//------------------------------//
// Gauntlet of Fire 
// Story: My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria 
// by Codex92 
//------------------------------//

A week had passed since the Crystalling, news of Flurry Heart's birth now spread throughout Equestria, though the events of said Crystalling were kept under wraps to avoid spreading the panic of the massive army of Heartless that nearly invaded the Crystal Empire. Aqua had announced she was taking a vacation to everyone in the castle after returning from the spa, although Terra was a bit miffed that she "borrowed" some of his Equestrian money for her expensive spa treatment. But he did admit that she was glowing a bit, and looked a lot more relaxed, so he let it slide knowing she was slowly getting better.

As the days had passed, there wasn't much that happened. Rarity had decided to further branch her boutique out to Manehattan, traveling with Pinkie Pie to meet up with her sister Maud for the their yearly sister day Pinkie called PSSSD: Pie Sisters Surprise Swap Day. Pinkie wanted to find Maud something for their special tradition, trying to keep Maud distracted while the trio went around the city to find a perfect location for Rarity's third store, but a rock pouch she wanted to get her at a specific store was closed, and the day was nearly ruined. That is, until she found a shifty stallion who agreed to trade her a similar pouch he had for her party cannon, which did not make Maud happy when Rarity accidentally blurted it out when the sisters exchanged gifts, Maud giving Pinkie a giant tin full of confetti for her cannon that she traded away. Luckily, Maud found the stallion with her Maud Sense, intimidating him with her blank, emotionless gaze and offered to re-trade the pouch for Pinkie's cannon, Maud only caring about making her sister happy and showing her that the thought of the gift is all that was important for their PSSSD. And Rarity even found a perfect spot for her new boutique, entitled "Rarity For You", which was actually quite a clever name she gave it.

There was even a point where the CMC, with their new cutie marks, had some trouble figuring out what to do now that they didn't have to crusade for their marks anymore. Apple Bloom had suffered from figuring out what to do with her friends, letting her imagination carry her away to a scenario where her friendship with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle would soon end, along with how little they were doing helping ponies discover their true talents as their talent. Sora noticed how much it bothered the filly and tried to help her, but she wound up taking it the wrong way when Sweetie Belle suggested they do stuff on their own, further giving Apple Bloom more anxiety and frustration. Thankfully, she realized how silly she was being when she actually explained doing stuff they LIKE on their own, but still hang out and talk about their experiences. And they did manage to help out a colt around their age find his cutie mark, a shy orange earth pony with a two-toned mulberry mane who had a talent for dancing who she met in a dance class while figuring out what to do by herself, but he suffered from stage fright and hid his talent from other ponies.

During the recital for the class, Apple Bloom helped Tender Taps by being his dance partner, with some help from Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle with the set and costumes for their routine, she danced and messed up on purpose, diverting the audience's attention away from him so he could really show off his moves. Thanks to her, Tender Taps cut loose, forgetting about the ponies watching and impressed them with his swift tap dancing, winning them all after he finished, cured of his stage fright and earned his cutie mark: a top hat with a spotlight shining down on the hat. Apple Bloom promised not to doubt her friends this time, knowing their friendship will last until the end and they'll always be together, even if they're split apart, just like Sora and his many friends from the other worlds. The day after helping Tender Taps, Sora swore he saw Apple Bloom hanging out with the colt at Sugarcube Corner, at first thinking maybe the young Apple had an interest in the tap dancer, but shrugged it off as they were simply friends getting to know one another. But if that really was the case with his first thoughts, he would be ok with them being more than friends, though that would be up to Applejack and Big Macintosh's approval if their relationship gets serious.

Now, out in the caverns outside of Ponyville, Rarity decided to do some spelunking in search of more gems for her designs, wearing a mining hat with a light glowing with the aura of her horn, some diamonds embedded to the helmet with a blue bow to make it look fashionable and functional. Spike joined the unicorn, being the helpful little dragon he was to his crush and carried the gems for her in a basket while she picked them from the walls and stalagmites around them and be her bodyguard in case they ran into those diamond dogs again. He even resisted the urge to eat the gems, despite his growling stomach.

"Be very quiet, Spike," Rarity warned in a hushed tone, pointing her hoof up at the sleeping bats hanging on the ceiling above them. "The last time I was here, I woke them up and ended up with a mane full of bats."

"No problem, Rarity," Spike assured, puffing his chest out. "If they try to claw at us, I'll scare them off with my fire breath."

Putting her trust in Spike, Rarity continued quietly mining, making sure not to shine the light from her hat on the bats. "Oh, for once I wish unicorn magic wasn't so...luminescent," she uttered to herself. Suddenly, a light from behind her began illuminating the cavern the duo were in, waking the bats up as they screeched angrily. "Spike, you'll wake the bats! Turn off that flashlight!"

"I-I don't have a flashlight!" Spike exclaimed. Rarity turned around to scold him, only to gasp in shock as the baby dragon's scales were somehow glowing as he scratched his body, feeling incredibly irritated with an unbearable itchiness. "A-And I...can't...stop it! Urgh!"

"Spikey-wikey!?" The bats swooped down, making Rarity shriek, but she ignored them for now as Spike's sudden glowing was of more concern than getting her hair tangled with bats. Picking up the baby dragon with her telekinesis, she ignored her gems and ran out of the caves, making her way to the castle as she feared something was wrong with Spike. "Hang on, Spike! We'll get you help!"





In the Castle of Friendship, Twilight sat in the dining hall with Sora, Kairi, Riku, Celestia, and Luna, the royal sisters stopping by for a visit to relax from their duties for a little lunch. "I'm glad you two could come by!" Twilight said excitedly.

"Of course," Luna agreed. "We so rarely get a chance to relax and visit."

"There's usually some crisis we have to deal with," Celestia said. "Somepony always needs our help."

"Welcome to our world," Riku said.

"So, Luna, how are you and Sombra doing in the dream realm?" Sora asked curiously. "You two planning your dream wedding yet, or is it still being planned?"

"Well...It's getting there, although if I have to combine several dreams into one like the last time for everypony we wish to invite for it, it might put a lot of strain on me," Luna said, reminding herself of the massive dream she created when the Tantabus went loose while punishing herself. "I want to walk down the dream aisle, not be encased in a magic bubble trying to hold the dream together."

"And...what about consummating that marriage?" Celestia asked with a sly smirk. "How does that work?"

Luna blushed as her reaction got a snicker from Sora, Riku letting out a sigh as he shook his head, and Twilight and Kairi blushing slightly as they thought about how she and Sombra would officially seal their marriage in private. Before Luna even tried to blurt out a random response while angrily berating her sister, they heard Rarity scream, the unicorn barging into the room with Spike and his mysteriously glowing scales!

"Twilight! There's something wrong with Spike!" she shouted, pushing aside the spread of snacks on the table to lay Spike down on, the baby dragon grunting and scratching himself aggressively.

"What the hell?" Riku asked.

"Why's he glowing?" Kairi questioned.

"I don't know!" Spike answered. "All of a sudden my scales started glowing! And burning!" Grunting and scratching, he was desperate to find relief. "Somepony find me a back-scratcher! I'll even take a cactus or a porcupine if it'll help stop this itching!"

"There is little we know about dragon culture, but this is a phenomenon that we have seen before," Luna said. "It is the call of the Dragon Lord."

"There's a Dragon Lord?" Sora asked, dreading to know which of the bigger dragons back during the dragon migration a couple years ago was the supposed leader. "Must be a lazy leader after dealing with those teenage dragons. Especially Garble."

"And I'm going to take a wild guess and say that if a dragon's scales are glowing, then the Dragon Lord's calling them for something?" Riku asked.

"Precisely," Celestia said with a nod. "The call will stop once all the dragons heed the Dragon Lord's summons in the Dragon Lands. Spike, you will need to journey to the Dragon Lands and see what is expected of you."

"What!? Are you insane!?" Rarity exclaimed, suddenly growing nervous as she called Celestia insane. "Pardon my insult, but those dragons back during the migration were awful brutes! They're not like Spikey-wikey!"

"And if I have to see Garble again..." Spike shuddered, still scratching himself, though his worries distracted him from his burning scales. "I really don't like him."

"At least he's a brainless moron," Sora said. He looked at Kairi, the pink unicorn grinning as she nodded her head at him, getting the same idea he had. "Looks like your 'older brother' and his mate are going to join you on your new dragon quest, Spike."

"And we're coming, too," Twilight said. "This is a perfect opportunity to actually learn about and research dragon culture and their customs! This can be my chance to contribute sharing knowledge to all of Equestria while helping Spike!" Rarity nodded, planning to join them as well to make sure Spike wouldn't get hurt. Twilight's suddenly turned to curiosity as she turned to look at Riku. He did know about Sora and Kairi's temporary transformation as dragons during the dragon migration, and Twilight began to wonder what Riku would be as a dragon. "...Riku? Do you want to join us?"

Riku hummed in thought for a moment, but quickly made up his mind. "I guess I am curious to know what I'd be if I was a dragon...Eh, why not? I'm in the mood for some dragon stuff."

Twilight squealed in delight, her horn already lighting up to begin transforming Sora, Riku, and Kairi into dragons. "Be careful, all of you," Celestia warned. "The Dragon Lands are particularly dangerous, so it would be wise for you to be discreet."

"I'm sure I still have that dragon costume we used the last time," Rarity said, wondering where she put that old costume.

"Actually, let's not have you wear that thing again," Kairi quickly said. "You're probably going to need something a bit more...practical. Besides, I think Rainbow Dash is a bit too busy to make up the third part of that dragon costume...I still can't believe there was actually a dragon that looked like that outfit."

