Making The Most Of This

by Tebteb

Rating: mature
Tags: Human, Garble, Ember, Anthro, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Romance, Original Character, Spike, Dragons, Profanity, Adventure, Violence, Slice of Life
Length: 97604

A Human turned dragon trying to live his new life while adjusting to this new yet somewhat familiar world

Join Marson Smith Human-turned-Dragon as they begin to live through their new life In a world they once considered fantasy turned real as he deals with meeting familiar faces and new experiences as he tries his best to make the most of It.

Ps: I added the Romance tag juuuuust In case but be warned its my first time trying anything like this so It might be either weird or cringey to most people.

Pps: their might (And thats A BIG might be nsfw scenes) but thats still a BIG maybe. Im just adding this Incase I do go down that road.

Published 2024-07-30 00:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2025-02-15 20:02:51 UTC

This Is It Now

A few days have passed I think, I'm not sure anymore. I've kinda lost track of the time trying to process my situation now.

The Lizard? Wyvern? Creature approached me a few times to either nap with me or prod me, but would then sometimes lose interest and wander off somewhere.

I'd hoped that maybe it was just one of those instances where it was a dream within a dream but no matter how many times I've fallen asleep I always remain here after waking up, but then, I had a dream.

I wasn't in control of it like I thought I was when I first woke up here, no, instead it was like I was watching the events of the dream happen to me from a distance.

I remember it so clearly now, about how I was kicked out of the apartment for not paying rent on time.

'Yeah right, more like someone wanted me out In order to do what they wanted with the apartment.' I thought to myself bitterly.

'Yeah no other choice they said pure bullshit they just wanted me out no matter what.' I though to myself.

'Though I guess eventually he managed to accomplish whatever he was trying to achieve anyway seeing as I'm here now.' I admitted to myself.

'This is why Mom always told you to check stuff beforehand Marson, maybe then you would've been able to figure something out and keep your place, a shitty place but my place nonetheless before it got out of hand.' I thought to myself now upset at how little control I had over the situation.

I had nowhere to go, and the worst part Is he fucking kicked me out when it was pitch black, couldn't even wait until the next day, fucking asshole.

Though there was nothing I could do about it so I just went my merry way as I tried to maybe find a nice comfortable place to sleep in for the night if I was lucky.

But, as the memory continues a hooded figure appears as I see me and him walking towards eachother as I tried moving out of his way but he always went to position himself in front of me as they approached.

I remember being exhausted to the point where I just asked him if he needed anything, hoping they would just move out of my way but they didn't say anything as they kept approaching.

Then when they started getting near they started to pull out something and I barely had any time to react as I felt everything slow down around me.

I remember being so helpless and afraid as I could do nothing but just watch them slowly take the gun out and point it at me.

You know the phrase 'my life flashed before my eyes?' Well, I finally experienced it happening to me as they pointed straight at me while their finger started to pull back until-

*THUMP*

Startled at the noise I frantically try to stand up as for the past few days I am all of a sudden capable of walking on two legs, which is good news to me since I no longer am limited to walking on all fours anymore.....somehow.

'You know, what don't even question it whatever I can get I'll take it.' I think to myself as my, Brother, I think walked over on all fours over towards our, Mother, I'm not sure how I know this but, it's like I have this instinct that tells me that the big one is our mother and the other small creature is my brother.

Shaking my head, I take my time going over slowly making my way to her and climbing up into her hand as she proceeds to bring her hand near her face looking us over again.

"My little Hatchlings." She started off with causing My eyes to widen In shock since this is the first time I've heard her speak.

'I didn't even know she could speak.' I thought to myself.

"It is time to begin, don't worry I'll make sure to keep you safe, and then, the rest will be on you." She said before all of our skin begins to glow causing an uncomfortable itch to begin spreading over my body.

I try and scratch it away as she proceeded to bring her hands together leaving us in complete darkness with only a bit of light coming through between her fingers.

Not long after I feel like I'm about to drop through her hand before being brought back up, kind of like when an elevator begins to move as I start to hear wind howling against her hand.

This lasts for about a couple of minutes until it seems like we've reached where we need to be as it feels like we're being lowered down to the ground.

As she takes her other hand away I get blinded by the sudden light as I put up a hand reflexively before I get used to it again.

I look around taking in our new surroundings as I see nothing but rocks, rocks, and more rocks for miles and a big rock throne out In the middle of the crater-like area below us, though what's even more interesting are the thousands and thousands of dragons all around us.

It also seems that they brought their children as well with them, as countless of, what did she say again, hatchlings?

Right, as countless hatchlings are also In the palms of the dragons surrounding us.

Though, even with all these dragons here there's barely any noise being made except for the faint noise of the hatchlings messing around now and again, but even that seems to come to a stop as a massive shadow passes over us.

Every dragon around watches the shadow passing over us as we follow It back to the creature responsible for It, watching them land on to the ginormous throne from earlier.

If anything ginormous was the right description for this dragon as It looked over us with its imposing presence.

I could tell right then and there that this wasn't your average ordinary everyday dragon no, this was, an advanced dragon, and you could tell just by looking at him.

He was slightly bigger than the rest of the dragons here and he looked different as well with his blue scales covering his body and his orange tail and wings, though it seemed like his wings had been through some things as I could see a few tears near the bottom.

His horns seemed to be somewhat similar to the horns of a ram with how curved and sharp it was while also seeming to have an accessory with it as a gold band was wrapped around his left horn (my right).

I also noticed how there was a somewhat tiny jewel-like crown on top of his head.

'Well if he's the king around here then that would explain a few things.' I speculated as I continued observing him.

Another thing I noticed was how he was wearing some sort of armor around his chest area.

Why though? What's the point of wearing it? Is it just for flaunting or is It a necessary thing to wear when you appear in the public eye?

I shake my head as give up trying to make sense of It.

'Whatever the reason It doesn't concern me, what does concern me is why we're out here?' I asked myself.

Though it would seem I would get my answer soon my skin began to glow again but this time without itching.

"DRAGONS OF EQUESTRIA! HEAR ME!" He bellowed out.

'Holy shit, that's loud.' I think to myself as I shake my head.

'Thankfully whatever I am prevented from becoming deaf.' I think thankful for at least that.

"Today marks a very special day, for today Is the day when our hatchlings overcome their trial of mental fortitude, forever marking them as the next generations of dragons to
Improve and carry on our legacy, exciting, I know." He said as silence filled the air while they look on with uncertainty and a bit of fear.

"BE EXCITED!" He yelled suddenly causing the air to be filled with cheers and some roaring instead of silence.

"Now although this Is a test, this will be one of the most dangerous things these dragons In the making will ever have to go through In their entire lifetime, and even though I'm confident enough to know that most will proceed to pass the trial and continue to flourish." He said before pausing as he lowered his voice some.

"I know that some may perish.....but that is a risk we have to take if we are to prepare them for the cruelties this world has to offer." He said sounding resigned for some reason.

'Wait w-what, perish? You mean we might die!?' I asked myself now starting to feel afraid.

He looks at his hand as he proceeds to lift it for everyone to see. "Even my precious hatchling will be taking part in the trial.......could I lose her? Yes, I could, but It is a risk I have to take." He finished as his voice then raises back to the normal level from before.

"That will never happen though because I know that my hatchling will be just as tough as me when she grows Into a finer dragon than I ever was." He said continuing to rattle as I begin to have a mental breakdown not bothering to pay attention.

'I-I don't want to die, not again, I-I've already died before, though m-maybe h-he's just being speaking metaphorically.' I thought to myself In an attempt to calm myself.

'Y-Yeah that's It, it's just metaphoric, and we'll probably just have to fight or something though I'm not sure if that's any better for me honestly.' I think to myself as I begin to slowly calm myself.

"NOW, DRAGONS OF EQUESTRIA." He said pausing as he takes his time looking over all of us.

"I wish all of our hatchlings good luck." He said before pulling out a scepter with a ruby-like gem a red, circular blast expands out from it and proceeds to head towards me as I go unconscious.

My eyes snap open as I sit up, looking around frantically only to find my...brother next to me In this pitch-black void-like area.

"Where the fu-" I slap my hand on my mouth a bit startled at my voice before I slowly take my hand away as I try to speak again.

"Holy shit, I can speak now, but how? You know what never mind, I don't care as long as I can finally speak again." I said to myself grateful now that I have my albeit slightly younger different voice back.

I walk around a tiny bit but not going too far as to not leave my...brother by himself since I don't trust this place.

As I'm walking around I notice how every step I take seems to make the floor ripple, as if It's almost like I'm walking on a pond.

Just then out of nowhere, I start seeing other hatchlings as well popping up, all looking confused about where we are but also excited at being able to speak.

"Woah." I hear a voice behind me say.

"AHHHH!" I jump in the air (not shrieking) as I turn around quickly only to find my..brother standing up staring at me trying not to laugh.

"Don't. Do. That." I said catching my breath.

"Oh, sorry didn't mean to scare you, brother." They say looking somewhat apologetic.

"I-It's fine just warn me next time ok." I said before pausing.

"Wait, not that I'm not happy about this but how are we allowed to speak now?" I asked as he shrugged In response.

"I don't know, for me it's kinda like I just suddenly, had this dream, that just...made sense to me." He said trying to explain as I turn back around.

"Uh-huh, well anyways we should probably try t-"

I'm cut off as light suddenly shines causing me to reflexively raise my hand to block it out, as I slowly get used to the bright ass light I put my hand back down before seeing some of the other hatchlings beginning to walk towards it.

"Well, I guess we have our exit." I said turning to him as I grab his arm.

"Come on let's get out of her-"

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

I'm suddenly cut off as I hear one of the others screaming causing us to turn toward the noise only to freeze as I witness what looks like a void-colored tentacle-like limb just dangling a crying hatchling upside down.

"P-please get me do-" They're suddenly cut off as the tentacle pulls itself and the hatchling below the floor as we stay stuck frozen in fear, shaking.
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"W-what t-the fuck just happened." I asked frozen In place.

"I d-dont know." My brother said also rooted In place.

It was quiet for a couple of seconds before all of a sudden multiple copies of the limb from earlier appeared lunging at us.

"RUNNNNNNNN!" I shouted proceeding to sprint as fast as I can while I tightly hold onto my sibling's hand we proceed to run past multiple limbs either flying at us trying to catch us or snatching other hatchlings In the air before dragging them below the floor with them.

"OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT." I said screaming In fear not being able to think of anything else except continuing to dodge and run towards the light.

"Br- *pant* Brother, I'm tired." He said as I hear him begin to breathe heavier and heavier.

"I- *pant* I know, bu-*pant* but we can't stop." I said also feeling exuasted as It feels like my lungs are on fire.

'Better to be out of breath and keep moving than staying In place for one of those things to snatch us,' I conclude to myself.

"I-I kn-*pant* know but, I'm starting to get tirrrRRRRREEDDDDDDDDD!" I hear him scream out as I suddenly feel myself being pulled back as I grab onto him.

"OH SHITTTT, HANG ON!" I screamed pulling with all my might as I'm barely able to hold him from being taken away.

"HELP ME!" He screamed terrified.

"I'M TRYING!" I screamed back as I rack my head trying to think of something.

As I was busy thinking of an idea I saw out of the corner of my eye two more tentacle-like limbs start to dive towards us.

"U-USE YOUR CLAWS, TRY TO CUT IT OFF!" I screamed at him as I start panicking scared for my life now.

He nods rapidly as he turns to his leg and proceeds to extend his claws, slashing the limb as an otherworldly noise begins to wail around us before we fall back down just in time before the tentacles behind us miss us by an inch.

"COME ON!" Wasting no time I get up, pulling my brother's arm as we make a full sprint towards the light while I hear multiple limbs try to catch us and only barely miss us.

"WERE GONNA MAKE IT, WERE GONNA MAKE IT!" I yelled as we finally make it into the light before I fall unconscious once more.

Author's Note

Remember just like I say on my other story if you can try to enjoy this flame heap or, if you don't, bash the hell put of it.:trixieshiftleft:

And We're Back

I blearily open my eyes as my sleep Is interrupted by the constant shaking of the carriage as I start to remember exactly what led to me being In a carriage In the first place.

"Right, moltings over and some weird dragon-looking creature decided to be cryptic while also being terrifying," I whispered to myself as the first thought that came to mind was to look outside.

As I looked out the window the first thing I notice Is how we were no longer anywhere near the forest as there was no more grass or trees to be seen.

Though I guess on the bright side that just made the lack of colors and lack of plant life help me more In confirming that we were pretty much back In the Dragon Lands and after a couple of more minutes would have fully re-entered.

Though the second thing I noticed was because of how narrow the path seemed I was able to get a great view of how high up we were as I looked down only to see nothing that would save us from crashing Into the ground.

" Unless the Unicorn knows how to levitate," I muttered to myself as I turned away from the window wanting to get that somewhat morbid thought out of my head as my eyes settled on the two of the most important pe-dragons of my life so far, considering their two out of three only dragons I have an actual decent relationship with.

The most surprising In my opinion Is being In a friendly relationship with Ember since when I figured out where I would be spending the rest of my second life I never once expected to be able to talk to the Dragon Lord's Daughter daily excluding the fact that we're pretty much friends or 'companions' as dragons call It.

If I'm being honest to myself I was prepared to talk to her once and then be forgotten by her but I will gladly take this path instead.

Though I can't forget about possibly one of the best additions to my new life which Is Garble, the little brother surprisingly.

It's funny since before his reformation In the show he would always be the person I disliked the most coming on screen, mostly because of how he treated Spike since he was like one of my favorites so maybe I was a little biased but I didn't care.

'But now we're family and we love each other to death, sometimes he goes overboard considering how overprotective of me he Is even though I'm the older one,' I think grinning, 'But if I'm being honest I wouldn't have It any other way.'

As I finished that thought the carriage seemed to hit some sort of bump as the inside jumped a little causing Garble's cheek to land on the side of the carriage wall while somehow still holding Smolder as she opened her eyes for a second before closing them back and Embers cheek to land on my shoulder as they all continued to sleep like nothing happened.

'Really?' I think to myself as I look back at them after focusing on keeping myself In one spot just to find them sleeping peacefully before focusing on Ember as I go to help put her back how she was before only to freeze.

Now For some reason as my hand hovers near her, I can't help but feel upset at the idea of moving her away from me and instead wrap around and grab her shoulder bringing her closer to me as I'm filled with immediate satisfaction instead.

'I guess this isn't too bad and I can help keep her still like this just in case, yeah this Is fine.' I reason with myself as I yawn and start to close my eyes going back to sleep.

30 Minutes Later

I feel myself being shaken awake as I open my eyes to find Ember staring back at me with a small smile.

"Time to get up Falkor," She said turning as she exited the carriage as I took a few seconds getting up before joining her outside.

"Alright, we've made It to the Dragon Lands so you creatures should be fine by yourself now right?" The unicorn asked

"Yep, thanks for the ride," Garble said still holding into a sleeping Smolder.

"No problem, but now we got to go and pick up the egg we're here for, have a good day young ones," He said doing a finger salute before hitting the side of the carriage as he entered and shut the door before they pulled off and left.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked while I started to stretch out.

"No clue but you were pretty knocked out In there," He said before a sly smile appears on his face.

"Even had your arm wrapped around Princess Ember here while you two were asleep," He said causing me to freeze as I looked over towards Ember trying to come up with an excuse.

"W-Well I only did It because the ca-thing earlier started bumping around and you landed on my shoulder so I thought If I wra-"

"Stop Talking," She said a bit forcefully as she gets In my face causing me to go quiet as she looks at me upset for a few seconds before she smiles and steps back.

"Now that you've stopped blabbering, first things first Falkor I am not upset." She said

"You're not?" I asked still a bit unsure

"No I'm not, besides If I was upset at you trust me, you would know," She said calmly

"So don't worry about It, you're probably the only drake I trust enough to do something like that," She said causing me to blush a little.

"Oh ok, well thanks then," I said smiling before a question popped Into my mind.

"What about Garble?" I asked curious

"Please," She said rolling her eyes, "The last time he did something like that I blinked and It was over," She said causing us to laugh at the memory.

"Touché." I said

"Whatever I only did It because Falkor asked me to," Garble said looking slightly embarrassed.

"See what I mean?" Ember asked

"Ohhhh Yeah, definitely no doubt about that, " I said before walking up to Garble.

"Though no matter how much he might say he hates It I know he still loves it when I do It," I said ruffling his gill-like features causing him to blush In embarrassment before he knocks my hand away with his free one.

"I-I only let you do that so you don't bother me about It all the time," He said looking annoyed causing me to step back In confusion before It clicks for me.

'Right, gotta remember that we're back In the Dragon Lands which means that being overly affectionate makes you the number one target of being ridiculed,' I think to myself as I look back at Garble.

"Heh my bad Garble, didn't mean to upset you too much," I said grinning causing him to roll his eyes and begin to walk off acting upset as me and Ember slowly catch up to him.

"What was that about?" Ember asked

"Nothing serious just a reminder to not act all 'kind' to each other In public," I said causing her to look more confused before her eyes widened In understanding.

"Ohh right, feels weird having to worry about other dragons seeing us act like that with each other." She admitted

"Well, I guess now since we're older we can't be seen acting 'soft' with each other, especially you now that I think of It," I said causing her to look at me confused again.

"What? Why especially me?" She asked

"Well, you're the Dragon Lord's daughter right?" I questioned

"Ye-oh right." She said looking annoyed as soon as she figured It out causing me to laugh.

"Oh shut up," She said acting upset before smiling.

"Eheh, sorry just how fast your face shifted from being confused to being annoyed was funny to me," I said still grinning.

"You're lucky I like you so much or I would've punched you already," Ember said holding up her fist.

"So you like me then?" I asked grinning causing her face to turn red as she tries to come up with a retort.

"We- I- that's not-" She spluttered out before sighing and bringing a hand down her face as she looked back at me.

"Fine, you win this time," She said before getting In my face.

"Don't worry though, I'll find a way to get back at you," She said menacingly before smiling as she backed up and left to catch up with Garble.

"Heh heh, I'm in danger," I said to myself as I started to feel anticipated and excited causing me to grin for some reason.

"Though I guess I wouldn't have It any other way," I said to myself as I go to catch up with them as I stand next to Garble causing him to constantly glance up at me.

"You're fine Garble don't worry about It," I say causing him to look up at me worried.

"Trust me I understand why you acted like that you don't worry about It ok," I said reassuringly as I see him look relieved as he nods and looks forward before slightly leaning on me causing me to smile before realizing something.

"Wait, where are we supposed to go?" I ask out loud causing the others to freeze.

"Uhh, I guess to where Dad lives?" Ember suggested as me and Garble looked at each other as he shrugged.

"I guess we can," I say as we start to follow Ember back to Torch's cave.

"You know I wonder what mom's doing?" Garble asks causing me to slightly wonder as well.

"Yeah, me to-"

"Well, well look who we have here," A familiar voice said causing me to look up to see a dragon I hadn't seen In a while.

"Hello, Viserion," I said with a small frown as Garble and Ember looked upset, "Been a while." I said

"It has, though to be honest I'm surprised to find that Princess Ember Is still hanging around you two," He said sounding genuinely intrigued.

"Yes, she Is now what do you want?" I asked not In the mood to deal with him causing him to frown as he walks up to me.

"Tomorrow I want a rematch, me, you, and nothing but our strength and own draconic rights." He said simply

"Why with me specifically?" I asked

"Can't you fight another drake that's as tough as me?" I asked annoyed

"I could, but then none of them would be you," He said pointing at me.

"Besides don't tell me you wouldn't want to fight, not after what you felt winning last time," He said to me grinning as he showed off his teeth.

"If I say yes will you leave us alone?" I asked not wanting to deal with him.

"Sure, just remember our rematch tomorrow," He said as he turned and flapped his wings flying off.

"We should probably ask Mom to teach us how to do that." I said

Author's Note

Sorry for once again another short chapter but I just decided to go somewhat small this time, sorry.:fluttershyouch:

Though I do still hope that you guys will still somehow be able to somewhat enjoy this, though knowing me probably not.

Like always as I've said before If you hate It then comment down below exactly what It was that you read that caused you physically and mentally pain and I will my upmost to make sure never do it again next time.

Though if you were by some miracle able to enjoy this then also comment down and let me know what you liked about It because I always like reading the comments no matter what you have to say, well unless your a bot or an asshole then I like reading any kind of comment.

Anyways see ya next time!

Operation:Goddammint Is Unfortunately Happening

Author's Note

Well I guess this chapter might need a bit of warning so I guess here you go.

WARNING:blood and I think that It counts Gore appears In this chapter

If you end up enjoying this chapter then yay! If not then I'm sorry for not meeting up to your standards and I hope that I'll be able to do better next time.

Also sorry If people didn't like how I wrote these three that was literally my first time writing them so there may be some things that I got wrong so again sorry about that.

One more thing I think this'll be my last chapter for a bit as to focus on my new story for a bit and I think what I'll do Is I'll make It to where I do three chapters for one story following my five day schedule and then once thats done switch to my other story and do three chapters for that and then vice versa.

ANYWAYS like always make sure to comment and tell me what you liked the best about this chapter or comment and tell me what you found wrong about It and I'll do my best to prevent It from happening In the future.

Operation:Goddammint Is Unfortunately Happening

"Twilight!? What are you and the girls doing here!?" Spike cried out In shock as the white pony suddenly screamed grabbing the attention of everydragon including the others as they started making their way over to us.

"Ohhhhh my designnnnnnnnnn~" She screamed out hugging the now destroyed dragon disguise to her chest as she looked up at Viserion.

"Do you have any idea how long this took to make!?" She questioned angrily as he pretended to think about it before grinning.

"I don't know, buuuuut I could show you how long It takes to open up a pony," Viserion said showing off his fangs as she backed away from him as quickly as she could pressing up against the others.

"Hey leave her alone!" Spike yelled looking angry as Viserion snapped his head towards him.

"Stay out of this hatchling this doesn't concern you," Viserion said as Spike got out of the lava bath and ran In front of the ponies.

"Yes, It does! They're my friends!" He shouted as he stood In front of them looking up at Visrerions shocked face until he started laughing.

"Your friends!? Really!? Your friends with ponies?" He asked chuckling, "Hey everydragon this hatchling's friends with ponies!" He yelled out as all the dragons proceeded to laugh at them causing Spike to be embarrassed while I started getting irritated and began making my way over to them.

"Yeah, I am so what!?" Spike questioned as the blue one got up and stood to the side of him.

"Yeah, so what!? Better us than with somepony like you!" She said standing In defiance against Viserion until he suddenly grabbed her wrist as he brought her closer.

"Well-"

"Viserion," I start as I grab his shoulder grabbing his attention, "Let's not." I simply said

"Let's not? Now why would you care what happens to this pony?" He asked grinning as I glared at him.

"Because she's Spikes companion and any companion of Spikes Is a companion of mine as well so I'll only say It once, Let. Her. Go," I said gripping his shoulder tighter as my claws started digging In his shoulder causing him to slightly wince.

"Hmm, well I mean I coooould let her go, but let's say I do, what's In It for me?" He asked grinning.

"You get to leave." I simply said

"Really? Well I guess that sounds nice, buuut even If I let them go who knows what these untrustworthy ponies could be up to If they were willing to go through all this effort to pretend to be one of us," He pointed out which caused me to and Spike to glare at him.

"Though, I cooooould be willing to ignore this and convince everydragon here not to say anything In exchange for something," He irritatingly said pretending to act generous.

"What. Do you. Want," I said gritting my teeth as he let go of her to face me with one of the most serious faces I've ever seen on him.

"I want an actual fight from you," He said causing me to look at him bewildered.

"Wha- really!? That's It?" I asked shocked as he started chuckling at me.

"Oooh no, I'm not talking about those hatchling fights that we've been having, I'm talking about an actual fight, one where blood gets spilled If you catch my drift," He said grinning showing off his teeth as I looked on In shock.

"You mean-"

"Yep~, one where we actually let loose for once, I say that's a fair deal for letting these ponies go unbothered since, you know, they are also your companions right? So It wouldn't be to far-fetched to think you would do anything you can to help them, right?" He questioned as I balled my fist up.

"Fine, I accept,"" I said letting go of his shoulder as I crossed my arms as Viserions grin turned Into an excited smile.

"ALRIGHT! This Is going to be SO MUCH FUN!" He said smiling like he just won the lottery.

"EVERYDRAGON, LISTEN UP, I GOT A DEAL FOR ALL OF YOU, IF YOU FORGET ABOUT THESE USELESS PONIES, ME AND MY BUDDY FALKOR WILL GIVE YOU A RUTHLESS SHOW IF YOU CATCH MY DRIFT, SO? WHAT DO YOU SAY!?" He yelled out which resulted In multiple cheers and roars from all of the dragons there as he turned back to face me with a grin.

"Alright, my end of the deal Is done, now It's your turn, oh and also, I expect you to fight like you're trying to kill, can't be having you try and slack after all the work I did," He said as he began flying up into the air, "THE FIGHT WILL BE HAPPENING AT THE CRATER, SO IF YOU DONT WANT TO MISS OUT FOLLOW ME!" He yelled out before focusing on me.

"See ya soon~," He said grinning before he and every otherdragon flew off leaving Volcanic Caves to us as Garble pulled me to the side leaving Spike to his friends.

"What, the fuck, just happened Falkor!?" Garble asked me with a no-nonsense tone as we ignored one of the ponies yelling out 'language!'.

"I think you already know what happened Garble," I said pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Yeah I did, but what I'm failing to understand Is why,? Even If these random ponies are Spike's friends what does that have to do with you?" He asked

"Because they're important," I simply said as they all looked at me shocked.

"Important!? How are some random ponies Impor-," He suddenly cuts himself off as his eyes widen looking back and forth between me and the ponies on the floor, "No, you're kidding," Garble said In disbelief as he looked at me hoping that I was In which I just shook my head In response.

"Maker above I don't believe It," Garble said facepalming.

"Uhh, what's exactly wrong?" Smolder asked

"Yeah, I mean I also think that this Is stupid but you seem to be pretty upset over there," Ember pointed as she raised an eyebrow.

"Because their Spikes special companions If you catch my drift," Garble said making air quotes with his fingers as It took a second for Smolder and Ember to understand what he was saying until their eyes lit up In realization.

"Wait Really!?" They both asked me as I nodded my head In response.

"So which one's supposed to be the one who took care of him?" Ember asked as I pointed to the purple pony with a horn.

"That right there Is Twilight Sparkle, prodigy of Princess Celestia and caretaker of Spike," I said

"Well at least I know you weren't an idiot for stepping In now," Smolder said before frowning, "I know you don't exactly like hurting anydragon for no good reason but I want you to know that nodragon Is going to hold It against you If you do, especially with what you just agreed to," Smolder said as Ember walked up and placed her hand on my shoulder.

"She's right you know, If anything happens during that fight I hope It'll be because you're causing It, not because you're having It dealt to you," She said sounding stern and slightly worried as I sighed.

"I know that It's just, I don't want to get too caught up In the moment and accidentally do something I might regret," I said feeling a bit worried.

"You won't," Garble said as he walked up and put his hand on my other shoulder, "And even If you somehow do nodragon Is going to blame you, I mean I bet If anything Viserion might be happy that he made you go that far," Garble said

"But that's the thing I don't want to have to go that far," I said causing Garble to sigh.

"Except now If you want to help them out," He said gesturing to the group of ponies and dragon talking with each other, "You might have to." He pointed out

"I know, It's just ughhhhh why did this have to be so complicated?" I questioned out loud.

"Beats me, but you got no choice but to roll with It now and hey, If It makes you feel better If we decide that you might be going too far then we'll step In and stop you ok? You have our word, right?" He questioned turning to the others.

"Uhh duh, what kind of sister would I be If I didn't help out my brother?" She rhetorically asked

"And I don't know why you would ask me, If It has to do with Falkor I would do anything to help him In any way shape or form," Ember said confidently.

"Well there you go, your sister, brother, and 'companion' will be there to help stop things In case they seem to start getting out of hand alright?" Garble questioned backing up as I sighed In relief.

"Yeah, thanks guys, sorry that I'm being so sensitive over this kind of thing," I said embarrassed at feeling like this.

"Well If you were you know a normal dragon then I would certainly think there's something wrong with you," Ember said as she placed both hands on my shoulders, "But you're not and that's ok, all that means Is that your different, not that being different Is necessarily a bad thing concerning you," She said sincerely causing me to blush a bit.

"Alright Princess, we still have important things to attend to so how about you don't scar two younger dragons that are currently present right now," Garble said grinning causing me and Ember to blush at the implications as she suddenly removed her hands from my shoulders before we turn to glare at a now laughing Garble.

"Seriously Gar-Gar? Did you have to say that?" Smolder asked looking slightly disgusted.

"Y-Yes I did and I-I don't regret It at all," Garble said as he slowly stopped laughing.

"Ughh, I honestly despise you sometimes Garble," Ember said annoyed before focusing back on me, "The point Is none of us are going to be concerned with the way you feel sometimes, so don't worry about It, you're fine to feel how you want to feel, all that means Is that It's still you reminding yourself of who you are," Ember said sincerely causing me to smile and blush a bit.

"Thanks, Ember, I appreciate that," I said as she smiled back.

"Hey, what about us? Are we just some dragons you don't know?" Garble questioned acting upset.

"Yeah!" Smolder said joining In

"And thank you too guys, for being there and helping me, seriously," I said as they pretended to act mollified causing me to snort.

'Like brother, like sister,' I thought to myself until I heard a throat clearing next to us causing us to turn our attention to Spike as he pointed to the group of ponies while one of them waved nervously back at us causing Garble to groan.

"Can't believe-," he began to say until he started mumbling to himself which caused Spike to look up at me worried until he suddenly hugged my waist.

"Thank you, for protecting my friends Falkor, even If they are a couple of idiots right now," Spike said causing me to chuckle as I ruffled the top of his head.

"No problem Spike, though It might be best to see what they want, don't want to leave them with Garble now," I told him as he let go and nodded allowing us to go and meet them.

'Ok Marson, keep calm and carry on you're just going to have a conversation with three ponies, I mean so what If these three ponies are not only good-looking, practically naked and are three out of the seven main characters(Spike included) that you used to watch and root for on a fictional show you know everything about, doesn't mean a single thing,' I thought doing my best to not freak out.

"You gonna be ok there?" Aesthyr asked

[Not even close but I'll deal with It.] I told her finally reaching the ponies as they stiffly watched us with caution while Garble seemed to hate every minute of this.

"Hello there, my name Is-"

"Twilight? Unless I'm wrong and the blue one Is the one who's been taking care of Spike here," I answered cutting her off as the three of their eyebrows rose In shock.

"No no I am just, a bit surprised you guessed who I was," She said slightly shocked.

"What can I say I'm pretty lucky," I said doing my best not to grin as I took a glance around to see the others doing their best to hide their grins as well knowing what we know.

"Well I just want to say thank you for helping us out since things were starting to look a bit dangerous," She said sounding grateful.

"Ehh, If he didn't grab my wrist I would've totally wiped the floor with him," The blue one confidently claimed.

"Well guess what Rainbow he did and If It wasn't for this dragon right here It probably would've gotten worse for you so the least you could do Is be thankful that he stepped In instead of acting like It was no big deal," Twilight said annoyed leaving Rainbow stunned before she recovered and awkwardly turned towards me as she looked at the floor and kicked a pebble away.

"Thanks for helping me out." Rainbow said mumbling.

"Louder," Twilight said annoyed causing Rainbow to sigh.

"Thanks for helping me out," Rainbow said louder

"Uhh no problem just, don't let It happen again?" I said not knowing what else to say as the white one walked up towards me.

"Well since we're giving our thanks I would like to say thank you for helping us and taking care of Spikey-Wikey for us, I do want to say that I'm terribly sorry for causing you problems that you never should have dealt with Mr....?" She said trailing off as I answered the unasked question.

"Falkor, and don't mention It, you were Spike's friend and any friends of his are friends of mine which I would do anything for, and also I'm pretty sure Spike would've been capable on his own without our help, we were just helping him out any way we could ms...?" I said repeating the same thing she did.

"Oh, where are my manners, my name Is Rarity, Rarity Belle, pleasure to make your acquaintance Falkor and anything huh? Interesting," She said smiling while batting her eyelashes.

"Alright well If we've gotten the distractions out of the way we should probably go so that way Viserion doesn't think you flaked out on him," Ember pointed out while giving Rarity some sort of look that caused her to back off and clear her throat.

"Right good point, well It was nice meeting you ponies but If you don't mind I'm going to have to cut this short, as Viserion said earlier I need to keep up my end of the deal so see ya," I said giving them a two finger salute as I began making my way around them before Twilight cut me off.

"Wait what If I teleport you and your friends over there, that way you can save your strength for the fight," She suggested leaving me shocked.

"You sure you even know where he was talking about?" I asked as she nodded her head

"Yes I do, we were there earlier watching Spike talk to your group to make sure nothing went wrong." She explained

"Besides, It's the least I could do for you after we caused trouble for you and then needed you to help defend us." She said looking guilty

"Yeah It Is," Ember said still obviously slightly upset by this whole ordeal.

"Well I mean If you're sure then thank you for assisting me, though I guess we're even after this," I pointed out as she chuckled.

"Not sure about that one," She said before she closed her eyes and her horn, "Now everypony get together as close as you can so that way It'll make It easier for the spell to latch onto you," She said as we all clumped up against each other her included before she teleported us inside the crater where everyone was on a little cliff that was a little bit above the ground.

Now, how do I explain what I just experienced In me terms?

Well to start, for a split second, It had felt like, no, sound like there was nothing at all, like everything around me had suddenly gotten muted one second and then unmuted the next.

Another thing was how It felt, It simply felt like nothing, no warmth, no cold, just nothing and for that split second It drove me crazy not feeling anything I was used to, the closest thing I could compare It to was how a child would feel after their parents were forced to move from where they grew up at but instead of feeling sad I just felt wrong.

One last thing was how disorienting It felt, almost like I was suddenly shoved Into some small container, got shaken up In said container, and then shoved out of said container.

Needless to say, teleportation did not agree with me as all I could feel was nauseous and had a strong urge to throw up which I thankfully was able to resist.

Though I can't say that everyone else had the same luck as me.

"Hurrrrgh"

"Ewww, please aim away from me," I heard Rarity say.

"I think I'm going to be sick." I hear Garble say

"Wow that uh, really took a lot out of me, I think I'm gonna go ahead and just sit down," Twilight said as she unceremoniously flopped to the floor.

"Oh dear, I do hope she's alright," Rarity said sounding slightly worried at Twilight's passed-out form.

"Eh she'll be fine, let's hope she wakes up sooner or later though cause I don't want to have to drag her body all the way back to Ponyville," Rainbow said

"I suppose," Rarity said before turning to me, "Well Falkor I wish you the best of luck down there." She said

"What she said," Rainbow said

"Remember Falkor, he wants you to go all out so don't hold anything back," Garble said

"Also he's going all out as well so he might fight differently then what you're used to from him so be careful." Ember pointed out

"Don't worry Falkor I believe In you, you can defeat him with no problem," Spike said confidently

"Don't die!" Smolder said cheerily causing the ponies plus Spike to look at her with a 'What's wrong with you!?' look while Ember and Garble just gave her a 'Really?' Look.

"I'm just kidding, but seriously don't die Falkor," Smolder said seriously as I began rubbing her head before she swatted away my hand and blushed In embarrassment.

"Don't worry Smolder I don't plan on It," I told her

'Not again.' I thought to myself

"And thank you guys, I promise I'll do my best to not let you down," I said seriously

"That's all we can hope for," Garble said as I nodded before I proceeded to fly down to where Viserion was waiting.

TO BE CONTINUED

Na I'm just joking

Landing down to where Viserion gave me a sense of deja vieu that reminded me of our fight from eight years ago except now there are no other dragons surrounding us down here, just me and him.

"Well well well, If isn't GREAT to see ya bud! Are you as excited for this as I am!?" He questioned excitedly

"No I can't say I'm particularly thrilled about this," I answered honestly frowning causing Viserion to groan.

"Come onnnnnn Falkor, your dragon blood should be roaring at the chance to finally let loose after all these years of holding back, and don't try to lie to me and say you hate It because I still remember the day when you began to let loose, and the absolute joy that was beginning to appear on your face was, absolutely thrilling to watch," He said sounding strangely nostalgic as he focused back on me.

"I wonder how It would look If you weren't holding back." Was all Viserion said before his wings popped out and he flew straight at me with his claws outstretched swiping at me with his right claw forcing me to dodge to the left as he then tried quickly clawing me again aiming for my face with his right claw still as I was barely able to dodge It again.

I then tried using my shield to attack him which he dodged before he turned to try and catch me off guard using his left hand to try and swipe at me which I was able to block with my right arm before he quickly swiped at my arm with his other claw causing a burning sensation to suddenly make itself known on my arm causing me to suddenly cry out In pain as I tried backing away.

Not wanting to let me breathe he propelled himself forward a bit with his wings before aiming his right claw at my face again which I was able to dodge and stop as I grabbed his arm with my left before also grabbing It with my right as I used all my strength to twist and flip him over In the air.

Somehow he was able to recover as he proceeded to right himself In the air and tried stabbing his right claw again at my face while I was preparing to swipe upwards with my right claw at the same time.

For a second It seemed like everything was In slow motion as I was frozen In place not being able to do anything as I watched his claw approach closer and closer to my face seeming like he was going for my right eye In particular.

Then the next moment all I could feel was blood on my face and someone scream out In pain.

Who?

Was It me?

I took a second to try blinking both eyes and to my shock, they both still worked.

I then looked at the floor before me as I saw Viserion holding his right arm tightly with his left hand as blood began leaking on the floor.

I then lifted my claw to see what state It was In.

It was covered In blood.

Viserion began saying something to me but I couldn't hear him as I all could focus on was the blood on my claw.

"Falkor, It's just blood you didn't kill anyone yet," Aesthyr said trying to reassure me as I balled up my hand.

'Right, right, nothing that serious has happened and hopefully It won't,' I think to myself as I take a deep breath before exhaling.

[Thanks Aesthyr, I needed that.] I said gratefully

"No problem, somedragon has to take care of you when you can't," She said sounding amused, "Now focus, fight's not over yet," Aesthyr said reminding me of the situation.

[Right, well wish me luck.] I told her

"Good luck" Was the last thing I heard as she went quiet and I focused back on the fight.

What I didn't want to tell her was how seeing someone else's blood on my hand because I caused them to bleed made me feel some sort of thrill at the action.

And that scared me.

Garble's POV

After the first two blows landed on each side I haven't been able to hear anything else outside of the loud cheering coming from all the other young adult dragons around and above us.

At first, I was worried that Falkor would've gotten his eye gouged out at the beginning but after he sliced that fuckers arm up I was convinced he had this.

But, I still couldn't help but be worried, that was still somedragon I cared about fighting down there.

"Hey!" I hear a voice call out to me causing me to try and find the source of It as It turns out to be Smolder looking at me worried, "You Ok!?" She screams out over the loud cheers.

"Yeah! Just worried I guess!" I told her as she nodded before grinning as she pointed at somedragon causing me to follow her finger towards Ember who looked on edge watching the fight go on as I begin grinning as well.

"Well of course She Is, If I were In her place I'd DEFINITELY be worried as well!" I said emphasizing what I meant and Smolder seemed to get what I meant as she snickered before paying attention back to the match as my grin fell.

'Come on Falkor, I know you can be more ruthless than this,' I thought hoping he would stop worrying and begin acting like how some ponies thought we were.

Because Viserion sure Is.

Marson's POV

'Jesus Fucking Christ!' I thought to myself before I barely dodged his right claw as he tried swiping at me before he turned his wrist and swiped again not giving me any chance to breathe as I barely was able to duck and back away.

Not wanting to waste any time I began to rush him as I punched him a few times In the face before I tried faking him out by pretending to punch him again before I opened my shield and struck.

Unfortunately, he seemed to be able to react quicker than I thought as he was barely able to catch the shield before It hit him again.

Not wanting to give him time to recover I put my other hand on the shield and began pushing him forward as hard as I could before we hit the wall and I struggled to keep him pinned while also trying to catch my breath a bit.

"Having fun yet Viserion?" I asked sarcastically

"No I'm not," He said shocking me causing me to look up only to see him frowning before he pulled his arms back a bit and shoved me away as I tumbled a bit before luckily catching myself and quickly stood back up.

"What do you mean!? This Is what you wanted Isn't It!?" I asked confused

"No It's not, at first I thought It was when you actually hurt me but you're still holding back on me," He said before flying towards me.

"Holding back!?" I questioned in disbelief before I opened my shield and hit him In the side of his face as hard as I could sending him crashing to the ground a bit to the right of me as I walked up behind him.

"How about that!? Was that holding back!?" I questioned before I felt something tug my foot up causing me to trip before It let go and I felt something else grab my leg as I was suddenly chucked up In the air.

Slightly panicking It takes me a couple of seconds to remember that I have wings and can reorient myself In the air before I begin to see Viserion approaching me rapidly.

Not wanting him to have the advantage I begin to breathe fire down on him before rushing through It and out the other side as I see Viserions surprised face before I dig my claws Into both of his arms drawing blood doing my best to keep them pinned to his side and begin pushing him back down to the ground as fast as I could while he begins frowning at me again.

"Fine! You don't want to take this seriously then I'll make you!" I hear him shout before he headbutts me making my vision flash for a second as I let go of him to try and calm down the pain pulsing through my head.

"Whe-Where?" I said trying to focus on where he was so I wouldn't be caught off guard only to see him nowhere nearby.

I then look towards the ground as I see him heading towards...

'No,' I think to myself as my body moves on instinct and begins descending to follow him.

'He wouldn't,' I think trying to convince myself that what I was seeing wasn't actually happening as I pushed myself to go faster.

'He wouldn't dare,' I say to myself as I see him leaning his head slightly back.

'Oh that's dirty,' I think finally reaching him as I see Twilight trying to hold up a shield spell while Visrerion begins to open his mouth before I sink my claws under and above his snout closing his mouth shut as he looks back at me shocked before suddenly beginning to thrash around trying to force me to let go as I only dig deeper.

"What's wrong Vis? Having trouble?" I sarcastically ask before preparing myself as I suddenly start breathing fire down on top of him as I begin to hear his muffled screams.

Now If Gauntlet Of Fire Is right on any account then that means while dragon fire can't kill other dragons It can still burn them.

And I plan on taking advantage of that while he continues to thrash around In my grasp trying to scream out as he continues trying to pry my hands off his snout forcing me to dig my claws even deeper In response.

In an act of desperation, he headbutts me with the back of his head towards my open mouth causing me to let go In shock which he tries to take advantage of by flying away before I grab his tail.

"Now now, can't be having you run off during the time of your LIFE!" I yell out as I begin spinning around with him still In my grasp before I suddenly let go causing him to crash into the wall above where the others were.

Not wasting any time I rushed towards and held him In place grabbing hold of his hair with my right hand and digging my claws In his right shoulder with my left as I pulled his head back and slammed It as hard as I could back Into the wall.

And I did It again, and again, and again, and again, before letting go of his now bloodied hair as I pulled my right hand back and clawed as hard as I could across the left side of his face blinding his left eye as he cried out and pain and fell towards the ground where the others were.

"Oh my God! Viserion are you alright!?" I asked acting panicked at what I did as I flew down to where he was and held his head up with both of my hands.

"Oh my God you look horrible!" I yelled out as he looked up at me with his now-blinded eye.

"Let me help YOU," I growled out as I dug one of my claws into his already damaged eye causing him to scream out In pain once more before I'm suddenly pulled back.

"LET ME GO! THIS IS WHAT HE WANTED RIGHT!? LET US FINISH THE FIGHT! IF HE WANTS TO THREATEN THE PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT FOR THIS THEN I'LL KEEP GIVING HIM A FIGHT HE'LL NEVER FUCKING FORG-," Was the last thing I was able to scream out before my world suddenly turned black.

Why?

'Where am I?' I think to myself.

I look around trying to make out my environment but the only thing I can see was pure darkness.

'Where am I?' I couldn't help but repeat to myself.

I try moving around only to find myself contained in some sort of space, 'W-where am I?' Why is it so hard to move?' I tried to figure out as I began to panic.

I tried calling out for help only to find my ability to speak missing making me panic even more.

'What's going on!? Why can't I speak!? Why is it so dark!?' I tried to figure out as I started to hyperventilate as I try banging on whatever Is surrounding me.

'Where is everybody!? 'Am I the only one here!? We-'

CRACK
I pause as I finally see some sort of light peek through the pitch-black darkness I was starting to dread being stuck in but now seeing some sort of silver lining I begin to bang harder in hopes of escaping.

'LET,

CRACK

'ME,

CRACK

'OUT,

CRACK

'PLEASE!'

Almost as If I was answered I finally break free of my dark surroundings as I come tumbling out onto a rock-hard surface.

Upon opening my eyes I could only see nothing but blurs for a couple of seconds before my sight became clearer as I looked around frantically, noting how much brighter and bigger everything was now as well.

'I don't know what the f-fuck is going on anymore, I don't know where I am and I don't know why I was In-'

I turn around, trying to figure out exactly where I came from but the only thing that is in front of me is an egg, specifically colored dark orange with red spots on them.

'An egg?' W-Why? How? An- Agh!' I panicked taking a step forward only to freeze as I see an arm, colored dark orange lift with sharp claws at the end of my fingers instead of my fingernails.

'W-what, wh-' I continued to move my arm as testing to see if it's attached to me and that's when I decide to look over to my left arm I find the same situation as it is almost a carbon copy of my right arm.

I turn back finding my back now filled with scales and a tail attached to my ass with spikes on it while my two legs seem to also look the same as my arms.

My mind starts racing, questioning why my whole body has been replaced with whatever is attached to my body until something in my mind clicks.

'A dream, o-of course, why didn't I think of that sooner! It's just a dream, It has to be and as soon as something unexpected happens to me or I go to sleep then I'll wake back up.' I concluded seeing as that was the only reasonable explanation to what has happened to me.

Satisfied with my reasoning, I decided that I was going to explore my surroundings but before I did I noticed something out of the corner of my eye next to I guess the 'egg' that I came out of was another egg but this one was dark red with orange spots instead.

I tried walking over only to immediately trip and fall hitting my head on the floor, grumbling I slowly make my way over to the other egg while getting used to walking on all fours for the first time.

'That could've gone-'

CRACK
'Oh shit!' I jump startled as I begin to hear something crack before I look back towards the egg I was looking at earlier except now Its starting to hatch.

'Ok, ok calm down Its just a baby It literally can't hurt you.' I told myself as the egg cracks enough for me to see a claw peeking through before whatever is in the egg makes its way out.

I look at the lizard-like creature that comes tumbling out as it struggles to get up before constantly falling back down.

Making use of their shortcomings I take my time to look over the creature that Is struggling In front of me.

As I take In their features they seem to look almost like me except it has dark red scales with orange spikes on its tail and an orange fin-like appendage on its head.

'Huh, you know it kinda looks familiar but I can't tell why.' I think to myself.

While I was busy looking him over and thinking the creature managed to finally stand without falling back down as they then turned to me.

Startled, I take an unconscious step backward as they take a step towards me almost stumbling onto the floor but managing to catch themselves.

This process repeats itself until I back up into something as I feel the air hit my head causing me to pause.

Turning around slowly, I proceed to back up as I see a ginormous creature looking down on us with one eye as their hand starts descending onto us causing me to close my eyes in fear.

'Ok, ok, it's fine, it's just a dream and then, after I get crushed I'll just wake back up to wherever I was previously.' I think as I await my demise.

Though it never came because even though I feel my body being moved around a little I don't feel any closer to being crushed.

Confused I open my eyes noticing I'm no longer on the ground but instead seem to be getting lifted on the creature's hand up to their face and it also seems like I'm not alone, as the creature from the egg was picked up in his their hand as well.

Slowly but surely, we're brought near their face as their eyes bore down on us making me feel like I was being judged.

This lasts for a good minute before the creature seems to be satisfied as they nod their ginormous head before bringing they're hand back down towards the floor.

Taking the hint I proceed to slowly stumble off as I roll back down to the floor into the other creature.

I panic as I try to get up thinking I might have upset him until I finally scramble on my feet, looking back I find him just going back near his egg as he proceeds to twirl around a few times before laying down with his tail curled into himself.

'Oh, guess he's just going to sleep.' Not soon after I proceed to yawn as well now making me feel somewhat drowsy.

'Well, I guess this dream had to end one way or another.' I think to myself as I proceed to lie down repeating what the other creature did only stumbling once.

Closing my eyes I start to fall asleep until I feel a weight on my tail causing me to become startled as I look back only to find the creature now sleeping next to me with his leg on my tail as I roll my eyes.

'Whatever not like it's gonna matter.' I think as I close my eyes once again falling asleep as my slumber finally takes me away.

As I blearily open my eyes I proceed to yawn as I get ready for the new day.

'Well as weird as that dream was it's time to get up and do something with the day.' I begrudgingly thought to myself.

As I finish my thought I tiredly open my eyes only for them to land on the creature from my dream still sleeping next to me.
It takes me a couple of seconds for my brain to catch up as I stumble back confused.

'W-Wh, I don't understand.' I look around seeing nothing but what was in my dream.

'W-Why didn't I wake up?' I went to sleep right? That should've woken me up, so if that was the case why am I still here?' I asked myself hoping for an answer.

One never comes though as I'm left with one question constantly running through my head.

'Why?'

Author's Note

Yeah I know this might seem ass but just bear with me enough to read, and tell me what you despise about it or if you somehow enjoyed this tell me if you want me to continue this because frankly I'm not sure if really anyone will be interested in this so like I said tell me so I don't waste my time on this if its a failed experiment.

New Slate

Author's Note

I know this chapter was horrible so I need everyone to tell me wat you hate about It stat, but umm if you don't then enjoy i guess. Also sorry for the short chapter as well

New Slate

I open my eyes as I quickly sit up to take In my surroundings only to find that I'm back In my mother's palm.

"We made It," I said in disbelief

My eyes then widen as I turn to my brother who hasn't gotten up yet, "Hey HEY! Wake up, we made It back," I said trying to shake my brother awake.

Finally, I see his eyes shoot open as he then looks around in panic before his eyes land on me slightly calming down.

"Brother? D-Did We-"

"Yeah, we did," I said cutting him off

We suddenly start ascending as we're brought to the face of our mother who looked like they were one second from tearing up.

"My Little Hatchlings, I am so proud of you for returning to me safe and sound, and now, I no longer have to take precautions from feeling heartbreak anymore." She said

We looked confused as she slightly turned her head towards my brother, "I have been waiting to do this from the day you hatched and now I finally can, from this day on you will be able to carry your names with pride as proof of your achievements for returning from that Maker's awful place, my little Garble." She then turns to me, "And my little Falkor, wear these names as you create your futures for yourselves," She said tearing up a bit as she lets us down on the ground.

"Now you two wait here, I need to have some words with our Dragon Lord," She said as she lightly starts flapping knocking us over In the process before flying toward The Dragon Lord.

Though It seems like she's not the only one as all the other bigger Dragons seem to have the same idea as I see them also begin to fly towards him.

Garble suddenly starts to cry. "H-hey what's wrong? We made It out didn't we?" I asked worried

Garble walks over and wraps me up In a hug as he begins to sob, "I-I w-was s-so scared, I t-thought I was gonna be taken In that place l-like t-the others." He said in between his sobs," B-But you saved me, I-if it wasn't for you I could've been like them," Garble finishes as he goes back to sobbing on my shoulder.

I wrap my arms around him as I tightly hug him back, "W-well don't worry about It, I...I just did what any brother would do." I say as I try to keep myself from shaking." I said

'He's right though, If we stopped for even a second we would've been goners, shit even when we didn't stop he still would've almost died If I wasn't there,' I thought myself realizing how close he was to dying back there.

I look on into the distance towards Dragon Lord Torch as he currently seems to be discussing something with all the other Dragons.

'Now I remember where I heard that name from, That Torch, Lord of the Dragons from that show,' I thought to myself.

