Chapter 6: To the Dragon Lands

In the Brighthouse kitchen, Sunny was making a lot of pancakes for her friends and their guests. Aaron, Ocellus and Zipp weren't downstairs yet.

Smolder looked around and asked, "Where are Aaron, Ocellus and Zipp?"

"Ocellus and Zipp are still asleep upstairs," Sunny answered. "I didn't want to wake them, so we'll let them sleep in. And as for Aaron, I haven't seen him at all."

"I thought he was in the bathroom doing business, but he wasn't there," Gallus said. "I also checked the basement. He's not there either."

"Where could he be?" Smolder asked. "Let me..." She was about to use her phone, but then she remembered. "Oh. Right. No cell phone reception, so I can't call him."

"You should switch over to our cell phone service," Pipp said. "It's so reliable."

"They can't do that, Pipp," Misty said, reading the spell book she had in her magic. "Eventually, these guys have to go back to their time. Okay, let's see." She then saw a spell. "This must be it. The time-warp spell."

"Are you sure you want to start that spell immediately, Misty?" Sandbar asked. "You don't know if that spell will send us home or to a random location in the wrong universe."

"That's why it comes with a window spell to make sure it's the right destination," Misty said. She then checked the spell and read it. "'Our destined location is where we seek, let us see before we leap.'" Misty's horn then let out a small speck of light and it went towards the living room area. It then expanded to an interdimensional window. But on the other side, it wasn't Earth or Equestria in the past. It was actually the world of Disney's Amphibia.

"What is that?" Gallus asked.

"I don't know," Smolder said. "I don't know where that is." Just then, a large pink frog wearing a jacket, hat with goggles, and black shorts came hopping across the sight of the interdimensional window. But then it bounced back and looked through the window.

"Huh. I don't remember this being here." The frog looked towards the rift and saw who was on the other side. "Whoa. Interesting creatures there. I hope they know Anne."

"Close it, Misty," Sunny said. "Close it!" Misty then used her magic and closed the window.

"Okay, I know where that world was," Smolder said.

"Where was that?" Sandbar asked.

"That was Amphibia," Smolder said. "From the Disney Channel show, Amphibia. And that frog there was Sprig Plantar, one of the main characters of the show."

"Glad I didn't open up the portal to there then," Misty said. "No matter, I better try again." Just then, Aaron, Zipp and Ocellus came down.

"Stop what you're doin', everypony!" Zipp called out. "We got a mystery that's been unanswered since Twilight's battle with Opaline."

"What?!" everyone, except Aaron, Ocellus and Zipp, all asked in unison.

"Sandbar, you know how the sun and moon move across the sky here in Equestria," Zipp said, pointing a hoof at Sandbar. "How was it possible the way you know it?"

"The sun and moon were only lifted in the sky by unicorn magic before Alicorns were able to do it themselves," Sandbar said. "We know because we were in a school play about it before Aaron showed up."

"And since Opaline tried taking the magic of Equestria but was stopped by Twilight Sparkle, the sun and moon would've stayed in their current positions for decades," Zipp said. "So this new mystery is: Who's moving the Sun and Moon now, and how have they been doing it without magic?"

"That's... actually a good point," Sunny said. "I heard that my dad was reading up on that before he died. The sun and moon were moved by Alicorns in the past. And since nopony knows how it's possible now, we're gonna have to look into it."

"Perhaps Discord can help," Aaron asked. "After all, he was still alive in the G5 comics. Although he's... old now." Sunny, Zipp, Pipp and Izzy looked at each other with cringed expressions. Aaron was confused about that and asked, "What?"

"Sorry to... burst your bubble, but..." Izzy said.

"Discord's... gone," Sunny said. "He passed away when Opaline was stealing magic."

"C#@&!" Aaron swore, his swearing being blocked off by a sound effect.

"Well, so much for knowing someone from our time that's still alive," Silverstream said. Then the Young 6 bowed their heads. Then Sunny, Izzy, Pipp, Zipp and Misty looked at each other. Then they gave off smirks.

"Actually, there's might be another way to find out," Sunny said. That made Aaron and the Young 6 look towards Sunny. "Looks like we're gonna have to all go on a trip."

"I'll text Hitch on where we have to go," Pipp said, pulling out her phone.

"Where are we going?" Ocellus asked.

"You'll see," Sunny said.

