//------------------------------//
// S7 E15: Triple Threat (What If?) 
// Story: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If?: Volume 6 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
//------------------------------//

In the center of Ponyville, Spike was anxiously supervising preparations for an important ceremony. Dragon Lord (or Dragon Lady if you wanted to be technically correct) Ember was to arrive in Ponyville that day, and the little dragon wanted to make sure everything was as it should be for her arrival.

Twilight and Starlight were pitching in as well, as were several other ponies. All the while, Spike was barking out orders. "Is the banner even? Are the flowers in place? By which I mean 'completely out of the line of view.' I'm pretty sure other dragons don't like flowers the last time I checked. And what about the Ceremonial Dragon Fire Flame of Friendship? Is it still flaming? Come on, help a dragon out here!"

Not far from town hall, a massive blue flame roared and crackled atop a podium. All the while, banners and decorations surrounded the immediate area.

"Spike, everything looks great!" Twilight commented to the little dragon. "You're getting yourself worked up for no reason. And if anyone knows what that feels like, it's me. Just relax, everything's going to be fine."

Spike was anything but convinced. "Oh I have lots of reasons to be worried. In fact, I wrote them down." He pulled out a small scroll to emphasize his point.

Starlight came trotting over with a sigh. "You've been hanging around Twilight for too long, Spike. She's rubbed off on you."

Twilight gave a nervous chuckle. "Well, I did more or less hatch him and raise him. He was bound to pick up on my habits sooner or later."

"Ehm, I'm still talking," Spike cleared his throat, calling attention to himself. "Here are my reasons: Reason number one – I invited Dragon Lord Ember to Ponyville today. Reason two – the Dragon Lord is a dragon. Reason three – she's coming here to learn more about friendship."

"We know, Spike," Twilight replied, trying not to sound annoyed. "You told us already about Ember's letters, how the dragons are trying to be friends but their competitive nature keeps causing fights."

"Which brings me to to reason number four," Spike continued. "The Dragon Lord wants my advice, and as the new official Equestrian friendship ambassador to the dragons, I can't let her down. I owe it to her to make sure everything runs smoothly."

Twilight then spoke up. "I know you feel a lot of pressure, my son. But you've got this, Spike! Everything will be okay."

"I'm sure it will but," Spike began, before he started to trail off. "I... I just want things to be perfect," Then he suddenly felt two quick taps on his shoulder. The dragon spun around and nearly jumped back in surprise! For staring back at him, was an insect like creature with a bright green coat, orange antlers, purple wings, and red eyes that glistened in the sunlight! He recognized who it was at once, the new leader of the changelings! "Thorax! You're in Ponyville!" He gasped!

"Of course I am, silly!" Thorax smiled as he pulled Spike close. "You invited me. And I'm not one to back out of an invitation. Hey, Twilight! Hey, Starlight! Good to see you again."

Twilight and Starlight both waved back to Thorax as they nervously greeted. "Hey!" And. "Hello!"

Thorax then took a look at his surroundings, and his eyes lit up like stars in the night sky! He'd never seen so many beautiful things before. "Oooh! I can't believe you did all just this for me!" He happily declared to Spike. "Great banner! Love the stage! Say, what's this flame thingy? Oh, it's so pretty!" After rushing around for a bit, Thorax found himself drawn to the huge, blue flame on a podium. And he gazed longingly into it.

"You invited Thorax over to Ponyville on the same day as Ember?!" Twilight whispered to Spike, hoping beyond hope that she was wrong.

"Apparently." Spike whispered back with a gulp.

Starlight couldn't help but comment. "Uh-oh, that doesn't seem like a good idea. How are you gonna entertain them both?"

"I have no idea," Spike whimpered. "Oh, what have I gotten myself into this time?!"



While Thorax was occupying himself with the various "attractions" in the center of town, Spike was piecing together his mistake. "How could I have forgotten?! Thorax wrote and said he needed to talk, and I just told him to come over. I didn't realize it was the same day I invited Ember! What am I gonna do?!

"Well, who knows? Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll like each other." Starlight suggested.

"Probably not," Spike protested. "Ember is tough and self-assured and intimidating. And Thorax is..."

Thorax came walking up to Spike and hugged him tightly as he happily exclaimed! "Spike, I'm so glad you invited me! You are one of my closest, nicest, most caring, most understanding friends ever! Oh, what would I ever do without you?! Ooh! Is that ice in the shape of a dragon? How nice!" He flew off to get a better look at the sculpture.

