy.”

Garble was left alone in the slightly dimming room that acted as their meeting quarters, to stew over what he'd just been told. Several minutes went by with him pacing and thinking about everything that happened yesterday and every other precursor to those days.

Restless and uneasy, Draut's words made their way into Dragon Lord Garble's head as a reminder that he should relax.

Being told what to do somehow only angered Garble more. So he didn’t take it easy. In fact, he spread his wings and decided to go outside for a fly.

Unworthy the thought kept repeating itself in his head. He'd been outside for eight minutes now just flying around, and that one word that didn't even bug him that much, would get out of his head. Garble's scowl only deepened into a look of pure rage. He didn’t even notice the stream of smoke he left behind as he breathed out. He kept on heading south, watching trees blur together as that one word kept replaying itself in his mind like a broken record.

This was stupid. All of this was stupid. How could they even think that. More importantly... How dare they! he thought with blistering fury. I worked hard for this. I’ve had to listen to Lord Torch go on and on about history lessons I frankly feel I don’t need to hear over and over again.

The complete nerve of those princesses, after I tried to act so nice and kind after everything. ESPECIALLY Twilight and that stupid little dragon, Spike-- RRRGH! Descending into an open grove and slamming the scepter into the ground Garble landed, with burgeoning breath. Looking around and feeling the urge to hit something, Garble spotted a tree that looked sturdy enough to take a beating.

He moved to it without even thinking, before he even knew what he was doing he'd been punching the bark off of it for almost ten minutes. It still wasn't enough, he moved to another one and repeated the process.

Still not enough. He moved again. By the time Garble realized how tired he was, he'd severely damaged eight trees in all. But not even beating up innocent vegetation could take his mind off that word. Unworthy his mind kept reminding him. Unworthy it said over and over again.

Garble couldn't take it anymore. It was too much. So freaking annoying, “SHUT UP!” He shouted.

Unworthy

“BE QUIET!”

You’re unworthy.

“I SAID SHUT IT!” He growled.

You’ve always been unworthy

“You--” Garble felt constricted, that constriction burned away with rage. “You- don’t know what you’re TALKING ABOUT!” he snapped.

Unworthy it taunted.

Unworthy it mocked.

You've been a jerk to others more than once in your life, now *suddenly** you think you're fit to rule?* mocking laughter Garble couldn't recognize filled his ears. Then he knew who's voice it was that laughed at him. His own.

You can't rule. His doubt told him.

Can you rule? His courage questioned.

Unworthy the wind whispered all around.

Unworth-- the noise was drowned out when Garble released a torrent of flames at the tree he’d been punching and went on to do the same to the grass, bushes, and shrubs in his vicinity. Squirrels shrieked and scattered. Birds cried vengefully as they took to the air. Before Garble realized what he’d done, he’d burnt a large part of the groove to the ground. Smoke filling his lungs, making him cough for a second, as it went on to fill the air with the scent of burnt wood.

For a second Garble thought he might get in trouble for doing this, then he realized he frankly didn’t give a crap.

With slowly returning breath, Garble picked up the scepter he'd left in the middle of the grove, broke into a run, spread his wings widely as the speed and rushing current of the wind slowly took him into the air before he flapped once, twice, then three times. He was off. Looming overhead cumulus clouds became cumulonimbus, storm clouds that shouted thunder and released rain. Garble didn’t even glance back to the smell of smoke or sounds of crackling fire behind him.

The damn skies would take care of his mistake. He wished he could just burn away his problems like he’d done just now.

Nine seconds went by... He stopped. Burn away my problems. The thought slithered through the flames of anger. He flapped once, and didn’t move any further. Cold air caressed his cheeks and hugged his body. Silence was his friend. Lightning and thunder were its cousins. Rain, was its  horrible nagging mother.

Garble’s eyes widened as a plan began to formulate in his mind. Soon enough he was clutching his scepter tightly and it in turn ignored the rain that soaked it and its owner, humming with power.

Garble took off back to the lair as fast as he could, a twisted grin mixed with anger, scorn, and rage made its way to his face as he saw the entrance towards the far north.

“Oh I’ll burn it away alright. Then they’ll take back what they said, about me not being worthy.”