Spike dashed through the playpen following a line that his uncle had drawn. The older dragon thought it best to work on his nephew's speed and agility, as he was too small to start strength training. The hardest part of the exercise for Spike were the sharp turns. Sometimes he would trip and fall, other times he would slide off course.
“Keep low Spike,” His uncle would say if he slid too far on a turn. “It’s easier to control your sprints on all fours." He would advise when he tripped. "Remember, slide and turn your body before the turn, then speed up when you come out of it.”
Spike took the criticism in stride, doing his best to apply the fixes quickly. He managed to expertly drift on his last turn, before sprinting forward and tagging the tip of his uncle’s tail. Spike collapsed as he caught his breath.
“How fast was that?” The little whelp asked, looking up at his uncle.
“About three minutes and thirty seconds. Good job.”
There came several claps and cheers from afar, and Spike saw several dragonesses on a nearby cliffside watching him and his uncle.
“Uncle Smog, why are those dragons watching us?” Spike asked.
“It’s because they love watching whelps have fun,” Smog said, smiling at his nephew.
Spike instantly realized what his uncle was up to, recalling what his mother had told him in the cave. “Mama says I shouldn’t help you bait dragonesses.” He paused. “Uncle Smog, what does it mean to ‘bait a dragoness’?”
“It means that you help get one interested in me, because I have a Fire Ruby with your name on it if you do. And you don’t even have to do much, just have fun.”
Spike’s eyes lit up. “Deal!”
“I knew you’d see things my way. Now, let’s see if you can’t beat your time.” With that, Smog redrew the course, before glancing at the quarry. What he saw nearly made him chuckle. In the center of a small crowd stood Garble, as a large drake approached him and his friends. “It seems your brother landed himself in a bit of trouble."
Spike came to a sliding halt. “What kind of trouble?”
“I think he made another whelp mad.” He felt a tug at his tail, and saw Spike looking up at him, his little tail wagging and his arms outstretched. Smog lowered his head, allowing Spike to climb up for a better view.
“That drake looks bigger than him,” Spike commented.
“It’s likely his ego,” Smog said. “Your father and I got in plenty of similar scuffles when we were younger. They usually had to do with insults or girls. Think he’ll win?”
“Yeah! Garble’s the strongest dragon in the world, of course he'd win! Come on Garble!” Spike shouted, standing up on his tiptoes. He quickly lost his balance and fell onto his uncle’s snout.
“Careful there, Spike," Smog chided, as Spike climbed back up on his perch. Smog lowered his head closer to the ground. "Stay seated, I don’t want you hurting yourself.”
Spike did as he was told, now only bouncing in his seat.
In the quarry, Garble couldn’t hear his brother’s cheers. All he could do was brake out into a cold sweat as Arrow Firefang approached the group, each step he took shaking the very earth. Arrow stood a head taller than other whelps. He was a muck brown, his spines a toxic green, his eyes a burning red, and his fangs were a bright orange like fire, hence his name.
“What do you want?” Arrow asked. His voice could only be described as a talking chipmunk that spent the last half hour inhaling copious amounts of helium. There was no dragon in the land that had a higher voice than Arrow Firefang. No one dared laugh at him though, save for one, unfortunate whelp that had yet to know about Arrow's reputation for savagely beating those that mocked him.
The whelp fell to the ground in a fit of laughter, pounding the floor. When he finally was able to breathe, he said, “That’s your voice? You’re so big, I thought you would have had a-”
Arrow quickly grabbed the drake's tail and effortlessly yanked him into the air before slamming him on the ground. Arrow’s body pivoted, and the drake was brought over his shoulder and slammed into the ground once more. Feeling merciful, Arrow stopped there, leaving the drake to quietly whimper.
“Anyone else want to have a laugh? Anyone else think my voice is funny?!” He shouted, his voice only growing higher in pitch.
“No!”
“Not at all!”
“I wish I had your funny voice!” Prominence said. She felt a chill crawl up her spine as Arrow turned his gaze towards her. “Wait, I didn’t mean it like-!”
Arrow wasted no time tackling her, grabbing her shoulders, and slamming her into the ground a few times. “Any other comments!?” He shouted when he was satisfied with his attack. Every whelp had the wisdom to stay silent and shake their heads. “Good, now what is it?” Arrow asked, looking at Fume with a glare that could rip apart solid steel.
