//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: You Can Count On Me // by Ekhidna //------------------------------// Prologue Ember tapped the cold hard stone of her table with an index finger in rapid repetitions. The constant clang clang clang her claw made with each hit created a small echo in the lonely illuminated cave. “This was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have send that letter.” Ember muttered to herself with a scowl adorning her face. “Maybe it’s not too late! If I hurry I can-” “Yo, Ember, you in there?” She was cut off by Spike’s jovial voice. Too late, Ember sighed. “I’m here, Spike.” She called from her seat. A few seconds later she saw her purple scaled friend walk into the ample room. He stood at nearly two meters tall, a couple of inches taller than her actually. Like always, he was slim and slender with no trace of extra fat or bulking muscles adorning his physique. His crest was rounded and smooth, while his scales looked polished and clean. He wasn’t wearing any clothes or armor, since dragons had their genitals hidden at all times. And although female dragons had breasts, they were almost imperceptible unless aroused. Ponies and their clothing are so weird, Ember thought before noticing her friend was carrying a small straw basket covered with a small sheet. “Sorry for the delay, he he. Twilight teleported me a few mountains away from here and I kinda got lost for a moment. Your dad was kind enough to point me on the right direction.” Spike said with a sheepish smile as he sat on the other free seat. “It’s okay. I forgot to put in better directions, I guess ‘Two hundred meters to the left from the Lava Fountains and then six hundred steps north from the Needle Rocks’ aren’t good enough.” Ember smiled at Spike’s chuckle. “Here, I brought you some gems. They’re mostly Emeralds and Amethysts though,” Spike said passing her the basket. Ember groaned in approval while she licked her lips in anticipation. “My favorites! Thank you, Spike, you shouldn’t have!” She removed the sheet to see at least four dozen of said precious gems. “Hey, what are friends for?” Spike smiled seeing Ember lean in to whiff the gems a couple of times. “I thought you might need them. Your letter sounded rather urgent, Ember.” “Ah yes...the letter.” Ember pulled back covering her gems with the sheet again. Her smile faltered. “Ember?” Spike asked seeing his friend’s mood turn sour. “What’s wrong, Ember?” Ember sighed before looking up to Spike. “There’s going to a be tournament in a week from now. It’s a tradition that goes back to the first Dragon Lord’s reign.” Ember stopped for a moment to see Spike looking at her intently. “The tournament is held to pit the best and strongest dragons against each other. And the winner…” Ember took a deep breath. “The winner becomes the life-mate of the new Dragon Lord.” “...” Spike stared at her for a few solid seconds before he glanced around the room. “So that’s why you wanted to met me here instead of your cave?” Ember nodded. “Ember, you’re the Dragon Lord, can’t you just, I don’t know, oppose it?” Ember shook her head in defeat. “I can’t. There are only two things a Dragon Lord can’t do anything about. When the time to step down comes, and the tournament held to find a life-mate.” “Okaaaay. Then why don’t you pick a random dragon or a friend to be your mate and then divorce?” “It doesn’t work like marriage do for ponies, Spike. When a dragon finds a life-mate that bond is forever.” Ember confessed narrowing her eyes. “My mother won the tournament when my dad won the title of Dragon Lord. Heck, my dad never liked my mother and it took them centuries to actually mate for once. My mother died in an accident a year or so after laying my egg.” Ember closed her eyes for a moment. “Sorry about your mom, Ember. So what you’re trying to say is that you have no choice in the matter, huh?” Spike said crossing his arms. After a minute or so of chilly silence he spoke up again. “Then how do you think I can help?” Ember blushed and clenched her fists. “Spike...you’re the real Dragon Lord.” Spike did a double take. “Come again?” “During the Gauntlet of Fire, you were the one who reached the scepter first. That technically makes you the Dragon Lord! All you did was hand the scepter to me, but you’re the real owner!” Ember said without looking at Spike. Spike looked at the trembling Ember before him for several seconds. “You just made that up, didn’t you?” Spike asked in an understanding tone. Ember didn’t respond. “Are you that afraid, Ember?” “I...I just….I just don’t want to end up like my dad and mother. Or like any of the previous Dragon Lords. I’m not ready to have a life-mate, Spike. And if I’m ever ready, then I want to choose who my life-mate is going to be.” Ember looked up to Spike with teary eyes. “I’ve tried everything I can, but there’s nothing I can do to prevent the tournament, unless I step down as the Dragon Lord. And I can’t do that. Those boulder heads need me to lift us from the ground and return the Dragon Lands to the glory of the Ancients.” Ember closed her eyes letting two thick steamy tears trickle down her scaly cheeks. “I know I’m being selfish, but I don’t want to be tied down by a stupid rule that decides with whom I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. I don’t know what to do.” Spike stood up after several moments of silent watch and walked next to her. He then sat down at her side and cleaned her tears away. Ember looked at him with a mild blush. “The purpose of that tournament is to find the strongest, most fearsome dragon around, isn’t it?” Ember nodded. “That’s a brilliant strategy. What dragon is going to oppose the Dragon Lord and it’s mate when they are the two most powerful dragons in the Dragon Lands?” Ember nodded. “That’s the idea.” Spike smirked. “I think I can help you, Ember. But I need to know the rules of this tournament to be sure my plan can work.” Ember sniffled, an ember of hope burning in her heart. “The rules are simple. Any dragon is allowed to participate, but the age range must not pass a twenty year difference compared to the Dragon Lord. Then, a day before the tournament starts, the Dragon Lord must place a simple test to elect the thirty two best candidates that’ll fight in the tournament.” “What kind of test are you talking about?” “Running or flying speed. Potency of one’s fire. A display of strength. Things like that.” “You have anything in mind?” Ember chuckled. “After I sent you the letter I...I came up with a test. It’s a junior high school math and logic test. My mail lessons with Twilight are paying off.” “HA! They’re going to flip with that!” Spike laughed bringing a momentary smile to Ember. “Anything else?” “There are no restrictions about what the competitors can do during their battles to achieve victory. But the use of magical artifacts is forbidden. Also, the battles are meant to be fought one-on-one, so no outside help. The battle ends when one of the fighters is knocked unconscious, dies, or surrenders.” “So killing is okay, huh? Doesn’t surprise me.” Spike commented under his breath. “Using weapons or armor is also allowed, although it’s frowned upon because the fighters are expected to use only their natural abilities. Aside from that, there’s nothing else.” Ember said as Spike stood up once again, his expression reflecting he was in deep thought. She waited for a few silent moments that seemed to stretch out for millennia. Causing the embers of hope inside her heart to dwindle more and more. “I got it.” Spike suddenly said before looking down at her with a huge pearly fang filled smile. “I know how to help you, Ember!” “You do!?” She screamed flapping her wings to leap into the air and hug her friend with all her might. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She repeated over and over. “What is it! Tell me, what did you come up with?” She asked after several seconds of gleeful thanking. Spike, smiling at Ember and glad he was out of her euphoric death grip, winked once before replying. “I’m going to win that tournament!” Prologue End.