"Ok! Let's get going!" Twilight said excitedly. "Spike's probably really uncomfortable and wants to get the itching to stop, so body transformation time! You first, Riku!"

"Wait, what?" Before Riku could protest, Twilight immediately shot her spell at the white stallion, making him grunt in surprise as his body was surrounded in light. The others watched as he transformed into a dragon, how he would appear if that was what his own magic would passively transform him into. Once the spell was complete, the ponies and baby dragon stared in awe, Twilight's eyes roaming all over her transformed boyfriend's new, temporary body. Standing before them was a black-scaled dragon, his spiky white spines for hair contrasting his dark scales, but unlike Sora's dragon form, Riku's was far more muscular, his wings were bigger, and he had a pair of sharp, curved black horns on his head. It was odd to see such a scary looking dragon with innocent blue eyes, white spines running down his back, and wearing the usual vest the Keyblade wielder always wore, but he at least pulled off the intimidating dragon look with his bulky frame, wide wingspan, and deadly horns. "...Uhh, how do I look?"

"...Pretty menacing," Sora commented. "But, it kinda suits you." He looked at Twilight, who was paralyzed with awe as her jaw hung loosely from her mouth, unable to look away from Riku's dragon body. "...And apparently you've mesmerized Twilight into a hypnotic state. Kairi, dragon us up."

"Right," Kairi said, lighting up her horn to transform herself and Sora as their dragon personas.

Celestia and Luna watched in amazement as they witnessed the Keyblade wielders transforming, especially when changing to something else of sentient life while still finding a way to fit in. This only made Celestia more curious to try to invite Yen Sid and see how he'll look as a pony, making a note to herself to ask him to visit when she got the chance.





Once Sora and Kairi were transformed into dragons, the group set off to the Dragon Lands by air, Sora carrying Kairi and Rarity while Riku carried Spike and Twilight. As soon as they reached the borders of the craggy wasteland, they landed and traveled the rest of the way on foot, Twilight thinking ahead as she quickly crafted some disguises using her magic. As soon as Spike sensed where the exact location where all the other dragons were meeting up, Twilight and Rarity hid inside of a camouflaged rock outfit as they sat before what appeared to be a large mountain in the shape of a throne. Other dragons began to congregate, all of them teenagers aside from the slightly adolescent Spike as they all glowed as brightly as him. Sora, Riku, and Kairi were the odd ones out, considering they weren't really dragons in the first place and were called by the Dragon Lord.

"Well, well, well! Look who it is!" Spike winced as he, Sora, Riku, and Kairi turned to face the dragon all but Riku met before. Garble approached them with his reckless entourage, glowing like Spike while wearing a cocky smirk. "If it ain't the pony-loving losers: Blowhard, Wet Blanket, and Sparkle-Warkle!"

"It's Spike, you dunce," Spike said with disdain, already fed up by Garble's pathetic insults.

"What did you call me, you little twerp!?" Garble exclaimed, stomping over with his arms stretched out to strangle the baby dragon.

Luckily, Sora grabbed Garble's arm, stopping him as the red dragon winced from the already tense grip on his forearm. "You heard him, 'Gargles'," Sora growled. "And the name's Ventus, and she's Aqua."

"Wait, you named yourselves-?" Before Riku could finish his question, Kairi stomped on his tail, making him wince and shutting him up.

She leered at him, telling him to just go with it before he blew their cover. "You forgot to tell him about their alias names while Sora and Kairi were dragons, didn't you?" Rarity asked.

"I didn't want to tell Aqua that Sora used hers and Ven's names while they were dragons," Twilight reasoned with a nervous giggle. "Riku, if they ask your name, just say you're Terra."

Riku groaned, shaking his head at the ridiculous background he was supposed to make for himself as a dragon, but played along so they didn't cause any suspicion. Sora let go of Garble's arm when he saw he wasn't going to continue fighting, the red dragon grumbled and rubbed his sore arm. He then noticed Riku, wondering where he came from since he's never seen the menacing black dragon before.

"And who are you?" Garble asked Riku. "Don't tell me you're with these namby-pamby pony loving losers."

"The name's...Terra," Riku said, slightly hesitating as he "introduced" himself. "And they're my friends. You got a problem with that?"

"Yeah. You're just as lame as they are!" Garble began laughing, his friends joining him at the irony, only for the laughter to stop as Riku suddenly rushed forward, punching Garble hard in the gut.

Surprised by how fast he moved, the other dragons backed away while Garble was left wheezing, apparently not learning his lesson not to judge anyone by who they are and where they lived. "Keep your big mouth shut and use your tiny brain to think first before you decide to make up insults hatchlings could make," Riku warned, moving his thrusted fist away from Garble's abdomen, then brought his claw up and flicked him in the forehead, sending the dragon flopping down hard on his back.

Groaning, Garble stood up, clutching his stomach with a bright red mark brighter than his scales on his forehead. "Why are you even here?" he asked. "And how come you're not all glowing?"

"You're saying we're not allowed to come with Spike when the Dragon Lord calls?" Kairi questioned, her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at the rude dragon.

"We'll have to see if the Dragon Lord will allow you to be here when you're not called," Garble said with a smirk, pointing a claw behind them.

Turning around, the Keyblade wielders, baby dragon, and two ponies hiding in the rock costume stared with their jaws agape, spotting the Dragon Lord flying in and landing on the massive throne with a loud thud. A massive blue scaled dragon with short red spines along his back and long horns curved down stared down at the adolescent teenage dragons that gathered, wearing a breastplate seemingly made out of obsidian. Hovering beside him, also glowing like the other dragons around them, was what appeared to be a teenage dragoness with bright aqua scales with dark blue spines, bearing similarly curved horns like the Dragon Lord's.

"Dragons of Equestria, hear me!" the large dragon said, his voice booming for all to hear him. "I have been Dragon Lord for longer than many of you can remember, and my reign has been extraordinary!" He waited for the teenage dragons to acknowledge him, but as he heard silence, he glowered at them. "AGREE WITH ME!!!!"

Quickly heeding his command, the dragons all loudly voiced their agreements and began chanting "Torch" over and over. They at least got the name of the Dragon Lord, but Spike was the first to notice the young dragon hovering beside Torch's head, seeing she wasn't chanting along with the other dragons.

"Who is that?" Spike asked.

"That's Dragon Lord Torch, dummy," Garble said.

"No, not him. Her." Spike pointed at the dragoness, subtly rolling his eyes as he could take a guess who Torch was from the other dragons chanting.

"That's his daughter, Princess Ember," Garble said. "I wouldn't even look at her if I were you, Sponge, unless you want Torch to eat you." Spike gulped nervously and averted his gaze from the dragoness, fearing he would be swallowed whole by the large dragon. The dragon bully then looked at the trio of mysterious dragons. "He'll probably eat you three, too, just because he didn't call you...Even though Fartense is supposed to be...the runt's brother...? Wait, how is that possible?"

Sora was a bit surprised to see Garble actually had a brain, but only for a short moment as he just shrugged off that thought in less than a second. Inside the rock outfit, however, Twilight was too distracted as she was already learning a bit more about dragons than anypony ever, maybe even more than what Celestia and Luna know.

"This is so fascinating," Twilight whispered excitedly. "Dragons are notoriously reckless, but they do whatever the Dragon Lord says!"

"Unfortunately, according to dragon law-" Dragon Lord Torch rolled his eyes as he recited one part of the dragon code he loathed to want to admit, but he must abide by their kind's laws no matter how much he wanted to object. "-it is time for me to step down. Sad, I know..." He waited for a response, but once again, the dragons were silent. "BE SAD!!!!!" On command out of fear, the dragons all began crying, trying to sound genuine despite it being fake, which was good enough for the soon-to-be ex-Dragon Lord. "This is why I have summoned you; to compete for the throne in the Gauntlet of Fire!" The dragons cheered, Twilight feverishly writing down every custom they're learning about in an empty book, taking notes for her draft until she decides to publish it once she got everything she needed to know. Torch pulled out a staff that was practically an inch in size compared to him, holding out the purple crystal scepter with a ruby gem clasped in the curved claws of the staff for all to see. "Whomever has the strength and fortitude to retrieve this bloodstone scepter from the heart of the flame-cano will be crowned Lord of the Dragons!"

Turning out to the ocean, where they could see an island with a strangely curved volcano jutting out from the land, red crystals sticking out of the surface, including the water as it made a sort of path toward the island. Torch flicked the scepter, sending it flying far across the water and into the mouth of the flame-cano. As soon as it disappeared inside, a blast of magical flames shot out from the mouth, releasing a red shockwave that spread out from the island, passing through the dragons and making the teens' and Spike's illuminating scales fade back to normal.

"When the scepter disappeared, the dragons stopped glowing!" Twilight said, stating her observations aloud. "We are learning so much!"

While writing with her quill, Twilight was too enthralled to realize the feather of her writing instrument was tickling Rarity's nose since both mares practically huddled together in their disguise. Rarity winced, scrunching her muzzle as she was about to sneeze. Unable to hold it back, she let out a short, quiet, sputtering sneeze, but it wasn't quiet enough for Garble to hear, being so close to the hiding mares. Luckily, he wasn't paying attention to them, Kairi quickly rubbing her nose and sniffling as she acted like she was the one who sneezed.

"Excuse me," she said. "Must be allergy season."

"Ugh. You even sneeze like a pony," Garble grumbled, making Kairi growl in irritation.

"Oh, like you haven't let out small sneezes when you don't want to," Kairi argued.

