//------------------------------//
// Tests Pt.1 
// Story: Firebreather 
// by TAD2 
//------------------------------//

The next morning, Spike, Ember, and the Dazzlings were taking the elevator down to the MPATS station under the house. The Dazzlings were shocked to see that the house had this feature, but Ember wasn't as shocked as she was when she first used it to get to the house. "Man, you humans are something else." Said Adagio.

Spike shrugged. "Yeah, I guess, but dragons can fly, elevators are kinda pointless, and earth dragons are strong enough to take the stairs or just jump to the level they need to go to."

"But still, I will never get used to all the technology you humans have." Said Sonata.

Spike smirked. When they saw all the technology at the DDC they would go nuts, but right now, they need to get ready for the tests. "So, girls, when we get to the DDC HQ, we'll be talking to a woman named Moondancer. She is an old friend of mine, and she's in charge of running the whole DDC, she'll tell us where to go for the tests."

Ember gulped, she remembered Moondancer, but mostly her threats. She looked to the Dazzlings. "Girls, whatever you do, don't make her upset, she is terrifying." Said Ember warning them about the agent.

Spike looked back at Ember. "Something up Ember?"

"No nothing at all." Said Ember in the most forced way possible.

Spike shrugged as they reached the station. Sitting in the station was a MPATS pod, ready to take them to the DDC. "Well let's hop in." Said Spike, as he walked over to the pod and opened the door. That's when he realized something. There were only 4 seats and five passengers. "Um... you girls go, I'll wait for the next one to come."

But the girls weren't having that. Ember and Adagio shoved Spike into the pod, as the other two joined them. They shoved Spike into a seat and proceeded to argue over who got to sit in his lap for the 2-minute ride. Long story short; Spike decided for them. "Aria." He said.

Aria blushed as she was sitting in Spike's lap, the others giving her glares of pure death, but she just smirked.





When they arrived at the DDC HQ, the Dazzlings were shocked to see the hangar full of the vehicles, but they didn't have time to let the trio gawk at it all. So, Spike and Ember dragged the trio behind them, and tossed them in the elevator. Aria looked at Spike. "Um... Spike, if the humans had all of that, why didn't they win the war?"

Spike hummed. "Well, most of the tech was developed post war, and thankfully they have gone unused since then, but I believe that dragons still had the advantage, we are pretty much flying tanks, and one of the world’s most valuable minerals is the only thing that can hurt us. But we humans are known for our resolve, so maybe a total win was not guaranteed." Said Spike as the door to the elevator opened and standing right there was Moondancer.

Moondancer smiled at Spike as she wrapped the boy into a tight hug. "Spike, it's so good to see you again, I thought you had forgotten about me." Said Moondancer.

Spike laughed as he couldn't help but hug Moondancer back. "I could never forget about you Moondancer."

Moondancer smiled at hearing that, so she released the boy. She then looked at Ember and the Dazzlings, and her mood changed to a serious one in no time flat. "Yes, I remember reading about conducting tests on our visitors in the morning report, I'll escort you all to the science wing of the HQ." Said Moondancer as she wrapped her arm around Spike’s and started pulling him away from the group of female dragons.

Ember sighed as she watched Moondancer pulling Spike away from them. 'Wow, that was even worse than when she met me.' Thought Ember. She looked to the Dazzlings; they were a little upset to not even get an introduction from Spike. But in his defense, he didn't even get a chance. Ember sighed as she motioned for the trio to follow before they got lost. "Come on."

As Moondancer and Spike were walking, Spike felt a slight bit of worry in the back of his head. "Um... Moondancer, where is Uncle D?" Asked Spike.

Moondancer smiled at Spike. "Oh, don't worry Spike, he's going to meet us there, he's waiting to see you."

That was when it clicked inside of Spike's head. Moondancer was never this vague about Discord, mainly because she was in charge of his schedule, and the last time she was this vague, he was nearly beaten to a pulp by his aunt. Spike gulped as he had a bad feeling about this. "Hey Moondancer, I think I forgot something back at home, why don't you go show the girls where to go and I'll catch up?"

Moondancer tightened her grip on Spike's arm, making sure not to lose him. "Sorry Spike, but I have orders to make sure you show up."

Spike started sweating. "NOPE!" Yelled Spike as he escaped the woman's hold on him and ran as fast as his legs could go to the elevator. Leaving Ember and the Dazzlings to fend for themselves.

Moondancer sighed. "He's running, activate Anti Spike countermeasures." Said Moondancer. This seemed to hold some weight, as a giant metal door was quickly shut in front of Spike. Spike looked at the door, he had seen a version of it years ago, a solid hunk of 18in thick high grade titanium alloy, the same material that all dragon bunkers were made from. He was trapped, but he wasn't going to go down without a fight. "Spike, please calm down, she only wants to see if you can still fight." Said Moondancer.