"Okay, I see your point," Starlight reluctantly admitted to Spike. "Thorax is way too nice. Ember's too pushy. They're not going to get along very well."

"Or worse – they'll hate each other!" Spike gasped in horror! "And if the two of them don't get along, they'll probably get into a fight! And if they get into a fight..." He gulped. "I could be responsible for starting a war that could ruin all of Equestria as we know it!" Images started to flash in his mind of changelings and dragons locked in battle, punching and kicking as the land around them became consumed by fire! He began to hyperventilate.

Drawing on her own experiences with fear induced panic, Twilight calmly told Spike. "Calm down, I'm sure that won't happen. I won't allow it. Now pull it together, and let's try to think of a way out of this."

"Might wanna keep Thorax occupied so he doesn't suspect anything," Starlight added. "Even a nice guy like him's gonna catch on eventually. And it'll look pretty suspicious if you keep avoiding him."

Spike managed to take a few deep breaths and calm his nerves. In doing so, he felt a little bit better about the situation. The dragon then approached Thorax and greeted. "So, Thorax... everything good with you?"

Thorax sighed as the changeling king confessed. "Well, honestly, no. Not really. I mean, I have indigestion. Not sure if it's just the new diet, or stress."

As Thorax was speaking at length, Spike happened to glance up and saw the outline of Ember appear in the distance! But she was closing in fast, and that was enough to make the little dragon panic! Without even thinking he exclaimed! "No!"

Thorax didn't suspect a thing. "You're right, it's probably both," He replied with an unhappy sigh. "And it might be affecting my sleeping, too. Which isn't a good thing when you're supposed to be leader of an entire hive."

Twilight, meanwhile, noticed the fast approaching figure of Ember. And she too was becoming worried! "Uh-oh! Not good!" She whimpered, while in her mind she was thinking. "There's gotta be a way to get Thorax out of here before Ember shows up!"

Fortunately, it seemed that Spike already had an idea in mind. "Sounds like you really need to unwind, Thorax," He commented, and then immediately suggested. "How about a trip to the castle? You didn't get a chance to see every nook and cranny last time, you won't believe how many broom closets and secret hideouts there are. It's easy to get lost."

"Which is why you'll need somepony who knows the castle like the back of her hoof!" Twilight declared as she came trotting up to Thorax. "And who better to do so than the very Princess of Friendship herself?!"

"But what about Spike, I came here to talk to him." Thorax protested.

Twilight groaned, as she mentally thought. "Why can't you just talk to someone else? You're making this harder than it needs to be."

"You go on ahead, spend some time with Twilight," Spike encouraged to his guest. "I've uh... gotta go and pick up some ice cream. Yeah, that's it! I ordered ice cream for our special visit!"

Thorax smiled. "Oh, Spike, you're such a good friend. You really didn't have to do that just for me. But I guess I can't say no to your hospitality."

"Yeah, you can't," Twilight laughed rather nervously. "Now if you wouldn't mind coming along?" She trotted off with Thorax a moment later, giving Spike a wink to reassure him that she would keep an eye on the changeling and help to keep him out of Ember's sight.





Just seconds after Twilight and Thorax left, Ember descended with a loud whoosh, her cyan scales standing out boldly in the sunlight.

Music began to play, as Spike cleared his throat and approached the dragon. "Dragon Lord Ember, as the official Equestrian friendship ambassador for the Dragon Lands and for Ponyville, I, Spike of Ponyville, welcome you to... uh, Ponyville," Under his breath he muttered. "Knew I should've worked on that speech more." Luckily, Ember didn't notice.

"Okay, thanks," Ember greeted, as Spike hugged her. "Right. The hug thing. Still takes some getting used to," Spike just laughed, as Ember went on to comment. "Wow, nice place you've got here. So many beautiful colors. Out in the dragon lands, we certainly don't have stuff like this. It's all just grays from rocks, or the color of ash," She proceeded to sniff the air and let out a sneeze from the pollen, as several ponies gasped, seeing her torch several of the decorations. "Whoops, sorry about that," She apologized. But the ponies just screamed and ran off. "I thought Ponyville was more welcoming than this. I'm harmless, really." The dragon lord commented with a snort.

