//------------------------------// // Heavy Are The Horns Part 4 // Story: The Ties That Bind // by chief maximus //------------------------------// "They're here to ask you about our kind," Ember answered. "Twilight is a princess of her race, and I invited her here to learn about us so that our two races can ... be friends." "Hm...very well." The elder set her eyes to Twilight. "Now, what is it you want to know?" Twilight could hardly contain herself. She pulled a blank notebook out of her saddlebag with a quill, ready to write. "Why don't we start from the very beginning?" "Actually," Ember interrupted. "I was thinking about showing Spike around while you two talked." Spike looked to Twilight. "Please, Twilight, can I?" She looked to Ember, then back to Spike. If was going to wander around a desolate landscape infested with dragons, might as well be in the company of their ruler. "Alright. Just be careful out there, okay?" "Don't worry, Twilight. I'll keep an eye on him," Ember assured her. She and Spike left the cave, leaving only Twilight and Balgok. Twilight primed a quill. "Well, then, let's start from the beginning. How long have dragons existed in Equestria?" Spike shielded his eyes from the sun as they stepped into the daylight. "No wonder dragons don't like to leave their caves," he commented. "So, what is there to see around here?" Ember spread her wings and knelt down. Spike climbed on as he had during the Gauntlet. "There's a really chill spot a few minutes away from here where we can grab some lunch," she said, taking off. Within moments, she arrived in a field, a few large boulders jutting up from the scraggly shrubs and small trees. "These rocks are awesome for sunbathing," Ember said as she touched down on one. Spike hopped off her back and sat beside her as she laid on her back. Ember set the scepter beside her and set her claws behind her head. Spike laid down beside her, adopting her pose, and they both stared up at the sky. It was a fine shade of blue once they'd gotten away from the volcano. After feeling sufficiently warm, Ember broke the silence. "So, this might be a question you don't know how to answer, but how did you end up being raised by ponies?" Spike glanced at her as she turned her head towards his. "Well, I don't really know. It's never been something I've questioned, to be honest. Twilight's been the only parent I've ever needed." Ember could imagine why Spike would feel that way: he didn't know any better! Although, as far as traditional upbringings go, she wasn't much better off. Sure, she had one huge, overprotective father, but no maternal influence to speak of. "For a while, Twilight had to convince me that I actually was a dragon, and not just some different kind of pony." Spike chuckled to himself, remembering the heated and sometimes tearful arguments between his much younger self and Twilight. Ember's prideful inner dragon nearly gagged at the idea of a dragon believing they were a pony. "Twilight would probably know more about how Princess Celestia got my egg than I would." He rolled over onto his side to face Ember. "Okay, now I've got a question for you." Ember turned her head towards him. Smiling, she said, “Okay, shoot.” "You told me about your dad; now what's it like to have a mother that's a dragon?" The smile faded from Ember's face and Spike immediately began a verbal back-pedal. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to—" "Spike," Ember interrupted. He paused, frozen in apprehension. He was the assistant of the Princess of Friendship; he should be much better at being a friend than this! "You know I'm still new to this whole 'talking about feelings' thing, right?" Ember asked. Spike nodded wordlessly, silently thanking Celestia that he hadn't upset his only dragon friend. "Well, the idea still kinda weirds me out, but if talking about stuff is what friends do, then... I'll try it." Spike didn't utter a word. In fact, he had to remind himself to breathe as Ember readied herself to give this whole 'expressing earnest emotions' thing a shot. "I never really knew my mother. From what my dad told me, her name was Cinder." Ember rolled onto her back and stared into the deep blue sky. "He told me that she was the most beautiful dragoness he'd ever seen." Her smile quickly returned as she recounted some parts of her father's story. "He also told me that at first, she didn't want anything to do with him. He tried and tried to impress her, but it was never enough." She let out a small laugh, imagining her father trying his best to impress a dragoness. “So, like all males trying to impress a dragoness, he decided to do something reckless and crazy..” “Wait, so she wouldn’t even give him the time of day? Wasn’t he the Dragon Lord?” Spike asked. Ember nodded. “Power isn’t everything, Spike. Even though my dad would have me believe differently." “Anyway, there was another dragon competing for Mom's heart, too. Dad couldn’t remember what his name was, but he does remember challenging him to a race up Bloodstone Mountain. They were neck and neck, fighting each other the whole way, until the other guy reached the caldera first!” “No way!” Spike replied, his eyes shining with excitement as though someone were reading one of his favorite comic books aloud to him. “Then how did Torch end up with your mother?” “Well, right as the other guy was doing a victory dance on the ledge near the caldera, a lavapede came jumping out of the magma and ate him in one bite.” “Wait a second. Isn’t Bloodstone Mountain the same place where your Dad put the scepter for the