"I don't, because I'm not a pony!" Garble argued back, earning a blast of bubbles from the aquatic dragon that popped and covered his body in frost, his body shivering from the freezing cold bubbles.

"The Gauntlet is dangerous, for I designed it myself!" Torch continued. "Only dragons with my ferocity, strength, and determination will be able to finish. We will gather at the cliff when the sun is at its peak!"

While the dragons cheered in anticipation for the competition, Spike was not as thrilled, just glad to not feel the burning itching that came with the call of the Dragon Lord. "No way, no how do I want to be Dragon Lord or dragon toast. I've stopped glowing, so let's sneak out of here."

Twilight whined in objection at Spike's refusal to join, but she knew he wouldn't last competing with dozens of teenage dragons who were much bigger and stronger than he was. Before Spike was able to push Twilight and Rarity's rock disguise and leave, Dragon Lord Torch noticed him, leering at the baby dragon trying to leave.

"And where do you think you're going, little dragon!?" Torch questioned, startling Spike as he turned around, stammering in fear.

Sora quickly stepped in, standing in front of Spike and bowed to Torch. "Greetings, Dragon Lord Torch! I know this is a bit sudden, but my younger brother Spike doesn't seem ready to try to fight for the right as the new Dragon Lord. You see, his scales got really irritated by your call, Your Lordship, but now that it's done, we're just about to go on our merry way."

Just as Sora was about to turn around, Dragon Lord Torch leapt from his perch, slamming his massive claw down in their path, greatly intimidating them as he lowered his head to glare at them. "You do not leave unless I say so!" Torch said. Looking down at the three dragons, he raised a brow in surprise, unable to recall summoning Sora, Riku, or Kairi among the rest of the teens. "Wait a minute. I don't remember calling you three, or even felt your presence to my call."

"...Uhhhh..." Sora looked back at Riku and Kairi, hoping they could come up with an idea before they were caught. They had nothing, but Sora quickly found an answer to give. "We're from another continent! We're not from Equestria!"

"From across the seas?" Torch questioned.

"Hey, you said that you and Spork lived in a namby-pamby pony town!" Garble argued, making Sora blanch, nearly forgetting he was there no thanks to Torch's claw between them and their exit. "You and him are supposed to be brothers, so explain how you weren't glowing like the rest of us!"

Sora began to sweat, his thoughts racing as he tried to worm his way out of this predicament. "I'm his adopted brother!" Spike quickly said, Torch's eyes swiftly glancing down at him. "I was born in Equestria, but Ventus is from another land, along with Aqua and Terra! I didn't know my parents, but he raised me when he found my egg and became my older brother, which is why he didn't glow like I had, and he knew about the Dragon Lord's call from where they're from..."

Torch hummed in thought as he processed this information. Luckily, Ember swooped down beside them to save them before anyone else could pick apart their story.

"Just let them go, dad," Ember said. "He's just a runt, and he doesn't even want to compete anyway."

"He is rather tiny," Torch said with a chuckle, the Keyblade wielders and ponies grateful to know that most of the dragons seemed to have small attention spans as he forgot about figuring out their roots. "I could squish him with my pinkie claw." Spike laughed, thinking it was a joke, but the Dragon Lord was dead serious. "That wasn't a joke. It was a fact. When I want you to laugh, I will say 'BE AMUSED!!!!'"

The group that got caught in Torch's bellow winced, Sora digging a claw in his ear as he slowly got his hearing back. "And all the more reason my little bro shouldn't compete," he reasoned. "You see, our customs are a bit different compared to yours, and with them being so alien to us, we don't want to be rude to Your Mightiness and offend you and your subjects."

Torch let out an irritated sigh, but he did see Sora's point. "Very well, then. I will allow you to leave, little dragon."

"Thank you, Dragon Lord, sir!" Spike thanked, then turned to Ember. "And thank you."

The dragon princess rolled her eyes, her father letting the newcomers go while taking away the "rock" they stood by. Ember was about to fly off toward the cliff, only for Torch to grab her in his giant hand.

"And where do you think you're going?" Torch asked.

"To prepare for the Gauntlet," Ember said.

"No, you're not," Torch said sternly. "You're not much bigger than the runt I sent home!"

"But I'm smarter than most of these boulderheads, and you know it!" the smaller dragon argued defiantly, flying up in her father's face.

"Being smart won't help you win this Gauntlet!" the Dragon Lord shouted back. "It was designed for a big, strong dragon to win, because it takes a big, strong dragon to lead! Besides, I SAID NO!!!!"

Growling irritably, Ember huffed and flew off. "I hate when he does that...I'll show him I'm tough enough to be Dragon Lord..."





Spike continued pushing Twilight and Rarity in their rock outfit as they, Sora, Riku, and Kairi began to leave the Dragon Lands. They overheard some of the teenage dragons talking about what they'd do if they were the Dragon Lord, and some of them had some really gross or nonsensical ideas, or outright cruel ones that would be harmful to ponies or any other sentient species in Equestria.

"When I become Dragon Lord, I will make burps an official greeting!" one of them said.

"Ha, you? Please!" another scoffed. "When I win, I'll pillage Equestria for all their pillows. Why should those ponies be comfortable while we sleep on rocks?"

"That's nothing!" Garble said, butting in between the two dragons. "When I'm in charge, the first thing I'll do is get revenge on those puny ponies, especially that spiky loser pony lover!" The exiting group stopped when they overheard him, the dunce of a dragon barely paying any attention as they could hear them. "They'll regret they've ever crossed Garble. We'll take whatever we want from Equestria, and burn the rest to the ground!"

Sora, Riku, and Kairi looked at each other, neither of them allowing that to happen as they nodded in silent agreement. Even under the rock disguise, Twilight and Rarity knew they can't let the dragons run free under the command of an immature adolescent dragon who shows no restraint in his destruction, or well-being of those around him.

"Oh dear," Rarity uttered. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope that burping dragon wins."

The other dragons left as noon was fast approaching, making their way to the cliff facing the flame-cano. "We can't let any of them win," Sora said. "Especially Garble."

"No ponies can handle an army of dragons if they invade for whatever pointless reason they need to," Kairi added. "I don't think we can handle them all at once unless we get the jump on them."

"So what can we do?" Twilight asked.

"There's only one thing we can do," Spike said. "We're going to have to win the Gauntlet of Fire!"

Rarity and Twilight gasped in shock, the baby dragon reading the Keyblade wielders' minds as he too wanted to prevent the dragons from destroying Equestria. "But Spikey-wikey, it's too dangerous for you! They're going to hurt your cutesy-wutsey head!"

"If Garble wins and everypony gets hurt, then I'll be just as responsible for causing any damage," Spike said. "I was called by the Dragon Lord to compete to become the next Dragon Lord. If I can get that scepter, then Equestria won't be in danger."

"But Sora, Riku, or Kairi could get it instead," Rarity reasoned. "They're stronger, and they can handle those ruffians."

"But what if the bloodstone scepter doesn't work with them?" Spike asked. "They weren't originally dragons, and their bodies are only temporary. They didn't suffer that horrible burning I felt, so if only those who were called to compete were able to wield it, what if it only works on us and not them?"

Spikes theories had made some excellent points. None of them have any idea how the dragons traditions and culture work, especially when it involved the magical scepter that showed proof of the Dragon Lord of the current generation. If Sora, Riku, or Kairi touched the scepter, would they be able to lead the dragons, or would it be able to tell if they weren't really dragons and not work for them? It didn't help that no pony wanted to study dragons throughout their existence, considering they're too dangerous to observe or even try to get any knowledge of how they live aside from knowing they're greedy, breathe fire, or ice bubbles if Kairi wasn't the only kind of aquatic dragon that could do that, and they only care about themselves.

"Well, this might be tougher than we thought," Riku said after a moment of silence. They were running out of time, and if they needed to stop the dragons, Spike would have to take the bloodstone scepter and become the next Dragon Lord. "Looks like we have no other choice. If Spike is right, then he's the one who needs to get that staff."

"But what if Spike is forced to stay here if he does get it?" Twilight asked, worrying for her number one assistant's safety and dreading being apart from him.

"Then...I'll stay and lead these dragons to be peaceful creatures," Spike said. "I'll do it so I can keep everypony safe."

"Aww, Spikey." Commending Spike's noble sacrifice for the safety of every pony in all of Equestria, Rarity hugged the baby dragon tightly, giving him one last one in case they didn't have another chance.

She also gave him a kiss on the cheek, shocking Spike and making him blush heavily as he was given his second kiss ever from Rarity. As much as he wanted to cheer, fall unconscious, or stare off in a lovestruck daze, he shook his head, focusing on his mission to prevent the dragons from destroying the kingdom he was born and raised in. With Sora, Riku, and Kairi walking beside him, the quartet made their way back to the cliff, Twilight and Rarity following behind as the alicorn began to conjure up more different disguises, both mares wanting to help in any way they can for one last adventure with Spike if he had to stay behind in the Dragon Lands.

When the outside dragons reached the cliff, they found a majority of the dragon teens wearing different styles of armor to fit their different builds, though a couple like Garble resorted to going out without any protection. Torch was there, ready to begin the competition, only to pause when he spotted Spike, Sora, Riku, and Kairi approach and join the rest of the teens.

"I thought I released you, tiny one!" Torch said.

"I decided to compete!" Spike said determinedly. "I am a dragon, after all."

"And we're joining too," Sora said.

"They can't join!" Garble argued. "They're not even from here!"

"All dragons are welcome to compete, no matter what land they come from," Torch stated, making the red dragon growl as he leered at the smirking trio of outsiders. "But, they should know the perils that come with the Gauntlet! Flying to Flame-cano Island is the first of many challenges you will face in your quest to find the bloodstone scepter!"