"It's not everyday you see a fire breathing dragon do stuff like set fire to colorful banners," Spike commented. "It's okay though, ponies will get used to you eventually. It took a while before I felt like everypony didn't live in fear of me. Allergy season was a big pain though."

"You've really outdone yourself with these festivities," Ember replied to Spike, before she spotted Starlight out of the corner of her red eyes. But from afar she thought the pony looked like Twilight. "Hey, Twilight! Good to see you!" She called out.

Starlight turned towards Ember. "Sorry, you have me confused. I'm Starlight. Starlight Glimmer to be precise. Nice to meet you, Ember."

Ember quickly realized her mistake and blushed. "Oh, sorry. I remember Twilight mentioning something about having a student in one of her letters. I'm really gonna have to get used to these pony names. Lots of "-lights" and shiny things for some reason," Then she asked. "So, where's Twilight then? I expected her to be here."

"Oh, she's in her castle," Starlight answered without even thinking. And then she immediately realized her mistake. "And why did I just say that?!"

Spike glared harshly at Starlight for the slip-up, but Ember took no notice. All she'd heard was that Twilight was in her castle, meaning she wasn't here. "Oh I see, she must've mentioned that in the letter. I knew I was forgetting something. I hope she doesn't mind if I pay her a visit. Part of friendship is saying 'hi' to your friends, right?"

Spike gulped. He knew that if Ember went to the castle now, she'd be sure to run into Thorax, and that was the last thing he wanted. But he was at a loss as to how to convey to Ember that she shouldn't go to the castle. "Um... a-actually, Twilight's... um... busy."

"Busy entertaining guests," Starlight hastily added, trying to play along. "T-that's why she sent me here to greet you in her place."

But Ember wasn't satisfied with the response. She had come to Ponyville specifically to have an audience with the princess (and Spike). "Well whoever her guests are, they're just going to have to come back some other time! I'm here on official dragon lord business!" She impatiently snorted.

"Can't you just wait a few minutes, please?!" Spike urged. "Twilight's guest is very important, and doesn't like to be disturbed."

Ember huffed in response. "More important than me?! I'm the lord of all dragons for crying out loud! I won the Gauntlet of Fire! And princess or not, Twilight can't keep me waiting! Besides, I though the point of this visit was to learn about 'friendship'. I don't see how I can learn that by standing around here, doing nothing."

For a minute, Spike didn't answer Ember. He was too busy stuttering and muttering something to himself.

"Well, are you coming or not?" Ember impatiently asked. "I could go to her castle with or without you. It's your choice."

"That won't be necessary," Spike protested, walking up to Ember. "Come on, I'll take you to the castle. Just bear in mind, Twilight might be not be able to come and see you right away."

"I'll wait all day if I have to," Ember declared, folding her shoulders across her chest. "I'm not leaving until I have a chat with Twilight and have my questions answered."

Starlight couldn't help but laugh as she observed Ember flying off. "Ah, I think I like her already," She giggled. "You sure you too don't have something going on?"

"For the last time, she's not my girlfriend!" Spike angrily blurted out to Starlight! "Now are you gonna help me keep her under control or not?"

"Can't you take a joke?" Starlight teased, but still followed Spike. Along the way, she decided to ask the little dragon. "So, what's your plan, exactly?"

Spike shook his head. "Haven't had time to think of one. For now, I just have to keep Ember and Thorax apart until I can get one or the other to leave."

"Doesn't sound like much of a plan to me." Starlight commented.

"Well if you've got a better one, I'd sure love to hear it!" Spike snapped at the unicorn. Starlight didn't answer. "That's what I thought," The dragon replied, then apologized. "Sorry for the yell, but you're getting on my nerves."

"Hey, it's what big sisters do," Starlight sheepishly replied. "But fine, I'll go along with your little scheme for now. I just hope you know what you're doing."





Spike rushed ahead to the castle, hoping that he wouldn't find any trace of Thorax or Twilight in the main hallway as he opened the front door. He glanced around, and saw to his relief that such was the case. "Twilight must be keeping Thorax busy in the library." He realized, but didn't dare to say it out loud. Still, he declared with a sigh of relief. "Good. They're not here."

"What was that, Spike? Were you talking to yourself?" Ember asked, as she approached the front door.

Realizing his mistake, Spike quickly answered to Ember. "Uh, I... I said, 'It's all clean in here!' Twilight must've known you were coming and tidied up," Then he immediately asked his guest. "Uh, you must be hungry from your travels, Ember."

