The Dragon Lands were an interesting place in the mid-morning hours. Some dragons were off doing their own thing--that used to consist of raiding Equestrian towns, but things changed recently--while others were still being lazy inside their caves. Moonstone was in the former camp, and he was grateful that the airspace was quiet around that time of the day. He needed to clear his head for what he was about to do.
The sun shone in his eyes as he arrived at his homeland, shielding his eyes. He sighed as he came within visual range of his target. It was best to do this before his little “adventure”, but that didn’t mean he looked forward to it. The scent of gems embedded down on the ground below was tempting to him, but he ignored it.
Soon after, he arrived at the entrance to the Dragon Lord’s cave. The entrance, big even by a dragon’s standards, was a little intimidating. Having his parents’ hoard starting at the entrance was fuel to the fire. His feet scrunched up against the golden coins on the floor as he made his way inside.
He had to navigate a hallway filled with many rooms, but it wasn’t long until he found the throne that marked the Dragon Lord’s seat, inside a room that used a lavafall for decoration and a hoard bigger than anything he could imagine. The throne was encrusted with gems with a hint of gold to the structure. Whenever Ember made it or stole it, he didn’t know. The throne next to it, surely for Fizzle, wasn’t nearly as nice. Still, it had its share of gems and gold to complete the set. When he got there, those thrones were both filled by their respective owners, and they were rather concerned.
“Moonstone? What are you doing here?” Ember wondered. “It’s been weeks since you stepped foot in our cave.”
“Yeah, is something wrong?” Fizzle added. “You don’t look too good.”
Indeed, Moonstone had a hint of worry to his face. He wouldn’t admit how he felt to himself, but it didn’t change one thing about his emotions. The young dragon stepped up to the thrones and shook his head. “I’m okay, guys. Just needed to tell you something before I left.”
“The kirin thingy? Yeah, we know,” Ember grinned. “Twilight sent us a letter all about it. You beat fifty kirins in an arm wrestling contest? I’m impressed.”
“FIFTY? You didn’t tell me it was fifty,” said Fizzle. “What have you been doing? Did Wildfire teach you pull ups or something?”
“Nah, they were no match for me,” Moonstone boasted. He flexed his arm, only to wince again. Seemed like it was going to take some time to recover. “Did they tell you what happened this morning?”
Ember and Fizzle looked at each other in confusion. “Not really. Was it something bad?” inquired Ember.
Moonstone spent the next few minutes going over it with them. Every detail about the visitor, her life story, and the whole “missing tribes” thing, he didn’t hold anything back. As they listened, Ember grew noticeably concerned, while Fizzle was intrigued. Maybe it was the history angle for him. Then Moonstone got to the part where Kunzite wanted him to join her out west.
“And that’s why I came over to see you guys. I’m going with her, and I don’t know how long it’s going to be until I’m back.”
The Dragon Lord leaned back in her chair, quiet at first. Her hands were clasped together as she dwelled on it. That worried Fizzle to death. When she got like that, that usually meant the next response would be highly emotional.
Moonstone stood by quietly, however. He wasn’t worried about her response like his dad was, because he wasn’t here for her approval. This was going to happen no matter what she had to say.
“I’m really proud of you,” she finally spoke. “I got worried about you doing that whole ‘find my own path’ crap, because every teenager does it. Most of the time, they’re just being jerks to their families and act like they’re not little kids anymore. But this is different.”
“How so?” he asked. That was surprisingly reserved for her, and it was no surprise that Fizzle sighed happily in his chair.
“Because you’re not doing that to prove you’re the better dragon to us. Nah, that’s not really what you’re doing, you’re trying to make Kunzite happy and go rescue some kirin.”
Moonstone swore his face was getting hotter. “I’m not doing it for her! I swear! It’s just...she made some really good points about our destiny...and it’s the right thing to do...and...stop looking at me like that!”
Fizzle had the biggest grin on his face. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Whatever helps you stop blushing.”
“Daaaad! Kunzite is really cute, but it’s not like that. We’re not a thing.”
“I know,” Ember agreed. “Just be warned, though. From the sounds of it, this is going to be one of the hardest things you’ve done, especially if it turns out to be your destiny thingy. You’re never going to get stronger unless you face some real hardships. Believe me.”
“And no, asking your crush out doesn’t count,” Fizzle teased. His hand came over to clasp Ember’s claws.
