For the past hour, Sol and Torch swapped stories as they continued to soak in the hot spring. Sol told Torch about the events leading up to him going into hiding and afterwards when he was released, and Torch told Sol his many stories over the past thousand years. He was particularly chatty when it came to Ember, which Sol couldn't blame him for. However, while the stories of Ember brought joy to Torch, his mood quickly turned solemn when he eventually started to talk about her mother, Volcanra, who'd died by a rogue dragon not long after Ember's egg was laid. Needless to say that while Ember's egg survived, Ember's mother and the rogue dragon did not.
Having recovered from relaxed enough in the hot spring, Sol and Torch got up and dried themselves off with their fire breath. Dried off, the two were about to leave, but were stopped when Twilight and the others came over to them with Ember in the lead, who had an uneasy look on her face. Upon asking, Ember told Sol that she and the others filled her in about him, his relations with Celestia, Fissure, and the other Scaleless Dragons, and of course, his friendship with Torch during their younger years. It didn't take them this long to tell Ember about him, but after having all of that information dumped on her, she needed some time to take it all in, but mostly for the part about Sol being a Scaleless Dragon. She never even knew that one of the six Scaleless Dragon Lords even had any offspring, and the old documents that the Dragon Lords before her never mentioned them either, including her own father.
It was with this that Ember found herself uncomfortable. Even though she was the Dragon Lord, the Scaleless Dragons were unofficially a step above her in terms of the chain of command and food chain, even if the Scaleless Dragons didn't have any actual influence over the dragons. They were unaffected by the Call of the Dragon Lord, so the Dragon Lord couldn't just call upon them like with everydragon else.
It took a little bit of convincing, but Sol and Torch were soon able to talk Ember down to where she wasn't so nervous around him. Granted, she was asked to keep this a secret, seeing as barely no one outside of this group knew of who Sol was and preferred to keep it that way.
With Ember calmed down, she started leading the tour of the Dragon Lands with Torch carrying them on his back as he flew them around. As the day went on, lunch soon came around, and they decided to take a break. Finding a place to eat, Torch landed and let everyone off. But when he did, Starlight looked around, seeing nothing but rocks and dirt.
"Sooo, what are we eating exactly?" she wondered.
Smirking, Torch reached a claw over and crushed one of the rocks, revealing a plethora of gems hidden within.
"We're having gemstones."
"But we're ponies. We don't eat gems." Starlight's ears perked up at the sound of crunching gems and looked over to see Sol, Spike, and Ember already eating away. "... well, normal ponies anyway."
"We did pack some foods to eat," Twilight began, "but we thought that we might be able to buy some of the local foods to hold us over until we head back."
Hearing them over the sound of their eating, Sol swallowed the gem he was eating and walked over to them.
"What do you need exactly?"
Twilight teleported a bag over to her from the balloon and began looking through it.
"Well, we have some apples, a few bottles of fresh water, and plenty of bread to make sandwiches, but we seem to be a little low on the ingredients to use to make them."
Sol shrugged. "If it's food you need, then I think I can help you with that."
"And how do you plan to do that?" Rarity questioned. "I may not know much of anything when it comes to growing crops like Applejack, but this doesn't look like the place to be growing anything from."
"I have an idea, but first..." Sol turned to Ember. "Excuse me, Ember?"
"Yeah?"
"You wouldn't mind if I made a spot for everypony, would you?"
Ember raised a curious brow. "Why are you asking me? You're the Lord of Earth, so you can do whatever you want."
"Maybe, but since you're the ruler of this land, I'd thought that it'd be polite to ask you for permission first. I promise to return it to the way it was once we're all done using it."
She shrugged, "In that case, knock yourself out."
With permission from Ember to go on ahead, Sol planted his claws into the ground and let his magic flow into the earth, changing the ground beneath them from solid rock to fertile soil. Next he used his magic to grow grass from the newfound soil, used the seeds from the apples Twilight brought to help grow some apple trees instead of growing them from raw magic, complete with ripe apples hanging from their branches, and sprouted a few different flowers scattered about. He also would've grown some more vegetables and some fruits too, but he didn't want to burn himself out too much.
