Chapter 22: Fire. Fire. Fire.

"This is unacceptable, Lord Torch!" A dragon two thirds the size of the Dragon Lord roared, enraged, followed by several other dragons of similar size and smaller. "That... that.. that disgrace has dared to threaten and insult us, claiming to slaughter us, his own kind, just to protect those weak ponies and their allies! We must strike, now! They are weak and disorganized; their precious Reaper is chained to the land he proclaims to love."

"YES! How long has the wealth of Equestria tempted us? How long have the Two Sisters flaunted their power over the Moon and Sun over us? How long have those lesser races called us monsters and savages, thinking they are superior to us, the dragons!?" Another exclaimed gaining many approving roars. "My Lord, we must take what rightfully belongs to us now that they are--"

"SILENCE!" Torch roared with all his might, silencing the gathered dragons instantly. "I will not allow any dragon to leave for Equestrian territory unless it's for the Migration or to visit the land. There will be no pillaging, sacking, looting, slaughter nor war on my watch," Torch exhaled fire through his nostrils. "As Dragon Lord, I forbid it. We will leave the ponies and their allies in peace until after the new Dragon Lord is selected in the upcoming Gauntlet of Fire."

"You'd rather cower, Torch!? You are no Dragon Lord!" A dragoness yelled in defiance. "Equestria is weak and ruined, its riches, gold, and gems for the taking and you want to waste this opportunity?" She roared once more.

"So what if they have their "Lightbringer", after his confession the cattle he loves so much must hate him now. We can deal with him and those other treacherous fools that have sided with the Two Sisters or have sold their loyalty to them. They are no longer worthy of being dragons at all, Torch!" Another one added, unrest once more igniting in the crowd.

"Are you deaf or simply empty-headed?" The voice of Princess Ember, the daughter of Dragon Lord Torch, was heard by all, amplified by the power of the Bloodstone Scepter carried by the massive dragon while she stood on her father's shoulder. "Did you not hear his tale? Have you not heeded his warning?" She asked half glaring the gathered dragons.

"And what would that be, Princess?" A dragon mockingly asked.

"That Equestria is not weak," she unfolded her arms, with one hand she grabbed her waist and with the other she pointed at them with a single claw, her eyes bright and glaring. "You rockbrains are only thinking in the riches and gold, but have you stopped to think what the ponies went through?" She shook her head. "Of course you haven't. So I will spell it out for you idiots. If the Dragon Lands attack Equestria, we will be killed to the last one," Ember did not wait for anyone to retort before continuing. "They are angry. They are vengeful. They are bloodthirsty. And they outnumber us a hundred to one. Not that it matters much considering they have so many powerful beings on their side: the four Alicorn Princesses, the Elements of Harmony, the Lord of Chaos, the Changeling Queen."

"We are dragons, we cannot--"

"What if the Princess of the Night decides to curse us with unending night?" Ember cut the would be boastful dragon off. "What if the Lord of Chaos decides to erase us? What if the Princess of the Sun unleashes a Solar Strike upon us? How do you plan to fight against that when they have gone through slavery, abuse, and foulest degradation? Wouldn't you do anything and everything to prevent it from happening again if you'd gone through the same as they have?"

There was silence all around.

" 'Equestria is not weak' was not a warning given to us. It was a promise of death to anyone stupid enough to attack them," Torch said in a calm tone. "Dainn was a threat far bigger than even Tirek was, of that I have no doubt. I am personally grateful that the Madness of Dainn was stopped, no matter who did it or what he said. The Dragon Lands and the dragons shall remain neutral until after my reign is ended. As Dragon Lord, I COMMAND IT SO!" Torch roared.

The hundreds of gathered dragons waited for a moment before slowly bowing their heads and leaving. Soon after, only Torch and Ember remained.

"We should've helped them." Ember bluntly said.

"Ember, not this again." Torch groaned.

"And why not!? Did you not hear the Trial? Did you not hear those that came back after witnessing what they saw behind the barrier?" Ember crossed her arms. "We could've done something, father, and you know it."

"I was not going to risk the lives of every dragon against that bastard," Torch snorted remembering the letter he received years back when the Fall started. It basically boiled down to describe the Superiority of the Caribou, the upcoming Global Reign of Male Superiority, and that he should bow to Dainn now that he could and be rewarded by stating he could keep ownership of Ember if he did so. "Remaining neutral is all I could do. It has kept the Dragon Lands alive for millennia."

"Alive but stagnant," Ember spat back. "Dad... if I become, no, WHEN I become Dragon Lord, I'm going to make a lot of changes around here."

Torch huffed. "You first need to win the Scepter to do it, daughter."

"You can bet your horns I will," Ember looked to the horizon, a sad smile appearing on her muzzle. "I wonder..."

"Hmmm?"

"I wonder... what is this 'friendship' Spike talked about so much during the trial for him to do all he did..."

"...I wonder it too, Ember."

End.

Author's Note

Special thanks to anyone that read this!

Special thanks to Author of MADness for giving me this idea!