Spike looked at Moondancer. "I wouldn't call it a fight, she was 657, I was 12." Said Spike as he changed his hands into claws in the hope of clawing at the door to escape.

Then the sound of someone walking towards them was heard. "Spike, where are you?"

Spike gulped as he continued to claw at the door vigorously. "Come on Sweetie, I just want to see how you've grown, I missed you when Bamut summoned you to the castle, but I was on a mission for him."

Spike looked at the door, he wasn’t even making a dent. That left him with one option left, he looked at the ground. 'There's no way they would think to reinforce the ground. Let’s hope Uncle Core's training paid off.' Thought Spike as he started to dig for his life.

The owner of the voice sighed as she finally caught sight of her target. Ember and the Dazzlings dropped their jaws at the sight of the voice's owner, but she just walked past them and over to the hole that her nephew was trying to dig through. She looked down the hole and sighed when she saw that Spike had dug a good 50 feet down in a matter of moments. "Not bad, but Sinacore could have dug triple that in half the time." Said the woman.

Spike sighed as he knew he was caught now. "Well what do you expect I'm a wing dragon, not an earth like Uncle Core."

The woman nodded. "Yes, but he would be a little disappointed, you two used to go gem hunting on the weekends when you were in the dragon lands."

Spike groaned as he started to climb his way up to the surface. Once he was back on the surface, he looked at the woman, she was just as tall as him, with long white hair, a gold training t-shirt, and a pair of workout shorts. She looked at Spike with her dark blue eyes and she smiled at him. "Hi Spike."

Spike smiled at the woman and gave her a hug. "Hi Aunt Jewel."

Jewel then grabbed Spike's ear. "Now tell me why I had to leave your uncle alone in the lab to come get your butt?"

Spike groaned at the feeling of his aunt, grabbing his ear. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to get my tail handed to me."

Jewel sighed. "Spike, I'm not here for you, well, not to train you, I'm here to see my student, and my family's three problem nesses." Said Jewel as she looked at the girls next to Moondancer.

They all gulped as three of them were thinking of doing a Spike. Jewel released Spike's ear and walked over to the four girls. Ember smiled at seeing one of her masters, and good friend, while the Dazzlings were contemplating if they had the strength to bust through the ground.

Jewel looked at Ember. "Hey Ember, I see you have taken to your human form very nicely, but a little advice, all males like to see a little more scale." Said Jewel. This made Ember blush red at the thought of showing more off to Spike. "Aw, I'm just teasing sweetie, you do you, it's not like you have some competition for him, right?"

Ember blushed even redder as she remained silent.

Jewel looked at Spike, he was rubbing his ear, then back to Ember, then to Spike again. 'Wow, I knew Spike was special, but to get the attention of another female, god, I'm still trying to get a guy to look at me and not fear the guys.' Thought Jewel, she was the youngest of all Bahamut's closes advisers, and the only female, and she loved them all as family, so when she first tried to find a mate, it became clear why they never lasted more than a month, then again, staring down the Dragon King, his general, a powerful magic dragon, an earth dragon that could pound a mountain into a valley, and an earth dragon that could dig your grave in the time it took you to blink, would hamper any chance at a love life, for the one they saw as a little sister. Jewel looked at Ember and asked. "How many?"

Ember gulped as she couldn't believe this was happening. "11 in total." Said Ember.

Jewel dropped her jaw at that. 'Holy fire, 11, but the most a dragon could take is 6, maybe 7 if he was young.' She looked at Ember. "Ember, who are they?"

Ember sighed. "Me, his first friend, Twilight, all of her friends, and them." Said Ember as she motioned to the three sirens.

The Dazzlings gulped as now the next head of Clan Harmony was giving them all her full attention. "Lady Jewel... How lovely it is to see you."

"Adagio, Aria, Sonata." Said Jewel. They all gulped again. "I'm happy for you all, my mother made a huge mistake trying to get you three to marry those drakes, can you forgive me?" Asked Jewel.

All three girls dropped their jaws at hearing this, Jewels mother, Lady Soprano was the one who arranged for them to be married off, and here she was asking forgiveness. "Lady Jewel, what is this about?" Asked Aria, she wasn't sure if this was a dream or a con to get them home.

Jewel sighed. "Girls listen, my mother made a huge mistake picking those three." She looked at Adagio. "Adagio, I didn't know about Fire Stream's behavior, no ness would ever be with someone so rude." She then looked to Aria. "Aria, I heard the rumors about Drako, but I didn't believe it." She looked at Sonata. "Sonata, Wilhelm is old fashioned, and saw you more as a guest than a possible mate." She looked at all three girls. "I should have never given my mother my approval of those three, I am truly sorry."

All the girls were shocked, they didn't know about who or why those drakes were chosen, but now they knew why, and oddly enough they didn't care. "Lady Jewel, it's fine, we're happy here with Spike and Ember."

Aria smiled. "Yeah, we've made some cool friends."