Having made a shaded green patch for him and his friends to sit down to relax and eat on, Sol let out a breath of relief from the effort he'd put into making it and wiped his brow.
"Will this do for now?" he asked.
While the ponies were happy and had no troubles walking over to pluck some flowers for their sandwiches, Ember was a bit more cautious as she approached, tentatively touching the grass with a claw to make sure that this was actually real before stepping onto the soft, fresh grass. As they all sat down and ate, Torch excused himself as he had other business to take care of. With a quick goodbye to Ember and fist bump with Sol, Torch flew off and disappeared into the distance.
"Excuse me, Ember?"
"Hmm? Yeah, Rarity?"
"I know it's a bit early yet, but I was just wondering where we'll all be sleeping at for the night?"
Ember shrugged and took a bite of her gemstone. "I have a spare cave by mine that you can use."
Not expecting such an answer, Rarity sputtered on her sandwich.
"A-A cave?!" she gawked in appalment.
"Well, yeah. What else were you expecting?"
"B-B-Bu-But a cave is just so... so dirty, and damp, and the floor is not the least bit comfortable to sleep on." Rarity let out a whimper. "And I didn't bring my princess-sized camping tent."
Starlight raised an eyebrow. "You were going to bring a camping tent?"
"I was going to just incase something happened to us and we were forced to rough it, but somepony said that I had to limit what I could bring. Thankfully, I did bring my pillow."
There was a collection of groans from Twilight, Starlight, and mostly Ember, while Spike decided to stay quiet and not speak for his safety. But Sol...
"If it's something soft that you want, then I could create a blanket of moss on the ground for you to sleep on?" Sol offered.
"What?! Moss?! You mean that icky green stuff that grows on rocks and trees?!"
Sol shrugged. "What can I say? They make for good bedding, and it'll help keep you cool against the heat."
"Come on, Rarity. It's not gonna be that bad," Twilight voiced. "And besides, moss is actually really soft and comfortable to sleep on."
"And you would know this how?" Rarity questioned.
"I may have been curious about it one night and tried it out."
"... well... is there perhaps some way that we could get a proper bed of some kind?"
Twilight sighed with a hint of annoyance. "Sorry, Rarity, but teleporting a bed over to us from Equestria would be taxing, even for me."
"Me too," Starlight nodded.
"Besides, apart from the gems we brought to buy food and supplies with, even if we did go back to Equestria for one, we couldn't get one because we don't even have any Bits to buy a bed with."
"And we trade for gems, not sell for them," Ember corrected Twilight. "We'll also trade for other stuff too if that dragon is interested in it."
Seeing no way out of this, Rarity hung her head in defeat.
"It seems like there's no other way then," she said with a dejected sigh before perking right back up. "Oh well. I'll just have to make do with what I've got then. So, where will the boys be sleeping?"
"Same cave," Ember answered matter-of-factly, earning her a deadpanned expression from Rarity.
"You're kidding, right?"
"What's wrong with that?" Starlight asked. "I mean, we did all sleep together in the balloon basket on the way over here."
"That's different. We had no choice in the matter."
"Actually, Starlight," Twilight sheepishly began, "I'm gonna have to agree with Rarity on this one. It's probably best if the guys slept in another cave."
A sly smirk crossed Starlight's features. "Really, Twilight? Because you and Rarity looked really comfy when I found you two asleep with-"
"Shut. It. Starlight."
Surprised that both she and Twilight said the exact same thing with matching blushes, Rarity turned to Twilight.
While the females went on about the sleeping arrangement, Sol and Spike sat off to the side and watched from their spot beneath one of the apple trees.
"I'll never understand mares," Spike sighed before chomping into an apple.
"Yeah. Me too," Sol nodded in agreement.
As the two continued to watch, some of the voices started to pick up in volume.
"Looks like things are getting a little out of hoof. Should we stop them?"
"... yeah, probably a good idea." Getting up from his spot, Sol walked over to the girls. "If it'll make things easier for you for you girls, Spike and I will sleep outside."
Immediate silence fell upon them as Sol's words registered in their ears.
"Are you sure you're alright with it?" Twilight asked with a faint blush. "I-I mean, we wouldn't want you two to feel like we don't want you around."