Ember nodded, rubbing her stomach. "A long fly does take a lot out of you. I'm famished!"

"Awesome! Now's my chance to stall for time!" Spike realized, and in a saluting pose he said to Ember. "Please, I'd love to present you with an official friendship welcome banquet. If you'll kindly step this way."

Ember and Starlight followed Spike to the castle dining room, Spike opting to quickly grab some fruit and place it into a crystal bowl for Ember to enjoy.

But Starlight and Spike were surprised (and a bit disturbed) to see Ember instead opt for the crystal bowl. She tore into it with a series of loud crunches, and between bites she commented. "So this is something friends do, right? Hm, I could get used to this."

"A-actually, that's not food." Starlight corrected.

But Spike whispered to the unicorn. "Dragons love gems, remember?"

"Okay," Starlight replied in a deadpan tone. "But you're telling Twilight what happened to her wall." She pointed a hoof to one of the dining room pillars, which Ember was currently chomping loudly away on.

Normally, Spike would be worried about anyone doing anything to the castle. But all he could think about was keeping Ember occupied. So he whispered to Starlight. "Just keep her here, okay? I've gotta check on Twilight and Thorax," Then he loudly called out to Ember (so as not to make the dragon lord suspect anything). "Okay, yeah!" With a laugh he added. "Enjoy all the, uh... crystal... things!"

"And where are you going?" Ember questioned, swallowing her bite. "I thought this was an official friendship banquet. And I was the guest of honor."

Spike nodded. "You are. I uh... just gotta use the little dragons' room! Be right back, 'kay?" And he sped away as fast as his little legs would let him.

If Ember was at all puzzled by Spike's abrupt exit, she didn't acknowledge it to Starlight. She just went back to munching on the crystal pillar, while Starlight was left to wonder how she was going to keep the dragon lord content.





Spike was right about Twilight, she was indeed in the library with Thorax, keeping him occupied. "So this is my comfy chair for fictional reads," She explained to the changeling king, groaning as she wiggled about and tried to get comfortable. Then she hopped down from the soft, lush red arm chair and approached one made of solid crystal as the princess explained. "And this is my studying chair because the hard back keeps me awake." To emphasize her point, she pressed her body up against the backside and tried to force a smile.

Just then, the library door opened and Spike came in. Thorax immediately dashed over to greet his friend! "Oh, Spike! I'm so glad you're here! I was starting to think you'd gotten lost or something," Then the changeling whispered to his dragon friend. "Between you and me, this castle visit is getting really weird really fast. Twilight really likes chairs apparently," He glanced over to Twilight, who was currently levitating three wooden chairs with a nervous smile plastered on her face. Then he turned back to Spike and asked him. "Oh, what happened to the ice cream?"

"The what?" Spike replied, before he remembered what he'd told Thorax earlier. "Oh, right! Uh, they ran out, terribly sorry."

"Oh, I see," Thorax briefly sighed. "Well, that's okay. I'm not really in the mood to eat with the indigestion and all."

Spike then looked at Thorax and told the changeling. "Um, I'm really sorry, but I gotta borrow Twilight quickly. Friendship emergency."

The little dragon dashed up to Twilight and grabbed her, yanking her away before she could do anything but scream! "Be right back!" He called, departing the library.

"Wait! We didn't get to talk yet!" Thorax shouted in protest, but it came too late for Spike to hear. He let out a defeated groan.





Spike pulled Twilight into the throne room, frantically explaining his dire situation to her! "Ember's here, at the castle!" He cried out.

Twilight nodded. "I saw you coming and had to distract Thorax by showing him chairs. Why did you bring Ember to the castle of all places, Spike? Why not anywhere else?"

"It was Starlight's fault, not mine!" Spike protested. "I didn't know what else to do! But Ember was asking for you, and Thorax wants to talk with me. We need to switch places! They might be getting suspicious."

Twilight shook her head. "Even if we do that, they'll still both be in the castle and might bump into each other. What we need to do is make both Thorax and Ember feel special and keep them apart for a few hours, until we can get one of them to go somewhere else."

"Why don't I do that with Thorax?" Spike suggested.

"And risk you getting lost?" Twilight protested. "Even I still lose my way around this huge castle sometimes. Besides, where will you take him where he won't attract attention?"

