Out in the Dragon Lands, two small blurs dashed through the sky. Spike and Smolder were headed over to attend to some business. Spike had been sent by Twilight to update Ember on matters over in Equestria, while Smolder had taken advantage of the fact that Spike had been sent during the weekend to join him, so she could visit her brother without disrupting her school work.
"Thanks for letting me come with, Spike." Smolder declared.
"No problem." Spike smiled. "Always nice to have some company on these long trips..."
"I can't wait to see Garble again." Smolder grinned. "It's so great that he can finally be himself around other dragons."
"Being yourself is always best." Spike nodded. "Maybe after I've talked with Ember, I'll join you. Business before pleasure, you know?"
"Sure." Smolder nodded. "Wouldn't wanna keep the Friendship Ambassador to the Dragon Lands from doing his job." She spotted a familiar shape below, surrounded by several others. "Hey, there's Garble!"
"Guess this is where we split up." Spike acknowledged, as the two young dragons' flight paths diverged. "See ya later!"
"See ya!" Smolder waved. She descended downwards, landing near the crowd of dragons that were gathered another.
Garble was in his element, reciting one of his poems for the pleasure of the listening crowd.
"Come out into the sunlight, let your heart stay bright." He said in time with the tune he was beating on his stone bongos. "And everything will be alright."
The dragons snapped their claws in response.
"Garble!" Smolder called out.
"Hey, li'l sis!" Garble grinned. "Sorry, guys, gotta take five. Family matters."
The crowd reluctantly dispersed, as brother and sister reunited.
"Looks like somedragon's popular." Smolder smirked.
"What can I say? Being the hero of the Dragon Lands has its perks." Garble chuckled. "One of which happens to be plenty of listeners for my beat poetry. Some of them have even given my gems in exchange for private recitals."
"Really?" Smolder asked.
"Oh, yeah." Garble nodded. "You should see the size of my gem hoard now. All because dragons love my poetry."
"Must be nice." Smolder mused.
"But you'll always be my favourite audience." Garble smiled warmly. "And you sure don't need to give me any gems for a private recital."
"Thanks, bro." Smolder grinned.
"So how's pony school been treatin' ya?" Garble asked.
"Not too bad." Smolder answered. "Lots of big changes lately, keeps us on our toes. But they still don't like it when you breathe fire indoors."
"Seriously?" Garble frowned. "That's the best part of being a dragon!"
"I know!" Smolder nodded.
The two dragons chuckled.
Meanwhile, Spike had taken a brief stop to rest his wings, near the mountain Dragon Lords traditionally perched upon.
"When Twilight gets to rule Equestria, she really needs to think about setting up a train route out here..." He mused. "Maybe I could suggest that to Ember..."
"Well, look who it is." A familiar interrupted Spike's musings.
"Oh, no..." Spike groaned.
Spike turned to see Garble's old gang in front of him.
"The little pony dragon's back again." Clump sneered.
"Look, I really don't have time for this." Spike sighed. "I have important Friendship Ambassador business to get to."
"Ooh, so impressive." Fume sneered. "Just more ways to make the dragons even weaker. Every time you show up, ya bring things down, make the place just that little bit lamer."
"Thanks to you and that pony friend of yours, Garble and his dumb poetry are everywhere." Billy spat.
"I thought you guys wanted to learn poetry?" Spike pointed out.
"We only said that cuz all the other dragons were gettin' behind it." Clump scoffed. "We figured it'd just be a fad. But it's here to stay. All because of you and your pony pals."
"You won't be happy until you've totally ruined the Dragon Lands, will you?" Billy snarled.
"I'm not trying to ruin anything." Spike retorted. "I'm just trying to help."
"Who said we wanted your help, pony boy?" Fume snarled.
"Maybe we should help beat the pony out of ya." Clump snarled threateningly.
"Is there a problem here?"
To the delinquent dragons' horror, Ember had arrived on the scene.