"It'll be fine. I'll just make us a stone tent or something for us to sleep in."
While Twilight was feeling a little bad for them being kicked out of the cave for such a silly reason, a loud sigh of relief drowned out any of her further thoughts on it.
"Oh, thank you for this," Rarity thanked him. "No offense to you two, but I'd rather not sleep with another male in the same room if I can help it."
Starlight caught a look of hesitation in Rarity's eyes. "But...?"
"... well, I was also hoping that we could take this opportunity to have ourselves some girl time."
"Mind if I join you?"
Surprised by the voice, all eyes turned to Ember, who's cheeks had a small red tint to them.
"You want to join us?" Rarity asked surprisingly, receiving a small nod from Ember.
"I didn't really get to spend all that much time with other dragonesses my age. Since I was the daughter of the Dragon Lord, they would sometimes get nervous around me and think that they might do something to make me mad at them and get them into trouble. And now that I'm Dragon Lord, things only seem like they're getting worse. So, I was hoping that you wouldn't mind if I could-"
"Of course you can!" Twilight eagerly answered. "We would be happy to have you join us."
Ember breathed a sigh of relief and happiness for being allowed to join them. But, though she was happy to be involved with them, Ember gave a concerning frown as a thought occurred.
"We're not gonna be painting each others' claws or hooves or whatever, are we?"
"Rarity might, but I doubt that the rest of us will," Starlight answered. "That is, unless you want to?"
"I'll pass. I might wanna be apart of this thing that you ponies do, but I'm not gonna do something that girly."
After a long day of touring the Dragon Lands, the sun had finally set and was replaced by the moon rising in its place. Out in front of the caves where Ember and the girls were staying in, Sol had just finished creating a blanket of soft moss for the girls to sleep on in their cave, along with the stone hut that he and Spike would be sharing. With their sleeping accommodations finished, he and Spike gathered some rocks for them to sit on as they sat around the campfire that they made. As time ticked by and stories were shared, Ember got their attention as she had something to say. As it turned out, there was another reason why Ember had invited the ponies and Spike over, besides having some free time.
"Talk about coincidental timing," Sol commented. "So, the day after tomorrow, huh?"
"But what's this Dragon Battle Royal all about?" Rarity asked.
Ember rested her elbows on her knees and placed chin on her claws. "It's a free-for-all consisting of an average of roughly fifty to one hundred dragons. As you've probably guessed by now, it's a competition where dragons battle it out in the quarry surrounding the Dragon Lord's Throne for a chance at receiving one guaranteed request granted by the Dragon Lord, no questions asked."
"Really? Because that sounds kinda stupid," Starlight commented, earning her a startled gasp from Twilight.
"Starlight! What you thinking?! You can't just go and insult somepony's culture like that, especially in front of their ruler!"
"Well, it is," she defended. "If what I'm hearing is correct, then whoever wins can get anything they want, including replacing Ember as the new Dragon Lord. It's like writing somepony a blank check and telling them to fill in whatever amount they want."
"Not quite," Sol objected. "While the winner is allowed a guaranteed request from the Dragon Lord, there are rules in place, some of which that prevent certain requests being granted, such as what you just brought up."
"Have you seen it before?" Twilight asked.
"Yes. I tried to sign up one time with Torch. Surprising enough, since I'm a kirin and not a full-born dragon, I wasn't allowed to compete."
"Well, it still doesn't sound fair to me," Rarity voiced. "If any dragon can participate, then the younger dragons won't stand a chance if the adult dragons decide to enter."
"Not quite. As I said, there are a few rules to make things fair, one of which allows for only those within a certain age limit to compete."
"So there won't be any adult dragons fighting?"
"No, only teen dragons."
Ember nodded. "And I can't compete because the Dragon Lord isn't allowed to enter... which is where you come in, Spike."
"Huh? Why me?"
"Because other than my dad, I trust you the most." Ember stood up from her spot and began pacing. "While I don't really mind most of the other dragons since they'll more than likely just ask for more gems to add to their hoard if they win, I've heard that Garble will be competing. I've also heard of a few rumors that have been spreading around. From the sounds of them, I hope that they are wrong."
Spike frowned "Are you sure he's gonna compete?"
