//------------------------------// // A Bit of Help // Story: Tough Love // by PonyPixel //------------------------------// Few days have passed, and it’s time for the ambassadors of different kingdoms to have their private meeting with Princess Twilight. As just like the letter said, it’s important to have a monthly meeting to discuss topics about the future of Equestria and the relationship between creatures. Princess Twilight and Spike were in a big room, setting up extra chairs for the meeting. Although Spike is the one doing the work for her, Twilight will always be there to give him an extra boost. They stood by at the side as they finished putting up the last set of chairs. “Okay, the extra chairs are set,” Twilight commented. “Now, we just wait for the other creatures.” “Yep,” Spike commented as well, looking at the clock on the wall behind him. “They should be here any minute now.” As soon as he sat down on the nearby chair, they heard the doors burst open, both Twilight and Spike turned as they saw Ember and Thorax entered the room side by side. “See, I told you we were early,” Thorax said. “It still gives us some free time,” Ember stated, and then turned to Spike and waved at him. “Hey there, Spike.” “Hi, Ember, Thorax,” Spike responded. “What are you doing here so early?” “Ember here left the Dragon Lands sooner than she was planning,” Thorax explained. “Along the way she thought she’d stop by the hive for some nice delicious sushi...” “I misjudged what time it was,” Ember interrupted. Judging by her blushing, she looked to be embarrassed by something. Thorax smirked as he bent closer to Spike to whisper. “She wanted to visit with me before we started a meeting.” The younger dragon tried his best not to laugh. Ember didn’t seem to like showing her emotions. He then stood back up and then faces Twilight, which she was beside him. “Anyways, Princess, you said that someone else would be joining us?” “Indeed,” the alicorn confirmed. “They should be here soon with the rest of the ambassadors. Please, make yourselves comfortable.” The changeling and dragon lord did so, each of them sitting in one of the chairs that were placed out for them. “So, are we going to discuss the plans for the future before they get here?” Ember asked. “I think you’d be wasting your time,” Spike commented. “I mean, it’s like...” He paused in mid-sentence as they heard the door burst open again. He turned to see, this time, two more creatures entering the room. “And the stream of silence was torture for me,” spoke a voice. Looking towards the entrance to see a kirin, Autumn Blaze, walking in with Queen Novo. “Oh, hey, there are other creatures here,” the kirin commented. “Indeed,” the hippogriff added. “It’s nice to see all four of you again.” “Hello, Queen Novo,” Thorax said. “How’s your daughter doing?” “Just fine. If she were here, I think that she and Autumn Blaze would get along great.” “Wow, so I get to talk with you guys,” the kirin said. “It’s so great I get to talk with so many different creatures I mean-” “Do you think she was a distance cousin?” Ember whispered to Thorax. “I doubt it,” he admitted. “Though, it could still be possible.” “-And I just can’t wait to help plan things out,” Autumn Blaze continued speaking. “Does she have an off switch?” Ember jokingly asked. Someone was happy enough to provide her with one. The castle suddenly shook with loud stomps being heard. The sounds of laughter could be heard as a yak and a minotaur walked around the corner. “Yak like Iron Will,” Rutherford spoke. “Iron Will impressed with yak’s strength,” the minotaur spoke. “Oh, gosh, there’s two of them,” Queen Novo muttered. “Rutherford, who’s your new friend over there?” Thorax asked. “The name’s Iron Will!” the minotaur answered. He flexed his muscles with a big grin on his face. He and Rutherford shared a fist bump before they walked over to the chairs. “So, where are you from?” “There’s a village full of minotaurs, but it doesn’t have an actual name.” “Yaks get function over form idea,” Rutherford commented. “At least you guys talked with each other,” Autumn Blaze spoke. “Ah, yes,” Novo said. “The Stream of Silence doesn’t sound like something I’d want to take a dip in.” “What are you talking about?” Ember questioned. “A cursed river that whoever swims in it, it prevents you from speaking,” Autumn explained. “You’ll be muted forever. It. Is. Terrible.” “I could imagine.” “Where griffon at?” Rutherford asked. “Excuse me?” Autumn questioned. “Oh. He’s talking about Gilda. She’s Griffonstone’s ambassador,” Thorax explained, then turned to Twilight to ask. “Shouldn’t she have been here by now?” “She should’ve,” Twilight commented. “I hope she’s alright.” After about another minute, the creatures all heard the loud yelps followed by some grunts and thuds. “What was that!?” Thorax exclaimed in shock. “I swear if it’s another attack like with those three dummies,” Ember commented. “I’ll go find out,” Spike said, stood