"Uh... no, Dragon Lord Ember!" Billy cringed.
"We were just... saying 'hello'!" Fume claimed.
"Good." Ember glared at them. "Because anything other than a warm welcome to an ambassador from our friends in Equestria, especially an ambassador who happens to be a good friend of mine, would make your Dragon Lord very upset. Is that clear?" She jabbed her Bloodstone Scepter in the bullies' direction.
"Yes, Dragon Lord." Clump gulped.
"We were just leaving anyway!" Fume trembled.
"Yeah!" Billy added. "Places to go, stuff to do!"
The three troublemakers beat a hasty retreat.
"Guess some dragons never change." Spike sighed. "Good to see you, Ember."
"You too, Spike." Ember smiled.
"How are things going here?" Spike asked.
"Pretty good, actually." Ember declared. "The baby dragons are thriving, things are nice and peaceful, and dragons are spending more time with each other. ...Which has actually brought about a new problem."
"What kind of problem?" Spike frowned.
"There have dragons getting their gem boards stolen while their backs are turned." Ember revealed.
"Seriously?" Spike gaped.
"Yeah." Ember nodded. "It's been going on for the last couple of weeks. The culprits just swoop in and snatch as many gems as they can. Most dragon put a lot of effort into building up their hoards, and they're really ticked about all this."
"I don't blame 'em." Spike said fairly. "Nothing I like more than a pile of tasty gems..."
"I've instructed everydragon to keep their eyes out." Ember continued. "But so far, nodragon's seen anything."
"Sounds like a real pickle." Spike mused.
"Yep..." Ember sighed. "But enough about my problems. How are things with our pony friends?"
"Well, a lot's been happening." Spike declared. "For starters, Twilight's been tapped to be the next ruler of Equestria."
"No kidding?" Ember mused.
"That's right." Spike nodded. "And that's just the beginning..."
Meanwhile, Smolder and Garble was doing some catching up of their own.
"So, where are those old pals of yours?" Smolder asked.
"Eh, I don't see 'em much anymore." Garble shrugged. "And not just because dragons are lining up to hear my rhymes. They've been off doin' their own thing more and more lately. Guess they don't wanna hang around with me now that I'm a poet..."
"That's too bad." Smolder frowned. "You guys were always so close. My teachers say that you shouldn't let friendships drift apart."
"If they can't stand to be around the real me, that's their problem." Garble scowled. "There are plenty of other dragons who support me. ...Especially Sid."
"Sid?" Smolder raised an eyebrow. "New friend, I'm guessing?"
"You could say that." Garble smiled furtively. "Sid and I have been hangin' around a lot lately."
"Sounds like this Sid is a great dragon." Smolder mused, noting a strange look in her brother's eyes.
"And then some." Garble nodded. "Sid's the best. Just the most awesome dragon I've ever met."
"With a glowing review like that, I can't wait to meet him." Smolder declared.
"Well, actually..." Garble glanced to the side, rubbing his head awkwardly. He saw something in the distance. "Hey, there's Sid now!"
Smolder looked in the direction Garble was looking, smiling expectedly. To her surprise, she saw, not a male dragon as she expected, but a female approaching rapidly. The new dragon was tall and slender, had greenish-gray scales, orange eyes, and small, pointed horns that curved over the back of her head. By dragon standards, she was quite pretty.
"Sid!" Garble smiled widely, as Sid landed beside them. "Great timing. I want you to meet my little sister, Smolder."
"So you're Smolder." Sid appraised the smaller dragon.
"And you're Sid?" Smolder asked.
"Short for Obsidian." Sid smiled. "Glad to finally meet you. Garby's told me so much about you."
"'Garby'?" Smolder frowned.
"It's what she calls me." Garble blushed.
"You're so cute when you blush." Sid cooed.
"Not as cute as you." Garble teased.
"Wait." Smolder tensed up. "Are you two... A thing?"