"No problem!" Sora gloated, crouching down to prepare for the starting signal, Riku and Kairi joining him while the other dragons around them fidgeted in anticipation to fly over the water. "We've faced worse back where we're from! Bring on the Gauntlet of Fire!"

Before the race began, one other dragon decided to kneel down similarly to the Keyblade wielder's racing stance, their body covered in a full suit of golden armor that concealed most of their emerald green scales. Spike had glanced over at the dragon, not remembering seeing a dragon like them anywhere around the mountain throne earlier. Dragon Lord Torch let out a roar, breathing out a blast of fire as the starting signal. The dragons then flew off, though Spike, Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Garble lagged behind, the Keyblade wielders wanting to make sure Spike made it to the scepter safely, but Garble grinned menacingly.

"Good luck!" he said. "Just kidding. I hope you lose."

Garble smacked Spike hard upside the head, sending the baby dragon plummeting to the water with a scream. "Hey, pick on someone your own size!" Sora exclaimed, he and Riku lunging toward the Garble and tackled him over the cliff.

Kairi dove down after Spike as the trio of male dragons untangled themselves and flew up into the air, continuing their air battle as they raced off to the island. Spike spluttered after the painful fall into the water as he treaded water, the white dragoness quickly swimming up to the surface as she hit the water.

"Spike, are you ok!?" she asked.

"I'm fine. I was actually planning on swimming anyway," Spike calmly said, then rubbed his head. "I didn't appreciate the head smack, though."

"Go, Spikey-wikey!" Rarity cheered, she and Twilight hiding under a pile of seaweed to blend in the water. "You can do it!"

Spurred on by Rarity's support, Spike faced Flame-cano Island, but just as he was about to swim, the water stirred as something from the dark deep rose up and breached the water. Giant orange sea worms shot up from the ocean, letting out a roar as they tried to nab at the dragons flying overhead, even spurting out geysers of water from their wide maws to knock them out of the air and spiral into the water. As the dragons were prey to these worms, that meant Aqua and Spike were in serious trouble, the aquatic dragoness quickly grabbing the baby dragon and swam away from the dark shadow underneath them. She moved just in time as a sea worm jumped out, snapping its jaws as it missed eating them.

"Ok, so I guess fighting the other dragons wasn't considered a dangerous trial just by getting across the ocean!" Kairi said, flipping her back legs like one giant fin while staying on the surface so Spike didn't end up drowning.

Up in the air, the dragons avoided the geysers shooting up at them, some barely skidding to a halt as they shot up in front of them. Behind them, Garble, Sora, and Riku were quickly catching up, the latter two diving down to kick the former down into the drink to get back at him for knocking Spike in the water. Their scuffle wound up getting in front of the golden armored dragon, startling the mysterious competitor as they narrowly avoided getting rammed into. One of the sea worms below managed to hit Garble as he managed to break away from the two Keyblade wielders, flying back and headbutting the newcomer hard in the face, knocking them out and sent them falling to the water.

"Agh! Why don't you two back off!?" Garble complained, speeding off to the island.

Sora and Riku tried to give chase, only to be caught off guard as a pair of sea worms leapt up, sprayed them with water to distract them, then chomped down on them as they fell back into the water. Kairi gasped as she saw them get eaten, leaving Spike alone as she dove down into the water to help them. While Spike tried to continue swimming, he spotted the unconscious newcomer float a little above the water before their armor caused them to sink.

"Oh no! He's gonna drown!" Taking in a deep breath, Spike dove down, managing to grab the dragon and hold them up to the surface, kicking his feet hard to guide them over to the safety of the island with Twilight and Rarity following after them, neither of them aware of the dragon's emerald scales melting away and turning a shade of aquamarine.

Down beneath the surface, Kairi swam hard to catch up to the sea worms. Summoning her Keyblade, she dolphin kicked down and unleashed a barrage of Thunder spells down on the worms. They let out a pained groan, their mouths opening slightly, but not enough to let Sora and Riku go. Kairi could see them struggling to push open their powerful jaws, their cheeks bulging as they tried to hold their breath without exerting too much and lose more of the oxygen remaining in their lungs.

"Sora, Riku, just hold your breath a little longer!" Kairi exclaimed, thankful her form as a dragon was the kind that was able to survive in water. She swam down in front of the dazed sea worms, breathing out bubbles in their faces, the bubbles popping and freezing their heads slightly. Once they had stopped flailing, she yelled and slashed through their teeth, breaking the two trapped dragons free, then quickly grabbed them and swam back to the surface. She reached the top as she heard them grunting, their lungs burning as they struggled not to inhale, Sora and Riku taking in a big gulp of air as they coughed. "You two ok?"

Riku hacked out some water, letting out a groan from his carelessness. "Those worms are stronger than they seemed. It didn't help that they were trying to drown us first before actually eating us."

"I think we're alright, though," Sora said. "As long as Spike's safe." He then grinned and pretended to wheeze. "Although...I think...I need...CPR. Mouth to mouth, specifically." Sora leaned his head back, sticking his tongue out with a groan, pretending to be a drowning victim. Kairi rolled her eyes and "helped" him by dunking his head in the water, making him splutter and flail in surprise. "Blah! Ack! Help! I'm really drowning this time! Kairi, rescue me!"

"Sora, she brought us close to the shore," Riku said as he rolled his eyes as well, standing up straight on the shallow shore of Falme-cano Island. Sora stopped flailing, sitting on the sand as the water's surface was below his waist, looking up at his girlfriend and best friend with a bashful grin. While Kairi helped Sora back on his feet, Riku spotted Spike, Rarity, Twilight, and the gold-armored dragon not too far away, though the mysterious addition to the competition was lying down in the sand, a small trail of melted emerald paint behind them. "Looks like one of the dragons nearly drowned. Let's see if he's at least alright."

The trio ran over to them as Spike checked on the nearly drowned victim. "Hey, are you alright?" Spike asked. He helped take the helmet off as the dragon coughed up water, but when their face was revealed, they were shocked to see Ember underneath that armor. "Princess Ember!?"

Ember let out a groan after coughing out the water in her lungs. She sat up, leering at Spike and snatching back her helmet from him.

"What do you're think you're doing?" she questioned.

"Saving your ungrateful scales!" Rarity exclaimed angrily, only to squeak and quickly cover her mouth as she ended up blowing hers and Twilight's cover.

"Did that seaweed just talk?" Ember asked. She approached the talking seaweed and pulled off the disguise, revealing the two mares accompanying Spike. "Ponies!? What are they doing here!?"

"They're my friends!" Spike said.

"Friends?" Ember questioned, feeling disgusted at the thought of dragons ever being friends with ponies, or anyone of their own kind. "Dragons don't do friends. And they're trespassing on a very important competition I need to win!"

Before Ember could try to hurt Twilight or Rarity, Sora, Riku, and Kairi quickly stood in their defense, Riku growling as a dragon-like instinct to protect the alicorn kicked in. "Back off, princess," Riku warned.

"...You three are protecting them?" Ember asked in shock. She didn't want to believe Garble, knowing how much of an idiot he was when she saw him a few times in the past, but apparently him taunting them about being friends with ponies was true. Letting out an irritated grunt, she didn't want to bother with them as the Gauntlet of Fire was more important than dealing with them. "Whatever. I don't have time to pick a fight with you. I have a Gauntlet to win, so you just stay out of my way."

The Keyblade wielders relaxed, slightly surprised that Ember out of all the teenage dragons didn't want to harm them. "But why are you even here?" Sora asked curiously. "We heard your dad say-"

"I don't care what my dad says!" Ember shouted. She growled, gripping her helmet tightly as she faced away from the group. "I'll show him and every other dragon who thinks I'm just some little 'princess' there are better things than being big and strong."

"What exactly would you do if you were the Dragon Lord?" Spike asked.

"I just said it: show every dragon, including my dad, that I'm tough enough to lead every dragon in the land," Ember stated. "Just because I'm a girl and the daughter of the current Dragon Lord doesn't mean I'm pathetic. I'm going to show my dad that scepter, and tell him off when I prove to him I'm just as capable of keeping our family's line as strong, powerful leaders."

Ember put her helmet back on and continued on her way up the mountain. So far, from what Ember had said with her demands when she became the Dragon Lord, there was nothing about ponies she disliked or wanting to terrorize them for the fun of it. She showed the determination to be a leader, but everyone barely gave her a passing glance at the thought when they saw her as the Dragon Lord's daughter.

Before they could catch up to her, they heard dragons above them yelping or grunting, along with heavy rocks landing in the water or on other parts of the island. Resting on the cliffs of the zigzagged volcano were rock-like lizards, slinging heavy boulders to knock the dragons out of the sky and away from their territory. Garble didn't see one of those rocks, yelling in panic as he was flung down underneath a rock, smacking the ground hard with the boulder weighing him firmly down.

"Wow, how much of a beating can this guy take before he finally goes down?" Riku asked, surprisingly awed by Garble's resilience, especially after the beatings he took before during the migration and from him and Sora ganging up on him.

Twilight and Rarity quickly donned their seaweed disguise as Garble struggled to lift the rock off of him. He looked over to them, reaching a hand out to them as he looked pretty worried being trapped under the boulder, but none of them were buying it, knowing the red bully dragon could easily push that off himself.

"Don't leave me here, Spike!" Garble pleaded. Unable to help himself, Spike walked up to Garble, helping him push the rock off him. He got up, barely hurt as he laughed and brushed the sand off his shoulders. "Knew you'd do it. Your pony friends made you soft."