Later, the Marestream was flying over the water. The New Mane 6 were in the front while Aaron, the Young 6 and Sparky were in the back area. From left to right on the corner seats was Ocellus, Sandbar, Yona, Smolder, Sparky and Aaron. Gallus and Silverstream were holding onto the kitchen counter as tight as they could.

"Okay, I'm starting to miss the cars back on Earth," Gallus said.

"Oh, relax, Gallus!" Zipp said from the pilot's seat. "We'll be there in no time. Izzy, where's the map?"

"Right here," Izzy said, holding up a map. "Sparky, we're gonna need you up here."

"I got him," Smolder said, getting up and taking Sparky to the front. Aaron followed. They made it to the front. Izzy took Sparky in her magic.

"Okay, Spark-Spark," Izzy said. "Light it up." Sparky giggled and blew his pink flame onto the map, revealing the path to the Isle of Scaly."

"The Isle of Scaly?" Aaron asked. "What is that?"

Smolder then gasped. She then said, "That's the Dragon Lands!"

"That's right, ladies and gentlemen," Hitch said. "We're going to the Dragon Lands." That made Aaron and the Young 6 all cheer excitedly.

"Yes!" Smolder said. "Finally! Going home!"

"Oh, right," Sunny said. "Since you're a dragon, your original home just had to be the Dragon Lands. It's a win-win for you!"

"Time for some music," Pipp said, pulling out a bluetooth speaker. She put it on the dash, pulled out her phone, and started playing her song, All You Need is Your Beat. But as soon as 10 seconds passed, Pipp's phone lost reception and the song got cut off. "Oh, right. No reception in the Dragon Lands." She then groaned loudly, pulling her head back in annoyance.

"Is that how she responded when she found out when she got there the first time?" Aaron asked.

"No, the first time, she was trying to lay off using her phone so she could live the moment," Zipp said. "It was actually when we were in Bridlewood looking for answers about Misty's visions, which happened to be memories of her past before meeting Opaline, and we eventually found a portal that could take us to anywhere we wanted to go. It was a door, and we needed a key to open it to activate the portal."

"But, I wouldn't have gotten that key if it weren't for that nice Breezie at the Night Market," Misty said.

"You saw a Breezie?!" Aaron asked.

"You know about the Breezies, too?" Izzy asked.

"I've seen them in the G4 show," Aaron said. "They haven't made a physical appearance in the show since the season 4 finale."

"Makes sense," Smolder said.

"Oh, hold onto your Cutie Marks!" Zipp said. "Isle of Scaly, dead ahead!" Aaron, Smolder, the New Mane 6 and Sparky looked towards the front, seeing the cave that leads to the Dragon Lands ahead. Zipp then piloted the Marestream through the tunnel. Aaron, Smolder and Sparky went towards one of the walls when the Marestream made a turn in the tunnel.

"I don't remember a tunnel to the Dragon Lands!" Smolder said.

"Well, guess there were changes since the last time you seen the Dragon Lands, you two," Zipp said.

"Officially, this is my first time to the Dragon Lands," Aaron said.

"I was planning on showing him the Dragon Lands back in the past," Smolder said. Just then, she saw the light ahead. "Huh?"

The Marestream came out of the tunnel and it showed the Dragon Lands. The Marestream was coming towards a clearing. Zipp then said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking, we are coming in to land in the Dragon Lands. Hope you all enjoyed your flight."

The Marestream then landed in the clearing. Then Aaron, the Young 6, the New Mane 6 and Sparky all came out of the Marestream and they all looked around.

"This isn't right," Smolder said.

"What isn't right?" Sunny asked.

"In our time, the Dragon Lands are volcanic," Aaron answered. "There's supposed to be volcanoes, lava and smog everywhere."

"Whaaat?!" Hitch asked, getting scared. "Why would you dragons live in a place so... dangerous?!" He then picked up Sparky. "Don't you know what lava could do to Sparky?"

"Dragons basically bathe in hot lava," Smolder said, deadpanned. "Where have you done your research on dragons?"

"Wait, there are books on how to take care of baby dragons?" Hitch asked.

"It was an extra credit assignment from Twilight when we were attending her school," Smolder said. "I was behind on the semester before we met Aaron."

"Makes sense," Hitch said.

"Anyway, time to let the dragons know we're here," Sunny said.