'I thought that, from what I remember that show was supposed to be mostly harmless they never had shit like this where newborn Dragons would have to go through some fucked up trial that could kill them without giving them much of a chance! What the fuck Is happening here!' I thought to myself as I began to snarl.

"Um Falkor, are y-you ok?" Garble asked in a worried tone.

I snap out of my inner thoughts as I look down at my brother in my arms while he looks at me with worry.

'To think that If we had been a bit slower he could've died just like that, and that would just be considered NORMAL!' I think to myself as I begin to feel more and more upset at the implications of that.

"Y-yeah I'm fine just, still trying to calm down from what happened," I said not wanting to worry him anymore.

"Oh ok." He said as he breaks away from the hug.

We then stand there looking onwards In the distance as we wait for our mother to return.

"I hate that place." Garble suddenly said

I turn to him and I see him with a little frown on his face. "Yeah, I do too," I said agreeing with him.

He looks at me for a second before looking back into the distance," I hated how weak I felt when I was In there, I hated how If It wasn't for you I would be gone right now." He said angrily

I turn to him a bit offended. "Does that mean you hate me for helping you?" I question

All his anger seemingly disappears as he turns to me, "No, well yes? I don't hate that you helped me It's just, that I hate how I needed your help, I hate how weak I was that I couldn't do anything but be dependent on you the entire time," He tries to explain to me.

"You were able to hurt one of those things though, If not for that would probably be like the others that were taken In that place," I said trying to reassure him.

"Yeah but, I was too afraid to even think of anything while you were able to come up with something, even though we were about to die," He said as he walks up to me.

"Don't you get It? I wasn't able to do anything In that place, I was useless," Garble said as I grabbed his shoulders.

"Garble you're a hatchling, I'm a hatchling, you shouldn't beat yourself up because you were scared In a situation where a hatchling would have the right to be scared," I try to explain to him before he knocks my hands away and his frown comes back.

"And what about when we grow up into full-fledged dragons huh? I'm just gonna be afraid of everything because I won't be strong enough to do anything about It," He said as he begins to tear up again.

"Garble. Look at me," I said with a commanding tone.

He looks at me still frowning as he does his best to not start crying again. "What?" He says in a sullen tone

"I'm gonna say this once and only once, It's okay to be afraid." I said

He looked at me like I was an idiot in response. "Are you stupid? Dragons can't be afraid, we're strong and tough." Garble said

I shake my head "Even Dragons can be afraid Garble, Did you think I was afraid when we were In that place?" I asked him

"No?" He said

"Yes, I was," I said as I begin to walk towards him. "I was terrified when those things started snatching up the other hatchlings, I got scared when I felt and saw you about to be taken from me," I explain

"B-but you still got us out, you still saved me. If you hadn't told me to use my claws I would be gone," Garble said trying to find something wrong with what I said.

I shrugged In response, "Didn't make me less terrified, just because I did all those things didn't mean I wasn't afraid, It's because I wasn't just going to stand there doing nothing while I was afraid." I said

"What do you mean?" Garble said confused

"What I'm trying to say Garble Is It ok to be afraid, terrified, whatever, that doesn't matter, what matters Is if you're going to let your fear win." I said

"Let my fear win?" He asked

"Yeah, because to me I feel like what makes a Dragon big and strong Is the fact that even though they may be afraid their still able to push through their fear and do what needs to be done." I explained

I grab his shoulders again as I look him straight in the eyes, "So I feel like what you need to focus on Is, are you going to let your fear win or are you going to claim it as your own and push through It? I feel like the time has come for you to ask yourself that question." I said

We stayed like that for more couple of seconds until I could see the determination In his eyes burn brightly In response letting me know what his answer was.

"You're right, I don't want to be stuck like that again because of my stupid fear, I'm gonna push through It and show everyone how much of a dragon I am," He said as he then wraps me In a hug which catches me by surprise before I reciprocate, "Thank you, for helping me understand Falkor," Garble said as he breaks the hug off.

I smile In response "Your welcome Garble."

"But uhh, If I'm going to be a feared and respected dragon I can't be seen doing hugs with my brother so, so Let's just only do those in private ok," He said with a bit of an embarrassed expression.

I chuckle in response "Alright Garble, If It makes you happy."

Some Time Later...

7 Years Later To Be Exact

After our mother had returned from her talk with Torch she picked us up and returned home, and since then It pretty much has been the same thing day in and day out for these 7 years, though I would've never known If our mother hadn't told us about each year that passed.

I have to say that my new life has been.....interesting to say the least, I mean so far I've been reborn as a mythical creature that existed in a TV show made for kids, am In said TV show universe, and lived through an event in my life that could've gotten me and my brother Garble killed.

Also, I remembered three years ago when I found him picking up random rocks and putting them together for some reason.

Confused, I went up to him and as I was about to ask him what he was doing, he got up faster than I saw him move and proceeded to break whatever he was doing as he turned to me with a nervous look.

I then asked him what he was doing but he just told me that It was nothing until I was able to finally convince him to tell me what he was doing.

"Promise me you won't laugh?" Garble asked

"Garble we are home, In our cave, and you brother, you don't have to worry about me making fun of you for something, I just want to know what you were doing," I said trying to reassure him.

"OK well, I just found some rocks lying around and I was pretty bored so I got a few and decided to try and do something with them." He explained

"And what was It you were trying to do?" I asked

Garble shrugs in response "I'm not sure, It was just kinda a feeling that I got when I was putting together, It was like," He pauses as he then looks at his hands before resuming. "Like It felt right, but not like In a way that I was doing something right according to Dragons, but like In a way that felt right to me," He then blinks rapidly before he looks back up at me before putting his hands down.

"Sorry, I know It sounds stupid." He said frowning

"No, no! That sounds nice actually," I said trying to reassure him.

"Dragons aren't supposed to be nice, they used to be feared and respected," he said puffing out his chest.

"So what about me and Mom? Are we not Dragons because we're nice?" I asked him

He instantly began backtracking his words. "W-well no but, I mean Ughh! I don't know ok!" He said clearly frustrated

"Well, you wanna know what I think Garble?" I asked him

"What?" Garble questions curious at what my answer would be.

"I feel like the reason that Dragons are feared and respected is not because of how ferocious they are, but because of how they defend creatures that can't protect themselves," I said trying to convince him with my reasoning.

Garble crosses his arms, "Falkor, that sounds dumb," He said clearly not convinced.

"Well what, about our mother? She protected us when we were just eggs was she feared by anydrake? Probably not, but she was still respected because she loved and protected us." I explained

"W-well yeah bu-"

"And what about Dragon Lord Torch? As 'Feared and Respected' as he Is, he's not feared and respected because he's gone across Equestria and laid waste to all the other creatures even though he could, he's feared and respected because of how he's been able to successfully keep an entire species safe and secure from any creature who dared to try and go against him," I said cutting him off.

'At least I hope that's been the case,' I think to myself.

Garble stands there with a thoughtful frown on his face for a minute before responding. "So, what you're saying Is, being nice doesn't make me any less of a Dragon?" He asked confused

"Yes, Personally to me, what makes a Dragon Is their ability to use their strengths for creatures that would've never been able to defend themselves, and also being cool and powerful," I said adding the last part In to try and add a convincing point to my explanation.

"Well, I mean, I guess It wouldn't hurt to do more 'nice' things as a Dragon." He then puffs out his chest again, "But I'm still going to be feared and respected by everydrake." He proclaimed

I chuckle throwing my arm around him In a one-armed hug, "Don't worry Garble, I already know you will." I said

Garble gave me a big grin in response. "Thanks, Falkor, I'm glad I can count on you."

Heh, good times, though other than that I've enjoyed my new life so far, as much as one can enjoy living out in a rocky biome, In a cave, for most of their life.

Thankfully, I have Garble to spend my time with otherwise I'm pretty sure I would've gone insane.

"Give up, or I will show you what happens to those who cross me," I said keeping a hold of him In as I trap him In a chokehold position.

"I will never give up, not to you," Garble said glaring back at me.

"Then you leave me no choice," I said as I proceed to give him a playful noogie as he struggles to break free.

"Stopppppp, Itttttttttt." Garble whines

"Nope, I won and you lost so this Is your punishment," I said proceeding to continue noogiing him until he finally breaks free.

"Ugh, why do you always have to do that, It's so embarrassing," Garble said as he glares at me rubbing his head In annoyance.

"Well, when you're able to beat me then by all means, I'll stop," I said walking up to him as I give him a slight tap on his snout causing his face to scrunch up, "But until then you'll have to drake up and take the punishment." I said grinning.

Garble rolls his eyes, "Whatever, I'll win this stupid game of yours one day you just watch." He said

For context there were times when our mother would leave the cave, telling us that she was going to do something and that she would be back before leaving. This In turn would leave us to do random stuff around the cave To pass the time until she came back.

Then one day I was just sitting and thinking to myself about how lucky I was that I managed to get reborn and that I didn't notice Garble coming to me from behind. So when he went to get my attention by tapping me I got startled and screamed but instead of screaming I somehow managed to breathe fire out of my mouth.

It wasn't anything impressive only managing to barely make It past my mouth but the fact I had managed to do It all shocked me, and when I turned back to Garble he also had a look of shock on his face as he looked at me before he started grinning.

He then proceeded to tell me to show him how I managed to do that. Now the only problem Is I had no idea how I did that and I told him that. I proceeded to watch the excitement die in his eyes as I said that and that almost tore my heart In half seeing him so disappointed. So, In an attempt to keep my soul from dying I came up with a game, It would be Garble trying to breathe fire with me trying to offer helpful advice while I also tried to breathe fire again.

I had figured out that when I breathed fire It was kinda like I was focusing a scream into a kinda whistling-like motion, and with repeated attempts at It I had finally managed to breathe fire again.

It wasn't anything impressive still only barely going past my snout, but I was still satisfied that I managed to now have a way to do It again.

Then, a few weeks later Garble was able to produce a tiny flame that extended just under his mouth. I congratulated him for his achievement he looked embarrassed at my praise but still clearly enjoying It.

He then told me that he still wanted his flame to be stronger and longer kinda like how mine was.

I'm not going to lie It was, nice that he kinda looked up to me In a way, so, I came up with another 'game' where In this one we would breathe fire until we got tired and whoever got tired first would be punished by the winner.

That way It would help us improve how long we could keep breathing fire and I was also hoping for It to increase its strength too but I had no real way of knowing that.

"I'm sure you will Garble, It's only In due time and hey who knows your flame might even be longer and stronger than mine," I said

He looks at me with an unsure expression. "You think so?" He asks

"I know so, It might take a good while but I know that eventually you'll reach and surpass how far you can go right now." I go over to him as I put my hand on his shoulder, "It's only a matter of time," I said smiling.

He gives me an embarrassed one back. "Thanks for never doubting me Falkor." Garble said

"Of course, what kinda brother would I be If I did?" I asked rhetorically

Just then we started to hear wings beating as we looked to the entrance of the cave we saw our mother returning from wherever she was.

"Hi Mom," I said walking up to her.

"MOM, MOM LOOK WHAT I CAN DO," Garble said as he produces a tiny flame from his mouth. "DID YOU SEE THAT MOM!"

She chuckles which echoes around the cave producing a kinda booming effect around us. "Yes, yes I did Garble, congratulations on being able to produce your first flame, and only your only 7 years as well. Maker, a couple of more years and I'll be all alone while you two are out becoming full-fledged Dragons." She said In an exaggerated manner

"Don't worry mom, we'll still come and visit," I said playing along

"Yeah, I could never forget about you Mom," Garble said puffing his chest out.

"Well, I'm very happy that you'll visit me In the future." She said as she proceeds to get lower to the floor, "Now I know that you two haven't been able to do much these few years, and I'm sure you've been bored out of your minds."

"So, how about I take you two out of this boring cave to go and meet some other young drakes such as yourselves, Maker knows you haven't been able to do much In here." She said opening her palm

Not needing much more convincing we climb on as she brings her hands together plunging us In almost total darkness I feel the familiar feeling of dropping through her hand before being brought back up as I hear the wind hitting against her hand.

A couple of minutes later we start to slow down as I feel us begin to lower until our mother separates her hands once again blinding us until we get used to the light again as I take a minute to look around at our surroundings.

The first thing I noticed was how many other drakes there were either relaxing in lava baths, play fighting, or digging and eating gems. I also noticed how we were In a sort of ginormous cave as all the other Dragons were lying down near the entrance seemingly chatting with each other.

I jump down off my mother's palm as I land on the ground noticing right off the bat how much softer the ground felt than normal as I moved my toes around getting kind of lost In the feeling.

"Well here we are, the Volcanic Caves, and thankfully It seems that there are plenty of other drakes and drakinas to talk to as well." She says as she lowers herself to our level. "Now I'll be just by the entrance, In case you need anything ok?" She asked

"Yes Mom, we got It," Garble said impatiently clearly wanting to try everything out.

She chuckled in response, amused at Garble's impatience. "OK, your right I've been talking long enough, go and have fun." She said

"Finally. C'mon Falkor I want to try out everything," He said as he begins to pull me along with him towards the lava baths.

As we make our way towards the lava baths I notice how filled up some of them are as we try to find one that's empty for us to get into.

Somehow, we're finally able to find a lava bath that filled up a hole In the ground.

"Woah, so this Is a lava bath?" Garble questions as he sticks a foot pulling back slightly only to then slowly enter the bath.

"Ohhhhhhh, this feels good," Garble said as the rest of his body slips Into the lava. "Come on Falkor, get In It feels good," Garble said waving me over.

"U-uhh y-yeah give me a minute," I said as I mentally try to prepare myself.

Now I know that yes I am a Dragon, and yes I can withstand lava but that still doesn't change the fact that I've lived an entire life where I had to be careful not to hit my hand too hard.

I take a deep breath as I mentally prepare myself as I begin to dip my foot into the lava. "AGHHHHHHHHhhhhhhh, oh this feels pretty good," I said as I feel the comfortable warmth of the lava, almost similar to the feeling of a hot tub but just with lava.

I then slowly turn around hoping that every other Dragon didn't hear me screaming though as I see everydrake In the cave looking towards me and I can feel my cheeks heat up In embarrassment as I quickly enter the lava bath and lower myself leaving only my face visible.

*snnrk* I look over at Garble as I can see him struggle to not laugh until he can't anymore and bursts out laughing. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, laugh It up," I said still feeling embarrassed.

Garble proceeds to do just that until he starts to try and calm down and wipes some tears out of his eyes. "I-It It's just you screamed like a little drakina, HAHAHAHAHA."

"Whatever," I said closing my eyes as I began to relax slowly forgetting about how much of a fool I've made of myself.

It also seems like Garble has forgotten about those two as I peek open my left eye and see him relaxing as his eyes are also closed.

I close my eyes as I return to relaxing In the lava until I feel the lava move around a bit and the ground shakes causing me to open my and Garble's eyes as we look around In confusion until we land our eyes on Dragon Lord Torch as he stands there looking around at everydrake.

Now that I'm right in front of him I can see just how huge he Is compared to the other Dragons as he effortlessly towers over the rest of them including our mother.

He seems to be satisfied with something only he was looking for as he proceeds to lower his hands to the ground as a small light blue drakina with a dark blue tip on the end of her tail and two white horns sticking out near her ears walks off of his palm.

"Listen And Listen Well, Dragons Of Equestria. I Have Brought My Daughter Princess Ember Here To Socialize And Enjoy Herself, And While She Is Here You Will Treat Her With The Respect That She Deserves. Am. I. Clear," He said In a firm tone.

"Yes Lord Torch," Everydrake Says almost at the same time.

"Good." He said as he proceeds to lower his head towards Ember, "Have fun Ember and don't forget to make allies as well while you're here." He said completely changing his tone while pointing at her.

"Daaaaaad," Ember said sounding annoyed.

"OK, fine see you later." He said proceeding to join the other parents by the entrance.

As soon as he moved away all the other drakes and drakinas proceeded to move towards her while me and Garble stay In the lava bath.

"Why did they all leave the lava baths?" Garble asked confused

"Because of Princess Ember," I responded back with.

"What about her?" He asked still confused

"She's the daughter of Dragon Lord Torch, so everyone wants to be her 'ally'," I explained to him.

"Oh, well unless she comes to the lava bath I'm not leaving," Garble said as he proceeds to lower himself more into the lava. "This feels way too good for me to leave." Garble said

"Heh, you said It Garble, you said It," I said as I proceed to close my eyes and go back to relaxing.

I continued to sit there and continue to relax, enjoying my time In the nice lava bath until I started to hear drakes talking to someone coming closer and closer to where me and Garble was relaxing.

"So yeah me and my friend are pretty strong," I hear a voice say slowly getting louder.

I suddenly start to feel the lava shift as I open my left eye just as they begin to step In causing me to close my eyes again doing my best to Ignore them.

'Ok no big deal, It's just a character from the show, who Is also the Princess of the Dragon Lord, In the lava bath with me, with another character from the show as my brother.' I think to myself

'...How did I get here?' I ask myself

"Don't you think the same thing?" A voice asked

It becomes quiet for a minute until the voice speaks up again. "Hey, you orange one I said do you think the same?" He asked again

I mentally sigh as I open my eyes and I take In Ember and her annoyed face as she's sitting a bit away from a light green and dark purple drake.

"You talking to me?" I ask hoping there was a different orange drake that he was talking to.

"Uhh duh, who else would I be talking to?" The light green one asks while looking at me like I'm dumb

"Well, what did you say?" I asked

"I said that obviously, a drakina can't be as strong as a drake can and that's why It's up to drakes to defend and protect drakinas since that's what my dad told me." He explains

I shrug "Well If you think so, then ok, personally I don't think so, but that's my opinion." I said

"Yeah, our mother isn't a drake but she's still a strong dragon." Garble added on

"Whatever, still not a drake," The light green one said.

"Doesn't matter If she Is, she's still a dragon," I instantly respond with.

"You really think that?" Ember asked sounding skeptical as she finally enters the conversation.

"Think what?" I ask not quite understanding her question.

"That even If she's not a drake she's still strong," Ember said still sounding skeptical over my answer.

I shrug, "I don't have a reason not to think that." I simply said

We proceed to stare down as she seemed to try and find something boring into my eyes until her eyes widen In shock seemingly unable to find what she was looking for.

"Huh, alright then," She said seeming to finally relax a bit In the lava.

I raise an eyebrow at her. "Just like that?" I asked

She smiles. "Just like that, what's your name by the way?" She asked

"Falkor," I answered

"Ember." She replies back with

"Cool," I said closing my eyes finally going back to relaxing In the lava bath.

"Yeah, cool." She said as she closes her eyes, fully relaxing as she starts lowering herself into the lava.

A good amount of time passed as we just sat there the whole time fully relaxing In the lava bath while the other two drakes left as they seemed to give up on trying to talk to Ember.

"Falkor, Garble, time to go!" Our mother said slightly raising her voice for us to hear.

"Noooooo, I don't want to leeeeeeeeave." Garble whined

I just sigh as I begin to exit the lava bath. "Come on Garble, we can't stay here all night, as much as I want to," I said feeling the same way.

"Ughhhh, finnnnnne," He said slowly exiting the lava bath trying to savor the warm feeling.

"I wouldn't mind seeing you next time Falkor," Ember said as she waves me farewell.

"I wouldn't either, have a nice night," I said waving back as me and Garble head towards our mother ending our first day out.

Author's Note

Now I know some people might not agree with with my decision to time skip but If I'm being honest I didnt have that many ideas to use so yeah, uhhhh also don't expect me to constantly make chapters one after another, I just made this because I got inspired by the amount of support on my story, though other then that if there's isn't something you like then tell me In the comments though if you somehow enjoyed this then I must be doing something right.

Nothing Interesting Today

Author's Note

Remember If you don't enjoy bash and tell me whats wrong and If you somehow do enjoy this then comment and tell me what you like about It okbyethanks

Nothing Interesting Today

"Come on Falkor, dig!" Garble said enthusiastically

"I am, I am!" I said back just as enthusiastic

It had been a couple of days since we had hung out at 'Volcanic Caves' with Ember and we had come back a few days later wanting to hang out again after having a lot of fun last time. Sadly, It seemed that either Ember hadn't come yet or she didn't come all the time.

It also seemed like the cave was packed with other drakes and drakinas like last time but that also meant that almost all the lava baths were taken leaving me and Garble off to find something else to do hence why Garble and I were currently trying to dig for gems.

Before we had left to go back today our mother had told us she was surprised that we had stayed In the lava baths all day on our first day even when there were other things we could've done.

Garble then proceeded to ask her what could've been better than hanging out In the lava baths. As soon as he asked that I saw her grin In a way that showed off her razor-sharp teeth as she said In an innocent-like voice. "Well, the gems of course."

This confused Garble since he had said that we had already gems at home to eat which my mom then rebuttaled with. "Yes, we have gems at home but If you find any at Volcanic Caves then you get to keep It for yourself." She explained

As soon as she said that I swore I saw Garble's pupils expand as he proceeded to try and rush me and our mother up, which In turn explains our present situation.

I proceeded to keep digging as I found that my claws could cut through the volcanic soil that was off a ways from the lava baths.

As I kept on digging my hand finally clicked on something causing my eyes to widen as I started to dig around until I found It.

"Did you get anything?" Garble asked

I proceeded to climb out I pulled the gem from behind and I held it up above my head.

"I sure did," I said with my chest puffed out.

Garble started to drool a bit as he started coming closer and closer until he tried jumping for It causing me to lower the gem and sidestep him as he fell to the ground.

"Now, now you know the rules," I said with mock disappointment.

He proceeded to shake off some ash as he turned around with a grumpy look on his face.

"Falkor come onnnnnnnnnn." He whined

I shook my head. "Nope, you know the rules, 'If we find a gem and It's big enough we-"

"Always share yeah yeah whatever," Garble said cutting me off as he snatched the gem from me before taking a bite and handing It back.

I proceeded to take a bit of the gem as the flavors suddenly flooded my mouth. Weirdly enough It tasted as If I was drinking a Sprite only I was eating It.

We proceeded to keep taking turns eating It until Garble had taken a bite of It and handed the piece to me.

I went to go grab It only to see that there wasn't much of It left and If I ate It that would be the last of It.

"...You can have the rest of It Garble." I said

He whipped his face towards me In shock and restrained glee. "R-really?" Garble asked causing me to chuckle In response.

"Yes." I simply said

"Alright! Thanks Falkor," Garble said enthusiastically as he proceeded to devour the rest of the gem.

"Hey guys." A voice said

We both turn around as we see Ember slightly speedwalking towards us while a purple drake with red hair and a dark red tip at the end of his tail is slightly taller than me and Garble Is trying to talk with her as they approach us.

"Hey Ember," I point to the drake that's slightly behind her. "Who's that?" I ask causing Ember to huff.

"I don't know, this idiot just approached me out of nowhere interrupting my relaxation time after you guys left and then started following me again today," She explains just as the drake joins us.

"Princess Ember, can you stop going all over the place," The drake said slightly annoyed.

She turns around also with an annoyed look on her face, "Well If you stop following me then you wouldn't have to keep moving around would you," Ember said before turning back to face us.

"Wellll, If you want you can join us In digging for gems, me and Garble found one that tasted good." I offered just as Garble came back up from digging with a blue-colored emerald kinda looking like one from that one block placing game.

"Falkor! Look, I got another one," He said as he joins us.

"Nice! Though, we may have to dig for more for our guests," I say pointing to Ember and the drake.

He looks towards them as he gives Ember a nod and turns to the drake with a suspicious look as he tightens the grip on the gem he has.

I roll my eyes. "Garble, calm down there's still other gems for him to get," I said as I turn towards the drake. "Right?" I questioned

"Hey, he asked you a question," Garble said causing the random drake to narrow his eyes In response.

"Alright, you drakes can fight over gems If you want, I know that I'm hungry for one right now though." She said as she starts to make her way over to a random area of volcanic soil before stopping. "Falkor, you wanna join me?" She asked causing my eyes to widen In shock.

"U-uh yeah sure," I said as I get up from the ground and start making my way over.

"I'm coming too." The random drake said

"Yeah, me too," Garble said slightly narrowing his eyes at the random drake.

Thankfully, nothing happened as we spent a good amount of time just digging and munching on gems. There was also a time when I gave a piece of a gem I had dug out to Ember as she seemed shocked at the offer.

Garble then explained my 'annoying' rule (his words not mine) as she thanked me before taking a bite of It and passing It to him.

The random drake that had followed us was digging a hole a bit away from us but still close enough to where he could hear and walk over to us If he needed to.

I also noticed that he was digging faster than the rest of us were while also eating through his gems faster than we were as well while we took our time to chat and share bites.

"So Falkor what's your mother like?" Ember asked suddenly

"W-well she's strong, and caring and-"

"And she also loves us," Garble added while cutting me off.

"Loves you huh? That sounds nice," Ember said with a slight frown.

"What about your father, Lord Torch? He sounds like he'd be a cool dad to have." Garble said as he scooches closer taking a bite out of a gem he was holding, "Plus, he's a drake, so I mean can't go wrong there." He added on

"Wel-"

"Hey, I need some gems," The random drake suddenly said Interrupting her.

"What do you mean you need gems? You have a whole hole to yourself to dig from." Garble asked

"It's empty and I ate all mine." He said back

"How are you not full yet?" I asked genuinely confused.

He ignores me as he turns to Ember. "Princess Ember, can you tell them to give me some gems." He said

"And why would I do that?" Ember asked

"Because I want some." He responds back

She shrugs her shoulders, "OK? Then go to another hole and dig some more up," She said with an annoyed look.

He then started grinning just enough to show off his sharp teeth. "I'm tired from digging all day." He said in response

"Well I guess It sucks to suck then but that's not our problem," Garble said In a nonchalant manner.

His head then shifted towards Garble. "No asked you Henich."

Garble then got up off the ground pissed, as he marched over to the drake before puffing smoke In his face. "What did you call me?" He questioned

"I said that you're a Henich. What, can't understand proper draconic?" He asked sarcastically

"Take that back, Now." Garble said snarling

"Why should I, I didn't say anything wrong did I?" He asked acting innocently

"Yo-"

"Garble, calm down, he's just trying to rile you up," I say walking up to them, hoping to deescalate the situation.

"Calm Down!? Did you hear what he said?" Garble asked outraged

"Of course I heard him, so what? Just because he said It NOW all of a sudden It's true?" I asked him

I see him slightly calm down a bit as he thinks It over, "Well no, of course not."
He said

"Exactly, so there's no reason to get mad If you know It's not true," I explain. "How about this, let's just hang out In the lava bath like we did last time ok?" I suggested

He stays quiet for a minute as he looks back to the drake before stomping away towards us, "Fine let's go," He says as he stomps ahead of us.

I turn back to the random drake as he looks on In disbelief, "You can have the hole we were using since we're not using It anymore," I say as I start to catch up with Garble as Ember follows behind me.

"Hey Garble," I say catching up to him. "You ok?" I ask concerned.

He shakes his head without answering clearly still upset as I turn my head to Ember while we're walking only for her to she shrugs her shoulders also not knowing what to do as I turn back to Garble.

"Well ok then, I just want you to know-AGH!"

I suddenly get thrown to the floor as I feel a weight slam onto me as I struggle to get up only for my head to be slammed down back into the ground.

"GET OFF OF HIM!" I hear Garble yell out before I feel the weight shift off of me as Ember comes over to help me stand up.

"You ok!?" She asked concerned

I put a hand to my head as I began to stand up. "What happened?" I asked

"That Thricusk drake charged at you from behind and tried to attack you but Garble pulled him off and now they're fighting," Ember explained

"Fighting!?" I say shocked as I turn around witnessing Garble and that random drake from earlier exchanging blows with each other I start to see another drake running towards the two only to start veering towards Garble as he punches him In the face sending him stumbling to the floor.

I don't know what came over me when that happened but all I know Is I felt so much unnatural rage start to build up inside me that I started snarling as I ran over towards that drake who punched him as I punch him back In the face as hard as I could causing him to stumble a bit towards the other one while rushed over infront of Garble giving him time to get up as I stared down the two drakes.

"Good job Blaze, that Pothoc drake didn't know what hit him," He said with a cocky grin, "But maybe don't get punched next time." He said

"Sorry Viserion that drake just came out of nowhere," Blaze says before turning towards Ember, "Don't worry Princess Ember we'll take care of these weaklings." He said confidently

"Are you serious!?" Ember said outraged as she ran over to my side to check on Garble. "Garble, you ok?" She asked sounding concerned

"Yeah, I'm fine, little Faessi got a lucky hit that's all," Garble said as slowly stood back up with Ember's help.

I turn my head to face Garble and Ember. "Are you alright?" I asked also a bit worried

Garble was about to say something back until he paused for some reason while looking at me before responding. "Y-yeah I'm good." He said looking away

I nod as I turn back to the two fuckers standing In front of us with their shit-eating grins, "Now, here's what's going to happen we can either go our separate ways or I can bash your fucking teeth In and use them to gouge your fucking eyes out, now, which one would you prefer?" I said snarling

Viserion raises an eyebrow In response not responding, "Blaze make sure that the princess and the other one don't interfere, I might as well take up this drakes offer," Viserieon said as he starts to approach me.

"You got It Viserion," Blaze said as he starts to try and run around me towards those two.

I go to cut him off only for Viseiron to suddenly begin to rush me I put my arms up just In time as he throws a punch sending me sliding a few feet away from him.

"Focus drake, can't be getting distracted now," He says tauntingly as now a small crowd of drakes starts surrounding us cutting me off from Ember and Garble.

"What did I ever do to you?" I questioned genuinely confused.

"I was nothing but nice to you this entire time!" I said pissed off

"That's the problem!" He said angrily.

"Nice to me, what kind of dragon Is nice to other dragons!? I had planned to take your gems from you when I ran out of mine but you just gave It to me, you know how that felt just being handed something and not earning It instead?" He asked.

"It felt wrong, I was prepared to fight for It, to rightfully claim It for myself and prove that It would've been rightfully mine," He then glared at me.

"Then you just gave It up to me, didn't fight for It, didn't yell at me for It, you just gave It up and walked away. What kind of dragon just gives up and walks away?" He asked

"Princess Ember would probably want to be your ally and I bet you would give her up to-"

I ran up to him as I deck him In the face sending him to the ground as looked up at me with a shocked expression on his face.

"Finish that sentence, I fucking dare you," I said glaring at him with so much rage that a small part of me was feeling worried about the unnatural amount that I was feeling.

Viserion's shocked expression started to slowly morph Into a grin as he picked himself off the floor and put his fists up.

"Now that, was how a real dragon Is supposed to act," He said before he charges at me and throws a punch that I step out of the way of only to feel something wrap around my leg as I feel myself begin to suddenly fall and hit the ground before I see Viserion's fist flying toward me causing me to roll out of the way as I scramble and get back up.

I look down at the floor to see a few small cracks had formed In the floor as he slowly picked his fist back up and looked back at me with a cocky grin.

(Garble POV)

"I can't see Falkor anymore," I tell Ember as I turn back to her.

I'm surprised that Ember was still here If I'm being honest with myself. Everydrake seems to treat her as if she's the Dragon Lord but she's not, Dragon Lord Torch Is the Dragon Lord so I don't get why she's so important.

"Aithyas, we need to get past them and help," She said as she started marching forward until I grabbed her by the arm.

"Where are you going?" I question

"What do you mean? To help Falkor of course," She says trying to break out of my grasp.

"I'LL help Falkor you stay here," I tell her

"I don't have to listen to you-"

"Hello, Princess Ember, and drake." A random voice suddenly said cutting Ember off as we both In the direction It came from as we see-

"HEY! You're the one who punched me," I say as I start making my way over to him.

"Ohh you gonna get yours, buddy," I said as I make my way over to him and go to punch him only for him to dodge It.

"Wha-," I then go to punch him again only for him to dodge It again as he pretends to yawn which causes my blood to boil as I start throwing more punches only for him to keep dodging them.

"STAY STILL!" I yell as he starts laughing at me which causes my blood to boil more.

"You know I was supposed to keep you occupied but If this Is all you can do then I don't think this Is going to be as har-"

I suddenly see a blue fist pop up from my left as the drake stumbles back he holds his face and looks off to the side In shock. "Princess Ember?" He asked shocked

I turn to my left and see Ember standing there with her fists balled up as she glares at the drake making me slightly shiver as I do my best to ignore It.

"Ember what are you doing here?" I questioned

"Helping you," She said rolling her eyes.

"I got this, go wait be-"

"Can you put your Pothoc pride to the side for a second, and just let me help you!" She said looking and sounding annoyed as she cut me off.

'Falkor, I hope you know whatever happens Is on you,' I think to myself as I focus back on the drake.

"Fine, If you get hurt don't come crying to me." I said smirking

"Hah! as If," She says before charging the drake leaving me surprised before I quickly follow behind as we start attacking him together as he starts dodging more frantically.

"Princess Ember, why are you getting involved In this?" He asked, still somehow able to dodge us, "This Is between drakes, no need for a drakina such as yourself to be-"

Ember cuts him off as she finally lands a punch aimed at his snout which causes him to freeze as he grabs It out of pain leaving him open as I grab his head and slam It as hard as I can to the ground causing a few cracks to appear.

"Urghh! I'm so sick of drakes always thinking I can't do anything just because I'm a drakina," She said as he looks at the drake's unconscious body.

"Whatever, come on let's go and help Falkor," She said as she runs off.

"Wait," I call out before I begin following behind her.

'Well I can say without a doubt she knows how to get things done when needed, maybe she isn't totally bad,' I think to myself.

(Marson Pov)

I hit him In the face a few more times before he caught my left fist and tried to punch me to which I responded by blocking with my right arm before moving back away from him as I snatch my fist back.

'Ok, focus Marson, he's just a drake and he seems to be cocky and prideful which means he's bound to make mistakes just gotta wait until he does,' I think to myself before I take the initiative this time to rush him as I throw a punch at him only for him to block It and then grab my arm as he punches me In the face sending me stumbling backwards a bit.

He then tries to throw another punch at me which I'm able to dodge allowing me to grab his extended arm I then hold on to It as I punch him upwards In the chin causing him to flinch for a second which gives me enough time to punch him In the face again which sent him stumbling back again a bit.

"Now THIS Is what I'm talking about!" Viserion said as he tried to charge at me again throwing another punch with his right arm at which I ducked under as then punched him In the side as hard as I could which caused him to gasp In pain.

Wasting no time I moved my arm behind his head as I bring It back to me as I hard as I can forcing his head to go down as I uppercut him straight In the face as hard as I can which sends him In the air a tiny bit before falling to the ground.

I stand there panting and I start to hear voices coming through the crowd, "OUT OF OUR WAY!" I hear a voice yell out.

'Garble?' I think as I see a familiar red dragon come out from within the crowd he looks around for a second before he sees me visibly filling with relief as he starts to rush over before pausing at the sight of Viserion on the floor.

"Woah," He said suprised as he turns to me before a grin slowly starts coming across his face before walking over and throwing an arm over me as pulls me close to him all while still grinning.

"Guess you didn't need us after all," He said as I grin back before recalling something he said.

"Us, what do you mean us?" I asked before seeing Ember squeeze her way through before rushing over to us. "Did you get him?" She asked

I turn to her before turning back to him as I start to slowly make my way over to him and when I do I bring my foot up and stomp on his chest as I lower my head to his face.

"Yield."

He looks at me with no expression before his face slowly shifts Into a grin. "I yield!" He said loudly for everydrake to hear and I don't know why, but hearing him say that out loud gave me a deep sense of satisfaction.

"Well, You Heard Him, Fights Over So Get Out Of Here!" Ember said loudly as multiple groans were heard and the crowd surrounding us finally dispersed.

"Hey, Ember," I say calling out for her as she turns to me. "Now I did," I said before turning to Garble. "Can you carry me to mother?" I asked

He gives me a deadpan look. "Really?" He asked

"Yes," Is all I respond back with.

He sighs as he gets ready to pick me up before we hear Visrerion speak up.

"Just remember drake," He starts as we all turn towards him while he continues to lay on the floor.

"Remember what you felt today because that Is what It means to be a dragon, to rightfully earn something using your own two hands to achieve It, and I bet It felt satisfying didn't It," He said all while grinning at me.

"Let's go," I said as Garble picks me up and puts me over his shoulder as we make our way to our mother.

"Bye Ember, see you next time," I said waving goodbye.

"See you later as well Falkor," She said waving back.

I stopped waving as I thought about what Viserion said about me feeling satisfied after the fight and I couldn't help but feel worried about what he said.

'Whatever It was just a one-time thing, It probably won't even happen again,' I think to myself as me and Garble make our way to our mother thus ending another day at Volcanic Caves.

Just The Three Of Us?

Author's Note

Yeah not gonna lie not one of my best I'm sorry for this really short chapter but this whole week I have to deal with my dads nephew so I think what I'm going to do Is try to make chapters when he's not here and then take a break when he Is since he comes over every other week. Sorry if this seems like an excuse but I really just don't want to make anything when he's here so yeah again sorry for the short chapter but until he's gone I'm probably gonna be on a bit of a hiatus and since my dad has a trip on Sunday he probably won't be gone till Monday so yeah again sorry if this feels selfish. Like always bash this and comment what you didn't like about It, though If you did enjoy It then comment what you liked peace.

Draconic translations:

Maekrix=Leader/ruler
I added the don part as dont but

Austrat svern thrae=to overreach/push your luck

Just The Three Of Us?

"Hey Ember," I said waving at her as me and Garble made our way over to her In the lava baths.

"Hi Falkor." Ember said back before turning to Garble and nodded at him.

"Garble." She simply said

"Ember," Garble said back as we make our way In and instantly melt Into the relaxing heat.

"So has anything new happened with you so far?" I asked as to which she sighs sinking a bit lower into to the lava.

"Ohh, nothing much as long as you don't count a bunch of drakes trying to be all 'buddy buddy' with me In order to be allies." Ember explained

"Yeesh, and here i thought being the Dragon Lords hatchling would be cool but now It just seems annoying." Garble said

"I know!" Ember exclaimed throwing her arms up In the air before dropping them back Into the lava.

"Like, I dont really want allies like my dad wanted me to have I just want to have some drakes or drakinas that I could talk to normally without having them treating me special because I'm the Dragon Lords hatchling, like you guys," Ember said gesturing at us with her arms.

"Well no offense but until you do something that changes how we live I don't really see the point of treating you any different then I do now," Garble said with his arms crossed behind him.

"That's completely fine, In fact that's what I want you two to do I just want to be treated like any other drakina that you would meet." Ember said

"Well If that's what you want us to do then don't worry about It," I said as I throw an arm around her pulling her closer.

"That's how It started when we met and that's how It'll stay unless you say differently." I said reassuringly

She smiles up at me before relaxing more Into the lava, "Thanks guys, for not treating me any different." She said

"No problem,"
"Yeah, whatever," We responded back with.

Not much really changed after our little fight at Volcanic Caves, If I'm being honest It just kinda calmed down after.

Which leads me and Garble being brought out by our mother, meeting Ember most of the time, hanging out In the lava baths or digging for gems, and then leaving.

Though thankfully It did seem that Ember and Garble got more friendly with eachother over time, they even hugged one day!

Though It lasted for like for a good 0.5 seconds, away from everyone, when It was late, before Garble pulled away and dragged me off to go to our mother.

Though alot would change In the coming years, alot of changes.

3 years later

It was just another day of going to 'Volcanic Caves' to hang out and me and Garble had gotten comfortable with Ember and I would like to say she had also gotten comfortable with us too. So we all had practically gotten used to hanging out with eachother.

"So Garble what do you want to do today?" I asked

"I don't know, I'd say we've pretty much done everything there Is to do here In this place." Garble said

"Well I mean yeah, but at least Ember will be there right?" I questioned which he responded by sighing before slightly smiling.

"Yeah I guess so, she may be a drakina but she definitely acts more like a drake In my opinion. Its just I don't know, I wish at least something would change," He said sounding slightly bored.

"Yeah well, even If It doesn't we still got eachother," I said getting closer to him.

"Righhhhhhhht?" I questioned getting In his face causing him to push me off of him.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, your lucky your my brother cause If you weren't I'd punch you In the face," He said as his face betrays how he feels with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah you know you love me," I said smugly as I see Ember as usual waiting for us In the lava baths.

"Hey Ember," I said waving my hand as she responds by waving with her right hand Instead of her left as she proceeds to keep It planted against her face.

"Hey guys, how's It going?" She said as she faces the left side of her face slightly away from us.

"Nothing much, just the usual stuff, relaxing, eating, and hanging out with you." I said noticing her fidgeting.

"Though speaking on that, are you ok?" I asked as her eyes widened at my question.

"Who me? No,no,no I'm fine, I'm just trying out this new pose that the other drakinas are talking about," She said trying to reassure me.

Garble then sits up from relaxing In the lava bath as he narrows his eyes at Ember before getting up and walking over to her making her inch away from him until she hits the edge of the lave bath.

"Hey Garble, do you need something?" She asked meekly

Garble narrowed his eyes more as he suddenly grabbed and pulled Ember's left arm away from her face to reveal a slight red bump under one of her scales as she looks away embarrassed.

Our eyes widen as Garble drops her arm and backs up a bit.

"Is that why you were acting awkward earlier?" I asked causing her to sigh before looking back at us.

"Yeah, I'm going through my molt right now so Its not really something pleasant to look at," She then looked up at Garble confused, "How did you know I was molting?" She asked him as he crossed his arms looking down at her.

"I didn't but what I do know Is One: You, would never copy what other drakinas are doing no matter what It Is and Two: When I got closer you kept backing up like you were scared of me," He leans a bit closer to her face, "And the Ember I know Isn't scared of me," He said before walking back near me and starts sinking Into the lava.

"Wow Garble never knew you cared about Ember like that." I said sarcastically

He punched me In the arm In response before sinking further In the lava.

"Anyways my dad says that once everydrake starts to begin their molt he's going to announce to everydrake which of my allies Is going to be joining me until my molting Is finished." She explained

"And who are these allies of yours going to be?" I asked

"Well, you guys." She said

"Huh, well alright then." I said a bit excited

"Calm down there Falk, don't forget we still gotta go through our own too and If what mother says Is true then It'll be any day now." Garble reminded me

"Oh shoot yeah," My eyes widen as I look back at Garble grinning.

"Garbleee?" I said slowly causing him to look at me weirdly.

"What?" He asked

"Did you just give me a nicknammmmme?" I questioned

He looks away from me with a blush on his face. ".....No." He said embarrassed

"Uh huh sure you didn't, anyways don't worry Ember we'll be glad to join you for when you start molting," I said reassuringly causing her to smile gratefully at us.

"Thanks guys, I'm glad to call you my companions." She said

Garble lifts and eyebrow as he looks towards Ember, "Companions? Don't you mean allies?" Garble asked

"I know what I said," She said crossing her arms glaring at Garble.

Garble responds with a teeth filled grin, "Suit yourself then, Princess."

"Really?" She said looking unimpressed

"Yep, don't think just because we're 'companions' I'm gonna refrain from getting on your nerves," He then points towards me, "He's the only one who gets a pass." He said

"Awww, Garble you do care abo-"

"Don't push It," He said cutting me off as we just casually chat for the rest of the day until I finally turn around jumping a bit to see the sun almost down.

"Geez, how long have we been talking for?" I asked outloud

"A good while apparently," Garble said as he stands out of the lava bath and begins to exit.

"Come on Falkor If we wake up and start molting tomorrow I atleast want to be able to sleep somewhere i recognize one more time," He said as he begins to walk off.

"Alright I'm coming see you later Ember." I exit the lava bath as I start to leave before turning around one more time.

"Also, If I'm being honest you look fine to me so don't worry about how you look." I said before catching up with Garble as we head home for the day but not before entirely missing the slight blush that appeared on Ember's cheek before we left.

"Mother, were ready to go!" I said loudly only for her to look down at us with an sad expression. "Mother?" I asked cautiously

She sighs as she looks away from us towards the entrance, "It seems like Its time for you to go, my hatchlings," She said as we start seeing a figure coming closer and closer until we start to see Torch.

I turn around as I book It back to Ember. "Ember! Do you you know why your dad Is here!?" I asked a bit worried

She looks at me confused before noticing the figure of her father starting to land In the caves as she looks back at me with her eyes widened, "I don't know, I thought he was going to do this tomorrow or some other day not today," She said as she started to exit the lava bath running In his direction as he landed with one hand closed while I ran back to Garble.

"Dad what are you doing? I thought you would be here early some other day?" Ember asked as Torch closed his eyes while massaging his temple with his right hand.

"I'm,sorry draki-EMBER!" He yelled out of nowhere causing us to cover our ears out of pain.

"Dad what was that for!?" Ember asked startled

"I'm sorry E-Ember, I could've sworn I would've been able to keep this down longer." Torch said

"What are you talking about? Dad your acting weird all of a sudden." Ember said sounding worried

"Its the Molting Effect Ember, now that your beginning to molt there's this, this nagging voice at the back of my head that's telling me to get rid of you, I thought I would be able to resist It longer but sadly even being Dragon Lord doesn't make me immune to It, thankfully, It won't last forever for me, though," Torch explained before he looked over In our direction.

"Regrettably I can't say the same for other Dragons until your molting is over," He said before looking towards our Mom.

"Now I'm sure you already know you that these two have aquired enough trust from my Ember that she Is willing to call them allies, as such you do know that they will be accompanying her for her molting, correct?" Torch questioned

"I do Torch," Our mother said before looking down at us as we turn around and look up at her.

"Garble, Falkor, I want you too know that even though It might seem like I'm pushing you away know that I do because It Is nessecary, even If I tried resisting the effects It would only serve to hurt you down the road." Mom told us

"Weird, I didnt know love consisted of leaving us to fend for ourselves." Garble said clearly upset

"You know that's not what this Is Garble," Mom responded back as she narrowed her eyes at him.

Garble uncrossed his arms as his eyes softened, "I know, Its just," He looked up at her almost pleasingly, "Are you sure there Is for the best?" He asked

"It Is, at least this way I can let go of you willingly before the Molting Effect forces me to get rid if you." She said

Garble looks away glaring while crossing his arms, "Fine then, I guess," He said before his eyes soften again as he looks back up at her.

"I guess this Is goodbye then, but, but we'll still visit, I-I promise when we get our wings we'll visit you all of the time!" Garble declared

Mom looked down at us as she began to tear up, " I don't doubt It one bit," She said with her voice beginning to crack as she picked us up before bringing us to her face to hug her.

Torch then approached us slowly as we were being brought down, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but, we need to be heading out now." He said

Mom nodded her head as she wiped her eyes. "Right, have you made the arrangements?" Mom questioned

"Of course I have, I would do no less for this dra-mmmmh EMBER," He growls out before looking down at the both of us as he takes In a deep breath closing his eyes before opening them again as he breathes out.

"Now I shouldn't have to explain why this Is important to me correct." Torch said

"Yes Dragon Lord,"
"Yes Dragon Lord," We echoed back

"Good, now," He begins to say as he leans In closer.

"Just because you two were lucky enough for her to consider you as her allies doesn't make me like you, especially since your drakes, so you better not get any funny Ideas, Am. I. Clear."He growled out

"Y-yes Dragon Lord,"
"Y-yes D-Dragon Lord," We echoed back slightly stuttering as he nodded seeming satisfied before bringing his head back up.

"Good, now, Em-ber Is going to one day return to try and claim the throne like every other drake and drakina, but because she Is the Dragon Lords Daughter means It Is up to me as the Dragon Maekrix to test her worth," He said as he opens up his left hand revealing a yellow egg with purple spots.

"The egg was alone In a cave apparently, we only found out about It because of some Dragons that were scouting It out to live In, so now I'm giving It to you,"He said before placing the egg near us.

All three of us stood there dumbfounded opening and closing our mouths failing to produce words to respond with until Garble gathered himself first.

"Now wait a minute why can't you ask any other dragon to take care of this egg, why does she have to be forced to take care of It?" Garble questioned causing Torch to narrow his eyes.

"Are you questioning me drake?" He said In a threatening tone.

"I am, Maekrix." Garble said slightly snarling causing Torch to slightly open his eyes In surprise as he started chuckling.

"I like your boldness but Don Austrat svern thrae, though to make It short no other Dragons would be willing to take In other eggs when they already have eggs on the way or planned." He explained

"Only ones who have lost their eggs or ones who haven't had a mate for 300 years would be willing to take In an egg not their own." He finished

"Though as I've said before," He said as he lowered near Garble.

"If you were listening to me earlier this Is to test her worth as future Dragon Lord." He finished raising his head.

"Now of course this Isn't usual for a regular drakes or drakinas molting but this Is a special case, one that I plan on using to my advantage to help prepare Ember for her possible role of Dragon Lord." He explained

"Fine, doesn't mean I have to like It," Garble said picking up the egg.

"Doesn't mean I have to carry you either, but even I can deal with doing things I'd rather not do." Torch quipped as he opened his right palm.

"Now Let's. Go." He said sounding annoyed

Me, Ember, and Garble made our way onto Torch's hand as we turned back towards our mother watching us.

"Be strong my Hatchlings, and be safe" Mom said

"We will! Will be dragons that you'll be proud of!" I said loudly before everything around us was covered In darkness as we were once again cut off from outside.

Figuring Things Out

Author's Note

For the two people reading this yeah I know almost 5-6 days for an 1000 word chapter yes I know I'd be upset too but too be honest I had gone through an mental debate at whether to give both my stories to someone else better so they could make Ot enjoyable for you guys but someone told me to just take my time writing so yeah thats what I'm going to do and Its probably going to be a bunch of 1000s for a while until I get that 'writers spirt' again so yeah sorry. Though like always If you somehow enjoyed this leave a comment about what you liked and If you absolutely despised this them tell me what you hated In the comments, see ya next time.:pinkiesick:

Figuring Things Out

I think It's been a couple of minutes since we've left Volcanic Caves though we hadn't done much except sit In almost complete darkness and silence as we just listened to the constant wind hitting Torches hand.

A couple of minutes later I could hear the wind start to die down as we were being lowered.

We were still stuck In almost pitch-black darkness until Torch suddenly removed his top hand treating us to the sudden glare of light hitting our eyes essentially blinding us.

"Hurry up now I don't have all day,"Torch said as he angled his hand slightly downwards causing us to try and adjust faster before making our way off his hand onto the ground.

"Now, this Isn't the spot I had planned to put you th-ree at but the Molting Effect Is getting stronger, and I'd rather you make It there on your own rather than drop you from the air, so this will have to do," Torch struggled to say before slowly bringing a hand up to his head as he slightly cradling It.

"Now, listen, very close as I won't be repeating It a second time, at the other side of this forest Is an area that I had made some adjustments to so that way you three would be able to deal with your moltings relatively safe," Torch said spreading his wings out.

"Go-od luck," He struggled to say as he began to flap his wings and leave us behind as we all watched his figure slowly disappear In the distance.

We all stood there for a good while as we all took a couple of minutes to prepare ourselves for being truly alone for the first time In our lives.

"Well, we should probably start heading to that place he was talking about," I said beginning to turn around.

"Yeah let's, my arms are getting tired," Garble said readjusting his arms again to retain his grip on the egg again as we began to walk towards the forest until we noticed that we were missing someone.

We both turned around as we saw Ember still looking off into the distance seemingly not having moved an inch.

"Ember?" I call out as we begin moving closer to her.

"Ember I don't know what you're doing but can you hurry It up please my arms are killing me," Garble said visibly annoyed.

She still hadn't responded back yet as she continued to stare off into the distance as we started to make our way in front of her.

"Ember! What are yo-"

As we made our way In front of her Garble started to raise his voice to grab her attention but he immediately stopped as we both saw her with tears running down her eyes as she continued staring off Into the distance seemingly not noticing us.

"Ember, are, are you ok?" I asked cautiously as she slowly turns her head towards me he nods her head before starting to walk off towards the forest and Garble turns to each other with worried expressions before catching up to her.

"Hold up Ember," I said getting in front of her, "Are you sure you're ok?" I asked again still worried.