Having Arrow look down at him, Fume was regretting all his life choices. He took a step back before swallowing a growing lump in his throat. Considering that Arrow still had not forgiven him and his friends for their alleged thieving, perhaps he’d just signed Garble’s death warrant. “Garble wants to challenge you for your garnet,” He said in a quick whisper, before vanishing behind Clump.
Arrow’s gaze fell on Garble, who was on the cusp of running away. “You want my garnet?” Arrow asked.
Every fiber of his being wanted to say no. Unfortunately, he took one look at the blue dragon, bruised and struggling to stand like Spike and Smolder had been and said, “Yeah, and in a few minutes, it’s gonna be my garnet.” Garble threw two gems to the side while Arrow added his garnet to the pot. The silence was deafening as the two stared each other down. Whelps slowly surrounded them, waiting to see who would make the first move.
“You saw them take it,” Arrow finally said.
“Huh?”
“My emerald. I know your friends took it, and I know you stayed quiet about it. Honestly, what you did was worse.”
Garble felt an intense pain as Arrow’s fist collided with his gut. By some miracle, he managed to take the hit and keep himself standing. It was the second hit that broke his balance.
Ember winced as the red dragon was slugged across the face. She debated sneaking away while everyone else was distracted. Unfortunately, Spear and Fizzle made sure to keep nearby, glaring at her. Though not specifically stated, they were all waiting to see who would come out on top. The rule was clear in everyone’s mind: If Garble won, they’d leave Ember alone, but if he lost, then someone was getting her sapphire, and it wasn’t going to be her.
Garble stumbled backwards and narrowly dodged a third oncoming strike. He retaliated, punching Arrow twice. He attempted a third, but Arrow caught his fist.
Garble could only watch as his arm was bent back, before Arrow delivered an uppercut, sprawling him out on the ground. If Garble didn’t have any regrets about helping the dragon before, he did now. A shadow suddenly appeared over him, and he rolled to the side, avoiding a powerful stomp.
“Still got some fight in ya?!” Arrow shouted, his voice nearly bursting the crowd’s eardrums.
Garble gulped as he stared at the indent that Arrow had left in the ground. It was clear in Garble’s mind that this was the dumbest thing he’d ever done and would do in his life. Arrow lunged towards him, only for the drake to dodge once more. Dodging was all that he could do. Garble side stepped a strike and delivered a punch to the side of Arrow’s face, then a second, a third, and on the fourth punch, Arrow grabbed Garble’s arm. The bigger dragon turned and threw his opponent across the quarry.
Garble forced himself to stand when he finally came to a stop, only to see Arrow charging at him on all fours. It was too late to dodge, so Garble braced himself for impact. Garble managing to block the charge with his forearms, sliding back into a wall with a crash. Though he could feel his ears ringing, Garble could clearly hear the growing cheers as the crowd of whelps grew more interested in the fight. Specifically, for Arrow to decimate Garble. The only whelp in his corner was his little brother.
“Just one chance, that’s all he needs to win!” Spike said.
“I don’t know, Spike. That whelp looks like he can take a hit, or twenty.”
“Just wait, Garble’s gonna win,” Spike assured. His claws clenched, nearly digging into his uncle’s scalp.
With Arrow slowly approaching, Garble tried to think of a strategy, but all he could hear in his head were his friends' taunts. "Punch him hard!" Fizzle said. “Stomp on him!” He heard Clump shout. “Kick him in the stomach!” Spear cried. “Throw dirt in his eyes, show him how it feels!” He heard Fume say.
Arrow ignored the cries coming from the crowd, but not Garble. Thanks to Fume, gears began to turn in his head for the first time in his young life. He just needed to get away from the wall. If he could work Arrow into a frenzy, he would be able to outmaneuver him while his opponent sporadically attacked him. All he needed to do was make Arrow mad.
“You know,” Garble sniffed, “you actually have a really funny voice.” He didn’t see Arrow grab him, but before he knew it, he was being slammed into the wall repeatedly. If he were honest, mocking Arrow was the second dumbest thing he’d ever do in his life. Garble was not honest though, and so this was all according to plan. On the sixth slam, Garble grabbed his opponent’s arms and headbutted Arrow’s snout with all his might, eliciting a sharp cry of pain. He was released as Arrow held his snout while screaming obscenities, and wasted no time darting away. Before he knew it, he was halfway across the quarry.