The teenage dragon was ready to erupt. “Fine, fine, whatever works for you two. I’m not gonna have to leave the room again, am I?”
“Not now, Fizzle,” Ember retorted, although she still planted a kiss on Fizzle’s forehead. “Still, you’ll let us know if anything goes wrong? We got that letter system set up now.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll blow fire on a letter and one of you two will belch it up. There has to be a more sanitary way than that.” Once he was finished, he came up closer to the thrones. “You’re not going to worry about a thing. We’ll get through it okay. Not like anyone can beat us in a fair fight.”
“Now that’s my boy.” Fizzle came up and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t back down from a fight, you be good to Kunzite, and you’ll come home without a scratch. Deal?”
The hand on his shoulder made Moonstone freeze up a little bit, only to find himself hugging his dad. “Deal. Really, you don’t have to worry about me anymore. You should have known that by now.”
Ember rose up from her chair and joined them in a group hug. “Oh come on. We never worry about you holding your own in a fight.” Just worried about what you’re doing to yourself, all to convince us you’re the toughest dragon around. But that’s for another time.
Moonstone gagged from his parents hugging him so hard. “A little too much, guys…”
“Just a few more seconds. I wanna treasure this moment,” Fizzle countered.
“Yeah, been too long since our last family hug. Dragons do hugs now, after all,” Ember chuckled.
This dragon shouldn’t… Moonstone thought.
------
While Autumn, Kunzite, and the guards made their preparations, Twilight and Spike took a moment to retreat to the guest house. Things were going to be frantic for the next few hours, and they just needed a minute to breathe and adjust. Best to take a moment to let it sink in without rushing it, they would always say.
Twilight sat down on the sofa, and Spike joined her on the side. They didn’t say anything at first, because they didn’t know where to start. She gazed around the room and made sure nobody could listen in on them.
“This is crazy!” she started. “Every time we do something to relax and get away from civilization, this happens. Why does it keep happening?”
“You never complained about it before,” Spike countered, nuzzling into her shoulder. “You made friends that way, and everypony knows you as the Princess of Friendship, saving the world with your friends countless times. Is that a bad thing?”
“Not really.” She snuggled into his forehead. “But this is the first time Kunzite’s had to do it. And every time I see her…” Her horn glowed, and something came out of the bedroom. When it hovered in front of Spike’s face, he saw that it was a picture of Kunzite in Twilight’s arms, shortly after the kirin was born. “This is what I see. It’s like she grew up, but she never grew up in my heart.”
He picked up the picture and held it closely. “Yeah. She’s always going to be our little girl. But this is good for her, isn’t it? She likes to help people out, and we’ll be right there if things hit the fan.”
“That’s what I’m scared of,” she sighed. “We’ll be right there, and she’ll have Moonstone and the guards to help out, and Autumn can talk everyone’s ears off when they can’t do a thing.” She stopped to give him a moment to laugh. “But if anything happens to her, it feels like it will be on me. I signed off on it.”
“I know.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in for more cuddles. “But we’ve gotten her ready for this. The magic lessons, letting Wildfire teach her, this might be the moment it’s all been leading up to. But if you’re still worried, maybe you should tell her.”
“I want to, but that could kill her confidence. You saw how she sprung at the chance to go out there. What if I mess it up by suggesting she can’t do it, and I didn’t even mean to do that?”
Now that got him on his cautious side. If he wasn’t careful, she was going to go full Twilynanas. “Hey, don’t overthink it. Just give her the advice you think she needs, let her know you believe in her, but you’ll be there if things go south. Sometimes, that’s all you need to do.”
She sighed. “It just seems so simple. Too simple, really.”
“Yeah. I won’t lie, I’m scared for her, too. If anyone harms her, I’m going to kill them.” The lack of sarcasm in his voice sent shivers down her spine.
“You can be really intimidating when you want to be. You know that?”
“Heh, I don’t want to be. Just when it counts.” They briefly saw Kunzite run across the village from the opened front door to the house. “But I think she’s going to be fine. She’s our daughter, which means she’s going to overpack and overplan.”
Twilight laughed and leaned on his shoulder. “I love you, Spike. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“I love you too, Twilight. I’d say I wouldn’t know what I’d do without you, too, but I was still an egg when you found me.”
“Oh my gosh, Spike. You’re still that dork I met all those years ago.”
“Like you’re not a dork, yourself.” He kissed her on the lips and watched their daughter carry on.