Gauntlet of Fire?” he asked. “The very same,” Ember replied with a nod. Spike’s jaw dropped. “Wait, you mean that while I was ordering Garble around near the edge of the lava, a lavapede could’ve shown up and eaten me?!” “Well, yeah, but it didn’t, did it?” Ember replied with a calming smile. "Yeah, I guess not," he replied, sitting up on the rock. "So what happened after that?" “Well, Mom realized that even if he hadn’t won the race, there was something about my Dad that she never noticed before. Something that led to me, at least.” “Oh, so do you go visit her now that you’re the Dragon Lord? I bet she must be as proud of you as your dad is.” "Well... I would if I knew where she was." "Oh," Spike said softly. "You mean—" "I don't know what happened to her. When Dad was trying to tell me about her, I was... I was too..." Ember paused. This was the perfect opportunity to try out what Spike and Twilight had tried to teach her. Yet something was stopping her. A deeply rooted sense of pride, instilled over the years by her father's well-meaning, if misguided, ideas about what a dragon should be. Everything inside her head told her, Be strong! Every dragon is an island! You need no one! She took these bedrock sentiments and considered what they would mean. They meant a life of solitude, of nothing, and no one, of loneliness until the end of one's days. The small dragon beside her was living proof that there were alternatives to the old ways. Alternatives that seemed to work. Now all she had to do was summon the courage to say one simple word. “Afraid?” Spike completed, breaking Ember out of her reverie. Looks like she’d be getting by with some help from her friend. "Yeah. I... I was afraid." "Dude, I don't think that's smart, or even possible," a white dragon with pink spines and sails said as Garble paced around his cave. "Who asked you anyway?" Garble mumbled, punching a boulder, reducing it to pebbles. "That stupid Ember, and her little purple pet!" "Look, Garble, I get that you're bitter about the Gauntlet, but it's over! Ember's the Dragon Lord now, and there's nothing we can do about it." "Shut up, Fizzle!" he snapped, continuing his angry pacing. "I know exactly what she's gonna do. She'll make us all be friends and be all lovey-dovey with those ponies that runt of hers likes so much, and before you know it we'll all be wearing dresses and having tea parties!" Fizzle rolled his eyes. "C'mon, do you really believe that?" Garble stopped dead in his tracks. "Are you kidding me? How is it not obvious? Didn't you hear her in the cave? Those ponies are gonna ruin everything! And kiss your hoard goodbye, because you know the first thing they're gonna do after they're no longer afraid of us is take it and decorate their lame pony castles with them or something." Fizzle cringed at the thought. Nothing was more precious to a dragon than their hoard. "N-no way..." he replied weakly. "Yes way!" Garble shot back, now nose to nose with him. "But luckily for you, and the rest of the dragon race, I've got a plan." "A plan to do what?" Fizzle asked, raising a skeptical eyeridge. "To become the Dragon Lord and ban all ponies and pony-lovers from the dragon lands, forever!" Garble exclaimed, putting his claws on his hips for dramatic effect. He stood in front of Fizzle, waiting for a reaction. "Uh... okay. And just how do you plan on becoming Dragon Lord, exactly? I mean, the rules are pretty clear: the bearer of the Bloodstone Scepter is the Dragon Lord until he either calls another Gauntlet or dies." "Exactly," Garble said, flashing a toothy smile. "Okay, how do you think you're gonna get Ember to call another Gauntlet so soon?" "No, idiot, the second option!" Fizzle gasped. "You can't!" "And I won't!" Garble replied. Fizzle opened his mouth to reply, but found no words. "Wait... what?" "I'm not going to kill anyone, and neither are you." Fizzle scratched his chin in confusion. "So... how is she going to die, then? Garble folded his arms, his evil smile never leaving his face. "Easy..." "Fascinating!" Twilight said, scribbling quick notes into her notebook as the elder dragon spoke. "Now, tell me about Torch." "Lord Torch the Mighty, yes..." she rumbled. "He was Lord long before even I was born." "Okay, and how long do dragons normally live? Have any dragons ever lived as long as Torch?" she asked. "Our kind is ancient, we knew a time before the founding of your kingdom. The Dragon Lord feeds off the power of the Scepter, and the Scepter feeds off of the life of the Lord. A dragon can live for thousands of years, but Lord Torch... I doubt even he recalls how long he has been alive." "So the Bloodstone Scepter shares a symbiotic relationship with the ruler? Incredible!" Twilight remarked, continuing to write in her notebook. She paused, setting her quill down. "Actually, I had another question about the scepter. Once it gets passed on, what happens to the former Lord?" The elder dragon drew a deep breath. "As the scepter becomes part of a new host, the life it once granted to the former will gradually fade away into nothing. Before that time, the dragon will make his journey to the Land of Shadows." "Land of Shadows?" Twilight asked. The dragon nodded. "It is a place where all dragons must go. Once their eggs have hatched and their hoards have reached their limit, they must pass through the gateway where all may enter, but none may leave. I imagine Lord Torch's time draws nearer with each passing day." Poor Ember! Twilight thought As soon as I'm done here, I have to tell her what's happening to Torch! "Okay, so can