"Ye-," She pauses as she clears her throat. "Yeah, I'm fine now." She said

"Are you sure? What about what happened with you earlier?" I questioned

"It's nothing serious to worry about, now come on we need to start moving," She said trying to move around as I move with her visibly annoying her.

"Well I think that It was pretty serious and that we should talk about what happened-"

"There's nothing to talk about," She said cutting me off as she walks by me into the forest shoving my shoulder In the process.

"Wow, and I thought I was bad at talking about stuff," Garble said as he readjusted his group of eggs before also walking off Into the forest.

I sigh to myself as I begin to catch up with them, "I can already tell that this Is going to be a long one," I said as I finally enter the forest with them.

A couple of minutes had passed from what had happened earlier as we continued to walk down the path, not speaking much to each other In the process.

Not wanting to focus in the silence I decided to try and pass the time by looking around at our surroundings as I noticed how spacious the space was between the trees even though their bushes up top seemed to make up the entire roof-like cover above us.

And the trees seemed to be growing at a healthy rate with no signs of any leaves falling off. It might have been late spring or early summer, though I'm not an expert and In this world, I'm not going to even try.

Looking around filled me with a sense of peacefulness that caused me to slightly relax from the awkward silence that had filled the air around us.

I continued to slightly appreciate my surroundings until I started to notice Garble stop as he turned around and walked towards me causing me to stop as well.

"Wha-"

"My arms hurt so It's your turn now," He said cutting me off before suddenly shoving the egg In my arms I panic to grab hold of It as try to readjust my grip.

"Ohhhhhh Yeah, Finally, Geez, that thing was killing my arms," He said as he begins to stretch his arms out before walking off looking rejuvenated.

"Ughh, you know a warning would have been great next time," I said as I start to slowly catch up now with added weight added to my arms.

"Oh yeah, my bad, my arms were just getting tired and I just wanted someone else to hold It for a while," He said getting closer to me.

"Also I don't know about you but I think that princess might still be In the mood," He whispers slightly loud.

"I can hear you know," Ember said now stopped and fully turned around as she makes her way towards us.

"Though you're technically not wrong about that," She said looking slightly upset.

"I know that I'm probably acting 'like a little princess' as you put It but-"

"Stop," Garble said interrupting her.

"I was only making a joke, one that you shouldn't take too seriously." He said

"I wasn't taking It seriously," She said In response.

"I'm just saying, besides I know that whatever that was earlier Is probably something you don't want to talk about right now right?" He questioned

"Well, yeah I mean-"

"Alright, then that's that, you don't want to talk about It, then we won't ok?" He said cutting her off.

Ember stares at him for a couple of seconds before she takes a deep breath and exhales looking slightly relieved at what he said.

"OK, thanks Garble." She said

"Don't mention It." Garble said before turning back towards me grinning at him causing him to look confused.

"What?" He asked

"Nothing I'm just surprised at how you acted towards her, you know, like nice," I said smiling at him.

He looks away, seemingly embarrassed at being called out. "W-well yeah so what, didn't you say that dragons could also be nice?" He questioned

"Well yeah, It's just really nice to see you nice to somedrake other than me," I explained to him.

"Yeah well whatever, don't think this Is going to be a common thing alright, I was only nice because we're companions," He said before walking away from me.

I chuckle to myself as I watch him leave and head In front of me again I whisper to myself. "Whatever lets you sleep at night Garble, whatever lets you sleep at night."

A good, I think, ten minutes had passed since Garble offered Ember a compromise
(one that I was still proud of him for coming up with) that thankfully made the air seem less tense than It was earlier, not fully gone but enough to not have to worry about It.

Currently, Ember and Garble were having a conversation while I held the egg causing me to take another look at our surroundings.

'If I remember correctly this Is where Garble and his lackeys told Spike to smash that one Phoenix egg until Twilight and the others helped him, what did Spike call them again? Petey? No, that's not right,' I think trying to remember the name.

I continued to try and remember the name of Spike's pet Phoenix until I spotted it out of the corner of my eye.

A nest, seemingly empty from the looks of It, with the usual random twigs and other stuff that birds gathered to make up their nest.

Now, If my brain Isn't gone then, this was the nest that belonged to those two phoenixs though at the same time that was wishful thinking at most.

"Hey Falkor, what are you doing?" Garble asked

That caused me to get out of my thoughts as I turned to him. "Nothing just, looking around," I said walking towards them.

"Oh, ok, well me and Ember were talking about who would win In a fight If It came down to It," Garble told me with a small grin on his face.

"And who were you guys talking about?" I asked curious

"You and Garble," Ember answered.

"What? Why us two?" I asked confused.

She shrugged her shoulders, "We don't have any other drake to think of, and no, Viserion doesn't count since you already beat him," She explained.

"Well ok I guess, so who do you think would win between us?" I asked curiously

"You,"
"You," They answered without any hesitation.

I was somewhat hoping and expecting for Ember to think I would win, though, I'm not sure why exactly.

Either way, I was glad she thought I would win, what I wasn't expecting Garble to easily admit me being able to beat him.

"Wait a minute, I kinda expected you to vote for me," I said facing her.

"Thanks for that by the way, but Garble, you think I could beat you?" I asked

"Of course you could, I'm a big enough of a drake to admit It, after our fight with Viserion and his little drake friend, I know now that I'm not always going to be the strongest." He said before getting closer.

"Don't you worry though, because I'm going to make that true by getting stronger too, strong just like you and maybe even stronger," He said with a big grin on his face.

After declaring that I looked him straight In the eyes to witness what I could only describe as a blaze being fed more fuel to burn brighter, and I physically shivered while witnessing the change happening within his eyes.

Though I didn't shiver out of fear, no, weirdly I shivered out of anticipation, like some instinct deep inside me was excited for the day where I could see Garble at his fullest potential, and that made me slowly but surely made me excited as well.

"Don't think your the only one who's going to get stronger." Ember said

Garble's eyes widened In surprise for a second before grinning at Ember. "Yeah, guess we can't forget you either Ember," He said giving her a genuine smile.

Ember was shocked for a second before her face morphed Into a sincere smile, "Thanks." She said

"Eh, thank me when you can put up a fight against me." He said grinning

Ember's eyes narrowed while still retaining her smile, "Oh don't worry I won't go down easy just because you're a drake." She said

Garble chuckled before walking past her, "I hope so, Princess, otherwise the only one who I'll be able to count on In a fight Is Falkor." He said

She groaned In response to Garble back calling her princess again but still smiled afterward as she walked ahead of me.

'I'm glad that they're getting along well with each other, much more favorable than the canon relationship anyways.' I think to myself chuckling as I readjust my grip of the egg and walk off to join the others.

A couple of hours passed as we continued down the path of the surprisingly calm forest with not much else happening except the once-in-a-while conversation while also switching who would be In charge of egg holding for a while until they got tired.

Though I'm pretty sure there were times Garble would fake being tired, but Ember and I didn't call him out for It as It wasn't anything monumental.

"We should stop here for today," I said lightly putting the egg down.

"What, why?" Garble asked visibly confused

I point upwards to the soon-to-be-dark sky which Garble looks even more confused at, "And? We can still see clearly at night, plus we're dragons and I doubt that theirs anything In this forest that can take us down." Garble said confidently

"Yeah you're probably right, but unless you forgot we've been walking for a good while now and I don't know about you but I feel kinda tired, doesn't help that we've been carrying them also," I said pointing towards the egg.

"Oh, right, forgot about them," Garble admitted

"How could you forget about an egg!?" Ember asked Incredulously

"I don't know I forgot!" Garble said with his hands up Infront of him trying to act as a barricade between him and Ember.

Ember sighs as she turns away from Garble, "Sometimes I worry about what's inside of that head of yours," She said while pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt but It would be nice If we could get a fire going before we head to sleep," I said

They both had the decency to look embarrassed until Garble got back to his usual self pretty fast.

"Don't worry about It, I got this," He said as he proceeds to walk to one of the nearby trees he starts to breathe which causes my eyes to widen In alarm.

"WAIT!" I shout while running towards him In panic.

He wheezes out some smoke Instead of fire thankfully before looking at me In mild annoyance and confusion.

"What Is It?" He asked

"You can't just set fire to the tree dummy." I said

"Well, why not?" He asked still confused.

"Cause If you do It'll set the entire forest on fire which will cause any of the creatures living In them to come flooding out In panic," I explained to him as I see his eyes narrow In focus before opening up as he looks back at the tree before backing up.

"Ohhhh, well I guess It's a good thing you were able to stop me then," He said rubbing the back of his neck In embarrassment.

"Yeah, thankfully," I said calming down.

"Then how are we going to get a fire going If we can't risk It burning the forest?" Ember suddenly asked as she walked up to join us.

I looked around hoping to find something small to light on fire but big enough to provide a nice flame but unfortunately was only able to find twigs and pebbles.

'Better than nothing,' I think as I turn back towards them. "I have an idea but It's probably going to be annoying," I said praying and hoping this didn't take too long.

It took about a good hour to go out to find enough twigs and pebbles to be able to build a somewhat safe fire to burn while also switching In and out of roles of who would stay to watch the egg while the other two would go out and scavenge for stuff to burn.

By the time we were done, the sky was just starting to fully turn dark as I finished making and lighting the makeshift campfire using my dragon fire.

'Thankfully me and Garble had a good amount of time to practice with It,' I think to myself as I go up to the flame to feel the heat.

'Good enough,' I think to myself as I pick the egg up and place It as close as I thought It could be next to It.

I look over only to find Ember staring into the fire I look over to Garble only to find him sleeping and curled Into himself.

I walk over to Ember sitting next to her as we both watch the fire burn In silence with only noises being made the crackling of the fire and the surprisingly light snoring coming from Garble.

"Hey."

"...hey"

"Doing better?"

"Yeah..doing better."
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"Thanks by the way."

"For what?"

"For you know, trying to help me when we first got here, even If I didn't want to hear it."

"....Well, all that matters now Is that you're doing better now," I said looking towards her. "So don't worry about It," I said with a smile.

She looks my way as her face slowly adorns one of the most sincere smiles I've seen from her.

"Thanks," She said before we both turn back to stare at the fire one more.

We stayed like that for I don't know how long until I felt something touch my shoulder causing me to slightly jump In surprise as I looked over only to find Ember asleep as I watch her breathe In and out with a peaceful look on her face as she slept.

I simply smiled as I turned back to stare Into the unending flame that would only last for tonight and tonight only.

Progression

Author's Note

Haurach-Fate

DAY 76 ,76, DAY 76: another short chapter though too be honest unless I feel like It needs to be long i might stick to short chapters since I feel like It's much easier for me to do without worrying about getting to a 3000 mark every time, so yeah sorry.

Though like anyways If you somehow enjoyed this trash heap then leave a comment saying what you enjoyed though If you absolutely despised It then also comment so I can know what and what not to Improve every comment either helps or makes my days writing worth It, see ya.

Ps:there is a (not mlp)show reference this chapter sooo I wonder If anyone will be able to figure It out.

Progression

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*poke*
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*poke* *poke*

"Mmhlevemealon"

Slightly frowning I unconsciously use my tail to try and bat away whatever was poking me which took a few unsuccessful tries before It stopped causing me to slightly smile as I went back to sleep.
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.*pokepokepokepokepoke-*

"Mmmmgh," Now slightly annoyed I slowly open my eyes still half asleep I start to look around only to stop as I see Garble looking slightly worried.

"Mmharble? What's wrong?" I asked as I begin to stretch trying to make myself wake up.

"Well I don't think anythings wrong really but, I was just a bit worried since Ember hasn't woken up yet." He explained

"She's probably exhausted and just needs more rest," I said In response.

"Well yeah, I thought that too, but then I looked at her face and some of her scales were red." He told me

My eyes widen a bit as I turn to face him. "Wait really?" I asked

He nods In response as he walks around her and motions to me to come over as I get up now fully awake and start to walk around her to get a good look.

"See?" Garble questioned as we both look at her face revealing a bunch of redscale-like marks around her whole face, some of which are going down the bridge and on top of her snout.

"Well, one thing for sure she's not going to like this," I said

'If I remember correctly, once Spike was at this stage didn't this also cause his scales to start itching uncontrollably? Yeesh, she's not going to like this,' I conclude to myself.

My eyes widen before I mentally begin to sigh to myself, 'Neither are we considering we haven't even begun to show signs of our molts beginning yet.' I recall to myself

I slightly shiver to myself thinking about when Garble and I have to start dealing with this.

'Though I don't know whether to be thankful It hasn't started yet or to dread It until It arrives,' I think to myself.

"Maybe we just don't tell her?" Garble asked

I shake my head. "You know she's going to notice one way or another and besides, I don't think Its going to matter whether or not we tell her." I told him

He looks at me visibly confused, "What makes you say that?" He asked

I don't answer as I instead begin to crouch near her as I begin to shake her awake. "Time to get up Ember, It's morning time," I said continuing to shake her.

Though It seems like she continues to remain asleep causing me to sigh. 'Well looks like she won't be waking up anytime soon, but maybe... eh why the hell not worst case scenario I look stupid though I can deal with that,' I think to myself.

"C'mon Ember you need to wake up now," I said as I begin to slightly shake her.

"Ember."

I begin to shake her slightly harder.

"Ember wake up."

I begin to shake her harder now.

"Wake up."

I shake her even harder now as Garble looks on slightly worried but more confused at what I'm doing.

"Ember."

I notice her face start to shift as I continue with my idea.

"Ember, Ember Wake Up!" I said starting to increase my voice as I begin to violently(but only slightly) shake her causing her body to roll back and forth.

"Ember!"

"Whhah?' I lightly hear from her as her eyes begin to slowly open

"EMBER WAKE UP!"

Both her eyes shoot open as she starts flailing on the floor."WHA-IM UP, I'm Up!"
She said as she begins to calm down and catch her breath

"Haurach above Falkor did you have to yell like that?" Ember asked slightly glaring at me

"Sorry, I tried to shake you awake but you wouldn't wake up so I just decided to try something else," I explained to her

"Which was to yell directly at me while also shaking back and forth like a gem between two greed-affected drakes?" She questioned

"Yep."

She sighs In response. "Well whatever, I guess If I wasn't waking up then you didn't have much of a choice," She said as she begins to lightly stretch.

While she begins to do her stretches I go over to the fire as I start to stomp out the remaining remnants of the slightly charred twigs.

'Probably didn't need to do anything but you know what they say, better safe than sorry.' I think to myself as I turn back to the others finding Ember finishing her stretches and Garble just beginning to lift the egg again.

"Alright, you two good?" I asked out loud to which they respond by nodding at me.

"Alright, then let's get a move on," I said as I turn back towards the dirt-like path as I begin to walk off with them following.

"What. Is. With. My. Face. Today?" Ember said as she continues to scratch her face causing little scale-like flakes to fall around her.

"Oh right," I said facepalming In annoyance at myself. "We had meant to tell youuOHSHIT!" I yell out as I dive avoiding the heavily dark pink-colored flame that is heading towards me as I land slightly hard on the dirt floor.

"Falkor, are you ok?" Garble asked as he gently sets down the egg before rushing over to me.

I hold up my palm causing him to stop his advances towards me as I give him a slightly shaky smile, "Don't worry Garble I'm fine just, got startled Is all," I said as reassuringly as I could.

He sighs slightly looking relieved before glaring towards Ember. "So what exactly was that all about huh?" He asked slightly upset

"It's not my fault, I didn't have any control over my flame right there!" She explained slightly glaring back at him.

"You didn't have any trouble any other tim-AH!" He exclaims as I flick him between the eyes

"Oww, what was that for?" He said as he rubs at where I poked him.

"Of course she doesn't have control of her flame Garble It's probably a part of her molting, Mom told us to expect stuff to be weird and going out of control during our molting and If that's the case?" I asked as I see his face scrunched up whenever he tries to concentrate.

His eyes widen for a second before looking away embarrassed. "Then something weird or out of control must have happened to Ember then," He said as he turned back towards Ember.

"My bad for blaming you Ember, I just wasn't expecting to hear Falkor panic all of a sudden so I got de-"

"Defensive, yeah I know," She said cutting him off before chuckling, "I swear when It comes to Falkor you act like a drakina who just laid an egg,"She tells him as Garble's face somehow gets more red as he tries to sputter out a response.

"Wha-no I don't I'm nothing like a drakina," He said crossing his arms.

"Yeah you do," Ember said grinning.

"You kinda do Garble," I said agreeing with Ember.

He then looks over at me with the most betrayed expression on his face as he looks at me, "Not you too Falk," He said In disbelief.

I ruffle the top of Garble's fin In response as he pouts. "Aww don't worry Garble, I appreciate you looking out for me like that." I said sincerely

"Exactly! That's all I'm doing, looking out for Falkor so that way no creature gets the better of him," He said trying to convince us of his reasoning.

It doesn't work.

"Anyways, now that that's cleared up Ember, are you okay?" I asked

"Yeah, I'm doing fine for now just wasn't expecting my fire to come out mid-talking." She said

"Well as long as you're doing ok then that's fine by me, though we should probably stand side by side of each other just so we don't accidentally get hit by that flame of yours." I suggested

"Yeah probably for the best." She said agreeing

I turn back to see Garble walking towards us with egg In hands as I go up to him. "Hey Garble If you want I can carry the egg for a while," I said extending my arms out for him.

Though surprisingly he denies my offer as he proceeds to walk past me. "Naw It's ok I'll carry It so you can take a break for now, you can take It later," He said as he joins Ember's side as they begin walking off.

I stand there stunned for a second before smiling to myself and joining them as we walk off once again down this path toward this promised land.

'Heh heh, promise land, heh.'

"Hey, guys?" Garble asked

Ember and I stop as we turn to face Garble, "Yeah?" Ember asked

"Well It's just, I've been wondering about something that's kinda been on my mind for a while." Garble said

"What Is It?" I asked

"Well, Dragon Lord Torch gave Ember this egg to test her 'potential' as Dragon Lord or something right?" He asked raising the egg a bit.

I slightly turn to Ember as she raises her arms while shaking her head also confused.

"Yeah I, think so, why?" I asked

He looked down at the egg quizzically. "Well, when the egg hatches and then we go through our molts, then, what happens to the hatchling inside afterward?" He asked

"What exactly do you mean Garble?" Ember asked

"Well, Dragon Lord Torch said that no dragon wouldn't claim the egg as their right? So what will happen to the hatchling after It hatches?" He asked

I opened my mouth to respond only to slowly close It as I couldn't come up with a response to answer him with.

"I, don't know." I said hesitantly

I see his eyes harden as he clutches the egg tighter upon hearing my answer. "Oh," He said before turning to Ember. "Do you know what happens to hatchlings without parents Ember?" Garble asked

"Why would I know that?" Ember questioned

"Well, I just thought that being the Dragon Lord's Daughter and all, maybe he told you stuff about eggs?" Garble asked slightly embarrassed.

Ember rolls her eyes as she walks off causing us to turn towards each other and shrug before joining her as we continue making our way down the path.

"Well, do you know or not?" Garble asked

"I think so?" Ember said hesitantly

"What do you mean you think so?" Garble asked a bit annoyed.

"What I mean Is I think I do but I'm not sure If what I remember Is exactly what he said," Ember explained

"Well, I think I can speak for Garble when I say that anything you can remember will still help, even If some of It might be incorrect," I said reassuring her as Garble nods his head showing that he agrees with what I said.

"OK, well If I remember correctly then, I think I remember during one of our 'lessons' to get me prepared for when I'm Dragon Lord, I think he was telling me about eggs In one of them," Ember said

"So, what did he say?" Garble asked

"Well If I'm not stupid then I think I remember him saying something about claiming eggs?" Ember said looking unsure.

"Claim?"
"Claim?" We both asked confused

"Yeah, Oh that's right! I remember now. He said that when an egg's parents are either missing or dead then another family has the permission to claim It as their own." Ember explained

"Uhh Yeah, we know that already, he told us before dropping us off over here, I'm talking more about If the egg isn't claimed." Garble said

Ember paused as she adopted a thoughtful look on her face, "I think he said that If the egg wasn't claimed by anyone then It would still be available until It hatched, and then when It did, well, he would place It somewhere warm enough for It to hatch, but not near the others," Ember explained

"Others, you mean other eggs?" I asked confused

Ember nods, "Yeah, Dad told me that there's an area where eggs are placed that has lava flowing underneath them to speed up how fast the hatchlings come out of their eggs." She explained

"So what are we supposed to do when the egg hatches, leave It to fend on Its own?" Garble asked a bit upset.

"You know for someone who was just complaining about taking care of the egg a few days ago you seem pretty attached to It," I pointed out slightly surprised.

"Yeah well, what If I am, something wrong with that?" Garble asked harshly causing us to stop completely shocked at his sudden shift of tone.

"What? No of course not I was just surprised that you started caring about the egg since It seemed like you were annoyed about It before we got dropped off here," I said trying to placate him.

Thankfully, It seems to somewhat work as I see him start to calm down, "Oh, well my bad then, and no I wasn't annoyed at the egg Itself that would be stupid, what I was annoyed at Is that no other dragon was able to take the time out of their life to care for one single egg," He explained getting himself slightly worked up.

"So yeah I do care about the egg now because It looks like to me that no other dragon will," He said before looking towards me slightly embarrassed.

"Besides like you said, a real dragon uses their strength to protect the ones who can't protect themselves." He finished

He then looks back at the egg, "So I want to use my strength to protect this egg and eventually this hatchling, and even If It sounds stupid to yo-"

"Woah, hold on now, I never said that, I'm proud of you Garble," I said reassuringly as I cut him off before he could.

"R-really?" He asked hesitantly

"Yes really, the fact that you care so much about an egg that Isn't even related to you makes me very proud of you." I said

"Thanks, Falkor, though I'm not doing this to look for your respect or approval, though It doesn't hurt when you do give It." He says slightly embarrassed, "But like I said I truly want to protect this egg and eventually hatchling," He said looking at me.

"Well, I hope you don't think your going to take care of the egg by yourself right?" Ember asked walking up to us.

"Well I mean no not really," Garble said

"Good, because that would have been stupid If you did," Ember said sarcastically causing Garble to roll his eyes.

"What she means to say Is, you don't have to do this by yourself since we'll be there to help." I said

He slowly looks between the both of us before a smile starts to slowly spread across his face, "Thanks for wanting to help me guys, really." He said sincerely

"Of course, I mean I wasn't going to let my brother do something on his own If I couldn't help It." I said smiling

"Yeah and besides when the egg does hatches It'll be funny watching you run around all over the place for It." Ember said playfully

"Now as much as I love talking about stuff can we please move on now, something tells me that we're finally getting close," Ember said before beginning to walk off.

Me and Garble look towards one another as we shake our heads before walking off to join Ember.

"It's been fifty-five days since we've embarked on this journey, supplies are low and allies lower, I'm not sure I'll be able to survive on my own for lon-"

"Falkor what are you doing?" Ember asked as Garble and her looked at me like I was weird

"Uhh, nothing," I said

Ember rolled her eyes as she turned back around once again resuming our walk down the path until a few minutes later we came across a crossroad.

What was interesting was that this one had three paths to choose from instead of your average two with one of the paths looking like It was rushed was heading more deep Into a forest past the other two paths.

"Well I mean, It seems pretty obvious to me which one to go down." I said

"Really which one?' Ember asked

"The one that looks messy," I responded back with.

"Are you sure? I mean wouldn't make sense to go down the paths that look normal?" She asked

"Well I mean yeah but your Dad says that he made some adjustments to whatever area he made It to, so If that's the case then I feel like the one path that doesn't look right Is probably his way of showing us where to go," I explained

"Huh, well I guess so," She said before we begin to walk down the messy path Into the forest.

"All I'm going to say Is If something happens I'm blaming you." She said

"Fair enough I guess," I said back as we continued down the path lasting a good maybe 5 minutes due to how deep the path went into the forest.

And then we started coming across vines, they weren't that much of a nuisance until we came across a bunch of them that seemed to block the path spanning from one side to the other.

"OK, now what do we do?" I asked out loud

'Can't really burn It and obviously we can't go around It so I don't really kn-'

My thought process gets interrupted as I feel the egg get shoved into me causing me to slightly panic at the force before I get a good hold of the egg I finally look up towards Garble to see him slashing at the vines causing them to drop one by one until there aren't anymore In our way revealing our destination.

"Finally! We made It." Garble said before turning to Ember with a slightly worried look on his face. "We did make It right?" He asked

"Y-yeah I think so," Ember responded back causing Garble to sigh In relief.

"Good, cause I don't want to walk anymore for a good while, so let's go," He said as he takes the egg from my hand before walking off towards what looks like where we'll be staying for a while.

"Well, shall we?" I said

Ember looks towards me amused before also walking off to which I quickly walk to catch up.

'Finally made It, too bad that was just the easy part,' I think to myself before I shrug.

'Eh It's just molting, and besides we made It so It can't be that hard to deal with now.' I think to myself
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'Please don't let It be too hard to deal with.' I think to myself

Here We Go

Author's Note

Vorel-beautiful

Well here you go, probably the longest chapter I have ever made. I was In a pretty motivated when I made this chapter and kinda proud that i managed to do it but just because I felt good about it doesn't mean that It is good and I know that so If you don't mind I would like people to comment about what I did wrong so I can try to figure out how to fix It, but If you actually manage to enjoy this chapter then comment and tell me what you enjoyed about It since I'm curious to think about what you guys would think about this chapter. So again, I really hope you guys enjoy this because I felt good making It. Alright see ya later:twilightsheepish:

Here We Go

When we entered and took a look around I was pleasantly surprised by what Torch managed to bring here.

It wasn't massive by any means, but what was here made It so the size didn't matter as there was a decent heap of gems that was off to the left of us.

"Woah"
"Woah"

I turn slightly to my left to find both of them shocked at the massive amount of gems as they start making their way over to It.

After seeing that they were probably going to be busy for a while I turned towards my right to see what looked like to be a makeshift copy of one of the lava baths from back In the dragon lands next to what looked like to be-

"An empty hole?" I said to myself slightly confused.

As the others were busy going towards the gems I went straight towards the hole wondering what reason Torch would have to add this, especially since It seemed like he put extra care Into this specific part of It since It had what looked like to be the type of soil and rocks you would only find In the Dragon Lands.

Once I got near It I started looking around from outside of It to try and see If there was anything weird or out of place, but after looking around for a good minute I couldn't see anything weird about It except the fact that for some reason the inside of the hole was made very neatly.

Not seeing many options I decided to put my hand In just In case this was some stupid trap or something, was It stupid of me to think especially after this place was made solely for Torch's daughter? Yes, was I going to take that chance? Hell no, If movies and games have taught me anything always expect the unexpected.

Set on my decision I placed my hand against the soil expecting something weird or stupid to happen, but surprisingly not only did nothing happen but when I touched the soil I had found that It was really warm.

Flinching back In surprise I went to place my hand back inside only slightly flinching as I pressed down again to find It still warm, almost as warm as-

"Lava, but how? More importantly why?" I asked myself even more confused as to why Torch would bother making a hole to be almost as warm as lava.
.
.
.
'....Wait a minute!' I snap my fingers as finally figure out what the hole was used for.

"Hey, Gu- uhhhh," I go to turn around and let them know that the egg Is supposed to go inside the egg to hatch but when I turn around I find them on their backs with their bellies slightly bloated and the gem pile looking a little less big, and funny enough the egg seems to be right at the bottom of It between them.

Shaking my head In amusement I walk over towards them only to find Ember and Garble groaning as I stand over Garble as looks over towards me.

"Falkor?" He asked dazed

"Yep, so wanna explain why you look like you have an egg In your stomach?" I said with a grin

Garble groans, "Ugh, don't remind me, I don't even know what happened I just saw that gem pile and then I don't know, it's like I was drawn to It," He said as I look towards Ember who also seems to be In the same predicament.

'Could It be their greed that was affecting them?' I look over towards the egg which looked to be carefully placed at the bottom of the gem pile, 'Well If It was at least the egg didn't get damaged because of It.' I thought to myself

"From the looks of things you weren't the only one either seeing as Ember Is also over on her back," I said

Ember raises a finger before responding. "In my defense, we haven't eaten In a while so, yeah," She said before her arm flops back down.

I turn back to Garble In time for his eyes to widen, "Wait the egg, where's the egg!" He asked slightly worried as he starts trying to get up.

"Woah, hold on now It's fine, the egg Is fine, In fact, It's right In between you two so you don't have to worry," I said grabbing his shoulders gently as I proceed to push him back down towards the ground.

I see him begin to relax now as he lays back on the ground, "Oh ok, my bad It's just I remembered that I didn't have It and I got worried that-"

"Garble, It's ok, you don't need to worry about the egg, you seemed to have placed It very neatly at the bottom of the gem pile so you don't have to worry about It alright?" I said cutting him off as I reassured him.

He nods back In response, "Right, yeah, my bad." He said

"Don't worry about It, though I am going to take the egg real quick," I said making my way towards It.

Garble turns his head towards me confused, "Uhh, what for?" He asked

I pick up the egg adjusting my grip before I respond, "Well while you too were busy stuffing your faces with the gems over here I looked elsewhere and found that there was a hole that felt almost as hot as lava." I explained to him

"OK, but what does that have to do with the egg?" He asked still confused

"Remember what Ember told us about where dragon eggs were placed to hatch?" I asked him

His face scrunches up as he starts putting the pieces together until his eyes widen In recognition, "Wait so If the egg Is placed In the hole then It'll hatch?" Garble asked

"Well not right away but yeah, so If you'll excuse me I have an egg to place," I said as I make my over to the hole and place the egg inside.

'Now we wait and pray that hopefully we didn't take too long, though the egg wasn't shaking so I think we made It In time,' I think to myself as I walk back over towards the others.

Walking back over though I noticed how considerably smaller their bellies had gotten. It wasn't back down to their original sizes but It had lessened by enough to where they seemed to be able to get up and stand on two feet.

"All good now?" I asked smirking

"Ugghh, remind me to never that many gems ever again," Garble said slightly swaying.

"Ugh I agree," Ember said with her voice sounding strained.

Me and Garble looked at each other confused before looking back at Ember. "Uhh, what did you say?" Garble asked

"I said that I agree." She said again still sounding strained

"What did yo- did you say 'your glad to be me?" Garble asked confused

"I said that I agree!"Ember shouted causing us to slightly wince

"OK ok! Geez, you didn't have to shout at us," Garble said rubbing his little red fins on the side of his head.

"What are you talking about?I'm not shouting!" She said shouting

"Ember! Try clearing your throat please!" I said slightly exasperated

She looks at me confused before she clears her throat, "Was I shouting?" She asked

"Nooo, you were just using your big words," Garble said before I lightly slap him on the back of the head.

"Yes, you were, and If I'm not wrong It's probably just part of your molting so It shouldn't be that big of a deal." I said

"Well ok, I guess." She said unsure

"You know I just want to say that this Is proba-"

"Don't, just don't," Ember said grumpily cutting my attempt at reassuring her off.

A few hours had passed since we arrived here now making It to be near evening and aside from talking to each other about how many gems we are allowed to eat per day until all of us molt and from constantly checking the egg to see If It hatched not much had happened.

Then after a few more fire burps and misunderstandings because of Ember's voice constantly going from inaudible to shouting from time to time we all were doing our best to ignore It to no avail and obviously she wasn't enjoying either because It was coming from her In the first place.

Now you may be asking, what exactly am I talking about? Well, I'll tell you, and keep In mind when I say this I say this because I say this with absolute care about her.
.
.
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She. Smelled. Horrible.

I mean like really horrible, like imagine you're In school and a bunch of guys had just come from the gym sweating without any deodorant and It was like 90 degrees outside causing everybody to already sweat times 10 and that's how bad It was.

leading to where we are now with Ember sulking near the egg while Garble Is near the egg watching over It while holding his nose and I'm here next to her by the gem pile trying to cheer her up while also suffering for It.

"Come on Ember Its not, That, bad," I said trying my best to reassure her.

"Falkor I can see your nose twitching from the smell and your arm twitching to try and cover your nose, not to mention Garble's still over by the gems trying to get away from the smell," She said all while having a deadpan look on her face.

"Its Much Better Over Here Falkor, No Offense Ember!" Garble said with their voice slightly raised.

"It's Alright Garble I Know It's Not Your Fault!" Ember said back raising their voice as well.

"Ok, Just Wanted To Let You Know So You Didn't Think I Was Being A Jerk," Garble said before watching over the egg again.

Ember sighed as she let her body fall back against the gems, "At least you hopefully won't have to deal with this smell forever." I said

She looked at me and sighed before propping herself up from the gem pile into a seated position next to me.

"Yeah I guess you're right and I guess It could be worse, we could be dealing with a Roc right now." She said

I turn to her confused. "Why would a rock make this worse?" I say extending my hand out,"I mean there's rocks all around us." I say confused

Ember shakes her head, "No not rocks, R-o-c Roc's, Dad told me that they're these huge creatures that can fly like dragons but not like dragons since they don't have wings, well they do have wings but It's different then from what dragons have."
She explained

"Anyways, he told me that when a dragon starts to smell, I guess kinda like I am then a Roc would be able to smell It and then try to hunt them down." She said

"So like I said It could be worse, but It's not, so instead of sitting here sulking I'll just...well, I can't do anything except sit here since I smell but at least I'm not going to be upset," She says before turning towards me with a smile, "So thanks Falkor for you know, wasting your time trying to cheer me up." She said

I smile back at her.,"Don't mention It, and besides I don't consider hanging out with you wasting my time, If that was the case then I would be over with Garble," I said reassuring her.

She giggles In response, "Well I'm glad you like wasting your time with me then, but I'm ok now, you should probably go see how Garble Is doing though." She said

"Well, I'm glad that you're feeling better," I say getting up, "Just shout If you need anything," I said as I begin to walk away.

"Yeah, well I don't think that'll be a problem." She said sarcastically

As I make my way over towards Garble I notice that he isn't doing much except laying down curled In on himself next to the egg as he seems to be just watching It.

"Everything good over here?" I asked curious

"Yeah, nothing so far except a few shakes," He said without turning towards me.

"Oh ok, you want a gem?" I asked causing him to shudder.

"Uhh no thanks, I think I'm all gemed out for the moment," He said as he turns his head towards me, "Thanks for offering though," He says with a smile before turning back towards the egg.

"Ok, well If you don't need anything can I stay and lay down with you?" I asked

"Sure, just mind my tail," He said as I begin making myself comfortable.

Now you'd think that lying down on hard surfaces would be uncomfortable but surprisingly It's pretty easy to deal with.

'Thank God for being a dragon.' I think to myself.

'It's crazy to think about though, the fact that I'm now not only a mythical creature but one that Is now a part of a world that was once thought to be just entertainment.' I recollect

I shake my head as I think about how uncanny and drastic my life has changed these past couple of years as I look over towards Ember.

'Friends with the daughter of the Dragon Lord,' I think as I then turn towards Garble, 'And big brother to a dragon who had to hide who he was to fit In.' I think to myself

'It's not entertainment anymore though, now this Is my second chance at life to make the most of It,' I think to myself as I scoot closer to Garble and lift my arm over him and bring him closer to me which startles him at first before he calms down and starts to lean Into It.

And I am going to do everything In my power to make sure that everyone I care about, including me, gets their happy ending.

"Come on Falkor, Really get In there!" Ember said

"I'm trying to! Man, this Is a lot harder than I thought It was." I said to myself

"Are you even trying!?" Ember questioned

"Ember, I'm your friend and I care about you but keep pushing me and I'll leave you to do this by yourself," I said a little upset.

"NO, no, my bad, please don't leave me to deal with this myself It's already bad enough as Is," Ember said slightly desperate.

"Fine, just stop complaining about how well I'm doing." I said

"Ughhh, my bad Falkor It's just this itching Is driving me crazy all of a sudden and no matter how much I scratch It just seems to keep itching," Ember said as she continued to scratch herself all over.

Your probably wonder what's going on, again, well a couple of minutes after I had my little talk to myself and was lying down watching the egg with Garble Ember suddenly called me over.

Not doing anything but not wanting to move I reluctantly got up and headed over to Ember who was busy scratching herself like there was no tomorrow and also what looked to be slightly glowing red.

After seeing the red glow I was now slightly worried and rushed my way over to her and asked what was wrong. Now thankfully It wasn't anything to serious but It was still slightly serious since she wasn't enjoying whatever was happening to her.

So when I asked what was wrong she asked me to start scratching her back since she was still itching all over and her arms were getting tired of constantly having to reach back there which leads us, once again, to where we are now.

"How are you feeling now Ember?" I asked

She sighs as she continues to keep scratching all over herself, "Still. Itchy. But. Thanks. For. Helping. Me," She said struggling to get out many words.

"Don't worry Ember, as long as you don't start talking down on me again then I'm here for you," I said scratching her back as fast and as hard as I can.

Then all of a sudden Ember starts glowing more and more red as she starts to scratch herself all over faster and faster even telling me to go faster as I struggle to try and speed up due to my arms starting to get tired until finally, "STOP!" Ember shouts causing me to whip my hands back toward myself.

She quickly stands up and starts to feel herself before suddenly sagging In relief. "Ohhh thank the Maker I thought that was going to go on forever." She said

I then see some sort of stone-like material start to appear around her foot as I hastily get up, 'Here we go,' I think to myself.

"Um Ember," I said slightly raising my voice trying to catch her attention.

"What Is It Falk-" Before she can finish her sentence she seems to catch her left arm being turned into some sort of stone substance causing her eyes to widen as she begins to panic.

"Falkor, what, what Is this, Why Can't I Get It Off!" She said trying to pry It off to no avail as It starts to cover more and more of her body as to where now her whole lower half Is covered.

Garble starts to make his way over to us as I rush over to Ember to grab both sides of her face and I redirect her to focus on me.

"Ember! Listen, It's ok alright, this Is supposed to be happening alright, now I know that this seems scary because something Is starting to cover your whole body but trust me you have nothing to worry about, you trust me right?" I asked her to which she nods In response

"Y-yeah, yeah I t-trust you," She said slightly stuttering as the material begins to make Its way to her neck now covering both arms.

"OK, ok good, now all you need to do Is let whatever happen and don't worry because I and Garble will be right here, isn't that right Garble?" I asked as I turn towards him.

"Yeah, I'll be right here too," He confirms as I turn back towards Ember.

"See, we'll be right here so you have nothing to worry about," I said trying to reassure her.

"O-ok I believe you," She said as she starts breathing In and out while the material starts to make Its way over her face.

"Remember, nothing to worry about." I reiterate

"Right, right, nothing to worry abou-" Before she could finish though the material had finished covering her whole body to where now even her whole face was covered cutting her off.

"What do we do now?" Garble asked

"Now, we wait," I said as we stand there In silence, seemingly like the whole world has paused, almost as If the world itself Is trying to not interrupt.

"S-"

crack

We both turn towards the source of the noise as I see Ember's fingers begin to wiggle before the whole stone-like material begins to make a crack that splits down her body as I start to back up just In time for a bright light to appear from within the crack causing me and Garble to cover our eyes.

After the flash ended I uncovered my eyes to find her on the floor In the small crater struggling to get up causing me to rush over to her and try to help her up.

"Ember you ok? How are you feeling?" I ask helping her up.

She groaned before responding, "I uhh, think I'm fine, that wasn't that bad," She said as Garble begins to make his way over to us.

"See, what did I say nothing to worry about." I said smiling

"Yeah, you were right, nothing to worry about," She said smiling before she rushes towards us as she engulfs me and Garble into a hug, "Thanks for being there for me guys." She said gratefully

"Yeah, whatever, It wasn't anything you couldn't handle anyway," Garble said as he proceeds to hug her back, "Though don't get me wrong I'm glad you got through It," He said before stepping away from her with a grin.

"And look at you now, You Got Wings!" He said with his voice filled with excitement causing Ember to turn around as she finally got a good look at her newly acquired wings.

"You're right, I got my wings. I GOT MY WINGS!" Ember shouts before jumping around In excitement.

"I can't believe It, I Actually Have My Wings! This Is So Cool and Crazy, and-ohhhhh I can't believe I'm able to finally fly around now!" She exclaimed

"Alright, alright, as amazing as this Is we can't have you flying around just yet when you just got the things," I said putting a hand on her shoulder.

She pauses for a few seconds blinking before rubbing the back of her head In embarrassment, "Right, right, I mean obviously who would forget something as simple as that," She said as I looked at her with a brow raised.

She hangs her head In defeat after a few seconds, "Fine, but can you blame me?" She asked

I shake my head amused as I let go of her shoulder, "No, I don't blame you, I would be excited too, but maybe we can relax before trying to figure out how to fly?" I suggest

Ember sighs, "Yeahhhh, ok that's probably the smart thing to do," She said slightly disappointed.

"Well not to sound like a jerk but If everything Is ok now I'm going to go back and watch over the egg again, you can join me If you want though," He said before walking off.

crack

"Well, It's probably going to start getting late soon so we should probably sta-"

"Guys, guys, you need to see this," Garble said cutting me off as he grabs my arm dragging me along with him toward the egg.

He lets go of me as he starts to lay down on the floor near It. Confused I try to ask him something. "What's wro-"

"Shhh,look," He said cutting me off as he begins to point at the egg as It suddenly starts to form small almost unnoticeable little cracks around the middle causing us to be quiet as we waited In anticipation.

crack
crack

The cracks spread farther
crack

And farther
crack
crack
crack

After a couple of more seconds, a bunch of cracks had formed completely around the middle of the egg and then suddenly the shell broke apart revealing a small drakina with slightly dark orange scales and slightly dark purple fins atop of her head.

'Wait how do I know that?' I thought to myself

"I-It's a-"

"Drakina," Garble said finishing Ember's sentence before carefully reaching down Into the hole and grabbing her out of the egg as he brought her closer and began to hold her In his arms as we crowded closer to look at her.

"She's Vorel," Garble said slightly tearing up before bringing her closer to his face.
"Hey little hatchling, how are you?"

She grabbed the tip of his snout In response before speaking "rahh"

We all paused for a second before we started chuckling, "Yeah to be honest I don't know what we were expecting If I'm being honest." I said

"Yeah, but It doesn't matter to me," He said before cradling her In his arms, "All that matters Is that she's here now." He finished with

I put my hand on his shoulder. "You're right, and we'll be right here with you to help you out with her." I say reassuringly

"Thank you, really," Garble said smiling back at me before focusing back on her.

"Well If we're going to do this then she's going to need a name right? So name her." Ember said

"Yeah, Garble name her," I said

"W-wha me?" He said standing up and facing us while holding her In his arms.

"Well I mean It makes the most sense If you think about It, you're the one who got attached to taking care of her egg at first, so It only feels right for you to name her," I explained to him.

He looks down at her In silence as he starts smiling over her gnawing on her tail while reaching out to him as he puts her In one arm while using the other to extend a finger put for her to grab on.

".....I think, I thought of one," He said still smiling down on her.

"All right well let's hear It, what did you think of?" Ember asked

He looks back up at us while a smile Is stretched across his face. "I'm going to call her,

Smolder."

Just The Four Of Us

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait and the short chapter today but I just didnt feel like making a long one today and I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer even If you guys weren't waiting for much but I actually have a question for you guys, would you rather I make longer chapters or stick with shorter chapters around like 1500 words? Let me know so I can try my best to make It enjoyable for you guys, anyways hope you can somewhat enjoy this short ass chapter remember comment whether you hate or enjoy It. See you guys next time.

Just The Four Of Us

"Smolder."

"Smolder huh, not a bad name surprisingly," Ember said sarcastically

"It's perfect, Garble," I said smiling back at him.

"Thanks," He said before focusing on Smolder again as she starts to drift away from looking at Garble's face and starts to look towards me and Ember.

Not wanting to miss my opportunity I make my way over to them and slowly hold out my arms as I look over at Garble.

"Can I?" I asked Garble

He nods with a smile stretching across his face before he slowly passes her over to me as she begins to now focus on me and looks on In curiosity.

'Heh, what are the chances that the egg that Ember was given to look over happened to contain the dragon who was Garble's sister on the show,' I think to myself.

I slightly furrow my brows, 'Though, I guess that's not the case anymore Is It?' I pondered to myself before turning towards Garble.

"Hey, Garble?" I asked

"What Is It, Is everything ok?" He asked slightly worried.

"Oh calm down, I just need to ask you a question," I said slightly amused.

"Yeah whatever, what did you need?" He asked

"What would you consider Smolder to be to you?" I asked curious

"What do you mean?" He asked confused

"I mean like, what do you think you are to her, a dad or a brother?" I questioned

"Oh, well I guess a brother then," He said as Smolder starts motioning with her little hands towards me.

I chuckle at the adorable action as I extend a finger out towards her which she proceeds to grab with both her hands as hard as she can which thankfully doesn't affect me much since she smols.

"Really? Wouldn't you be more like a dad than a brother? Especially with how much you worried over her." Ember said

"Well I mean, kinda I guess, but It just feels weird to be a dad since she already had one before and It just doesn't feel right to me to just take that spot when It's already filled you know." Garble explained

"Besides If anything I'd rather be a brother than a dad, I'm nowhere near ready to be a dad yet." Garble said

"Really? Could've fooled me with how certain you seemed that you were going to 'be there for her since nodrake else would'." Ember said

"Y-yeah, I did what about It?" Garble questioned

"Nothing, ok Falkor you had enough time with her." Ember said

"But she's so adorable," I said slightly upset.

"You're lucky no other drake was here to hear you say that and besides, of course, she Is which means It's my turn," She said holding out her arms.

I sighed to myself as I handed over Smolder to Ember and she visibly began to light up with joy.

"Hello little one, how are you?" Ember said slightly quiet as she began to extend a finger down for Smolder to grab.

Only this time instead of grabbing It she proceeded to open her mouth and close It around her finger.

"Ewwww, come on Smolder why did you have to do that," Ember said as she began flinging her hand to try and get the spit off.

"You have to admit that's kinda funny." Garble said grinning

"Keep talking and I'll wipe It on you," Ember said causing Garble to put up his hands In protest, "That's what I thought," She said smirking.

I look up towards the sky as I see the evening beginning to end as It's about to become midnight.

"Alright we should probably head to sleep, today was a pretty long one In my opinion," I said feeling slightly drained.

"Yeah, I guess that's not such a *yawn* bad idea right now." Ember said

"You wanna sleep where the egg was placed?" I asked

"What, the hole? Why would you want to sleep In the hole?" Garble questioned

I shrugged my shoulders. "Cause It's warm." I said

"Guess that's fair, but I'm not cleaning It up." Garble said quickly

"Yeah, yeah whatever I'll do It lazy ass." I said

"What did you say?" Garble asked

"Nothing, nothing at all, don't worry about It," I said as we made our way over towards the whole somewhat half asleep I hopped In and walked around In It.

"Uhhh what are you doing?" Ember asked

"Trying to see If the hole can fit all of us," I said, "And It seems like It might just." I concluded

"It might be a bit tight but I think we can make this work," I say as I start to clean out the broken eggshells.

After seeing me clear out the rest of the shells they proceeded to hop In before Ember placed Smolder down In the middle as we all started to try and make ourselves comfortable around her.

"You know I would complain about how tight I feel right now but I'm too tired to care right now," I said as my eyelids begin to droop.

"Well before we do go to sleep," Ember said before extending an arm towards Smolder, "You want to sleep with me tonight Smolder?" She asked

Smolder raised her head In Ember's direction before she began looking around trying to find something she looked towards Garble and proceeded to extend her arms out towards him as she proceeded to open and close her hands at him.

"O-oh ok, then," Garble said before getting and picking Smolder up before he went back to his spot and lay back down curled around Smolder as she nestled into him.

"Heh, looks like she wants Garble tonight sorry Ember," I said looking at her with a sleepy smile.

"Eh I guess I should've expected that anyway, she did see him first when she hatched," She said putting her arm back before getting ready to go to sleep.

"Alright, goodnight," I said closing my eyes as I make myself comfortable.

"Night,"
"Night," They responded back with.

'Well a lot happened today, Ember got her wings, completed her molting, and Smolder finally hatched, now all that's left Is to try and help her figure out how to fly and deal with our moltings when the time comes, piece of cake,' I thought to myself before I start to drift off to sleep.

Learning New Things

Author's Note

Hey fellow readers and (maybe) writers sorry for taking long again but my dads nephew was over and when he comes over it just feels like all my energy just becomes sapped when he comes over but thankfully he didn't stay over for a week this time so there's that. Other then that though here's another chapter for you guys even If Its a bit short(sorry about that)and like always I hope you guys like It and comment what you though of It to tell me what you liked or hated, any kind of comment would be something I would like to see. But other then that see ya!

Ps: I do have somewhat of an idea if where I want this story to go but hey If you guys have any ideas for future chapters then feel free to also share your ideas In the comment from here on out, I'm curious to see what you come up with.:moustache:

Learning New Things

I slightly open my eyes only to quickly shut them because of the blaring light coming from the sun that decided to shine directly In my face today.

'Not to include the fact that If I remember correctly Celestia Is the one who controls the sun In this world,' I thought to myself as I held up a hand to block the sunlight from piercing my eyes again, "Maybe tell It to shine somewhere else why don't you," I said slightly upset

"raah."

I turn my head toward the direction of where I heard the noise to find Smolder awake and seems to be focused on me while Ember and Garble continue sleeping.

"Hey there," I said before slowly stretching out as much as I could with the limited amount of space I had to work with. Meanwhile, Smolder continues to stare at me seemingly slightly fascinated by me stretching.

After I finish stretching I look over everyone as they still seem to be asleep except for Smolder.

'Well, It seems like they aren't going to be up anytime soon,' I thought to myself before moving closer to Smolder as I lay down in front of her.

"Hey Smoldy, so I was thinking, seeing as how the others aren't going to be up anytime soon how about I get you out of this hole and we can hang out with each other until they wake up, what do you think?" I asked whispering

She proceeds to stare at me in my eyes before she raises her right hand and grabs my snout as a smile starts to spread across her face.

I smile In response before I pick her up and place her In my arms, "I'll take that as a yes then," I said making my way out of the hole while being careful to not drop her or accidentally wake up the others.

I then walk over towards the gem pile to put some distance between me and the others as I place Smolder down before I lower myself as well.

"You know I was starting to question If what I knew about the show was true or not since I hadn't seen you anywhere for years now, but It seems like all I had to do was be patient enough," I said as she tilts her head confused at me.

"Eh nothing you need to be worried about anyways," I said picking her up as I bring her close to my face.

"All you need to know Is that no matter what I will do everything In my power to be the best brother you could ask for, and I will do everything In my power to be there for you," I said as sincerely and seriously as I could.

She smiles In response as I see her tiny tail start to slightly wag back and forth causing me to chuckle, "You probably had no idea what I just said," I said slightly amused as she continued smiling causing me to smile back.

"Well, not like It matters, as the saying goes actions speak louder than words after all." I said

As the words left my mouth I thought about Spike and his relationship with Twilight and how as much as I liked Twilight It was obvious to me how poorly Spike was treated at times by her and how she disregarded him at times.

'Not to mention how he didn't have anyone to relate to except Ember and that wasn't until years later because of how his first time went In the Dragon Lands,' I thought to myself frowning.

I'm suddenly taken out of my thoughts as I feel Smolders tiny hand grab my snout I look directly at her only to be met with a slightly worried look from her causing me to apologize

"Sorry, Smolds just thinking about stuff," I said shaking my head.

'Well If anything at least this time It'll be different, because when we eventually meet I'd be glad to help him out,' I think to myself as I look back at Smolder.

'For now, let's focus on my life,' I thought clearing my head.

"Well while I have you to myself let's try and see If we can get you moving," I said as I start to lower Smolder down onto the ground while holding her arms upright as I prepare to try and have her stand on her legs by herself.

"Alright, and here we go," I said as I slowly begin to let go of her arms and begin to move away.

I make It about 4 steps away before she starts to stretch out her towards me as she begins to open and close her hands at me.

But I try to resist coming back to her as I shake my head, "Come on Smoldy, you got this," I said trying to encourage her to which she responds by her face slightly becoming more upset as she begins to whine.