"He still holds a grudge against me for becoming the Dragon Lord, so I'm willing to bet that he'll use this event to get back at me in some legal way. That, and the fact that he hasn't shut up about signing up for it for the last week."
"Can't you just use the Bloodstone Scepter to make him not compete?" Twilight asked.
"Unfortunatly, I can't because of the rules. Since he's already signed himself up, I can't interfere."
A wave of concern washed over Rarity. "But if that's true and Garble is competing, then won't that mean that he'll go after Spike the moment he sees him?"
"I wouldn't be surprised. While Garble is upset for me being Dragon Lord, he's just as mad at Spike for winning the Gauntlet of Fire and giving me the scepter right afterwards. There's also the fact that during the short time Spike wielded the Bloodstone Scepter, he ordered Garble to go home and hug every dragon that he saw on his way without telling them why." Ember and Spike snickered at the memory, but it didn't last for long. With a worried look on her face that matched Rarity's, Ember turned to face the young drake. "Spike, I know that this is a lot to ask of you, and I wish that I didn't have to ask you to put yourself in danger like this, but could you compete in the Dragon Battle Royal?"
Put on the spot, Spike nervously gulped. Not because he was worried about Garble, because he'd faced him a few times before and came out on top, but because of something else entirely. While he did want to help Ember out, there was a reason why Spike was hesitant to answer her.
"You think I could maybe sleep on it?" Spike asked. "I just need some time to think about it."
Ember gave an uneasy, but understanding nod. "Sure. The deadline is tomorrow, so I'll need to know by then."
"Thanks."
Getting up, Spike walked over to the stone hut that Sol made for the two of them, but stopped at the entrance and looked back.
"I'm gonna turn in for the night. I'll see you all in the morning."
"Goodnight, Spike."
Waving them off, Spike went inside. Once he'd disappeared into the darkness of the small building, Starlight let out a yawn.
"Well, today's been more tiring than I'd thought it'd be," she said.
"But we can't go to bed just yet," Rarity objected. "We haven't even done anything fun yet with just us girls."
Stifling another yawn, Starlight got up and stretched before she made for the cave she, Twilight, and Rarity were sharing.
"Then let's get on with it before we start falling asleep."
"Alright. In that case, you ladies have a nice night, and I'll see you in the morning," Sol said, waving to them as he followed after Spike to their hut, but not before chuckling at the conversation that Rarity and Ember were having.
"Oh, Ember, would you mind if I did your claws? I have some hoof polish with me that I'm sure will work on your claws."
"Nah ah! No way!"
"Aww, but why not?"
"I don't paint my claws. Besides, I have an image to keep up."
"Are you sure? I have a lovely shade of pink here that would compliment your blue scales quite wonderfully."
"I said no!"
It was the middle of the night when Sol was talking to Luna in his dream. During that time, he told her about their trip to the Dragon Lands where he met Ember and was reunited with Torch. As the night moved into the midnight hours, Sol and Luna heard something echoing throughout his dream. Believing that it was coming from somewhere around Sol's body, Luna let Sol wake up to find out what it was.
Awakening from his dream, Sol peered around the darkened room for the source of the noise until his sights fell over Spike's form, who was groaning as he glared up at the ceiling. With a tired groan, Sol called out to him.
"Spike? What's going on?"
Not surprised by Sol being woken by him, Spike let out a sigh.
"Hey, Sol, can I ask you something?"
"I guess." Figuring that it could take a little while by the tone of Spike's voice, Sol lit his horn and conjured a dim-glowing orb to give them some light. "What is it?"
Spike bit his lip before speaking as he knew that he'd need to tread lightly with this.
"You said before that you had a fillyfriend, right?"
Sol didn't answer at first. It wasn't a subject that he liked to talk about, and after his accidental outburst after he was first asked, the others knew that talking about it would probably be a bad idea. Still, while he still didn't like to bring it up, with how Spike was acting and the fact that he'd just straight-up asked Sol, he probably had a good reason.
"Yes, I did," he calmly replied. "Why?"
"... I need some advice."
If Sol were to be honest, this wasn't something that he was expecting to be asked. While he had been in a relationship and had some experience in dealing with romance, he didn't think that he'd be somepony who others would come to for relationship advice. All the same, Sol would try what he could to help Spike.