Sonata nodded. "Yeah, plus, Spike is a great cook, he's super-duper nice, we have mattresses and we're all in his hoard!" Cheered Sonata.

Ember, Jewel, Moondancer, Aria, and Adagio went pale at the word. But Spike started laughing. "Finally, someone said it."

All the females looked at Spike, they all knew the condition, Ember was told by Bahamut along with Jewel. Moondancer was informed by Discord, and the Dazzlings were told by Ember, but everyone was sure that Spike was clueless, but apparently, he was not.

Spike walked over to the group and smiled. "What?" Asked Spike.

Jewel gulped. "Spike, Sweetie, why do you know about hordes?"

Spike shrugged. "Uncle Core told me when I asked him about Aunt Magma and Aunt Obsidian."

Jewel groaned. "I'm going to kill that boulder head." Out of her friends, Sinacore was the only one with a hoard, but it was a small one, only having three, Core, Magma, and Obsidian. She looked at Spike. "What did he tell you?"

Spike hummed. "Give me a minute, it was a few years ago.... I think he said that dragons can form hordes if everyone agrees to it."

Jewel groaned. 'Well at least you didn't tell him what happens in one.' Thought Jewel. She looked at the girls. "Ok, so in the last 2 years since I've seen Spike, he has gotten Ember as his mate, and formed a horde with 10 other females, most of which are human?"

Spike shrugged. "Yep, pretty much sums it up."

Jewel rubbed her eyes. "Your father is going to skin me alive."

Spike chuckled. "Oh, come on, he's not going to do anything to you, my mother on the other hand, she might want to have a word with him."

Jewel sighed. "Fine, I'll warn him when I get back." She said as she started dragging all the teenagers to the lab.





When they got there, all the girls were shocked to see how much equipment was there and how large the facility was. But, standing in the middle of the lab were three people. Red Heart, Sombra and Discord. They were all talking about something, but when they noticed that the subjects had arrived, the talking ended and changed into non classified regular tech jargon. "Glad to see you finally arrived with them Jewel." Said Discord.

Jewel rolled her eyes. "Shut up Discord, I had to get something off my chest first, sorry if I threw your schedule off by a few minutes."

"Actually, I accounted for that, but we are needed for a meeting in 10 minutes with the Japanese emperor and prime minister, something about using Spike's image in a film." Said Moondancer.

Discord sighed. "Fine, Sombra, Red, you two take over." Said Discord as he and Moondancer walked to the meeting.

Sombra sighed as he looked at Spike. "Ladies, I need to have a talk with Spike for a moment, why don't you all get ready?" Sombra then walked over to Spike and pulled him away from the group. "Spike, what the hell did you do?" Asked Sombra.

"Mr. Sombra, I have no idea what you're talking about." Said Spike lying through his teeth.

"Spike, I'm not an idiot, I was talking with Discord when you called yesterday, I have access to body cam footage from all active agents in the fields. I saw you in your dragon form, and when Discord got back, he didn't know anything."

Spike sighed. "Ok, look, I was invited to AJ's farm for her family's reunion, a fire started, and I was the only one who could have rescued three girls that were going to die. Big surprise I did, and only one of them saw me. But I like my life here, I have friends, I have a somewhat normal life, and I don't want to keep moving around every time someone finds out."

Sombra sighed. "I get that, but you make it sound like someone found out who you are?"

Spike looked away, which didn't go unnoticed by Sombra. "Spike, you did use the inhibitor on the girl that found out right?"

Spike started to whistle a little ditty in his head. Sombra groaned. "Spike, look, I agree that the DDC's methods are a little too extreme, and you’re at that age where you feel like the world is against you, but we need to keep the truth hidden."

Spike looked at Sombra. "And why is that, why is everything hidden, why is the public out of the loop about how the war started? A dragon didn't kill a human, they did not invade, they wanted to come back!" Yelled Spike as his eyes changed to slits.

Sombra took a step back. "Spike, calm down, you're letting your emotions take control."

Spike took a deep breath. "Sombra, my father’s kind, has been stuck in a separate dimension for over 2000 years by human standards. Hundreds of thousands of years, and the truth has been nearly lost to time. I’m sure that you know this, but the only true friend to dragons back then was Merlin, he created the dimension where the dragon lands reside, and only once the last person who believed in dragons were gone would the portal open once again and allow them to return."

Sombra sighed. "Yeah, I did a little research into that old legend. Old man didn't think about how skittish the humans would be after 2000 years, we didn't think it was real, and up until 30 years ago, I didn't even think Dragons were real. I always thought they were just large birds and tricks of the eye and look how that came to bite me in the ass." Sombra sighed. "Spike, look, Humans are idiots that try to solve all our problems with violence, Dragons are not much different, we left your kind without much choice, but they didn't leave us much either."

Spike nodded. "I know, dragons are nothing like what they were back then, but I fear, because of that, both worlds can never truly know peace."