"Hey It's ok, I'm coming back see," I said as I slowly lift my leg into the air and back down onto the ground.

She stares at my legs for a second before looking down at her own as I see the gears In her mind start to turn I pause myself to allow her to fully figure out what she wants to do as she shakily raises her leg an inch forward and presses her foot back down onto the ground causing her tail to wag back and forth In joy at her discovery as she looks back up at me with a smile on her face.

"See! I knew you could do It," I said as I make my way over to her and pick her up slightly throwing her up In the air as I catch her again causing her to slightly giggle.

"Though we should probably work on your standing sometime In the future rather than now, In the meantime I should probably wake them up now, don't you agree?" I asked looking down at Smolder.

"Raah." She helpfully added

"Couldn't have said It better myself," I said making my way back towards the others with Smolder In tow.

A few minutes later

"Alright, are you ready Falkor I'm ready, I'm ready to leave the ground and fly until I can't fly anymore." Ember said excitedly

"Alright calm down there Princess, you still have to try and figure out how to work these things first," I said reminding her.

"Yeah yeah yeah whatever," She said before pausing to look over towards Garble.

"Still kinda sucks that Garble Isn't going to join us though," She said slightly disappointed.

"Yeaaaah that's, probably my fault since I'm pretty sure that when I told you guys that I spent some time with Smolder before you two woke up and I'm pretty sure he felt left out and wanted to spend some time with her," I said as we watch Garble toss Smolder up In the air causing her to produce one of the most adorable laughs I've heard In this life so far as he catches her again before tossing her again.

"Eh let him enjoy his time playing with Smolder, right now I want to try and fly," Ember said before turning towards me.

"So, any idea what to do?" She asked causing me to turn back to her confused.

"What? Why would I know anything?" I asked confused

"I don't, buuut If we work together then maybe we can find out how my wings work." She explained

I cross my arms as I try to think of something that would help her be able to control her wings, 'What the hell am I supposed to contribute to this? It's not like I ca-'

"How did you know I just needed to bend my wings?"

"Honestly this Is Dragon 101, usually dragon parents teach this stuff."

My eyesight up In recognition as I snap my fingers, 'Oh yeahhh that's right, In the show Smolder told Spike that bending your wings was what you needed to be able to fly, but didn't she say that dragon's parents usually taught their children how to fly?' I thought to myself confused.

"Hey Ember," I began

"Yeah?" She asked

"Can't you just ask your dad to teach you how to fly?" I asked causing her to look at me like I just asked the dumbest question ever.

"What?" I asked confused on what I said that caused her to look at me like that.

"Uhh no that wouldn't work, not only because he isn't anywhere near us right now but even If he was he still wouldn't tell me how to fly." She explained

"But I thought that dragon parents usually teach their hatchlings how to fly?" I asked confused

"I never heard of that before, dad always told me that when I got my wings I would have to figure out how to fly with them," She responded looking slightly upset.

"Well not that I'm against It but how does me helping you count as you 'figuring out' how to do It yourself?" I asked

"Hey he never said how I had to figure It out, only that I had to figure It out myself and I am, by having you help me figure out how to use these things," She explained picking up one of her wings before dropping It.

"Huh, I mean I guess that's fair." I said

"Exactly, now do you have any ideas on how to help me or not?" She asked

I pretend to think as I pause to give her an answer, "Well maybe try like moving them." I suggested

"Move them how?" She asked

"Like uhh, you know how you move your arm right?" I asked causing her to nod.

"So try to maybe act like you're moving your arm somewhere else In your body to try and find exactly where your wings are." I suggested

She nods at me before proceeding to close her eyes as I assume she begins to try and use my advice to help find where her wings are.

A couple of minutes pass after some trial and error before her eyes suddenly pop open In surprise, "I felt It! I felt It!" She said stamping her feet excited.

"Nice Ember! Knew you could do It," I said congratulating her.

"You know I'm really glad you're here Falkor because I now know for sure that If you weren't I was never going to be able to figure that out, and I don't know how Dad expected me to EVER figure that out on my own." She said annoyed

"Well It's like you said, now that I'm here we can work on figuring this new addition of your body out together," I said trying to be reassuring.

"Yeah.....together," She said smiling

A couple of hours passed as Ember continued to try and fully grasp how her wings worked as she managed to be able to slightly flick her right wing out and make her left-wing twitch.

Ember and I both figured out that I couldn't help her anymore with her wings as It was just now up to her to practice trying to control her wings.

So after I excused myself I walked over towards Garble and Smolder only to find them asleep seeming to have tuckered themselves out with all the playing around they did earlier.

Slightly disappointed I walked over to the gem pile and grabbed a purple gem as I took a bite while my mouth was filled with the taste of a slightly watered-down grape fruit-flavored Fanta.

Chewing on the gem I looked around finding nothing of interest as Ember seemed to be pretty focused on figuring out her wings as I would see her left wing twitching now and then meanwhile Smolder and Garble were still knocked out asleep leaving me alone for the first time In a while.

Looking around zoned out I do a double take as I look back towards the entrance of our little hideaway as a thought crosses my mind.

'What If I did some exploring?' I thought to myself as I took another bite.

'I mean I know It's probably not the smartest decision, but maybe It'd be nice to have some alone time to myself,' I thought to myself as I ate the last bit of the gem.

'Eh, It might be an interesting idea though I'll have to think about it long and hard.' I think to myself as I grab another gem and begin licking my lips before taking another bite.

'Man, say what you will about dragons but they sure as hell have It's lucky to be able to eat gems like these,' I think to myself as I take another bite of the random gem sitting and thinking If my potential expedition would be worth It or not.

A Bit Of Exploring

Author's Note

Once again sorry for taking so long and for releasing such a short chapter but I just was busy being lazy and playing games so yeah I am sorry but I will say right now that I'm probably not going to be releasing long chapters everytime so yeah sorry. Anyways as always just comment what you liked about this chapter or hated, either one Is fine to comment as long as you comment If I'm being honest. Though other then that see ya!

A Bit Of Exploring

After eating gems for a couple of minutes I spent the rest of the time just watching Ember try and practice getting used to moving her wings.

Though I did occasionally have to make sure she took a break every once In a while since I didn't want her to push herself too much even If she was still adamant on trying to get used to her new wings as fast as possible.

So during those breaks we talked with eachother for a good few minutes about random stuff before she went back to trying to move her wings more.

I looked towards the entrance of our little hideout and was trying to decide whether or not I should go and explore a bit since not much was really happening here that required me to be here.

I looked towards Ember as she had now closed her eyes again to better focus on moving her wings and It seemed to be going well since now both of her wings were constantly twitching, still hadn't moved but I mean come on she got them yesterday.

I then look towards Garble and Smolder who were both still asleep as I saw Smolder slightly move a bit inwards towards Garble as he curled a bit more around her In response before going still again.

'Yeah they'll be fine without me for a while.' I think to myself

"Hey Ember I'm gonna go and walk around a bit outside of our little place alright?" I said waiting for her response

"OK, don't come back late because If you do then Garble will start to worry," She said with her eyes still closed.

"And what, you won't?" I asked slightly sarcastic

"Oh I will but not that much because I trust that you have enough brain In that head of yours to know when Its time to come back." She responded back

"Heh, glad you at least care then, alright see you later," I said as I start making my way towards the entrance.

"Dont die out there," Ember said before focusing on trying to move her wings again.

'Trust me I have no plan on having It happen again,' I think to myself before I finally walk past the entrance and leave our little hideout behind.

Making my way through the forest I was still trying to decide what exactly I was going to do, 'I can't spend too much time out here but I also need to find something to do that could at least pass the time for a good while, the question Is what exactly could I do?' I thought to myself as I exited the forest.

Thankfully It seems like my decision would be made for me since I had my way across the crossroads we had encountered yesterday.

"Ferb I know what were gonna do today," I said to myself grinning.

'Though If my assumption Is correct and I'm not a dumbass I'm going to go ahead and assume that If I go right then that will lead further into Equestria and that Is not something I want to even try to deal with right now, so left It Is,' I thought to myself as I made my way down the left path.

Looking up I saw that the sky hadn't gotten much darker thankfully letting me know I still had plenty of time to see If their was anything to find down this path.

'Though so far I haven't found anything else beside just tree, path, and more tree,' I thought to myself before I stopped.

"Well as much as I would just love to keep going down this path I think Its time to start heading back, don't want to head to fa-"

"Is anycreature there?" A soft female sounding voice called out cutting me off.

I pause midsentence as I slightly tense up upon hearing what I think to be a voice.

"H-hello?" I called out hesitantly only to be met with silence.

"OK then, guess It was not-"

Hello! I hear you!The female voice replied dashing any hopes that I was just hearing things.

I pause again now certain that the voice wasn't part of my imagination as I turn In the direction of where I heard It as It seemed to be coming from somewhere In the trees to the left of me.

"Shit, Hello are you ok?" I called out unsure of what else to do.

"I'm not sure, can you come here please?" the female voice asked

"Uhhh I don't know maybe I could go and get some creature else to help you out maybe?" I suggested

"Won't work, tried calling out, none heard except you." The female voice said

'Well shit, there goes that idea.' I think to myself

'Do I really want to take the chance to help this random stranger out?' I think to myself

I look back down the path and then up at the sky seeing that It was still pretty light outside.

Sighing, I made my decision as I looked back down towards where I last heard the voice, "I'm coming to help, keep talking so I know where to go!" I called out

"Thank you, I'm this way!" The female voice said sounding relieved and hopeful.

'Please I beg, whatever happens don't have whatever happens kill me please,' I think to myself before making my way towards the voice.

"What am I doing with my life right now?" I asked myself

"I do not know," The female voice replied.

"No no- nevermind," I said focusing back on my situation.

"Anyways, how far are you?" I asked cautiously cutting through the forest.

"Not far now, you are close," The female voice replied.

After a couple more minutes of passing more trees I had finally made my way across what looked like to be some sort of ritual site which thankfully didn't seem to have any blood or skulls apart of the site itself.

Instead It just seemed to have five suspicious clean stone pillars surrounding some sort of spider web markings In the ground with a green looking ring sitting In the middle of It out In the open.

"Uh hello, I'm here," I said looking around for the voice.

"Hello! I'm glad your here!" The female voice said sounding slightly more thrilled now.

I look around confused as I can't see where the voice Is coming from. "Where exactly are you?" I asked

"Down here." The female voice said causing me to look down at the ring that was inside said spider web markings

"The ring? Your telling me your the ring?" I ask confused

"Inside yes, have been for a while." The female voice said

"OK, so what do you want me to do about It?" I questioned

"I.....am not sure." The female voice admitted

"Your not sure? " I question with an eyebrow raised.

"Well I was so glad that somecreature heard me that I didn't think of that." The female voice explained

"Well then I guess we're at an impasse then, You want me to help you and yet I have no idea how to do that," I said feeling slightly annoyed and wary.

"Besides why should I help you? For all I know you could be some sort of evil creature that's just trying to trick me into releasing you so you could, I don't know take over the world," I said slightly suspicious .

"Well I don't want to take over the world, but I would like to not be stuck In a ring anymore." The female voice said

Sighing, I walk towards the ring as I bend down and pick It up as look It over seeing that It seemed to be a pristine green all around with no visible scratches or pieces of It missing.

'Please, don't let me regret this.' I thought to myself

"Well since It seemed like we don't have any better ideas I guess I'll just take you with me then ok?" I suggested

"I would like that," The female voice sinply said.

"Alright then, though I'm not carrying you around so I'll just put you on my finger to make It easier to carry you around," I said as I put on my right hands middle finger.

I close my eyes as I stand there preparing myself for something to happen as I wait for a couple of seconds expecting the worse.
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I open one of my eyes as I quickly look around checking my surroundings for anything to appear.

"Hey, are you still here?" I asked

"Yes, may I ask why you stopped?" The female voice asked

"Sorry just checki-

I try to say before falling down to my knees as I barley catch myself with my hands as they begin to shake and my vision begins to blur.

'I should've expected something to happen, goddam-' I thought to myself before I fall to the ground unconscious.

Something From The Past

Sometime later I start to come to as my eyes are barely able to flicker open as the first thing I notice Is how light my body feels, almost like I'm In space.

However when I finally manage to fully open my eyes all I can see Is pitch black In front of me, seemingly having no end.

"Wha-"

"Well, isn't this lucky?" A female voice said startling me as I turned around coming face to face with what looked to be an adult dark purple drakina with two sharp-looking horns coming from her forehead while having black spikes run down her tail having a dark tip at the end of It.

"The creature I managed to call out to was a fellow dragon," She said looking me over, "And from the looks of It a young drake at that," She said finishing her examination.

"Where am I?" I asked still slightly startled

"Wel-"

"Oh God I'm dead aren't I!?" I said accidentally cutting her off as I start to panic.

"Wha-"

"Nononono, I-I-I-I I can't be dead, not, not again, I-I-I didn't even get to live my life ful-"

Suddenly I'm cut off as I feel my shoulders being grabbed as I start to violently get shaken back and forth.

"LISTEN TO ME, YOU. ARE. NOT. DEAD!" She yelled at me

We stand there for a few seconds looking at each other not blinking as I process what she said, "I'm not?" I asked hopefully as she sighed before letting me go and taking a few steps back.

"No, as far I know you are perfectly alive," She said muttering something under her breath that I didn't catch.

"Oh ok, thank g-the Maker," I said calming down as I look her over again, "So since I'm not dead who uh exactly are you?" I asked curious

"Well If It isn't obvious yet, I, am what you just put on your finger," She says lifting her hand as she wiggled her fingers for a second.

"Wait a minute that was you? You're a dragon?" I say confused

"Yep, you can imagine my surprise when I found out you were also one." She said

"Wait If you knew that I put the ring on my finger then how did you not know what I was?" I asked

She holds her chin before closing her eyes as she thinks, "Hmm, not sure how to explain that one I just sort of, felt something nearby as I always had yet every time I called out nocreature seemed to be able to hear me," She said before looking back at me.

"Until you, of course, thanks again for helping so far." She said earnestly

"Uhh, no problem," I said before I focus on our surroundings again.

"Do you have an idea of where we are?" I asked not really expecting an answer.

"No clue, I'd say the ring but It feels more freeing here, not as binding I guess you could say," She said as she begins looking around for the first time.

'What Is a dragon-'
What Is a dragon-

We both pause as we start to hear an echo of my voice begin to play around us before It cuts itself off.

"D-Did you hear that?" I asked startled

"Of course, I heard It what kinda creature wouldn't? What I wanna know Is why It sounded somewhat like you?" She questioned while also seeming slightly startled.

"I'm not sure I'm as confused as you are." I said truthfully

'Okay, Okay, cal-'
Okay, Okay, cal-

"There It Is again," She said as she tried to look around for the source of It before giving up and looking back at me.

She then marched over to me before she grabbed me by the back of my neck and she lifted me to her face, "Whatever is happening It's happening because of you so what are you doing!?" She questioned as she narrowed her eyes.

"I swear I'm not doing anything! Also, put me down!" I said trying to break free before she let me go as I hit some sort of solid surface.

"Well whether or not you think you're not doing something, something Is happening because you are so at least try and think about what you might be doing." She said

"Ok, OK, just give me a minute," I said as I try to collect my thoughts.

'Ok so appa-'
Ok so appa-

I stop as we suddenly hear my voice again before It cuts itself off again, "There It Is again." She said

"Wait a minute," I say before closing my eyes again.

'You're a bit-'
Your a bit-

"It happened again." She said

"Well isn't that something," I said standing up.

"What, did you figure out what you were doing?" She asked

"Yeah um, I think we're In my mind," I said somewhat awkwardly.

"In your mind?" She says looking around again.

"Why Is It so empty?" She asked sounding genuinely confused.

"My mind Is not empty," I said a bit offended.

She looks around for a few seconds before looking back at me, "Well If you're right about this being your mind then unless you have the rest of It hidden somewhere I'm not seeing anything that would prove me wrong," She said raising a brow In challenge of my claim.

"Yeah well just give me a minute," I said before closing my eyes again as I try to imagine somewhere nice replacing the pitch-black darkness around us.

"Well, I'll be damned," I hear her say before I open my eyes as the first thing I notice Is that the darkness Is now completely replaced as all I see now Is the beach stretching from left to right as I hear the ocean crashing onto the edge of the beach every so often.

"Well, this Is ten times better than what I've had to deal with," She said before turning back to me.

"Now that we've gotten that confusion out of the way, who might you be?" She asked

"Well I mean technically I asked you first." I said

She narrowed her eyes at me for a couple of seconds causing me to involuntary sweat In the tense silence before she shrugs.

"Fair enough," She said before walking up to me as she lifted her tail to me.

"Aesthyr, best draconic armorer In all of the Dragon Lands." She said

"Uhhh?" I said a bit confused at the action.

"What? Never shook tails before?" She asked

"No," I responded back.

"Oh, well first time for everything," She said brushing off my comment.

"Ok Uh, Falkor, young drake who has a brother and Is friends with the Dragon Lord's Daughter," I said lifting mine as well as we proceeded to shake tails.

"The Dragon Lords Daughter? You know you don't have to lie to impress me right," Aesthyr said raising an eyebrow at me.

"What? I'm not lying." I said confused

"Yeah, and I'm the mate of Dragon Lord Darss," Aesthyr says sarcastically

"Wait, Dragon Lord Darss? Don't you mean Dragon Lord Torch?" I ask confused

"Torch? The hatchling? HAH! As If someone as small as him could be a Dragon Lord," Aesthyr said causing me to be even more confused.

"What are you talking about?" Torch Is one of the biggest dragons In the Dragon Lands." I said

"Look hatchling I'm telling you that's impossible because last I saw Torch he was barely able to reach the height of my waist." Aesthyr said

"Wait, when was the last time you saw Torch?" I asked cautiously already seeing where this was going.

Aesthyr grabbed the bottom of her chin as she seemed to think about It, "Well I guess the last time I 'saw' him was when I was working on a weapon for a pony to use I know surprising but I'll get to that later." Aesthyr said

"Anyways like I said I was building a weapon for a pony and he came In to tell me that said pony was nearby and wanted to talk to me, small hatchling too." Aesthyr said
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"That's It?" I questioned

"Of course that's It, never said we knew each other just that I saw him one time and one time only." Aesthyr said

"Well, that 'small hatchling' Is now the Dragon Lord." I said

"No he's not, even If he wanted to be he's still too tiny to even be qualified as one." Aesthyr said

"Besides none of that Is important right now, what I'm confused about Is why you found me instead of Luna." Aesthyr said looking perplexed

"Luna?" I said confused

"Yes, Luna, you know pony? Alicorn? 2nd Princess of Equestria?" Aesthyr questioned

I knew who she was talking about but If I was going to convince her to believe me I needed to act like I had no clue what she was talking about so I shook my head back and forth causing Aesthyr's eyes to widen In alarm.

"Falkor tell me who Is the Princess of Equestria?" Aesthyr asked now looking worried.

"Well, It's Celestia," I responded back

"Celestia." She said In disbelief, "You're joking right?" Aesthyr questioned almost desperately.

"No I'm not, Celestia Is the only Princess of Equestria," I said
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"Huh, well then I guess we failed," Aesthyr finally said after the tense silence as she faced the ocean and sat down In silence.

"Aesthyr?" I said hesitantly
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Silence.

"I'm just going to sit next to you ok?" I asked
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Nothing.

"Ok," I said as I slowly made my way over to her and sat a bit away from her to give her some room as we both watched the waves In silence.
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"It was supposed to help her," Aesthyr said after a couple of minutes In silence startling me for a second.

"Help her? Who, Luna?" I asked

"Yeah, did you know when we first met we tried to kill each other?" Aesthyr asked

"Wait what!?" Why?" I asked shocked

"It was a test of sorts, I only let creatures I trust use anything I make and she had come looking for weapons and armor for her and her sister to fight some pony I think called Some bra- I don't know It was over some 700 years ago, though I guess It must have been even longer than that now." Aesthyr said

"Anyways she had heard of me, don't know how but she did and had wanted me to make them for her and her sister like I said." She said

"Wait I'm confused, why were you making weapons even though dragons don't use any?" I asked confused

"Just because dragons don't use any doesn't mean I'm not. Dragons may think that weapons are for 'weak creatures' but even I know how strong you can be with the right weapon." She explained

"Besides, I always make sure my weapons hurt," Aesthyr said grinning as she showed off her sharp teeth.

"OK, I guess but still, why almost kill each other?" I asked as Aesthyr proceeded to look at me like I was dumb.

"What?" I asked confused

"You sure you a dragon? Cause I don't know about you there's nothing we dragons like more than a good fight against someone who can take what you hit them with," Aesthyr said grinning.

"Come on, you mean to tell me that there wasn't at least one time when a fight got your blood pumping and then If you won you felt like you had just become the Dragon Lord yourself?" Aesthyr questioned as I recalled that feeling that Viserion told me about when I won my fight against him.

"I mean I guess that It felt good In the end." I admitted

"Exactly! And let me tell ya, that fight against Luna was one of the best I ever had I knew as soon we were done she could come back anytime If she needed anything from me." Aesthyr said

"Just like that?" I questioned

"Just like that and yeah I know, even I couldn't believe It for a while but she earned my respect after that fight," She said wistfully recounting her experience It seemed.

"Even after the fight my respect for Luna grew as she was probably one of the only Ponies I respected enough to call a companion or what did she call It? Right a fr-iend I think." Aesthyr said

"Also helped that she was as If not more ferocious than a dragon when she went all out." Aesthyr said

"Now THAT pony knew how to get things done when they needed to. Apparently when she had come to the Dragon Lands to look for me guess what Solar Cheeks was doing." Aesthyr said

"What?" I asked

"Umm I don't know I forgot," Aesthyr admitted

"Really?" I said with a deadpan look

"Eh, whatever not important," She said looking at the waves.

"What Is important to me is how much we grew closer to each other, so much so that I was honestly starting to get weirded out by how much we just kinda related with each other." She admitted.

"I guess It helped that we were kinda similar In a way," Aesthyr said catching my attention.

"What was similar between you two?" I asked

"Well, I guess we were both considered outcasts from our species." She said.

"I was labeled as Thricusk for making and using weapons because nodrake could see the use of them and she was treated like Aithyas because of who she was," Aesthyr explained

"And I guess that was good enough for us to be close together." Aesthyr said fondly

"So If the ring was supposed to help her, then why are you here alone?" I asked

"I don't know, all I remember Is she came to me one night saying how she was going to take the throne from her sister and needed my help." Aesthyr said

"So I agreed and even offered her something that was forbidden." Aesthyr said

"What was It?" I asked

"Soul magic." She said.

"Very dangerous and you can even be killed just for using It, but If what she was saying was true then I knew that against Celestia we would have to use desperate measures." She explained

"I'm not going to lie It was very risky and I was a bit afraid, but after she was supposed to win she was going to do the ritual to put my soul back In my body, and besides, we trusted each other, I trusted her." Aesthyr said

"But I guess seeing where you are now It didn't quite work out that way." I said

"No It didn't, I guess she lost In the end but I don't know what happened or where I was because I couldn't sense anything happening around me. All I could see, feel, hear, smell, and taste was nothing but darkness," She explained looking at nothing In particular.

"Eventually I was able to sense when creatures got close enough to me letting me know I wasn't In the castle anymore but other than that I knew nothing." She said

"So I tried calling out but It's like they couldn't hear me no matter how long and how loud I screamed." Aesthyr explained

"I'm not going to lie to you I was pretty close to calling It quits but you managed to hear me somehow and for that, I just want to say thanks, again." Aesthyr said sincerely

"You're welcome, again," I said back with a smile.

"Though you're not going to try and make me get revenge on Celestia right?" I asked cautiously as she chuckled In response

"Why would I? The only reason I did what I did was to help Luna out, but If she's gone then I don't see the point." She said

"Besides, even If I was Tartarus bent on getting revenge, If an Alicorn as strong as Luna couldn't win against Celestia what gives me any chance." She said

"So no, I'm not going to try and have you get revenge on her, I'm just happy to be able to at least talk to somecreature, even If It Is a young drake," She said when all of a sudden It felt like the world around me started to shake startling both of us.

"What's happening!?" Aesthyr asked startled

"I think that maybe I'm starting to wake up." I suggested

"Maker above do you always wake up this violent?" She questioned

"What? No of co-" was the last thing I was able to get out before darkness filled the area around us.

"Ugh," I groan out as I start to slowly open my eyes and get used to my surroundings again.

"Aesthyr?" I called out

"I'm still here," She says as I take a minute to try and reorient myself as I look around noticing It to be much darker than It was before.

'Wait a minute,' I quickly run out of the ritual area and through the trees as I make my way back to the path I was on earlier as I look up towards the sky only to see the moon out.

"Oh shit, they're gonna kick my ass for coming back late," I said as I begin to sprint down the path.

"Who are you talking about?" Aesthyr asked

"My brother Garble and the Dragon Lord's Daughter Ember," I respond back

"Huh guess you weren't lying then," She says as I try to rush back to our hideout hoping that they at least wouldn't be too mad for me coming back at night.
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Let's be honest they probably most definitely will.

Author's Note

Oooooh new frien- i mean 'companion.' As they would say. Hopefully. Maybe. Possibly. You get the idea

Hope you guys liked this chapter as I tried to do my best like I always do but I know that this is probably my worst one yet so I do need people to tell me what I did wrong like always and I am also sorry If It isn't that long and that I took a while to upload this but I think 4-5 days actually work pretty well for me.

But like always If you somehow manged to enjoy this then comment what you liked about It and If you absolutely despised this chapter let me know what I did wrong and why I don't belong on this site.

See you guys later!

Another Day, Another Migraine

Author's Note

Sorry for the very short and very rushed chapter but my dads nephew has come over again and I can't be asked to do much stuff when he's here so I tried getting out a chapter for you guys to enjoy an the meantime.

Though like always I appreciate any and all comments that you guys decide to share whether It be something you liked or something you hated so don't hold back whether It's positive or negative. And like always see ya!

Another Day, Another Migraine

"C'mon, C'mon!" I said sprinting back down the path as fast as I can.

"What are you doing?" Aesthyr asked

"I'm trying to hurry and get back to the others." I said

"So then why aren't you?" She asked

"What *pant* are you talking about? I running as fast as I can." I said

"Wait, this Is you running!?" she asked flabbergasted

"Of course It *pant* Is." I said

" Maker above, how much have dragons changed since I've been gone?" Aesthyr asked herself

"What did you say?" I asked

"Nothing, look If you run on all fours you'll get to where you need to get to a little bit faster." She said

"Really?" I asked a bit skeptical

"Have I lied to you yet?" She questioned

"We met like a couple of hours ago." I responded

"Well I mean you don't have to do It, but It would help get there sooner." She said

"Fine, but If I mess up I'm blaming you," I say as I slowly come to a stop and proceed to get on all fours.

"This feels so wrong," I said to myself.

"Why do you think that? Dragons did this anytime they needed to get anywhere In a rush back In my time." She said

I awkwardly start moving forward at first but surprisingly after a couple of seconds, It starts to feel second nature to me as I start gradually moving faster than I ever did on two feet.

"Ok, this does feel *pant* faster." I said

"Told you," She said sounding smug.

Thanks to Aesthyr I was able to make it back to the crossroad In only what I hoped was a few minutes as I rushed past the trees and ran back towards our little hideaway.

I start to slow down as I get near the entrance and I get back on my feet as I slowly start to make my way inside hoping that neither one of them would notice me.

"Ok, so far so go-"

"Welcome back Falkor," Ember said as I screamed a very manly scream.

"O-oh h-hey Ember," I said shakingly as I look towards her direction, "And Garble," I added on.

"*snnrk* You screamed like a drakina, no offense Ember," Garble said giving me hope that I was In the clear.

"Does that mean you're not upset?" I asked hesitantly

"Oh no don't get me wrong I still feel like punching you In the face for making us worry but It was still funny," Garble said instantly frowning as well as instantly crushing any chance I had of getting away with this.

"Pretty much, also none taken Garble, he did sound like one for a second," Ember said looking down at me from the pile of gems she was on holding Smolder In her arms while stroking the fin-like appendage back as Garble stood In front at the bottom.

Both which I should mention looked a bit peeved at me right now.

"Now I could've sworn that you had more brains than most drakes In the Dragon Lands so explain to me why you took so long to come back It's night now even though you said you were only going 'a bit outside of our place'." Ember said upset

"Well, I can assure you I have a very good reason as to why this happened." I said

"We're listening," Ember said as they both waited.

[Hey Aesthyr,] I said hoping she could hear me.

"Don't worry I can still hear you, what do you need?" She asked

[Ok good, I was just wondering If was ok If I told Ember and Garble about you?] I asked

"I don't see the problem In doing that, If anything It comes down to Whether they believe you or not." She said

[Good to know thanks,] I said to her before shifting my attention back towards the others.

"So just to make It clear I was going to come back earlier than I did, but when I was about to make my way back I heard a voice calling out for help and so wanting to help I followed It," I started off with.

"Then when I got to the voice I found It coming from a ring where It asked me to help get It out, so I agreed and put It on so that way I wouldn't have to worry about carrying It In my hand all the time, but when I did Its like I was falling asleep and I couldn't do anything about It," I continued with.

"Then when I woke up again I was somewhere else where there wasn't anything else except pitch-black darkness, though I wasn't alone since the voice that was coming from the ring turned out to be a drakina by the name of Aesthyr," I explained causing both of their eyes to widen.

"She used to be a draconic armorer before being trapped In the ring I found, then after that not much happened, we talked and then I started to wake up again only to find that It was night, so I got up and ran back here as fast as I could, leading us to where we are now, and that's pretty much everything that happened," I said as I waited in silence.
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Finally, after a couple of seconds, I see Ember sigh as she looks towards Garble. "What do you think Garble, do you think he's telling the truth?" She asked causing Garble to sigh as he continued to look at me frowning.

"I believe him, I don't know anything about that ring stuff he was talking about but I could see him doing something stupid like that." He said

"Well If you believe him then I guess we can just ignore this happening," Ember said causing me to sigh In relief.

"Thanks for believi-"

"BUT, next time you go out one of us will come with you just in case something happens to you, Is that clear?" Ember questioned

"Y-yeah that's clear alright," I said slightly hesitant.

"Good," Ember said as her face shifted Into more of a relieved expression.

A drakina who knows what she wants and tries to act dominant around drakes when the time calls for It. Haven't seen one of those In a while, I like her already.Aesthyr said

"Yeah, she's pretty fierce sometimes but otherwise, she's probably one of the only drakinas I could feel comfortable around," I said with a smile.

Well whoever her mate will be In the future Is certainly going to have a lot to work with," She said sounding amused.

[Yeah, In the future,] I said to her feeling a bit annoyed for some reason.

"Ohhhhhhh, interesting," Aesthyr said as she started to giggle.

[What's so funny?] I asked confused at her sudden laughter.

"Oh don't worry about It, just something that I found amusing at the moment," She said as Ember and Garble made their way closer.

[Oh ok then,] I said to her before approaching the others.

"Again guys sorry for making you worry," Is what I would've said If Garble hadn't scratched me on the arm causing some pain but not enough to leave any real damage.

"That was for making us worry for no reason," Garble said before engulfing me In a hug, "And this Is for not dying," He said as I reciprocated smiling at this rare moment of him not caring about being tough with me.

"I guess that's fair, sorry for making you worry again," I said as we ended our hug.

"Good because you should be," He said slightly still upset.

"But I'm glad your here, don't like you made us worry like I said, but I'm glad your here," He said earnestly as I turned towards Ember as she walked up to us with a sleeping Smolder as her front half was dangling over Embers shoulder.

"Anything you want to add on as well?" I asked

"Nope, Garble pretty much said and did everything I wanted to say and do," She said before picking Smolder up again and holding her In her arms.

"Now we can talk about your ring stuff and whatnot In the morning but now If you don't mind i would like to be able to go to sleep now without having to worry about anything except for tomorrow," She said as her body slightly deflates with how tired she felt.

"Yeah, that's probably for the best," I said as we make our way back to and In the one by one as we start to make ourselves comfortable and fall asleep.

"Hey Falkor." Garble whispered

"Mmh yeah?" I asked almost asleep

"Is It ok If I sleep with you tonight, I-I know Its stupid that I'm asking but I jus-"

"Garble," I said cutting him off.

"Y-yeah?" He asked hesitantly

"Shut up and get over here," I said as I hear and feel him position himself under my left arm and he slightly snuggles into me.

"You good now?" I asked

"Y-yeah thanks." He said

"Good, now sleep," I told him as we both start to drift off to sleep.

I start to feel myself wake up as I blearily open my eyes as I find Garble still under my arm smiling which caused me to smile as he seemed to enjoy being next to me last night.

"Probably just wanted to feel sure you were still here." Aesthyr said

[Yeah probably,] I told her as I went to scratch my face only to come Into contact with something causing me to feel excruciating pain.

"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFffffffffffffuck," I said as quietly as I could not wanting to wake the others up as I shakingly tried to feel around where the pain came from.

After a couple of seconds, I was able to find It as I felt It again causing me to pull back In pain.

However, when I started to feel around It I felt something above the painful area that I was able to slightly flick upwards. 'Is that my scale?' I thought to myself

"It sure Is, and It seems like your brother has perfect timing as well," Aesthyr said causing me to look over to him as I saw the same thing happening on his right cheek as well only he wasn't aware of the pain It could cause yet.

'Oh no, are we-"

"Molting? Yep, congratulations though, you're finally on your way to becoming a young dragon, good luck," She said
as she laughed causing me to groan at the situation I would now have to deal with.

Almost Time Now

"This sucks." Garble said upset

"Well what were you expecting? For us to be immune to It?" I asked slightly amused at his mood.

"Well, I wish we were because this sucks." He said upset

"Well at least you two enjoyed each other's company before she left with Ember," I said slightly amused.

"Ughhh don't remind me, that just makes It worse," Garble said laying his face In the palm of his hands.

To clear things up a day had passed since I had found out that Garble and I had finally started our molting to both of our annoyances.

Him, because he was annoyed It took so long compared to Embers to appear and me because I already knew what we were going to have to deal with now that It finally appeared.

During our molting a few things had happened even though they weren't much In the grand scheme of things It felt monumental to us like how Ember was finally able to fully grasp how her wings worked.

Also, most importantly (sorry Ember) was the fact that lil Smold was able to take her first steps when Garble and I voices started to fail and let me tell you It was adorable.

I still remember when Garble and I were annoyed at our voices failing while Smolder and Ember were relaxing together.

Now apparently according to Ember when they were relaxing Smolder caught sight of how unhappy Garble looked so she started squirming In Ember's grasp which Ember took as her wanting space leading her to place Smolder on the ground as she kept her eye on her.

Apparently what happened next was Smolder started to lift herself off the ground slowly and shaking all the while.

Ember thinks It took her around a whole minute to get up but get up she did as she was able to fully stand on her two feet albeit still shaking.

And then, very slowly she took her first step.

And then another, and another, and another.

It took around a good ten minutes for Smolder to walk over to where me and Garble were sulking and completely oblivious of her achievement.

Meanwhile, Ember was giddy at what she was witnessing trying her best to be quiet and not ruin the surprise.

Then finally Garble felt something touching his arm causing him to turn around and find Smolder looking up at him worried.

He then looked up only to find Ember standing far away from Smolder causing him to look back and forth at them a few times before looking back at Smolder as his face lit up with joy as he picked up Smolder and started to praise her as he ruffled her fin-like appendages causing her causing her to laugh In joy at being able to make him feel better.

Meanwhile, Ember and I stood off to the side smiling at the amount of joy Garble was showing her and how much Smolder was enjoying his attention.

Unfortunately a couple of hours later when Garble and Ember were playing with Smolder while Aesthyr and I were talking about whatever came to mind she stopped playing and started sniffing around her before slowly coming closer to Garble.

As she sniffed him she recoiled so hard from the smell that when her face scrunched up she pulled her whole body back as she fell on her butt and started making grabby hands at Ember to which Ember quickly picked Smolder up before moving towards the gem pile to get away from the smell.

Garble was a bit upset when that happened which meant his big brother had to go and make him feel better since I also started to smell which led to me hanging out by myself.

So I made my way over to Garble who was hanging out by the hole and joined him as we started making small talk which led us to where we are now.

"Well think of It this way, we're almost through with our molting and then when It's done you can go back to playing with Smolder like nothing ever happened," I said trying to reassure him as he sighed.

"Yeah I guess so, still sucks though." He said annoyed

"Yeah, It does, even Ember doesn't want to come near me," I said slightly disappointed.

"Awwww, dwoes bwig bwother miss the Dwakina?" He said In a baby voice to which I responded by lightly punching him In the shoulder causing him to laugh.

"Oh shut up," I said slightly annoyed at his laughing.

"My bad but I was feeling bored and I wanted to do something that would entertain me." He said smirking

"Yeah well hope you got your entertainment," I said rolling my eyes.

"Yep, pretty entertained If I say so," He said with a smirk before he dropped It.

"Though I wanna ask you something," He said now looking a bit serious.

"What do you need?" I asked

"So about the ring, Is there a drakina really trapped In It?" He asked curiously as I lifted my right hand.

"Yeah and her name Is Aesthyr. She was, In her own words 'the best Draconic Armorer In all of the Dragon Lands'." I said quoting

"Well she must be lying then," He said without hesitation.

What!? The nerve of this drake as If he has any right to doubt my skill when he hasn't even seen my work nevertheless even met me." Aesthyr said offended

[Wow someone's a bit upset.] I said

How could I not be? When somedrake like him doubts me," She said slightly upset.

[Well let me ask why he thinks that, It might just be a misunderstanding,] I said To try and calm her down.

It had better be," She said as I focused back on Garble.

"Hellooooooo? Dragon Land to Falkor, are you there?" Garble asked as he waved his hand in front of my face

"O-oh sorry I was just talking to Aesthyr," I said a bit surprised.

"Aesth-, oh right thee uh drakina, In the ring. How does that work exactly? Like do you just like talk to each other In your head?" He asked slightly confused.

"Yep pretty much." I said

"Huh I don't know whether or not that's cool or weird, eh I'll go with weird for now." He said

"Wow thanks," I said rolling my eyes.

"Anyways why do you think Aesthyr's lying?" I asked

"Well OBVIOUSLY because there's no such thing as a 'draconic armor'." He said

"Armorer," I corrected to which he responded by waving me off.

"Same thing and besides If she was the 'best In all the Dragon Lands' then why hasn't anydrake heard about her?" He questioned

"Huh, good point." I turn towards the girl's direction.

"Hey. Ember!" I call out as she pauses from playing with Smolder.

"Yeah?" she asked

"Did Dragon Lord Torch ever say anything about somedrake named Aesthyr?" I asked

"Is this about the drakina trapped In your ring?" She asked

"Uh yeah." I responded with

"Well I do but, Dad told me not to tell anydrake about that." She said.

"Oh o-

"But If you want I can tell you since It does have something to do with you now," She said shocking me and Garble.

"Are you sure Ember? You don't have to tell us If It's that important," I said trying to reassure her.

"I mean don't get me wrong I would definitely like to see what the big deal Is with this drakina but if it's something that important then maybe It's best to not tell us." Garble said

"Oh believe me If I didn't trust you two I wouldn't even mention anything," She said with a smirk.

"But we've been companions for a while now even before we went on this little molting trip together, so don't worry, I think I can trust you guys just, don't mention this to anydrake else," She said causing us to grin.

"Well I mean In that case, please Princess Ember share with us what only you and the Dragon Lord know," Garble said sarcastically causing Ember to roll her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever," Ember said before narrowing her eyes In thought.

"Now from what I remember, apparently Dad told me that the reason why nodrake knows about her Is that the Dragon Lord that was In charge before my dad was had erased everything he could find about her, from her accomplishments to what she made, everything." She explained

"So basically what you're saying Is nodrake knows about her because the previous Dragon Lord didn't want anydrake to? But why would he do that?" I asked out loud.

I want to say I'm surprised but honestly, If this was Dragon Lord Darss's fault then I'm not." Aesthyr said

[Why do you say that?] I asked her

Because If there's one thing I know about Dragon Lord Darss Is that he was afraid of me, not like all the other dragons who saw me as a failure no, he knew just what I was capable of. She explained

[But how was getting rid of your existence supposed to help him?" I asked

Because I was planning on showing other dragons how much fiercer we could've been If they just saw how capable everything I made was. She explained

Though I assume after my disappearance reaching his ears inevitably he did everything In his power to get rid of the fact I ever existed. She said

[Sorry to hear that.] I said to her

Eh, nothing to be sorry about, can't use any of It now anyway, can I? Heh heh....... though you could. She said

[What?] I asked

You could use them. I mean you have no reason to use them but that doesn't mean you can't use them. She said

[But I thought Darss had everything destroyed?] I asked her

And? Unless you forgot I'm a Draconic Armorer. If I was useless just because everything I made was destroyed I wouldn't be very good at what I do. She told me

[Oh right, guess that makes sense then.] I said to her

Now we can talk about this some other time, right now It looks like your companions are waiting for you, She said before going quiet as I focused back on the outside world.

"Finally back?" Garble said looking unimpressed.

"Yes I'm back, were you guys talking about anything?" I asked to which he shook his head.

"Not really, we were talking for a bit after you did whatever It Is you do until It looked like Smolder was getting restless and she went back to playing with her," Garble explained

"Oh ok then," I said as we sit there In silence.

"Hey Falkor?" Garble asked

"Yeah?" I responded only to find him nervously playing with his tail before.

"Garble are you ok?" I asked a bit worried

"No I'm fine It's just I had something I wanted to say but now that I think about It sounds stupid," He said looking embarrassed.

"So? You know I don't care." I said

"I know but-"

I interrupt him by placing my hands on his shoulders and making him face me.

"Garble I promise, whatever It Is you wanted to say will not, and I repeat, will not make you any less of a dragon, ok?" I said causing him to nod.

"Ok, now what Is It you wanted to tell me?" I asked as I removed my hands causing him to sigh for a bit before responding.

"I just wanted to say that I'm happy that I have you as my brother," He said blushing In embarrassment to which I responded by hugging him from his side.

"Me too," I said before he leaned In and hugged me as well.

A couple hours later

"You know I thought that before sucks but this, this Is just Tartarus," Garble said as he aggressively scratched himself all over.

"Oh yeah no I agree this fucking sucks," I say as I try to scratch all over me only to feel like any Itches I took care of magically reappeared forcing me to go back and itch them again.

"Glad I don't have to deal with that again," Ember said as she and Smolder watched from the sidelines.

"Oh shut u-"

CAWWWWWWWWWWWW

We all became silent as we suddenly heard a shriek cut through the air all around us.

"HIDE!" I yelled out knowing exactly what It was.

"HIDE WHERE!? THERE'S NO WHERE TO HIDE!" Garble yelled causing me to look around In a panic.

"T-T-The Gem pile, we can hide there, and no matter what be quiet," I said as we made our way to and forced our way inside the gem pile until we were all thankfully able to fit.

After a couple of minutes, we heard something land outside of the gems as we waited listening to the usual thump as It moved around looking for us or repositioning Itself.

Then It went quiet until the thumps started making their way closer.

*Thump*

*Thump*

*Thump*

*Thump*

We all stayed as deathly still as we could knowing that any sudden movements could mean the end as It no doubt was standing right above the gem pile.

Minutes felt like hours as we waited In place for the Roc to move, go away, and do something that didn't involve staying here, but It felt like no matter what this thing wasn't going to move no matter what.

'What the fuck are we supposed to do now!? This fucking thing won't move and It's only a matter of time before Garble and I start turning to stone or whatever It Is,' I panic thinking to myself as I try to come up with a solution.

Well not to be the bearer of bad news but It's not moving because It knows you're here. Aesthyrs said

[What!? What do you mean It knows!?] I questioned

Rocs have a high sense of smell almost as good as dragons do and If my knowledge Is still good then, It knew where you were as soon as It landed. She explained

[Fuuuck, Ember did say something about Rocs being able to smell molting dragons, but what am I supposed to do now?] I asked her

I don-... actually, that might just work. She said

[What? What might work?] I asked desperately

When me and Luna went against Celestia she came up with a saying that was able to take my draconic abilities and combine It with her own so maybe just maybe, you might be able to do the same. She explained

[And how am I supposed to do that!?] I asked confused

Well If It still works then all you need to do Is repeat after me and then listen to what I tell you and then If It works you're going to pop out of the gem pile and breathe as much fire as you can Into Its face and burn It. She explained

[And If It doesn't?] I asked cautiously

Then at least the others will be able to get away. She said bluntly

Now, carefully repeat after me, any mistakes and both of our souls will be forfeit. She said seriously

[OK, ok, I-I'm ready] I said closing my eyes and trying to calm down as I try to focus on repeating her words.

"Through the different lies and the deepest ruse,

we will show you the absolute truth,

As we summon the power to reveal what has been hidden,

and unveil to us that Is forbidden.

After I finished repeating what she told me to I suddenly felt as If something was trying to force Its way Into and soul and instead of feeling alarmed by It, It felt welcoming, like It was something being given to me Instead of something trying to force Its way inside.

"It worked" We said as we prepared ourselves. "Ok Its Now or never"

Garble's POV

'Why won't this thing go away!? There's no way It knows we're here, we got under the gems before It saw us so why won't It go away!?' I pondered

'We can't fight It and we can't run from It either, we're just sitting eggs right now and there's nothing we ca-'

CAWWWWWW-

Before I could finish my thoughts I felt the gems around me shift as I heard that horrible sound again before It was cut off by the sound of fire being blown.

Crawling out of the gems the first thing I noticed was how hot It was, kinda like we were back In the Dragon Lands.

The first thing I saw was how big Falkor's flame was as It covered up the stupid thing's face putting a big smile on my face.

"Come On Falkor! You can do It!" I yelled out cheering him on

However, my smile started to slip as I looked in slight horror as I saw his flame start to flicker In and out as the things claw was starting to slowly reach for him.

"Its-

Our POV

'-not enough,' We thought as we could begin to feel our flame beginning to run out and If that wasn't enough the Roc was starting to raise Its claw towards us.

'If I can hold on a little longer then-'

Our thoughts are cut off as we begin to see a light blueish flame appear from our right side combining Into our flame as It starts burning brighter and hotter.

'Garble's helping us,' We thought to ourselves before a second dark pink flame appeared from our right as It also began to combine Into the multicolored flame adding even more heat and making It burn even brighter causing us to slightly close our eyes to protect It from the heat.

'Ember Is also helping us, just a little bit more and we can do this,' We thought to ourselves.

Unfortunately, we could see our flame begin to run out as It started to flicker before gradually shrinking as It started to grow closer and closer back to us until the last bit of flames disappeared sending us rolling down to the bottom of the gem pile as Garble and Ember stopped breathing their fire as well to check up on me.

During our state of exhaustion, we started to feel our souls being forcefully separated from each other as It started to revert them to their original positions.

"D-Did w-we g-get It?" I asked feeling exhausted but still worried It was still alive as I tried to push myself up only to be helped up and supported by Garble and Ember.

"Y-yeah I'm pretty s-sure we did," Ember said as she stood to the side and she gave me a good look at It.

When I saw how It looked I was a bit shocked but also very thankful for Its state as the first thing I saw was how pretty much everything past Its beak was charred black even Inside where Its eyes were supposed to be as Its claws and beak was frozen open most likely getting ready to try and devour me.

"Oh thank the Maker It's dead," I said relieved as I looked back and forth between the two of them.

"Thank you for helping me." I said gratefully

"Not like we had any other choice, but you're still welcome," Ember said slightly sarcastically as I could feel her body shaking.

"Yeah let's not do that again, I mean I know I'm a dragon and all but while that did get my blood pumping I want to be able to live until I grow up to defend myself," Garble said also slightly shaking.

"Yeah let's not" I agreed before feeling something covering my tail as I looked down only to find the same stone-like material that was covering Ember begin to cover me.

"Huh, kinda forgot about this," I said out loud causing them to focus on what I was looking at.

"Oh yeah," Garble said looking at his own body as the same began to happen to his right arm.

We both looked at each other before grinning and putting our arms around each other.

"Falkor! Can you believe It!? It's finally happening!" He said visibly excited

"To be honest I can't wait to try them out for myself but to be honest as soon I get my wings I'm probably going to pass out just to let you know." I told him

"Yeah, that makes sense," He said easily agreeing as I could start to see the stone make It to his neck as well as feel It covering mine until I felt It completely covers my face and body as everything became deathly silent as If the whole world was put on mute.
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crack

I didn't know how much time passed until I started to hear the stone begin to crack as I could barely make out the crack forming in front of me until a blinding light appeared forcing me to close my eyes as I dropped to the floor.

"You alright?" Ember asked as she helped me up.

"Yeah, I think so," I said as I got up.

" 'Oh are you ok Garble? Yeah, I'm fine thanks for asking.' " Garble said sarcastically

"Oh my bad Garble," Ember said looking slightly guilty.

"Naw I'm just pulling your wing. Though speaking of wings!" He said as he turned around showcasing his brand new red and yellow wings similar to the ones he had on the show.

"Can you believe It! Now I'm a fully-fledged dragon!" He said looking ecstatic causing me to chuckle as I approached him causing Ember to let me go.

"I can see that, congratulations Garble you earned It," I said earnestly as I put my hand on his shoulder.

"I'm proud of you," I said sincerely as he starts to blush In embarrassment making his face even redder as he looks away from me before surprising me as he rushes into me and gives me a tight hug.

"Heh, thanks Falkor," He said embarrassed before stepping back before I could hug him back.

"Now I don't know about you but I am very tired so I'm just gonna pass out now alright." I said

"Yeah go ahead, we'll be here when you wake up," Ember said behind me before coming Into view with Smolder In her arms.

"Alright cool, see ya," I said as I closed my eyes and fell to the ground before passing out.

Author's Note

Now trust me I know I've said this before but this Is probably THE worst chapter I've uploaded to this story so far and It might seem pretty cringe to a few people so my condolences to having to sit and read through this and if you left halfway through reading this chapter then I don't blame you.

Though If you somehow were able to make your way to the end if this God awful chapter then I would like It If people commented what they thought was absolutely Idiotic about this chapter and what you want me to fix about It.

And If and this Is a BIG If you somehow enjoyed this then leave a comment telling me what you enjoyed about It since reading what people enjoyed always makes me smile and I did try my best to make this chapter a least a little interesting so I do hope you genuinely enjoy It but thats not up to me to decide.

But anyways until I post again have a nice rest of your day after reading this.

Ps: let me know If you want to see side chapters or not featuring characters besides Falkor, ok now I'll see ya later.

PPS:some people might find It stupid that the Roc just stood their and for that I would like to point to the episode molt down where he didn't move giving spike enough time to get his fire ready so I believe that this still Is still believable.
Ok sorry now I'll go.

Talking and Feasting

Author's Note

Hey guys sorry for another short chapter but at least I got this short one out for you sooner rather than later right? Idk but I hope you enjoy It all the same since this one might seem a bit messy so sorry for that.:twilightsheepish:

Also I just want to say thanks for all the support that you guys have shown my story so far Its actually still pretty unbelievable that people can enjoy what I write which Is why I was so hard on myself last chapter since I wasn't sure If It wa going to be enjoyable or not but It seems my fears were unfounded so thanks for that!

Anyways I'll shut up now and let you hopefully enjoy this chapter, so see ya later!

Talking and Feasting

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"Ughhhhh, I don't want to get up right now," I said feeling as If my whole body just went through the beating of a lifetime as I open my eyes revealing Aesthyr walking towards me.

"Back here huh," I said looking up at her.

"Yep, and that's understandable seeing how exhausted you are," Aesthyr said standing above me.

"Though that's to be expected since our souls just combined for the first time so It's going to hurt like Tartarus, though lucky for you It should only get easier from here," She said offering me a hand to which I accept as she pulls me up from the sand.

"Are you sure It's going to get easier?" I asked slightly doubtful.

"I don't know, that's why I said It 'should' get easier though I have no way of really knowing since the first time I attempted something like that was with Luna when we went against Solar Cheeks before we got separated," She explained causing me to chuckle slightly.