"Alright. What is it?"
Letting out a resigned sigh, Spike turned his head over towards Sol.
"I'm gonna level with you, but before I do, you gotta promise that you won't tell anypony, alright?"
"Alright. I promise."
"Pinkie Promise?"
Sighing, Sol spoke the words and went through the motions of the Pinkie Promise. With Sol now bound under the Pinkie Promise, Spike felt comfortable to continue.
"Okay." Spike took a deep breath. "You don't know this, but I have a crush on Rarity."
Actually, I do know, he thought while nodding to Spike. "Alright..."
"... but... I also have a crush on Ember."
Though Sol had a sneaking suspicion, he didn't really think that he was actually right about that.
"Okay, so you have a crush on two different girls. What's the problem?"
"The problem is that I don't know what to do," he said with a hint of worry. "I've had a crush on Rarity since the first moment I saw her, but even after all this time, the feeling's never gone away... and I don't feel like it's really progressed much either. On the other claw, I've only known Ember for a short time in comparison, but we seem to be almost to the point that I'm at with Rarity, if not closer. And please don't tell Twilight, but it's also part of the reason that I'm thinking about competing in the Dragon Battle Royal."
"Because she asked you and you don't want to let her down?" Sol asked.
"That, and I want to do what I can to make her happy. Besides, you saw how nervous she was when she told us that Garble was competing. If I can make her happy and help put an end to her worries, then I'll do it."
Sol nodded. "Sounds like you've made up your mind about the competition, but what's the big problem with your two crushes? You said that you don't know what to do, but what exactly do you mean by that?"
"I don't wanna end up having to pick just one of them. If I do, I feel like the other one may feel left behind and it could ruin our friendship. That, and if I end up picking Ember over Rarity, we won't get to see each other very much unless I move to the Dragon Lands." Spike let out a heavy sigh and looked almost pleadingly at Sol. "What should I do?"
Talk to Cadence? She'd be better a better pony to ask about this kind of stuff with than me, Sol mentally sighed before giving his own answer.
"Tell me, Spike, what does your heart tell you?"
Spike closed his eyes as a claw fell over his chest. "Honestly? I don't want to lose either of them."
Sol nodded. "In that case, if you want my opinion, I'd say try going out with them both."
"Huh? Both?"
"Yes. Tell me, have you heard of polygamy?"
"You mean the practice of somepony being in a relationship with multiple partners? Yeah, I have. Ponies have something similar called herds, but-" Spike's eyes widened in realization as to what Sol was thinking about. "Oooohhhh. So that's what you're getting at."
"Mhmmm. It used to be rather common back during my time. I'm glad to hear that it's still used today."
"Actually, it's really not very common, but there are some ponies that still do it." Spike blushed as the thought started to sink in. "So... both, huh? Oh boy."
Sol gave a nod. "Yep. And this way, you get to have your cake and eat it. Or so mother would say, though it usually involved actual cake."
"Yeah... I guess so." A relieved chuckle escaped Spike, followed by a tired yawn. "Thanks for listening to me, Sol, and for the advice."
"You're welcome, Spike."
Feeling as though their talk had come to a conclusion, Sol ended his spell keeping the room lit and laid his head back down to sleep-
"Hey, Sol?"
-but Spike apparently wasn't done quiet yet.
"Hmm?"
"While we're on the subject of girls, I was wondering-"
Please don't-
"-why haven't you tried to find a new fillyfriend?"
... okay, not quiet what I was expecting. "I... don't really know."
"Well, why not?" Spike curiously wondered. "I mean, it's technically been over a thousand years since your last one, so what's stopping you from finding your own special somepony?"
Though it was dark, Sol frowned at Spike. "What brought this up all of a sudden?"
"Nothing really. It's just that you helped me with my relationship problem, so I just wanted to return the favor and help you."
Sol was silent for a moment before he let out a low chuckle, having briefly forgotten for a moment just how mature the young drake could be, despite his body being that of a baby dragon's. Going to reply, Sol opened his mouth to speak, but paused at the sudden sound of snoring coming from Spike. Rolling his eyes in good nature at Spike, and for himself for taking too long, Sol closed his eyes and let out a yawn.