"Well, it's early days, but... Yeah, we kinda are." Garble said bashfully, as he and Sid held claws.
"Oh, that's... Great." Smolder put on a forced smile.
"I heard him reciting his poetry one day, and it really spoke to the depths of my soul." Sid said dramatically. "So deep, so heartfelt, so... Real. I just had to go up and talk to him about it."
"So we talked." Garble smiled. "And talked, and talked, and talked. Not just about my poems, but about ourselves, what we liked, what we wanted out of life..."
"Before we knew it, we'd spent the whole day together." Sid sighed happily. "And the rest is history."
"Oh, wow..." Smolder said through gritted teeth. "That's so sweet..."
"The sweetest." Sid nuzzled against Garble.
Smolder struggled to keep her smile from turning into a frown.
"I wrote you a new poem yesterday." Garble announced. "Wanna hear it?"
"Does a Slingtail like to throw stuff?" Sid smirked.
"You want in on this, Smolder?" Garble asked, knowing she always liked to hear his work.
"Um.. I'd like to, but I really should go and find Spike." Smolder said awkwardly. "The Dragon Lord wanted to talk to him about something important, and I'd like to know what it is."
"Oh... Okay. Suit yourself." Garble frowned, both confused and disappointed. "Tell the little guy I said 'hey'."
"Will do." Smolder nodded. Spreading her wings, she took off into the sky.
"Nice meeting you, Smolder!" Sid called.
"Too bad I can't say the same about you..." Smolder muttered under her breath.
As she flew across the sky, Smolder's head was filled with dark thoughts, all revolving around Sid. She was so lost in these thoughts that she almost collided with Spike, who had finished updating Ember, and was enroute to reunite with Smolder.
"Hey, look out!" Spike yelped.
"Oh, sorry!" Smolder apologized. "I was just... Thinking."
"What about?" Spike asked.
"Well..." Smolder needed to vent to someone, and Spike seemed like a good candidate. "Okay, it's like this."
One quick explanation later...
"Garble has a girlfriend?" Spike mused. "Huh. Will wonders never cease?"
"I wouldn't call her a 'wonder'." Smolder scowled. "You should see the way she clings to him. Like a bad case of scale rot. And the way she talks? Babbling about things being 'deep' and 'speaking to her soul'... I don't know what Garble sees in her..."
"Oh, I see what this is." Spike said knowingly.
"What?" Smolder grimaced.
"You're jealous." Spike deducted.
"No way!" Smolder spluttered indignantly.
"Yes way." Spike retorted. "Garble's got a new special girl in his life, and you feel threatened by that."
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Smolder insisted.
"I've been there, trust me." Spike assured her. "When Twilight took in Owlowicious, I was so jealous,I became convinced he was going to steal my job. The less said about that mess, the better."
"This is different." Smolder said stubbornly. "That Sid is trouble, I just know it!"
"You want to talk trouble?" Spike raised an eyebrow. "Ember told me there's somedragon going around stealing other dragons' gem hoards."
"Whoa, really?" Smolder frowned.
"Really." Spike nodded. "Whoever it is is taking advantage of how much more sociable dragons are getting these days, stealing their gems when they're not looking."
"What kind of lowlife would do that?" Smolder snarled, outraged. "When a dragon wants another dragon's gems, they fight for them. They don't go behind their backs and steal what they haven't earned."
"It sure doesn't sound like most dragons." Spike admitted. "Whoever's doing this definitely isn't the norm. Too bad we don't know many dragons who fit that description..."
Smolder realized that there was one such dragon who fit the profile.
"That's it!" She suddenly reached a conclusion. "Sid is just pretending to like Garble so she can get him to let his guard down and steal his hoard! It all makes sense!"
"It does?" Spike frowned.
"Of course it does!" Smolder insisted. "I told you that Sid was trouble. Now let's go tell Dragon Lord Ember, so that thief can get what she deserves!"
"I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself." Spike pointed out. "We're going to need more than that before going to Ember about this."