"We're baaaaaaaaaack~! Ow!" Pipp sang loudly. Just then, there was pounding coming in from on top of the Marestream. Everyone there looked on top of the Marestream and saw Fountain there.

"Looks like our favorite pony friends brought guests," Fountain said.

"Interesting," came another voice. The group turned around and saw Blaize Skysong, Luxxe and Tumble walking up to them. Aaron and the Young 6 were all shocked to see the G5 Dragons. It was Blaize who spoke.

"Whoa!" Aaron said. "Is that gonna happen to all of us?" He then looked at his hands.

"Eventually," Blaize responded. She then got surprised at Aaron's appearance. She then gasped, but then Luxxe got on top of Blaize's back and head.

"The Jade Dragon of legend!" Luxxe said, excitedly.

"How is this possible?!" Tumble said. "He disappeared a long time ago!" Then more dragons came in. Them being Jade, Lava and Leaf.

"And how did he stay so young after all this time?" Leaf asked.

"Um... Time Travel," Aaron said. "Wait, what do you mean disappeared? What have you heard?"

The dragons there gasped. Blaize then asked, "You don't know...?" She then remembered what Aaron said. "Oh, wait. Time Travel. Meh, after everything we've seen, I'm not surprised." She then turned around. Then Aaron and the Young 6 saw something on her flanks. A Cutie Mark within a gem shaped pentagon. Her Cutie Mark was of fire with three smaller flames above them.

"Whoa," Sandbar said. "You all seeing what I'm seeing."

"Cutie Marks on Dragons," Aaron said. "That's unusual."

"You haven't seen Cutie Marks on Dragons before?" Izzy asked.

"Usually, the Cutie Marks are just pony things," Aaron said. "Plus, they used to be on both flanks."

"What?!" the New Mane 6 asked. Then they saw Sandbar's left flank. His Cutie Mark was on both flanks.

"Huh," Zipp said. "That's interesting." She then brought out her phone. "New Cutie Mark related mystery: Cutie Marks apparently were on both flanks in the past, but in the current time, they're on the right flank. Search history of Cutie Marks."

"Okay," Sunny said. "That's an interesting thing to think about. But that's not why we're here. We're here to talk to the Dragon Lord about something that happened in the past."

"You know his name, Sunny," Blaize said. "Why didn't you address him by..." Pipp then flew up to Blaize's ear and whispered into her ear. Blaize then got a wide eyed expression. She then smirked. "I see. Alright then. Follow me all of you. The Dragon Lord will be excited to see you all." Then she led Aaron, the Young 6, the New Mane 6 and Sparky towards the Dragon Lord's throne.

Sparky was on top of Smolder's head, giggling from the ride he was getting. Smolder was annoyed at that and said, "Really, Sparky? Why do you insist on getting all over me?"

Blaize noticed that and asked, "Huh. Perhaps he's related to you."

"What?" Smolder asked. "No way. I only have one brother, and he's older than me."

"It's true," Aaron said. "If she had a younger sibling, she would've told me about it."

"Perhaps your parents got busy while you were gone," Blaize said.

"Okay, when we get back to Maretime Bay, we'll do a DNA test to prove if this dragon hatchling is related to her or not," Aaron said.

"Good call," Hitch said. "I'll have it scheduled for you."

"Thanks, Hitch," Aaron said. He then fist bumped with Hitch's hoof.

Eventually, they made it to the tunnel that leads to the Dragon Lord's Throne. Smolder then looked at the big horn and asked, "What's with the horn?"

"We use it to wake the Dragon Lord when he hibernates," Blaize answered. She then saw that the place where the Dragon Lord sleeps was empty. "Ah. He's awake. Wait here." Then Blaize walked through the tunnel. Aaron, the Young 6, the New Mane 6 and Sparky waited for Blaize and the Dragon Lord to come back.

Aaron then turned to face Sunny and asked, "Who's the Dragon Lord of this time? Because the last Dragon Lord we knew, it was Ember. And I haven't seen her since my birthday."

"Oh, you'll see," Sunny said. She then thought about what Aaron said. "If this Ember dragon was the last Dragon Lord, and she was female, then shouldn't she be addressed as Dragon Lady?"

"Right?" Sandbar, Ocellus, Yona, Gallus and Silverstream asked in unison. Then the five of them laughed.