“You’re dead Ironscale!” He heard Arrow screech. He turned around and saw the drake charging at him at full speed. Garble readied himself. Arrow leapt towards him and he dodged, rolling to the left. As he did, he used his claws to dig into the ground. Once he found his footing, Garble pivoted towards Arrow and, just as his opponent turned to face him, slung a clump of dirt and rocks. There was a loud cry as Arrow’s eyes clenched shut.
Spike’s eyes went wide, his body leaned forward and he whispered, “Now.”
Garble felt a sudden surge of strength. His eyes contracted into slits and he became like a savage beast. Hit after hit, blow after blow was delivered as Garble refused to give Arrow a single moment to recover. The crowd went silent at the sight of Garble on the offensive. He struck Arrow’s face thrice, his snout twice, his ribs twice and delivered one, final, powerful blow to Arrow’s gut. His opponent fell to the ground heaving.
Garble stood panting, exhaling fire every so often as he glared daggers into Arrow’s back. He heard a sharp gasp as Arrow finally took a breath before coughing. The drake tried to lift himself up, but his strength gave out, and he fell to his stomach, whimpering.
Spike’s cheers could be heard in Canterlot, Yakyakistan, and even in the Changeling Hive far, far to the east. He was so energetic that Smog had to hold him in his claws, just to make sure he didn’t fall. “I told you, I told you he’d win!”
“You did. Shows what I know!” Smog chuckled a bit. “The best part? That might be you someday, Heathspike.”
Spike’s face lit up at the mere thought of being as strong as his brother.
It took a moment for it to dawn on him, possibly because he couldn't believe he'd done it, but Garble had defeated Arrow. Through baited breaths, and with a tone that was less than kind, Garble said, “Arrow. About your voice. Ha. Ha. Ha.”
Arrow’s face turned a deep red as his body shook. He wanted to retaliate, but all he could do was slink away to lick his wounds.
The adrenaline soon left his body, and Garble was hit with a sudden wave of pain and weariness. His entire body ached, his face especially hurt, and he desperately wanted someone maternal to give him a nuzzle. He couldn’t show it though, not yet. Picking up his garnet and taking a bite, Garble turned to his friends. “See? That’s how real a dragon gets a gem.” The silence was music to his ears. Their dumbfounded and terrified looks were works of art that he wished he could add to his hoard.
The crowd, his friends especially, looked back at Ember and her sapphire one last time before dispersing. ‘It probably has cooties on it,’ a few drakes murmured. ‘Sapphires suck anyway,’ a few others said. ‘She’d probably cry for her daddy if we took it,’ Fizzle added, not knowing she was the daughter of Dragon Lord Torch himself.
When they were alone, Garble approached Ember, who collected her sapphire. “Are you okay?” he weakly mumbled.
Drying her eyes of any lingering tears, Ember took one look at the drake, and instantly recognized him. He called her a scaredy-drake and defeated two frilled lava lizards three years ago. Ember looked down at her gem, and then back at Garble. ‘He saved me again.’ She bit her lip. ‘He defended me again.’ Her claw clenched tightly, leaving indents in the gem. ‘He made me look weak again.’ Her face twisted into a scowl.
“Oh, that's how it is,” Smog said with a chuckle, not seeing Ember’s growing anger. “I should have known there was a girl involved.”
Spike made a face and stuck out his tongue. “Bleh, how’s that?”
“You see Spike, sometimes when a drake does something stupid it’s to impress a cute girl.”
“But Garble’s too cool to like girls! Girls are gross,” Spike argued.
“I forget how young you are. Just wait a few years Spike, when you’re older, I’m more than certain you'll find a girl that catches your eye.” Smog was correct, a girl would catch his nephew’s eye. What he could not have foreseen was the girl being a pony.
Blaze also watched the scene unfold, smiling. She never expected Garble of all dragons to help her daughter. All she could think about was how good this was. If all went well, Ember could have someone to spar with, and Ember could in turn teach Garble how to use whatever was in that thick skull of his. Blaze’s hopes were dashed the moment Ember let out a roar and tackled Garble to the ground. The Lord Consort could only watch in horror as her daughter then punched him twice. She cursed under her breath and hung her head in shame as her claw covered her eyes.
Seeing Garble attacked, Spike was ready to run down and fight Ember himself to avenge his brother. It was only thanks to Smog pinching his nephew’s tail and lifting him up that kept Spike from doing anything brash. Spike could only thrash in the air for a few moments, before tiring himself out and going limp.
“Get it out of your system, Heathspike?”
“No! Maybe. Why did she do that!?” Spike huffed. “He just got done fighting Arrow, and she attacks him! She’s a cheater!”