"Like what?" Smolder scoffed.
"Like some evidence, for starters." Spike retorted.
"Evidence, schmevidence." Smolder spat. "I know a bad dragon when I see one. And I'm going to prove it!"
Smolder flew off as fast as she could.
"Wait up?" Spike took off after her. "Something tells me this isn't gonna end well..."
Spike followed after Smolder, barely keeping up as she flew at top speed, a look of grim determination on her face.
"So... You gonna tell me where we're going?" Spike asked.
"We're just going to pay a little visit to the cave where Garble keeps his gems." Smolder replied. "Garble told me that dragons were giving him gems in return for him reciting his poems. All those gems have boosted his hoard nicely. And that's got to be one tempting target. A target that sneaky Sid can't resist..."
"Okay..." Spike said, skepticism in his voice.
They soon landed near a cave in an out-of-the-way area. At Smolder's urging, they hid behind a nearby boulder.
"And now, we play the stakeout game." Smolder narrowed her eyes. "Then we'll see who's right..."
"I'm sure we will." Spike rolled his eyes.
They stood in wait for some time, waiting for something, anything, to happen. Then something did happen. Sid emerged from the cave, carrying a small pile of gems in her arms.
"A-ha!" Smolder yelled triumphantly. "I knew it!"
"Now hold on." Spike said fairly. "Let's not jump to conclusions-" He realised Smolder had already rushed out to confront Sid. "Seriously?" He groaned.
"Caught ya red-clawed!" Smolder yelled.
"Smolder?" Sid frowned. "What are you doing here?"
"The real question is: what are you doing here?" Smolder shot back. "And the answer is: stealing from Garble's gem hoard!"
"What?!" Sid gasped.
"I knew there was something I didn't like about you I didn't like." Smolder jeered triumphantly. "And I was right!"
"Who was right?" Garble asked, as he emerged from the cave.
"That is some timing there." Spike noted, as he joined the group.
"Oh. Hey, Spikey." Garble briefly acknowledged Spike. "Smolder, what's going on?"
"What's going on is I just caught Sid stealing some of your hoard!" Smolder declared.
"Steal?" Garble frowned. "I let her have some of it."
"That's right." Smolder nodded. "And- wait, what?"
"Yeah." Sid nodded. "I had most of my hoard stolen a couple of days ago, and Garby was sweet enough to lend me some of his."
"The thief got your hoard too?" Spike asked, concern in his voice.
"Sure they did." Smolder sneered. "You'd like us to think that, wouldn't you?"
"What?" Sid frowned.
"You just made up a sob story to get more gems." Smolder said coldly. "You're nothing but a gem-grubbing thief!"
"Hey!" Garble stepped. "Don't talk to her like that!"
"It's true." Sid nodded. "Garby was sweet enough to lend me some of his gems after my own hoard was stolen."
"You're taking her side?" Smolder snarled. "Can't you see she's just stringing you along so she can steal your hoard?"
"Sid would never do that!" Garble retorted. "What's gotten into you, Smolder?"
"Me?" Smolder spluttered. " You're the one who can't see through those goo-goo eyes of your's. She's really got you fooled, hasn't she?"
"Easy, Smolder." Spike tried to intervene.
"Easy, nothin'!" Smolder growled. "I'm not letting this lying thief trick my brother into losing his hoard!"
"I-I would never-" Sid said weakly.
"Of course you wouldn't." Garble consoled her.
"But Gar-Gar..." Smolder started.
"I don't wanna hear it." Garble cut her off. "And I'm not going to stand here and let you insult my girlfriend."
In spite of the tense situation, Sid allowed herself a little smile.
"I'm telling you, she's not what you think!" Smolder insisted.
"You think you know her better than I do? You just met her!" Garble pointed out. "What, do ya think I'm too stupid to see a con right in front of my face? Or is it that you think nodragon could be interested in me for me?"