"W-Well I guess we'll just have to figure It out then." I said

"Guess so," She said, "To be honest I'm glad that you found my ring Falkor, gives me a chance to see how much the Dragon Lands have changed without me," She said before turning back towards me with a grin.

"Pluuuuuuus, If everything goes well then we'll be able to get Into my old work area," She gleefully added on.

"You know, I am kinda curious about what kind of stuff you made In there. I mean I know you made weapons and armor-"

"Ah! Draconic weapons and armor," She corrected wagging a finger.

"I've also been meaning to ask you about that. What exactly makes Draconic armor and weapons different from what Ponies make?" I asked curious

"Oh! Well, I'm glad you asked," She said sitting down prompting me to join her.

"If you were going to sit down then what was the point of pulling me up?" I asked slightly annoyed.

"Well 1: I wasn't exactly planning on you asking me about how the stuff I make works and 2: you needed to move anyway. Now do you want to know the difference or not?" She questioned causing me to roll my eyes as I sat down to join her.

"Now to answer your question about what makes what I produce different from what Ponies produce Is 1: when I start to work on a weapon I always make sure to grab a clear Quartz Gem before breathing fire on It for about, If I remember correctly, 12 seconds." She said

"And 2: I also make sure to grab a Kyanite gem as well before adding the clear Quartz gem to the pommel of any weapon and the Kyanite gem inside the middle of the blade on any weapon I'm working on at the moment." She explained

"Why specifically those two gems?" I asked intrigued

"Well, the reason for that Is because a CLEAR Quartz gem can absorb and release any type of energy, so knowing that, any time a dragon breathes a tiny spark of flame onto the blade allows the Quartz gem to recognize It thus releasing a bit of my dragon fire breath to combine with said users fire breath." She explained

"Then with the properties of a Kyanite gem, It allows the combined dragon fire breath to move across and cover the whole blade In dragon fire completes the process and makes It into a weapon that can cut through almost anything," She said grinning at me.

"Though before that I have to make sure that the blade can withstand the heat In the first place, don't want your weapon melting because of It, which Is why I use tungsten." She said

"Damn, I mean I know you said you were the best but I mean you seem to know your way around being a draconic armorer." I said impressed

"Was there any doubt?" She asked sarcastically grinning before It slowly left her face.

"But I wasn't always this good, don't get me wrong I was still the best In the Dragon Lands but After meeting Luna she helped me improve significantly." She explained

"Funny enough that dragon fire idea I told you about, Luna helped me bring It to life." She said

"Really? Luna helped you In making It?" I asked shocked

"Yep, In fact, I remember when she came to visit and I was working on making my idea come to life and failing miserably since I kept failing on how to make the dragon fire exactly stick to the blade until she offered to help." She said

"Now I was a bit doubtful that she could help at first so out of trying to prove a point to myself I sarcastically asked her what she thought would help with what I was doing which Is when she told me about how those two gems would help In making the fire stick to the tungsten blade." She explained

"Then after she pretty much solved the problem I had been dealing with for weeks I decided to suck up my pride and asked If she would like to help me In making stuff from time to time, and thankfully she agreed because I'll be honest the ideas that pony had made me WISH she was a dragon sometimes." She explained

"That's pretty cool. Though I guess she inadvertently showed you up huh?" I asked sarcastically nudging her shoulder to which she proceeded to nudge me back grinning.

"Ohhhh yeah, I can suck up my pride to admit that some of her ideas were better than mine at times, one of the reasons why I asked her to help out from time to time since she pretty much showed me she knew her way around how weapons and armor were made, and dragon pride or not that knowledge might as well been apart of my hoard for how valuable It was." She said wistfully

"But enough about that, onto draconic armor," She said before the world around us started to shake.

"Well never mind then, guess It's time for you to wake up," She said getting up as she makes her way towards the beach before turning back towards me.

"Oh! Almost forgot I'm probably going to go quiet for a while To recover since that took a lot outta me too just to let you know," She said as everything around us started shaking more violently.

"Ok but when will I know when you're done recovering?" I asked

"You'll know wh-" Was the last thing she was able to get out before everything went dark again.

*Crunch*

"Ugh, what time Is It?" I asked as started to wake back up In the real world.

"Time for you to get up and eat but It's also still daytime," Garble said standing above me chewing on something as he held what looked like some sort of meat In his hand with blood over his mouth.

"What are you eating?" I asked confused

"The thing that tried to kill us, or I guess the Roc as Ember called It," He said as he paused for a second to think about It before shrugging.

"Either way we're eating It, guess you could call It payback for trying to kill us," He said before swallowing.

"Now are you going to lay there all day or come join us?" He asked offering his free hand which I accepted as he pulled me from the ground.

"Good, now since Ember and I agreed you did most of the work we agreed that you get to have both of the wings so you can have that but the left leg Is mine because I called dibs on It and the right one Is Ember's and Smolder's," He said before eating the last bit of meat In his hand.

"Oh ok, well I mean If you want you guys can have some too." I offered

"Wait really!?" He asked shocked

"Well yeah I mean, It's not like I took It down by myself," I said before he suddenly rushed at me and hugged me tightly.

"You are the best brother ever." He whispered

"Wha-"

"HEY EMBER, FALKOR SAID WE CAN HAVE SOME OF THE WINGS!" He yelled out at her as he ran towards the now toppled bird lying on Its side.

"Wait really!?" She asked shocked before turning to me as I nodded giving her the ok to which she responded by gently putting Smolder down before sprinting to the unoccupied wing and going to town as they both proceeded to tear Into their respective wings as they proceeded to go to town getting blood on their mouths In the process.

"Thanks, Falkor," Ember said before going back to devouring the wing.

"Yah thans Falror," Garble said with his mouth full before swallowing and then returning to his meal.

"...Wow, ok then," I said feeling a multitude of things but mostly feeling impressed by how fast Ember sprinted after putting Smolder down.

'Speaking of Smolder,' I thought as I saw her out of the corner of my eyes slowly making her way over towards me.

Wanting to help I decided to meet her halfway as I picked her up and placed her on my shoulder.

"How's It going Smolds?" I asked to which she responded by shrugging.

"Yeah me too, hungry?" I asked as she smiled and nodded.

"Well then let's go and eat then," I said as I begin walking towards the others.

"Hey guys, If you stop right now I'll show you something better than just eating wings," I said causing them to pause.

"What could be better than this?" Garble asked curious

"Ohhh, let's just say that everything's better a little crsipy," I said licking my lips as Smolder and I approached.

On To Moving On

"Falkor," Garble said while lying on his back.

"Yeah?" I asked also on my back.

"Remind me to always make you make the type of food like you did earlier because that right there," He said pointing to the somewhat large pile of bones before dropping his arm.

"Was the best thing I've ever tasted." He stated

"I second that," Ember said also laying on her back with Smolder lying next to her Smolder let out a small burp before snuggling Into the side of Ember as she went to sleep.

"It's not that difficult just gotta find a Jasper and Quartz gem, crush them, make sure the crushed remains to cover the whole of whatever you plan on eating, then lightly use your dragon flame to make It crispy as the gem remains mix with the meat," I explain as they groan In response.

'Especially since Quartz tastes like a flower and Jasper tastes like hot sauce,' I thought to myself.

"I got a better idea how about instead of remembering all of that we just make you make food like that all of the time." Ember said

"I second that and besides how would you even think of that? Because I know I would've never thought of that," Garble said astounded.

"Heh, you don't think much of anything," Ember said sarcastically.

"I would say something back but right now I'm too full to think of anything," Garble admitted as Ember and I chuckled at him.

"Though besides Falkor's ability to make food better than It Is what should we do now that we've molted?" Garble asked

"First, we sleep off our feast, then tomorrow we make our way back to the Dragon Lands," I said holding up my right arm as I look at the ring attached to my finger.

"Not much else we can do anyways and It'd probably help to be back somewhere we're familiar with." I explained

"Sounds good to me," Ember said before curling around Smolder as she closed her eyes.

"Not like we got anything else to do," Garble said as he made himself comfortable before closing also his eyes.

"Alright then, have a nice nap I guess," I said closing my eyes as I start to fall asleep.

6 hours later
(Ember POV)

"H̸e̶l̵p̶ ̸t̵h̶e̷m̵," I strangely barely hear causing me to start to wake up.

"Wha-"

"H̸e̶l̵p̶ ̸t̵h̶e̷m̵?"something asked again causing me to fully wake up as I barely hear the weird voice again.

'Where did that voice come from?" I wondered before I heard It again.

"H̸e̶l̵p̶ ̸t̵h̶e̷m̵?" The weird voice asked again closer this time causing me to rush towards Falkor trying to shake him awake as to make him aware of the situation right now.

(Marson POV)

"Falkor, Falkor wake up!" I hear Ember say as I feel her shaking body back and forth.

"Mmh wa yu wan?" I asked coherently as I start to wake up.

"I heard some voices nearby!" She told me causing me to freeze as I take a second to process her words before looking back at her.

"Where?" I asked her causing her to look back toward some trees behind her.

"I don't know I-"

"H̸e̶l̵p̶ ̸t̵h̶e̷m̵?" I hear a staticky voice say In the distance interrupting Ember as we both stop to listen out for anything else only to hear silence for a couple of seconds.

"Get Garble up and ready to leave because we're not staying any longer," I said now fully awake starting to get up as she goes over to Garble.

"Aesthyr are you there!?" I asked urgently hoping to hear from her.
.
.
.
Nothing.

"Still recovering I guess," I said making my way towards Ember and a now awakened but somewhat grumpy Garble.

"Why did you feel the need to wake me up In the middle of the night?" Garble asked annoyed from being woken up.

"Cause Ember heard voices near here," I said as he looks at me confused.

"So?" He asked not understanding what was wrong.

"So If Ember heard noises near our little place where It's supposed to be a secret what do you think that means?" I questioned as I see him thinking about It until his eyes widen In understanding.

"Oh." He simply said

"Yeah, Oh, so let's go," I said picking up Smolder and making my way towards the entrance until I see something In the middle of the entrance making me freeze In place seeing what I can only describe as an abomination.

Upon looking at It closer I saw It had what looked to resemble a drake-like figure but instead of having colorful scales like other dragons, It had pale almost see-through scales with Its wings out and constantly spasming as If just the mere existence of their wings were causing them pain.

Even Its face wasn't normal as its eyesockets had nothing behind them except black voids that my gut was telling me not to look into.

"Y-you guys are s-seeing this too right!? Please tell me I'm not going crazy and that you can see this." Ember said perturbed

"D-dont worry I'm pretty sure we can all see It too," I said turning my head towards her trying not to freak out,"but as long as we don't provoke It I think we're fi-"

Before I could even finish my sentence I turned back towards the entrance only to find the thing standing a few inches In front of me as Its empty eyesockets focused down at Smolder sleeping In my arms causing Garble to step forward.

"Hey get aw-"

"Garble, Dont," I said as seriously as I can hoping he understands while doing my best to not take my eye off of It.

"But-"

"H̵e̴l̸p̷ ̸t̸h̸e̷m̶?" It asked as It took Its attention off of Smolder before looking at me as I tried to avoid looking directly Into Its eyes.

"H-Help them?" I asked confused, "I-I don't understa-"

"H̵̠̦̓e̵̩̰͆͛̍̈́͊l̷̎͜p̸͎̰̮̆̆͊̋͠ͅ ̷̨̬͍̽́̿͘t̸͙̒͌h̶̨͇͈̬̑̏ȅ̴̻̫̜m̸̢͎͙̥̈?" It asked a bit more forcefully cutting me off as pointed down towards Smolder causing my eyes to widen as I understood what It meant.

"Y-yes w-we're helping them," I said hoping that answer was satisfying enough as It looked at me for a few seconds before doing the same to Ember and Garble as the tense feeling started to increase before Its attention landed back on me nodding.

"D̴o̶n̵'̵t̶ ̸l̶e̶t̴ ̷t̴h̷e̴m̵ ̸s̶h̴a̷r̴e̴ ̶o̷u̴r̵ ̷f̴a̵t̶e̴," It said coherently for the first time before suddenly disappearing as we all stood In silence not sure how to process what happened.

"H-How about, we start making our way towards the Dragon Lands and leave this place behind immediately," I said hearing murmurs of agreement as we start making our way out of our little hideout for the last time.

A couple of minutes later we made our way past the trees and crossroads as we came back onto the path we had taken before only this time using It to make our back.

"So, does anydrake wanna talk about what we saw back there?" Ember asked unsure

"I'm not exactly sure what there Is to say Ember," I answered honestly looking down at Smolder still peacefully sleeping away not aware of what just happened a couple of minutes ago putting a small smile on my face.

"Well I know that but It just feels weird to not at least discuss what happened back there," Ember said taking a glance back down the path.

"All I know Is that while It looked like a dragon whatever that creature was It wasn't anything normal that's for sure, I mean did you see Its eyes!?" Garble questioned looking somewhat unsettled.

"There wasn't anything there at all and that's not even the craziest part because every time I got close to looking at wherever that thing's eyes were supposed to be I got this horrible feeling that-"

"If you looked directly Into It something horrible would happen to you?" Ember finished cutting Garble off though If he cared he wasn't showing any sign that he did.

"YES! Exactly that, I thought I was crazy for thinking that but you guys felt It too Right!?" Garble questioned

"Yeah, I did and I don't know what would've happened If I looked but I don't think I ever want to find out," I said remembering how It felt when I almost looked.

"I second that, though should we be out here?" Ember questioned.

"I mean don't get me wrong I don't want to go back after that thing was there but shouldn't we at least stop somewhere else?" Ember questioned

"Look I don't know about you but I'd rather make our way towards the Dragon Lands rather than sleep out here, especially with that thing out and about," Garble explained

"Besides Its night time I doubt tha-"

"Why couldn't we just do this tomorrow?" A voice In the distance complained almost being drowned out by the constant rumbling that was getting closer causing us to hide behind some trees as we waited until what sounded to be like a carriage moved past us until we could no longer hear It.

"You wanna finish what you were going to say Garble?" Ember asked sarcastically looking towards Garble as he looked away slightly annoyed.

"Not my fault something happened," He said slightly grumpy.

"What was that?" Ember questioned

"Nothing, you need to worry about," Garble said

"Uh huh, sure It isn't," Ember said sarcastically before sighing.

"What's wrong?" I asked slightly concerned.

"A bunch of stuff, but for right now? I honestly want to go back to sleep." Ember said

"Well like I said before I still don't want to sleep out here with the chance of whatever that was coming back," He said slightly still upset of the idea of sleeping out here.

"Oh, where's that 'Draconic Pride' you drakes are so famous for?" Ember questioned

"There's a difference between pride and stupidity and I am not stupid enough to try and risk anything with that thing." Garble retorted

"Look Garble as much as I would like to keep moving Ember does have a point, It's either we find somewhere out here suitable to sleep or we go and catch up to whoever those creatures-."

"Ponies." Garble corrected

"What?" I asked confused

"It was Ponies or at least whoever was pulling whatever that thing Is was a pony, saw them when I took a peek." Garble explained

"Well like I was saying It's either we sleep out here or ask the Ponies If they can give us a ride," I said sarcastically as Garble stays quiet with a slight frown on his face.

"Exactly, no-"

"Ok," Garble said causing me to pause and look at him In surprise as he started to sprint In the direction that the carriage went causing me and Ember to sprint after him.

"Wait, You would rather ask for Ponies to help us rather than sleep outside?" Ember asked just as shocked as I am.

"As much as I hate *pant* to admit It yes, In any other situation than no I'd *pant* rather deal with anything else but my draconic strength alone but I'm pretty sure that *pant* wouldn't make a difference to whatever that was back there," He said In between breaths.

"Huh, color me surprised," I said making sure to not drop Smolder as she somehow still stayed asleep with all the rocking she was going through right now.

"What?"
"What?" They both asked confused at my saying.

"Never mind," I said as we all go quiet for a couple of minutes until we see the carriage start to slowly appear.

"Ok, let me *pant* talk to them," I said slightly tired as I hear them barely agree.

"Garble hold *pant* Smolder for me," I said passing Smolder to him as I speed up trying to catch up to the carriage as I start banging on the side of It once I reach causing them to slow down to a stop.

"What In the Bu-" The Earth Pony pulling the carriage starts to say as he comes around to the side of the caravan only to cut himself off as his eyes widen at the sight of me.

"A Dragon?" He said before his eyes narrow, "Look, we don't want any trouble alright," He said slowly putting his hands up.

"Yeah me neither, besides I was going to ask If we could join you guys," I said trying to catch my breath.

"We?" He asks just as Ember and Garble appear with Smolder in his arms.

"Yeah we-" I said pointing towards them as the door in the side of the carriage suddenly slams open.

"SERGEANT DAWN WHY IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA HAVE W-"

"WWUUAAAAAAGGH!" Smolder cried out from having her sleep interrupted causing everyone to pause as Garble and Ember started to snarl at the offender whose eyes widened at the sight of us.

"That Lieutenant was why we stopped," He said looking slightly smug before the Unicorn looks back causing him to drop his smug look before he turns back to face us.

"So what's your business with us dragons? Cause just to let you know In advance If It's not Important then we need to get going." He said bluntly

"Look we're heading back Into the Dragon Lands and we're wondering If you would be willing to let us catch a ride with you guys," I explained honestly causing them to look at each other confused.

"What?" I asked slightly impatient.

"You dragons are asking us ponies for help?" The Earth Pony questioned.

"Yes?" I say not getting what they were trying to Insinuate.

"Huh, never thought I'd live to see the day," The Earth pony said looking genuinely surprised.

"Well, congratulations you lived to see the day now can we join you or not?" Garble asked out of patience trying to stop Smolder's crying.

"Well, I suppose there's no harm," He said with his eyes narrowed before they returned to normal.

"Besides we're heading to the Dragon Lands anyways, so I suppose It wouldn't hurt to let you four join us, as long as you all aren't lying and don't try anything," He ends with a serious tone.

"Right now I'm too tired to even think of anything related to 'trying' anything right now so how's that for an answer?" Garble asked sarcastically as he was starting to calm Smolder down before the Unicorn got out of the doorway and allowed us to enter allowing me to take a quick look inside.

I was kinda surprised to find the inside of the carriage looked normal with only a couple of fountain pens strewn about and wooden seats covered by a thin sheet of fabric going across the entirety of It with one window at the other end of the seats.

"Alright Sergeant back to work!" He calls out before closing the door as the carriage starts to move.

"You know I know you're a pony and everything but you're being surprisingly generous to us right now even though you're on a mission, why Is that?" Ember questioned

"Easy, because now me and Dawn out there get to have the right to say that a dragon asked us for help without having to lie about It." He said with a smug grin before dropping It.

"Also, like I said before If you four were honest about your situation then I'm sure Princess Celestia wouldn't mind bringing some dragons on the way while on the way towards the Dragon Lands." He explained

"Fair enough, I'd take the chance too," Garble said while somewhat cradling Smolder.

"Really? Just the chance to brag about something Is enough reason for you?" Ember asked astounded.

"I never said that was enough reason but If you had the chance to get to be able to brag about something and It wouldn't hurt anycreature would you pass up the chance?" Garble asked Ember as she opened her mouth before pausing as she took a second to think about.

"Fine, I guess you have a point, an IDIOTIC point but a point either way," She reluctantly agreed.

"Exactly, now I'm going to sleep now, and don't wake me up until we get up their pony or I will claw your eye out," Garble threatened causing the Unicorn to put his hands up.

"Trust me I wouldn't dream of It," He said causing Garble to nod as he shut his eyes preparing to go to sleep.

"You can go to sleep Ember I'm gonna stay awake for a few minutes," I said feeling exhausted.

"You sure? I tho-"

"Yep, I'm sure don't worry," I look her in the eye hoping she would at least understand my ass attempt at me not trying to show being tired.

Shrugging, she doesn't seem to think twice about It as she tries to find a somewhat comfortable position to go to sleep In as the unicorn and I are left In each other's company.

"So, what exactly what you four were doing out there In the first place?" He asked curiously

"We were out there trying to find something and had to take care of the little one while we did," I half lied trying not to give him any Information that didn't concern him.

"Oh alright, I guess that makes sense then," He said slightly amused.

'Feel like there's something I should question him on but I can't care enough to worry about It,' I think to myself.

"So exactly Is your guys mission out In the Dragon Lands?" I ask hoping to learn something.

"Well if I'm being honest usually I wouldn't share mission details with other creatures not included in said mission whether or not they could kill me but I guess It wouldn't hurt since we were told that all the dragons know already so why not," He said stretching out as much as he could before focusing back on me.

"We were sent here to pick up an egg from Dragon Lord Torch since we were told that the mother of the egg had died and the father disappeared and seeing as no other dragon would take It In as their own for some reason," The unicorn said looking confused and slightly upset.

"We were sent In to pick up the egg and deliver It back so that way the egg could be taken care of and even If the dragons don't exactly like the idea of giving their kind away." He said

"Now personally I think that they should've thought of that when they had the opportunity to take the egg In as their own but declined, noponies fault but their own," He said finishing his little rant while I was busy thinking about something he said.

'Could that be his egg? No way that'd be way too big of a coincidence, right?' I pondered to myself.

"Do you know who's going to take care of the egg?" I asked curious

"Can't tell you that one friend but don't worry the mare that's going to take care of her Is respected by everypony you could even say that she's one of a kind," He said as he winked at me.

"Never do that again," I said with a deadpanned face.

"Yeah I don't exactly know why I said that and I hate jokes like that too so I'm not exactly sure why I did that," He said looking ashamed leaving us In an awkward silence.

"Well I'm gonna go and help out the Sergeant since you know," He said as he exited the carriage without elaborating on what he meant by that.

Shrugging off that awkward moment I start to make myself comfortable closing my eyes as I start to fall asleep.

Author's Note

Now I know to some people that this chapter might come out of nowhere and might suck for alot of people but this kinda leads into what I hope I'll be able to take this story towards, if I'm good enough to pull it off.

But enough about my failures OHH BABYYYY 200 LIKES ON THIS STORY!!!!:pinkiegasp: honestly I'm just as suprised as you are.

But seriously thanks to everyone who decided to waste a couple minutes of their day In order to check out this absolute dumpster fire of a story.

And like always If you hated everything about this chapter comment about and tell me with no filter so I can fox any and all failures that I forced you to read.

Though If you did enjoy It then also comment and tell me what you liked about the chapter It makes my day alot.:twilightsmile:

K see you later until next time!

Learning Necessary Information

After following Ember for a while we were able to make our way towards Torch's cave as we approached the entrance which thankfully didn't require us to have to fly to, though that doesn't mean that the walk there wasn't any less tiring.

"I'm telling you Falkor as soon as we find Mom, I'm going to make her teach us how to fly," He said somewhat annoyed and exhausted.

"YOU are going to make MOM teach us how to fly?" I asked slightly amused and just as exhausted as I saw his somewhat annoyed look slightly falter.

"W-well not make her but I mean come onnnnn Falkor, you saw how Viserion was showing off when he flew away with his wings and what about your fight with him tomorrow?" He questioned

"What about It?" I asked

"If Viserion knows how to fly and you don't that's probably gonna be a problem that you're going to have to deal with during your rematch." He explained

"Besides we're probably the only three dragons left who don't know how to fly yet and I'd rather be able to fly anytime I want instead of having to walk everywhere," He said pointing at his wings slightly twitching.

"I second that but Dad won't teach me so I'm probably going to need your guy's help again," Ember said slightly annoyed.

"Don't worry we'll still do our best to help you out," I said reassuring her.

"And by we he means him," Garble added on narrowly dodging a blow from the back of the head from me.

"Either way," She said rolling her eyes.

"Thanks anyway for helping me," She said as we finally made our way inside Torch's cave.

The first thing I noticed was how minuscule Torch made everything else look even with the massive amounts of gold and gems piled together surrounding him.

However, I also noticed a familiar-looking carriage with two familiar-looking ponies currently talking with Torch holding a light purple egg with dark........purple, spots.

I start to slow down as I focus on the egg that would give birth to one If not my favorite characters In the entire show who would go on to be a forgotten sidekick and a remembered hero who was also a cool little dragon In the future.

-alkor"?

Just seeing him here still as an egg was so surreal to me, especially knowing what the dragon In that egg would go through and accomplish In the future, or would It be the near future?

"Falkor?" Ember asked as she shook me causing me to snap out of my thoughts as I focused back on the two of them looking at me slightly worried.

"Y-yeah?" I asked slightly startled.

"You ok? You kinda just, stopped for some reason and just started staring at the.....," He said looking back and forth between the ponies and me before he started coming to some sort of conclusion as he started to get increasingly angry.

"Did they do something to you when we were asleep because I swear to Maker If they did-"

"No nonononono, trust me they didn't do anything to me I was just thinking about other stuff that was unrelated to them," I said trying to reassure them.

"Oh, my bad then," He said rubbing the back of his neck In embarrassment.

"What were you thinking about then?" Ember asked still looking a bit worried as I looked back at the ponies beginning to leave.

"Just about that egg's future," I half-lied as they turned and focused on the ponies leaving with the carriage they came with.

"Oh, that makes sense then," Garble said sounding a bit upset.

"Nothing we can do except hope for the best for that egg's future," Ember said stoically.

"Let's just HOPE that those ponies can take care of a dragon," Garble said rolling his eyes.

"Raah," Smolder said nodding her head from atop of Garbles head.

"Exactly Smolds," I said agreeing with her as we began walking up to Torch until Ember began running up to her.

"Hey, Daaaad I'm baaaaack!" She said with joy as Torch looked surprised at her appearance for a second before recovering as he addressed her.

"Ember! Your back earlier, than I expected you to be," He said lowering his hand as she stepped on It before bringing It close to his face.

"Well we probably would've taken longer but those ponies that left were able to give us a ride back Into the Dragon Lands," She explained as he looked at the entrance of his cave.

"They did did they?" He asked
out loud before focusing back on her.

"Yeah, they did and look!" She said turning around as she showed off her wings."

I molted and now I got my wings!" She said In the excitement.

"Well would you look at this, my little hatchling is now a full-fledged dragon ready to destroy and crush anyone that crosses you all on your own now," He said looking directly at Ember with pride making her cheeks redden In embarrassment.

"Daaaaaaaad," She whined as Garble snickered until Torch's face snapped towards Garble causing him to stop.

"Something funny, Drake?" He growled out causing Garble to shake his head back and forth as Smolder hung on for dear life.

'Goddamn! I felt that In my bones when he said that,' I thought to myself as I looked back at him, 'Guess he's not Dragon Lord for nothing.' I concluded

"That's what I thought," Torch said placing Ember back on the floor before bringing his head back up as he sat In his original position as he locked onto Smolder causing him to somewhat soften his tone.

"I'm glad that you not only were able to pass the test I gave to you but that you also were able to care for this young drakina while achieving your molting Ember," He said with warmth directed towards her causing her to smile back at him.

"Thanks, Dad but If being honest It wasn't mostly me taking care of her," She said as she faced us," They helped me a lot out there too," She said smiling at us causing us to look away abashed.

"Yes, I suppose they did," He said narrowing his eyes at us as we felt an unnatural pressure suddenly push down on us as we focused on just being able to stand.

"I just wanted to make su-"

"Raah!" Smolder grunted out as she frowned at Torch causing him to somewhat falter at the look she was giving him before the pressure on top of us disappeared allowing us to relax again.

'Thank God Torch isn't immune to baby Smolder,' I thought to myself as I looked at Smolder In silent thanks.

"I see you've made a connection with this young hatchling while you were out there," Torch pointed out as Garble picked Smolder off of his head and held her In a cradle.

"Yeah, I did and I love her with all I am," He said poking her causing her to laugh as she reached out for him as he gave her his hand to play with.

"Well as glad as I am to hear that you've managed to take care of her I still need to figure out what to do with h-"

"Me and Falkor are taking care of her," Garble interrupted as his face hardened while Torch narrowed his eyes at Garble.

"That Is not a joke to make lightly, drake." Torch said

"I never said I was joking, Maekrix," He responded raising his voice causing Torch to snort out some smoke from his nostrils as he focused fully on Garble.

"Watch yourself drake, I may have allowed you to get away with that tone last time but you best remember this isn't last time," Torch said coldly causing Garble to look away with a frown on his face.

"Now I don't doubt that you've made a genuine connection with this drakina but unfortunately the reality of the situation Is that a young dragon such as her requires more than just somedrake loving her," He said causing Garble's frown to deepen as Torch continued.

"She requires food, attention, somedrake to watch her greed from overtaking her," He explained as Garble slowly hugged Smolder close to him trying his best to not be rough with her.

"Somedrake to be able to protect her, explain to her how this world works now that she's In It, Somedrake to be able to show her how t-"

"OK! OK! I get It!" Garble yelled out In annoyance at Torch.

"Then If you 'get It' why are you being difficult about a problem that doesn't need you present to solve It? Why not just pick the easier option and let somedrake else take care of It?" He questioned causing Garble to pause as he looked down at Smolder who was looking up at him In worry.

"Because I want to be," He said sincerely keeping his attention on her as he smiled reassuringly at her which caused her to smile back at him before he focused on Torch again.

" Just 'wanting to be' won't solve anything, 'just wanting to be' won't be able to take care of her." Torch pointed

"When we out there taking care of her we were able to provide and take care of her, without your help," Ember said causing Torch to turn toward her.

"You were able to take care of her because of what I provided you with Ember, that IS with my help," Torch pointed out.

"Oh ok, so I guess the Roc that we had to deal with on our own was only because of you right?" Ember sarcastically asked causing Torch's eyes to widen In surprise.

"A Roc!? Are you- no that's a stupid question," He said looking over at us again before closing his eyes and slightly sniffing In our direction as he opened his eyes again with a slight look of respect In his eyes directed towards us before It disappeared.

"So It seems you have, but even If you managed to protect her from a threat like that which I assume you only managed to do from a bit of luck and with the help of these two that won't always be the case, and you won't be able to protect and provide for her all the time," Torch said to him.

"Then WE will, because It's pretty clear that no one else at least TRIED," I said speaking up as I stood next to Garble putting myself Into Torch's crosshairs as he shifted his attention to me.

"We might not always be able to make the right decisions," I admitted before looking up at Torch.

"What we won't do, Is abandon her because It'd be EASIER for us to deal with, because the truth Is It just makes It more difficult," I said trying to convey to him how serious we were.

"Like I said I can't promise you that we'll make the right decision every time, but what I can promise you Is that this little hatchling will never go a day In her life unloved by us and unprovided for, even If we have to starve ourselves to feed her we will," I declared as Garble nodded agreeing with me.

"And If she needs more than what you can provide for her?" He questioned

"Then we'll do everything to make sure she gets It," I said as he stared down at us for what felt like hours before closing his eyes and sighing breathing In and sighing deeply.

" Then I hope you can keep your promise, " He said with what looked to be the first genuine and proud smile aimed at us as we stood there shocked for a bit before I recovered first.

"T-Thank you Dragon Lord Torch, I swear to you that me and Garble wi-,"

I cut myself off as a thought popped inside my head that confused me as I focused back on Torch.

"Why were you so insistent on making sure that we would be able to take care of her?" I asked causing everyone to look at me confused.

"Falkor I think we should just-"

"No, I want to know why he was so insistent," I said cutting him off as Torch now looked slightly annoyed.

'Is this INCREDIBLY risky? Of course, It Is but something doesn't make sense here,' I thought to myself.

"Because I had to make sure that you two would actually try to take care of her instead of just saying that you would because of what you thought you felt when she was born." He explained

"No I get WHY you asked us, but I don't get WHY you had too, shouldn't you be discussing something like this with our Mother?" I asked as I saw a flicker of surprise flash across his face before It disappeared.

"Ah right, I knew I was forgetting something," He said sighing, "I decided that since you three were going to molt together when I sent you off I decided to send your Mother off to help me with a certain problem that needed attending to," He explained as Garble slowly shook his head.

"But that doesn't make any sense even If we were somewhere else she would still wait for us to come back," Garble said as Torch sighed.

"You are also correct about that which Is why I told her that while she was gone I would be the one who would be In charge if you for In the meantime," He explained

"Wait what!?"
"Wait what!?"
"Wait what!?" We all asked shocked at his answer.

"Wait a minute why would you offer to take care of us? Not that I'm not thankful for It but It just feels out of place for you to offer to our Mother that you would take care of her children for her," I said still confused at the situation.

"It was to return the favor for allowing me to have her two drakes go with my Ember to help her during her molting." He explained

"Though In truth, It was more of a just Incase she didn't come back In time, originally I had assumed that by the time you four made It back, she would be done with the task I gave her, though seeing as how your earlier then I accounted for and also the fact that she hasn't returned yet It seems like I will have to uphold my promise after all." He explained

"O-ok then, uhh," Garbel said looking towards to which I just shrugged.

"Thank you for taking us In Lord Torch," Garble said slightly confused.

"Your welcome drake." He said

'I got a gut feeling that there's more to this, but what exactly am I missing?' I pondered to myself as I focused on Garble and Smolder.

'Whatever It Is no reason to focus on It too much right now, for now, we have somewhere to live still and Smolder gets to stay with us so let's just count our blessings,' I thought to myself as another question made Its way In my head.

"Wait If you offered to take care of us then why did you question us so much about If we would be able to take care of Smolder?" I asked

"I wanted to know If you were truly willing to care for her needs or If the 'love' you claimed to feel for her was a spur-of-the-moment feeling you felt when you watched her hatched and held her for the first time, Maker knows Its happened before," He explained shaking his head

"Do not misunderstand me drakes, If you showed even a moment of hesitation I WOULD have taken the drakina and cared for them myself If needed be, though thankfully that won't be needed," He said as he proceeded to lay down and get comfortable.

"Now as much as I would like to relax for the rest of the day even I know the importance of being able to fly." He said

"So I guess I'm just supposed to wait until you three are done while I watch from over here." Ember said upset

"Do you want to wait?" Torch asked raising an eyebrow.

"Of course I don't." Ember said glaring

"Then get over there and I'll teach you," Torch said causing Ember's to widen In surprise.

"But you told me that I would have to figure out how to fly with my wings on my own," Ember said

"I said you would have to figure out how to fly with them yes, but I never told you would have to figure It out alone," He told Ember as she stood In shock for a second before an excited smile spread across her face as she sprinted over towards us hopping on one foot to the next excitedly waiting for Torch.

'Cute,' I thought absentmindedly.

"Now listen carefully as I won't repeat myself," He said before closing his eyes.

"Now you may think flying Is the easiest thing In the world to do right?" He asked

"Yes?" Garble hesitantly answered.

"Well If you did then you would be right, as long as you are a dragon that Is," He helpfully clarified.

"Thanks, Dad real helpful," Ember said causing Torch to grin showing off his massive razor-sharp teeth as he closed his eyes again.

"Everydragon has draconic bakir flowing In their bodies that gives them their strength and abilities, so when a dragon needs to control their wings to fly all they need to do Is distribute some of that energy to flow through their wings allowing them to easily control them from just using their mind." He explained

"How exactly do we get the bakir to flow towards our wings?" I asked causing him to open his left eye.

"You have the basics on how to do It figure It out yourselves." He said

"Come on Dad that's stupid and you know It," Ember said causing him to sigh.

Oh Elda, how much easier this would be with you here," He said to himself before focusing on us.

"Try to focus on the feeling you get when you begin to breathe fire and instead of focusing on breathing fire instead focus on separating It from your flames and holding It, then while holding It bring It up to your chest and force It back towards your wings," He explained begrudgingly.

"Now after that explanation I'm confident In your ability as a dragon to be able to do the rest yourself," He said closing his eye and leaving us to ourselves.

"Well might as well try and see what happens," I said as I began to breathe fire only to feel It dissipate inside of me as I focused on what I assumed to be the bakir that was sustaining the flame, very slowly bringing It up towards my chest as I feel It shiver and shake looking for something to sustain.

After finally bringing It up towards my chest I realize that I've begun to slightly feel tired just focusing on holding this energy In place to prevent It from disappearing, as I focus on forcing it towards my wings until It feels like something snatches the energy out of my grasp as my wings suddenly feel as If they've been filled with life as I gasp In surprise.

"Did you do It?" Garble asked as I turned back to my wings.

'Fly,' I thought as my wings started to begin to slowly flap picking up speed as I was lifted Into the air and proceeded to hover five feet from the ground.

"Holy SHIT! I don't fucking believe It, but I can fly now!" I yelled out In excitement as I started flying around.

'God I don't know why but I feel so FREE right now just being able to fly now, and thankfully like Torch said this Is stupidly easy just being able to think of what exactly I want to do with my wings,' I thought to myself as I flew around for a few more seconds before coming back down to the others.

"So how was It?" Ember asked

"That. Was. AMAZING!" I answered feeling exhilarated.

"We could tell just from how happy you looked when you were flying around, and I've never seen you so happy like that before," Garble said grinning as Smolder nodded agreeing with him.

"Just the feeling of the wind passing you and blowing In your ears letting you know how fast you're going It and not to forget the absolute FREEDOM you feel just from flying for a little bit," I explained still coming down from my little fly high.

"Trust me you HAVE to try It for yourselves," I said to them.

"Don't worry they'll get their chance," Torch said as he opened both of his eyes and stood back to his original position.

"Though for now, Ember will have to wait as I need to speak with her In private," He said lowering his hand toward her.

"Wait why not just tell her here?" Garble asked as everyone Smolder included looked at him like an idiot.

"Unless you have suddenly gone deaf drake I said It Is a matter that I would rather discuss In private," Torch said pausing as he seemed to think about something before he began to start grinning which set off some alarms for me.

"Unless you think It's not too much for you two to handle?" He questioned

"You know what ma-"

"If Ember could handle It then of course we can," Garble said confidently as Torch shrugged and retracted his hand.

"Alright then, well In that case," He said before facing Ember, "I had thought that explaining this In private would be beneficial for you but since the drake here has assured me he could handle It I'll just explain something to you that you'll need to know In the future now that you're a full-fledged dragon out here." He explained

"So what Is It then, can't be too bad," Ember said innocently.

"Oh trust this will be for me, you, and your companions." He said before sighing, "Especially for me," He said to himself as he prepared for something.

"You see Ember, when a drake and drakina love each other very much," Torch began to say grinning In our direction as my eyes widened In horror.

'Oh nooooooooo, Goddammit Garble why couldn't you have just kept your mouth shut,' I thought as I resigned myself to this fate that I seemed destined to repeat even In another life.

Author's Note

Maekirx-Ruler
Bakir-energy

Yes, yes I know I can't write Torch and I know can't write for shit BUT, I would like it to go on record that I did try my best at trying to, though we all know that isn't worth shit around here anyways.

Beside all that I hope you guys are able to enjoy this trash heap of a thing I call a new chapter, though If you don't and leave a comment detailing In excruciating detail on hoe I thought I could make It as a fanfiction author then I will go ahead and use to fix whatever mistakes I made and to avoid making similar ones In the future.

Though If your able to somehow find some sort of enjoyment from this chapter then also comment down below what you enjoyed as I enjoy reading those:ajsmug:

See ya later!

Nothing Much

Author's Note

I'm just going to say now that I am sincerely sorry for making you guys wait basically a week for a chapter this short but after my dad's nephew left my some divine being decided to make me sick and I still am so yeah that Is why I'm even more sorry for what you are about to read as I am not proud of this chapter of all since I'm pretty sure this Is one of my worst ones possibly the worst and no I'm not saying that to say that but I genuinely don't think that this one will be enjoyable to read at all because if how bad It Is and you might ask why I didn't just try to make it better is because I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer so i tried my best even though I'm still sick so yeah.

You dint have to comment anything positive since I doubt you will find anything positive to talk about so just tell me what you think I can do better and I will take the advice to try and be better In the future.

Bye and have a nice day.

Nothing Much

"And that dragons are how eggs are made, Torch finished grinning as all three of us awkwardly stood there blushing and trying not to look at each other while Smolder just looked confused wondering why are faces turned different colors.

"Now do you need me to explain It to you three again? Torch questioned to which Ember shot her arms up In an attempt to stop him.

"N-No No! I uh don't, think that's necessary Dad," She said glancing at me before we both looked away from each other.

"Actually, now that that's over there Is something we wanted to tell you," Ember said as her face took on a more serious expression.

"You mated with one of them?" Torch questioned narrowing his eyes at me and Garble as Ember's face lit up with a bright red bringing her blush back into full force.

"DAD! Maker above NO I didn't, mate with Garble OR Falkor," She said blushing a bit on the last part.

"I was talking about something else," She said looking annoyed as her face returned to normal.

""Good then, looks like they seemed to remember my warning," He said focusing back on Ember.

"So what did happen then?" He asked

"W-Well I'm not sure how to explain It really, It was just.......... unnatural," Ember said struggling to find an answer.

"It looked like a regular drake but their whole body was pale and you could kinda see through It If you looked hard enough," Ember continued as Garble took over.

"Yeah! And the thing Is they didn't even have any eyes but that wasn't even the worst part about It," He said pausing a bit as he tried to recall the feeling, "It almost felt like-"

"Something horrible would happen to you If you looked Inside where their eyes would be?" Torch questioned cutting off Garble's sentence as everyone looked at him In shock while Smolder looked on In confusion trying to figure out what was happening.

"How-"

"Would I know that? I know what It Is you speak of, and thankfully since you three are still standing before me you were wise enough to not look into the space where its eyes should be," Torch said shocking us even more.

"What are they?" I questioned hoping to get some answers which caused him to sigh dragging his hand down his face.

"Nodrake knows what they are exactly but," He hesitates for a second before continuing.

"From what I can guess It's a dead hatchling soul stuck In an incomplete drakes body. " Torch explained

"A hatchling soul?" Ember asked Incredulously.

"How are you so sure It's a hatchling soul?" Garble asked causing Torch to grimace.

"Because If I'm not wrong these souls are the unfortunate ones that died during the trial that you three went through as hatchlings that are now somehow coming back In a more hideous form." Torch explained

"So then If you know the reason why these, souls, are appearing then why are you still sending innocent hatchlings to that place to die needlessly for!?" I questioned as I started to get worked up.

"Me and Garble almost died In whatever that place was, you sent your daughter to that place where she could've died so why would you still send us there If you know all of that!?" I questioned trying my best to not let my anger get out of hand.

"Because It doesn't matter," He said angrily stunning us.

"What do you mean It doesn't matter?" Ember asked confused.

"Because whatever that excuse of a Dragon Lord did to the Bloodstone Scepter caused It to where anytime any hatchling tried to avoid the 'trial' It would just force them anyways." He finished upset

"You want to know how I know? Because everydragon tried once before to refuse to let their hatchling take part In what Is basically a gamble on their hatchling's life."

"As soon as I became Dragon Lord everydragon begged me to not do It and I agreed not wanting to subject them to something so needlessly cruel and so we waited until the next time the Bloodstone deemed that we had enough hatchlings for the next 'trial' when I would have to call everydragon except I wouldn't that time and It seemed to work." Torch said

"For a whole year It seemed as though all we had to do was ignore the uncomfortable itchiness of the Call before It went away after a day and we celebrated the fact that we would be allowed to keep our hatchlings alive In peace," He said looking off into nowhere before frowning.

"But we were wrong, just a few days after that year passed the Bloodstone Scepter went off by itself without me activating It and all of a sudden I was overcome with so much pain It almost made me pass out from how intense It was, heh ME, could you believe that?" He asked rhetorically

"I could barely focus with all the pain that I was feeling until suddenly It stopped," He said snapping his fingers.

"Just like that leaving me confused as to what happened, and as I was trying to recover dragons started rushing Into my cave In a panic with their hatchlings In tow as they accused me of breaking the agreement and putting their precious hatchlings back Into that horrible place." Torch explained

"And just like that 'trial' they laid there unconscious after the Scepter activated and stayed like that for a couple of minutes until some awakened," He said before his face darkened, "And some didn't," He finished looking back at us.

"I then tried everything I could think of to stop the gem from activating and from sending hatchlings to wherever they were sent to." He explained

"Crushing, burning, dropping It into lava, I tried everything I could think of to get rid of It to the point where I was desperate enough to ask the pony princess for help If It could mean stopping this nightmare from happening again."

"Yet It was all for nothing for not even she could destroy the gem with the full force of her powers, all she could do was narrow down the fact that It was some sort of advanced Umbral magic whatever that was combined with something else that was changing what the Bloodstone was able to do." Torch explained

"Yet apparently she had already destroyed anything that would contain the knowledge of how Umbral magic works saying that the last time a creature had access to that type of magic was a pony named Sombra," He finished that last part with a growl.

"Now I have a name responsible for our hatchlings being sent to whatever that place Is, and It was a pony of all things that tampered with the Bloodstone, how the previous Dragon Lord was able to let a pony get access to It will always be a testament of how much of a failure he was," He finished looking at us with a resigned expression.

"Now you know why I said It doesn't matter because In the grand scheme of things It doesn't." He said

"So then what about all those years ago when you acted like It was some sort of honor to have to go through that!?" I questioned even more upset now.

"A lie, something that all dragons know once I tell them the true nature of the 'trial'." Torch explained

"So then why tell us the truth? Not that I don't appreciate It but why tell us the truth then?" I asked causing Torch to snort.

"There would be no point In trying to hide It, almost everydragon knows what happens once I activate the Bloodstone Scepter." Torch explained

"Every time I tell them to be excited? just a moment of distraction for them from the horrible reality that they will inevitably have to put their hatchlings through." Torch said

"Though everything else Is true just In a different way, the 'trial' will possibly be the hardest thing that you will have to go through and you could have lost your life from It." Torch said

"It's not a trial, It's a tragedy," Torch said darkly before sighing.

"The hatchling souls are just fortunate to be able to find a way out of that place while unfortunate enough to not be able to pass on and instead be stuck In a body that offers them nothing but a reminder of what they could never be, at least that's what I assume." Torch explained

"The reason why I tell you not to look Into where their eyes should be Is because the last time a dragon did they started lashing out at everything around them while shouting out about how they failed to help them." Torch said

"Help who?" Ember asked

"The hatchlings that died," I replied immediately drawing everyone's attention.

"When we encountered them It focused mainly on Smolder and asked me If I was helping them when they pointed at her, I assumed It was talking about her and I said that we were and then they said to make sure 'It didn't share the same fate as them' before leaving us," I explained causing Torch to sigh.

"So another reminder of what we are powerless to stop," Torch said before laying back down and closing his eyes.

"Well now that my mood has been completely ruined I'm going to take a nap and hopefully it will improve when I wake back up," Torch said

"W-What about Smolder!?" Garble questioned, "Are you telling me that she might die!?" He asked panicked

"No" Torch immediately replied.

" The only thing I'm thankful for about this Is that the gem won't affect any hatchlings that didn't hatch alongside any other eggs for some reason, why? I have no clue but that's the only saving grace of It, so be thankful that that drakina hatched alone instead of hatching together with any other egg,"Torch said as he closed his eye again leaving us with the bombshell he just dropped on us.

Out of everything he said there was mainly one thing that stood out to me and the more I focused on It the more angry I got.

All of this suffering that hatchlings have to go through and for what? What's the reason for all of It? The worst part Is that no one including the Dragon Lord himself knows, and the only thing he does know Is that apparently there Is only one creature responsible for causing this to happen In the first place.

A pony named Sombra.

Making The Best Of It

Author's Note

Sorry for another short one but I've been feeling stress on tedious things and that kinda messed with me for a little bit so again sorry for the short chapter but I hope that what I got out will at least make up for It a tiny bit.

I won't bore you with my usual bit so short version bad or nice comment away since I appreciate any type unless Its a bot or a genuine asshole and I'll see you laterokbye

Making The Best Of It

It's been I think at least 30 minutes since Torch told us everything he knew including those cre-no, lost souls.

Nobody was really In the mood to try and fly anymore afterwards so we've just been sitting outside at a nearby rock not doing much except making small talk and thinking about what Torch told us.

Right now I was holding Smolder who was enjoying the the rubbing I was giving to her fin-like appendages atop her head getting a small smile out of me as I looked to the others.

Ember was throwing whatever rocks she could pick up at Garble who proceeded to burn them to ash before they could hit him.

'Never would I imagine that the dragons would have to deal with so much grief, and not only that but they have no choice but to comply with the unfair situation they've been put In,' I contemplated as I looked back down at Smolder before getting up and joining the others as I sat next to Ember who continued to throw rocks.

"How are you doing?" I asked to which she responded with a shrug.

"I'm doing but, there's not really much we CAN do apparently," She said continuing to throw rocks to which I could only nod not knowing what to say as I focused back on Smolder.

This continued for a while until Ember ran out of rocks and Garble walked over to us before turning and sliding down on the rock next to me as he reached for Smolder to which I handed her to him as he took over my role of rubbing.

From that point on It descended into a comfortable silence for a good while, for how long I wasn't sure of, but that didn't matter to me as I was more focused on just enjoying the moment with them Instead of keeping track of time.

"Do you guys wanna talk about It?" I asked disrupting the silence.

"Whats there to talk about?" Ember asked to which I responded by shrugging.

"Nothing I guess, but maybe we can talk about how we feel?" I suggested to which they both gave me doubtful looks.

"Look I'll go first and then you can see If you want to try," I said as I try to gather my thoughts together.

"I feel, upset about what we've just learned and how this unfair situation affects dragonkind as a whole," I said as I go quiet to give them a chance to speak.
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'Well It was worth a t-'

"I feel," I hear Ember start off as I look towards her In surprise before doing my best to stay quiet to not interrupt her.

"Miserable now that I'm burdened with the knowledge knowing that there Is nothing we can do to fix the problem that us dragons have been forced to deal with this whole time," She finished deflating down onto the floor.

"And that's excluding the fact that even If some other drake or drakina becomes Dragon Lord nothing would change except for the fact that THEY would be the one who Is forced to put other hatchlings through that pain," Ember said taking a deep breath before exhaling as she closes her eyes causing me to turn my attention towards Garble who seems to be thinking hard on what to say.

"I feel, angry knowing that because of the useless previous Dragon Lord, he allowed a random pony to ruin the lives of all dragons for the foreseeable future, and like Ember said there Is nothing we can do to fix It, we're useless," He finished sounding slightly frustrated as we descended back Into silence.
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"Did that help at all?" I ask breaking the silence again.

"No"
"Not really," Was their immediate reply.

"Oh, my bad then," I said feeling stupid.

"But thanks for trying," I hear Ember say as I turn to her revealing a small smile on her face.

"Yeah, not one of your best ideas but at least you tried something, which Is more than I can say about the previous Dragon Lord," I hear Garble say before he gets up handing me Smolder as he lightly shakes himself off.

"Well I think we've done enough sulking over stuff we can't control anymore," He said before turning around.

"So why don't we actually start doing stuff that we can control," He said offering both of his hands putting a smile on my face as me and Ember grab ahold of one before he pulls us up aside him.

"Never thought you'd be the one comforting me anytime soon." I said grinning

"Yeeeah well don't make this an reoccurring thing, don't want anydrake getting the wrong idea of the younger sibling always having to help the older one out," He said smirking at me.

"Ohhh really, I guess we'll have to get rid of those rumors pretty soon then don't you agree? With a noogie?" I asked innocently as his eyes widen In horror.

"Y-You know what I don't think we have to go that far, I mean rumors are just rumors right nodrake Is just going to believe them," He said backing up two steps as I take a step forward before we hear a giggle as we turn our heads towards Ember and Smolder who had woken up as they both continued to giggle at us.

"Enjoying the show?" Garble asked faking being annoyed.

"Yes, very much so," Ember said lifting Smolder, "And I say she Is as well," She said as Smolder starts reaching out towards Garble.

"Well this one Is lucky I like her because If I didn't then I would assume she was trying to hurt my pride," He said grabbing her and putting her In a cradle position In one arm.

"I know you wouldn't dream of It isn't that right Smolder?" He asked poking her stomach and causing her to laugh putting a smile on all of our faces.

"You know," Ember begins to say as we focus our attention on her.