Sombra sighed as he placed his hand on Spike's shoulder. "Hey, never say never kid, think about the girl you saved, seeing that we are running tests and not packing, I think somewhere you did show someone that peace is possible."

Spike smiled. "Yeah, Fluttershy was cool about finding out too." Said Spike.

Sombra looked at Spike. "There's two?"

Spike gulped. "Oh, look, I'm needed, see ya later." Said Spike as he ran off.

Sombra sighed. "Please for all that is holy, lord, protect that idiot, I can’t deal with a repeat of what happened when Cadance was younger?"





Spike ran over to the girls who were doing some stretches. Ember and the Dazzlings were in their gym clothes, getting ready for the tests. Red Heart walked over to Spike and handed him his gym clothes. "You too Spike, you’re going to be working up a sweat today, and please don't ogle the girls so much." Said Red Heart. Spike blushed as he ran to a changing screen and swapped out his clothes. He walked over to the group and did some quick stretches.

Once everyone was limbered up it was time to start. "Ok, first I'm going to see how you all fight." Said Jewel. Spike gulped. 'Lier.' Thought Spike. "And the first one is going to be Aria."

Aria gulped as she walked over to Jewel. "Yes ma'am." Said Aria.

Jewel giggled. "Oh, don't worry, we're not going to actually fight, I'm going to teach you how to defend and counter." Said Jewel.

Aria nodded as she got into a very poor defensive stance. Jewel sighed as she walked over to the girl. "No, you're way too open, widen your stance, elbows at the ready, and don't focus on the thing in front of you. Focus on the area around you instead." Said Jewel as she swept Aria's leg, making her fall to the ground.

Aria groaned. "What the hell, you said this was teaching."

'And, it begins.' Thought Spike.

Jewel nodded. "Right, if it was a real fight, you wouldn't be getting up."

Aria groaned as she got to her feet again. "Fine, if that's how you want to play, then let’s play." Aria rushed Jewel in hopes of throwing off her guard.

Jewel sighed. "Anger is the most dangerous enemy when in a fight, it clouds judgment and slows your movements." She grabbed Aria's arm and tossed her to the ground. "I see I'm going to have to make a full training course for you."

Aria sighed as she got to her feet again. "Ok, now which one am I going to attack?" She was deciding on which of the 5 Jewels to attack.

Jewel sighed as she motioned for Ember to take Aria back. Ember walked over to Aria. "Come on Aria, let’s go sit down for a moment."

Jewel was disappointed at how her first attempt went. She looked at the three remaining in front of her. "Ok, I don't think that Sonata would be a good fighter." Sonata huffed at the statement. "But defending doesn't always mean fighting, Sonata can you follow me to the sound chamber?"

"Um... Yes ma'am." Said Sonata as the group walked over to a large clear room. Spike and Adagio stayed outside, while Sonata and Jewel went in.

Adagio looked at Spike. "Spike, what is this?" 

Spike sighed. "It is a 2-foot thick bulletproof room, completely sealed off from the outside world. Aunt Jewel uses it to test her voice."

Adagio gulped. "Oh, this isn't good."





Inside the sound chamber, Jewel was explaining what she wanted Sonata to do. "So, most sirens can create anger through their voices. But a few sirens are actually able to create illusions with their voices." Jewel started to harmonize with herself. Sonata blinked in surprise. Standing in front of her were two Jewels. "You see, I am one of those sirens, and I believe you are as well."

Sonata gulped. "But I don't know how, I'm nothing special."

Jewel sighed. "Sonata, why do you think that?"

"I've always been the least popular, I'm not smart like Adagio, or strong like Aria, I'm an airhead that dragons see as annoying."

Jewel smiled. "Then you are perfect. You are the perfect you."

Sonata looked at Jewel. "But, how is that good, everyone says it's bad."

"Does Spike?"

Sonata shook her head. "No, he actually calls it lively."

"What about Ember?"

"A little, but she says it helps her relax."

"And your sisters?"

Sonata chuckled. "A lot, but they say if I wasn't me, then they wouldn't be happy."

Jewel nodded. "Sonata, when I was younger, I was just like you. I wanted to just have fun, talk to others, and I just kept smiling when someone called it annoying. I can't remember how many times I got in trouble with my mother for distracting her from work. But then I met Bahamut and the other Talons. They were the first group of dragons to not call me annoying, to not see a little runt that wanted to play with the big dragons. No, instead they just let me hang around them. I talked to them, and they talked with me, I told them I was lonely, and they became my friends. But one day Bahamut snuck out of the palace to just relax and he got attacked by some local bullies. I was close by and ran to help him, but the moment they noticed me, a few of them ran after me. So, I cried my eyes out, I was scared and couldn't help but run away. But while I cried, I started noticing that I was harmonizing with myself. The bullies freaked out when there was a whole army of me running away from them, so they backed off." Jewel sighed. "Bahamut found me in an alley a few minutes later. Apparently, he had overheard the bullies screaming in fear and was worried about me. He said he saw the last of my sound clones disappear and told me about them."