Spike gulped. "I... I hadn't thought of that."

"It's okay, we can do this," Twilight reassured Spike. "I'll go find Ember and see what she wants. You talk to Thorax and keep him occupied until we can decide who to take where."

But at that moment, Spike felt a tingling sensation on the tip of his scales! All of a sudden, they began to glow brightly, not unlike the way his whole body did when he was called by the dragon lord. This time was different though, he could feel it. "Dah! What's happening to me?! Feels like I'm on fire!" He cried out and began to whimper!

Twilight spun around, noticing that the map was glowing brightly! "I think it's the map, Spike!" She commented. "It's calling...you! It looks like you have to solve a friendship problem!"

"What?!" Spike gasped! "Why now?! Where does it want me to go?!"

"Seems like... Ponyville!" Twilight exclaimed in awe. "Oh, amazing! The map is really reaching out! This is a momentous occasion! My son, embarking on his first map mission!"

Spike didn't answer, he was too busy whimpering from the tingling sensation.

Twilight quickly realized her mistake. "Not a good time? I get it. Sorry. Now let's see whether we can pin down where in Ponyville the friendship problem is and how to sneak you out."

Just then, Starlight happened to peak into the room. "Is something wrong?! I heard a bunch of chattering and shouting. Ember's eaten all of Twilight's decorations, and—oh! Hey, Twilight!" With a nervous chuckle, the grayish-purple unicorn turned her attention towards the map. "Glowing map... and glowing scales," She commented with a gulp. "That's not good."

"I know! And the worst part is, it could be anywhere in Ponyville!" Spike protested. "This map picked a heck of a time to call me!"

"A...actually," Starlight gulped. "I think it's calling you to Twilight's castle. Look!" She pointed a hoof to the map symbol for Spike, a smaller version of his face. It was hovering directly over Twilight's castle, as though indicating that was where Spike was needed most.

"Wait a minute!" Spike realized in horror! "If you're here, and Twilight is... also here... then..." He trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

He needn't have bothered, Twilight properly concluded. "No one's watching Thorax or Ember!" She then let out a gasp! "Oh no! You don't think..."

"Only one way to find out!" Spike firmly declared, dashing out of the throne room while praying. "Please don't let them have met! Please don't let them have met! Please don't let them have met!"





Alas, Spike's hopes were soon dashed. For as he rushed into the main hallway, what should his eyes behold but the very angry and narrowed eyes of both Ember and Thorax. The two leaders glared at each other harshly, as though locked into a tense staring contest and daring the other to blink. They grit their teeth and seemed ready to make a move at a moment's notice.

"I won't ask you again, you overgrown bug!" Ember snorted, a small flame escaping her nostrils. "I don't care what you're here for! Just don't get in the way of my meeting with Spike and the princess!"

"Fat chance!" Thorax retorted. "I came here to talk to Spike, and that's just what I'm going to do! So you better get out of my way!"

"No!" Ember protested with a shake of her head. "Spike invited me and prepared a banquet in my honor! I'm his guest!"

"But Spike wrote to me, and set up a festival just for me!" Thorax angrily remarked! "And I'm pretty sure he did all that before he invited you! But if you've got a problem with that I'll... I'll.... well I'll be very angry for sure, I know that much!"

"Oh, it's a fight you want is it?!" Ember asked, beating her chest with her claws! "Fine by me! You asked for it!"

Thorax backed up nervously, his teeth chattering as he pleaded. "Uh... c-couldn't we maybe settle this somewhere else, in some other way? We changelings are a peaceful race now, I-I don't want any trouble!"

"Well too bad, you just found it!" Ember roared! "We dragons never back down from a challenge!"

Thorax transformed into a fearsome bear and let out a huge roar, hoping to frighten Ember into ceasing her attack. It didn't work.

Fortunately, Spike rushed forward and threw up his claws to block the two leaders! "STOP!" He cried at the top of his lungs! "Please, don't fight because of me! I don't wanna be responsible for starting a war!"

"War?! What war?! What are you talking about?!" Ember questioned, before glaring at Thorax. "Is that changeling playing mind games with you?!"

"You're the one picking fights! I'm only doing what I must to defend myself!" Thorax retorted. "I detest violence!"

"Cut it out, both of you!" Spike interrupted with a groan. With a sigh, the little dragon then confessed. "There's been a misunderstanding. The both of you were invited here by me, because I made a mistake. I never intended to have you both come to Ponyville on the same day, let alone be in the same room. And yet, here we are, the perfect storm of screw-ups."

