Peace Porridge Hot

by Metool Bard

Finding Balance

After flying for some time, Ember sat down on a tall cliff and took a look at the Bloodstone Scepter she still held in her claws. She scowled at her own reflection and snorted in disgust.

"You think you're so clever, don't you?" she muttered. "'Ooh, look at me! I'm gonna use my brain to become Dragon Lord and befriend a pony-raised runt! That's never gonna backfire!' Humph. Shows what I know. Now what am I gonna do?"

"Hey, Lord Ember!"

Ember perked up as she heard a familiar screech behind her. Turning her head, she frowned as she saw Gilda flying up to her.

"Oh. It's you," she growled, immediately turning away. "What do you want?"

"I thought you needed someone to talk to," said Gilda, landing next to Ember.

Ember pouted and folded her arms. "You're wasting your time. There's nothing to talk about. I barely even know you."

"Well, yeah. That's true," Gilda said sheepishly. "Look, it's a lot of complicated mushy stuff that I don't really wanna get into. All you need to know is that you seem cool, Seth's a jerk, and I wanna help."

Ember didn't respond. She simply continued to sulk. Gilda thought for a moment and took out a griffon scone.

"Hungry?" she asked. "It's my grandfather's recipe."

Ember eyed the morsel warily before turing away. "I'm fine."

"There's no need to hide things from us, Your Lordship."

Ember turned around. There stood Princess Celestia and Little Strongheart, both looking rather concerned. Ember chewed on her lip and averted her eyes.

"You guys are just making this more frustrating for me," she growled.

"It doesn't have to be that way, Your Lordship," said Little Strongheart. "I know we all just met yesterday, but we'd all be honored if you considered us to be your friends. You can tell us anything. We won't judge you."

"No, but everyone else will," Ember muttered bitterly.

Celestia frowned. "I hope you're not giving up on friendship so soon, Lord Ember. That would truly be a shame."

"Dragons don't give up," said Ember plainly. "And if I let Seth have this scepter, dragonkind will suffer. I won't let that happen. But, I just don't know what to—"

She stopped herself mid-sentence and snorted. "Y'know what? It's a lot of complicated mushy stuff that I don't really wanna get into. If you really want to help, just go away."

Gilda opened her beak to say something, but nothing came to mind. She furrowed her brow and stroked her chin in thought. As she pondered, Celestia bowed her head.

"If that's what you want," she said solemnly. "I understand if you need your space. But please, if you truly need help, don't be afraid to reach out."

"I-I'm not afraid," Ember sputtered. "I-I just... Never mind."

"You can't keep these feelings to yourself forever," said Little Strongheart.

"Watch me," said Ember with a pout. "'Cause I hate talking about my feelings, and that's not gonna do me any good, anyway. Now, leave me alone."

"Make me."

All eyes turned to Gilda, who had a stern look on her face. Ember arched an eyebrow.

"Wh-what did you say?"

"You heard me, dingus. Make me," Gilda repeated, standing her ground.

Ember gave Gilda a blank stare. "I-I don't understand."

"You wanna be the tough girl, right? You wanna keep everything to yourself because showing your feelings is for weak scrubs, and that ain't you," said Gilda. "I've been where you are, sister. I knew a lot of people who felt the same way, too. And the way I see it, there's only one thing that makes sense to people like us."

She drew herself for full height and looked Ember in the eye. "If you really want me to leave you alone, you're gonna have to fight me first." She leaned forward and pointed to her cheek. "Here. I'll even let you have the first shot."

Ember's face turned bright red. "Sh-shut up. You don't know a thing about me. I-I thought you wanted to be my friend."

"I do," said Gilda with a smirk. "Why do you think I'm giving you the first swing? C'mon, show me what you got, Dragon Lord."

Little Strongheart blinked and looked at Celestia. "I-is this okay? We're supposed to be helping the Dragon Lord, not beating her up."

Celestia smiled sagely. "Let's just see where this goes."

All was still for a while as a flurry of emotions swirled within Ember. Finally, she couldn't hold it back anymore. With a roar, she flew at Gilda and slashed her cheek. Gilda fell to the ground and snickered.