up from the chair, and ran towards the door, and open it. “You all stay here. I’ll be right.” He left the room and investigate. After a while, he found Gilda had crashed into Little Strongheart. He saw what happened to them and quickly sprinted towards them. “Are you two okay?” the dragon said. “We’re fine,” Little Strongheart replied while Gilda quickly got up and helped him get up from the crash. “I’m so sorry, buddy,” the griffon apologized. “I was… I was… Thinking about something else.” “It’s fine,” he replied. “I was honestly a little lost. This castle’s so huge” “Don’t worry, just follow me, and you’ll be there.” He then led Little Strongheart and Gilda to the room to start the conference. They all arrived at the door afterward, Spike opened the door, and they all went inside. “Don’t worry,” Spike declared, as Little Strongheart and Gilda took their seats, “everything’s fine. There’s no major attack going on but just a little accident of some sort.” “Oh, thank goodness,” Ember said, feeling relieved. “I was about to sprint outside, with my fist clenched, and…” “Okay, okay. Enough,” Queen Nova said to her. “We get it. I felt the same way as you are.” “Sorry, just… got carried away,” she said in excuse. “Okay, now that every creature is here,” Twilight started, “I think we can start with our meeting for today.” She then turned towards Gilda. “Now, Gilda, last time, I requested you to bring photos of the issues in Griffonstone. Did you bring them with you?” “Yes, I do, Princess.” Gilda then hastily checked her bag and pulled out a couple of pictures. “Here you go.” Twilight grabbed the photos with her magic and passed one to each ambassador sitting at the table. They grabbed one each and examine the photos they’ve received. They consisted of many of Griffonstone’s common issues, which include some of the unstable and poorly-constructed buildings, homeless griffons from the youths to the elders, conflicts with each other, robbery, and various other problems. This made some ambassadors felt surprised and concerned. They haven’t seen or been to Griffonstone like that firsthand. Everything they see in these photos is in ruins. “Wow, is it that dreadful?” Thorax questioned. “Sadly, yes.” “I do feel sorry for anyone living in these conditions,” Novo commented. “My kind felt the same way when the Storm King attacked Hippogriffia.” “Have any griffons leave bad home?” Rutherford asked. “Not that I know of,” Gilda admitted. “I wouldn’t blame them.” “So, what do we do about it?” Autumn Blaze asked. “That’s the reason why I invited all of you here,” Twilight explained. “Griffonstone was under ruins ever since the Idol of Boreas was stolen by Arimaspi and lost in the Abysmal Abyss. That’s because it’s their most possessed treasure, it makes the kingdom united as one. Now it’s gone, the kingdom became like a living dumpster. This causes a lot of issues like the ones in the photos I handed out.” She then turned to Little Strongheart, who was sitting beside Prince Rutherford. "Little Strongheart, what do you see in that photo you’re holding?” He then looked at the photo. “I see a dark brown griff stealing a pouch full of bits from a kid,” he replied. “Exactly. It’s their greed. Because of it, they don’t even care about upgrading their society, and just let time pass and let the kingdom fall by itself. This is why I appointed Gilda as Griffonstone’s new ambassador in the first place, to make Griffonstone a better place for its future generations to come. Now you’re all here, it’s our job to help other individuals in need, and to build a better society for all of us. And right now, I was planning that we would have one team to help provide the high-quality materials for the construction. With many of them, they will help with the process.” “Yak could easily smash bad buildings,” Rutherford spoke. “Yes, we know that Prince Rutherford, but getting the right materials would be another story.” “The minotaur village has plenty of trees we use for wood,” Iron Will spoke. “We’ll ship those logs for you.” “That’ll be perfect.” She then faced towards Ember and Thorax, who are sitting beside each other. “Thorax, Ember, do you think the changelings or dragons could help with the development?” “I think our strength on moving giant boulders and breaking walls will be more than enough,” Ember said. “Plus, if there are any accidents, we should be fine.” “Changelings might be as tough as well, but we’re still versatile,” Thorax added. “They’ve been experiencing great reforms ever since I became their leader, so they’ll be happy to help the griffons as well on reformation.” He then turned to Gilda, who’s beside him. “Gilda, any input?” The changeling king looked over the griffon beside him, who looked to have her head in the clouds. “Gilda?” He tapped the griffon’s shoulder, startling her a bit. “Huh? What?” she asked, going back to her senses. “I’m sorry, what’d you say?” “I said any input about the reconstruction of