A flying carriage and several Royal Pegasus Guards flew across the border between Equestria and the Dragon Lands. On board the carriage were Spike and Twilight. They had important business to discuss with Dragon Lord Ember.
The Pegasi Guards flying as their escort were Flash Sentry and Flash Magnus. One was a tad more excited about their destination than the other.
"Would you believe this is my first time going outside of Equestria?" Flash Sentry asked his distant ancestor.
"I can believe it. This present time is just full of surprises." Magnus admitted. "A thousand years ago, dragons were to be avoided at all costs, and now here we are, escorting the Princess to a diplomatic meeting with the Dragon Lord. How things change..."
"I can see how this might be a little weird for you." Flash Sentry noted. "I mean, you did once take on two dragons to save your pals in the Royal Legion."
"That was quite an adventure." Flash Magnus smiled nostalgically. "Dragons were pretty territorial back then, so it's good to know that ponies can now venture into their territory without fear of being snatched up, like my old friends were."
"From what I've heard, we have the Princess' little advisor to thank for that." Flash Sentry declared. "Spike was the one who took the first steps in reaching out to Dragon Lord Ember."
"Is that a fact?" Flash Magnus smiled. "Guess that little dragon must've made a big difference..."
"And how." Flash Sentry grinned. "If it weren't for him, we wouldn't even be going where we're going..."
"And certainly not with such nonchalance." Flash Magnus chuckled. "I certainly feel a lot calmer than I did the last time I was flying toward dragons."
"Then why bring Netitus along?" Flash Sentry asked, indicating his ancestor's legendary fireproof shield. "To accessorize with?"
"Maybe because of all the volcanoes and lava flows?" Flash Magnus countered, slightly irritated by the implications of his ancestor's words. "If there's an eruption, I'd like to have something on hoof that can protect me and others."
"Makes sense." Flash Sentry shrugged. "We are Princess Twilight's escorts, after all." He cast a glance at the royal carriage. "The last thing we want is for the Princess to get hurt on out watch..."
"Exactly." Flash Magnus nodded. "One thing the Royal Legion taught its soldiers was to be prepared. That's a lesson everypony can live by."
"And here I thought it was just the Colt Scouts that taught ponies that..." Flash Sentry joked to himself.
Meanwhile, in the shadow of a large, rocky plateau (which usually served as a makeshift throne for a full-grown Dragon Lord) Ember was preparing to receive her guests. Carrying the Bloodstone Sceptre in one claw, she was arranging some stacks of hay and flowers (which she had personally gathered from just beyond the border) for her guests to enjoy, right next to a pile of gleaming gems.
"There we go." She smiled. "A fine feast for all, pony and dragon alike."
Driven by a sudden burst of curiosity, she placed a blossom in her mouth... And immediately spat it out.
"Bleh!" She gagged. "Yuck. Don't really see the appeal..."
A group of juvenile dragons suddenly flew over to her.
"Dragon Lord Ember!" A tall indigo dragon called out, joined by a short dark green dragon, and a female red dragon. "These guys stole our lava pool!"
"Well these guys stole our gems!" A bulky gray dragon, leading an thin orange dragon and a purple female, countered.
"We found them first!" The red female scowled.
"Did not!" The orange dragon spat.
"Did too!" The green dragon snarled.
"Enough!" Ember snarled. "Look, I really don't have time for this right now. So I'm just going to tell you that you are to share the lava pool, and the gems. That's a direct order from the Dragon Lord, understand?"
"...Yes, Dragon Lord Ember..." The dragons chorused humbly.
"Good." Ember smiled. "Now off you go. Have fun, and don't any of you steal again."
Casting some glares at each other, the two dragon groups flew off in the direction they arrived in.
"Not my best work, but it'll have to do." Ember shrugged. "Now I can focus my attention on-"
"Can't an old dragon get some sleep around here?" A deep, booming voice suddenly rang out.
What the casual observer would have mistaken for a small mountain range began to shift. A large part of it raised upward and tilted around, revealing the face of Ember's father, the former Dragon Lord Torch.
"Oh, hey, dad." Ember smiled. "I thought this place looked a little different today. Enjoying your retirement?"
"I was, right up until my nap was interrupted." Torch growled in his deep, echoing voice.
"Sorry, but I can't help it if some rowdy young dragons fly over asking me to settle a dispute." Ember shrugged.
"I've been there..." Torch admitted. He glanced at the refreshments nearby, his keen vision easily identifying them. "What's with the plants? Are you taking up gardening?"
"Just preparing for some diplomatic relations." Ember replied.
"Come again?" Torch tilted his head in confusion, as if Ember were speaking in a foreign language.
"Some pony delegates are due to arrive." Ember explained. "We're going to be discussing some important matters, like where to put down the lines for the new train route from Equestria."