"Phew! You've got a mean swipe, lady," she said, getting to her feet. "Okay, that was your freebie. Now let's see what you're really made of."

She flew back at Ember and landed a slash of her own. Ember growled and breathed out a plume of flame, which Gilda dodged. The two of them traded blows back and forth while Little Strongheart and Celestia watched.

"Are you sure you don't want to do anything about this?" asked Little Strongheart.

"Quite sure," said Celestia. "Gilda seems to know what she's doing."

The battle above raged on for several minutes, with neither side gaining an advantage. Gilda's uniform was all but destroyed. Everything that wasn't shredded to pieces was reduced to ash. Even so, she stood tall, though she was panting for breath. Ember also appeared to be quite winded, but the fire in her eyes did not dim.

"Heh. Haven't had a good workout like this in a while," Gilda said breathlessly. "N-no wonder you're Dragon Lord. You're pretty strong."

Ember clenched her fist. "You're wrong. Don't pretend that you know all this about me. I didn't become Dragon Lord by being big and strong. I became Dragon Lord because some runt raised by ponies saw me as his friend."

"Doesn't change what I said," Gilda replied. "C-c'mon, that can't be the best you've got. P-pretend I'm Seth. Really lay into me. I can take it."

But Ember didn't strike again. Instead, she fell to her knees, leaning against her scepter to support herself.

"No. That's what he wants," she murmured. "He wants me to be this big, scary dragon that everyone's afraid of, but that's not me. It never was me."

Little Strongheart blinked. "What're you talking about?"

Ember sniffled and rubbed her eye. "Even before the Gauntlet of Fire, I wasn't like other dragons. I didn't push people around; I used my wits and my cunning. But, that kind of thing wasn't valued in the Dragonlands. Heck, the only reason other dragons didn't pick on me was because my father was the Dragon Lord. That and I kept outsmarting everyone."

She looked back at her reflection in the scepter. "Maybe that's why my father didn't want me to compete in the Gauntlet of Fire. He was afraid something like this would happen. H-he wanted to protect me, and I foolishly went against his wishes. Now I'm caught up in this mess with Seth, and I don't know what I'm gonna do."

Gilda chuckled weakly as she dragged herself over to Ember. "Well, that's why we're here. We can help you."

"Yeah, and Seth will say that's a sign of weakness," Ember spat. "And if I try to use my authority as Dragon Lord, he'll use that against me, too. I-I just wish there was an easy answer to this."

Gilda frowned. "First of all, why do you need that punk's approval? He clearly doesn't respect you; you shouldn't have to respect him."

"Because he's got me by the tail," Ember answered. "I can't use my power; I can't rely on my friends. The only thing that's keeping me from giving up is that I know he can't be Dragon Lord. Other than that, I'm stuck."

Celestia ventured forward. "Answer me this. Do you think you deserve to be Dragon Lord?"

Ember sighed. "I-I don't know. Part of me kinda wants to prove that there's more to being a dragon than just being big and strong, but without strength, I can't overcome Seth." She then gave Celestia a look. "Not that I expect you to know what I'm going through. All your ponies already respect you, and you don't even use your power. Not even when it really could've helped."

Celestia let out a sigh of her own and knelt down to Ember's height. "I doubt your father taught you this. I'm not sure if Dragon Lords of the past had to learn this lesson, but it appears you do. See, I know more about what you're going through than you think."

Ember raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, right."

"I'm serious. I've ruled Equestria for over a thousand years, and indeed, there were times where I felt I could've done more with my power." Celestia looked up at the sun. "But much like you, I don't like it when my little ponies fear me. At the same time, however, I need to take a stand when there are threats to our fair nation. That being the case, I only use my power when I absolutely have to."

"And, you don't feel like that's the case now?" Ember asked.

Celestia shook her head. "It would be too much. What's more, it wouldn't really be your victory. You're the one trying to prove yourself as Dragon Lord, not me. Which is why I'm giving you this bit of advice. A good ruler knows when it's appropriate to use their power. It is a difficult balance to strike, I will admit that much. Even I struggle with it sometimes by holding back more than I probably should. But as long as you have good reason to use your power, that's why you have that power in the first place."