“They might not have been fighting, Spike. It might be because Garble’s an Ironscale.”
“But dragons aren’t supposed to hate each other just because we’re part of a clan. Mama said so!”
“It’s not that. Ironscales have a habit of putting our foots in our mouths.” Spike gave his uncle a confused look. “We sometimes say the wrong things to the fairer sex.” Another look. “Dragonesses, Spike, I mean dragonesses. You’ll never know when you say something wrong, but a dragoness will let you know. At least we know that he’s your father’s son.” Another confused look. “Remind me to tell you how your parents’ first courting session went. How it actually went.”
Ember jumped off Garble before saying, through gritted teeth, “I had it handled. I didn’t need your help, boulderhead!” She huffed before using her tail to hit some dust onto the prone dragon.
Part of him wanted to fight and reclaim some of his pride, but Garble was done. He did not have the strength nor the resolve to keep fighting, even if she was smaller and weaker than him. As he began to pick himself up, and wiped the dust off him, the sapphire flew and hit his head. “What was that for?!”
“I didn’t care about the stupid sapphire; I just didn’t want those idiots to have their claws all over it!” With that, Ember left to go home while Blaze followed close behind.
Rolling his eyes, but picking up the sapphire, Garble made his way towards Spike and Smog. If nothing else, he and Spike could share a snack before going home to rest. One thing he knew for sure, if being punched was what helping others got him, this was the last time he'd helped anyone but Spike or Smolder.
For Blaze, it came as little surprise that her daughter was having a tantrum in the cave. She was throwing stones, punching stalagmites, and unleashing streams of fire into the air in a bid to vent her frustrations. Ember’s roars and shouts echoed off the walls, masking her mother’s movements as she entered. Was she upset that she’d thrown away her sapphire? No, it had to be something else.
“Ember Brightcrest, come here now,” Blaze demanded, taking a seat on the cave floor.
Ember stopped as her mother’s voice sliced through the air. She glared at the older dragon, before taking a seat before her, crossing her arms, inflating her cheeks, and scowling. She mumbled a question, which served only to get on Blaze’s last nerve.
“I have had enough of your attitude. I don’t want grumbling, Ember, you are to speak clearly.” Ember grumbled in defiance, turning her head away. Blaze’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not asking, Ember. Now look at me.”
The statement was soft, but Ember could feel the anger behind it. She did as she was told. “What did I do that was so bad?”
“Well, let’s review today’s events: You find a sapphire, and defend it with your young life after you declared that you could fight off anyone willing to try and take it, a move so foolish that I can only assume you heard your father say it. When you’re on the cusp of losing it, someone, who must have been sent by Bahamut himself, appears and you get to keep it. Is there anything I have misread regarding today’s little scuffle?”
“I wasn’t about to lose it.”
“Ember, don’t act like you had it handled.”
“What’s so bad about any of that?” Ember asked, standing in a feeble attempt to meet her mother’s eyes. “Dragons lose their gems all the time in fights! Dragons fight! That’s what everyone tells me!”
“Nothing is wrong with any of that. Everything there, except maybe the last part, is normal. I draw a line when you needlessly attack someone who helped you. What, in Tiamat’s name, possessed you to do such a thing?”
“I did it because I was about to win, and he stole it from me!” Ember said. That’s right, he’d stolen her victory.
“Ember, do not give me that excuse,” Blaze demanded. “I’ve been in fights, I’ve seen more of your father’s fights than I care to count; I know when someone is out of their depth. You were out of your depth. Why did you attack that whelp?”
“I don’t know,” Ember said, turning away from her mother. He’d acted like her father and defended her.
“Ember, I want an answer.”
“I don’t know!” Ember said defiantly. What was worse was that he’d proved her father right.
“Ember, why did you attack him?”
“Because he made me look weak!” Ember finally shouted. She began to breathe heavily as tears welled in her eyes. Then she began sobbing. “He proved dad right and I hate it, I hate him!” She sniffled for a moment. “I was winning when it started, but that jerk got back up and snuck up on me. I know I could have thought of something, so I didn’t give up. I even kept getting back up, just like dad says he does, but then that moron ruined it for me! He fights someone bigger than him and wins, and everyone left! And it wasn’t the first time either. Stupid Lava Lizards.”
Blaze let her face soften. Of course, it was Torch’s rhetoric. “Ember, I know your father can be overbearing, and boorish when voicing his concerns, but that’s just how he shows he cares. He worries about you.”