"Even If there Isn't anything we can do for any other hatchlings, I'm glad that we can at least be there for her when she needs us." She said

"Yeah, me too," Garble said

'Not yet,' I thought to myself, 'There isn't a way to fix things yet but,' I pause as I look up to see that they're still focused on Smolder.

'I could let them know, I could tell them that all hope isn't lost yet,' I thought to myself.

'There IS something we can do, It's just not here yet,' I think to myself as I continue to stare at them.

'I can let them know that there ARE ways we can try and fix the problem,' I thought to myself as I began to open my mouth before I closed It again.

'No, If I do then who knows what could and wouldn't happen.' I thought

'But I can reassure them, I can let them know that there are other options that will be available to us In the future, I can quell their fears,' I reasoned with myself.

'Yes I could, but then what happens afterward when they ask how you know? You know they'll want an answer on how you could know that and what will you tell them?' I pointed out to myself.

"Oh I just happened to come from another world where this world was nothing more than a TV show that little girls watched that I also watch as well and then I died and ended up here".' I told myself

'At best you'll ruin the moment at your stupid attempt of bringing their hopes up but still get a pat on the back for trying at worst, well I'm not sure, but I certainly don't want to find out what could be worse,' I pondered to myself.

"-alkor, you ok?" I hear Ember ask as I feel her hand on my shoulder bringing me out of my thoughts again.

"O-Oh yeah just, thinking about our situation and Smolder," I answer causing both of them to give their best reassuring smile.

"Yeah, us too," She said before looking up at the sky.

"Wow we were out here for a while huh?" She asked out loud as I put my focus on the sky seeing the sun halfway from fully setting.

"Oh yeah, I guess we were," Garble said scratching his chin with his free hand.

"Welp might as well head back inside, I'm starting to understand how Dragon Lord Torch felt earlier," He said walking off as Ember and I roll our eyes before beginning to slowly catch up with him.

"Hey," I hear Ember say as I turn towards her revealing a slightly worried expression on her face.

"Yeah, what's up?" I asked

"I just wanted to say I appreciate you trying to help me and Garble earlier, so thanks again for trying," She said smiling as I smiled back.

"You're welcome Ember," I said sincerely as she stops smiling before looking at me with a slight serious experience.

"I want you to know that If you need somedrake to listen or help you as well then don't be afraid to ask me or Garble I'm sure he would agree since you're his brother and all but, I also care about you," She said seriously catching me slightly off guard before smiling again.

"So If there's anything you need to get off your chest or you need help with then we'll be there for you as well ok?" She asked laying her hand on my shoulder.

"Y-Yeah ok." I said still caught a bit off before getting myself back together.

"Thanks for letting me know," I said as sincerely as possible.

"No problem Falkor, just remember what I said after all, drakes are more likely to forget than drakinas are." She said smirking

"Mmh I guess you have a point," I said lowering my head down a bit.

"Good thing I never forgot about you huh?" I asked causing her to slightly blush while looking more annoyed.

"And yet you somehow still find a way to turn that against me, but don't worry I'll get you one of these days." She said grinning

"I'm sure you will, just not today or anytime soon," I said cheekily causing her to roll her eyes.

"HEY GUYS HURRY UP, YOU ARE TAKING FOREVER!" Garble yells out at us with Smolder now on his head who also nods seeming to agree with him before they both disappear around the corner.

"Guess we should probably hurry up then." I said

"Yeah let's, I could go for a nice nap anyways," Ember said as we picked up the pace.

"So If there's anything you need to get off your chest or you need help with then we'll be there for you as well ok?"

'I'll sleep on If I should tell them, then I'll decide what's for the best tomorrow.' I considered

Now Its Out Of The Way

Author's Note

This Is I'm pretty sure my longest chapter yet so I hope you guys do manage to somehow enjoy It since I did try with this one though something tells me that I did something that's going to upset a lot of people which I hope I avoided but If I didn't then thats my fault.

Anyways like always comment If you enjoy the new garbage I posted today or If you hate It also comment what you acted about It and I'll do my best to fix It In the future, see ya!

Now Its Out Of The Way

I blearily open my eyes waking up to the sun once again blinding me causing me to look off to the right annoyed as I hold up my hand to block It from my vision before frowning as I remember my dilemma.

"I guess today's the day, no more hiding," I told myself as I dragged myself up off the floor and got started stretching before catching my breath for a second as I turned back to look over my friend and brother's sleeping bodies Including Smold as they slept away peacefully.

'The question Is If they'll believe me or not, and even after they do will things stay the same or am I ruining something without even knowing It?' I contemplated before shaking my head.

'Doesn't matter, as much as I would like to keep things the way they are they deserve to know things aren't as grim as they seem,' I concluded to myself.

"Nothing to do now but wait, wait, and hope for the best," I said as I sat down and waited.

30 minutes later

As soon as they got up I decided to bring them back to where we hung out the day before which was right behind Torch's cave which thankfully gave us a good amount of privacy for what I wanted to tell them.

"Alright Falk we're out here, I hope this was important because If not then I'm gonna be a bit upset that our time Is being wasted for nothing when we could instead be doing something else," Garble said as Smolder was once again on his head looking confused on why we weren't doing anything.

"Are you sure you're alright? You look like you're nervous about something," Ember pointed out looking worried as I was busy doing my best to calm down.

"Huh? Yeah no don't worry I'm fine," I said putting a hand to my face as I drag It down trying to distract myself from the situation I put myself In.

"Ok what I wanted to sa-"

"I'm baaaaaaaack," Aesthyr said causing me to pause as I brought the ring up to my face.

"Aesthyr!? Is that you?" I asked

"No It's your sins crawling on your back, who else would It be?" She asked sarcastically.

"Alright fine, no need to be so sassy about It," I said rolling my eyes.

"So anyways what happened while I was out?" She asked

"You missed a lot actually but I'll tell you later I need to say something important to the dragons you met before," I said before my eyes widened as I thought about something.

"Actually you might want to stay and hear this," I said seeing how I could tell everyone now instead of later.

"Sure, not like I got much else to do so lay whatever It is on us," Aesthyr said as I looked back up at the others to see them (including Smolder) looking up at me In confusion.

"My bad I was just talking with Aesthyr now that she's back after our little Roc incident," I said as Garble rolled his eyes.

"Ok that's nice and all but we still don't know why you called us out so If you could?" Garble asked as he made a continuous expression from his hand causing me to take In another deep breath and exhale To calm myself down.

"Ok, I just want to say that everything I tell you, I-Its true ok? EVERY. WORD," I conveyed as seriously as I could to them to which they both went back to looking confused.

"Uhh ok, sure I guess," Garble said looking towards Ember who shrugged her arms.

"Also I just want you all to know that I appreciate and love each of you, I want you to know that," I said as sincerely as I could.

"Is everything alright with you Falk? Your uh kinda freaking me out here," Garble said with a nervous expression.

"Yeah, Falkor are you sure you're fine? I mean I haven't seen you this worried... ever, not since we dealt with that Roc and that was a life or death situation," Ember pointed out looking slightly worried.

"I hope things will be fine, I do," I said as I take another moment to try and calm myself.

"I wanted to tell you guys that we can fix the problem that Dragon Lord Torch talked to us about," I said causing both of them to give me doubtful looks.

"Look Falkor don't get me wrong I think you're the best brother In the world but If the DRAGON LORD couldn't fix the problem I don't think there's anything we can do that he hasn't already tried." Garble said

"Besides Dad already told us he even tried working with the pony princess and SHE couldn't even do anything about It, so no offense Falkor but like Garble said there isn't really anything we can do that hasn't already been done." Ember pointed out

"Yeah I know that but what he doesn't know that In the future there will be multiple ways to try and fix the problem with the Bloodstone and end the suffering that dragons are forced to go through," I explained to them.

"For instance, the pony responsible for this whole thing, Sombra will return In the next few decades, I think and that will give us a chance to at least try and find something that will fix what he did," I explained to them as they looked at me confused.

"What?" I asked

"And you just so happen to conveniently know all this somehow because?" Garble asked as I remembered exactly what I needed to tell them.

"Right almost forgot about that, well there's no easy way to say this so I'll just say It, you wanna know how I know?" I asked as they both nodded.

"The reason I know that Is because before I was born as a dragon, I had another life In a different world as something called a human," I pause as both of their eyes widen In surprise before continuing.

"In my, other life I watched something called My Little Pony and uhh how do I explain this to you guys, It was a story for lack of a better word that was meant for young drakinas to like but a lot of drakes also enjoyed It as well, including me." I said

"A-And In that 'story', It showed multiple events that may or may not happen and characters and places that would show up for a little bit or stay for the remainder of the story, and In some of those moments It talked about a specific place called the-"

"Dragon Lands," Ember finished looking at me In disbelief.

"Yes, and In another one of these moments, It talked about a pony named Sombra who like I said would come back In the somewhat near future to try and take over something called the Crystal Empire." I explained

"Who Is also the pony that was responsible for messing with the Bloodstone and putting dragons and hatchlings through Tartarus," Garble said looking serious as well.

"Yeah, so that's, how I know," I said as I stood there waiting.

"So, let me get this straight," Ember said putting a hand on her head as she took a moment to process what I told her.

"You had another life, one that was as a Hue-man that watched our lives like they were some sort of.....story and then one day not only did you die but you also somehow came back to life In the story that you used to enjoy, did I get everything right so far?" Ember asked as I hesitantly nodded causing both of them to look at me In disbelief

"Maker above," Garble said In disbelief as he placed a hand on his forehead slightly dragging It down as he processed what I said.

"I-I know that It sounds crazy but I swear to you that I'm telling you the truth, I swear to the MAKER that I am," I said hoping to convey to them that I am serious.

"And I get that Falk, really I do, I'm not sure about her though," He says gesturing to Ember with his thumb.

"Hey!" Ember called out In slight offense causing Garble to grin for a second before sighing as he faced me again.

"Look Falkor I'm not going to say that what you just told us doesn't sound crazy at all because It does, but even an idiot could see how stressful It seemed for you just to tell us this, so I'll trust you because I know that If It were me In your place you would do anything to help me, and besides were brothers, If we can't trust eachother who can we trust?" Garble asked rhetorically as I sighed In relief.

"Thank you for trusting me, that means a lot to me and I promise I'm telling the truth," I said sincerely as I pulled him In for a hug.

"Yeah, you said that the first time and I already said I trust you, now let go," He said a bit annoyed as I let go.

"My bad," I say to Garble before turning to Ember as she looks deep In thought.

"What about you Ember? What are your, thoughts on what I told you?" I asked still hesitant on her answer.

"You swear to the Maker that everything you're telling us Is true?" She asked suddenly

"Y-Yes I swear, I'm telling both of you the truth." I told her

"Then I'll trust you just like I always have," She said nonchalantly.

"Really!? Just like that!?" I asked still shocked at her nonchalant answer

"Just like that, unless you don't want me to?" She asked innocently causing me to shake my head and my arms In a no-motion.

"N-No, I'm glad you trust me I was just expecting a bit more doubt from you, both of you, I am glad that you trust me though." I clarified

"Well don't get me wrong, like he said everything that you told us does sound crazy," Ember clarified causing me to chuckle.

"Yeah, I uh can understand that." I said awkwardly

"Though, I feel like I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't try to lie about something as important as this and seeing how hard It was for you to share with us about what you were and what you knew before dying." Ember said pausing

"Well that tells me that you trust all of us enough to share something pretty important like that with us, and that at the very least tells me that you aren't trying to keep the truth from us which I appreciate." Ember explained

"Besides I did say that If you needed to get anything off your chest or needed help we'd be there for you, just didn't expect It to be anything this crazy though," She said slightly amused before turning slightly serious.

"Also, If like you said there Is at least one way to fix the problem with the Bloodstone that Sombra caused, then it'd be stupid not to at least see If It is possible and It also doesn't hurt that we have a dragon that knows the future as well." She added on

"So don't worry Falkor, we'll trust you because you trusted us In sharing this with us," Ember said sincerely causing me to sigh In relief again.

"You have, no idea how much that means to me, so thank you, both of you for trusting me and I promise I'm-"

"Falk, don't worry about It, we get It, seriously." Garble said reassuringly

"Right, sorry I'm just kinda still trying to accept the fact that this conversation didn't end badly which I am very thankful for," I said relieved

"How did you think It was going to go? Us being upset at you for something you couldn't control?" Garble asked

"Kinda?" I said unsure

"Trust me If I'm going to get upset at you for anything It would be for a good reason and not something as stupid as that." Ember said reassuringly

"I'm glad," I said as Garble put his arms around my neck and Embers as he brought us together.

"Don't worry Falk, Like Ember said that stuff we trust you so how about you just accept that and relax?" He suggested as Ember smiled reassuringly at me while Smolder hopped off of Garble's head onto mine as she hugged It.

"Right, thanks guys, It means a lot to me," I said as I try to enjoy the moment of love being directed towards me before Garble pulls back.

"Alright, now that that's over and done with we have a fight to get to," Garble said rubbing his hands back and forth.

"If we can even find It," Ember said rolling her eyes, "Unless you forgot Viserion didn't exactly tell us where he would be at." Ember pointed out

"Right, well maybe he's at the spot where he begged Falkor for a rematch," Garble suggested to which Ember shrugged.

"Better than nothing, what do you think Falkor?" Ember asked

"Uhh, yeah I think that's a good idea," I said still smiling from the earlier experience.

"Alright then, lead the way Garble." Ember said

"Alright then let's go, and when we get there don't go losing alright?" Garble said jokingly taking Smolder back as he put her back on his head before he started to walk off with Ember and me following after him

"I'll do my best Garble," I said to myself as I heard Aesthyr speak up again.

"Wow, well that was certainly interesting all right, so you're from another world huh? Pretty interesting." Aesthyr said

[Yeah I am, why?] I asked her

"Oh nothing just surprised Is all, even more, surprised at how fast they focused on something else, but I guess they trust you a lot to be able to focus on something else like that." She said

[I'm just glad that they were understanding and not mad at me,] I admitted to her.

"What would they get mad at you for?" She asked confused

[You know, for not telling them about who I am and where I was originally from.] I told her

"Didn't you just do that?" She pointed out.

[Well I mean yeah but I'm talking about before I told them.] I clarified

"Well like the drakina said It'd be pretty stupid of them to get mad at you for something that you weren't exactly In control of." She said

[And I'm thankful they didn't, now If you'll excuse me I have a fight that I need to figure out how to win,] I told her as I walked off with the dragons who trusted me.

"So Falkor are you ok?" Ember asked

"Why do you ask?" I asked confused

"Well, It's just you told us that you died before becoming a dragon and I just wanted to know If you were doing ok since then," Ember said looking slightly worried.

"I...I'm not gonna lie at first I was kinda having trouble adjusting to my new life, but a lot of stuff has helped me with living In this new life of mine." I told her

"Like what?" Ember asked

"You know, you, guys," I said slightly embarrassed as she smiled back at me.

"Well I'm glad that you're doing alright," Ember said as Garble put his hand around my neck again.

"Me too, though I am a little hurt you didn't tell me at first," Garble said

"Raah!" Smolder helpfully added from the top of his head.

"My bad It's just-"

"Falkor, I'm just messing with you of course you're not gonna share something like that like It's your average everyday problem." Garble said

"Oh my bad then." I said

"No problem, though now that we know your fr-"

"Finally got here huh? Took you long enough," Viserion called out cutting off Garble.

"Guess I can't ask you now then, whatever just make sure you beat him." Garble said

"And If I don't?" I asked

"Then I'll make fun of you for It," Garble said with a smirk.

"Really?" I deadpanned at him.

"What? I don't care If you win or lose It doesn't matter to me but I need some sort of entertainment." Garble said

"Yeah well enjoy the show then," I said as I walked towards Viserion.

"I think I will," He said as Ember walked up to us.

"Good luck and like Garble said It doesn't matter If you win or lose," Ember said reassuringly as Garble rolled his eyes.

"Oh thanks, Emb-"

"But I also will be poking fun at you If you do lose," She cheekily added surprising me and Garble.

"Wha-"

"Told you I get you back somehow and what better way than If you lose," Ember said as Garble started grinning.

"You know I'm surprised, but I'd be lying If I said that It's not a welcome one," Garble said causing me to sigh.

"Fair enough I suppose." I said

"Ahh come on you know we're just messing with y-"

"What Is taking you so long! HURRY UP!" Viserion called out

"WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE!" Garble yelled back as he sighed harshly.

"I think we wasted enough of your time Falkor, you better go In there and get this settled before I take over for you." Garble said annoyed

"Alright then wish me luck," I said making my way over towards Viserion as I started to notice the number of dragons here who also seemed to have just molted recently and had also come to see the rematch I felt Viserion told them about.

As I made my way closer to him It was almost like I could feel the eyes of the dragons watching me as they made space for me to enter Into the makeshift ring they made of themselves before closing It back up but thankfully not before the others were able to get through as I saw them make their way to the front.

"Glad to see you here Falkor," Viserion said as I focused on him.

"Yeah since apparently, you wanted a rematch with me so badly for some reason," I told him causing some of the other dragons to giggle at him only for him to smirk In response.

"You know Falkor I'll give you a chance to give up right now, If you don't want to get beat up TOO hard this time," He said trying to appear cocky only now I could tell he was putting up a front now.

"Ok." I said shrugging
.
.
.
.
.
.
"What?" He asked In disbelief.

"Look I'm not going to lie last time I got lucky and I'm pretty sure that If I try to fight you this time I'm going to lose so yeah I don't want to get beaten up this time so I give up, see ya," I said with a grin as I turned around and started to make my way back to the others.

As I saw Garble and Ember grinning at me I started to shake my head at the relentless teasing I was about to receive before I started to hear footsteps getting closer to me causing me to turn around to see Viserion about to punch me In the face as I step to the side as quickly I could only barely dodging his surprise attack.

"Are you fucking kidding me, seriously? What's the reason now? I didn't have enough pride to follow through on your insults?" I asked pissed off.

"Nah, I just wanted to fight you again and I didn't expect you to just give up like that, what dragon passes on the opportunity to fight?" He asked out loud.

"Me," I said through gritted teeth as he rolled his eyes.

"Well that's pretty obvious, but fortunately for you I don't." He said grinning

"How Is that In any way fortunate for me!?" I asked annoyed

"Oh you'll see," He said before using his wings to fly at me as his feet leave the ground before trying to swipe at my face with his claws as I dive to the floor barely getting out of the way.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO FUCKING CLAW MY EYES OUT!?" I yelled slightly worried.

"Well I was thinking we kick things up a bit this time, so I figured why not use everything to our abilities which means claws and flying are allowed," He said as he decided to run at me instead of flying this time.

He then tries to punch me with his right hand to which I use my left to catch It as I then try uppercutting him with my right only for him to barely dodge It as I let go of his hand In hopes of trying to land a lucky hit with my left only for him to dodge again by quickly backing up out of the way.

"Good thing I remembered that from last time we fought because you ain't getting me with that this time." He said grinning

"Oh, my Fucking- are you just obsessed with me or something!?" I asked a bit freaked out that he remembered something I did from our one fight three years ago.

"I wouldn't say obsessed more like just keeping track of the one dragon who makes fights fun for me," He said as he began flying into the air.

"Now come on! I didn't say flying was allowed just for you not to do It!" He called out as he proceeded to go higher almost near the clouds but still a good distance away from them causing me to sigh to myself.

"God fucking dammit, " I said to myself as I proceed to use my wings to join him while he waits for me hovering In the air with his arms crossed as I start to hear the other dragons begin to cheer down below.

"Alright, I'm here ar- OH SHIT!" I call out In alarm as he suddenly charges at me trying to swipe at me with his claws which I dodge by flying to the right as I see him narrowly fly past me before he stops himself and turns around mid-flight before charging at me again nicking the side of my cheek causing me to hiss In pain.

"Mtherfcker!" I grit out as I bring a hand up to the decent size cut he made to my cheek.

"What's the hold-up Falkor? This Isn't the same dragon who made the fight fun for me when we fought the first time," He calls out to me which just pisses me off.

"I told you I got lucky," I said gritting my teeth.

"And I'm telling you that's just STUPID!" He yells charging at me and trying to cut me with the claws on his left hand again as I catch It with my right only for him to grab my throat with his right hand as he starts pushing me back down towards the ground pretty quickly.

"Come on Falkor, where Is the drake I fought before!?" He questioned as I felt him slowly put more and more pressure on my throat making it harder to breathe but for some reason Instead of feeling scared I'm starting to enjoy myself now while my life Is being threatened In this 'fight'.

With this new foreign feeling In me, I feel a grin start to spread across my face as I grab him by the throat with my left arm shocking him and giving me enough time as I use every bit of strength I have to switch places with him just In time for the ground to meet us head-on as the impact of the crash knocks me off a bit away from him as I start coughing from oxygen entering my lungs again.

Looking over my eyes widen In disbelief as I see Viserion slowly get up from the small crater he was In while his legs are shaking before he turns to me with a smile on his face like he's having the time of his life.

"SEE! This Is what I mean! I haven't felt this alive In YEARS! And I was right that only you could make me feel like this!" He said ecstatic

"And the best part? I saw you enjoying yourself as well, now you can't possibly tell me that you aren't having the time of your life," He said as I slowly got up still feeling excited for some reason.

"Fine, I guess this Is fun you happy now?" I asked him as I charge at him grinning the whole way while I see him start to grin back before I punch him In the face sending him stumbling backwards a couple of steps before he stops himself and grins wiping some blood from his nose.

"I am now!" He said sounding excited as he comes running back which only seems to fuel my excitement as well from our 'fight' continuing as I try to throw another punch at him only for him to slap It away with his right arm while punching me In the face with his left arm causing my head to snap a bit towards the right as I retaliate by punching him In the face as well with my left arm as well.

We both bring our heads back to face each other as he tries punching me again In the face which I block with the back of my right hand before punching him with the same hand as I pull my left arm back a bit to punch him In the gut as he tries to throw an uppercut only for him to miss completely allowing me to pull my right arm back before crouching and punching him full force In the gut.

Somehow still standing he doesn't waste time punching me In the right side of my face after the gut punch with his left arm catching me off guard and causing me to stumble back a bit seeing him with a full-blown smile on his face as he throws another punch at my face sending me down to the ground causing me to land on my side doing my best to ignore the slight ringing I'm starting to hear.

"Now THAT Is what I call a fight! Who else agrees with me?" He asked out loud causing the crowd to cheer as I tried to force myself to get up.

"How's the fight going?" Aesthyr asked

[Never better.] I told her

"Are you winning?" She asked

[If this works,] I told her as I heard Viserion saying something to Garble before I slowly but surely got up and started charging at Viserion with the last bit of energy I had left before I saw him begin to turn around at the same time I jumped as high as I could In the air pulling back my right hand as far as I could before punching him hard In the face sending both of us to the floor with me landing on my back and him on his sid as we both laid there groaning In pain.

"W*cough*ow, never thought you would steal one of my moves before, but that's one way to win," He said somehow still grinning.

"Yield*pant*for the love of Maker yield," I pleaded not wanting to deal with him anymore.

"Yeah ok, I YIELD!" He yelled out as I could hear footsteps rushing near us.

"Falkor are you ok!?" Ember asked sounding concerned as she and Garble put my arms around their necks slowly lifting me from up off the ground.

"Ahh he'll be fine he's a dragon after all,but seriously how do you feel?" Garble asked also concerned causing me to chuckle.

"I feel like I just got my ass beat by another dragon, oh wait, that's exactly what happened," I said causing Garble to awkwardly chuckle.

"Fair enough, but hey you still won, not to mention you won again against Vis what's his name." He pointed out

"Yeah I guess you're right, and I guess I don't mind that It felt fun as well," I said to him as they helped me pass through the crowds before I took a look behind me to see Viserion still smiling up at the sky despite what happened earlier.

And for some reason, I felt myself smiling along with him as I felt the same feeling of satisfaction as I felt three years ago.

"Remember what you felt today because that Is what It means to be a dragon."

"And I bet It felt satisfying didn't It."

"Heh, guess It did Vis, I guess It did."

Story Time

"Wait what!? So you're telling me that the only time I appeared in that story of yours was Just to be some dragon who mainly picked on a pony-raised drake?" Garble asked Incredulously

"Yep pretty much." I said

It had been a few days since my fight with Viserion and we'd just been spending those days talking and hanging out so that way we could take a break from everything for a little while.

Then Garble had the idea that since I've seen this world before I should tell them everything I know so that way If anything important were to happen we would have time to prepare for It, also he wanted to know what the future was like for certain people, him included.

Which leads us to where we currently are now.

"Well that Garble sounds like a Tiamash," Garble said crossing his arms looking upset.

He then turned to me as his look softened and gave me a small smile.

"Glad you're here so I don't become like, that," He said still sounding slightly upset at the end as his smile turned into a small frown.

"No problem Garble, happy to be here for you." I said sincerely

"So what about me? What did your story tell you about me?" Ember asked curious

"Actually you know what, that IS a good question," Garble said turning to me.

"What DID your story tell you about the daughter of the Dragon Lord?" Garble asked as they looked at me curious.

"Well, do I have a story for you," I said grinning before slightly frowning.

"Do you remember the dragon egg that those ponies came to pick up?" I asked

"Uhh yeah, the purple one right?" Garble asked as I nodded my head. "What about It?" He asked confused

"Well In the story I told you about that egg was the pony-raised dragon that story you bullied," I clarified for him as their eyes widened.

"Ohhh, so THAT'S why you were so fixated on the egg before, It's because you knew that drake from your story." Ember deduced

"Yeah, and I also know that the pony the egg Is going to Is Princess Celestia, the pony princess herself," I explained causing them to pause In shock.

"Well, I guess that's one pony to be raised by." Ember said

"Well actually," I start to say as both of them focus their attention back on me, "He isn't exactly raised by her." I explained

"What do you mean?" Garble asked as Smolder tilted her head mimicking him from the floor.

"Now what I'm going to tell you Is going to probably make you upset so I need you to keep calm, ok?" I explained

"Falkor, what happens to the egg?" Garble questioned

"Well from what I know from the story nothing for a good while until a pony named Twilight Sparkle one day came In to take a certain test that involved using their magic to hatch the egg." I explained

"So what? The egg just sat locked away somewhere until one day a different pony came, got lucky, and managed to hatch the egg?" Garble questioned looking slightly upset.

"Pretty much yeah," I said not knowing what else to say.

"What a load of Aithyas." He said

"He does live a fairly pretty good life from what I've seen but, there are times when he seemed to look lonely and out of place from what I could see," I told them causing Garble to snort out some smoke from his nostrils.

"Of course he would, being raised In a world where It feels like YOUR intruding would probably do that to you," Garble said sympathetically.

"As much as I am concerned for the drake what does this have to do with me?" Ember asked

"Oh y-yeah sorry about that got sidetracked," I said as I clear my throat.

"Well basically this pony-raised drake one day receives a call from Dragon Lord Torch and once he arrives It turns out to be revealed that Torch Is retiring his position as Dragon Lord," I explained as I see their eyes widen In shock again.

"I mean I know that one day he's gonna give up the position but It's still crazy to think about that It's not that far away from happening," Garble said before seeming to realize something.

"Wait did your story tell you who became the Dragon Lord?" Garble questioned causing Ember to widen her eyes realizing his question.

"Uh yeah after dealing with a bit of stuff Ember and the- oh wait I just realized I never told you guys that the hatchling's name Is Spike." I told them

"Spike huh? I like It," Garble said nodding In respect.

"Anyways back to what I was saying basically Spike and Story Ember work together to reach the Bloodstone scepter until Story Garble comes In and fights both of them for It until Ember holds Garble down long enough for Spike to grab the scepter thus making him the new Dragon Lord." I explained

"So Spike wins? That's definitely not what I was expecting." Garble admitted

"Well as long as he figures out what he's doing the-"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention he ends up giving the position to Ember," I said cutting her off as they both pause for a second to register what I just said.

"WAIT WHAT!?"
"WAIT WHAT!?" They scream out In shock only to pause as Smolder starts grunting In her sleep because of the noise as we all wait In tense silence until she stops and goes back to sleeping peacefully.

"Wait so you're telling me that instead of becoming the DRAGON LORD he instead decides to just hand It over to Ember!?" He questioned

"Yep," I said popping the p.

"Did the story say why he gave the title up to me?" Ember asked

"Well In the story he says that the only reason he participated was to protect his friends from any other dragon becoming the new Dragon Lord and gave the scepter to Ember because he believed she would also do the same thing he wanted anyway." I explained

"Really now, well I guess I can respect that, power means nothing If you don't at least use It to protect the ones you care most about." Garble said

"Are you done telling your friends about your world's version of ours?" Aesthyr asked as I brought the ring near my face signaling to the others that Aesthyr was speaking.

"Well, not rea-"

"Great so since you're done with that I just remembered that If this Sombra pony Is really coming back then you and your friends are going to need something to protect yourselves with," Aesthyr said cutting me off.

"I guess you're right, but we're not exactly In prime fighting condition right now," I said looking down at my somewhat tiny body.

"Well of course you not, not yet at least, just wait a good oh I don't know 30 maybe 40 years and you'll reach that Adult dragon age." Aesthyr said

"Wait I thought I was already somewhat near being a Teen dragon though?" I asked confused

"Well sorta, your In between being a Teen and Young adult as Ponies would call It but you're still nowhere near being an Adult dragon." She explained

" Not to mention that Its going to be a good while before you become an Elder since for that to happen you still gotta grow up until you reach the age where your body starts to grow with you to the point where only mountains would be able to house you."Aesthyr explained

"Now If you're ready we should at least look for my old work area and see what we have to work with when the time comes for you to need something made." She said

"Yeah I guess that's fair," I said as I brought my attention back to the others as I saw them waiting for an explanation.

"Remember how I said Aesthyr said she used to be a Draconic Armorer?" I asked to which they nodded their head.

"Well, she told me that we should start looking for her work area to see If we can find It In case we need something made for us In the future," I explained to them as they thought It over.

"Well I guess It would probably help to have somewhere we could use as our own little private area." Ember said

"I guess we could leave the future questions for later If this Is somewhat important, assuming she isn't lying that Is," Garble said standing up while holding Smolder causing Ember and I to roll our eyes as we proceeded to get up as well.

"Everyone ready?" I asked to which they nodded.

"Alright Aesthyr," I said bringing the ring up near me.

"Lead the way." I said

Author's Note

Tiamash-asshole
Aithyas-shit

Again sorry for making you guys wait for another short one but I just really didn't feel like writing anything recently so that's why It took so long just to get something short like this out but to be honest I'm feeling much better now so hopefully I'll be In the mood to make a longer chapter then this and If not then I just want to say I blame Baldurs Gate 3.

Anyways like always pls comment what you liked or disliked about the stories since anytype of comments from you guys I enjoy reading especially the bloodthirsty ones from last chapter that honestly made me giddy In seeing how intense you guys got over Viserion, more like that PLEASE(naw I'm just kidding.)

K see ya!

Ideas People, Ideas

"We've been walking foreverrrrrrrrrrrrr," Garble whined as Smolder snickered from up top of his head.

"Garble we've been walking for five minutes," Ember said unimpressed.

"Besides you weren't complaining when we had to walk In the forest." She pointed out

"That's because we knew something was waiting for us at the end of It." Garble said

"Meanwhile we've been going up to every rock In the Dragon Lands because this 'Aesthyr' doesn't seem to remember where her old place used to be," Garble said making air quotes.

Unfortunately, Even If Garble was complaining he was still right since even though we've been having Aesthyr guide us she still seemed to have trouble remembering where her old workshop was.

Which has lead us to not having made any progress In discovering anything yet, though hopefully we'll find something since Aesthyr told us to search around. near the edge of the Dragon Lands.

"I could've sworn It was somewhere near here," Aesthyr said sounding slightly irritated as Garble did.

"Ok, Aesthyr are you sure you remember where we're going?" I asked

"As much as I would love to say I'm offended you think so little of my memory, no, I don't think I do, unless..." She said leading off.

"Unless what?" I asked

"Unless It was moved," She said as my eyes slightly widened.

"I, huh, I mean If that Is the case then I guess that would explain why it's been so difficult finding your work area." I admitted

"What did she say?" Ember asked as I turned to face the others.

"Aesthyr said she suspects the reason why we've had trouble finding her work area is that somedrake might have moved It," I explained to them as I heard Garble groanining when I finished.

"Greaaaaat, so we've been wasting our time looking around random rocks for no reason only to find out that somedrake might have moved the area which means that we now have no idea where It could be," Garble said walking over to a medium-sized rock leaning on It while Smolder proceeded to try and copy him as she shakingly stood atop his head and began to also lean back on the rock.

"Well, do you have a better idea of what to do than Garble?" Ember asked

"Nope, but I am going to do what I know how to do, which Is complain, and it's great for me since my complaining Is also In the right as well," Garble said causing Ember to roll her eyes.

"Whatever then," She said as she kicked a small pebble towards the edge only for It to suddenly disappear.

"Wait what?" I said confused

"What Is It?" Garble asked

"Ember kick another pebble towards the edge," I told her as she looked at me confused before kicking another nearby pebble which seemed to disappear again.

"Wait what?" She said sounding confused as I approached near where the pebble disappeared extending my hand out slowly only for It to slowly disappear as well.

"It's gone!" Garble said shocked as I pulled my hand back slightly afraid only to find It perfectly fine.

"It's back!" Garble said In relief as Ember looked at him with an unimpressed look.

"Oh, how scary." She said In a monotone voice.

"Oh shut up," Garble said without much heat In his response.

"Well, here we go," I said walking forward toward the edge only for my surroundings to suddenly change into a slightly darker environment side for the bit of light coming from behind me.

" Oh shit," I whispered In awe at what I see as I began to hear footsteps behind me.

"Woahhh, guess she wasn't lying after all," Garble said also with a bit of awe In his voice.

"How long do you think this has been here?" Ember asked curiously surveying the room.

"Too long," Aesthyr said with what sounded like a little nostalgia.

"I'll say," I said as I took a good look around.

Although It seemed like this place hadn't been used In a while you could tell this place was used for creating and creating things that could destroy as well.

Not to mention the different types of glowing crystals and metals that seemed to be lined up on the floor up against the wall or on a smoothed-out rock which was also near what looked like an anvil and a table?

Confused I make my way towards It only to remember that I'm still too small to reach the actual table itself.

Annoyed I turn back to the others as I see Ember, Garble and Smolder seeming to be very interested in the glowing metals until something pops in my head making me even more annoyed.

"Wait I can just fly," I annoyingly reminded myself as I started flapping my wings carefully landing on the table as I tried not stepping on anything important.

Upon landing on the table, I saw a bunch of tiny stuff and whatnot scattered around what looked to be some sort of wristband.

"Ah right, I forgot about this," Aesthyr said sounding slightly annoyed.

"What is it?" I asked curious

"A failed project of mine that I never got around to completing." She said

"Well, what were you trying to do?" I asked curious

"There wasn't much of a goal, instead, It was more like an attempt at trying to make things with ideas I had but none of them stuck." She explained

"Like?" Now intrigued at what she tried to attempt.

"I don't remember, it's been a long time since I bothered myself with trying to make something useful out of this so you can just ignore It." She said

"Oh alr-, waaaait a minute," I said stopping myself as an idea pops up in my head.

"What?" Aesthyr asked

"You said you were never able to think of anything to be able to make this useful right?" I questioned

"Uh huhhhhh?" She answered confused not knowing where I was going with this.

"I have an idea from my previous world that might work here." I told her

"Realllllllly now? Ok then let's hear It," She said slightly intrigued.

"Ok hear me out what If we were able to put like some sort of thin shield that overlays with the band and by activating It somehow It not only grows bigger, but also starts to unlatch Itself to become a full circle-like shield," I suggested waiting for a response back.
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"Huh," Was all she said after a while.

"Aesthyr?" I asked unsure If I was about to be made fun of.

"That's actually not that bad of an idea now that I think about It, yeah yeah! I can see that being possible." She admited

"Really!?" I asked shocked and a bit excited.

"I mean yeah, It's probably going to be a while before we can even begin to work on anything but-"

"Hey Falkor! Come check this out!" I hear Garble call out causing me to turn around as I see him run behind what looked to be some sort of furnace against the wall which was now slightly slanted outwards towards the middle of the room.

"How did I not notice that?" I asked myself as I started making my way towards the others.

"Falkor look check this out, Ember found something that looked cool when she went behind whatever this thing Is," Garble said gesturing to the furnace-like contraption as I joined Ember and looked at what looked to be some sort of armor.

"Ooooooh so that's where It was, was wondering where I had put It when you entered my workspace," Aesthyr said as I looked over the armor admitting to In my head to Garble how cool It looked.

The armor Itself seemed to be placed on some sort of dragon mannequin with the tail included to hold everything up and In place.

Though the more I looked at It the more my eyes widened In disbelief. "No fucking way," I said not knowing whether to be shocked or amused.

"What?" Ember asked confused

"Well remember how I told you guys how Ember was trying to become the Dragon Lord In the story I told you about?" I questioned as they nodded their heads.

"Well In the story, since her dad didn't allow her she disguised herself so she wouldn't be noticed and as her disguise she used-"

"This armor," Ember said as both her and Garble's eyes widened In understanding.

"Exactly." I said nodding

"Well, what does that mean then?" Garble asked

"If I'm being honest nothing really, just I guess now I have an answer to who made the armor In the first place," I said looking down at the ring.

"Well I guess I'm flattered that something I made seemed to be able to reach another universe." Aesthyr said

"Except that like I said no one else knows who made It." I remind her

"Ah right forgot about that part, eh oh well, you win some you lose some," She said not sounding bothered.

"Well at least I have something already made for me," Ember said looking at Garble smugly as he turned his head away looking annoyed.

"Whatever, just wait, when I grow more I'll be able to get something even cooler made for me." Garble said

"Raah," Smolder added seemingly agreeing with Garble.

"Exactly, thank you Smolds," Garble said grinning at Ember as she rolled her eyes.

"Alright well as cool as this place Is we can't do much here so let's head back," I said to them as we head back outside where we are blinded until our eyes are readjusted to the light.

Turning around we find nothing just like when we first got here.

"We should probably do something to make sure we remember where this place Is." Ember said

"Like what?" Garble asked

"Why not carve something Into the rock right here?" I suggested

"Like what?" Ember asked

"Why no-"

"Wait a minute I got an idea," Garble said looking around before finding a decent-sized rock to hold as he begins carving something into the side of the bigger one.

"Annnnd done," Garble said backing up allowing me and Ember to take a closer look.

EMBER AND FALKORS MAKE-OUT SPOT
WILL FORCE OTHERS TO JOIN IN IF SPOTTED

After were finished reading It our faces turned red In embarrassment as we began to hear Garble laughing causing us to turn around as I find him hunched over holding Smolder dying of laughter.

"GARBLE IM GOING TO KILL YOU!" Ember yelled out while her face Is still burning red with embarrassment.

"Got to catch me first!" Garble taunted as his wings flare out before he begins flying away.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" She screamed out before she also joins him In the air as she begins chasing him.

Sighing to myself I look back to the writing as I could feel myself slightly blushing.

"Fucking Garble, you are sooooo lucky I love you, because If I didn't I turn you into mush right along with Ember," I said to myself before I spread out my wings and began to fly after the others to make sure to not let Ember hurt Garble too much.
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But I think I can wait a few minutes before I stop her.

Author's Note

Hey again, Its me, I am back from my little mental break that wasn't really that important as I was just trying to keep myself from spiraling too much but I can definitely say that I'm feeling better so I hope that I can start writing again and reading your comments as well.

Also sorry for the short chapter aswell but I kinda just wanted to get this chapter out their since It seemed Its been a week and more since the last chapter so yeah.

As always I hope you enjoy my latest chapter and comment how you feel about it even If Its something that's criticizing It.

Other then that I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, see ya!

Take A Minute

It's been a couple of days(I think) since we checked out Aesthyr's work area and since Ember got her revenge on Garble and even If I hate to admit It what he wrote was probably the best way to make sure most dragons stayed away from that area so I guess It's In our best interest to leave It up, no matter how smug Garble looked knowing we did.

"Garble I swear to Maker I will knock that smile off of your face," I said slightly annoyed

"I don't see why, I haven't even done anything to you," He said with fake innocence as Smolder snickered at our display.

"I hate you," Ember said simply

"What!? Whyyyyy?" Garble asked In fake shock as his response from Ember was a glare

"You know why." She said now sounding annoyed

"Maybe I do, but then again maybe I don't," Garble said grinning as Ember rolled her eyes.

"Besides If you really hated what I wrote then you would've done something about It Princess " Garble said grinning as Ember and I blushed while glaring at him as he and Smolder began to start laughing.

"Anyways now that we got that out of the way what now?" Garble asked as we stopped In front of Torch's cave entrance

"I don't know, we can't really do anything how we are now." I pointed out

"Yeah, annoyingly," Garble said

"And telling my Dad won't work since we don't have anything to show that we're telling the truth." Ember also pointed out

"Not to mention that according to your knowledge, nothing Is going to happen for a good while soooooo," Aesthyr said trailing off.

"So like I said, what do we do?" Garble asked again

"I think, we do nothing," I said honestly

"Really?" Ember asked confused

"Yeah, I mean like Aesthyr just reminded me from what I remember that happened In the story nothing happens for a good while and like I said we can't really do anything that productive like how we are now so, yeah nothing," I explained

"Well I mean I guess you can't really argue with that," Garble said as Smolder nodded her head agreeing with him.

"Well I guess that makes sense, still feels kinda weird not trying to do anything." She said

"Yeah but what can you do? Now come on let's go and relax shall we," I said as we faced towards the entrance only for our faces to become shocked as we saw someone familiar talking to Torch.

"MOOOOOOOM!" Garble exclaimed happily as he flew towards her but not before quickly shoving Smolder towards me as before he did as I saw her pause whatever conversation she was having with Torch before turning just In time to see Garble wrap himself around her as much as he could before flying up to where she could see him.

"Ohhh My hatchling look at you, already sprouting wings, If only I was there to witness you and your brother flying for the first time," She said causing Garble to blush In embarrassment.

"Moooom, I'm not a hatchling anymore I'm becoming a dragon now and besides you're here now, so we can stay together again like we did before," Garble protested causing her to chuckle.

"That does sound nice but you'll always be my little hatchling to me," She said In response before looking past him, "Now whe- ah there you are," She said as she focused her attention on me, "Well? Aren't you going to come and greet your mother?" She asked playfully as I flew over to her and hugged her too as I passed Smolder over to Ember

"Hey Mom, we missed you," I said as I flew up next to Garble

"And I have missed you two as well." She said

"Oh- Oh! Wait Mom there's somedragon you have to meet first!" Garble said excitedly flying back over towards Ember as she passed Smolder to him before he came flying back

"Meet my- uhhh technically new sister!" He said excitedly

"Raah!" Smolder helpfully added on as our mother's eyes widened slightly In shock

"W-Was this the the-" She started to say as she turned towards Torch who stopped her mid-sentence with a simple nod causing her to focus back on Smolder and Garble.

"W-Well, I wasn't expecting this when I came back but this a surprise that I can welcome with open arms," She said smiling down at the two.

"So, Smolder Is the hatchling's name?" She asked

"Yeah, I uh, named her," Garble admitted

"Well you named her well then," She said bringing her palm up for us as we landed on It, "I'm very proud of the both of you for getting this far In your lives all on your own, I can tell that you two are going to grow up Into strong and proud dragons one day and this time, I'll be there to see It, and I can't for when that day comes," She said sincerely causing us to me and Garble to tear up a bit before wiping our eyes.

"Thanks, Mom, for being In and coming back Into our lives," I said as sincerely as possible

"Always," She simply said before taking a deep breath and exhaling.

"Well now that we've got that out of the way why don't we head back home shall we." She said

"Oh! Wait before we do I have to do something," I said before flying down towards Ember.

"Hey, so uh, as you can see me and the other two are going back home so we're not going to be staying here anymore," I said feeling awkward explaining this

"W-Well that's fine I mean at least now we can just leave on our own and meet up with each other, though I'm not gonna lie I am going to miss you- guys! Not being around when we wake up." Ember said slightly blushing In embarrassment

"Hah, yeah," was all I managed to say as we stood there awkwardly for a couple of seconds.

"Hey Falkor." Ember whispered

"Yeah?" I questioned

"Even though you said nothing Is happening for a while I just want to know If from what you know anything happens anytime soon?" She asked as I took a few seconds to answer her question

"The earliest event I know of Is that a bunch of colors are going to explode across the sky, and when that happens then that's when stuff Is going to start happening, and also when Spike Is born." I told her as she nodded

Alright, good to know then," She said before she smiled, "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow Falkor."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow Ember," I said smiling back before I flew back over towards the others as I saw Mom looking at me with some sort of look like she knew something I didn't and Garble wearing a shit-eating grin as I landed back In our Mother's palm.

"S-"

"Shut It," I said not trying to hear one word from him

"Ready?" Mom asked as we told her we were

As she started to bring her hands together I looked back down towards Ember just In time to see her waving me off as I waved back In response before our mom's hands came together and I felt us being lifted and flying through the air once again.

It's now nighttime as Garble and I were trying to go to sleep since Smolder and surprisingly Mom were already asleep before us.

'Which I guess Isn't that strange If she's tired doing whatever It was Torch had told her to do, wonder what It was though?' I pondered

"Hey Falkor?" I heard Garble say as I opened my eyes to see him still awake

"Can't sleep?" I asked as he shook his head

"No, not really." He said

"What's up?" I asked as I saw him narrow his eyes like he usually does when trying to think hard about something

"I, don't know really, I think It's just me thinking." He said

"Thinking about stuff or just thinking?" I asked

"A mix of the two I think," He said as I motioned for him to continue as I stayed silent.

"Its just, I know that earlier when we were with Ember I agreed with what you said about not doing anything but now that I'm laying here back In our home and with our Mom back It just, I don't know I feel like I should be doing something more than I am right now but every time I try to think of something to do that will help us or at the very least me In the future I'm met with no answer and, I guess that's bothering me that I'm not really doing anything to help right now." He explained

"Well..... I think you're helping right now," I said as he looked at me confused.

"With what?" He asks genuinely confused

"You're helping me by being my brother right now, one that I love very much and would give my life to protect," I say gesturing to myself

"You're helping Ember by being a trusted companion she can confide In and be comfortable with." I said

"And most importantly you've been helping by raising a hatchling as your own as soon as she hatched out of her egg," I said gesturing to Smolder sleeping away peacefully In front of us as we lay side by side of each other.

"I mean I don't know about you but I think you've been helping plenty," I said trying to reassure him

"I mean yeah but not trying to sound like a jerk but..... how does any of that help us prepare for when stuff starts happening?" He asked as I took a minute to think of what exactly to say
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"Well, I can't answer that for you Garble as much as I know you would rather hear an answer that I'm sure of I could never lie to you like that," I admitted

"Oh." I hear him say as his head droops towards the floor

"But," I say as I see his eyes focus back on me, "An answer I can give that I DO know for sure," I say pulling him In for a side hug with my left arm, "Is that you're not alone." I finish

"What I can tell you with certainty Is that no matter how unsure you may be now or how worried you may be about the future, you will always have me or Ember to help you," I said

"Whether It be something you need to fight, or need help with Smolder, or just sitting together as one of us listens while you tell us what's on your mind, I promise you'll never have to deal with any of It alone," I say trying to convey to him how sincere and serious I am.

"And sometimes, that might not be enough for you, and sometimes you might want to deal with stuff alone," I admit

"But I jus-" I try to say only to be interrupted by Garble suddenly facing towards me as he hugs me tightly and I do the same after a few seconds.

"Your the best dragon I know you know that." He said In my ear causing me to chuckle

"I thought Lord Torch was the best dragon you know?" I asked sarcastically

"Yeah well, Lord Torch isn't my brother either," He said as we continued to hug for a good couple of seconds more before he let go.

"Seriously though Falkor, I'm glad you're here with me, and I'm glad to have you as my brother." He said smiling all the while as I looked into his eyes to see him slightly tearing up before a smile started to appear on my face as well.

"Me too Garble," I said

"Me too."

Author's Note

Hey what's up Its ya bit uh, idk

Anyways sorry for another short chapter but to be honest I was kinda having trouble knowing what to write which Is why this chapter might be kinda bad and feel rushed as well.

Which also leads me to my next point: I think I'm going to do a timeskip to where Falkor and the others will start to be near/at the age of how Garble was on the show as that will allow me to come up with more ideas to work with but at the same time I don't know If you guys would appreciate that or not so let me know what you think I should do In the Comments but don't forget to also comment about the actual chapter Itself If you found It interesting I do still look forward to those as well.

Anyways I've said enough and you get the picture now so see ya!

Growing Closer

Author's Note

THE CHAPTER IS OVER, I DONT HAVE TO DO THIS AGAIN, IM NEVER GOING TO DO THIS AGAIN, FUCK YOU NINJA.

no but In all seriousness I am finally done with what Is without a doubt THE longest chapter I have ever done In my life again sorry for taking a long time but I was distracted by nine sols and reality setting In so that's always nice

Though to be honest I made a lot of leaps Into uncharted territory with this one so some of these moments might seem uncomfortable for you guys but hey If you don't like It then at least I know to never try It again In the future and renounce my status as a 'writer'. Though If you do like It then um......shit.

Though I hope you do like this chapter since I did try my best to make It up to somewhat of an enjoyable standard though I know just because I tried for It to be good doesn't mean It Is good.

So like always let me know what you hated about It so I can make improvements to It and hopefully improve myself as well.

And If you did like It well then I definitely want to comment about what you enjoyed this chapter since I'm curious on what you guys enjoyed about this chapter.

Also I'm going to do a bunch of time skips In this one as to bring us further along so Its probably going to be really messy and If It does seem that way then I am very sorry about that.

Other than that I hope you have a good rest of your day.

See ya!

Growing Closer

4 Years Later

It Finally Happened.

After all these years Rainbow managed to finally pull off the Rainboom as we watched It pass over our heads and further beyond the Dragon Lands before slowly dissipating.

"Well I guess that all but confirms It now," Ember said now looking nothing like a hatchling anymore and more like her show counterpart.

"Wow Ember, even after all this time you didn't believe Falkor? What kind of companion are you?" Garble teased as I looked over to him noticing how he was also slowly changing Into looking more like his show counterpart as well.

"That's not what I meant and you know It! I was only saying that now we know what he knows Is still happening and not changing," Ember explained as Garble and Smolder chuckled.

"Yeah I know just wanted to see how you would react," Garble said grinning

"Heh heh, and you didn't disappoint," Smolder said gigging as she was now no longer the little hatchling we took care of.

When she finally got to the age of being able to communicate with us we decided to tell her everything I told those two as well since we all agreed It would be better that she also knew instead of having to worry about hiding stuff from her and also because I felt like she deserved to know since It didn't feel right to leave her out of everything especially since I told the others as well.

Thankfully when we all told her It went relatively well even If she was confused about some of It though the rest of It what we told her seemed to make me more amazing In her eyes since I 'not only came back to life but also seemed to know everything already.'

Though Garble seemed to think It was appropriate to also tell her where she came from as well To avoid future misunderstandings, though he seemed very tense when he told her the truth about It.

Thankfully It seemed Smolder didn't care that much about It since she told him that as far as she was concerned we were her real family now.

Needless to say, we grew closer from that day on now that we were, to Smolder, a family.

"I swear I liked you better when you just Raah'ed at us," Ember said causing Smolders face to heat up In embarrassment.

"You said you wouldn't bring that up," Smolder said grumbling

"Around others we don't know yes, but keep trying to mess with me and I might change my mind," Ember said grinning

"Fine, you win, cheater," Smolder said whispering the last part.

"What was that?" Ember asked

"Nothing you need to worry about," Garble said grinning as Ember glared at him for a second before rolling her eyes

"Whatever," She said as we entered the working area, "So you said that you and Aesthyr made something that you wanted to show us?" Ember asked

"Ohhhhh yeahhh," I said excitedly as I walked over to the table not needing to fly anymore just to reach It.