... find a new fillyfriend, huh?
As the morning sunlight started to shine down upon the Dragon Lands, Spike found himself already up and sitting on one of the stones surrounding last night's campfire as he waited for Ember. Despite being the first up and not getting as much sleep due to his talk with Sol the previous night, Spike felt awake thanks to the peaceful rest he got after their talk.
"Morning, Spike."
His ear fins perking up at the voice, Spike turned around and smiled.
"Hey, Ember. I've been waiting for you."
Ember blinked in surprise. "You have?"
"Yeah. I've decided to compete in tomorrow's Dragon Battle Royal."
Before Spike could react, he found his vision blurred by blue as Ember scooped Spike up and held him against her in a tight hug.
"Oh, thank you, Spike! You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that!" she thanked. "I was a bit worried last night when you said that you asked to think about it."
"You were?"
Realizing what she was doing, Ember blushed and put Spike down before clearing her throat.
"Yeah. I was worried for a little while that you wouldn't accept it."
"Oh... sorry, Ember. I just needed to get some things sorted out was all before I could tell you."
Ember sighed and waived a claw. "It's fine... but really, thanks for doing this."
"Hey, it's no problem."
Knowing that Spike had her back and would compete, Ember turned her gaze north.
"We better get you signed in. The deadline is ends today at noon, so we should get you there as soon as we can. Here, hop on my back. I'll fly us over."
Leaping up, Spike held onto Ember's back as she spread her wings and took off. It only took them a few minutes to arrive at the location for Spike to sign in, which turned out to be a stand run by a gruff and beefy-looking, scarred brown dragon who stood twice as tall as Ember.
"Dragon Lord Ember. What can I do for ya?" his voice rumbled once she'd landed and let Spike off.
"Hey, Beefcake. My friend here wants to compete in tomorrow's competition."
The dragon looked over Spike with an unimpressed snort. "You sure? The kid's a twig. I doubt he'd even last a minute."
"We'll see," Spike cockily said, folding his arms across his chest with a confident smirk.
"Meh. Your funeral, kid. Just sign your name on the roster, and don't say that I didn't warn ya."
Seeing no pen, quill, or pencil to use, Spike looked to Ember for help, who gestured to his claws. Getting the idea, Spike walked up to the stone slate with the list of names, and used a claw to carve his own name onto it. Taking a step back, Spike looked at his name etched onto the slate with a nod.
"What do you think you're doing here?"
Recognizing the unwanted voice, Spike and Ember turned around to see a familiar red teen dragon marching up to them.
"You're not seriously thinking about competing in the Dragon Battle Royal tomorrow, are you?"
"Sorry, Garble, but he is," Ember frowned. "Spike just finished entering."
Garble snorted out a puff of smoke. "Whatever. It's not like he'll be able to do much anyway."
"Isn't that what you thought last time during the Gauntlet of Fire?" Spike smirked, only to be startled in surprise when Garble lunged towards him with his face glaring inches away from his.
"You got lucky because she had your back, but you won't be so lucky this time. This time, it will be every dragon for themselves." Garble leaned down and whispered into Spike's ear, "And once I win, I'll have little miss Dragon Lord here bound to my side."
Spike's eyes snapped wide-open as he understood what Garble intended.
"You wouldn't. You can't!"
"Really?" he smirked. "I checked the rules. I may not be able to have Ember make me the new Dragon Lord, but there's nothing that says I can't have her as my mate. By tomorrow night, she'll be all mine."
Finding pleasure in Spike's shocked look, Garble chucked at him that quickly grew into laughter. As he walked away, Ember turned to Spike, wondering what Garble had said to him.
"Spike?"
"..."
"Spike?"
When Spike didn't answer, Ember found herself growing a little more concerned about him, especially since his head was lowered and his body started to tremble. However, when she kneeled down to see what was wrong with him, she found that Spike wasn't shaking in fear like she'd initially thought, but in anger.
"Spike, what did he say?"
Clenching his claws to the point where they drew blood, Spike's rage ignited something primal deep within him. Eyes filled with fury, his gaze narrowed on Garble's retreating form with a low, threatening growl.
No. She's mine.