He then proceeded to kick a bunch of sand on the baby dragon, completely covering Spike under a mound as he stared blankly with disdain. "Uh huh. You're welcome."

"For what? I didn't say thank you," Garble said.

"It's called sarcasm, Glargle," Sora said. "Learn to use that pea in your head called a brain."

Garble ignored him, then flared his nostrils as he sniffed the air. "Ugh. You even smell like ponies, too." He began sniffing more as the pony scent was surprisingly stronger. "Or is it coming from over there?"

He began moving closer to the large mound of seaweed, Twilight and Rarity daring not to move as Garble sniffed at them. Riku was about to suplex the dragon for getting that close to them, but Ember surprised them all sans Garble when she ran up in front of him.

"Uhh, that's just me," she said, lowering her voice to make it sound different so Garble wouldn't recognize her. "I, uh, robbed some ponies on the way here."

"Huh. I like your style," Garble said, looking over at the trio of outsiders. "You should be more like this guy and steal stuff from ponies, not live with them." Turning back to Ember, ignoring the annoyed glares from the Keyblade wielders, Garble felt like he actually knew this dragon by the color of her aquamarine scales. "Wait...have I met you before?" Ember winced, sure to be caught and get in a lot of trouble with her father before she even entered the flame-cano. "You look kind of like-"

"My old neighbor!" Spike quickly cut in, distracting Garble for a moment. He stammered, looking around at his surroundings to make up a persona for Ember in her golden armor. "Uhh...Sandy...Rockbeach!"

Like the clueless dragon he was, Garble believed him, then looked up at the cliffs where several of those lizards were perched, flinging rocks at the other dragons to keep them from getting closer. "Stupid slingtails knocked me down. But I've wasted time making small talk. Get it?" Garble laughed mockingly, pressing his hand down hard on Spike's head to emphasize his shortness in his hurtful joke. "Because you're too small to win this! Ha! I'm funny."

Garble flew off and continued finding a way inside the flame-cano, leaving the group behind. None of them tried to chase after him, Ember a bit confused as to why Spike kept from revealing her identity to the dangerous teenage dragon.

"Why did you cover for me?" Ember asked, taking off her helmet. "You could have had one less competitor."

"I could ask you the same thing," Spike said. "You could have told Garble about our friends."

"Yeah. Why did you not say anything about Twilight and Rarity?" Kairi asked.

Ember didn't respond, mostly distracted by hearing the screams of the other dragons getting struck by rocks, trying to find a way to break through. She winced when some of them got hit and slammed into the ground in a painful heap.

"That looks a bit rough," she commented. "But that's all part of the challenge."

"Can you even handle getting by those boulders?" Sora asked.

"I can...if I had eyes in the back of my head," Ember uttered.

"Hey, what if we worked together?" Spike suggested. "I can ride on your back while you fly us up there, and I'll help look out for boulders for you!"

"Whoa, wait! Hold on a second, Spike!" Riku quickly said, pulling the baby dragon away from Ember. The dragons huddled around the pile of seaweed to discuss this plan with Twilight and Rarity, but the slimy algae disguise collapsed to a heap. Both mares had hid in a different disguise, this time pretending to be the remains of an old tree stump. Spotting the eye holes in the trunk, they moved over to them as Ember actually considered Spike's plan. "Ok, you really think you want to trust Ember? Even if she let the girls go and kept them from being caught, what if she plans on revealing them to her father?"

"Well, her behavior does seem contradictory to everything about dragons I've noted so far," Twilight reasoned. "If she doesn't have any ideas about raiding Equestria like the others, then there may be a chance we can trust her."

"I can trust her," Spike said assuredly. "If she didn't rat out Twilight and Rarity to Garble, maybe I can convince her to be friends with us."

"And if she doesn't like the idea of being friends?" Riku asked theoretically.

"Then we at least have a temporary ally getting through this volcano and saving Equestria from the teenage dragons invasion," Sora said.

"Hey, little guy!" Ember called out. "I thought about it, and your plan makes a lot of sense. Let's do it."

"Really? Great!" Spike happily cheered. "You got yourself a deal!"

Spike held his claw out to shake Ember's, but the dragoness pushed it away. "Just so you know, this doesn't mean we're going to pick flowers or exchange necklaces or whatever pony friends do."

"You know, there's three male dragons you're talking to, right?" Sora reminded the dragon princess. "Flower picking and wearing jewelry goes to the girls while Terra and I pick a fight with each other."

"Whatever. Let's get going before we get too far behind." Spike climbed up on Ember's back as the pair took flight, Sora and Kairi following their plan as she rode on his back while Riku flew behind them while Twilight and Rarity will meet up with them further ahead.

While most of the teens still struggled trying to get past the slingtails and their highly accurate rock throws, Spike and Ember worked together to avoid getting hit and sent falling back to the ground in excruciating pain. Spike warned Ember of any rocks behind them, where she moved to avoid them. Sora dodged the rocks with relative ease with Kairi clinging onto him tightly, and Riku did the same while also punching through the rocks that were flung in his way, his strength as a dragon enhanced due to the kind he was. They managed to reach the mouth of a cavern, Garble and a few others managing to make before them as they landed by the cliff.

"I wonder how big this place really is," Sora wondered aloud. Just as they were about to walk inside, a roar of flames shot out from the cavern entrance, some of the dragons fleeing as they got singed by whatever blew out that fire. "Ok, what else is in here that's dangerous!? Please don't tell me there are 'certain things' in there hiding in wait to kill us."

"No wonder dragons are terrifying," Rarity said, both mares still hiding in their tree stump costume. "Everything around here can kill somepony." Her statement began to unnerve Ember and Spike as they dreaded what else lied in wait for them inside. "...I mean, you can do it!"

"Gee, thanks," Ember said sarcastically. She looked down at Spike, hating to admit it, but she couldn't have gotten this far by herself. "Hey, Spike. I wouldn't have made it this far without you. So, I guess if you want to, we can keep working together...I mean, until we get through this tunnel."

"Ok!" Spike said, managing to get Ember to trust them, if only a little.

Continuing onward, the group of dragons ran inside, avoiding the blasts of fire shooting out from the holes in the caverns, Kairi helping protect them and herself with her ice bubbles, turning the flames into steam before they struck them. They ran past Garble, who was too busy trying to avoid getting singed like his fellow dragons, chasing after them as they progressed further in the caverns. Hearing multiple thuds further down, they skid to a halt as they saw the walls in the next area move around, crushing into each other at different points, their pattern erratic and never smashing in the same spots.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi boldly ran through first, the Keyblade wielders easily jumping over each section of the trap walls, diving through at the last moment before their tails were squished by the mountainous rocks. Not wanting to be outmatched by the outsiders, Ember followed them with Spike on her back and clinging tightly. There were a few close calls, but the aquamarine dragoness managed to get across with her small, lithe body. Garble was right behind them, but he had some trouble as he blindly rushed through, getting himself squished a few times, squeezing himself out with a grunt at the last section of moving walls and plopping to the ground with a groan before getting back up and flying after them.

The next section caught them by surprise as holes around the cavern shot out pink crystal pillars, threatening to impale them on the other end from where they appeared. The Keyblade wielders surprised Ember with their acrobatic feats, dodging each crystal without so much as flinching, flipping over the ones on the ground or sliding under those that tried to clothesline them. Ember and Spike followed, doing their best to avoid the crystals. Spike, unfortunately, was shot up by a crystal that hit him from below, falling and hitting the ground in a daze. Ember turned around and looked up, gasping as she saw him directly under one of the holes, and a crystal shot out to crush the younger dragon. She ran up to him, picked him up, and jumped back, leaping over more crystals until they were safely across.

"Whew," Spike said, breathing a sigh of relief. "That was close. Thanks, Ember."

"Eh, you watched my back out there, I thought I'd watch yours," she said. "Makes us even."

Spike nodded in agreement, the pair walking off to catch up with Sora, Riku, and Kairi. Garble climbed over the crystals, smirking as they made traversing this dangerous part of the flame-cano for him. He stepped forward, only to let out a surprised grunt as a pillar shot out from the side and slammed him into the opposite end, creating an imprint of his body in the wall. It pulled away after striking something, leaving Garble to groan and stumble out of the dragon-sized hole, falling over and landing with a thud.

The group of dragons found themselves a break, entering a cavern where lava streams down into several smaller pools, leading down to the source of the molten rock. "You all made it!" Rarity said, startling the dragons as they found her and Twilight hiding in stalagmite costumes beside them. "We were worried you wouldn't have made it through!"

"How many of these costumes did you even make?" Riku asked.

"Wait, how did you two even make it through?" Ember questioned.

Before they gave the dragon princess an answer, the earth began to quake, making Twilight and Rarity stumble as their new disguises lessened their movement and were pretty bulky. Rarity yelped as she wobbled sideways, unable to control herself as she began to walk toward the edge and head right into the lava. Spike quickly ran up to her, pulling her back to safety before a geyser of lava shot up and burnt the mare and her disguise.

"I got you, Rarity!" Spike said, not allowing anything to harm the pony of his dreams.

"Oh, thank you, Spike!" Rarity gratefully said, wanting to give the baby dragon another kiss, though her outfit prevented her from doing so and went with a gentle lean against him.

"Aww, it was nothing," Spike humbly said.

"Nothing?" Ember asked in confusion, having expected Spike to take a reward from Rarity after saving her life. "They're putting themselves in danger to support you, risking everything to save her."

"Well, that's what friends do," Spike said. "Don't you have anyone who looks out for you?"