Sonata was confused. "So... you were a crybaby back then?"

Jewel sighed. "No, I'm telling you that it is an emotion that triggers this ability. Each dragon race has abilities that can be triggered by emotions. I believe that you can tap into this one first, like I could."

Sonata gasped. "But how?"

Jewel shrugged. "Truly, I do not know. I was scared when it first triggered, but after that, I didn't need to get emotional, though I remember that being the most frightening moment of my life. So, what emotion do you think is the strongest in you?"

Sonata hummed as she thought. 'Well, I'm happy but sad, I can be angry, but not for long. Maybe my family was right, I'm just a ness that can't keep her head out of the clouds.' She looked at Spike and Adagio, they both were smiling at her. 'But maybe that's a good thing. Yeah, I'm not an airhead, I just find it easy to see other things, I am happy, I am loved, I am...'

Jewel smiled. "In two places at once." She said, as she looked at two Sonatas in the chamber with her.

"What?" Asked Sonata in harmony with herself. Both Sonatas looked at the other, then to Jewel. "This is so cool!" She beamed, as she tried to hug herself. But in her excitement, she forgot to heed Jewel’s words, instead of hugging herself, Sonata fell through the clone and they both fell on the ground.

Jewel sighed. "Sonata, it's just a sound projection, it's not solid."

"Noted." Said Sonata, as she dusted herself off. She looked at Spike and Adagio, the latter of which was shocked to see two Sonatas. But Spike was just smiling at her as he gave a thumbs up.

Jewel smiled. "Ok, Sonata, keep practicing, but make sure to take breaks, the more clones you make and the longer you keep them, the harder it is on your throat."

Sonata nodded. "Ok, thank you, Madam Jewel."

"Wait, what emotion did you use?"

Sonata blushed. "Um... my love for my friends."

Jewel smiled. "Love is a powerful emotion, remember that and you might master all siren abilities."

Sonata gasped as she harmonized with herself again. Jewel walked out of the chamber and closed the door before any humans were affected. Spike walked over to Jewel. "I didn't peg her as a harmonizer." He said.

Jewel laughed. "And I didn't peg you as a lady’s man, but here we are."

Spike sighed. "Stop it. But was that what you wanted Aria to learn?"

Jewel nodded. "Yeah, knowing your surroundings is a great tool, and knowing what your opponent is getting ready for and if they are lying is important to learn."

Spike nodded. "Yeah, but does that mean you think Adagio is a Hidden?"

Jewel nodded. "Yeah, their mother told me about them when they were younger. I had a feeling they were going to awaken."

Adagio was confused. "What are you talking about?" Asked the very confused orange-haired teenager.

"You want me to explain?"

Jewel shrugged. "She's in your hoard."

Spike sighed. "Adagio, you know about the three dragon types, right?"

Adagio nodded. "Yeah, Wing, Earth, Sirens."

Spike nodded. "Yes, each dragon type has abilities that they can unlock. That is how the 9 great clans were first established. Wind dragons can... you know what, I'll explain that when I show you. Earth Dragons can eat magma, form lava bombs for excavation, enhance their claws to allow them greater mobility while digging, and cause seismic shockwaves with each step. Sirens are able to as you saw, use their voices to clone themselves, use a thing like echolocation, or in your case the ability to cloak themselves in a dome of sound and become invisible."

Jewel nodded. "Yes, but yours is the hardest to master, mainly because it takes a whole lot of vocal control to achieve."

Adagio looked at Spike, who nodded. But when she looked at Jewel, she was gone. "Wait where did she go?" Asked Adagio.

"She's still here." Said Spike as he stuck his hand closer to Jewel. "She's just making a point." Spike's hand then disappeared.

Jewel smiled as she dropped the sound. "Yes, I believe that you three sisters have the skill to unlock each ability, and, maybe, in time, you can unlock all three."

Adagio nodded. "So, will you teach me how to become invisible?"

Jewel blushed. "Adagio, I think that will have to wait. It isn't an ability that is easily unlocked."

"Oh, come on, why not?"

Jewel walked over to Adagio and whispered what she needed to do. "But there has to be another way?" Jewel shook her head.

"There may be one, but this is a proven method that worked on me and my mother."

"But...But...But." Said Adagio.

Jewel nodded. "Yeah, I punched Sinacore in the muzzle when he walked into my cave."

Adagio sighed. "I'll wait."

Jewel sighed. "Trust me, it doesn't last long, but the teasing gets old quick, so if you're going to do it, make sure you're alone."

Adagio nodded as she blushed and looked at Spike.

Spike was confused. "Adagio, what's wrong?"

"NOTHING!" Yelled Adagio as she ran over to Aria.

Spike looked at Jewel. "Aunt Jewel, what did you tell her?"

"Nothing that concerns you right now, Spike." Jewel then grabbed Spike and started dragging him over to a sparring room. "Come on, it's time to spar."