"Hrrr." Torch growled dismissively. "Back when I was Dragon Lord, I didn't waste time talking with ponies."
"It's not a waste of time." Ember glared at her father.
"Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against ponies." Torch defended himself. "They're just so small, and insignificant. I never felt it was necessary as Dragon Lord to spend time conversing with the little creatures."
"Well I'm the Dragon Lord now." Ember reminded him. "And I say it's completely necessary."
"And the Dragon Lord's word is law." Torch nodded. "So who am I to argue?"
"Trust me, dad." Ember assured him. "This is going to help us in the long run. I know that working with ponies and other creatures can seem a little strange at first, but I also know firstclaw that there's a lot we can learn from them." She smiled. "Maybe you should stick around for the proceedings. You might just learn a little something yourself."
"Is that an order from the Dragon Lord?" Torch asked.
"No, it's a request from your daughter." Ember clarified. "What do you say?"
"Okay, fine." Torch grumbled. "But don't be surprised if I end up drifting back to sleep..."
"Thanks, dad." Ember grinned gratefully.
Not long after, the Guardsponies touched down in the rocky terrain, joined seconds later by the royal carriage.
"Here we are." Twilight declared as she disembarked. "Back in the Dragon Lands."
"Just the way it always is." Spike noted. "Craggy terrain, sulphur in the air... Good to see some places never change..."
"Is it always this hot?" Flash Sentry asked uncomfortably. "Suddenly, wearing metal doesn't seem like the best fashion statement..."
"You get used to it." Twilight assured him.
"Where to now, your highness?" Flash Magnus asked.
"We're supposed to be meeting Ember on that plateau over there." Twilight answered, pointing to the spot, not too far away.
"Then let's get moving." Flash Sentry nodded, eager not to spend more time than was needed in the stifling environment. "Mind if I take off my helmet, Princess?"
"Feel free." Twilight nodded.
Flash Sentry removed his helmet, and ran his hoof through his ruffled mane.
"...No time to waste." Twilight remarked, hiding a light blush. "It won't do to keep the Dragon Lord waiting..."
The delegate group made their way to the plateau.
"Hey, Spike!" Ember greeted them. "Princess Twilight!"
"Great to see you again, Ember." Spike hugged her.
"Always a pleasure." Twilight smiled.
"And who are these guys?" Ember took note of the Guardsponies.
"These are our escorts." Twilight declared. "Dagger and Gauntlet..." She indicated the two who had pulled the carriage.
"Ma'am." Dagger nodded.
"Good afternoon." Gauntlet said curtly.
"And this is Flash Magnus and Flash Sentry." Twilight indicated the remaining two.
"Hello, lady Ember." Flash Sentry said respectfully.
"It's an honor, your lordship." Flash Magnus added.
"Wait... you're both named 'Flash'?" Ember frowned.
"That's right." Flash Magnus confirmed.
"We're kinda related." Flash Sentry nodded.
"That totally won't make it harder to tell you two apart..." Ember muttered under her breath. "Now, before we get started, can I get any of you a nice pony snack? I gathered them myself."
"All that flying has made me hungry..." Flash Sentry admitted, helping himself to a blossom. "Mmm, not bad."
"I wouldn't know." Ember admitted.
"This was very kind of you, Ember." Twilight smiled as she chewed some hay.
"You ponies have done plenty for me, so I figured it was time to return the favor." Ember grinned. "Of course, I also got some gems ready for the dragon side of this meeting."
"And boy, am I glad you did." Spike chuckled as he helped himself to a big, shiny ruby. "Nice. What is this, twenty, thirty karats?"
"Forty. Only the best for my guests." Ember grinned, picking out an emerald for herself.
A series of tremors suddenly shook the ground.
"What's this?" Flash Sentry yelped. "An earthquake?"
"A volcanic eruption?" Flash Magnus lifted Netitus over his head in readiness.
"No." Ember said nonchalantly. "It's just my dad."
From behind the plateau, Torch emerged, having deigned to fetch some gems from his own hoard to eat during the delegations.
"That is one big dragon." Flash Sentry said redundantly.
"Honored pony guests, this is my father, the former Dragon Lord Torch." Ember smiled.
"A pleasure to meet you." Twlight said politely. In truth, she had seen Torch before, while she and Rarity were keeping an eye on Spike during the Gauntlet of Fire. And of course, their being in disguise at the time meant that Torch wouldn't have recognized her. "I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, ruler of Equestria."
"How nice for you." Torch said bluntly.
"Good to see you again, sir." Spike waved.
"Oh, it's you." Torch glanced at Spike. "Still the little guy, I see. But at least those wings have finally come in."
"That's right." Spike nodded. "Went through the moult a little while back."
"If you're lucky, you might get a growth spurt soon." Torch suggested. "Maybe then you can at least be able to these ponies in the eye without the wings."
"Gee, thanks." Spike pouted.