Ember winced, averting her gaze from Spike sadly. "Not really...Unless I count you." Even though she wanted to be recognized as a dragon others didn't want to see her as by her family heritage, his question did bother her a little. Her father, Torch, was always overly strict, thinking she wasn't cut out to be a leader just by her appearance alone. And the other teens don't seem to care about her, or each other, seeing how they do things their own way and pick fights with others for their own amusement, like Garble. She was then reminded of why she teamed up with Spike in the first place, shaking her head and leered at the baby dragon. "Which I don't! Because we're only helping each other get through the tunnel, and now we're through the tunnel, so that's it."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Spike asked.

"There's only ONE winner, ONE scepter, and ONE Dragon Lord," Ember pointed out. "So it's every dragon for themselves."

She turned away from them, upsetting Spike as he thought he broke through to her. "Oh...So, we aren't really friends?"

"Maybe if we were in Ponyland, but like I said: dragons don't do friendship." Ember unfurled her wings and was about to take off, but Sora grabbed her wrist, stopping her as she turned to face him.

"Why are you trying to deny it?" he asked.

"D-Deny what!?" she questioned, unable to pull her arm free from Sora's stronger grip.

"That look on your face earlier when you admitted Spike was the only one who ever looked out for you says it all," Sora said. "Going things alone can never end well if there's no one around to help you if things get too tough."

"He's right," Twilight said. "Without Spike there to help you when you got shot down, you could have drowned."

"You're not like the other dragons, Ember," Kairi said. "They want to use their authority as Dragon Lord to hurt ponies across Equestria, some of them wanting to destroy or loot their homes, or maybe even kill them for the fun of it. If you found that scepter first and became Dragon Lord, what would your first rule be when you gain that power?"

Ember hesitated, her first command as leader clearly obvious that she wants to be respected as an equal among her kind. She didn't answer, but she stared at Sora, Riku, and Kairi, noticing just how odd they were as dragons, despite their difference being from another land far from Equestria. Even though this was a competition, the three of them didn't fight over who was going to get the bloodstone scepter, actually working together and helping Spike.

"...Why did you three even join the Gauntlet of Fire?" Ember asked. "Why do you either of you want to be the Dragon Lord?"

"We did it for Spike," Sora answered. "After hearing what Garble would do, none of us wanted to allow someone like him to hurt the ponies we live with. And if we want to try to change the dragons' ways of viewing those they usually consider prey, then he's the right dragon for the job."

Ember felt conflicted by Spike's reason for taking part in the Gauntlet after he wanted to leave. He was small, puny, didn't have a pair of wings or anything special that made him stand out among the other dragons, but despite his size and fragile youth, he was willing to brave the Gauntlet of Fire to save the ponies he lives with. Sora let go of her wrist as she grew lost in thought, looking down at Spike as his eyes practically begged her to give his friendship with her a shot. Confused, unsure of herself, Ember backed away slowly, then quickly turned and flew off deeper into the cavern to find the scepter.

"Ember, wait!" Spike called out, but she didn't look back, disappearing down one of the many pathways throughout the flame-cano. He sighed dejectedly, losing a potential friend that was his own species after living with ponies all his life. "She ditched us..."

"Sorry, Spike," Sora apologized. "I thought she would have been a helpful ally, but I guess I was wrong."

"Maybe we're better off without her," Riku said. "If she's that stubborn and looks after herself, she's just like the rest of the dragons in this world."

"But she isn't!" Spike argued. "I know it! She saved me from getting crushed by one of those crystal pillars back there, even if she didn't have to and left me to get hurt." He continued onward, resuming his search for the bloodstone scepter to fulfill his quest to save Equestria from his own species' destruction upon the kingdom. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Twilight, and Rarity followed after him to make sure they didn't lose him, the group navigating their way around the confusing maze of corridors throughout the next supposed trial. "I don't care what she says. That makes us friends..."

They wandered around in silence, concentrating on finding the bloodstone scepter, wherever Torch managed to land it. It couldn't have landed somewhere in a closed off space since he tossed it inside the mouth of the awkwardly angled volcano, so their best clue is to find a wide open ceiling above them that was the same width as the volcano's mouth. It felt like they were going around in circles as they went through cavern after cavern, snaking their way around the same branching paths multiple times.

"Ok, is it me, or have we seen this crevasse three times already?" Twilight asked aloud.

"We probably should have scratched marks along the walls to make sure we weren't going in the same direction," Sora said, scratching his head in confusion as he looked at each of the caves. "...Did we go through that one?"

"It's so hard to tell. They all look the same." Spike looked down one nearby path, gasping in surprise when he finally found something different. It was clearly a wider cavern, a very thin and fragile-looking rock path over a large pit, and at the end of that natural bridge was the bloodstone scepter, resting on a pile of red crystals on a platform in the middle of the room. "Except this one! We made it! I can't believe we're the first ones to make it this far!"

"You're not!" The dragons quickly turned around while Twilight and Rarity held still like the stalagmites they hid as, finding Garble snarling at them as he caught up with them. "And I'm not losing to puny pony-loving dragons like you four!" Sora, Riku, and Kairi readied themselves to fight with Garble, even Spike took his ground, getting fed up with being picked on by him. Before he could attack them, Heartless appeared around them, some weak Shadows rising up from the ground while several dozens of Wyverns flew down and surrounded the group. "What the? More dragons!? Where did you come from!?"

"Oh no, not now!" Riku grunted. The Wyverns dove down to attack them, the Keyblade wielders avoiding the swift dragon Heartless while Spike ducked. Garble got hit by one of them that rammed into him, but the teenage dragon growled and fought back, grabbing the much more dangerous monster by its wings and slammed it to the ground. "Of all the worst times for Heartless to appear! Screw being subtle, even if most of the lives we're saving around here deserve to be turned to Heartless!"

The trio of dragons summoned their Keyblades, catching the rest of the Heartless' attention and both sides charged each other. Sora ran to help Garble, even though the bully was managing to hold his own against one as the Wyvern underneath him was unable to worm out or fight back. Despite the punches and slashes it received, Sora dealt the finishing blow, thrusting his Keyblade down on its chest. The dragon gawked at the strange blade, confused at how he got something like that, but his own safety was thrown out the window as his revenge came first. While Sora was distracted by smacked back Shadows, similar creatures he saw with his friends back when they chased Maleficent, Garble gave the spiky-haired dragon a sucker punch to the back of the head, sending him sprawling to the ground while Shadows began to swarm him.

"Hey!" Sora shouted, fighting back the wave of Shadows trying to dogpile him. "What the hell was that for!? I'm trying to save you, you ungrateful idiot!"

"Have fun with those weird things, loser!" Garble mocked, running toward Spike to take care of him first.

Sora tried to chase after him, only for a couple Wyverns to drill dive into him from the side, knocking him off the side as he flapped his wings and fought them in the air. As soon as Spike stood back up, he yelped when Garble reached him, lifting him up by the spines on his head. Rarity and Twilight gasped, unable to do anything without getting caught by Garble, the alicorn able to fend herself against the Heartless attacking the others, but not the teenage dragon who keeps getting up even after getting beat down.

"Twilight, we have to do something! Quick!" Rarity whispered, worried for Spike and began to panic.

Luckily, help had arrived for Spike, but it wasn't Sora, Riku, or Kairi. Ember flew down as she heard the commotion going on, diving down toward Garble and slamming into him hard. The red dragon grunted and flew back, knocking Rarity and Twilight on their sides while he flung Spike off the side. Spike screamed as he fell, but Ember swooped down and grabbed him before he hit the stalagmites below. She flew back up to the bridge and put him down, surprising the baby dragon.

"Ember! I thought it was every dragon for themselves!" Spike said, reiterating Ember's statement over dragons always doing things alone. "Why did you save me?"

"That's what friends do!" she said. "And I am. I mean, WE are. I never should have left you back there..." The aquamarine dragon let out a frustrated groan, clearly feeling awkward by opening up to him. "Please don't make me talk about feelings!" Hearing one of the Wyverns shriek thankfully distracted her, both dragons ducking as they avoided the Heartless's flailing feet as it dove toward them. Ember finally noticed the other Wyverns flying around, Sora, Riku, and Kairi running or flying respectively as they hunted down the dragon Heartless with mysterious weapons she's never seen before. Shadows began to surround them, the duo standing back to back as the dragon princess stared at the black shadows with yellow eyes approach them. "What are these things!? I don't think these things live in the flame-cano!"

"They're called Heartless, and we're in serious danger!" Spike said. "Sora, Riku, and Kairi are trying to deal with them now!"

"Who are Sora, Riku, and Kairi!?" Ember asked, the small dragon quickly clasping his claws over his mouth after accidentally blurting out the outsiders' real names. She saw his reaction and looked out to the fighting dragons, knowing something was different about them by their clothing and the Keyblades they now held in their claws. "...Wait...You mean...Spike, who are-?"

A Shadow suddenly lunged at her, Spike quickly breathing fire on it to send it tumbling back. "I tell you everything later," he said, having a feeling he can trust her with their secret, who they really are as part of this world, and what the Heartless do. "You think you can fight these things?"

"Please. I'm more scared of my own dad when he gets in a bad mood," Ember gloated, flexing her claws and waited for the Shadows to strike.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the cavern, Garble groaned and sat up with a shake of his head. "Ugh. What hit me?" Looking out, he saw Ember and Spike, his gut feeling about meeting the golden-armored dragon earlier was right after all as he felt like an idiot for not telling that was the Dragon Lord's daughter. But what caught his attention more were the toppled over stalagmite costumes, where Twilight and Rarity crawled out after being forcefully knocked back by him. He immediately recognized the two mares back during the migration, the same ones minus Rainbow Dash who were friends with Spike. "You two..."