"Meaning you don't have to feel guilty about exerting your authority when others threaten you," Little Strongheart added.

Ember closed her eyes and mulled things over for a bit. "That, actually makes a lot of sense," she mused. She then sighed. "But Seth's not gonna care."

"Indeed, he does seem to see the world in extremes," Celestia concurred. "I've dealt with many foes like that before. And most of the time, that right there was their downfall. After all, there's more than one way to core an apple."

Her words sparked something inside Ember's brain. "Wait a second. More than one way... The Delta Stream... Multiple perspectives..." She suddenly let out a triumphant laugh and smacked herself in the forehead. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that before?"

"Whoa, what? What's up?" Gilda inquired.

"There's one tool in my arsenal that Seth doesn't expect me to use. My brain!" said Ember. "That's how I became Dragon Lord in the first place! I don't have to overpower him; I just have to be smarter than him! I-I feel like such an idiot for not realizing it sooner."

"In my experience, I find that when people focus too much on their emotions, they can't think rationally," said Celestia.

"And that's why he was trying to get you all riled up," said Gilda with a snort. "That punk."

Ember smiled and brushed a tear from her eye. "Well, I'm not going to play his game anymore. I think I know just what we need to do, but we're gonna need help. Where's Needles?"

"I think she might've ran off herself," said Little Strongheart thoughtfully. "Though it shouldn't be too difficult for me to track her down."

"Lead me to her, then," said Ember, picking herself up. "I don't think she's gonna listen to my summons after what happened."

Little Strongheart tilted her head. "Did you two get into a fight or something?"

"Something like that," said Ember sheepishly. "Apparently it's a Dragon Mage thing, or at least that's what she called it."

Little Strongheart sighed. "Somehow, I'm not surprised. This way, Your Lordship."

She quickly set off on tracking down Needles while Ember flew behind her, her brow crinkled in deep thought. Celestia and Gilda lagged behind the two of them. Celestia gave Gilda a sly look.

"That was a nice bit of diplomacy there, ambassador," she said. "I'm sure your grandfather would be very proud."

Gilda blinked. "You, actually liked that? I thought ambassadors didn't get into fights."

"Pony ambassadors don't," Celestia corrected. "But you're not a pony, Gilda. You knew how to reach Lord Ember when our words proved insufficient."

Gilda blushed and shrugged. "Yeah, well. I kinda saw a bit of myself in her, y'know? The rest just fell into place. Like you said, there's more than one way to core an apple."

Celestia chuckled. "Indeed there is, Gilda. I'm sure you'll make a fine ambassador."

"Yeah, thanks," said Gilda, looking down at the remains of her uniform. "Now all I need to do is figure out a way to explain this to Grandpa Gruff."

Celestia laughed again. "I'm sure you'll think of something."

***

"I really can't do anything right, can I?"

Needles waddled across the desert sands before sitting on a rock and burying her face into her arms.

"Needles, I'm sorry," said Ocard. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Seth just—"

"No, Ocard. It's my fault. It's my fault 'cause I'm a big dumb idiot," Needles mumbled. "Guess this is why I'll never be a real Dragon Mage. I just screw everything up."

Ocard sighed. "Why must you constantly beat yourself up like this? It's not befitting of either of us."

"'Cause I turned my back on the Dragon Lord when she needed me most," Needles sobbed. "I turned my back on everyone when they needed me most. And when I finally decided to do something, Seth just threw it back in my face. I felt like I was gonna die! Let's face it, Ocard. I'm just useless to everyone."

"Well now, I wouldn't say that. Ehheh..."

Needles looked up from her sobbing to see Trigger approach her. He was still nursing his burn wound. Needles blushed and hid her face.

"Trigger, c'mon. I thought you were over this," she groaned. "Don't suck up to me."

"I'm not," said Trigger. He crawled up beside Needles and sat down next to her. "Needles, it hurts me to see you like this."

"Then look away," Needles spat.