"Don't take it personally." Ember told Spike. "Small talk was never his strong suit."
"I guess he just focuses on the big stuff." Flash Sentry joked. "Huh? Huh?" He glanced around, hoping to hear some laughs from the others... and got nothing. "Never mind..."
"Okay, let's get down to business." Twilight declared.
"We can start with where to put down this new train line." Ember nodded. "It's got to go somewhere where there aren't any underground lava flows. Or worse, slingtail nests. Trust me, that can get ugly real fast."
"If I trust anycreature to know the lay of these lands, it's you." Twilight smiled. "Any other suggestions?"
"Oh, I've got a few..." Ember smiled.
As Ember and Twilight continued talking, Flash Sentry noticed that his ancestor had been unusually quiet for the last few moments. He turned to see why, and saw and that Flash Magnus was staring at Torch (who was currently helping himself to a clawful of gems, barely acknowledging Twilight and Ember's discussion), an unnerved expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" The present Flash asked, drawing Spike's attention at the same time. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."
"In a way, I have." Flash Magnus said awkwardly. "You remember the story about how I earned my shield? How I and my team outsmarted two dragons?"
"Yes?" Flash Sentry nodded.
"Well, he was one of those dragons." Flash Magnus pointed to Torch.
"Whoa." Spike's jaw dropped.
"Are you absolutely sure?" Flash Sentry frowned.
"Completely." Flash Magnus nodded. "Trust me, when a dragon that size chases you, you're not likely to forget him in a hurry."
"But still, that was a long time ago." Flash Sentry countered.
"Dragons are pretty long-lived." Spike admitted. "So it's not that unlikely that Torch would be one of the dragons you faced all those years ago."
"One of the dragons I humiliated all those years ago." Flash Magnus amended. "If he recognizes me, it won't exactly do pony-dragon relations any favors."
"Maybe he doesn't remember?" Flash Sentry offered optimistically. "What happened back then is a lot fresher in your mind than his - for obvious reasons. Maybe after more than a thousand years, it's totally slipped his mind?"
"That is a possibility." Spike acknowledged. "I know if something like that happened to me, I'd prefer to just forget the whole thing."
"And since we really have no reason to give the guy any reminders, I suggest we just keep it to ourselves." Flash Sentry declared.
"Good thinking, Guardspony Sentry." Spike commended. "Twilight would approve."
"You think so?" Flash Sentry blushed lightly.
"Sure, why not?" Spike suppressed a smirk.
"So it's agreed." Flash Magnus nodded. "We don't bring up any old wounds, and just let Twilight and the Dragon Lord get their work done."
"Sounds like a plan." Spike agreed.
Just then, there was a roaring sound from up above. The gathering looked overhead, and saw two adult dragons (one silvery-scaled, another brown) indulging in a clash of some sort.
"Now what?" Torch shook his head.
"What are they fighting about?" Twilight asked.
"If I had to guess, I'd say territory." Ember sighed. "This happens a lot with the older dragons. They need a lot of space to themselves. And even the Dragon Lands don't have infinite space."
The silver dragon let loose a burst of scarlet flames at his foe. The brown dragon dodged, leaving the plume of fire to continue on its path downward - directly toward Dagger and Gauntlet.
"Look out!" Flash Magnus took flight, positioning himself just above the Guards, and held Netitus aloft.
The flames glanced off the fireproof shield and continued their path downward, scorching the nearby ground, but leaving the ponies untouched.
"That was close." Flash Magnus declared, lowering his shield. "You two okay?"
"We're fine, thanks to you." Dagger remarked.
"Yeah, thanks." Gauntlet added.
"Just doing my job." Flash Magnus said humbly.
"Nothing like seeing a legend in action." Flash Sentry remarked, awestruck.
"You can say that again." Spike agreed.
An incensed Ember flew upwards, confronting the two dragons.
"HEY!!" She yelled, catching their attention. "You almost toasted our guests! How do you think that would look for pony/dragon relations?"
"Sorry, Dragon Lord Ember." The silver dragon cringed.
"You'd better be." Ember glared. "Now take your dispute somewhere else!"
"Yes, Dragon Lord Ember." The orange dragon cringed.
The two dragons departed, and Ember returned to the others.
"Sorry about that." She apologized to Twilight.
"That's okay." Twilight said fairly. "No harm done."
The others failed to notice the odd look on Torch's face. His eye had been caught by the way Flash Magnus had used Netitus to shield his fellows from the accidental flame burst, setting mental gears in motion. And an old memory, long forgotten, suddenly burst into life.
"Wait..." He narrowed his eyes, glaring at Flash Magnus. "You!"
"Uh-oh..." Flash Magnus frowned, suspecting what had driven Torch's outburst.
"Him who?" Ember frowned. "Are you okay, dad?"