"And you two really should know better than to get into fights over silly arguments," Twilight spoke up with a shake of her head. "My castle is NOT a wrestling ring. So if you insist on fighting, at the least have the decency to take it outside, where it belongs. And for both your sakes, I suggest you reconsider. Spike has something he needs to confess. Isn't that right, my son?" Twilight proceeded to trot up to the little dragon and prod him ever so delicately with a hoof.

Spike gulped, swallowing a massive lump that formed in his throat. He looked back to Twilight and pleaded with her. "Do I have to?"

Twilight nodded. "You caused this mess, Spike. And you know I taught you that when you make a mess, you've got to clean it up. Go on, explain everything to your friends."

With a reluctant sigh, Spike looked rather nervously up towards Ember and Thorax, trying his best to look both leaders in the eye. "I'm sorry I lied to the both of you and kept you both in the dark about each other," To Ember he confessed. "I never planned on giving you a banquet, that was just so you wouldn't try to look for Twilight and run into Thorax," Then turning to the changeling king Spike added. "And Thorax, that festival was supposed to be for Ember, not you. I wrote to you and told you to come here, not realizing it was the same day I'd already invited Ember over. I had Twilight keep you busy so Ember wouldn't spot you."

"But why would you do all of this?" Ember wondered aloud.

"Yeah, I'm with her on this one," Thorax commented, finally turning back to his normal state. "Why go through all this trouble instead of just explaining it to us?"

"You know, I've been wondering the same thing myself." Starlight remarked.

Spike explained. "Well... just look at what you two were about to do to each other before I stepped in. You were about to fight each other. I thought for sure with your different personalities and styles of leadership, you'd never get along."

"Oh, I see!" Ember furiously snorted, turning her angry glare towards Spike! "You think just because I'm a dragon, I'm absolutely terrible at friendship and always love a challenge! Next I suppose you'll be telling me you never intended to make me lord of all dragons."

"No, it's not like that!" Spike insisted.

Thorax just angrily remarked. "So what, you think I'm a total pushover because I'm having leadership issues? I may not like starting fights, but I can sure finish them if I have to! I thought you understood me, Spike! After you stood up for me in the Crystal Empire."

"I get it now. I was wrong to think the way I did, and I'm sorry," Spike sincerely apologized, bowing down before the two leaders. "Please, you can take it out on me all you want later. But for right now, you're both here because of me, and the both of you could learn a lot from each other if you learned to look past your differences. Why don't you two sit down together and talk it out? You could even forge an alliance between the Dragon Empire and the Changeling Kingdom."

Ember and Thorax didn't respond, they both looked at Spike as if they thought he was crazy.

Spike dropped down to his knees and pressed his claws together as he pleaded. "Please! If not for your sakes, then for mine! I want both of my international friends to be friends with each other. I don't want there to be bad blood because of a silly misunderstanding."

Both leaders still remained silent, but they shifted their gaze away from Spike and towards each other. True, they only really had one shared connection, and that hardly seemed like the sort of thing you could build off of for a possible friendship. 

But at the same time, Ember and Thorax couldn't help but feel guilty. They recalled how Spike had trusted them even when no one else would, and because of him they'd risen to the ranks they now held. They realized that they owed it to their friend to at least try.

"Alright, I suppose we could at least try." Thorax suggested at last, the tense silence finally fading.

Spike all but leaped into the air in relief! "You mean it?! Oh, you guys are the best!"

"But we're not promising anything!" Ember cautioned quite sternly, folding her arms across her chest. "We'll talk for a while, but that doesn't mean we're going to become friends. And we're both still pretty mad with you for lying to us, Spike."

"I said I was sorry!" Spike protested.

Thorax nodded. "And I know you meant it, but it doesn't take away the confusion," He sagely added. "We need some time to think about things and kind of be mad with you. Once we've worked everything out, you'll know whether we decide to be friends and if we're ready to forgive you."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Ember remarked. "Now come on, shapeshifter. I think a little change of scenery is in order."

"Don't suppose I could make a suggestion?" Spike spoke up, catching the leaders as they prepared to flap their wings and fly off. "If you need somewhere private, you could try the lake. It's not that far from here, actually, and ponies don't tend to frequent it."