Spike sighed. "Fine, but can you not knock me out?"

Jewel shrugged. "I make no promises."





When Spike and Jewel got to the training room, Spike sighed. "So, how do you want to do this?" He asked.

Jewel hummed. "Well, I want to see you in your dragon form, but let’s just keep it small."

Spike nodded as he started removing his clothes, but he was interrupted by Sombra using the intercom from the observation room. "Kid, a little heads up, those are special clothes that we've been working on. They react to heat and will change when you reach a minimum temperature of 110 degrees. Try it out but keep the clothes on."

Spike shrugged as he stopped trying to take off his clothes. He concentrated, and soon he was standing in his dragon form, but unlike every time before, his clothes were still intact. "Wow, that's great." He said.

Sombra smiled as he checked the implementation of the new series of clothes. "I'll explain how they work. The shirt and pants are composed of a memory metal called nitinol. Originally, the clothes were designed with your dragon form in mind. Nitinol reacts to heat and returns to its shape when enough heat is applied. So, using that idea, we designed a way for these clothes to work in both forms, but not your full size-form."

Spike was impressed, but he noticed that there were a few things that didn't make it past the change. He looked at Sombra. "Hey, I told you we only got the shirt and pants done. We're still working on underwear, socks, and shoes for you, but don't worry, we have a spare set for you when you're done."

Spike sighed. "Fine. Hey thanks for the light tech clothes, they helped."

Spike then heard the sound of someone cracking her knuckles. “Ok Spike, let's see if you’ve gotten soft since I last saw you?” Spike gulped as this wasn’t going to end well.





After 5 minutes, Spike was laying on the floor, he had got his tail handed to him by Jewel. “Wow, that was bad Spike.”

Spike groaned as he looked at his aunt. “I can feel my spleen in my brain.”

Jewel giggled at the statement. “Spike, I want you to start working out with Ember.”

“Yes Ma’am, but can she not toss me like a rag doll?” Asked Spike.

“That’s up to her.” 

Sombra nodded. "Ok, now that the dragon boy has been humiliated, let’s start with basic testing implements. Activating firearms routine 6, with AP shots, tracer rounds, steel jacket, and high explosive."

Spike sighed. "Can we not do 6, how about 24, the miniguns makes me itchy."

Sombra sighed. "No, the anti-air batteries are down, and we don't have time to wait."

Spike groaned. "Fine, just get it out." He looked at his aunt. "Aunt Jewel I think you should leave; Sirens have the thinnest scales."

Jewel nodded as she waved at Spike. "I'll be right outside sweetie."

Sombra pressed some buttons and out of the floor popped a triple set of M134 Miniguns on a stand. "Testing Subject 0001's scale defenses against 7.62x51mm armed forces variety rounds. Test will last 60 seconds, the first 30 will be fired in a burst shot, then another 30 seconds with full fire.” Spike nodded as he got into the center of the chamber. “Test begins in... 3...2...1... starting."

Soon the miniguns started spinning, and quickly, the whole room was filled with the sound of gunfire and bullet casings hitting the floor. But Spike wasn't moving an inch, in fact the only thing that was happening to him was how bored he was. Thirty seconds later, the whole set up went full out and concentrated fire on Spike's chest. This had the effect of pushing Spike back a little, but he still held his ground. "Test complete." Said Sombra. "Calling in the medical team."

Soon Red Heart walked into the room. "Ok, Spike, let’s see how you did. Any discomfort?"

Spike shook his head. "No, not really, aside from some itching on the spot where they hit. I was a little surprised that the force kinda pushed me back for a moment, but I held firm."

Red Heart nodded. "Very good. The next test is explosive ordnance 3, would you prefer impact or frag?"

Spike hummed. "Let’s go with impact, I hate the waiting." Red Heart nodded as she pulled out an impact grenade from her lab coat. She handed it to Spike and left the bulletproof testing room. Spike looked at the device for a moment before throwing it to the ground right below him. It exploded right at Spike's feet and when the smoke cleared, he was fine.

"Explosive ordnance 3, test complete. Sending in the medical team." Said Sombra.

Red Heart walked back to Spike. "All good?"

Spike nodded. "Yeah, but I'm pretty sure my ears popped."

Red Heart nodded. "Nothing new then, but I'll make a note."

Spike smiled. "Ok, weight lifting subroutine 48 is next, please lift the item above your head for as long as possible." Said Sombra.

Soon, a massive M1 Abrams tank was lifted into the room. "Please note that this tank has been equipped with thicker armor and denser treads than normal, increasing its standard 68 tons to over 78 tons."

Spike cracked his neck and walked over to the tank. This wasn't going to be easy for Spike, but with his dragon muscles, it was possible. He grabbed the tank's treads and lifted it slightly, but he didn't have a good grip, so he decided to crawl under it. Spike used his strength to lift the tank and he was able to get it above his head, but it was like trying to lift 2 of him, so he couldn't hold the tank up for long. Spike tossed the tank to the ground and was huffing in exhaustion. "Ok, that was a little harder than I thought it would've been."