you tell me a little bit about how long it takes for dragon eggs to hatch?" Balgok nodded. "Once laid, an egg will lay dormant until the two mates combine their spirits and cast them upon the egg. Only through the magic of two, can one be born." Twilight jotted down a few more notes, before recalling something Balgok had said when they'd first met. "Actually, just one more question. When you looked at Spike, you called him 'the price we paid'. Can you please elaborate on that?" Balgok narrowed her eyes, sending a chill down Twilight's spine. She hoped she wasn't touching on a tender subject. "You, a pony, dare to ask about the wounded pride of an ancient and noble race?" Twilight gulped. "I, uh— if you'd rather not talk about it, that's fine too! I'll just gather my things and find Lord Ember and—" "Silence!" Balgok roared. Twilight was sure this roar would be the one to cause a cave in. "Lord Ember trusts that you have pure intentions, and it is by her word alone that I allow you to gain such knowledge." The elder dragon settled back down, shifting among her coins and jewels as they cascaded like a waterfall down the massive slopes of her hoard. “Thousands of years ago, our kind were greater in number than they are today. Our lands stretched from snowy peaks to jagged rocks. Every few hundred years, the Year of Life would fall upon us, when all dragons and their mates descend upon the sacred peak to lay their eggs and form the great clutch. "The most recent Year of Life was to proceed as many others before it, yet such simplicity was not to be. A disease spread among the eggs. Our most powerful mages could do nothing to stop the infection. Many brave dragons went in search of rare herbs and remedies. Few returned.” Balgok sighed. “One of those fearless souls was none other than Lord Torch’s own mate, Lady Cinder.” "You mean... Ember's mother?" Twilight asked. "Mind your tongue when speaking of the Lord of Dragons," Balgok reprimanded sharply. Twilight nodded, unfazed by the tone of her tutor in dragon history. She was simply too fascinated by the tale being told. "Right, Lord Ember. So, her mother went looking for a cure?" The elder dragon nodded. "She, and many others." "So she's just lost out there, somewhere?" Balgok closed her eyes and gently shook her head. "No, she has no doubt made her journey to the Land of Shadows by now." Twilight thought back to her first encounter with Ember. Her father was pretty hard to miss, but Twilight recalled not seeing any females near Torch aside from Ember. "Our kind had run out of options," Balgok continued "If nothing was done soon, the clutch would be lost, and our race would face extinction." Twilight held her tongue, but couldn't help but take quick notes on the story. "It was then that Lord Torch made a decision, one that did not sit well with many dragons. He asked for help." The elder blinked, before looking down at Twilight more closely. "The help would come from one like you, with wings and a horn. She was white, wearing gold ornaments. She told us that her mages could craft a spell to halt the spread of the disease, but only for a price." Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How could Celestia ask for payment from a race pleading for her help to save their children? It was unconscionable! Celestia would never do anything so horrid! She didn’t have a single malicious bone in her body! "And you're sure this pony was white with a horn and wings?" Twilight asked for clarification. Balgok bared her teeth, a low growl shaking the cave. "You doubt my records?" “Of course not!” Twilight replied quickly. “I was just wondering if you saw her yourself, is all.” Good save, Twi! she thought to herself. “Yes, I did. The magic in this cave has allowed me to outlast most in my clutch. Only the Bloodstone Scepter’s magic is more potent.” Twilight took new notice of the runes carved into the cave walls, figuring them to be some sort of ancient spell cast to extend life. She quickly sketched a few in her notebook. Balgok continued. "The white pony asked for one of the dragon eggs, one whose forebears had already made the great journey to the Land of Shadows." “So, you mean the egg they gave Princess—er, the white one …” Twilight paused, trying to wrap her head around the story. “Was an orphan?” Twilight gasped. "Oh, Spike. I'm so sorry," she mumbled to herself, wiping her eyes with a hoof, and continuing to write. "Initially, Lord Torch refused. He would sooner see us all extinct than accept the terms of her offer. Odd as it may seem to you, many dragons shared that sentiment." Twilight could hardly believe it. What kind of creatures would deny their own preservation over an unborn dragon? “But it was then that the white one learned of the egg Cinder had laid before she vanished. Lord Torch knew that without his mate, his egg would never hatch, and his legacy would be lost to time. As did she. The white one came to him, promising to give his egg life, in exchange for the egg of another. He agreed, and she cast the spell, saving Torch’s line. And true to her word, the white one’s mages came one day and cast their spell, saving the clutch. Afterwards, she took the egg, as per the accord. “For his decision, Torch was praised by few, but reviled by many. Pride can cloud a dragon’s judgment just as easily as it can cloud a pony’s." Twilight looked up from her notebook as she closed it. She could hardly believe the story she'd just heard. "Do you think Torch made the right decision?" The elder dragon stared at her. "That's enough for today, Princess Twilight."