Trigger shook his head. "And leave you in your darkest hour? What kind of noble dragon would I be if I did that?" He placed an arm around Needles's shoulder. "We were actually quite lost without you."

Needles blinked. "What're you talkin' about, Trigger? You're way smarter than me. You could've figured something out, no problem."

"You praise me too much, my dear, sweet Needles," Trigger sighed. "I was too distracted back there. Seth and his bandits took us completely by surprise. What's more, I was worried about you."

Needles deadpanned. "Seriously?"

"I'm quite serious," said Trigger with a firm nod. "Needles, I've known you for quite some time now. I'm very familiar with your struggles and insecurities. But it's nothing that you're unable to overcome. You've done it before, and I believe you can do it again. But not if you keep putting yourself down like this."

Needles sighed and shook her head. "That's easy for you to say, Trigger. You're madly in love with me."

"Yes, and the reason for that is not just because you're beautiful. Although that does help. Ehheh... Ehheh..." Trigger cleared his throat. "But you're also smart, and funny, and you understand me like no one else does. You make me feel special, Needles. And I want you to feel that way, too."

"It ain't that easy, Trigger," said Needles. After a time, she rested her head against Trigger's shoulder. "They were right, y'know. My folks were right about Seth. I couldn't even touch him. Why'd they have to be right about that?"

"The truth is not always easy to accept, Needles."

Two large shadows obstructed the sun's rays. Needles looked up to see Nova and Zin standing over her. She scowled.

"Okay. I admit it. I screwed up. Again. We can't fight Seth, 'cause he'll just take whatever we dish out and throw it back into our faces. You were right; I was wrong." Needles clenched her fists and tears fell from her eyes. "But you don't understand what I was goin' through when I tried it your way. I-it tore me up inside! I had to watch as the Dragon Lord struggled! I had to see my family, the Dragoons, fall like flies 'cause I wasn't there to help! I did nothing, and it hurt! Then I tried to do something, and that hurt, too! Do you not see how frustrating that is?!"

Zin sighed. "Of course we know how frustrating it is, Needles. But we're able to reconcile that by understanding that confronting Seth would only make things worse. A lesson that you had to learn the hard way."

Needles scoffed. "Just once in my life, just once, I'd like to learn something the easy way for a change."

"I'm afraid life doesn't work like that, Needles," said Nova.

"I know. I was bein' sarcastic," Needles huffed.

Zin shook his head. "Needles, stop behaving like a hatchling and try and look at the bigger picture here. You said you grew up? Prove it."

"How? By agreeing that ignoring Seth is the best thing we can do for the Dragon Lord?" Needles bit her lip. "I hurt her, Pa. She put her trust in me, and I just crumpled it up and threw it away."

"I'm sure Lord Ember will forgive you," said Nova.

"No she won't," Needles said with a sniffle. "'Cause I don't know how I'm gonna help her. You two ain't gonna do squat, and I'm sorry, I can't get on board with that. But even so, you're still right. We can't fight him. He's just too powerful. But there has to be something we're missing here. We can't just leave Lord Ember in the dust. I-it ain't right."

Nova frowned. "I know how important this is to you, Needles. And we do wish we could help. But even we don't have the answer to everything."

Needles blinked and tilted her head. "Come again?"

"We don't have the answer to everything," Nova repeated.

Needles seemed to be stunned by Nova's words. After a brief silence, she let out a snicker. The snicker suddenly turned into a sorrowful laugh. Zin gave her a stern look.

"What exactly is so amusing?" he inquired.

"Y-you don't know everything!" Needles guffawed, wiping tears from her eyes. "Th-that's just hilarious! You're supposed to know everything! You're the Dragon Magi! That's why I ran away in the first place! And now you say you don't know how to help the Dragon Lord?! N-now you know how I feel!"

Nova sighed and touched Needles's cheek with her claw. "Oh, Needles. Of course we don't know everything. No one has absolute knowledge, not even Zheng Long. Anyone who claims this is lying."

"B-but that makes no sense," Needles whimpered, her laughter giving way to sobs. "Y-you're supposed to be wise and knowledgable."