"Test complete, new record achieved." Said Sombra. It was true, Spike's old record was a 75-ton boat and he couldn't lift it for more than a second. So, there was some improvement. "Ok, next we're going to test out your fire." Said Sombra.

Spike nodded. "Ok, what is it today?"

Sombra smirked. "Tungsten rods, you have 1 minute to melt 3 tungsten rods with a thickness of 2cm."

Spike gulped, Tungsten is the most heat resistant metal on earth, needing 6200 degrees to just melt. He looked at Sombra. "Is this an ability test?" He asked.

Sombra nodded. "Yes, we want to test the Wing Dragons’ ability to use air filtering to enhance their fire."

Spike sighed, wing dragons have the ability to deconstruct components that comprise air, like oxygen, methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and the rest, then exhale new compounds to enhance their fire. Oxygen, in a pure form, is highly flammable, and this is how most dragons can breathe fire. Wing Dragons, however, are able to combine the elements into a compound called Dicyanoacetylene and use it to create even hotter fires. Spike took in a few deep breaths. This was the first ability that Spike unlocked, but it took a ton of concentration to work, mostly because of the risk of letting too much gas into the bloodstream. But once Spike was ready, he looked at Sombra and nodded.

"Fire test, going live in 3...2...1...0." Soon, 3 tungsten rods popped out of the floor and Spike unleashed the gas, and his fire, creating a bright, blue-white flame. "Good, temperature readings are holding steady at 5260 kelvins." Said Sombra. The rods were melting into a puddle as drops of tungsten fell. Spike was trying to concentrate, and he was running out of  Dicyanoacetylene, but it didn't matter as he finished melting through the last rod. "Test complete." Said Sombra. "Not bad kid, you reached 5400 kelvins with that test."

Spike huffed, this was the hardest ability to master for Wing Dragons, and it was a pain to work with. Red Heart walked into the room and checked Spike's throat. "Oh dear, your throat is raw. No more fire breathing today, and honestly I would like you to take a little rest for now."

Spike nodded. "Ok, doc." He said in a hoarse voice.

Red Heart looked at the control room. "Sombra, no more tests for at least an hour, his throat is raw."

Sombra sighed. "Fine. Can he do scale armor or rune magic?" Red Heart glared at the man. "Right, no more tests for an hour. That's lunch everyone."

Spike sighed as he got to his feet. "Thanks, doc, I'm going to go check on the girls." He walked over to the door to the room and noticed that all the girls were there, looking at him in shock. "Hey girls."

Ember got right in his face. "How did you do all of that?" She had learned from her father and all her teachers that only diamond rounds could hurt her, but still, explosives didn't need to punch through scales to hurt like hell, and even she couldn't lift 75 tons.

Spike chuckled. "I'll tell you later, my voice is shot."

All the girls now looked at him with worry. "Oh, come on, let’s let you rest." Said Ember. She was worried about her fiancé. She pulled him over to a group of chairs and let him sit down. "Is there anything I can get you to help?"

Spike nodded. "Tell a scientist, order 5." 

Ember looked around, most of the scientists were busy, but there was one who was just standing around. "Hey, can you come here?" Asked Ember. The scientist ran over and waited for orders. "Order 5." She said.

"Right away, what would you like?"

Ember was confused. "What?"

Sonata gasped. "Tacos!"

The scientist nodded. "Tacos, what else?"

"I'll have a burger." Said Adagio.

"Chicken sandwich." Said Aria.

The scientist nodded. "Very good, and for you, Madam Ember?"

"Can I get some soup?" Asked Ember.

"Yes, what kind? We have chicken, pork, beef, vegetable, fish, and potato."

"Um, chicken." Said Ember.

The scientist nodded and ran out of the lab to place the order. Spike chuckled. "I see that they have made some big improvements on Wilhelm."

Everyone looked at Spike. "Wilhelm?" They asked.

Spike nodded. "Yep, he's an AI that was developed by the DDC. He's been around for like 5 years now, but this is the first time he's had a body."

Sombra walked over and nodded. "Yep, we finally got the graphite muscles worked out, now he doesn't need a power cable in his back."

"But why was he dressed up like a scientist?" Asked Ember.

Sombra shrugged. "He likes to dress the part, and we don't mind."

Wilhelm ran back into the room with the food orders. "Why thank you, sir." He said as he started serving the food to the dragons. "We have a trio of tacos for Sonata, a chicken sandwich for Aria, a hamburger for Adagio, a warm bowl of chicken soup for Ember, and a green salad for Spike with sapphires and rubies mixed in, I also have an earl gray tea with lemon and honey for your throat Spike."

Spike smiled. "Thank you, Wilhelm, and congratulations on getting a body."