"Ah, sounds like a fine place for a heart to heart. Thanks, Spike." Thorax acknowledged the request, then with a flap of his wings, he took off. Ember following at a much faster pace.

"Okay... so I guess we just leave the two powerful leaders to talk I suppose?" Starlight pondered with a confused look.

Spike nodded very slowly. "I've done all I can. The rest is up to them." In his mind, the little dragon was thinking. "It looks like my hunch was right after all. And I hate it when I'm right."





Down at the lake, Thorax and Ember didn't bother to speak to each other at first. They preferred to focus on other things. Thorax even picked up a rock and kicked it, the small boulder skipping across the waves until it finally landed with a splash.

At last, it was Ember who broke the silence. Turning to Thorax, she asked the changeling king. "Why are you here again? Why would you come all this way just to talk to Spike? You're a king."

Thorax sighed, looking down at his own reflection. "Some king I am. I'm having trouble leading my pack, no one listens to me. And I don't know what to do."

Ember was taken aback by Thorax's surprise statement, her red eyes grew wide! "Wait, you're actually in charge? You're not just some figure head?" With a chuckle, she then told him. "Oh, boy. You need to be more assertive if that's the case."

But Thorax replied with a shake of his head. "Well, that's my problem. I don't know how! I'm not even sure if I could, I'm not like our previous leader, and I don't want to be. The changelings deserve better!" Then in a low tone of voice he added. "I've tried everything I can think of to get my subjects to obey. I tried asking them to please follow my directions. I even offered a prize, and then—"

"Shhh! Stop talking," Ember commanded, throwing up a claw to silence Thorax. Thorax obeyed and spoke not a word. Ember smiled. "That's how you do it. That's how you're gonna get others to listen."

"Whoa!" Thorax commented, observing his newfound authority. "That felt... different. It gave me chills."

Ember nodded. "It should. Because if it gives you chills, it'll give your subjects even colder chills. I know you have it in you. You turned into a bear."

"Well like I said, I can hold my own if I have to, especially if I have to defend my friends," Thorax explained to Ember. "But when I'm just enforcing my rules, I-I feel unsure of myself. I guess taking over the throne unexpectedly will do that to you."

"Hey, the same thing happened to me, but I made the most of it," Ember boldly remarked, pounding her claws together. "There's nothing to be unsure of. You're the leader for a reason. Make a decision and let it be known that the decision is final. And if that doesn't work, turn into a bear. Give them a reason to fear you, and they won't question your judgement so easily."

"I... suppose that's good advice," Thorax acknowledged. "I guess I do need a bit of force behind my words if I'm to be king."

Ember nodded again. "It's excellent advice. Don't you ever forget it."

"O...kay," Thorax commented and changed the subject, coughing into a leg. "So what's your deal? Why'd you come to talk to Spike and Twilight?"

But Ember suddenly clammed up, she turned her head and folded her arms as she declared. "I don't want to talk about it."

Thorax shook his head. "Oh, you have to! How else are you gonna solve your problems?"

"Through feats of strength and fire duels, of course. That's how we always do it." Ember boldly declared, as she lifted up a huge boulder and crushed it effortlessly with her claws!

"Mind me telling how that helps? I don't see how it does." Thorax remarked with profound skepticism, all but raising an eyebrow to Ember's statement.

"Because," Ember huffed. "Crushing another dragon in competition establishes my dominance and makes me feel great. It's how I ensure others don't try to undermine my rule."

Thorax shook his head. "Right, but, uh, how do you think they feel afterwards?"

"Humiliated! Ashamed!" Ember proclaimed, before a realization struck her and her voice changed from loud and assertive, to soft and withdrawn. "They'd probably wanna run away and bury themselves under a rock and... never come back out. They're probably sad. Kinda low. Definitely not happy. Wow, I guess I never thought about it like that before."

"That's because that kind of competition can divide you. And it doesn't get to the heart of the issue," Thorax explained, and pointed to Ember's chest as she landed in front of him. "But talking about your feelings does."

In response to that statement, Ember let out a sneeze, accidentally breathing soot into Thorax's face. "Ugh! I think I'm allergic to feelings or something." She remarked.

If Thorax was aware of what Ember had just done, he showed no signs of acknowledging it, even as Ember blew on his face. He just told her. "You know, you don't have to be all sappy or huggy-feely about it! But you should at least let your friends know how you feel. Talking about your feelings isn't a sign of weakness. You can lead with compassion, not by force."