“Well, I hate it!” Ember shouted.
“I know. You shouldn’t let that cloud your judgment though. Ember, remember what I said about being smart?”
“I did what you said though! I knocked the drakes off balance, I used the enva-invia-inviro-I threw dirt at one and I let that one dragon smash into a wall! I still got hit though, and then he kept hitting me.”
“You fought strategically, and that was smart to an extent, but if you were really smart, you would have avoided the fight entirely. What did you do instead?”
“I flew through the canyon.”
“Exactly. Remember when I talked with your father this morning? I didn’t fight your father, nor did I try to play his little glaring game. I used my head and fought the battle on my terms, and presented the same choices to him in a slightly different light. What happened when I did that?”
“He let me go to the quarry.” Ember kicked a stone.
“Exactly. I know how hard it must be, little one,” Blaze leaned in and nuzzled her daughter, who was slowly calming down. “You’re going to be strong Ember, in your own way. You just need to be patient. When that day comes, your father’s going to see that.”
“I don’t wanna be patient, I want it to happen now.”
“Well, I have a way to help you be patient. You’re grounded for the next three days, and you’re going to apologize to that drake. After dinner, straight to bed.”
“Okay.” Ember said. At least she could take solace in the fact that her grounding was so short.
With that, Blaze waited for her mate to return to the cave. The sun went down, Ember was fed and went to sleep, and just as Blaze was about to nod off, Torch entered. He looked relieved to see her. After a long day of managing dragons, what Lord wouldn’t welcome the sight of their bride waiting for them at the mouth of their cave?
“My precious mate, how-” If looks could kill, Torch would have dropped dead the moment Blaze looked at him.
“You and I are going to have a talk regarding our daughter,” She said.
Their daughter? Torch couldn’t understand, why would they need to about Ember, unless something happened to her. Dread washed over him as his eyes went wide. He rushed past Blaze without saying a word, or slowing down as she called for him. What he saw nearly made him scream. His daughter, though sleeping soundly, was bruised. All over her torso, her cheek, and parts of her arms had welts. Someone had touched his little princess. His face twisted in anger and he quickly went outside so his roars wouldn’t wake Ember up, followed by an increasingly annoyed Blaze.
“I knew it!” He cried the moment he was far enough away. “I knew this would happen, I knew it and I let it happen. She’s too small to be let out of my sight! Well, I’m going to make sure no one touches her again! I’ll find the little bastard that struck her-”
“Enough Torch, this is your fault!”
“My fault? How is any of this my fault?” He asked, looking at Blaze as if she had declared that the sky was red and that day was night. He wanted to prevent this; he wanted their daughter safe, away from a quarry.
“You keep calling her weak and fragile and she-”
“She is!” Torch shouted, gesturing toward the cave. “Just look at her! One day out, and she’s covered in bruises! What is his name? I’ll make the runt regret the day he was hatched!” Oh, he would, he would find him, crush him, and string him up to serve as a warning. Yes, every whelp and dragon would know what would happen if they even thought about harming Ember.
“Like that would help,” His mate scoffed. “Torch listen to me. You need to understand that-”
He let his mate talk, but her words could not penetrate his skull. Blaze was always lecturing him about being protective, as if it were a bad thing. Why couldn’t she understand why he was doing it? Ember was their only child. She was so thin and tiny; he could easily see someone breaking her in two if she wasn’t careful. For some reason, Blaze was willing to let her take on a Roc. He needed to make her see reason, but he needed to be able to speak. Blaze showed no signs of stopping her lecture.
“Just let her go out more, if that’s too much, tell her that strength isn’t everything or better yet-”
But strength was everything in the Dragon Lands. The only reason they lived as good as they did, the only reason he had a mate that loved him, and had a little whelp to care for was because he was the strongest. Blaze just couldn’t understand that. He needed to get a word in, then he could make her see. Yet, she continued talking. She was lecturing the Dragon Lord. His frustration grew before he finally snapped, realizing that he was the Dragon Lord.
“I order you to be silent!” Torch shouted. And silent Blaze became, but Torch realized too late the grievous mistake he’d made. Other than breaking an unwritten law in using his Dragon Lord authority against his own mate, whom he vowed to cherish and respect until the day they parted on Earth, he’d dug himself a hole so deep, there was no chance that he could get out. He locked eyes with his mate, and gazed into the abyss. The abyss stared back.
That night, he slept outside the cave.