As soon as I did I wasted no time grabbing the finished project which now had a tiny shield attached to It while somewhat covered In dark orange scales as I took the time to properly secure It on my wrist.

I'm not going to lie when I was finally able to start working on Aesthyr's unfinished project and turn It into the idea I came up with It was painful trying to figure out what went where, which crystal to use for which effect, and what material to use that we had access to For the shield to be what I wanted It to be but also still actually useful for my dragon strength to be able to use however I wanted, whether that be to defend myself or to hurt someone with.

None of that would be even remotely possible If I didn't have Aesthyr guiding me through the entire step-by-step process of what to do, use, and combine what was needed to make my idea come to fruition.

"Still impressed you managed to come up with something like that." Aesthyr admitted

[Well I can't take all the credit, If not for a certain game I wouldn't have even thought of It, though I'm glad I remembered It.] I told her as I turned back around to the others

"Soooooo, what Is It?" Smolder asked tilting her head to the left confused

Grinning I merely held out my left arm as the small shield attached to the wristband grew before twisting as It expanded releasing two triangle-shaped pieces coming from within It before they started to spread around the shield Itself until forming a bigger perfect circle-like shield almost covering the entire top half of my body.

"Pretty cool right?" I asked grinning as I took In their shocked faces

"We-"

"That's so coool!" Smolder said walking closer clearly awed by the display

"How did you even manage to do that? I didn't see you do anything to open It." Ember pointed out

"Well, when me and Aesthyr were trying to figure out how to make It work without me needing to trigger anything I remembered how we used Draconic energy to allow us to fly without needing to do anything much except think of wanting to, so I asked myself can I use that energy somewhere else? And thankfully the answer was yes." I explained

"Wow, I'd never of thought to use It like that?" Ember admitted

"Well I mean this Is Falkor we're talking about," Garble said smiling

"Yeah! And he knows a lot of stuff." Smolder happily added on bringing a smile to my face.

"Thanks, Smolds," I said smiling at her which caused her tail to wag as she smiled back at the compliment.

"But yeah at first I tried to see If I could make It easy for myself and just fuse It into the wristband Itself but for some reason, It always immediately disappeared every time I tried," I explained

"So I then tried a different approach by trying to combine the energy Into the metals used for the shield Itself though that didn't work either." I continued

"So then I thought to myself what If I, with Aesthyr's instructions of course, took something from my own body for the Draconic Energy to fuse with since If Draconic energy can go through my body to give me control over my wings, then why can't It do that for any other part of my body," I explained as I saw Ember and Garble begin to look worried.

"Falkor, please tell me you didn't do anything stupid," Ember said cautiously

"No, don't worry I didn't do anything rash trust me, I don't want anything to happen to me again which Is why I went with the safest option I could think of," I said

"Which was?" Garble asked

"Scales, my scales to be precise," I explained

"Wha- wouldn't that hurt?" Garble asked confused about why I would do something to myself

"Yes It did though I didn't have a choice since It was either that or waiting until I would naturally shed scales on my own but Aesthyr said that usually only applies to the really big dragons which led me to get my scales out myself," I explained to them causing them to cringe at the thought of the process.

"I'm not going to lie It did hurt and even though Aesthyr had an easier way to remove them It still stung a bit but It was still all worth It In the end thankfully since I was able to have It successfully combined with the shield and wristband allowing me to control whenever I want to use It, though It did feel weird for a while," I admitted

"How so?" Garble asked confused causing me to pause as I thought of the best way to explain It.

"It, felt like some small part of me was stuck somewhere else that wasn't my body, not enough to cause me problems thankfully but, still noticeable enough that It caused me to feel slightly uneasy," I admitted as I thought about the weird feeling for a second before focusing back onto the conversation

"Thankfully that ended when I was done with the whole thing, why? I don't know, but as long as It works and It doesn't hurt me then I won't question It and merely use It to my advantage." I explained

"Also just want to let you know don't try to continuously use Draconic energy because when I tried to do that after like five attempts It felt like my entire body was freezing," I say shivering as I remembered that unpleasant experience until I felt a slap to the side of my head.

"Ow! What was that for?" I asked caught off guard by the slap as I rubbed the side of my head

"That was for being stupid," Garble said looking annoyed

"Is that why you looked paler than usual that one day?" Ember questioned

"Yeah that could've been It," I said as Ember proceeded to also slap me on the side of my head.

"Ahh-hey really?" I asked rubbing the side of my head again

"Yes really," Ember said sighing before grabbing the bridge of her nose, "Though I guess only you would try something stupid like that," Ember said with a flat look.

"Yeah, I know and I already learned my lesson anyway that's why I'm telling you three not to do that," I said rolling my eyes

"Yeah well unlike you we three aren't trying to risk things we have no business trying to risk," Garble said with a brow raised.

"Point Is, I finally made something that I thought was cool and useful for me and I wanted to show you guys," I explained

"How did you manage to make the thing get smaller though?" Smolder asked pointing at the shield

"Good question Smolds," I said praising her as she smiled while her tail started to wag, "Thanks to my outstanding genius-"

"*cough*noyouarent*cough*" Aesthyr interrupts causing me to pause at her interruption.

"Thanks to the help from the dragon In my ring she managed to help me work out that part but I'm not going to lie and stand here while I tell you the Ins and outs of that process since I barely understood It myself," I admitted

"Not my fault you couldn't understand what I was doing." She said sounding amused

[And It's not my fault that I couldn't be a Draconic Armorer that knows the Ins and outs of how certain stuff works,] I responded with.

"Yeah well thank the Maker I was here or you would've probably wasted a lot of precious materials trying to figure out what they did first." She pointed out

[Yeah whatever, I got what I wanted out of It In the end so I don't care anymore,] I told her before focusing back on the others.

"Well, I mean as cool as that Is, was this the only reason you brought us over here?" Garble asked

"Not, entirely," I said

"Even though I finally managed to replicate and make something that I came up with It doesn't mean that It's perfect so that's why I called you guys out here to show, impress, and help," I explained

"How are we supposed to help?" Ember
asked

"Well while I can't prepare for everything right now I can at least test a few things and, with Aesthyr's help, make improvements to make this shield better than It already Is," I said beckoning them to follow me as I exited out of the work area.

"And one of the ways I can test this shield Is to see how much damage It can take so Garble," I call out to him as I see him pause and focus on me, "I want you to hit the shield as hard as you can," I tell him as he pauses for a few seconds registering what I told him.

"Wait what? You want me to hit you?" Garble asked confused

"The shield, yes, I have to see If this thing can hold up to at least a good amount of damage," I clarify as he walks up In front of me.

"Also, If you want how about this, we can have a little spar to see how much stronger we've each gotten," I offer to him as I see his eyes widen before grinning In barely contained excitement.

"Now that I can get behind," He says as he positions himself In front of me.

"Remember give the shield all you got and don't hold back," I remind him before my shield fully opens up.

'God that's so cool, still can't believe I managed to make this,' I think to myself feeling excited about all the ideas I could bring to life.

"Don't forget you wouldn't be able to make anything without me." Aesthyr reminded

[Yes, yes thank you very much for helping me make this possible.] I told her before shaking my head as I focused on preparing myself as much as possible for Garble while at the same time seeing him also preparing as I saw him pull back his arm until he seemed ready as he finally threw his punch.

3 Years Later

BANG

I was sent skidding backward from the force of Garble's punch while my shield was thankfully able to take the full force of his hit.

Right then we were having a friendly spar with each other. Well, as friendly as you can get In the Dragon Lands anyways.

Since we didn't really have anything else to do until Spike arrived at the Dragon Lands Garble suggested we could fight with each other but not go too serious as to keep It fun but also still benefit from It, and seeing as how we weren't doing anything else that important we decided why not since not only would It pass the time but It would also help with other stuff too.

There were times when we did get a little out of control to where Ember would have to forcefully stop us, though that also depended If she wasn't participating as well which led to some actual fighting every once In a while.

There was also an unspoken agreement to keep Smolder out of It until she got near the age of how she was In the show since that way at least she could put up a fight while being at a relatively decent height.

Of course, she complained at first when she figured this out since she also wanted to fight alongside everyone else If we were fighting too but when we explained the reasoning behind It she complained about It but thankfully still understood the situation.

Of course that still didn't stop her from complaining about It now and then.

"You know at first I thought that thing on your wrist was cool but now It's just really annoying to deal with," Garble said sounding frustrated.

"Well I mean I did make It so that It could help me," I said before charging at him while seeing his face shift to a more serious expression.

Surprisingly ever since Garble suggested we started having these friendly spars with each other It helped all of us out a lot In understanding each other and also helped us get a little better at fighting.

Though we probably would still get our asses handed to us by a more experienced fighter but hey It's the thought that counts.

Even now as soon as I get close enough to throw a punch with my right hand I can see Garble preparing to move as he easily dodges as soon as he sees me making the motion.

After missing my punch I go to throw another one with my left only instead of just punching him I start to command the shield to open up catching him by surprise which gives me enough time to land a hit around his stomach area causing him to quickly step back holding his stomach more In annoyance then In pain for a bit before looking back up at me looking more annoyed now.

"Yep It's official, I hate It," Garble said groaning as I let him take the time to re-adjust himself.

"I'm starting to wish that shield would break like It did the first time you made It," Garble complained

"Yeah, I'm still kinda pissed that happened the first time, a year of wasting my time on It just for It to break after one hit like come on!" I called out still annoyed after that happened.

"Thankfully since Aesthyr knew what was needed to make It again and improve upon It I'm actually thankful you broke It since now because of that I have a much better shield," I admitted

"KEEP FIGHTING!" Smolder called out as she watched from the sideline on top of a rock a good away from where were fighting.

"Sorry Smolds, fights over and done with for today," Garble said

"Awwwww," Smolder whined causing Garble to roll his eyes.

"Really?" I asked surprised since he never stopped this early.

"Yes really don't look so surprised, I just don't feel like playing punch or more today, already bad enough that I can never seem to find some way around It," He said sounding annoyed as he turned and walked over towards Smolder.

"How about we head to the Volcanic Caves and we can dig up some gems for you to eat, would that be fine for you?" Garble asked causing Smolders face to light up.

"Really?" Smolder asked as Garble nodded

"Wellllll, I guess that's fine then," Smolder said as she hopped up on Garble's shoulder before wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Hey since, you're going to Volcanic Caves I'm probably going to go and hang out with Ember," I said

"Awww really?" Smolder asked sounding disappointed

"Hey, why are you whining? Can't have a good time with just me?" Garble questioned

"Of course I can Gar-Gar but It would be even better with Falkor there too," Smolder explained as Garble sighed at her nickname for him.

"Next time Smolder I promise," I said In an attempt to appease her.

"You better," She said pouting causing Garble to roll his eyes.

"Anyways ignoring this one," He said ignoring the hey that was directed at him, "I think she's back at Torch's cave remember?" He questioned

"Oh right! Something about needing to be alone for today unless It was me that came right?" I asked making sure

"Yep, don't know why Smolder and I weren't allowed but whatever we got better stuff to do anyway so see ya!" He said extending his wings before taking off as I saw them fly away leaving me by my lonesome.

"Well let's go see what Ember's been doing so far," I said to myself as I made my way over to her.

"Ember, You here?" I called out once I had entered the cave.

"Y-Yeah, I'm over here," She called out slightly stuttering from over by the massive gold pile.

"Oh I see, I'll leave you two alone," Aesthyr said leaving me slightly confused before shrugging It off.

Interestingly enough the gold pile was missing Its owner since Torch was nowhere to be seen.

'That's surprising, usually he's here almost every day, though I can't not even the Dragon Lord can stay at home all the time,' I thought to myself continuing further into the cave.

"Hey, you doing ok?" I asked as I got closer noticing that she was slightly twitching.

"Y-Yeah just feeling hot for some reason," She said causing me to raise an eyebrow confused at what she meant to which she just rolled her eyes.

"Yes I know how stupid that sounds but this just feels different than If I were to breathe fire or go lava bathing." She explained

"Alright then, though where's Torch at?" I asked causing her to smirk.

"I think you mean Dragon Lord Torch," She said sarcastically causing me to roll my eyes.

"You know what I mean," I said causing her to giggle before focusing.

"I know as much as you do all I know Is I told him that I felt kinda weird, and he asked me what I felt, I said It kinda felt like everything was hot, and then he just told me to stay here and not let anydragon come until It went away or It was a dragon I trusted with the most," She explained

"Which Is why you told us yesterday why only I was allowed to come see you today," I said as she nodded.

"Well I'm glad that you trust me so much but what about Garble? You saying you don't trust him," I asked sarcastically as she rolled her eyes In response.

"You know that I trust him but, Dad made It seem like this was important so why not go with the drake I trust the most with this," She said causing me to slightly blush.

"W-Well like I said I'm glad you trust me so much," I said honestly

"Of course I-" She suddenly paused mid-conversation as she started to smell around for something.

"Smell something?" I asked

'I didn't smell anything coming In, so-'

"It's you," I hear Ember say cutting off my train of thought as I focus back on her.

"Wha- me?" I asked confused to which she responded by just nodding as I took a second to smell myself.

"Ughh, yeah I guess I kinda do smell a bit, though me and Garble were fighting a little bit earlier so my bad," I said only for her to shake her head.

"I don't mind It smells... kinda relaxing weirdly enough, helps me ignore the heat," She said causing me to raise an eyebrow.

"Really?" I asked assuming she was just messing with me until she proceeded to get closer.

"Yeah I don't mind all that much really," She said before blinking which revealed some sort of light blueish transparent layer over her eyes with a line going down the middle of her pupil.

"O-oh you smell nice too?" I said unsure of what to respond with as I said the first thing I could think of.

'I mean I don't know what she smells like but I would assume It would be something nice," I thought to myself

"I'm glad you think so too," She said as she continued inching closer across the gold we were sitting on.

"You know what I think I'll just go ahead and leave you to-" Before I could even finish blinking I felt a weight over me and an incredible warmth that felt much different than bathing In lava over my body.

Looking down I could see Ember snuggling up against me with her eyes closed smiling while my mind tried to play catch up figuring outside what just happened.

"You feel nice and cool too," She said wrapping her arms around me as much as she could not leaving me much space to do much except lift my arms though I wasn't focused on that.

"Y-You do too," I said blurting out the first thing I could think of.

'YoU dO ToO' what kind of response was that!?' I asked myself cringing at my attempt at a response.

'Thankfully It looks like she didn't notice so let's try and think of what we say before saying please,' I beg to myself while trying to find something to say that wouldn't sound too awkward.

"Hey Is It ok If I stay here for now? At least until I stop feeling so hot?" Ember asked

"U-Uh s-sure If It'll help then by all means make yourself comfortable, I guess," I said unsure of what else to say.

"Thanks now not to sound like a jerk but be quiet," She said before going back to wrapping herself around me as she laid her head on my shoulder a few inches from my face.

A couple of seconds pass while I try to think of a way to help her while also not being constrained by her, not to say she's hurting or making me uncomfortable, but I'm still having trouble trying to figure out what's going on.

"S-So U-Um Ember," I hesitantly started as she responded with a grunt, "You uh, comfy?" I asked not knowing what to do In a situation like this.

"Mm-hm," Was all I heard from her as she proceeded to make herself comfortable on top of me while also slowly wrapping her tail around mine which caused me to blush heavily for reasons I'm unaware of.

'Ok well this, Is certainly a predicament that I am In right now and unfortunately, It's also one where I have no idea what to do, I mean this isn't that bad, kinda nice actually, just really confusing,' I thought to myself as I tried making sense of what was happening.

Looking down at Ember I couldn't help but notice how, at peace she looked which was kinda confusing to me though for some reason I also couldn't help but feel sort of at peace right now as well, like something was telling me to just enjoy what was happening.

'Well I mean It's not like this Is hurting anyone so I guess It wouldn't be that big of a deal to stay like this until she felt better.' I told myself as I slowly wrapped my arms around her only to pause when she seemed to twitch at the sudden contact.

Thankfully she seemed to relax again once she realized It was me which I took as permission for me to continue when I didn't meet any resistance as I fully wrapped my arms around her before we both started to fall asleep wrapped up in each other's grasp.

2 Years Later

A bunch of time has passed since that little...event happened.

Looking back It was pretty awkward at first when Ember and I woke up and just sat still hoping the other wasn't awake first but then Torch came back and found us together and well....

Let's just say I'm glad Ember was there to diffuse the situation since I was too scared to even think of a solution at the moment.

Thankfully after she explained what happened he apologized and said he had a feeling about what would happen and even though he hoped he was wrong he figured It could be worse and then told me to go home while he explained some stuff to Ember.

Still, slightly confused at what happened Aesthyr finally came back from whatever It was she was doing and told me to ask my Mom about what happened which I did.

So when I told Mom what happened she seemed to find It funny before explaining everything that happened to me and I can say I definitely learned alot of information from her.

It turns out that was Ember's first Need stage and apparently, when a drakina gets to a certain age their body starts to feel uncomfortably warm until they get something that they deem they need at that moment, hence the name.

Most of the time It's either a drake or drakina their interested In which causes them to be more aware of everything that's appealing to them from that certain drake or drakina whenever they're around them.

This usually leads to them getting as close as possible because to them that drake or drakina Is cool enough to deal with the heat.

Other times If a drakina doesn't have any dragon In mind they usually just have to deal with the heat until It disappears which usually lasts until the next week or so until It comes back next year.

On rarer occasions, drakinas first and up Need stages only went away when they ate a certain gem they deemed special to them or just an incredibly rare gem.

On rarer occasions during their first Need stage If a drakina Is REALLY interested In a certain dragon and the other dragon Is weaker than them then they'll pin them down and um, get rid of their Need their way.

Though from what Mom told me that hasn't happened for centuries now so there was no need to worry about anything like that.

Anyway as I was saying drakinas had three Need stages that they went through once they reached certain ages.

The first stage that Ember went through was called Dragons Irony funny enough.

The second stage Is called Dragons Interest though apparently from what Mom told me that Isn't even a stage for most drakinas since the interest happens before the first Need stage anyway.

However, she did tell me that whenever a drakina used their tail to intertwine with yours It was usually a sign that they were somewhat interested In you though there were other times when It was used as a greeting.

So that's something for me to think about given what happened back then.

The third and final stage Is called Dragons Mark and the reason why because apparently at this stage If a drakina and a dragon love each other as much as the other does then by the time this stage happens they'll proceed to mate with each other allowing the drakina to mark the dragon as their one and only mate for the rest of their lives.

However, there were times when apparently a drakina would get to their third stage but not actually be In love with the dragon that much and sometimes vice versa.

Mom told me that If that ever happened to me and I wasn't as interested as the drakina was then I would need to tell them so that way they can move on and find someone that would actually love them.

As harsh as It sounded to me I couldn't help but agree with what she said of course so I told her I would without a second thought which she was glad for.

However, after she moved on from that apparently according to her a drakes Need stage was completely different from a drakinas Need stage since not only does our first Need stage come much later than a drakinas stage too but our Need stage was pretty much the same as a Drakinas final Need stage.

Apparently, according to Mom drakes are more picky when It comes to choosing a dragon they would consider to be In love with which Is why we only have one stage, though they certainly wouldn't hide showing interest In one If they were interested as well according to her.

This usually leads to them having a sort of incomplete drakina version of the first Need stage where they would be more aware of everything that's appealing to them concerning that certain dragon whenever they're around them.

So yeah as I said a lot of information was learned from that one question.

That didn't really change anything between the four of us though, I mean yeah at first It was kinda awkward but some jokes made at Garble's expense and It was like nothing had ever happened.

Though, I don't know If It was because I was a dragon now or If I was going through that incomplete stage but the more we grew up around each other the more I would have to stop myself from, constantly checking her out.

It also didn't help that for some reason every time I looked at her I couldn't help but think of how she looked especially whenever I would linger over her now and again checking out, certain areas that have for lack of a better word, changed from when she was just a hatchling.

'Not to mention how her as-'

SMACK

I smacked myself as hard as possible In an attempt to distract myself from thinking while Ember turned around with Smolder holding on to the back of her head while her legs were hanging off of each of Ember's shoulders as they both looked at me confused.

"What was that?" Ember asked

"Nothing much thought I had a bug land on my face or something." I lied

"Oh uh alright I mean I hate bugs too but did you have to smack It that hard?" She asked

"Yep, because If I didn't It would just keep coming back to annoy me," I told her as she shrugged In response.

"Alright then I guess," She said before we went back to watch Garble and Smolder fly with each other as we lay down next to each other.

Ever since she got her wings she would always try to have Garble fly with her and he being the softy that he Is(even If he denies It) always went out of his way to indulge her which Is what was happening now as we laid down and watched, sometimes she would ask Ember and me even more but she always asked Garble the most.

When Garble asked her why that was she said she wasn't sure and that she guessed because flying felt the best when Garble did It with her.

Garble of course sent us the smuggest look he could send before Smolder reminded him that didn't make the best at everything though.

Needless to say, his pride crashed before It could ever rise after that.

"You know kinda reminds me when you were that ecstatic when you first got your wings," I said causing her to chuckle.

"Well, I mean how could I not? To a hatchling that's something special that they experience for the first time, to be allowed that sense of, of...." She trailed off trying to think of a word to use.

"Freedom?" I suggested

"Yes! That! That sense of freedom Is so well, freeing, funny enough, to be able to feel so many things at once by just doing something so simple as flying It's, amazing," She explained as I listened.

"What about you?" She asked startling me

"What about me?" I asked confused

"Do you have anything special to you, well more special than being reborn In a world that you know everything of?" She asked as I lay there thinking of what to say.
.
.
.
.
.
"You guys," I said as her eyes widened In shock.

"Really?" She asked surprised as I nodded

"Yeah, I'm not gonna lie being a dragon and being reborn In a world that I loved Is cool and all but to me, you guys make It so much better to live In," I said

"Garble being my brother was a shock to me at first but now I couldn't imagine my life without him, and I mean Smolder's like a little sister to us and I can already tell If she really wants to she's going to be someone who I can trust to have my back either In or out of a fight," I told her smiling all the while.

"And then there's you," I said as I shifted a bit closer to her, "I'm not going to lie when I first saw you I'd just assume that you would see me and I would see you and we'd just ignore each other," I admitted to her

"Why?" She asked confused as I grinned at her

"Come on really? Daughter of the Dragon Lord hanging out with a random drake, back then whenever I thought of that I'd just laugh and told myself 'as that'd ever happen'," I explained to her as I felt her tail slowly intertwine with mine.

"Well I don't know about you but I'm really glad I met you guys, especially you Falkor," She said as her cheeks slightly reddened meanwhile I could feel my cheeks heating up.

"U-uh yeah you, you too," I said stuttering causing her to giggle.

"What's wrong? Something bothering you?" She innocently asked

"N-Not really no," I said

"Oh ok then we'll as long as nothing's bothering you," She said before scooting closer to the point where our bodies were pressed up against each other.

"I am really glad I met you though." She said softly.

"Yeah, me too," I said as we went back to watch Garble and Smolder flying and having what seemed to be the best time of their life.

1 Year Later

I'm so tempted to just, go for It but I know that I just need to wait, just wait a little bit longer and then....I'll think of what to do when I get there.

Right now I was participating In the Migration that happened every 10 years for teenage dragons like me or for other adult dragons to go through in case they ever wanted to live somewhere else that wasn't the Dragon Lands.

Usually, when this happens It takes at least a week at most for It to be completed as It gives dragons the time they need to think, rest, and decide on whether or not they want to leave the group and join any of the civilizations or big empty spaces that we go past.

Thus why I'm very tempted since we were right now passing by Ponyville.

Now of course I wasn't going to abandon the people I care about but I'm also not going to lie and say It's not tempting to just go down there and see the ponies and dragon I adored the most on the show.

However, even If I wanted to I knew that I would need to stick to the script and just hope that things go like the show and then just wait until Spike arrived.

Though now that I think of It It kinda reminds me of when the world was plunged Into eternal darkness for the first time or when Discord turned the whole world Into his playground.

Yeah, I'm not going to lie when that happened I was fucking terrified and hoped that I wasn't In an alternate timeliness where Nightmare or Discord won and the worst part was that all I could do was sit here and wait In an attempt to keep the timelines the same.

Just another reminder that I have to stick to the script sometimes even If I don't want to.

I was almost tempted when Garble and Ember wanted to go and do something both times though thankfully I managed to convince them to let the ponies handle It for now until the problems resolved themselves after awhile meaning that so far we were on the right track.

'Speaking of Ember,' I thought to myself as I spotted Ember slowing down to position herself next to me.

1 year later and she was now the future Dragon Lord that I knew from the show as her horns were fully grown In and her body was slimmer than It ever was which only made her look better to me.

Not to say she didn't look amazing already but now It seems that everything about her seemed to improve In these past ten years.

'Especially with how much her thighs and as-'

"Falkor?" Ember called out as I shook my head trying to erase those thoughts from my mind.

"Y-Yeah?" I asked

"Was that the place?" She asked gesturing back over to Ponyville, "Is that where you know who Is?" She asked

"Yep, and If I remember correctly then after we get back to the Dragon Land that's when he'll come and make his way over to us," I said

"Really by himself? What about you know? Aren't they going to go with him or at least help!?" She asked sounding slightly upset

"Don't worry they're are going with him he just doesn't know that they are." I quickly explained

"Oh ok, well as long as he's being looked over while he's on his journey then that's fine." She said

"Well, anyways we're almost home anyways though I wonder Garble Is?" She asked out loud to herself.

"Eh, If anything he's probably just hanging out with Smolder like usual," I said

"Yeah I guess so, though there's been something bothering me," She said causing me to look at her worried.

"Why did something happen?" I asked concerned only to be confused when she shook her head.

"More like I'm worried that nothing has happened," She said leaving me even more confused.

"What do you mean isn't that a good thing that nothing has happened?" I asked

"No I don't mean that It's a bad thing but remember 8 years ago when we encountered that 'thing' while we were returning to the Dragon Lands?" She asked leaving me confused for a second until I understood what she meant.

"Oh yeah, but what about It?" I asked

"Well I mean Isn't it a bit concerning that we haven't seen anything like that ever since?" She asked

"I mean even when we went with Smolder to see If anything would happen they still didn't show up at all." She said

"Well, maybe It's because we kept our promise?" I suggested

"What promise?" She asked

"Well now that I think about It remember when we first saw It and It approached me?" I asked as she nodded

"Well, It also told us 'not to let them share our fate' and seeing as how old Smolder's gotten I'd say we've kept our promise on keeping her from sharing their fate and since that was probably the only reason It approached us now It has no reason to contact us anymore," I told her as she seemed to think It over for a second.

"I guess that's fair though after Spike leaves to go back we need to go with him so that way we can discuss with the pony princess what to do concerning him," Ember finished with venom In her voice.

"Princesses, remember the other one returned a couple of months ago." I reminded her

"Oh yeah, still need to get used to that." She said

"Also not to mention that somedragon still needs to be reunited with some pony," I said flexing the finger that had the ring on It.

"Right, forgot she and her had history," Ember admitted

"Glad you didn't forget about me." Aesthyr said

[Never, you're pretty much one of us now,] I told her being honest.

"Well anyways I should probably get back up to where Dad could see me before he starts complaining, you know how he Is," Ember said

"Don't remind me I mean, I still remember when he found us together that one time during your first Need stage I mean could you imagine If we actually did what he thought we did?" I asked sarcastically

"Sometimes," She said whispering something I couldn't hear over everything else.

"What did you say?" I asked as her eyes widened and her cheeks turned red.

"Oh nothing I'm gonna gonowokbye," She said quickly before making her way back up to where I couldn't see her.

"Huh, hope she's ok," I said slightly confused.

1 Week Later

"Ok, here we go I think, unless we missed him, do you think we missed him?" Oh, I hope we didn't miss him," I said slightly getting more and more paranoid.

Right now we were inside the crater-like area that was shown In the show where Spike first arrived while Ember and Garble were somewhere else digging for gems to eat waiting for us to come back with Spike.

"Falkor I love you and everything but this is embarrassing that I'm the youngest one here and I'm calmer than you are right now," Smolder said now fully looking like her show counterpart.

"You don't understand Smolds," I said not noticing her looking embarrassed when I used her nickname, "Spike was one of the characters In the story that I liked and rooted for the most so to be able to get to talk him now Is still hard for me to wrap my head around," I explained to her as she raised an eyebrow.

"But yet you can talk to me perfectly fine though?" She asked

"That's not the same your practically my little sister and besides we've been with each other for years now we know each other but I don't know Spike," I said waving her off.

"Not little anymore," She grumbled causing me to smirk as I rubbed her head.

"No, but you're still my sister," I said as she pushed away my arm.

"Blegh love, disgusting," She said while acting disgusted as I just rolled my eyes.

"Oh be quiet you know you love It," I said causing her to giggle.

"I guess I do just try not to freak him out and act like a normal dragon around him." She said

"Since when did you start telling me what to do?" I asked sarcastically

"Since you started acting like you were going crazy over the mere thought of him," She responded grinning.

"Oh shut up," I said which just caused her to grin more.

"Alright! Teenage dragons! Now that's more my speed, and size."

"Why don't you make me," Smolder said trying to egg me on.

"Alright but remember you asked for this," I said as her eyes widened before she got into position preparing herself.

"Alright! Haven't done this In a while," She said sounding excited which caused me to roll my eyes.

"We did this last week," I said

"And that was long enough," She said as her face suddenly turned serious before suddenly flying straight at me with her claws at the ready.

Now when we started Including Smolder In our little fighting sessions we knew that If she wanted to fight with us In the future then we knew that she was going to have to learn how to use her height to her advantage since sometimes It was going to work against and not for her and that meant not playing fair.

Though from how when I tried to punch her with my right hand but failed as she suddenly stopped flying and positioned herself to land on her feet while ducking under my punch and slashing at my side hitting my scales I think she was learning pretty well In my opinion.

Though our little spar with each other would have to end prematurely once I heard the voice I'd been waiting for.

"Um excuse me," A voice says causing us to pause what were doing as we turn our attention to a slightly pudgy purple and green hatchling who had light green frill-like appendages on each side of his face while he was carrying a red and white table cloth with a stick looking up at us nervously.

"Um hi, I'm Spike."

Operation: Dragon Quest Is A Go

It's happening.

It's really happening Isn't It?

After 20 years of being born In this world One of the dragons I've been wanting to meet my entire life Is now standing In front of me.

Spike The Dragon Is here Infr-

"Uhh hello? A-Am I interrupting something?" Spike asked nervously as I shook my head to focus on the situation.

"Well not to sound like a jerk but yes you did, was there a reason you interrupted us because my brother and I were In the middle of doing something," She said sounding slightly annoyed.

"O-Oh sorry for bothering you two It's just to make a long story short I came from Ponyville following the dragons migrating back here to try and learn what It means to be a dragon!" He said looking somewhat determined and excited towards the end of his sentence.

"You're from Ponyville?" Smolder asked curious to which Spike nodded hesitantly

"Hmm, what's It like there?" She asked

"Oh, well excluding both times when the town and the world were threatened Twilight and I have enjoyed living there so far," Spike said honestly

"Twilight? Is that one of your pony friends or something?" Smolder asked

"Uh, she's not really a friend she's more kinda like......um.....well I don't know what exactly to call her but what I do know Is that we care about each other a lot." He said confidently.

"Huh, ok then," Smolder said shrugging her arms.

"So Spike you said you wanted to know what It means to be a dragon right?" I asked to which he nodded his head up and down rapidly.

"Well I mean In my opinion there isn't any special purpose to being a dragon, but guessing on how you've been living with ponies this entire time we can show you what It's like to live as a dragon though I don't know If Its all that interesting?" I suggested

"Y-Yeah! I would like that," He said looking grateful and excited.

"Yeah sure no problem," I say turning as we all begin walking, "but first, let me introduce you to my friends," I said smiling all the while

"Ember! Garble! We're back, and with somedragon else!" I call out to them as I see them pausing what looks to be their own little fight.

"Still annoyed our fight got interrupted," Smolder grumbled

"Oh uh sorry," Spike apologized causing Smolder to sigh.

"It's fine, not like we can't have one later I was just starting to get In the mood that time," Smolder said as Ember and Garble walked up to us.

"Hey guys," Ember greeted before landing her eyes on Spike," Whose this?" She asked

"This little hatchling Is Spike, he came from Ponyville to learn what It means to be a dragon," I explained causing Ember's and Garble's eyes to widen a bit before they were able to hide It.

"H-Hello," Spike said nervously

"Hey, what's that?" Ember asked pointing at the little bindle Spike was carrying

"Oh nothing just a few sandwiches I packed with me before I came here," he said as he sat down before unwrapping the tablecloth.

"Want one?" He said offering one to her.

"Su-"

"I wouldn't mind thanks for offering," Garble said pushing Ember to the side before snatching the sandwich from Spike and eating It.

"Wha- hey!" Ember yelled causing Garble to turn around to face her as he kept chewing.

"Mmeah?" He asked as he continued to chew.

"That was mine you jerk," Ember said annoyed as Garble finished eating.

"Well you snooze you lose as Falkor says," Garble said grinning before I smacked him on the back of his head.

"Ow! What was that for!?" Garble questioned

"You know exactly what that was for don't act like you're innocent," I said annoyed

"I-It's ok I still have more to share," Spike said

"See, problem solved," Garble said smiling causing Smolder and Ember to facepalm.

"Garble besides what exactly did you plan to do when you came here?" I asked acting curious

"I uh, I'm not sure really, I honestly didn't think I'd get this far," Spike admitted

"Well If you want we ca-" I begin to say only to cut myself off as I begin to hear something rapidly flying towards me.

'Is that- Oh Goddammint' I think to myself as I begin to open my shield up while I turn to face where the noise Is coming from just In time to block Viserion's attempt at a sneak attack.

"Hey Falky~," Viserion said as I began to shift the shield In an attempt to shift his weight making It easier for me to throw him off which ended up being successful as we all watched him tumble a bit before he was able to catch himself and stand back up like nothing happened.

Surprisingly enough after our fight 10 years ago, Viserion seemed to grow calmer over the years making him somewhat normal to be around even though Ember and Garble still have their reservations about him which I don't blame since I do as well, but surprisingly he's not that bad to be around when he decides to once In a blue moon hang around with us, only took 13 years but that's not important.

Another thing that I've realized Is that he also never seemed to bring that other dragon that was with him the first time we fought around anymore, why? I have no idea but to be honest that dragon attacked my brother when he wasn't paying attention so I couldn't care less about him though I hope he's doing ok at least.

Anyways you would think since Viserion calmed down over the years he would also stop asking to fight me.

Nope, instead he seemed to jump from annoying me into a fight to just initiating himself by doing these surprise attacks to catch me off guard.

Though as much as It annoys me he seems to actually listen to me now whenever I tell him there were times I didn't want to fight which, I'm not going to lie Is still taking some time to get used to.

Every time I did for some reason, he would look at me with this shit-eating grin and walk away following what I told him yet every time I couldn't help but feel like something inside of me was building and getting angrier the more I let him walk away as It felt like something was telling me that I somehow let him win and get the last laugh somehow.

Then every once In a while If he did catch me by surprise something Inside of me would just snap leading to us fighting each other until we both felt satisfied which confused me even more.

Another annoying fact Is after the first few times he caught me off guard It started to help me a bit by forcing me to listen out for anything around me more To keep anything from surprising me less, though I know If I told him that would only encourage him to do these attacks more.

"Viserion, can we not today I'm In the middle of something right now," I said exasperated causing him to frown.

"It seems like you're always In the middle of somethi-, wait a minute," He says interrupting himself as he spots Spike," Whose the whelp?" He asked sounding genuinely curious.

"His name Is Spike and he's hanging out with us for a while," I said slightly annoyed.

"U-uh excuse me, who Is that?" Spike asked me

"Oh this Is Viserion, a dragon who for some reason thinks fighting me Is one of the best things to happen to him," I said rolling my eyes.

"Well I mean If any other dragon could fight me the same way you do then maybe I wouldn't be constantly coming back to fight you now and again," He said grinning as he walked over to us, "Though, seeming as how I'm still here I think me and you know that hasn't happened yet." He said

"And like I've said before I don't fight any different than how other dragons fight you just seemed to be obsessed with me for some reason," I said pinching the bridge of my snout.

"And just like last time you're still wrong and I can prove It with just one thing," Viserion said confidently.

"Really? Fine, I'll bite, what can you come up with that proves I fight differently?" I question wondering what he'll attempt to come up with.

"That," He said pointing as I followed his finger to my arms.

"What my arms?" I asked confused

"No that thing on your wrist that gets bigger." He clarifies

"What about It?" I asked still confused

"You say you don't fight any different yet you have something that you use that not only defends yourself but something you can attack with as well and, unless I'm wrong I haven't seen any other dragon do something like that," He explained as my eyes widened at his observation.

"As much as I hate to admit that Viserion's right for once, he sorta Is Falkor," Garble said rubbing the back of his head.

"You are the only dragon who would have something like this, not to mention when the time calls for it. You are also pretty smart at times as well," Ember said looking away.

"Not that that's a bad thing by any means I'm glad you're not somedragon dumb like Garble," She said as she ignored him crying out hey In offense, "But like Garble said as much as I hate to admit It Visrerion does sorta have a point." She said

"See? Even your companions think the same thing and that's why I like fighting you, not only do you think and fight differently than the other dragons do but It seems like every time we do fight It's like we're fighting for the first time over and over again." Viserion said

"Almost like a breath of fresh air every time we fight, like there's something new to experience that never goes away when we do," Viserion explains shocking me and everyone else with his explanation as he looks at us with a self-satisfied grin.

"So yeah, like I've said plenty of times before, only you make me feel this alive every time we fight." He said

"Wow, didn't think you were capable of thinking of anything else but fighting In that tiny brain of yours," Garble said

"I have my moments, unlike a certain dragon I know," Viserion said grinning

"U-Um Is fighting that important for dragons?" Spike asked as Viserion looked at him like he was stupid.

"Is fi-"

"No," I say glaring at Viserion as he seems to get the message by rolling his eyes before I focus back on Spike, "Fighting Is not that important for dragons, It's at most an activity that some dragons like to participate In or watch," I explained to him

"So dragons constantly fight each other just to pass the time!?" Spike asked Incredulously to which I nodded.

"That doesn't sound that nice If I'm being honest," Spike admitted as Viserion scoffed.

"You know Falkor If I didn't know different colors existed I'd assume he was related to you the way the both of you seem to be allergic to the idea of fighting." Viserion snarked

"Well, why fight If you can just settle things by talking to each other?" I asked him as he proceeded to groan.

"Maker above are you sure you're a real dragon?" Viserion sarcastically asked

"Well If you want I can rip those wings off of you to make sure just In case I wasn't one I wouldn't be alone In that case," I said annoyed

"Don't threaten me with a good time Falkor," He said grinning causing me to sigh In annoyance.

"You know what I give up," I said focusing back on Spike who seemed to be mostly confused about what he just heard.

"Anyways as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted," I say glaring back at Visrerion who only shrugs back In response, "If you want we can just hang out and do some stuff that me and my companions do to have fun," I offered as Spike smiled In response.

"I would like that a lot!" He said enthusiastically causing me to chuckle while the others except Viserion smiled.

"Well alright let's not waste any time then," I say rubbing my hands, "Since we're going to be just relaxing what better way than to go to Volcanic Caves," I said smiling before pausing as I looked back at him.

"Though now that I think of It you might have to hitch a ride with one of us since you don't have any wings yourself Spike," I said to him causing him to look behind him slightly disappointed.

"Right, well uh, Is It ok If I ride with you then Falkor?" Spike asked causing my eyes to widen In surprise

"U-Uh yeah sure I don't mind," I said slightly stuttering, "Just make sure wherever you grab a hold on won't make me lose focus on flying," I told him as I got down on one knee waiting for him.

"Ok give me a minute," Spike said as he proceeded to wrap the tablecloth containing the rest of the sandwiches back around the stick before making his way over to me before pausing.

"What's wrong?" I asked him as he looked embarrassed.

"Well, I was just wondering If It wasn't too much trouble If you could hold my stuff so that way I won't lose It when we're flying over there?" Spike asked closing his eyes as I smiled down at him.

"Sure Spike I don't mind," I say grabbing the stick from him as he looks on In slight shock before sighing In relief.

"Thanks, Falkor, the tablecloth Is Twilight's and I really didn't want to lose It after she was able to convince the others to let me go on this journey for myself," Spike said as he made his way on my back wrapping two arms around my neck enough for him to get a good grip.

"No problem Spike, Now are you ready to fly?" I asked him grinning as he looked back at me excitedly.

"Yeah!" He said excited

"Alright then, you coming Viserion or not?" I asked

"Nah, no point If I can't get a fight In, see you losers later," He said before proceeding to fly off somewhere else.

"Well, I tried let's go everydragon," I say as we begin flying upwards before we make our way back over to the Volcanic Caves once again.

Author's Note

Hey again sorry for making you wait, again, for another short and probably rushed chapter but I've recently been feeling out of It and Its kinda getting to the point of annoying me alot so I'm just going to say that I do want to stick to my 5 day schedule but as proven I might sometimes take longer If something Is really bothering me so again I'm sorry for the lack of updates and also If the chapter feels rushed I am also sorry about that as well.

Also I know I posted a blog saying a small break I might still do It but I just wanted to get this chapter I was working on out first just to clear any confusion.

Though ANYWAYS ignoring that unimportant information like always comment what you liked or hated about the chapter I would really appreciate It If you did doesn't matter If Its about what you liked or what I need to improve on as long as you comment.

Also, If you didn't like how Spike was written I'm sorry this Is my first time writing Spike so knowing me I probably screwed It up so sorry about that as well, though I hope you were still able to enjoy It anyways, hopefully.

Other than that see ya sometime In the future!

Nice Talk

"Wooooooow, you were right Falkor these lava baths are the beeeeeeest," Spike said enjoying the lava bath the both of us were currently enjoying while the other three were hanging out doing something else due to Smolders insistence on having some time with just the three of them.

Although there wasn't much to show him even by going to a hotspot most dragons go to he still seemed to be enjoying everything we showed him anyway, especially including stuffing himself full of any gems he found.

"Well I would hope I'm right considering I've been living here my whole life," I said grinning as I enjoyed the lava bath.

"Your whole life huh?" Spike said sounding wistful

"You ok?" I asked a bit concerned

"I..yes? It's just that before one of Twilight's friends pointed something out to me I never really questioned living with ponies before, though now that I'm here In the Dragon Lands enjoying everything you've guys shown me, I can't help but constantly question In my head how different my life would be If I grew up here around other dragons instead of around ponies." Spike explained

"Not to mention I still don't even know who or where I came from," Spike said crossing his arms as he sounded upset.

"You know, I asked Twilight about where I came from, but even though I've been with her my whole life all she was able to tell me was that I was given to her as an egg, she didn't know who I came from or who else had my egg before her," Spike said sighing sounding frustrated as he sank a bit lower Into the lava.

"That sounds rough Spike," I said not knowing what else to say.

"I just, want to find answers to my questions, the ones I've been asking myself ever since I realized that I don't even really know myself as well as I thought I did," Spike said deflating

"Jeez Spike, how long has this been on your mind?" I asked deeply concerned now seeing as the show never really went into depth on how bothered he was about his life.

"After Twilight's friends teased me for being not like a dragon," Spike said distracted before recognizing what he said as he stood up from out of the lava, "Not saying they were bullying me just that they meant It as a joke but..." Spike said trailing off

"It still bothered you In the end," I said finishing for him as he hesitantly nodded.

"Look Spike, I'm not going to lie that does sound a bit messed up but It's also not my business as well, If you're sure they didn't mean anything by It then I'll trust your word," I said as Spike sighed In relief.

"But," I said as Spike froze, "I'm going to tell you right now that just because you're not big and strong like other dragons It means nothing, not to Garble, not to Ember, not to Smolder, and It most definitely means nothing to me," I said as sincerely and seriously as I could as I then got up, walked over, and sat near him.

"You, are perfectly fine how you are, If you want to try and improve yourself then by all means go ahead, but no matter what any other creature tells you you are already, In my eyes, what It means to be a dragon," I finished seeing his eyes begin to tear up before he charged Into my stomach and wrapped his tiny arms as far as he could around me.

"T-Thanks Falkor, that, m-means so much to me," Spike said slightly stuttering as I wrapped my arms back around him.

"You're welcome Spike," I said as I lightly patted his back, "Your welcome," I said

10 minutes later

"You doing better?" I asked Spike as he now looked slightly embarrassed

"Y-Yeah I'm good now, sorry for suddenly hugging you earlier," Spike said as I waved him off.

"Nothing to apologize for Spike," I reassured him

"Though with that out of the way what do you want to do now?" I asked him as he seemed to be In thought.

"Well I don't know really, I kinda was hoping to figure out where I came from but I've been getting distracted a lot because of all of the dragon-exclusive stuff I've been missing out on," Spike admitted

"There's no problem In that, though I guess the best way to figure that out is If we go see Dragon Lord Torch," I said as Spike looked nervous.

"A-Are you sure some other dragon else might not know anything about where I came from?" Spike asked hopefully

"Well I mean he might be the best option since It's his job to keep an eye on any dragon eggs that are born In the Dragon Lands, actually speaking of eggs do you know what color yours Is?" I asked trying to sound curious.

"Oh yeah of course It's purple just like me, well almost like me since I'm purple and green but you get the point," Spike said waving his hand In a dismissive gesture.

"Anyways Twilight gave me a piece of my egg on my birthday to keep so that way, no matter what I would always have something that belonged to me and me alone," Spike said sounding nostalgic.

"That sounds nice of her Spike," I said smiling as he smiled back.

"Yeah she really Is, well when she isn't stressed out over a report that Is," Spike said chuckling

"Uhh, what were we talking about again?" Spike asked embarrassed

"We were talking about why going to the Dragon Lord might be the best option If you want to ask anydragon about anything concerning your past," I reminded him as he suddenly looked nervous again.

"O-Oh right, are you really sure there isn't any other dragon to ask?" Spike asked sounding slightly desperate.

"Well I mean I do bu-," I begin to say only for Spike to cut me off at the revelation I just dropped on him.

"You do!? Whatdoyouknow?Howdoyouknow?How long a-," Spike said In disbelief as he rapidly began spouting question after question before I also cut him off.

"Woah woah Spike calm down," I said cutting him off before he looked away sheepishly.

"Sorry It's just since that was one of my main reasons for coming here and add on the fact that I've been getting distracted so much I don't really want to waste any more time," Spike said as I raised an eyebrow at him, "Ok and I also don't want to see the Dragon Lord because I'm scared to see how big he Is happy?" Spike said slightly irritated.

"Hey I'm not judging you that's fine by me, but I just don't want you getting your hopes up since I don't really know much concerning you," I explained

"Trust me anything you can tell me will already be way more than what Twilight was able to provide me with," Spike said sounding annoyed.

"Wouldn't you want to go to the Dragon Lord then since he might know more about your situation?" I questioned him

"Well I mean yeah but It's just-"

"Just what Spike? What's wrong?" I asked gently

"I just don't want to see him, I know It's stupid and I know that It would make more sense to see him rather than ask you about It but I just don't want to ok," Spike said as he looked away causing me to sigh.

"Ok Spike, If you're not ready for that yet then I won't push you," I said as he looked shocked for a second before looking more revived and thankful that I agreed.

"Thank you Falkor, again, sorry that I'm being stupid but-"

"Stop that, It's not stupid, It's not your fault you don't want to see a dragon that size on your first time here In a foreign land where you haven't been before, you don't need to blame yourself because I'm sure no othercreature does, I say you've already done enough making your way here on your own," I told him as seriously as possible.

"I, jeez Falkor you certainly know what to say to make somecreature feel better about themself," Spike said smiling

"It's easy to say if it's true," I simply said smiling back at him.

"Heh, thanks, though now that we have that out of the way, not to sound rude but could you know...?" Spike said trailing off as he did a 'go on gesture with his hand.

"Well alright but remember like I said I might not be able to tell you everything since I don't know much about you and most of this Is probably going to be conclusions I came to on my own," I clarify as he shakes his head rapidly urging me to get on with It.

"Well from what I remember there was a time when me and my companions were riding with these ponies who seemed to be on a mission from Princess Celestia?" I said acting unsure as I saw Spike's eyes widen.

"Waitwaitwait, Princess Celestia!?" Spike said Incredulously

"Yeahhhh?" I said continuing the act as Spike seemed to be In thought.

"Did they say what mission they were sent on by her?" He asked

"Well from what I remember they," I pause hesitating unsure If I should share this piece of information with him.

"They what!?" Spike asked desperately as I sighed

"They, said that they were sent on a mission to pick up an egg from Dragon Lord Torch since they were told that the mother of the egg had died and the father disappeared, and seeing as no other dragon would take It In as their own I'm guessing Princess Celestia and Dragon Lord Torch must have had some sort of agreement to deal with the lonesome egg," I recalled to him

"Well I mean ok but what does that have to do with me?" Spike asked confused as I grimaced.

"When me and my companions were coming back from a little trip of ours we had entered Dragon Lord Torch's cave and inside I saw the same ponies except now Dragon Lord Torch was handing them an egg that they took with them, one that was purple," I explained as I could see the gears In his head turn until his eyes widened as soon as he realized what that meant.

"Wait, so you mean that egg whose mother died and father disappeared was......mine?" He asked hesitantly almost sounding like he didn't want to believe It as I gave him a simple nod.
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"Oh," Was all he said before he became quiet seeming deep In thought.

"How..do you feel?" I asked not knowing exactly what else to say.

"I...I don't know, I feel a lot of things." Spike simply said

"I just, why did Princess Celestia never tell me any of this? If she knew where I came from why wouldn't she tell me? Why wouldn't she at least tell Twilight considering she's the one who was In charge of me when I was born?" He asked out loud

"I don't know, that might have to be something you ask her yourself," I said being honest

"Yeah, especially with Twilight considering her mentor whom she trusts with her life kept something from her. " Spike said sighing

"Thank you for telling me this Falkor, I don't know why but I feel like If I never met you and the others something tells me I would never find out exactly why I was born In Canterlot instead of the Dragon Lands," Spike said as I chuckled In my head.

'You have no idea, Spike,' I thought to myself as I focused back on him.

"Don't worry about It Spike, at least now you have some answers to some of your questions," I said

"Yeah I do, and that's thanks to you Falkor, I'm really glad you've been nice to me since I thought dragons would be meaner when I arrived here, eh no offense," Spike said sheepishly

"None taken, I could see how you reached that conclusion since there are other dragons that are worse than I am though thankfully you haven-"

"OHHHHH FALKKYYYYY~ and others," I heard a voice say as I focused my attention on Viserion and a.........

Oh no.

"I was around flying when I saw this dragon slowly making their way through the Dragon Lands and seeing as how you weren't going to I decided to see If they would be up to fight me," Viserion said grabbing the dragon by the neck as the rest of their body dragged along the ground.

"Now imagine my surprise that not only did they deny me a fight but they were also looking for the hatchling, but you want to know something even more crazy?" He questioned as he suddenly threw the dragon near us before digging his claws into the back of the neck as he ripped It open revealing three anthropomorphic Ponies huddling together.

"They're not even a dragon." He said grinning

Author's Note

Sorry for another short chapter but I thought that my cousin would leave today and seeing as he hasn't I decided to just try and get this out, also I have something slightly important to ask.

Ever since I canceled my other story I've always wanted to go back and remake my changeling story since now I have more of an understanding how to slightly write an ok story that people can enjoy so I was wondering If you guys would be fine with me putting this story on pause for a bit so that I could work on my changeling story for a bit.

If not then that's fine, but If you guys don't mind then I'll still update this story but I probably going to do something where sometimes I'll update my changeling story and sometimes I'll update this one.

ANYWAYS, other than that like always comment what you like or despise and I'll read It because that's the only thing driving me forwards Is what you guys think about each chapter.

Other then that see ya!