Griffonstone?” “Well... Someone’s gotta be in charge once the place is rebuilt. Once there wasn’t a king anymore, the place fell into ruin.” “That’s true,” Novo commented. “Someone has to make sure that the place doesn’t fall downhill again.” “I don’t think there’s any royal blood left in that though. That’ll be harder for me to search for one griffon to be appropriate for the job.” “But that didn’t stop Thorax from taking the throne,” Spike noted. “Yeah, he’s right,” Thorax commented. “If there’s a griffon who’s responsible enough to be in charge of the new Griffonstone, it should be a much stabler society.” “Hmm, Gilda, do you know any griffon that would likely be responsible enough?” Queen Novo asked. “Only Gabby and Greta. And they’ve got the work that’ll keep them busy. Not to mention, I’m busy here and with my bakery.” “Understandable. Hopefully, another one will show up to take care.” “It would change,” Autumn Blaze commented. “I mean, I’m not in charge of the kirins but I’m the ambassador.” “You’re right, Autumn” Twilight commented. The conversation carried on with Gilda being very silent through all of it. Thorax noticed that something was wrong as he tasted something bitter. Eventually, the conference was over and the ambassadors walked out of the room. “Iron Will wants to see dragon strength,” the minotaur said. “So does yak,” Rutherford agreed. “Maybe we would have an arm-wrestling contest sometime,” Ember chuckled. While they were chatting about their strength, Thorax walked beside Gilda. “Is there something wrong?” he asked her, feeling concerned. Gilda then turned to face him. “What are you talking about?” Gilda questioned. “I can’t taste your confused emotions. I can’t even put my hoof on it. Can you help me explain what’s wrong?” Gilda looked towards the other creatures before she pulled Thorax down the hall away from them. Once they were around the corner, Gilda explained the problem quietly to prevent anyone from hearing. “Okay, a few days ago, I got a letter, or a slab to be precise, from Garble, and I visited the Dragon Lands so we could hang out and I noticed that he probably has a crush on me. Now, get this, my friend, Greta, also seemed to have a crush on me from what Gabby has heard.” “Oh. ...Oh dear.” “Yeah, I know. Now I’m stuck between a dragon who’s been in the same boat as me or the griffon that was with me through one of the worst homes in Equestria. If I chose one over the other, somebody’s… going to be upset. What do I do?” “Um... I’m honestly stumped here. I don’t have any experience with love triangles.” “Well, I have to get some help. If I don’t fix this, they’re going to find out and it’ll be a huge disaster.” “Okay, don’t panic. We’ll try and figure out what we can do. Maybe we need some more input.” Thorax peeked around the corner to see Ember and Iron Will in the middle of an arm-wrestling contest. “Let’s just give her a minute.” After her little match, Ember was taken away from the rest of the ambassadors and was told about Gilda’s situation. “Wait. They both have a crush on you?” the Dragon Lord questioned. “That’s what it seems like it,” Gilda spoke. “I have no clue what I’m going to do.” “Okay. I’m not the best at romance, but I can keep an eye on Garble.” “You sure about that?” Thorax asked. “Well, what else can we do without telling them? I mean, it’s probably too late to ask anybody else.” “I’m starting to regret telling you about this,” Gilda sighed. “Gilda, are you saying that you want us to forget about this?” Thorax asked. “I don’t know. It’s just…” she grunted. “So confusing to me.” “Okay, I’ll keep an eye on Garble if you want,” Ember said. “Fine. Just... Just don’t tell him about my problem.” “Got it.” The ambassadors soon started leaving for home. Most of them, especially Gilda, took the train, while Thorax and Ember flew home. Along the way, they both talked about Gilda’s situation. “So, have you ever witnessed dragons with the same kind of problem?” the changeling king asked. “Only a few,” the Dragon Lord answered. “Though, all of them ended with the two who had crushes on the target got into a fight. Boulders smashed, other dragons injured, it’s what you’d expect.” “Yeah, we can’t let that happen. Not just because of the violence, but Garble probably has Greta outclassed.” “Most likely. It definitely won’t be pretty.” “Still, we can’t do anything about this.” Ember quickly brought her boyfriend to a stop. “Even if we do something it’s going to be a lose-lose situation. If she chooses Garble over her, Greta’s going to resent her which will be bad since they live in the same place. If she chooses Greta over him, well he’s going to slip back the slippery slope and probably become a bully again.” “Man, I feel so bad for Gilda. She’s going to upset someone no matter how hard she does it.” Ember brought her claw to her chin while she thought of an idea. “How about we give her a practice course.” “Excuse me?” “You can just change into either Garble and