"That's... That's not what I meant..." Smolder said weakly. She had never seen her brother this angry at her before.
"Come on, Sid." Garble declared. "Let's go."
"But Garble..." Smolder pleaded.
"When you're ready to apologize, come find us." Garble said coldly.
With that, both Garble and Sid flew away, leaving a crestfallen Smolder behind.
"Sooo... That could have gone better." Spike said awkwardly.
"Whatever." Smolder croaked, fighting back some tears. "If Garble can't see Sid for who she is , then he'll just have to learn the hard way."
"Or maybe the problem here is that you're seeing Sid for who you think she is." Spike retorted.
"Not this again." Smolder scowled. "I am not jealous! Just because Garble's giving Sid all this attention, writing poems for her, when I was the only dragon he'd ever write poems for before, taking all my brothers' time that should be for me, and..." She trailed off, realizing what it sounded like when she spoke her feelings out loud. "Oh."
"Uh-huh." Spike nodded.
"Okay, so maybe I'm a tiny bit jealous." Smolder admitted grudgingly.
"Look, you want Garble to be happy, don't you?" Spike asked.
"Of course I do." Smolder replied.
"And if being with Sid makes him happy, then you should respect that, right?" Spike urged.
"Yes." Smolder said grudgingly.
"Then you need to make up for everything." Spike instructed. "Find Garble and Sid, and apologize to her."
"Aw, do I have to?" Smolder groaned.
"Yes." Spike nodded. "You don't want to lose your brother over this, do you?"
"No..." Smolder grumbled.
"Then let's go." Spike smirked. "Any idea where they could be?"
"I know Garble's hangouts pretty well." Smolder pointed out. "He's bound to be at one of them."
The two young dragons began their search. Fortunately, they didn't have to look for too long; they spotted Garble near his favorite lava-surfing spot. He was standing side-by-side with Sid, who was holding him tightly.
Smolder once again grit her teeth in response to Sid's affections toward her brother. Then she took a deep, calming breath.
"Okay, here goes..." She sighed.
"Good luck." Spike encouraged her.
Smolder landed near Sid, just as Garble returned to land.
"Oh, it's you." Garble said flatly. "I hope you've come to apologize, because I don't wanna hear anything else outta you."
"Lucky for both of us, that's exactly why I'm here." Smolder nodded.
"Oh." Garble paused, surprised. "Go ahead."
Taking another deep breath, Smolder approached Sid.
"I'm sorry about everything I said before." She announced. "I was really out of line. Guess I was just..."
"Jealous?" Spike leaned in, wearing his best "I told you so" face.
"Yes." Smolder pushed Spike aside. "I was jealous that Garble had a new girl in his life. I was worried you might... Steal him away from me, and I'd never get to hang out my big bro ever again."
"Aw, sis." Garble placed a claw on Smolder's shoulder. "That's something you never have to worry about."
"I know... Now." Smolder smiled.
"I suppose I can't blame you for being a little possessive." Sid admitted. "Garby is really great."
"Yeah, he is." Smolder chuckled. "So, what do you say we just start over?"
"Works for me." Sid smiled.
"Great." Smolder beamed.
"That's what I like to see: my two favorite girls, getting along." Garble grinned, hugging them both.
"Well, that's one problem solved." Spike noted. "Now if only we knew who the gem thief is, this would be a win-win situation."
"Funny you should mention that, kid." Garble grinned. "Sid came up with a genius idea to do just that."
"I wouldn't call it 'genius' exactly." Sid said modestly. "Remember those gems Garby let me have?"
"Yeah?" Smolder tilted her quizzically.
"I made certain a lot of dragons saw me with them." Sid declared. "I flew as slowly as I could over the biggest gatherings I could find, with the gems very visible. Whoever the thief is, they wouldn't be able to ignore a display like that. I put them in that cave over there." She pointed to a recess in the cliff face.
"So that's why you're just standing here." Spike noted. "Waiting for somedragon to take the bait."