Well That Happened

Embers POV

"LET ME GO! THIS IS WHAT HE WANTED RIGHT!? LET US FINISH THE FIGHT! IF HE WANTS TO THREATEN THE PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT FOR THIS THEN I'LL KEEP GIVING HIM A FIGHT HE'LL NEVER FUCKING FORG-," Was the last thing Falkor said before something hit him In the head causing him to fall unconscious.

"Falkor!? FALKOR!?" I scream out In panic slightly shaking him him as I wait for him to respond hearing all of the other dragons leave the area In the meantime.
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Nothing.

"What did you do to him!?" I hear Garble question with his fangs bared as I turn my attention to him stomping over towards the ponies.

"I-I put him to sleep before he could continue! If he kept going he would've probably killed him!" The purple one said In shock.

"We had It handled, and besides last I checked this dragon right here was threatening to open your friend up If not for Falkor so why would you care about him?" Garble questioned bluntly

"And we understand that darling, but care Isn't exactly the word I'd use for this situation, more like I'm pretty sure that Twilight didn't think that he needed to continue t-to mutilate him after he had already won and I'm pretty sure we can all agree with her after what he just did to him!" The white one said disturbed and looking a bit green.

"Well guess what, what happened to him," Smolder said gesturing to Viserion's body, "Is because of something that has been going on between these two longer than when you three arrived here ok? He had this coming for a long time, even longer than I was born, so If you got a problem with It then you can leave, clearly you aren't needed here anymore," Smolder said joining Garble.

"Sounds like the best thing I've heard since getting here right Spike?" The blue one said as she looked towards Spike only for him to hesitate and look off to the side.

"Spike?" 'Twilight' said now facing toward him as he twiddled his fingers.

"W-Well I-If I'm being honest I still want to stay here a bit longer," Spike said
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"WHAT!?" They all yelled out In shock causing Spike to shrink In on himself.

"Spike you can't be serious, did you not see what this guy just did to him!?" The blue one questioned

"I agree, as much as we appreciate him coming to our rescue I'm afraid If you stay around these dragons you might adopt some of their, clearly barbaric, traits," The white one explained as I narrowed my eyes at her blatant insult.

Though It seemed as if I wasn't alone as Spike suddenly frowned before narrowing his eyes at her.

"What's that supposed to mean Rarity?" Spike asked crossing his arms as 'Rarity' spluttered for a second.

"W-Well-"

"It means that you might resort to clawing creatures' eyes out If you stay around these dragons any longer," The blue one interrupted as Spike's eyes widened.

"Are you serious!? You really believe that!?" Spike questioned In disbelief.

"Kinda hard not to Spike!" The blue one said before gesturing over towards me and Falkor, "In case you forgot we just watched him stick his finger In someponies ey-"

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN I'D START DOING IT JUST BECAUSE I DECIDED TO HANG AROUND THEM MORE!" Spike yelled out In frustration shocking everycreature with his sudden outburst.

"Also, in case YOU forgot like YOU said If It wasn't for him you probably wouldn't even be standing here right now!" Spike pointed out angrily.

"And we understand that Spikey-Wikey bu-"

"But what Rarity? What exactly do you understand? That even though this dragon had no reason to risk their life for you you can only focus on the fact that they clawed someponies eye out instead, making them some sort of irredeemable monster?" Spike questioned

"Seems like It to me," Garble said

"No Spike that's not at all what we're trying to say!" The purple one insisted

"Well, then what ARE you trying to say Twilight? Cause you're not making any sense to me right now," Spike said sounding frustrated.

"We're not saying that we don't appreciate what he did because we do, and I also know that If It wasn't for us then things would've probably gone smoother here for you," 'Twilight' explained causing me to huff at the accuracy of her statement.

"But Spike you can't honestly stand here and tell me that what he did to that other dragon wasn't cruel and unnecessary," Twilight said as Spike looked away.

"I never said It wasn't Twilight, of course, that was, horrible to watch, but even so that doesn't mean that their just brutal monsters." Spike pointed out

"Well dear that's not what we said." 'Rarity' said

"No but that's what you were implying, I mean come on, Smolder even said that this," He said gesturing over towards me, "Is the result of something that happened between them and from just the little bit I've seen I'm pretty sure Its because of that purple drake over there, even when I first got here he just attacked Falkor out of nowhere," Spike explained

"Also let's not forget that we are not In Ponyville anymore, how we solve things are different than how things are solved In the Dragon Lands, so while It might seem, cruel, to us that's probably how they solve things over here and there's nothing we can do about that," Spike explained stunning everycreature including me with his explanation as he rolled his eyes.

"Just because I'm young doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about, of all ponies, you should know this Twilight," He said jokingly before frowning again.

"Did I like what Falkor did to him, no of course not, but that doesn't mean that I'm just going to abandon him either when I know that he's probably the only creature who was kind enough to show me how dragons did things and also offer to help me figure out where I came from as well," Spike explained crossing his arms looking back over towards us.

"Uhh, not to say you guys also aren't cool as well it's just-"

"Heh, calm down Spike we get what you mean," I interrupted before he could get started to be like Falkor would whenever he gets flustered, "And as much as It annoys me sometimes Falkor Is the nicest dragon you'll probably ever meet," I admitted as Smolder and Garble gave their agreements before I looked towards 'Twilight.'

"If I'm being honest I don't care what you think about us pony, If It was me I would've ripped his throat out years ago just to get him to stop bothering us because of how irritating he was when he would constantly try to fight, but It was only because of HIM," I said gesturing at his unconscious body as I continued, "That I refrained from doing so, what you saw today was him being pushed to his breaking point when Viserion came after us," I explained

"What Ember said, I mean If It was me I would've let Falkor finish him off and be done with It but HE was the one who wanted us to stop him If he started going too far," Smoldee explained before snorting out a puff of smoke, "And here I thought he probably wouldn't need It considering how soft he usually Is with us, look how well that went," Smolder said smiling down at him as she crossed her arms.

"He's not a monster, but push him far and, heh, well you've seen firsthand what he does to creatures that do," Garble finished off grinning.

"See? Even the dragons with 'barbaric' traits admit that Falkor doing this was a first for him, In a way, It's kinda like when I let my greed take control of me for the first time," Spike said shocking me and the others before I began to hear groaning near me as I see Viserion begin to wake up drawing my attention away from the others.

"How nice of you to join us," I said sarcastically as he looked at me.

"P-Princess Ember?" He said sounding tired as he moved his head around.

"Wh-Why can't I-"

"See out of your left eye? It's because you oh so brilliantly decided to go after the creatures that Falkor cared about instead of just leaving things alone, and he repaid you by ripping your eye apart, should've done more If you asked me," I said muttering the last bit as he seemed to be deep In thought.

"Huh, to be honest, I was starting to think he didn't have It In him," He said putting his hand next to his destroyed eye before hissing In pain drawing the attention of the others.

"Well, well, look who decided to join us," Garble said with fake innocence as he crouched near him, "Have a nice nap?" He asked sarcastically as Viserion didn't answer before slowly turning towards Garble with a grin.

"You know what, I think I did," He said causing Garble to groan out loud.

"I swear there's no break with you, can literally take this guy's eye out and yet he'll still act like he won In the end," Garble complained

"Oh, Sweet Celestia I forgot how bad It actually looked," 'Rarity' said turning away from him.

"Uh, Mr. Dragon sir I think you might want to get your eye checked so that way you know you don't die from infection or anything," Twilight said as Viserion waved her off.

"I'll deal with It later, but I'm curious about what's wrong with him?" He asked gesturing to Falkor.

"Asleep, because of the purple pony, actually speaking of," I said turning my head towards 'Twilight', "Would you mind?" I said gesturing towards Falkor as she quickly got the message.

"O-oh right of course," She said before her horn started to glow as I felt Falkor begin to shift In my grasp slowly waking up as his dark red eyes finally opened back up allowing us to get lost in each other's eyes for a while until I spoke.

"Hey there, finally awake huh?"

Author's Note

I'm so sorry for taking so long only to release a very short chapter, If I'm being honest I'm starting to feel more and more lazy wanting to play my games and read fanfics rather than focus on writing my own but I promise that no matter what I will not abandon this fic, EVEN IF I MUST DIE FOR IT.

Also my birthday was today so yay!

Other than that again I'm very sorry for making you guys wait so long for something so short though I hope you'll still be able to slightly enjoy It If anything since I haven't written in a good week so It might not be that good If I'm being honest.

Though you know the usual comment whatever you liked or didn't like pleaseiliveforyourguyscomments.

Other than that see ya!

Operation Successful?

Author's Note

Hope everyone's doing ok, sorry for being slightly late but I was feeling down and decided to finish this chapter today instead of yesterday but don't worry about that because I'm feeling better now.

Though enough about me you guys have a chapter to read and I won't hold you guys up.

So like always comment what you liked or disliked and I'll either do whatever I can to improve or either read over what you guys commented since that's literally one of the only things I look forward to after making these.

See ya next time!

Operation Successful?

Falkors POV

"-p," I faintly hear something say as I start waking up.

"-Up," I hear again as I start to flutter open my eyes allowing them to focus on the figure In front of me revealing-

"WAKE UP!" Aesthyr screams out as my eyes widen In surprise and I hastily sit up.

"I'M UP! I'M UP!" I yell out as I try to catch my breath, "Jesus, did you have to scare me like that?" I asked slightly irritated

"Well I mean If you wanted I could kick you awake, that might have worked better," She said grinning as I rolled my eyes.

"Anyways why I am back here?" I ask out loud

"Wowwww, you know If you didn't want to see me you could just say so and not be an ass about It," Aesthyr said as my eyes widen In shock.

"N-No that's not what I meant at all I just me-," I'm suddenly cut off from my attempt to explain myself as I see Aesthyr laughing out loud.

"Y-Yeah, yeah I k-know hatchling I'm just yanking your tail," She said catching her breath as I now felt annoyed.

"Anyways I don't know as much as you do but while we are here why not catch up for a bit?" She suggested

"..Yeah why not," I said as she took a seat on the sand next to me as we sat In silence for a bit.
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"So..." She starts before going quiet.

"So what?" I asked as she looked unsure.

"I, I know that I shouldn't rush you but when are we going to see Luna?" She asked

"I know that you have stuff you want to do, especially concerning that little hatchling you seem to want to watch over," She said grinning causing me to blush In embarrassment before her grin fell.

"But It just, I wo-"

"Hey, don't worry about It, we can go now," I said as she looked over at me In shock.

"R-Really!?" She asked In shock.

"Yeah, besides you have a point anyways," I said standing up, "You've waited long enough anyways," I said offering her a hand as she looked on In shock as she took It.

"Thanks." She said sincerely

"I'll get you to Luna, don't worry," I said as I started to feel everything around us shake.

"Guess It's time to go, huh?" I said

"Yep, make sure to hold up your end of the deal," She said acting distrustful.

"Don't worry, I will," I said before everything turned black.

As soon as I started waking up I could feel something underneath me as I shuffled around trying to determine what It was before giving up and resorting to opening my eyes as the first thing I see I get lost in peering into red-orange eyes belonging to Ember.

"Hey there, finally awake huh?" Ember asks as I finally wake up causing me to snort at the unintentional joke.

"Yeah, I sure am now," I said causing her to blush a little bit before I started making my way to stand up.

"Easy now, you just got done fighting Viserion a couple of minutes ago," She said as my eyes widened before cringing at remembering what I did to him.

"Oh, uhh, how, how Is he doing actually?" I asked

"As fine as somedragon who got their eye ripped apart can," I hear him say behind me before he walks In front of us revealing the damage done.

"And before you start getting all feely weely as you do with your family and Princess Ember don't." He said

"Good, cause I wasn't going to, not after the shit you tried to pull back there," I said angry over that shocking him a bit before I make my way over to him.

"Also, let me make this clear for you," I said before grabbing his throat and shoving him back Into the wall causing a crack to appear behind him as I saw the air leave his lungs from the impact.

"I've dealt with your shit for 7 years now and as much as I was annoyed dealing with It nothing ever came out of It so I didn't care about It that much but let me tell you something," I said baring my fangs.

"If you EVER try some shit like that again just for a fucking fight," I said squeezing my grip more tightly as I get closer to him, "Next time, I WILL finish the job, got It?" I questioned finished with what I needed to say.

"G-go t I-It," He barely gets out before I let go of him as else drops to the floor gasping for air.

"Good," I said leaning down near him, "Now get the fuck out of here," I said calmly as he hesitantly nods before his wings popped out and he takes to the air getting further and further away from us.

Turning around I'm met with varying shocked faces of everyone present ranging from slightly shocked but also intimidated by the ponies, slightly shocked but surprisingly not anything else from Spike, completely shocked by Garble and Smolder with their jaws dropped, and Ember just staring at me wide-eyed while also slightly blushing for some reason.
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Pretty sure that's nothing to worry about.

"Uhh, sorry about that everycreature just had to, make sure of something." I awkwardly said

"Yeah I'll say," Smolder said walking up while looking at me with slight awe, "I've never seen you act like that, ever, was kinda cool to see that from you." She admitted

"Well I don't know If cool Is the word I'd use for It," Rainbow said

"Well, good thing we weren't asking you then huh?" Ember said causing Rainbow to narrow her eyes at her.

"A-Anyways, now that the crisis has been averted I just want to say thank you Falkor, really, for helping Spike and also protecting us as well," Twilight said sincerely

"Well, you're welcome then, I guess," I said not knowing how to respond.

"U-Um Falkor," Spike started as I looked down to see him twiddling his fingers while looking away nervously away, "Are, you ok now?" He asked hesitantly which confused me until Aesthyr said something.

"He's probably wondering why his nice friend that helped him so far just violently ripped out another living creature's eye," Aesthyr explained as I inwardly facepalmed.

'Ohhhh shiiiit, right, I wasn't thinking clearly and just did something that would traumatize any kid as well,' I thought to myself as I remembered how much I'd just fucked up.

"Yeah, I am now Spike, I'm sorry you had to see what happened and also see me like that," I apologized as he hesitantly nodded his head.

"D-Don't worry about It, It's fine," Spike said which immediately caused me to frown as I picked him up and put him under my arm causing him to cry out In confusion.

"I'm going to talk with Spike In private for a bit," I said as I pointed In the middle of the crater I fought In earlier, "We'll go down there so you can keep an eye on us alright?" I questioned as Twilight gave a hesitant nod while the other two looked unsure but didn't object as well.

"Alright, be back In a bit," I said popping open my wings and softly making my way down before grabbing Spike and setting him down as he looked embarrassed when I did.

"Well that's a new low for me," Spike said sarcastically as I got on one knee and softly gripped his shoulders.

"Spike, I want you to listen to me ok?" I questioned as he looked up at me surprised.

"Uh, y-yeah ok," He said slightly stammering at my serious look.

"I just want you to know what you said up there," I said gesturing with my thumb, "Please don't say that again," I said as he looked confused.

"What? That It was fine?" He questioned

"Yes, that, you don't have to pretend to be ok with what you just witnessed just for my sake, In fact I don't ever want you to do that ever again ok?" I questioned

"But why not? I only said that so you know I wasn't bothered by what happened," He said twiddling his fingers.

"Except you were, weren't you?" I said as he looked down towards the ground giving me my answer as I let out a sigh.

"Spike you shouldn't hide how you feel about things just because you think It'll make me happy that just makes me worry," I admit causing him to look up at me In shock.

"W-What? Why would that make you worry? I said that so you wouldn't worry," He asked even more confused and slightly annoyed.

"Yes, you did, but because you said that I'm more worried about what you didn't say," I explained causing his eyes to widen, " 'How does he really feel? Was he scared? Was he disgusted? Was he scared of m-' "

"NO!" He shouted In slight anger shocking me from his outburst.

"I would never be scared of you, never!" He said resolutely as I looked down at him with a sad smile.

"Never say never, though like I said earlier I would never know that, because instead of telling me how you really felt you tried reassuring me that what you just witnessed was fine, when It wasn't," I explained as he looked away clearly conflicted.

"Spike, don't get me wrong I do appreciate that you care about me so much that you want to reassure me, but that's not your job too, It's my job as the older creature to take care of you and make sure you never have to witness or deal with something like that, and I failed," I admitted

"But Falkor that wa-"

"It wasn't completely my fault, yes, but I still could've tried bringing him somewhere so that way you wouldn't have to get front-row seats to that gruesome scene either," I said cutting him off.

"But we aren't living a what-if we are living with the aftermath of an unfortunate situation," I said

"Well, slightly unfortunate," Spike said causing me to look down at him In confusion, "You didn't, uh, kill him, and you also protected us as well so, yeah slightly unfortunate," He explained causing me to smile.

"Heh, good point, though I feel like we've gotten off topic of what I wanted to say," I said as I let go of him causing him to look back up at me.

"From now on, I want you to tell me or anycreature else how you really feel about something, no matter how mean you may think It sounds, It'll be better for everycreature If you share your true feelings rather than you hiding them, ok? That's how things get worse, not better," I said as his eyes widened before he looked back down at the ground In thought.
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"I, was scared, that you were going to kill him, Spike admitted after a while before quickly looking up, "But I wasn't scared of you! Just, scared you would do something you would regret," Spike clarified as I ruffled his fin-like appendages.

"Thank you for telling me how you really feel about what happened.....and I'm so sorry you had to witness that, I'm truly sorry," I said as sincerely as I could.

"I- well I guess according to you It's not fine, but I don't care, I'm just glad you're back to normal anyways and as much as I didn't like what happened I can also understand that you didn't want to do that, that's why you told the others to prevent you from doing It as well right?" Spike asked as I nodded.

"Right, I'm all down for a good fight every once In a while but he went too far that time by going after the creatures I cared about, though I never want to kill anycreature unless It's necessary, that's why I'm glad I could count on them when I needed It," I said looking back up towards where the others were before looking back at him.

"I'm glad we could have this talk, Spike, really," I said sincerely as he smiled.

"I am too, I wasn't really sure how to think after what happened but, I am glad you helped me figure out how to," He said sounding grateful as I ruffled his fin-like appendages again.

"No problem Spike," I said as he suddenly began looking nervous, "What's wrong?" I asked concerned

"W-Well It's just-"

"Hey, hey, take your time, think about what you want to say and then speak ok? No need to rush It." I said slowly as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling.

"Falkor, I have two things to ask for If you don't mind," Spike said sounding nervous again I gave him my full attention.

"Go ahead," I said as he took a few seconds.

"CANIBEYOURFRIEND?" He shouted out quickly stunning me for a second before I registered what he said as a smile took over my face.

"I think I would like that, If you don't mind of course?" I asked sarcastically as his eyes widened In shock before smiling brightly.

"Of course not! I would love to have as one!" He said excitedly causing me to chuckle.

"Alright friends then," I said offering a hand only for him to ignore It and instead charge into my stomach and hug me.

"Friends," He said shocking me with his actions before I slowly wrapped my arms around him reciprocating the hug as well.

We stayed like that for a good while until he started backing up making me let go before he looked at me more seriously now.

"I, still have one more thing to ask you," He said as I nodded causing him to close his eyes and take another deep breath before looking back at me.

"Can you teach me how to fight?" He said sounding serious which shocked me from the whiplash of his previous question to how he's acting now.

"No," I said sounding serious which caused him to look heartbroken.

"What!? Why not!?" He asked desperately as I stood up and crossed my arms.

"Because you're still a hatchling, and besides what would you need to fight for?" I questioned

"I don't want to learn how to fight just because," He said before looking away despondently.

"When we were back In that cave when Twilight and the others got revealed I got scared, and not because I was standing In front of somepony who could've hurt me and my friends although that also scared me, but I was scared because I knew that whatever happened next there would be nothing I could do about It," He explains looking down at his tiny claws.

"After you stepped In and helped I realized how, outmatched I was there, how useless I felt knowing that I would have to sit there and deal with whatever happened next because I was too weak to stop It, that If I wanted to be strong I would have to be mean as well and I would never want to, leaving me stuck In this hopeless position," He said causing my heart to break at how he felt before he looked away and off to side.

"But then when I saw you, somepony who was so nice to me and caring towards others, yet still able to defend the ponies you care about and not having to lose anything to do so," He said before looking straight up at me as I could see the desperation mixed with the determination of being able to protect the ones he loves In his eyes.

"So please Falkor, I-I know I'm asking a lot from you and I know we just met, but, I would never be able to ask Twilight or her friends when all they would do Is tell me not to worry about It as they go and risk their lives leaving me behind to hope for the best, and I doubt any other dragon would be nice enough give me the time of day either." He explained

"You're the only one who not only knows how to fight but also treats me as somepony instead of somepony you need to protect, so, please Falkor, will you teach me how to fight back?" He pleaded desperately as I felt conflicted about the choice.

'On one hand I wouldn't mind teaching him since I do agree that If he knew how to actually help out and hold his own then maybe the others wouldn't consider him a helpless kid that needs to be protected all the time.' I thought to myself

'But on the other hand, he's just a kid! He shouldn't be worrying about how to fight against creatures that would want to kill him, he should be worrying about what kind of ice cream he should get tomorrow.' I think to myself

'And that's exactly how everyone else thinks when It comes to him which Is why he came to you specifically,' I pointed out to myself as I inwardly groaned.

'Besides what's to say he can't do both? It's not like he has to give up his childhood forever in exchange for knowing how to defend himself,' I also pointed out to myself.

'Plus If anyone deserves not to be left behind and overshadowed It's Spike,' I concluded to myself as I looked back down at Spike who was also looking back desperately at me as I sighed.

"Ok, I'll teach you to the best of my abilities, how to fight," I said as he looked on In shock before charging at my legs and hugging them as much as he could.

"OHTHANKYOYTHANKYOYTHANKYO-"

"BUT!" I yelled out interrupting him as I gently pulled him away, "When I do you have to promise me that you will only fight back when either A: Somecreature Is threatening somepony you care about or B: If Somecreature attacked you first, other than that you should have absolutely no reason to fight anycreature, understand?" I questioned as he nodded up and down.

"I understand completely," He said seriously as I nodded.

"Good," I said before smiling, "Now how about we join the others their probably wondering what's taking so long," I suggested as he nodded before I crouched down and let him get on my back before we flew off and went to join the others.

'Alright Aesthyr, hope you're ready for this long-awaited reunion,' I thought to myself slightly amused as we approached the others.

Something New

As Spike and I flew back up to the others and landed I lowered myself down allowing Spike to get off before I stood back up as he looked back at me with gratitude now after our conversation.

"So did you two discuss everything you needed to?" Twilight asked as she and the other two got closer.

"Yep, got everything out In the open, cleared up some things, and came to some agreements," I said as Twilight slightly narrowed her eyes.

"What kind of agreements?" She asked sounding somewhat suspicious but mostly curious.

'Well at least she actually seems to care about him then,' I thought to myself as I shook my head.

"Not my business to share, only If Spike wants to, and that doesn't mean trying to force It out of him by any means either," I clarified feeling like Rarity would try something If she was curious enough about something.

"We would never do that to Spike!" Rarity said gasping In slight shock.

"Well I don't know that do I, after all, I barely know any of you ponies so for all I know you could be taking advantage of Spike here," I said as they all looked offended by my comment.

"Now lis-"

"Guys! Can we not do this please!" Spike said raising his voice cutting off Rainbow at the same time causing her to huff and look away as he looked up at Twilight.

"Nothing bad happened Twilight don't worry, I just asked Falkor to help me with something and he agreed," Spike explained as Twilight looked confused.

"But If you needed help with something why didn't you come ask me?" She asked causing Spike to stutter.

"W-Well-"

"It was something dragon-related, that's why he came to me for help instead of you," I said cutting In for Spike as he gave me a thankful glance.

"Ooooh really? Can I join and watch so I can take some notes, anything dragon related would be very helpful for Spike, plus, If I can get some personal notes for myself well then that'll just be a bonus," She said excitedly forgoing all suspicion as Spike looked on In exasperation.

"Well It's something private and anyways I can't do It right now as the others and I need to..... actually give me a minute," I said as I walked over to Ember and the others who were busy talking to themselves until Ember spotted me.

"Hey Falkor, finally done with Spike and them?" Ember asked

"Almost, I wanted to ask everydragon here something," I said getting their attention, "I was wondering that since Spike and the others seem to be leaving soon I was wondering If everydragon here was ok with joining them?" I asked as they all looked at each other frowning for a second until Garble looked my way.

"Why do you want to go with them though? We could just go ourselves," He pointed out as I paused to think of my response.

"We could but why not go with the same creatures that they trust? That way we can try and get a more urgent meeting with them at the same time," I said as they all deadpanned at me.

"You just want to travel with them because they're the characters from your 'story' or whatever," Smolder pointed out as I spluttered.

"Wh-Whaaaaaat, no I-"

"Falkor, tell the truth," Ember demanded calmly as I gave up on an excuse sighing.

"Ok, It does kinda have to do with something like that, but, I swear that's not just why I want to do that," I said as they all patiently waited for my reason.

"The other reason I wanted to go with them Is because Spike wants me to teach him how to fight," I explained causing their eyes to widen In surprise.

"Woah, really? The little guy wants to know how to fight?" Garble asked as he looked over at Spike and the ponies talking about their own thing with some newfound respect.

"Well If he wants to know how to protect himself who are we to deny him that, though, why not teach him here? He even wanted to stay here longer and defended you when you were asleep because the ponies didn't want him to," Ember explained causing my eyes to widen In shock.

"Wait really!?" I asked surprised as Ember nodded her head.

"Sure did, the little guy got pretty passionate too when they started Insulting you," Garble said as I felt grateful.

"Well I'll have to thank him later for that, but anyways another reason why I want to go Is because before I woke up Aesthyr and I had a little chat with each other before she asked me when we were going to see Luna and I figured since we have multiple things we need to do why not do them where Its easier In one place." I explained

"So If I'm understanding correctly you're planning to 1) Talk to Luna and Celestia about what we know, 2) Talk to Luna, especially about her old friend In the ring, and 3) teach Spike how to fight as well since he'll also be going back with the other ponies as well?" Ember asked to which I nodded.

"Not only will It be easier to do things over In their territory but they might have other things that we can use rather than the limited supplies we have over here," I said hinting at needing more than what we have available to us for upcoming events.

"Well the-"

"Ughhhhh, blab blab blab, talk talk talk, I think we all know we're already going with Falkor no matter what so can we just get this show on the road and do what we need to do," Smolder said sounding done with our conversation.

"You zip It! Obviously, we're all going with him but we still have two things we need to take care of, like my Dad and how we're going to get there." Ember said pointedly

"Oh, my bad," Smolder said looking away sheepishly as Ember took a deep breath.

"Well I guess we'll have to hope for the best for your dad though as to how we're going to go there I may have an idea for that, for now though, give me a minute to tell them first," I said as I made my way over to Spike and the others accidentally interrupting whatever conversation they were having.

"Oh hey Falkor, have you talked about whatever you needed to with your friends?" Twilight asked

"Yep, I was actually wondering If we could go with you guys since we have some business we also need to take care of past the Dragon Lands," I explained causing their eyes to widen as Rainbows narrowed In suspicion.

"What kind of business?" She asked as I faced her with a straight face.

"Private business that doesn't concern you," I said causing her to scoff but otherwise turn away.

"Well I guess you ca-"

"But what about our agreement?" Spike questioned upset as I smiled and kneeled.

"Don't worry I didn't forget about that, I have a feeling that where we need to go Isn't too far from where you're going," I said reassuring him as he looked upset but still seemed to understand.

"I hope you're right, there's still other dragon stuff I want to learn," Spike said which caused me to remember something.

"Actually before we leave I need to talk to Dragon Lord Torch so, would you like to come with me too, you know?" I asked causing his eyes to widen In surprise before seeming to go deep In thought.
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"Not, not now no, don't get me wrong I still want to know but," He paused looking down at his tiny claws, "It feels like somethings telling me I need more time," He explained as I nodded.

"Ok, take your time then," I said standing up and ignoring a confused Twilight as I made my way back over to Ember.

"Ready?" I asked

"Nope, but let's just hope he makes this easier for all of us," She said sighing before we both popped open our wings and started making our way up.

"Garble you and Smolder take the others outside near Dragon Lord Torch's cave to wait for us while we talk with him," I instructed him as he nodded allowing us to go.

"Here comes the hard part now," I said out loud hoping that we would be able to convince easily though knowing how life works I sincerely doubted It.

"Ok, Torch said causing both of us to look on at him In shock.

"Wait really!? Just like that." Ember asked shocked

"Yes, consider this a lesson for If you become Dragon Lord to get familiar with their land for the first time, and even If you don't, I see no reason to keep you here when there are other things you could better use your time for," Torch explained further surprising both of us as he raised an eyebrow at us.

"What? Did you think I would forbid you from going anywhere?" He asked as Ember and I looked away embarrassed.

"Uh*cough* kinda," Ember admitted as Torch rolled his eyes.

"I don't see why, I'm not a tyrant, and besides you are your own dragon now, I doubt you need your Father's guidance on how to explore and defend yourself If needed," Torch said as Ember flew up and hugged.

"Thanks, Dad, seriously," She said sincerely as he gently put a hand on her back.

"No need to thank what you could've done with your own two claws," He said before she backed up out of her grip and landed near me before we left and met up with everyone else waiting.

"All done?" Garble asked as I nodded.

"Good, now how are we getting to where we need to go?" He asked as I turned towards Twilight and Spike.

"Uh so this may be weird to ask but do any of you have a way to quickly contact Celestia?" I asked

"Oh actually we do, but why do you need It?" She asked

"It's a long story and It probably wouldn't make any sense until the pony I need gets here to explain," I said hoping for the best.

"I don't know Twilight, that kinda sounds sketchy to me," Rainbow said making her suspicions clear causing Twilight to frown.

"That does kinda sound weird Falkor what exactly do you need with Princess Celestia?" She asked

"Well, It's not exactly Princess Celestia I need to speak with," I admitted as she and the others looked confused.

"Then who do you need to talk to?" Spike asked

"Princess Luna, I found something that belongs to her so I figured If one of you could somehow contact her then we could hand It over while she gives us a ride over to where we need to go," I explained as Twilight gasped with excitement.

"You found something of importance that belonged to one of the Princesses!?" She said excitedly as I tried to come up with a response.

"Uhhh, yesssss?" I said as she looked like she was about to explore until Spike tapped her in the leg.

"Twilight, focus," Spike simply said as Twilight took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Sorry about that, It's just you somehow managed to find something of importance that belonged to a Princess lost to time before she suddenly appeared again, It's very exciting to think of what It could contain," She explained before focusing.

"Though as excited as I am I also know this Is indeed important so I can see why you asked, Spike, take a letter," She said as Spike seemed to pull a paper and quill out of nowhere getting flabbergasted looks from me and the others as he looked smug before focusing back on Twilight.

"Dear Princess Celestia, my friends and I had followed Spike to the Dragon Lands to assist him In whatever he needed help with though on our journey we encountered a dragon who-"

"Oh sorry to interrupt but can you add that the ring belonged to a dragon named Aesthyr please?" I asked as she nodded before continuing.

"-found a ring that used to belong to Aesthyr that was also Princess Luna's and was hoping you could pass this message to her so that way she could come and confirm It for herself, Your student Twilight Sparkle," She finished as she gave the go-ahead for Spike causing him to bring the rolled up scroll to his snout before blowing fire on It burning It away Into a purplish wisp that drifted away.

"Now we wait," Spike said as we all stood or sat depending on certain individuals waiting for Luna as I brought my ring up.

[Hear that Aesthyr, It's almost time.] I tell her

"Yes It Is, thank you Falkor truly, for everything you've done for me," She said sounding thankful.

[You're welcome, and who knows maybe you'll be able to get to chat with each other from now on,] I said as I heard her 'hmm' In response.

"I guess you are right, that certainly would be nice to catch up with her and share ideas as we used to," She said as I heard a little blip appear In front of us revealing a six-foot-ten dark purple alicorn who radiated power that I could feel just from being near her as I gave an involuntary shudder.

"Alrighty then, showtime," I said to myself hoping this conversation would go well.

Author's Note

Sorry for the lackluster chapter guys, but 8 figured It was better to give you something rather then make you wait longer than usual again.

Though If you were still somehow able to enjoy this them I would like to hear what you thought about It or If there was something you didn't like then also tell me so I can use It to improve on.

Oh also, since I almost forgot since Its been three chapters I will now be switching back over to my changeling story for a bit.

Other then that see ya!

Well Ain't This Just A Sonavbitch

"Princess Luna." Twilight said before she and the rest of them kneeled before her causing the rest of us to hastily do it.

"Rise, Twilight Sparkle, this isn't official royal business anyhow." She said before surveying the crowd we formed.

"Which one of you dragons has found my ring?" She asked slightly raising her voice as I took a deep breath before walking forward.

"Uh, me, Your Highness." I said as she walked over to me making me realize just how small I was compared to her.

"I see, well if the letter Twilight sent my sister has any form of credibility then you shall have no problem showing me this ring so I can confirm tis truly mine yes?" She questioned sternly

"Ah right, well here you go." I said taking the ring off feeling like a part of me was suddenly missing causing me to shiver before I handed the ring over to her causing her eyes to widen in shock before softening.

"Is that really you old friend?" She said softly before igniting her horn.

'Probably checking it isn't a trap or something.' I concluded to myself as she got finished with what I assumed was an inspection of the ring before she quickly put it on.
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"So, I see you like wasting creatures' time with your jokes." She said with venom in her voice as she narrowed her eyes causing me to look at her in confusion and slight fear.

"W-What do you mean?" I asked stuttering a bit as I unconsciously took a step back.

"You know exactly what I m-" She began to say before suddenly pausing as her eyes widened in shock before they began to tear up.

"Aesthyr, Is that, really you?" She said letting out a tear filled laugh.

"I thought you had been lost or worst destroyed! I looked everywhere for you, but I couldn't find you anywhere, I had feared the worst!" She said cradling the ring while she wore a big smile on her face with tears dripping down.

"You know, I can see how weird it is for you guys to look at me when I talk to Aesthyr now." I admitted as Luna was busy crying tears of joy.

"Glad you could see it." Garble said sarcastically causing me to roll my eyes before looking over at Luna who was smiling while tearing up as she continued blabbering apologies towards Aesthyr.

We all gave her a minute to not disturb her long-awaited reunion with Aesthyr before she began calming down again.

"Again, I am so sorry for ever making you go through with something like this." She apologized once again sincerely before suddenly laughing.

"Blunt as always Ace, it is great to have you back." She said before suddenly turning back towards us.

"Right, of course, that would be the logical step." She said before her horn lit up cleaning herself up a bit.

"Drag-excuse me, Falkor, I thank you deeply for reuniting me with who I thought was lost because of my ignorance." She said as I bowed.

"It was nothing, Your Majesty, just doing something that was meant to be done." I said honestly as she hummed in response.

"A humble dragon, I guess that's a first for me since returning to this land." She said before turning once more to the ring as her face slowly had a grin appear on it.

"Oh really? Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt and seeing as how peaceful this land is now I doubt I'll be able to have another opportunity like this, though, if what you're saying is true then maybe he can at least entertain me." She said before looking back in my direction unconsciously making me take another step back.

"Falkor was it? Again I thank you for what you've done for me this day and I will see to it that you be provided with whatever you wish for as long as it's not too crude or exaggerated." She said as I silently celebrated that so far things were going well.

"Tha-"

"Though, before we get to that, Aesthyr said that you are a somewhat decent fighter in her eyes." She said cutting me off as my eyes widened in shock at her.

"Now I won't mince words with you I'm not exactly sure what she sees in you though if I still know her like I used to then I know that when it relates anything to strength, she has always been right about it, no matter what." She finished getting closer as she bent down to get in my face.

"So what do you think Falkor, are you a good fighter?" She asked bluntly stunning me.

"We-"

"Oh yeah, he is! You should have seen him earlier when he was fighting this other dragon to protect Twilight and us, he was like bam, and pow, and fire blast, he even said he would teach me how to fight as well." Spike enthusiastically said cutting me off which caused me to blush in embarrassment at the positive comments.

"WHAT!?" I heard all of the ponies yelling out in shock as I sighed to myself.

"Oh really?" Luna said sounding slightly amused but mostly curious.

"Ah, haha, whoops?" Spike said hesitantly before Twilight regained her bearings and looked at Spike sharply.

"We are having a good long talk about this later mister." She said sternly to him.

"And that goes for you too after you're done!" I heard them say behind me as I nodded my head.

"So you were going to train him how to fight? Intriguing, perhaps Aesthyr might have been right again." She said shaking her head fondly.

"W-Well It's not like I know much about fighting, I-I was going to teach what I knew which already isn't much." I said trying to lower her expectations about me.

"I disagree, already that is much more than I would expect your kind to try and do, usually when it comes to fighting most dragons just try to brute force their way through, or if it gets too hard for them, resort to their fire." She explained before standing back as she looked down at me with more interest which I didn't exactly know how to feel about.

"You though, have not only come up with your own way to fight, but it is also something structured enough that It can be taught to others as well if what you were offering the hatchling is anything to go by." She pointed out

"To put it simply, I'm intrigued how you, a dragon, would fight, and seeing as how Aesthyr herself has vouched for you I can't say I'm not intrigued a little at how good your fighting prowess really is." She said looking more and more interested in fighting me.

"I of course would be holding back against you seeing as how I simply want to test you and not kill you." She said bluntly as I stood there dumbfounded trying to come up with a response.

'WHY THE FUCK IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME!' I mentally screamed out in frustration before taking a few seconds to calm down.

'Ok, ok, whatever, If the decision is really up to me then I could just decline it, right? No need to kill myself by going against an ALICORN of all things.' I thought to myself.

'Though, should I really decline? If me and the others are going to even have a chance at dealing with everything that's going to happen then we need to get better at everything, and that means fighting as well, this could well be an actual good opportunity to see what I need to improve on.' I pointed out to myself.

[What do you think Aesthyr? Should I fight or decline her?] I asked her.
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'Ah, right, she's not here anymore, kinda miss her already.' I admitted to myself before shaking my head.

'Thoughts for later, right now I need to make a decision and I think I know what I'm going to pick.' I concluded to myself before closing my eyes and taking a deep breath before I looked back up at Luna who looked at me expectant.

"It seems you've decided on what to do, so, Falkor, I'll ask once more, would you like to participate in a practice duel with me?" Luna asked

Set on my answer I look up at her with determination as I open my mouth and give her my answer.

Author's Note

WHAT!? I did not just do that.

I did, I totally did.

Well here you guys go I've been on a writing binge recently with Renewed Diamonds but I'm back over here with a little mini chapter for you guys in order to give you guys a feel for Luna.

If I'm being honest I have absolutely no fucking idea how to write Luna and that reunion scene felt awful but again I'm literally still somewhat new to this so I have no idea how to write complex scenes and characters like Luna or what I tried to pull off.

So any advice and criticism would be greatly appreciated since I know alot of people are probably going to hate how I wrote Luna and her scene with Aesthyr.

Other then that I hope you guys will be able to at least somewhat enjoy this chapter.

Again, sorry not sorry about the cliffhanger, really wanted to do that for awhile:ajsmug:

See ya later!

Rulers And Events

"No." I said confidently as she looked at me surprised before smiling down at me looking somewhat impressed.

"Well, I guess like always you seem to be right when it comes to strength Aesthyr." Luna said holding up the ring which caused me to be confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked

"Well, Aesthyr had told me that while you were a good fighter it didn't mean that you enjoyed constantly fighting, which, to me, sounded ridiculous." Luna answered honestly.

"Why would that be ridiculous?" I asked a little offended.

"Oh, well it's nothing against you but almost every time I came to the Dragon Lands to meet up with her I would always have dragons left and right trying to challenge me to a fight simply to pass the time, prove something idiotic, or simply because I was 'easy prey." She explained

"Yep sounds accurate." I admitted as she chuckled.

"Exactly, so imagine my surprise when my old friend who I hadn't seen in over 1000 years told me that there was a dragon who, like her, only fought when it was necessary." She said

"Not once in my life, except for Aesthyr, have I ever heard of a dragon that would pass up the chance to try and fight." She said intrigued.

"I am glad that she was right about you though, because I will admit if she wasn't, then I wouldn't have held back on you as I would've ended the fight quickly to make you focus on the more important part." She said bluntly which made me shiver in fear instinctively.

"O-Oh, ok, well, what exactly would have been the important part you would've wanted me to know?" I asked slightly intimidated as she suddenly looked serious.

"That if you are to fight, you fight only to protect yourself and to protect the ones who can't, if you are doing neither then you're not fighting, you are just causing unnecessary pain." She said seriously before going back to a more calm look as we all took her message to heart.

"Though thankfully, it seems you didn't need me to tell you that since you've clearly known this for this a while, and so young too, that's commendable for a dragon." She said sounding impressed before rolling her eyes and focusing on the ring again.

"Yes Ace, I know I didn't forget, you were one for results instead of useless talk like me after all." She said amused before focusing back on me.

"Now that that's out of the way, tell me, Falkor of the Dragon Lands, Is there anything you would like? Within reason of course." She said causing me to look back at the others as they all nodded confirming we were still doing this.

'Well, guess it's now or never.' I thought to myself as I looked back up at her.

"Me and my group would like you to teleport us back with you so we can have a private audience with you and Princess Celestia." I said causing her and the other pony's eyes to widen in shock.

"An, interesting request, certainly not one I was expecting from a dragon though I can't exactly say you're an ordinary dragon after all." She said sarcastically.

"Though I am curious, what is so important that you feel the need to converse privately with me and my sister?" She asked as I gestured for her to come closer which she did as I got close to her ear.

"It's about Sombra." I whispered to her causing her to tear harder head away as she looked at me in shock before her face hardened.

"I see, then tis-Is truly important, let us not waste any more time then." She said as her horn began to light up before she paused and looked towards the ponies.

"I will be teleporting back to Canterlot with these four, will you be joining us?" She asked causing Rarity to gasp loudly.

"A trip to Canterlot!? As if I would say no to that!" She said sounding ecstatic causing everyone else(except Spike) to roll their eyes at her.

"I think we'll join you, Princess, we can always reach Ponyville on our own when we do." Twilight said as Luna nodded in response.

"Alright then, in that case now everycreature come closer while I focus." She said causing everyone to walk closer before she began charging up her horn as it continued growing brighter and brighter.

'Wait a minute I just realized I'm going to Canterlot, WAIT A MINUTE HOLY SHIT ARE WE GOING T-'

*Blip*

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*Blip*

"Ughhhhh, I'm really starting to hate this." Garble said groaning as I went over towards Ember.

"Hey, you doing alright?" I asked concerned as she held her stomach.

"Y-Yeah I think I'm fine this time, *hurgh*, just gotta ride it out." She said trying her best to hold it in while I took a quick look around in the meantime.

'Holy shit, I'm, I'm really here In the actual castle.' I thought to myself In awe as I looked around the hallway we appeared in enjoying the familiar yet somewhat now foreign soft feeling the decorated carpet provided my feet.

'And here they are.' I thought to myself as I observed the filled-in and unfilled windows.

'So far it seems like we are here early thankfully since only Discord's defeat and the Elements re-emerging are the only events that have appeared so far on the windows.' I observed to myself.

"Is everycreature ok?" Luna asked as everyone responded in the positive before she nodded in response.

"Guards, once I and the dragons enter make sure nopony else disturbs us." She told them as they simply nodded.

"Twilight, you and your friends are welcome to stay in the castle until we are done." Luna told her.

"Princess Luna, if I may, what did Falkor tell you that's so important?" Twilight asked slightly concerned.

"Something that I hope nopony will have to deal with again." She simply said before walking towards the throne room doors causing us to follow before pushing them open.

Upon entering the throne room I couldn't help but feel somewhat threatened while simultaneously at ease before I set my eyes on this world's Celestia as, just like Luna, is exactly how she looked like on the show complete with her flowing multi-colored hair.

She also seemed to be wearing her tiara behind her longer than average horn as she seemed to wear some gold-plated horseshoes that seemed to reach to the front of her ankles, and what looked to be two gold-plated vambraces that almost covered her entire arm while leaving some room left for her fur to breathe.

"SISTER!" Luna called out attracting Celestia's attention as she seemed to sigh in exasperation while a random rich-looking unicorn quickly made his way out of the room.

"Welcome back from your trip Luna, you came back just as I finished the Day Courts requests for now so we should have plenty of time to catch up." She said calmly standing up from her throne as she gracefully flew over to us making expert use of her wings.

"And who are these young dragons accompanying you?" She asked standing slightly taller than Luna now that she was closer before Luna looked back at us.

"Which of your companions know Falkor?" She asked

"They all do." I answered causing her eyes to widen in surprise before quickly recovering and nodding as she turned back to Celestia before whispering something In her ear causing her eyes to widen in shock before her face hardened into a more serious expression.

"I see, we shall continue this conversation in my room where we'll have some privacy." She said suddenly turning as she headed for her room behind the throne causing us and Luna to follow.

"So, are you going to tell them everything?" Smolder asked whispering.

"I have no choice but to tell them if they're going to believe anything we tell them." I said whispering back.

"Alright, well let's hope this goes well then." Ember said slightly worried.

"Well If anything we can just break through the wall if things get too hectic." Garble said grinning as everyone gave him a warning glare.

"Obviously I'm joking. Garble said causing us to roll our eyes as we passed by the curtain and entered what I assumed to be Celestia's room since everything was heavily focused on sun decorations.

After shortly entering, Celestia's horn began to glow before three dome-like objects expanded, growing to cover the entire room.

"There, that should give us enough privacy to discuss things." She said before teleporting in a decent-sized round table for her size while being humongous for us alongside enough chairs for everyone.

"Please, sit, I'd rather have some sort of comfort while we do." She said as we accepted her gesture and sat.

"How does this feel weirder than sitting on the ground from the Dragon Lands?" Garble questioned as he constantly shifted in his seat attracting amused looks from Celestia and Luna.

"Well as much as I would try to offer you some comfort, I believe If what Luna said was true then you have information about Sombra." She said getting straight to the point.

"Yes, we do, but before I say anything, I just want to know, when Dragon Lord Torch came to you to request assistance how much did he tell you about why he needed help?" I asked wanting to know how much she knew before I explained everything.

"Ah, well before I answer how much did he tell you?" She asked reversing the question.

"Everything." Ember said causing her to hum in response.

"Really? Well forgive my bluntness but what makes you four so special that he would tell you specifically?" She asked

"Because we four witnessed, an event that led to Falkor asking him about it." Ember explained.

"I see, and what exactly was that event?" She questioned.

"Something we'll get into later, but just know that I, his daughter, asked alongside when Falkor did, which led to him telling us." Ember explained causing both of Luna's and Celestia's eyes to widen in surprise.

"Ah, well I guess that would make you special enough for him to tell you, forgive me then, for questioning you, Princess Ember." Celestia said sincerely causing Ember to look at her confused.

"Uhh, suure, but how about not calling me that ok?" Ember said looking weirded out by that.

"Trust me, you'll get used to it In time." Celestia said sounding amused at Ember's discomfort of the title.

"Though, If he really did tell you then I can confidently say not much admittedly, all I know is that one day he came to me, which was already surprising enough, before practically begging for my help, I, of course, did and asked what was wrong." She explained

"Though, frustratingly, no matter how much I asked he just kept insisting that it was 'dragon business', though as much I wanted to keep pushing, I refrained myself after I took a minute to observe him fully." She continued.

"I've met Torch before, and usually when we meet he always has some sort of presence about him that lets you know how fierce and prideful he is, especially how dangerous." She said respectfully.

"That's not the Torch I saw that day, that Torch not only looked worn and tired, but I could tell whatever he wouldn't tell me was affecting him heavily with how desperate and hopeful he looked whenever he saw me, almost as if something was banking on me." She explained

"Oh, Dad." Ember said softly.

"So I refrained from asking further and focused on doing my best to uncover and get rid of the vile magic that was intertwined within that scepter." She said with venom in her voice before looking regretful.

"Yet, somehow, whatever Sombra did to it proved to be infuriatingly impossible to break, at first, I wanted to try and salvage the bloodstone itself since that was a big part of the Dragon's culture, but after a while, Torch told me to just simply destroy it, which shocked me even more." She said before sighing.

"Unfortunately, I knew he wouldn't bother telling me why so I just focused on trying to destroy it, but then I began experiencing difficulties of my own where no matter what I did it just, would not, break." She said sounding frustrated.

"Countless attempts at attempting to destroy it proved fruitless no matter what, I had no choice but to tell him how I had failed to destroy it, how I failed to give him proof that his hopes weren't misplaced." She said regretfully.

"I will never forget when the powerful and respected Dragon Lord Torch looked so broken and resigned after I told him that, then, not shortly after he asked for the scepter back, which I gave, and shortly after, he left." She finished allowing us to take a minute to take in the information given to us.

"The reason we ask is because we know why Torch asked you for your help." I said as Celestia and Luna looked on curious.

"Really? Well if you don't mind explaining then I would appreciate hearing what made him so distraught." Celestia said earnestly.

"It's because Sombra, whatever he did to the scepter twisted it to force innocent hatchlings to have to fight to survive in some other, plane of existence, where a monstrous creature lives as it kills any hatchlings that are unlucky enough to be caught by them." Ember explained as their eyes widened in horror.

"Trust me, as much as I would love to say this is an elaborate trick or joke, it's not." Garble said

"I remember it perfectly, how, afraid I was when I heard the first hatchling to be caught by it screamed out for somedragon to help it, how afraid I was when Falkor grabbed me and pulled me onwards while we heard hatchlings all around us dying, how afraid I was when I almost died." Garble explained before looking over at me.

"If it wasn't for Falkor here then I truly would've died that day." Garble said as Smolder placed her hand over his looking worried.

"Even after all this time that vile monster, somehow manages to affect innocents even when he is gone from this realm." Luna said angrily as Celestia looked distraught.

"I now see why he seemed at his lowest that day, and to think he would lower himself to seek me for help only to find that his last chance was for nothing." She said before sighing.

"As much as it pains me to admit there is nothing else that can be done sadly, nothing in my power ever since I destroyed any trace of his work long ago." She said annoyed.

"Well, that's actually what I wanted to discuss with you two." I said as they looked confused before I felt a hand on top of mine.

Looking back I see Ember who has a determined look on her face as she gives me a nod which causes me to take in a deep breath before exhaling.

"Sombra is coming back." I said as it took a few seconds for the statement to register for the sisters until I saw their eyes widen in disbelief and shock.

"Impossible! Me and my sister banished him over a millennium ago!" Luna shouted in anger and disbelief.

"Calm yourself, Luna, If he is coming back then we need to make the proper preparations just in case." Celestia said resting her hand on her shoulder, gently guiding Luna back down in the chair.

"Though, as thankful as I am for your supposed warning I am curious as to how you acquired this information in the first place?" Celestia questioned causing me to sigh.

"Well, I guess this was going to happen sooner or later." I said slightly nervous.

"Remember Falkor, we're here to back you up." Smolder said

"Right, right, ok." I said calming myself before focusing on the sisters again.

"Before I tell you, I wa- actually, you wouldn't happen to have some sort of magic spell that can check if I'm telling the truth or not would you?" I asked before I saw Luna's horn slightly light up leaving a light glow at the tip of her horn as she looked at Celestia grinning.

"And you said we wouldn't ever need this spell again." She said smugly as Celestia rolled her eyes.

"Well excuse me for not expecting this situation." She said sarcastically before they both focused on me as their expressions became serious.

"You are good to speak now." Celestia simply said.

"Alright, before I was a dragon I had lived a past life as a different species where we were called humans." I started with.
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*DING*

A sigh of relief leaves my mouth as her horn glows green.

"Looks like we're going to be here a while then." I said taking in their shocked faces as I prepare for the onslaught of questions and answers I would have to give.

Author's Note

And here we are once again, I just want to thank you all again for taking the time out of your day to read this absolute filth of a story and don't worry the negativity that I'm conveying is to keep me in check from ever growing an ego, can't be prideful if you make sure it never reaches anywhere near that level am I right?:trixieshiftleft:

Other than that, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter and also I'm sorry if how I wrote Celestia seemed like ass to you but I just don't know how to write them, at all.

I'll do my best to improve but again, no promises.

Other than that make sure to leave a comment and I'll see you next time!