As the dragon began to snore, Kai and Nik huddled together. "What does a dragon like to eat?" asked Nik. "They don't exist where I'm from."
"I'm not well-versed in dragon diets," replied Kai. "Today is the first time I've ever spoken to one. I've always kept my distance from them for safety reasons. You've seen their teeth, their claws, and in case you weren't aware, they breathe fire."
Nik rolled his eyes. "I might have guessed. So, how do we go about this?"
Kai looked back to the sleeping dragon. "Judging by his teeth, I'd guess they're probably either carnivorous, or omnivorous with a preference for meat. Think wolf. Do you have wolves where you're from, Nik?"
"We do. Not local to where I was, but we did have coyotes."
"That's close enough," nodded Kai. "We need to think what one of those might eat, then adjust for the size of our recipient."
Nik took a deep breath. "I think that means we need to start by hunting something decently large. I would wager three salmon for his size."
Kai looked back. "That sounds about right, but this isn't exactly a place where we can find salmon. A deer, perhaps?"
Nik slowly nodded. I can butcher and cook a deer. I know how to do that much, at lea--"
Kai grabbed Nik by the collar and pulled him down to his eye level. "Not a word of this goes back to Fluttershy. Do I make myself clear?"
Nik smirked. "What's it worth to you?"
Kai's grip tightened. "She means the world to me. If you tell her anything about this, it will hurt her. She can ignore the fish, but deer are another story entirely. Do not tell her we killed a deer and then cooked it for a dragon."
"Okay," chuckled Nik. "But you owe me for this."
Kai let go of Nik and made his way to the rim of the crater, looking around for a heavily forested area nearby where he might find something. "I'll go find one and bring it back. I'll be quicker on my own. You stay nearby and find some herbs or something to season it." With a flap of his wings, he was coasting down the mountain at an absurd speed in comparison to the speed with which they'd ascended.
Nik took the time to look around. He'd had the opportunity to review safe herbs with Fluttershy and Twilight while they were all in the back of the cart, so he knew a few things about wild herbs. He was looking for one in particular: poor man's pepper. He wasn't great at identifying rocks, so he avoided trying to determine which ones might be salt, as they might be something else. Something dangerous. If he killed the dragon, there might be a chance that he couldn't ever earn that orb he needed. That would lead to him being stuck here in Equestria until he died. And considering he was being hunted, that day might come sooner than anticipated.
Kai came back two hours later with a dead buck. While Kai took a moment to rest, Nik borrowed a few of his knives to skin and carve up the deer. As he'd said, he was rather skilled with a blade. Being a line cook hadn't afforded him the best experience when it came to butchering, but it had given him some experience in taking animals apart. With very little thought, he could easily remove the meat from the bone and separate it into easy to cook and eat sections.
After chopping the herbs and rubbing them all over the meat, Nik just slapped it right onto the hot rocks. They were glowing red, so they were certainly hot enough to cook it all the way through. The meat immediately began to sizzle. There was a bit of concern in Nik's mind as to whether or not the fumes from this volcanic vent was going to keep the meat safe to eat, but then he thought back to what the dragon had said. If he had been afraid of the vent poisoning him, he might have told them as such. If it was hazardous to him, that might have been something to bring up along with his allergy to shellfish.
It took most of the day to cook up the dragon's meal. Just as Nik was arranging it on a large flat rock that had been sanitized in the fiery blaze, the dragon yawned and awoke from his nap. "What am I doing up here?" he asked groggily.
"You had us prepare you a meal," answered Kai. "To demonstrate our ability to command fire?"
"Oh, right," yawned the dragon. "For the orb, correct?"
"That's right," smiled Nick, presenting his spread. "We have cooked all of this for you, using volcanic heat from the vent."
Picking himself up, the dragon dragged himself over to the pile of cooked meat and picked up a brisket. "Looks good. Feels medium rare." He took a large bite. "Minimal seasoning, pretty much just salt and peppergrass. A little heavy on the salt, though."
Nik furrowed his brow. "I didn't have any salt."
The dragon pointed to the vent. "Those rocks are all salt deposits. It automatically adds to the flavour."
After having a good meal, the dragon was much more amenable. Reaching behind his back, he pulled out a small stone, completely clear save for a few orange markings on the inside. "Congratulations, boys, you now know how to harness fire or some such. Good luck on the rest of your quest, and don't come back." Patting them both on the shoulder and dropping the orb into Nik's hand, he flew off to enjoy the cool evening air.
"I suppose that means we're done here," said Kai, watching him disappear over the rim. "Come on, let's rejoin the others." It was growing darker, so Kai lit up his horn to ensure that they had enough light to see where they were going. It was well after sunset when they regrouped with the others.
Fluttershy immediately threw her arms around Kai's neck. "You're safe!" she cried out. After an awkward moment, she backed away sheepishly. "D-did you run int-to the dragon?"
"We did," smiled Nik, showing her the orb. "He gave us this. We're halfway done already."
"So what kind of trial did you have to go through?" asked Twilight.
Kai looked to Nik and then back to Twilight. "We had to show how well we understood how fire works. Since we both cook, it was easy."