"Are you trying to say the two of us are friends now?" Ember asked Thorax in a confused tone of voice.

Thorax nodded. "Spike wants us to be friends, and I think we owe it to him to try."





Spike was pacing nervously back and forth in the throne room of the castle. Twilight and Starlight just watched him, unsure of what to say.

"It's out of my claws. Everything's up to Ember and Thorax," Spike thought to himself. "I just wish I knew how the talks are going. Oh, why couldn't the map have given me an easier friendship mission to solve? One I didn't create."

Finally, Spike's ears picked up the sound of buzzing wings, and it sounded like they were fast approaching! He rushed out of the throne room as fast as his little legs could carry him! One way or another, he was finally going to get an answer.

Sure enough, out in the hallway stood Ember and Thorax. But the expressions on their faces gave the little dragon no indication as to how they were feeling or what they had talked about. Which meant there was only one way to find out. "So... uh..." Spike began, trying not to lose his composure. "H-how did... the talks go?"

Thorax, surprisingly, spoke up first. "Oh, it went well. My friend Ember is teaching me to be more assertive and confident! Those rogue changelings that are trying to defy my leadership, won't be doing so for much longer."

"And my friend Thorax has made me realize, I need to talk about my feelings and tell others how I feel," Ember commented. "Not sure if the other dragons will understand it right away, but at least I won't have to keep challenging anyone who tries to depose me as Dragon Lady."

"So, you're friends now, right? You're not just pulling my leg or anything?" Spike pleaded. Ember and Thorax both nodded, and that caused Spike to breath a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness," Then to both of his friends he added. "I'm sorry about the mix-up earlier, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys the truth from the start, like I should've."

Ember sighed, and slightly huffed. "I'm still kind of mad you didn't trust me, Spike. And I think it's gonna take some time before I get over that. But I understand you were trying to protect another friend and prevent a crisis. Besides, in a lot of ways, your mix-up worked out for the better."

"It... did?!" Spike exclaimed, stepping back a bit! Surely, he had misheard.

Thorax nodded and explained. "If you hadn't invited us both to Ponyville on the same day and the same time, we'd never have met and talked to each other. And we wouldn't have learned what we needed to learn in order to be better leaders," Then the changeling added in a stern tone of voice. "But next time, don't lie to me and promise me stuff like ice cream just to keep me out of sight. I didn't like it when we changelings used to operate on lies and deception, and I certainly don't like my friends doing it to me for silly reasons."

"W-well, you can rest assured that won't happen again," Spike apologized. Just then, his scales started to glow brightly. He knew what that meant! "No way! It's finally happening! I solved the friendship problem!" He happily exclaimed! "Well, technically, I created the problem by accident, and then made it worse. But then I solved it by learning my lesson about trusting my friends!"

Twilight smiled and clapped her hooves. "Good job, Spike. I'm very proud of you."

Ember arched an eyebrow upwards as she questioned Spike. "Is this another part of pony friendship? Telling each other what you learned all the time?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Starlight answered. "Trust me, you'll get used to it." And then she, Spike, and Twilight all shared a laugh.





Later that day, Ember and Thorax had departed back to their home lands and the rays of Celestia's sun were beginning to set. And inside the castle, Spike finally allowed himself to relax.

"Man, I'm beat!" The little dragon exclaimed, letting out a yawn. "Entertaining two friends on the same day sure takes a lot out of you."

Twilight just smiled, rubbing Spike's scales lightly with a hoof. "You did well for your first map mission, my son. And you tackled it all alone too."

"Yeah? Well next time, I think I'd like it if the map could at least call a friend to help me out," Spike commented, yawning again. "But for now, I'm just gonna lay in bed and catch up on my Power Ponies comics."

"You go ahead and do that, Spike," Starlight encouraged. "You've earned a rest. Just hope you won't be too tired to fly kites with Maud and I tomorrow."

Spike didn't reply, he'd already walked up the stairs to his bedroom. Meanwhile, Twilight was wondering to herself. "How much do I really know about that map? If it can call on Spike, then who's to say it can't call on anyone with a connection to the castle, or to Ponyville? And I thought I had my hooves full just getting everything ready for the upcoming Friendship Festival in Canterlot. This new development clearly warrants further study. I wonder if Starlight will be up for assisting me?"