Greta so Gilda can practice telling them what’s going on so she won’t struggle as much.” “That... Doesn’t sound like it’ll make things easier.” “Well, hey, she can’t ignore forever. She can either address the problem as soon as possible or wait until this erupts into a fight where Greta gets slaughtered.” “...You make a good point there. Go home and keep an eye on Garble and I’ll go to Griffonstone and see what Greta’s like. “Right, I’ll just explain to the other changelings that I have a friendship problem to help with.” Ember gave a thumbs up and the two resumed their flights home. The train arrived at the platform, Gilda got out and walked away from the train station as she looked towards the tree with many crummy buildings on it. She sighed as she walked past some gambling griffons and into the comfort of her bakery. Greta was inside sweeping the floor as she saw her friend lingering in. “Hey, Gilda, how was the meeting?” Greta asked. Gilda looked at her friend and did her best to keep up a smile. “Pretty well,” she told. “There were some new faces there. Iron Will the minotaur, Autumn Blaze the kirin, and Little Strongheart the buffalo. Honestly, I wish I could get to know them longer.” “The sound nice. Is this Iron Will a wrestler or something?” “Probably. I mean he did challenge Ember to an arm-wrestling contest.” “Is Ember the dragon?” “Yeah, the dragon lord.” “You know, I was kind of jealous that Gabby got to go with you at the gala last time. I would’ve loved to see those creatures. I mean, I’ve heard about hippogriffs from Gabby, but I still haven’t seen one. How different are they from griffons?” “They’ve got hooves where there should be paws. I can provide a photo if you want.” “That would be great. Anyways, nothing too exciting happened while you were gone.” As they had their conversation, a certain changeling landed nearby and changed into a griffon. The griffon had dark green fur and feather with some orange highlights on his crest. There were also purple highlights on his wings and tail. He took a look around his surroundings and it was bad as the photos had looked. “No wonder why they’re so miserable here,” he muttered to himself. He passed by a few gambling griffons, who gave him a few threatening looks. This motivated him to move a little faster and run into a bakery. Gilda and Greta were surprised to see him. “Um, hi there,” Greta said. “I’ve... never seen such a colorful griffon like you.” Gilda took a good look at the colorful griffon and started to figure out who it was. “I think I know this guy,” she spoke, “Greta, could you give us a minute alone? He’s a little nervous around other creatures.” “...If you say so.” Greta left the building as the strange-looking griffon looked towards Gilda, who seemed a little annoyed. “Come on. Drop the look.” The colorful griffon gave a cheesy grin before it had a flash surrounding him and showing his true changeling form. “What the heck are you doing here, Thorax?” “I was trying to find a way to help with your issue,” the changeling king explained. “How?” “Simple, Ember thought I could pretend to be Garble or Greta.” “Well, that’s kind of a good idea, except I don’t know who I’m going to date!” “...yeah, I didn’t think this plan was going to work that well. Look, I’m already here and I want to help you with this problem. I can ask Greta what she’s like and how she’s feeling about you.” “Uh-huh. You know you could also put your hoof into a bear’s mouth.” “You sure you want me to help or not?” “I mean if you’re going to make things worse, probably not.” “If I leave now, you might have some trouble in the long run,” Thorax said in almost a rigid. Gilda held up her talon as she paused thinking what to say next. “Okay, fine. You can talk with Greta and get to know her better for our practice. However, if this crashes and burns, I’m blaming you.” “Noted.” Thorax changed back into his griffon form and walked outside to see where Greta went. Griffonstone’s ambassador still had a sinking feeling that things weren’t going to end well. Back in the Dragon Lands, Ember was scanning the area from a cliff edge. She could see Garble hanging out with his gang in a nice pool of lava. “So, Clump,” Garble said, “Why did you think that draining lava out of the underground rivers was a good idea?” “Hey, I wasn’t getting hot enough,” the big drake stated. "Of course you weren't." Garble looked over to Spear, who still looked to be in a sulk. "Spear, are you seriously still upset over Prominence?" "You don't get it, man," Spear stated. He dipped his head into the pool of lava. A few bubbles forming from the air coming from his sigh. "I have a feeling he's going to know what it's like," Ember muttered to herself. “I better do something.” She was about to fly down to talk with them until a purple dragoness landed next to her. "Hey, Ember," the dragoness said. "Prominence? What are you doing here?" "Ballista was wanting me to help find some other girls so we could