"That doesn't mean we know everything," said Nova. "If we did, Seth wouldn't be such a threat. Zheng Long once said the key to true wisdom is having the courage to be unsure."

"But in our parental pride, we put too high of an expectation on your potential, and that frightened you away," said Zin solemnly. "Perhaps we are just as much to blame as you are, Needles. We weren't the mother and father you deserved. Even we aren't immune to our own hubris."

Needles sniffled. "Well, at least I ain't the only Dragon Mage who screwed up."

"You aren't the first, and you certainly won't be the last," said Nova. "Nevertheless, we still love you, and we always will."

Trigger placed a claw on Needles's shoulder. "You see? You're a great Dragon Mage, Needles. You just have to realize it."

Needles let out a sigh. "Maybe. But it's too late now. If the Dragon Magi don't know how to save Lord Ember from Seth, how in the blue blazes am I supposed to help her? She summoned me because she needed my wisdom, but all I can do is let her down."

"Don't be so sure."

Zin and Nova suddenly gave way, revealing Ember flying towards Needles. She was accompanied by Celestia, Gilda, and Little Strongheart. Needles hung her head in shame.

"I'm sorry, Your Lordship. I shouldn't have abandoned you," she said, falling to her knees. "And even now, there's nothing I can do. You're better off looking for help elsewhere."

Ember smirked. "First of all, stop groveling like that. I'm not that kind of Dragon Lord, and I never will be," she said. "Second of all, your wisdom has already helped me so much. By traveling with you and your friends, I got to see firsthand how peaceful dragons can be. I honestly thought Spike and I were the only ones, but you showed me otherwise. Thanks to you, I don't think this friendship thing is going to be nearly as hard as I thought it would."

Needles blushed. "Th-thanks, Your Lordship. That's mighty sweet of you. But, what about Seth?"

"Oh, don't worry about him. I know how to take care of that," said Ember with a smile. "I'm working on a plan right now, but I'm going to need your assistance. Dragon Magi can learn spells that can support others, right?"

"Y-yeah, sure," said Needles, scratching her head. "I don't know any, though."

"Then I think it's a good time for you to brush up on your spellcasting," said Ember. "Anything will be invaluable to the battle ahead. Tell me, do you think your friend Toro would be willing to help?"

"Well, of course. He's my partner, after all," said Needles with a shrug.

"Then I must speak with him next," said Ember. "We'll meet back here at sundown. Best of luck, Needles. I'll be counting on you."

She then flew off, with Celestia, Little Strongheart, and Gilda quick at her heels. Needles smiled and dried her face.

"I don't know what she's thinkin', but I'm hedgin' my bets," she said, turning back to her parents. "Ma, Pa. I know it's a bit late, but I'm ready to learn now. Y'know, bein' under orders from the Dragon Lord and all."

Nova and Zin looked at each other before sharing a shrug.

"I suppose there's no harm in it," said Zin. "If the Dragon Lord truly knows a way to deal with the Black Dragon of the Desert, we will not interfere with her wishes."

"What's more, it would be an honor to teach you and Ocard," said Nova with a bow. "Think of it as a way to make up for lost time."

"You can do it, Needles!" said Trigger, giving Needles a thumbs up. "I'll be rooting for you every step of the way. Ehheh..."

Needles smiled. "Thanks, Trigger. I'd really appreciate it." She then took in a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. Let's do this."

***

Meanwhile, Toro and Isabelle sat back-to-back. Neither of them said a word, though in Toro's case, he wasn't quite sure what to say. The only sounds were the groans of Flint and Steel and the pained rasps of Khamshin as they licked their wounds. Finally, Toro spoke up.

"Are you ready to talk to me now?" he asked.

Isabelle huffed, but said nothing more.

"Stop being so stubborn," Pepito scolded. "He willing to talk; why not you?"

"Cierre para arriba, langosta estúpida," Isabelle snarled.

"He's only trying to help," said Toro, turning around. "Isabelle, I'm sorry. I didn't know you felt this way. If I did, I would've taken you with me."

Isabelle gave Toro a dark look. "You think that was going to solve the problem? Dragging me along on your stupid adventure?"