"Thank you, sir, it is nice not to be stuck in a computer anymore." Suddenly Wilhelm shot up. "Forgive me, I am being summoned by Agent Dancer, I must depart."

Spike nodded. "Ok, thank you for your assistance." Wilhelm bowed and ran off to Moondancer. Spike took a sip of his tea; it was great, and he could feel his throat healing. "So, how did everything go for you girls?"

Aria sighed. "I've been training with Ember, but I don't understand what I'm supposed to do?"

Adagio sighed. "Well, I have an idea of how it works now, but I can't get it out yet."

Sonata smirked. "Well, we are really close to getting a third one out." Said Sonata as she made a clone of herself appear next to her."

Spike smiled at seeing that. "Good, I'm glad to see you all taking the tests seriously."

Ember sighed. "Now, Spike, how did you do all of that?" 

Spike shrugged. "Well, even in this form, I have a large portion of my full size’s potential, I’m not as strong as I would be, but my scales are still just as hard and I can fly. The explosion was a little annoying, but I've exploded enough that it barely messes with me. None of the bullets were diamond-tipped so all that happened was an itch under my scales. And the last test was to see one of my abilities, Air Decomposition. It's when a Wing Dragon can breathe in air and filter out compounds and then rearrange them to create flammable gas to enhance the flames." Spike laughed. "Ember's family was the first to find this power out. It's like a welding torch, for Clan Torch." Spike coughed, so he drank more of the tea. "It makes sense, seeing as it takes a lot of hard work to control this power, only someone as strong as a Torch could do that."

Ember blushed. She knew that Spike respected her father, and all the noble clans, but she never knew that he held them in such high esteem. "So, Spike, could you teach me how to do that?" Asked Ember.

Spike shook his head. "Sorry Ember, not today, I'm kinda shot from using it, besides, it takes a lot of practice to not die from poisoning."

Ember gulped; she didn't know it was that dangerous. "Yeah, let’s wait. I'm not in the mood to die."

Spike chuckled. "Understandable, but I can show you how to use one of the other two abilities if you want?"

Ember smiled as she nodded. "Thanks. But if that ability came from my family, what about the Fire Claws clan and the Magic Flame clan?"

Spike nodded. "Oh, you'll love both of them, so I'll let you choose."

Ember hummed. She knew how to fight, and the Fire Claws clan were some of the best fighters in the whole dragon lands, but she had always been interested in how the secretive Magic Flame clan was able to use magic. "Um... Can you teach me how to use the Magic Flame clan’s ability?"

Spike smiled. "Sure. It's actually very simple but can be very complicated once you get the hang of it, though thankfully, we already have a great conduit inside of us."

Ember gasped.  She had heard the rumors, but this just confirmed it. "So, it's true, a Magic Flame created the blood stone for the first Dragon King."

Spike nodded. "Yep, in fact, every clan gifted the dragon king a gift. The Blood Stone was from the Magic Flame, the Castle was from the Molten Clan. The guard was from the Fire Claw clan, Clan Harmony gave entertainment, Clan Shroud entered the king's service as his scouts, Clan Echo and Clan tunnel worked together to produce the whole of the first kings’ treasure, Clan Torch became the king’s personal guards and wartime generals, and Clan Lava gave the castle it's decoration. Sure, as time went on, more clans were formed, but those 9 were what the dragon lands were formed upon."

Ember looked at Spike with stars in her eyes. "So, can we start right now?" She asked, giddy to start some new training.

Spike pushed her head back to give himself a little space. "First off, give me some room, second, give me some time to think of how to start it. It's not something that we can just jump into, if we do, it could blow up in our face. Literally, it could explode." Said Spike.

Ember gulped, but she had already decided. She nodded. "Ok, we'll start after lunch."

Sombra sighed. "Fine, we'll just throw the whole testing plan I had out the window." He said as he tossed away his clipboard.

Spike laughed. "So, find a new office so you can stay?"

Sombra chuckled. "No need to, the only reason I had to fly was that the MPATS station in my office didn't go to Canterlot. I'm getting that fixed right now."

Spike nodded. "Cool, quick question: what other tests were we planning on doing?"

Sombra shrugged. "Nothing much, just the claw test version 63, then the scale heat resistance test version 4, and we'd wrap it all up with medical exams for all of you in both forms."

Spike nodded. "Throw a trip to the lava pool and an hour in the agency spa and I'll do the tests as well. My shoulder has been stiff since I slept on the couch." He said as he rubbed his shoulder.

Sombra nodded. "Sure, I'll tell the crew to start prepping the lava pool."

Spike smiled. "Thanks, you're all welcome to join as well of course. They divert some great magma from the closest mountain, it helps stop dormant volcanoes from erupting and it works wonders on the scales."

Ember and the Dazzlings blushed, but the one who agreed was Jewel. "Hell yeah, I haven't had a spa day in 100 years."

Spike smiled. "Cool."