hang out. Wanna join?" Ember looked back down at Garble and his gang before looking back at the dragoness. She thought for a moment. "Okay, fine. Just please don't get carried away." "No promises." The two girls flew away as the Dragon Lord kept thinking about her friend's predicament. They met up with Ballista, a pink dragon who possessed a very long tail. She was with a few dragons, chatting when they saw Prominence and Ember show up. "There you are," the long-tailed dragoness said. "Whoa, you got Dragon Lord Ember to join us?" "Yeah," Ember responded, "Now, why were you trying to call me here." "We were just looking for a nice girl hangout." "Uh-huh. And what do you plan on talking about?" "Oh, just getting great jewelry, talking about our dates..." "Figures." Ember wasn't the girly type. Even a girl was still pretty aggressive compared to other creatures like ponies. Though, this did give her an idea. This would be a good chance to get some more information on how she could help Gilda. "Okay, I'll give it a shot." "Great," Prominence said. "I'm not up for the lovey-dovey stuff either." That helped make Ember feel a little bit better. She and Prominence were tossed fancy looing bracelets as they looked over to an excited Ballista. The two tomboyish dragons looked at each other and both sucked up their pride for what was going to happen. Back in Griffonstone, Greta was looking at the remains of the library as a disguised Thorax walked over to her. "Um... Hey," the changeling disguised as a griffon. "Is this the library?" "Yeah," Greta said. "I honestly wish this place was in better condition. Could've had more nice stuff to read." “I’m sure they would’ve had a lot of great books.” “Yeah, I’d like to have something interesting. Anyways, what’s your name?” Thorax thought for a moment before coming up with his name. “I’m George. I don’t remember being born here.” “Lucky you. Growing up here is a punishment I wouldn’t throw on my worst enemies. I honestly wish I could move away from here but Gilda’s the only reason I stay.” “Why’s that?” Greta took a deep breath before she sat down and explained. “I was planning on getting out of here but then Gilda offered a scone to me, it made me feel like this place isn’t all bad.” “So... You two have been friends ever since, right.” “Of course. Still, I think it’s been more than that to me. We’ve moved in with each other and dirtying that... Well, my feelings towards her kept developing. I think I might be in love with her.” “I know that feeling. I have a pretty tough girlfriend. She’s not one for emotions but we’re getting there. Especially… after our first kiss.” “Good for you. I’m not sure if Gilda would accept a date. I’m not even sure she’s into girls.” “Uhh… Yeah, I bet that’s pretty hard. You never know until you try.” George kept up a smile which was a little harder for Greta to do. “I guess you have more experience than me. I’ll... I’ll tell her. Thanks, George. I honestly wish more griffons were like you and Gabby.” “I heard that’s what the School of Friendship is for.” Greta was starting to feel better now. “Anyways, wanna help me with the library’s tarp?” “There’s a tarp to this place?” “Yes, there is, it helps keep the books dry.” George was a little puzzled but still helped the griffon to make sure the books didn’t get into a worse condition. Back in the Dragon Lands, Ballista and the girls had gathered plenty of gemstones and gold to lie on. Not to mention plenty of jewelry for them to wear. Ember was wearing some rings on her horns while Prominence had on a nice-looking necklace on her neck. “Gotta say, she has done a good job with her hoard hunting,” Prominence commented. “I’m honestly shocked that she isn’t as big as my dad,” Ember added. “I guess some dragons can handle their greed better than others. Anyways, what are you doing looking at Spear and his friends?” “Oh, well... A friend of mine was asking me for some dating advice. Honestly, I wouldn’t say I would be the best creature for that kind of advice.” “Yeah, me neither. I honestly didn’t think it would work out with Spear.” “Why would you say that?” “Well, when it’s just the two of us, he’s too lazy for me. His lack of interests kind of made him boring to me.” “Couldn’t you just try and get him into other things. He didn’t want to change so I tried looking for somebody else.” “I know that dragons aren’t the best with emotions, but that’s just cold.” “I gave him a chance, but he didn’t want to give anything other than sleeping and slouching and eating and sleeping a chance, so I looked for someone else.” Ember thought about this statement and she knew it was probably was something that Gilda nor her crushes should do. “Did you find any other dragon that would be right for you?” “Not yet. I’ve tried to go for Barry, but I think he’s taken.” “Well... How about one of Spear’s friends?” “Eh, it’s too soon. I think I’m just staying single for now.” A curious Ballista overheard the two