"That's right." Garble nodded. "Now we wait."
The dragons hid behind a large boulder, and patiently awaited any arrivals. For a while, there was nothing. Then came a trio of familiar-looking dragons; Garble's former friends descended on the cave.
"Them? Spike frowned.
The quartet watched as the trio entered the cave, then exited shortly after with the gems.
"Look at that, Sid's plan worked." Smolder smiled. "Then let's go tell Dragon Lord Ember."
"Hold up." Garble held out his arm. "I've known those guys for years. No way they're smart enough to think of something like this on their own. They've always preferred force, not stealth."
"So you think somedragon else is behind this?" Sid asked.
"Oh, yeah." Garble nodded. "If we follow them, they could lead us to the real mastermind."
"Let's do it." Spike noted.
The quartet took off after the thieves, making sure they stayed far enough (and low enough) behind to avoid being spotted. The pursuit led them to the outskirts of the Dragon Lands, and down to a ring of craggy ridges. Inside was a veritable mountain of stolen gems.
"So this is their hideout..." Smolder mused, as she and the others hid behind one ridge.
"Quite a hiding place, huh?" Spike noted.
"Definitely not a place I'd expect those three to think of using." Garble declared.
"So... where's this mastermind?" Sid mused.
Almost in answer to Sid's question, a new voice filled the air.
"Another successful haul". A portly green dragon emerged from behind a ridge, one whom Spike and Smolder instantly recognised.
"Sludge!" Spike gasped.
"You know him?" Garble frowned.
"We both do." Smolder revealed. "He showed up in Ponyville a while back. Pretended to be Spike's dad so he could stay in Headmare Twilight's castle and mooch off 'em."
"That is just vile." Sid screwed up her face in disgust.
"Looks like he's found himself a new racket." Spike acknowledged.
"Nice job, boys." Sludge told the others. "We keep this up, soon we'll even gems to last us for weeks."
"I can't believe we didn't think of this before." Billy grinned.
"I know." Clump nodded. "This is so much easier than fighting for gems."
"And more satisfying." Fume added.
"I told you, didn't I?" Sludge bragged. "Why work for what you can take?" He picked up a gem, and took a bite out of it. "So much sweeter..."
"So now we know who's behind this." Garble noted from the good dragons' hiding spot. "Now what?"
"We get Ember." Spike declared. "Now that we know where they're keeping all the stolen gems, we just have to get Ember over here, and she can use her Dragon Lord authority to order them to return all the gems."
"Won't we need proof?" Smolder asked. "Knowing Sludge, he'll probably spin a lie about how they 'found' the missing gems."
"Good thinking." Garble noted. "Any ideas?"
"I have one." Sid spoke up. "While you guys get the Dragon Lord, I'll go over there and pretend like I want in on their little scheme. Then I'll keep them busy by 'negotiating' my cut."
"That... Might actually work." Smolder admitted.
"I kinda got the idea from you." Sid smiled wryly. "If these guys are as dim as you say, they'll buy it easy."
"You are the only one of us they don't already know." Spike mused. "That definitely helps..."
"You sure you can handle those clowns?" Garble asked, worry in his voice.
"They won't stand a chance." Sid smirked, giving Garble a quick hug.
"We'll be back with Ember as soon as we can." Spike declared.
"Good luck." Smolder added.
The other dragons flew off to get Ember, leaving Sid with the most important role.
"Showtime." She whispered. She stepped out from behind the rock, and approached the thieves.
"Hey, guys." She crooned. "Nice haul."
Sludge and Garble's former friends froze up with shock. Sludge was the first to recover.
"S-so? What of it?" He said awkwardly. "Are you saying these gems aren't ours?"
"I know they aren't." Sid retorted. "I know you're the one who's been stealing other dragons' hoards, including mine."
"And what if we are?" Fume challenged.
"Yeah." Clump added. "What are you gonna do about?"