"No, I'm not." Torch growled. "Because I just realized I'm in the presence of a pony who inflicted one of my most embarrassing moments upon me!"
"Wait, what?" Spike gaped.
"What are you talking about?" Ember asked. She turned to Flash Magnus. "Do you know each other?"
"You could say that." Flash Magnus said bluntly.
"You could also say that this upstart had the nerve to trick me and another dragon into flying into the massive storm cloud his treacherous comrades set up!" Torch snarled. "All that lightning nearly roasted us alive!"
"I only did that because you had captured two of my friends, and I needed to save them." Flash Magnus retorted, standing firm in the enormous face of Torch's outrage.
"They brought it on themselves!" Torch spat. "You shouldn't have been in dragon territory in the first place!"
"And you shouldn't have grabbed my friends just for passing by!" Flash Magnus retorted.
"They had no right to be in the Dragon Lands!" Torch spat. "If they were too stupid to understand that, then that was their problem!"
"I thought you said you always thought ponies weren't worth your time?" Ember frowned at her father.
"As the Dragon Lord." Torch reminded her. "This was before I took the position."
"You still never said anything about encountering ponies before." Ember noted.
"Probably because he was too ashamed." Flash Magnus jeered, rankled by Torch insulting his former comrades' intelligence.
"What did you just say?" Torch snarled.
"You heard me." Flash Magnus sneered. "Too ashamed to admit you were outflown and outsmarted by a pony?"
"Don't you dare-!” Torch growled.
"Maybe the real reason you never dealt with ponies is because you were scared of getting humiliated again!" Flash Magnus smirked.
"Oh, jeez..." Spike cringed.
"Yikes." Flash Sentry winced.
"Magnus!" Twilight gasped.
"That's it!" Torch snarled, rearing up. "This has been a long time coming!"
"Bring it on!" Flash Magnus readied Netitus.
Before either of them could make a move, Twilight and Ember intervened.
"Stop, Magnus!" Twilight demanded. "That's an order!"
"...Yes, your highness." Flash Magnus grudgingly lowered his shield.
Torch was delighted by this development.
"Now I've got you..." He sneered.
"THAT'S ENOUGH, DAD!!" Ember roared, loudly enough that even Torch was unnerved. "I gave the order that no dragon is to attack a pony, remember? Or do you actually want to be banished?"
"But, but Ember..." Torch stuttered.
"I don't care what went down between you and this pony a thousand years ago." Ember glared at her father. "You know why? Because it's in the past. Here and now, things are different. And as Dragon Lord, I say that some old grudge will not be tolerated. Understand?"
"...Yes, Ember." Torch grumbled.
"Good." Ember nodded. "Now apologize to Mr. Sentry-"
"Magnus." Flash Magnus corrected her.
"-Mr. Magnus right now." Ember commanded.
"Sorry." Torch muttered, as quietly as somecreature with a voice that could be heard for miles could say.
"Apology accepted." Flash Magnus said smugly.
"Good." Ember smiled.
"And you apologize to Torch for the insults." Twilight told Flash Magnus.
"But your highness, he started it!" Flash Magnus protested.
"I think the Pillar of Courage should be brave enough to make peace." Flash Sentry teased his ancestor.
"My thoughts exactly." Twilight nodded at Flash (inciting another blush). "Magnus?"
"Maybe I did go a little far with that 'scared of ponies' crack..." Flash Magnus admitted.
"That was a bit much, yeah..." Flash Sentry agreed.
"I apologize for what I said." Flash Magnus said reluctantly. "It was uncalled for."
Ember poked Torch with the Bloodstone Sceptre.
"I accept your apology." Torch said through gritted fangs.
"Wonderful." Twilight smiled. "This is what it's all about: ponies and dragons putting aside their differences and focusing on a better tomorrow."
"Speaking of which, I had an idea for scenic tours of the Dragon Lands." Ember grinned. "Maybe we can even arrange for some of those extreme sports some of you ponies go for?"
"That is a possibility." Twilight nodded. "I'll arrange for Rainbow Dash to give you some input on that. And you mentioned Slingtail trouble earlier? I can talk with Fluttershy about helping with that."
"That's be great." Ember smiled. "And I'd be happy to offer tickets for next year's Clawchella festival..."
As the two continued their discussion, Torch leaned back against the plateau, hoping for the day to end.
"I should've gone back to sleep..." He sighed.
At the same time, Flash Magnus was still pouting over his ordered apology.
"Look on the bright side." Flash Sentry teased his ancestor. "This still went better than your last trip to the Dragon Lands. And for my first trip, it went pretty well."
"I'm so happy for you." Flash Magnus rolled his eyes.
"At least you've got another story to tell about bravely standing up to a dragon." Flash Sentry chuckled. "Though the ending isn't as exciting. Not exactly campfire story material, is it?"
"Suddenly limbo doesn't seem so bad..." Flash Magnus sighed.