having their conversation. She flew over and asked them a question. “What are you talking about?” she asked. “Just about relationship advice,” Ember muttered. This statement made the long-tailed dragoness squeal delightedly. “Perfect! Did you know that Baff asked me out?” “I didn’t,” Prominence admitted. “What did you say?” “Yes, of course. I think we were both made for each other. He’s so smart and I love how resourceful he is. Have you ever tried mixing gemstones?” “...I don’t remember doing that, no,” Ember answered. “You got to try it. Just be careful when your mixing three together. We’ve tried adding a bunch of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds together. That’s when we made sure to measure.” Ballista gagged a little bit to inform about the bitter taste. Ember, who was curious followed her fellow dragoness to get some gems. Prominence meanwhile started to get a sinking feeling about something she did. Gilda was sitting behind her bakery counter. Since she had expanded her variety business had been booming. She was finally able to give out the last order for the one griffon that remained. Once he left Gilda wiped her sweaty brow. She heard the door open and she groaned in frustration. “Sir, could you give me five minutes to...”. She quickly paused when she a green griffon standing in the doorway. “Oh, it’s you.” “You look a little stressed,” George said. “I’ve spent a bit of time with Greta, and it’s true, she’s in love with you.” “Perfect.” “Don’t worry, we can still practice. Look, just pretend I’m Greta.” The disguised changeling had a flash surround him and his form was now an exact replica of Greta. “Go ahead,” he spoke in the griffon’s voice, “Try it out.” Gilda took a deep breath before she stepped in front of the fake Greta. “Go ahead.” Thorax cleared his throat and started acting. “Gilda, there’s something that I’ve been hiding for a long time. I love you.” The fake griffon gave a big smile with sparkles in her eyes. She held Gilda’s talon which went into a hug. Gilda began blushing and began to fumble over her own words. Thorax released the hug and dropped the smile. “Too much?” “Pr... Probably.” “Okay, let’s try again.” Thorax tried acting like Greta again, this time keeping her grounded. “Look, Gilda... I...” He rubbed his arm while blushing. “I think I might be in love with you.” “You... You do?” “Yeah. I mean... We’ve moved in with each other and... Ever since you’ve shown some kindness to me, it just happened.” “Really?” “Uh-huh. I know that we’re girls but... I was hoping that... Maybe we could go on a date.” Gilda didn’t respond. She just seemed to get a thousand-yard stare while her beak moved with bits of gibberish coming out. “Gilda?” “I... I... Ugh... I can’t do this.” She ran forward pushing the fake griffon to the side and out the door. Thorax changed into his original griffon form and followed his upset friend. “Gilda, let’s just try again.” “No, Thorax, I can’t do this. If I say yes to Greta, I’m going to break Garble’s heart. However, the opposite would happen if I went with Garble. I can’t win this!” She sat down and brought her claws to her face which muffled her groans of frustration. Thorax sat beside her and placed his talon on her shoulder. “Listen, I understand your frustration. It’s not doing wonders on my stomach right now.” “You’ve got to explain how that works when this is over.” “Right. I know things are hard right now, but if you never tell one of them you’ll feel like this forever.” Gilda looked at the disguised changeling who gave a supporting smile. “You’re right. It’s never easy, but I’ve got to do it. I just need to figure out who I tell.” Ballista had found some wine glasses to add some drinks and gem dust into them. Ember would be happy for a drink as she took a look towards Prominence, who was looking down at her feet. “Something bothering you, Prominence?” Ember questioned. The dragon jumped a little when she heard the Dragon Lord speak. “I’m fine,” she responded quickly. “You... Want to be the first to try that gem wine?” “Later. If there’s anything I’ve learned from my boyfriend when you talk like that, something’s wrong.” Prominence growled. “Does he know when not to get into someone’s business?” “Only when it’s bringing themselves down. You feel guilty for dumping Spear?” “It’s not dumping him if we didn’t start dating.” “So, trying to get him into other hobbies doesn’t count?” “Shut up!” “That’s not the way you should talk to the Dragon Lord.” Ember grinned with a bit of sass which only annoyed the dragoness more. “I should’ve known you’d do something like this. Listen, Spear was a cool guy but I couldn’t stand just lying around not doing anything. I needed action or at least something new.” “I get that. Th... Bismuth isn’t like most dragons. He’s a little nervous but he knew a lot about arts and crafts and how to make sushi. It’s a nice treat that you should try.” “Sure. What does this have to do with Spear?” “We’ve had