"Shoulda said the same thing about Valkyrie in Thor: Love and Thunder," Aaron said, making Smolder nod in agreement. Just then, dragon steps were coming in from the tunnel. Blaize then came out of the tunnel with another dragon behind her, colors not being shown because of the darkness.

"Guests, may I present... the Dragon Lord," Blaize said. Then the dragon behind Blaize started coming out. It's front right leg came out, the leg being purple.

"Wait, that color," Sandbar said. "Could it be?" Just then, it showed the underbelly of the dragon, being a tannish green underbelly.

"Yona not believing Yona's eyes," Yona said. Then the dragon's head was revealed, his eyes closed. He had green spines over his head, and green fins coming out of the sides of his head. He then opened his eyes, revealing his green eyes.

"Could it be?" Gallus asked.

"No, it couldn't be..." Smolder said.

"It's..." Aaron said.

"Dragon Lord Spike!" Blaize said, announcing the Dragon Lord's arrival.

"SPIKE?!" Aaron and the Young 6 asked in unison.

Spike looked down at Aaron, the Young 6, the New Mane 6 and Sparky. He was surprised to see some old faces from his past.

"No way," Spike said. "Blaize, when you said that Sunny and her friends brought guests, you didn't tell me it would be some old friends of mine."

"Spike?" Smolder asked. "You're alive?"

"Dude, you're huge!" Aaron said.

Spike laughed at that and said, "And you look exactly the same when I met you all. Although, a few changes might have been made."

"Tell me about it," Aaron said. "Last time I saw you, you still had dagger shaped pupils."

"I guess with magic evolving, our eyes will look more normal to ponies," Spike said. "By the way, how are you so young? Shouldn't you all be a lot older?"

"Time travel," Aaron said. "You should know, you did it multiple times."

Spike laughed at that and said, "Starlight's time travel spell. I remember that."

"Guess you needed some familiar faces to get the old memories goin', huh?" Zipp asked.

"You said it, Zipp," Spike said. He then looked back at Aaron and the Young 6. "So, this is why you come back."

"Actually, there's one thing we needed to ask," Sunny said. "We wouldn't need to ask if these guys haven't asked a question that hasn't been asked since Opaline tried taking the magic during the time of Twilight Sparkle."

"About the sun and moon," Zipp said. "Them being lifted and lowered into the sky by Alicorn magic."

Spike gasped and said, "I... haven't thought of that in a long time."

Later that night, Aaron, the Young 6, the New Mane 6, Sparky and all the dragons there were all in the clearing, eating dinner that was prepared for them. Thanks to having dragon fire to cook it.

"It's been so many moons since I thought of that," Spike said.

"So you know what happened," Sandbar said.

"I sure do, Sandbar," Spike said. "A lot of things have happened in Equestria since you came here."

"We both know it wasn't fully intentional," Aaron said. "Neither was me taking down Ragnarok the Reaper when Twilight accidentally teleported Equestria to my world."

"Ragnarok?" Jade asked. "I thought it was Roktavor."

"Really?" Aaron asked. "A Beyblade Burst reference. Hasbro must really want the money for referencing other merchandise of theirs."

"What's a Beyblade?" Sunny asked.

"A battling top that originated in eastern Asia," Aaron answered. "I'll tell you about it later. But right now, let's get back on topic. Spike."

"Right," Spike said. "Anyway, there is somepony that is responsible for the sun and moon moving currently. And, she is an Alicorn."

"There's another Alicorn?" Sunny asked. "I'm not the only one?"

"No you're not, Princess Sunny," Spike said. "There are a lot of mysteries in Equestria that are left to be solved."

"I told you before, I'm not a Princess," Sunny said.

Aaron and the Young 6 went wide eyed at that. Aaron then looked up at Spike and asked, "You didn't tell her the most important detail about being an Alicorn?"

Spike chuckled nervously at that. Sunny then asked, "What's so important about Alicorns?"

"If a pony does the most selfless action for the good of Equestria with all her heart, then that pony is granted the title of Alicorn Princess," Sandbar said. "All Alicorns are princesses by Ancient Equestrian Law."

"WHAT?!" the New Mane 6 asked.

"How did you not know that?" Ocellus asked. "It's Alicorn 101."

"It's how Twilight Sparkle became an Alicorn," Aaron said. "The lives of her friends were mixed up be a spell she accidentally casted, she reminded them of who they were, and eventually, she became Princess Twilight Sparkle. Princess of Friendship."