Toro threw up his paws. "Well, what else would you have me do? I'm a wild dog, not a slave to some alpha. This is who I am, Isabelle."

"So you're a selfish idiot who only thinks about himself," Isabelle barked. "Except you're not selfish, because you ended up being a champion to these stupid dragons! Leaving the pack is one thing, but Diamond Dogs have never gotten along with dragons!"

"T-to be fair, most dragons have problems getting along with anyone," Steel grunted.

"Shut up, Steel," Flint growled.

Toro sighed. "I don't know what to tell you, Isabelle. This feels right for me."

Isabelle scoffed. "I'm glad you find it so easy. When I left the pack, I was terrified. I had to partner up with this stupid lobster, for Pete's sake."

"I no stupid. You think I stupid because I no speak English good, but I no stupid," Pepito said indignantly.

Isabelle let out a groan before continuing. "The point is I had no idea what I was doing. I just thought if I was famous like you, I'd understand why you left."

"And you thought the best way to do that was by poaching dragons?" asked Toro, raising an eyebrow.

Isabelle shrugged. "Why not? You have a pet dragon."

"Señor Trigger is not a pet. He's a valued comrade," Toro corrected. He then placed a paw on Isabelle's shoulder. "Isabelle, I chose this path because this is the person I wanted to be. If this isn't right for you, I won't hold it against you for going back to Cortez. But if you really want to have this life, I can help you through it."

Isabelle sniffled. "But, if I go back to Cortez, I'll be your enemy again. I don't want to keep fighting you. I just want to understand."

"Then I'll teach you," said Toro. "And you won't have to be jealous of me anymore."

Isabelle blushed. "I-I never said I was jealous of you."

"It true, though," Pepito said knowingly.

"Sh-shut up, Pepito," Isabelle growled.

Toro laughed. "Isabelle, I never meant to hurt you. Even when we fought, I couldn't bring myself to shoot at you. Es mi pequeña hermana, y nada cambiará nunca eso."

Isabelle couldn't help getting all choked up. "You big, sappy idiot."

She then gave her brother a big hug, which he returned in kind. Pepito sniffled and wiped a tear from his eye.

"Is so beautiful," he said whimsically.

"So, is she on our side now?" asked Steel.

Toro smiled and nodded. "Sí, señor. From this point on, Isabelle and her friend are welcome to the Dragoons."

"That's good. We could use her help."

Toro and Isabelle turned to see Ember approach, along with Celestia, Little Strongheart, and Gilda. Toro bowed.

"Sú Señoria," he said. "Where are Señorita Needles and Señor Trigger?"

"Training for the battle ahead," Ember replied.

"Battle? Are you—?" Flint bit his tongue. "Um, never mind."

Ember giggled. "I know Seth has given us a lot of trouble so far, but I think I know how to beat him. I'm gonna need a few things, though. Toro, the pack you belonged to specialized in explosive gemstones, correct?"

"Sí, Sú Señoria. Redstone, to be precise."

"Can you mine it?"

Toro furrowed his brow and sniffed the air. "There are a few pockets nearby. Hopefully, Cortez doesn't have a claim on them."

"Good. Get as much of it as you can," said Ember. "Now, we're also going to need some sticks."

Celestia took a look inside her trunk of pranking tools. "Hmm. I happen to have some trick candles."

"Can they be tied together?"

"I suppose so."

"Even better," said Ember. "I suggest getting to work on that. We're gonna need a lot."

"Just what you have in mind, Dragon Lord?" inquired Pepito.

Ember smiled wickedly. "I'm going to teach the Black Dragon of the Desert a lesson he won't soon forget, and I'm gonna need everyone's help to pull it off. Alright, here's the plan..."

Comments

[Grungar3x7]

Okay, I think i see where you're going with this...
Fake scepter made of redstone explosives. Big bada boom to the face!

[redmar]

I liked this chapter and I realized that there were similarities between Gilda and Ember which Gilda saw too.
Ember and Needles have finally dealt with dear conflicting emotions and it was necessary.

[OmniFox]

Seth will be so humiliated.