a similar struggle to the point where we had to have Smolder and her friend get involved. I think his name was Sandbar, and they were told to do it by Twilight’s map... It’s too complex for me.” “Uh-huh. What are you trying to say with this?” “I’m saying, just quitting on Spear isn’t going to help either of you. Smolder said we’re practically just running from our problem by ignoring them. I think you should probably talk to Spear while you have the chance. Like... Right now.” “...Right.” The two got rid of their jewelry and explained what they were doing to Ballista, who understood the situation. The two flew off to find Spear and his group. They weren’t sitting in the lava pool now so they kept looking around until they found them sitting by the river. The boys looked to be fishing. “So, how long have you been like this?” Garble questioned. “I don’t know,” Fizzle admitted. “I had no idea it was like that.” “Have you been eyeing anyone?” Baff asked. Fizzle held his hands as he didn’t quite know how to respond to this. “Hey, Garble, do you have a minute?” Ember questioned. The drakes looked over to see the Dragon Lord and Prominence land and walked over to them. “What do you want?” Garble asked. “We were wondering if we could talk with Spear. Or Prominence wants to.” The said dragoness tried to look away from her embarrassment. “Is this because of the breakup?” “...Well,” Prominence spoke, “That’s...” “Entirely true,” Ember finished. The dragoness growled at the Dragon Lord. “Where is he?” Garble pointed over to the river where Spear and Clump were swimming around, struggling to get a grip on some of the fish. Fortunately, they managed to toss them onto the ground beside the dragons that were on land. “Told you,” Spear spoke. He and Clump quickly swam out of the water, shivering a bit from the colder wind hitting them. “Okay, is this good?” Clump questioned. “I think so,” Garble commented. “Good, because I’m going back to the lava pools.” With that, Clump flew off to get himself warm again. Spear looked up at the girls and could see Prominence. “Oh... It’s you,” he said with little care. “Why did you make me do this?” Prominence questioned the Dragon Lord. “Now or never,” Ember reminded. The purple dragoness clenched her claws and swallowed her pride. “Okay, Spear, I know that dumping you was probably a bad idea.” She stopped leaving the dragons a little confused. “And...?” “Ugh, and I probably should’ve tried harder with our relationship. I didn’t have the patience and it was bad for both of us.” “...Yeah, about that,” Spear spoke, “I think I’m good with us breaking up.” “You what?” both girls questioned. “We got him to talk about the situation,” Garble explained. “Yeah, he’s over it,” Baff added. “Took him long enough.” “So, you’re not going to date her again?” Ember questioned. “It would probably be a bad idea. If you try the same thing twice and get the same result expecting it to be different, you’re insane.” “Hey, I said I was going to change!” Prominence stated. “Does that mean you’re going to change?” “Okay, stop now!” Ember ordered. “Dragon Lord, I think it’s best if they don’t start dating again,” Garble commented. “Just... Shut up and let me think.” Ember held her head and groaned. “Okay, Spear, how do you feel about this situation?” “I feel like I should take my friends’ advice and play it safe,” the purple and blonde drake spoke. “I think that’s a smart move,” Baff commented. “Well, you know what... Fine!” Prominence growled. Before anyone could say anything else, the dragoness flew off in a huff. “Welp, I tried,” Ember sighed. “No sane creature would blame you,” Garble said. “Anyways, Fizz, are you saying...?” The rest of the drake’s conversation would be just white noise to Ember as she began thinking how this would be like Gilda’s situation. Either Garble or Greta would be just like Prominence; unable to accept that the one they desired didn’t want to be with them. “Um, Dragon Lord Ember?” Fizzle asked. This snapped Ember back to reality and looked back at Garble’s gang. “You okay?” “Just... felt frustrated that I wasn’t able to help Prominence.” “You tried,” Garble said. “You want to stay and fish with us?” “Uuuuuuhh, no, I think... I have to take care of something.” Ember quickly took off leaving some confused dragons behind. The Dragon Lord flew as fast as she could making a beeline for Griffonstone. When the Dragon Lord could see Griffonstone insight. It looked just as bad as the pictures described. She landed at the village entrance and then walked down the path. “Gilda?” she called. Many griffons looked towards the dragoness and most of them were afraid and hid from her sight. On them was brave enough to throw a rock at Ember. It felt more like a tap when it hit her and when she looked to see who threw it. The griffon quickly flew in the process. “Ember?” questioned a voice. The Dragon Lord looked over to see Gilda and disguised Thorax walking towards her. “Oh, good. Finding