"And eventually became High Princess of all of Equestria," Sandbar said.

"I was training to be one of her Royal Guards," Gallus said.

"That's actually cool," Zipp said.

"Totally," Pipp said.

"Anyway, who's this other Alicorn?" Misty asked.

"I think it might be better if I take you to her," Spike said.

"Well, we know that Celestia and Luna retired and left Equestria in the hooves of Twilight," Aaron said. "And the only other Alicorns we know of are Cadance, Flurry Heart and Opaline. And since Opaline's gone, it's gotta be..."

"I'm afraid Cadance and Flurry are gone," Spike said. "Sorry."

"Darn it!" Aaron shouted.

"But don't sweat it," Spike said. "Tomorrow, I'll escort you all to who's responsible for raising the Sun and Moon now. And in a way, you're also involved with this, Aaron."

"What?" Aaron asked. "What do you mean?"

"You'll see," Spike said.

"Your Spikeness," Blaize said. "Are you sure it's wise of you to escort these young creatures somewhere we don't know much about?"

"They're not young to me," Spike said. "In fact, they're all older than me."

"It's true," Smolder said. "In fact, I was the one who told him about the Molt. And I taught him how to fly."

"Is that true, your Spikeness?" Blaize asked.

"It's true," Spike said. "It was thanks to Smolder how I was able to learn about dragon cultures."

"Wait, what's the Molt?" Zipp asked.

"It's basically Dragon Puberty," Aaron said.

"Painful stone scales, fire bursts, uncontrollable volume shifts," Smolder said. She then cringed. "And don't even get me started on the smell."

"Body odor that's repulsive to almost every creature around, except for three different species," Aaron said. "Tatzylwurms, Hydras, and large predatorial birds known as Rocs."

"R-O-C-S," Smolder said. "Just to make it clear for you all."

"Yeah," Spike said. "I got the Roc."

"Also, Smolder, you totally forgot to tell Spike what happens when the Molt ends," Aaron said.

Smolder blushed at that and said, "Whoops. Guess I forgot to tell that that's how a dragon gets their wings."

"Wait, Dragons aren't born with wings?" Hitch asked. "Then how come Sparky has wings?"

"We don't know," Smolder said. "To our knowledge, he's the first one."

"Yeah, in fact, there haven't been any dragon hatchlings that haven't been born with wings either," Fountain said. "Weird."

"Perhaps Sparky is a really rare dragon," Lava said.

"Very possibly," Blaize said.

"So, Aaron," Izzy said. "What did you do when you were going through the Molt?"

"Meh, I skipped the Molt," Aaron said.

That made the New Mane 6 and the adult dragons, except Spike, all surprised, and asked, "WHAT?!"

"I was born human," Aaron said. "I woke up a dragon when I first came to Equestria. And my dragon body already came with these." He then unfolded his wings.

"Well, we should probably get some rest," Gallus said. "It's starting to get dark. Where did we put the camping gear?"

That made Silverstream gasped. "We forgot to bring it! It's still back at the Brighthouse!"

Spike then smiled at that. He then blew out his emerald flames, and coming from it was the camping gear that Aaron and the Young 6 had brought with them.

"You can teleport things from places?" Sandbar asked.

"I thought that only happens when ponies use a spell for sending messages," Aaron said.

"There's a spell for that?" Misty asked.

"I'll tell you about that tomorrow," Spike said. "But, you might as well get your rest. We leave in the morning." Then all the adult dragons got up and headed for their homes. Aaron, the Young 6, the New Mane 6 and Sparky watched Spike and the other dragons walk off.

"Wow," Aaron said. "That little dragon has changed a lot since we've seen him last." That made the Young 6 nod.

"I wonder if he grew out of his crush on Rarity phase," Ocellus said.

"YOU KNEW?!" Spike voice asked from far away.

"Everypony in Ponyville knew!" Aaron called out. "Even Rarity herself!" That made the Young 6, the New Mane 6 and Sparky laugh.

Author's Note

Well, looks like Aaron and the Young 6 now know that Spike is back in the game. And as for the Alicorn responsible for the Sun and Moon being raised and lowered, who is she? And who is that mysterious mare Izzy was talking about in the previous chapter? Find out next time on "A Dragon's New Generation Adventure!"