Twilight quickly stood up when she heard Garble growl, the dragon smirking as he found two more prey to kill, and they would be easier than dealing with Sora, Riku, Kairi, or Spike. "Rarity, get behind me," Twilight said, summoning her Keyblade while the unicorn let out a small scream and leapt behind her friend for safety.

"You think that dumb little toy can save you?" Garble asked, his approach making the two mares step back and move closer to the edge of a cliff. One of Rarity's hooves nearly slipped off the edge of the cliff, making her squeal in panic as she had nowhere else to back up to. Twilight stood her ground, though very heavily intimidated by the teenage dragon after witnessing how coldhearted the fire breathing lizard was. "I'll start with you two, then I'll deal with Sponge, his dumb brother, and the other two."

Riku slashed through a Wyvern, his eyes growing wide in shock as Garble cornered Twilight and Rarity. Letting out a guttural roar, diving down into the dragon and slammed him into the wall, keeping him away from his beloved alicorn princess.

"Don't you dare lay a claw on her!" Riku shouted as he pressed his blade against Garble's neck with fury in his eyes.

Confused, Garble felt helpless as he was pinned against the wall with Riku's Keyblade right at his neck. Garble knew the black dragon was friends with ponies, but after getting a good whiff of him from this close, he smelled a similar scent that came from Twilight. He grimaced in disgust, leering back at the Keyblade wielder.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Garble said. "That prissy purple pony is your mate? You're sick."

"As if you have any idea what love is when you don't even know what it means!" Riku shouted. "I don't even think you have a heart at all, which means the Heartless around here won't even bother turning you into one of them, no matter how tough you act!"

"What in the world is a 'Heartless'?" Garble asked.

Riku didn't bother explaining, but before he went too far and lost himself in his blood-lust, he cried out in pain as a flock of Wyverns tackled him away from Garble. Twilight ran over to help him, blasting them away with magic spells as Riku struggled to get back up. Grinning, Garble looked over at Spike and Ember, letting the Heartless deal with them. He also finally noticed the bloodstone scepter sitting on the platform in the center of the room, making his way toward them and claim the right to be the next Dragon Lord.

Ember let out exerted grunts as she slashed the Shadows with her claws, making them disappear in a puff of smoke as she protected Spike's back. Spike continued using his fire breath, but he only succeeded in knocking the Heartless back, cursing himself for not having any time to work out or grow some muscle while also losing the belly fat he still has.

"I wish I had a part of the Crystal Heart with me," Spike uttered to himself, his only way of destroying the darkness was thanks to the Crystal Heart's power of light that enhanced his fire breath.

Thankfully, Ember was able to finish the rest of them off, cracking her knuckles with a smirk. "Too easy," she said.

"It sure is!" Garble exclaimed, flying over them and making his way to the scepter.

Ember growled and flew after him, quickly catching up despite wearing armor and grabbed his tail. "Oh no you don't!" With a heavy grunt, she managed to fling Garble back and smack him on the thin bridge, pouncing him and holding him down as the two dragons struggled for dominance. "Spike, get the scepter! Hurry!"

"R-Right!" Spike nodded and ran toward the crystals housing the bloodstone scepter.

"No! That's mine!" Garble shouted, kicking Ember off him and getting back on his feet.

Ember stood back up and blocked his path, Garble letting out a frustrated roar and tackled the dragon princess to the ground, trying to punch her as she blocked his fists. Spike stopped and turned back when he heard Ember grunting, pinned down by Garble. Even though the scepter was important, he didn't want his new friend to get hurt by the imbecilic bully. He ran down back to them, jumping on Garble's back and pulled his ears back.

"Get off of her!" Spike shouted, pulling hard and making the red bully yelp.

Growling, Garble grabbed Spike's face and tossed him off him, sending the baby dragon tumbling toward the ground, nearly making him fall off the edge of the bridge as he clung onto the side tightly. Ember made use of the distraction, kicking Garble in the gut, getting back up, and tried to take him down again, but the dragon recovered as they pushed each other back for dominance.

"I'm so sick of you all helping each other!" Garble yelled in frustration. "Dragons don't do helping!"

"Well these dragons DO!" Ember headbutted Garble, staggering the bully as he let go of her claws.

Ember then gave him a few hard punches to his stomach, an uppercut to his jaw, and with one powerful grunt, flipped over him, wrapped her arms under his, and threw him far across the bridge. Garble was on his back in a daze, Sora and Kairi quickly rushing him after the last of the Wyverns and Shadows were destroyed and pinned him down so he didn't move. Riku panted as he calmed down, having no clue how he lost himself so easily, but Twilight was there with him, safe and sound as she helped him recover. She didn't stay out in the open too long as the other dragons could be heard making their way to the cavern where the scepter rested. Twilight and Rarity quickly hid in their stalagmite costumes to avoid detection right as they could be seen from the entrance.

Ember helped Spike back up before he lost his grip, letting him take the scepter over her despite how much she wanted to prove her father she had what it took to be Dragon Lord. The dragons that had managed to pass through the trials entered the room as Spike reached the crystals and the bloodstone scepter. He stared at the scepter in awe after climbing up the pile, then took it in his claws. Upon sensing a dragon touching it, the bloodstone scepter began to spark red magical energy from the ruby, flowing straight into Spike as his pupils grew from the incredible amount of power coursing through his veins. After snapping out of the sudden power trip he felt, Spike held the scepter up, releasing an explosion of magical light, the shockwave spreading throughout the lands that let the other dragons know a new Dragon Lord was made.

The other dragons, including, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Twilight, and Rarity watched in awe at the spectacle, the alicorn writing in her little book at the magical discovery of the announced Dragon Lord. Sora and Kairi had gotten off Garble when they saw the light show, the red dragon grunting in pain and irritation as he got up. When he saw Ember with her back turned to him, he was about to grab her and beat her up, but Spike was going to have none of it.

"Leave her alone!" Spike exclaimed with a commanding tone, making Garble freeze as he was forced to obey Spike's words.

Looking at the baby dragon, his jaw dropped, too busy staring at Spike with the bloodstone scepter to see Ember's smug grin. "What? You have the scepter!?" Garble asked in shock. "B-But...that means you're...you're...!

"The Dragon Lord," Ember said, finishing the baffled bully's statement. "Dragon Lord Spike."

She lowered herself down on one knee, bowing before the baby dragon, the other dragons doing the same. Sora, Riku, and Kairi mimicked them as well, if only not to insult the other dragons or the young Dragon Lord. Garble grumbled, forcing himself down on one knee.

"Dragon...Lord...Spike," Garble mumbled.

"That's right!" Spike said proudly, taking a moment to pause to give his first command. He had a perfect way to get back at Garble for picking on him, trying to hurt Ember, Rarity, and Twilight, and maybe teach him a lesson about being friendly. "Now, go start your long journey home. And give every dragon you see on the way a hug. Don't tell them why."

"What!?" Garble exclaimed. "But that'll be super embarrassing!"

"I command you to do it!" Despite wanting to ignore him, Garble was forced to obey whatever the Dragon Lord commands, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

He turned around, his first dragons to hug making him cringe as it was Sora, Riku, and Kairi, the tan dragon spreading his arms out with a wide grin. "Bring it in, Giggles!"

"It's Garble," the red dragon grumbled, forcing himself to hug Sora, only to yelp in pain when he trapped him in a deathly bear hug and hard slaps on the back. Once Sora let go, Garble made his way to Kairi, reluctantly hugging her, then let out a pained grunt when she gave him a swift knee in the gut. "Agh! Stop it!"

"I'm allowing them to give them hugs in their own way," Spike said. "I didn't say the other dragons had to give you one back."

Garble limped over to Riku, the black dragon growling at him, still miffed from his earlier attempt to harm Twilight. Garble silently begged for Riku to not retaliate his forced hugging with pain, but his pleas went unheard as Riku draped an arm around his neck, then slammed him down to the ground face first. The downed dragon groaned, then looked up at the black dragon, his death glare warning him if he so much as said anything or harmed his princess again, a beating wasn't going to be the end result. Garble crawled away from Riku, continuing hugging dragons he passed as he left, making one special dragon with really sharp teeth and a hulking build grin happily at the contact.

Spike leapt down from the crystals and walked back to Ember with the scepter. "Dragon Lord Spike. That has a nice ring to it," Ember complimented.

"Maybe, but I think Dragon Lord Ember sounds a lot better," Spike said, placing the scepter in the dragoness's hands, confusing her as she felt the scepter's power flow through her.

"What? But you're the Dragon Lord!" Ember argued, finding it wrong for Spike to give her the scepter. "You can't give it to another dragon..."

She tried to give it back to Spike, but the baby dragon pushed it back in her hands. "The Dragon Lord is whoever brings the scepter back to your father. Besides, you'd make a great leader. I did this to protect the ponies, but I know you'll protect them as well as I would have."

Ember was stunned, unable to find any words to express how generous Spike was and how he was able to put all his trust on her to keep the ponies from being harmed by their kind. She could have had something brewing in her smarter mind than her other peers that involved destroying Equestria that Spike didn't know about, but after seeing just how different she was compared to dragons like Garble, he believed she wasn't as bad as the other dragons.

"...Are you sure about this?" Ember asked.

"Absolutely," Spike said without hesitation. "My home is in Equestria with my friends."

"Well, you'll have at least one friend here too." Elated to hear Ember was his friend, Spike surprised her by hugging her. The dragoness flinched at the contact, confused by the gesture while also feeling pretty embarrassed and awkward as the other dragons watched them. "W-What are you doing?"