you was easier than I thought.” She looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to them before they went into Gilda’s bakery, hid in the backroom, and Thorax dropped his disguise. “So, what did you find out?” “My chances of hurting both of them are way up there,” Gilda said. “But we are getting better for preparing her,” Thorax noted. “Right,” Ember said. “I saw a dragon that was in a similar situation to this. She dumped someone and he refused to take her back and now I think she’s upset right now.” “Well, that’s how either one of them is going to feel,” Gilda groaned. “It’s not going to be that bad,” Thorax said. “Within some time, they’ll get over it.” “Uh-huh, good luck with that,” Ember commented. “Anyways, I was too busy to get any information out of Garble.” “Don’t worry, I think I managed to know enough about him to get him as accurate as I can. So, Gilda, how do you want to do this?” The griffon took a deep breath before she attempted to speak before someone outside screamed. “It’s another one!” another cried. The three creatures ran towards the bakery window to find that Garble had landed in Griffonstone and wasn’t given a warm welcome. Gilda was alarmed. “What is he doing here?!” she questioned as she stared daggers at Ember who was quick to defend herself. “Don’t look at me,” she uttered, “I was just flying over here solo.” “We should probably talk to him before something bad happens,” Thorax spoke. The other two agreed to this and ran out of the bakery. Garble saw them run over to him and they scared off the rest of the griffons. “Ember,” he gasped, “The guys were wondering where you were going. They told me to follow you.” “Tell them to mind their business next time,” the dragoness ordered. She crossed her arms as the drake looked towards Gilda, who was trying to hide behind Thorax. “Gilda, is this seriously where you live?” “...Sadly yes,” the griffon responded. “Did you... Have an easy time flying in here?” “Not really. I was honestly wanting to turn back but one of my friends is going through an embarrassing thing he’s having trouble admitting.” As Garble explained his reasons for what he did, Greta saw the uninvited guest. “So, Gilda,” she called, “Is this Garble?” Gilda froze as her roommate flew over to join in the conversation. “Um... Yes,” the drake said. “Who are you?” “I’m Greta. Has she told you about me?” “I don’t think she has.” “Really? Because she’s mentioned you a couple of times.” “Ember, stop this, please,” Gilda begged. “On it,” the dragon lord said. She was about to step in before Greta blocked her with her wing. “Stay out of this,” the griffon ordered. “Wha... I’m the Dragon Lord… You…” “Have control over dragons, now shut your mouth,” Ember growled as smoke was starting to rise from her nostrils. Thorax quickly pulled her back before she tossed some fuel on the fire. “Listen, Garble, Gilda and I have been with each other much longer than you have.” “What are you implying?” Garble questioned. “I’m saying that do not get any ideas.” “Ideas?” Garble was starting to piece things together but he wanted to know what Greta was implying. “I’m saying just because you went to a special party doesn’t mean you can take her away from me.” “Are you saying you two were dating?” Thorax managed to get Ember to calm down before he spoke up. “Gilda, I think now would be a good time to...” He stopped when he noticed that the griffon had vanished. “Where’d she go?” “Where ever she is, I’m getting involved,” Ember proclaimed. She walked back to the arguing creatures with Greta trying to block her with her wing only to have the Dragon Lord force it back into a folded position. “Look, I’m stopping this argument right now.” “What would you even know?” Greta questioned. “Because Gilda knows how both of you are feeling. She’s in a bad place and neither one of you is helping.” “What?” both creatures questioned. “Has she been dating you?” Greta questioned Garble. “Well, I wouldn’t blame her,” Garble responded. “This place is a dump. The dragon lands aren’t normally for a creature that isn’t for ones that aren’t born there, but it’s probably a luxury to her compared to this.” “Hey! We’ve been through the crud this place has to offer! She’s been there how often, twice?” “Still, it’s practically heaven compared to this.” Ember groaned, “Would you two just...” “STAY OUT!!!” both creatures roared. Ember was shocked by this, she’d expected that Greta wouldn’t know about her authority, but Garble didn’t even hesitate. The griffon and drake continued with their argument before Garble turned around and slapped Greta with his tail, it was unclear if this was intentional or not. When he flew off, Greta wasn’t having it. “Get back here!” she ordered. The griffon quickly took off after the drake to finish their business, leaving the dragon lord and changeling by themselves. “I think... We might’ve made things worse,” Thorax muttered. “Yeah, I can’t defend myself from this,” Ember agreed.