"Simple." Sid grinned. "I want in."
"You do?" Sludge frowned.
"Oh, yeah." Sid lied. "All those gems? What dragon could resist?"
"Why should we let you be part of this?" Clump asked.
"Because the gems in my hoard were nothing compared to this mountain of deliciousness. And one more dragon means another pair of claws to carry gems." Sid pointed out.
"She's got a point there." Billy noted.
"And I can be pretty sneaky when I want to be." Sid added. "Not to mention I know some more out-of-the-way hoard locations, with lots of hidden gems."
"I'm starting to like this girl." Fume smirked.
"Maybe we can afford one more member in this gang." Sludge said greedily.
"Great." Sid grinned. "Because with everything I'm bringing to the table, I'd say I deserve a bigger cut of the profits than these rockheads."
"Say what?!" Clump gaped.
"No way!" Fume yelped.
"Are you crazy?" Billy growled.
"Fine, be that way." Sid shrugged. "Guess I'll just grab all those juicy gem hoards for myself..."
"Now hold on just a second." Sludge said hastily. "I'm sure we can up with some kind of mutually beneficial agreement."
"You don't say..." Sid grinned. "Tell me more. I've got all the time in the world."
"How about I cut you in for... thirty percent?" Sludge offered.
"How about forty?" Sid shot back.
"Thirty-one?" Sludge suggested.
"Forty." Sid returned.
"Thirty-three?" Sludge asked.
"Forty." Sid repeated.
"Thirty-five?" Sludge said desperately.
"Okay, deal." Sid nodded. "So, tell me... what's the next target?"
"Ooh, it's a doozy." Sludge smirked. "I know an old dragon over on the north side who does nothing but sleep most of the time. How I envy him... But the point is, he's got a big hoard, and an extra pair of claws is just what we need to get it all!"
"Sounds like a plan." Sid nodded.
"And we'll be goin' and gettin' it first thing tomorrow." Sludge declared.
"I don't think so!" A voice called out.
As Sludge and his cronies followed the sound of the voice, the saw the sky darken, as a crowd of irate-looking dragons, led by Ember, Spike, Garble and Smolder, hovered above them.
"Uh-oh." Sludge cringed.
"Gotcha." Sid smirked, as Ember and the others touched down beside her.
"D-dragon Lord Ember!" Sludge cringed. "This isn't what it looks like-"
"Save it." Ember growled. "I know exactly what you've all been doing. Do any of you have anything to say for yourselves?"
"...It was his idea!" Fume pointed at Sludge.
"Yeah, all him!" Billy added.
"He said taking what we want is what real dragons do!" Clump added.
"Some dragons really don't change..." Spike glared at Sludge.
"It's not like we're breaking any rules here!" Sludge claimed.
"You are now." Ember said coldly. "As Dragon Lord, I hereby forbid the stealing of gems from other dragons. And I order the four of you to return all the gems you stole."
"Um... What about the gems we already ate?" Billy asked nervously.
"Those you will replace with gems from your own hoards." Ember declared. "Now get to work!"
"Great plan, Sludge." Clump snarled as the thieves grudgingly went about their task.
"Yeah, real smart." Fume scoffed.
"Hey, it's not my fault we were caught!" Sludge growled. "One of you must've led them to us!"
"Whatever." Billy spat, handing some gems to a waiting dragon.
"Way to go, Sid!" Garble hugged his girlfriend.
"You're really something." Smolder admitted. "I'm starting to see why Garble likes you so much..."
"Right back at ya." Sid chuckled, ruffling Smolder's spines. "Garby's lucky to have a sister like you."
"And he's lucky to have a girlfriend like you." Smolder replied.
"Aw, c'mere!" Garble hugged his girlfriend and his sister, who gleefully returned the hug.
Spike smiled at the heartwarming moment.
"Looks like I've got quite the report to bring back to Twilight." He admitted. "A real gem, that's for sure..."