"It's called a hug," Spike said.

"Oh...I don't know if I like it, but...ok." Ember awkwardly pat Spike's head, her cheeks turning red in embarrassment while he still hugged her. Thankfully, the other dragons had left when Garble had as they all teased him when Dragon Lord Spike commanded him to hug every dragon he saw as he left, the only ones left were the two mares and three dragon outsiders. Twilight and Rarity found Ember's embarrassment adorable while Sora, Riku, and Kairi grinned at the new and first ever dragon friend Spike had made, the former of the trio leaning back a little with his hands behind his head. That brought back the topic Ember wanted to discuss with Spike when he called them their real names. "So, who are those three really? And what just happened earlier?"

The baby dragon winced, stammering a little as he looked up at the dragoness. She wanted an explanation, and if she wanted to, she could command him to tell him. He didn't have much of a choice as he sighed, guiding Ember back to the others.

"Ember, before I tell you the truth, can you promise not to tell any other dragons about this?" he asked. She rolled her eyes, but nodded her head. "Ok. These three, Ventus, Terra, and Aqua, that's not their real names. It's Sora, Riku, and Kairi, and...they're not really dragons."

"Uhh...ok...?" Ember stared at the Keyblade wielders with a raised brow, finding that hard to believe.

Seeing how Spike had blurted out their names earlier and introduced them as such, Sora, Riku, and Kairi figured they could trust Ember with themselves, but not exactly everything. "No, it's true," Sora said. "We're ponies, but thanks to a transformation spell, we were able to fit in and help Spike."

"So, you two aren't really brothers?" Ember questioned. "...You know, now that I think about it, I figured the three of you didn't seem to behave like normal dragons, even if you were from another kingdom across the seas. Especially you." She pointed at Sora. "You're way too nice."

"Yeah, I know," Sora admitted with a small laugh and a cheeky grin. "A bit of a terrible habit of mine, but it's not bad making friends."

"...We'll see," Ember uttered as she looked at Spike. "Now...what about those...weird giant key things you had when fighting those strange dragons and shadow monsters?"





During the trek back out of the flame-cano, Sora, Riku, and Kairi explained a bit more about the Heartless and their true intentions as they now made their appearance in Equestria for the last few years. It was amazing how the dragons have never even heard or seen the Heartless in that time, probably due to both their lack of news from what the ponies are up to and why Garble and his miscreant friends skimped out on that important detail back during the dragon migration when they chased after a pony who had also disguised themselves as a dragon. Though Ember only dealt with the small fries of the vast majority of types, she needed to keep her kind ready in case more of them show up and be wary of finding creatures with the heart symbols on the Emblem Heartless' bodies.

Torch waited patiently on his soon-to-be-former throne after witnessing the signal from the scepter as the new Dragon Lord was announced. When his daughter flew up to him from the direction of Flame-cano Island, he was surprised to see her wielding the bloodstone scepter.

"Ember? You!?" he exclaimed in shock.

"I know you didn't think I could do it, but I did," she said, hovering in front of him.

"I expressly told you NOT to do it!" Ember started getting fed up and was ready to blow up on her father. "You're not-!"

"I'm not big and strong, I know!" the princess shouted. "But you know what, dad? I won anyway! So maybe it takes more than just being big and strong to be a good Dragon Lord!"

Both father and daughter glared at each other in silence, the other teenage dragons watching in anticipation at what would happen next. Torch was still surprised to know his own daughter had somehow managed to sneak into the Gauntlet of Fire, and he was there to send the other teens off and watched them fly, or swim, toward the island. His expression softened, only a little bit, feeling a bit proud despite Ember disobeying him and proving she did have what it takes to be a leader. He probably babied her too much and got fed up being treated like a princess, wanting to prove to him she can be strong as she is while also using her head to overpower her peers.

"...I was wrong, Ember," he finally said. "You might not be big, but you are strong and smart. Perhaps that counts for more than I thought when I was your age." Torch grinned, surprising Ember to hear such praise from her dad after being put down by him several times. "And you will make an excellent leader."

"Thanks, dad," Ember said with a smile, glad to hear her father having a lot of faith in her to keep their their family's lineage as the Dragon Lord. She turned to the other dragons as they all continued watching in silence. "AGREE WITH HIM!!!!!" she shouted, her voice commanding, although the teens all looked at each other when they weren't forced to. "Just kidding! That's not gonna be my thing."

Torch laughed in amusement at Ember's impersonation of himself, but he knew that she was going to lead in her own way. "Dragons, hear me! I present to you our new Dragon Lord, Ember!" The dragons all cheered for their new leader, Ember puffing out her chest as she basked in the attention she deserved. Garble suddenly flew toward them, approaching Torch, cringing, then hugged the giant dragon's nose, making him look down at the smaller teen. "What is the meaning of this!?"

"...I can't tell you!" Garble exclaimed, feeling embarrassed as Ember laughed at him, still heeding Spike's command during his few minutes of being Dragon Lord.

From a distance, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Twilight, Rarity, and Spike watched as Ember was announced as the next Dragon Lord before leaving, heading back home after a dangerous trek in the Dragon Lands. "You did very well, Spike," Twilight said proudly. "With Ember as Dragon Lord, everypony will stay safe and you helped us gain a powerful ally."

"And a new friend!" Spike added.

"Your first dragon friend, too," Sora included. "A whole lot better than trying to befriend rough dragons like Garble."

"Plus, Ember said I could write to her anytime I had questions about dragon culture!" Twilight said excitedly, levitating her book filled to the brim with notes from their discoveries and what little she got from Ember on their way back from the island. "With this much information, I'll be able to write a whole book on dragons, and be the first pony to ever publish such information to every single being in all of Equestria!"

"And we lost her," Riku commented with a shake of his head.

"Speaking of losing themselves, what was up with you, Riku?" Kairi asked curiously. "When Ember and Garble got too close to Twilight, you seemed to act a bit more...feral."

"...I...really don't know," Riku admitted, confused himself by his actions. He rubbed his head with his claw, staring at his temporarily transformed appendage after moving it away. "Did you feel anything off when Kairi was threatened, or attacked by the Heartless earlier, Sora?"

"No, I didn't act like you did," Sora said.

Riku then looked at Twilight, recalling her flushed cheeks when she got a look at him as a dragon for the first time. "...Twilight, in your excitement to learn about the dragons earlier, did you accidentally add something else to my transformation?"

The alicorn grew silent, her eyes darting back and forth nervously, though that was enough to confirm Twilight may have either made the spell authentic on purpose or it was by complete accident in her excitement. "...W-Well...Maybe a little?"

"...Twilight," Riku muttered, leering down at her as he moved his claw down to her cheek, turning her head to look at him while her body seemed to shudder slightly. "Was it by accident, or did you try to turn me into a dragon with the instincts of one protecting its mate from harm?"

Twilight bit her lower lip, her wings flapping as Riku's hand got her flustered, wanting him to wrap those scaly arms around her and trap her against his muscular chest. "...It...wasn't my intention...I wanted you to look like a dragon, but, I guess in my excitement...I think I maybe...added the instincts of a protective, dominating male who keeps his mate safe, sound, and when alone..."

Her cheeks burned heavily, the others already taking a guess as to what the last part of her explanation meant. Riku rolled his eyes and let out a sigh, Sora stifled his laughter with a shake of his head, Rarity and Kairi smirked at each other to what Twilight tried to imply, and Spike just stared blankly at her.

"...Do you want me to carry you back home?" Riku asked, his response a squeal from Twilight as she flew into his chest and latched onto him, nuzzling him as her body shivered in delight when she felt his claws graze gently against her back. "And you want me to stay like this until we're in the privacy of your room?"

"Yes, please," Twilight said. "And pet me and scratch me behind the ears. I love that feeling and missed it so much."

"When we get back to the castle," Riku said, making the alicorn whine in protest. "And next time, I'm leaving Kairi in charge of the transformation magic from now on."

"I think she wants to keep Riku like that to 'study' more about a male dragon's anatomy," Kairi said, the alicorn turning her head and leering at her with a red face practically confirming her thoughts.

"N-No!" Twilight argued. "That's...That'd just be weird!"

"As weird as you wanting to know what Riku looks like as a human without clothes on?" Sora teased, now making Riku blush while Twilight stiffened, neither confirming nor denying Sora's questioning statement.

As Sora laughed at their reaction, Spike rolled his eyes. "Thank goodness I have my own room so I don't have to hear them when they're 'alone'."

"Well, you'll be interested in romantic stuff a lot more when you get older, Spike," Rarity said. "Speaking of, I wanted to give you something after saving me from tumbling off the cliff and into the lava while I was hiding in that bulky disguise back there."

"Really? What is it?" Spike's answer was another kiss from Rarity, though instead of on the cheek, he got one right on the nose.

Spike blushed, frozen in shock with his heart thumping out of his chest, the white unicorn giggling at his lovestruck daze. He fell over, her lips pressed against his nose a memory that will forever linger in his mind more than his first kiss from her on the cheek, and he got it just from dragging the mare away from falling over into a river of lava.

"And Rarity broke Spike," Sora said. He picked up the baby dragon, who remained as stiff as a board as his brain needed to restart itself. "Let's get back home so Twilight can enjoy being 'pampered' like a cat by Riku and lay Spike down and let his fantasies run wild."

It didn't take long for the group to return back to Ponyville, Sora and Kairi reverting back into ponies while Twilight kept Riku in his dragon form to enjoy the feeling of being petted by hands once again, making sure to "thoroughly explore" a male dragon's anatomy in the privacy of their room, leaving those findings undocumented for herself.