//------------------------------//
// Episode 21: "I Fell Into a Burning Ring of Fire" 
// Story: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 13 
// by twilightsparkle3562 
//------------------------------//

…

…

In the confines of the dungeons of Vorak's castle, Lavan the Lava Demon sat with his arms held up in shackles. He had expressed defiance and was now suffering the consequences of his actions. His companion Zeb also sat in the same cell, forced to sit on his flank.

Just then, the sounds of hoofbeats echoed towards the dungeons and both Lava Creature and Zebra knew who those sounds belonged to. The shadow of an all too familiar demonic ram breached the bars and hung over the two prisoners.

"I trust you are enjoying the accommodations," Grogar remarked, activating his bell to produce a light that showed his angry scowl. "Traitors!"

"Why must you do this?" Lavan asked. "Tirek and Chrysalis were right, you...you are a monster!"

"Aren't you a monster as well?" Grogar questioned, leaning towards Lavan with his breath landing on the creature. "Spending time with those fools must have taken the animal out of you. Well, it doesn't matter. You were a fool to think you stood a chance against me," Grogar turned away from Lavan and turned his attention to Zeb for a brief moment. "Your replacements are going to carry out my plans for me while you rot for your treason."

"Why don't you leave us alone?" Zeb spoke up, glaring at Grogar. "We're your servants, aren't we?"

"Excuse me?!" Grogar asked the zebra, using his magic to pick Zeb up. "Who are you to tell me what to do?! I am the emperor here, you are just the underling. You are only fit to do as I tell you and nothing more."

Grogar then spat on Zeb, his spit landing in his face as he forced him back down on his flank.. "An emperor is respected for who he is," GHe continued. "Unlike you. And now I will show you what greatness you could have achieved had you not disobeyed me."

"Disobeyed you?" Lavan seethed, struggling against his chains. "You were planning to kill us all after you'd conquered Equestria! We were just disposable pawns for your little game!"

Angered, Grogar used his bell's powers to force Lavan into the air! Then he twisted his foreleg to force Lavan to turn around, bending his arms and causing Lavan to screech in pain!

"Leave him alone!" Zeb shouted!

Surprisingly, Grogar complied, releasing his grip on Lavan. "Yes, I'll leave you both alone," He mockingly taunted. "At least until I strip you of your lives from your pathetic bodies once Equestria and its allies are at my knees. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a conquest of the Dragon Lands to oversee. And hopefully the results will be in my favor."

Without saying another word, Grogar turned and left the two friends in their cells, slamming the door shut as he plunged them back into darkness.

"They were right, Lavan," Zeb sighed while lowering his head in shame. "Goat boy doesn't play by the rules."

"Of course he doesn't play by the rules," Lavan countered in a sharp voice. "After all you and I have been through, all I ever wanted for us to live a happy life together, Zeb. Is that too much to ask?"

"I wonder the same thing myself," Zeb sympathized. "Do you think that we…?"

"Yes, I would have given the dragons a chance to surrender, Zeb. Because you and I...are creatures of honor," Lavan commented. "Something that Grogar is not and never will be. And thanks to Tirek, Chrysalis and their charge, Cozy Glow, I now see the light! It may not be too late for us after all."

"Yeah, but how...how do we get out of here?" Zeb wondered.

…

...

"My emperor," Sombra spoke up as Grogar emerged from the dungeons. "Have you…?"

"Yes, I have shown those traitors what they should have done in the first place," Grogar bitterly answered. "Are their replacements in position, Sombra?"

Sombra nodded. "They are, along with our latest forces donning their new forms. Honestly, we should've just done this in the first place."

"Well, make sure they use their newfound gifts and aid our clone of Lavan! He must launch the attack at once!" Grogar sternly declared. "Have them bring me the dragon lord as a sign of their conquest! I will not tolerate failure!"

Hearing this, Sombra laughed in delight of Grogar's order as they entered the throne room. "As you command, my emperor."

Walking to the throne room, Sombra tapped into Grogar's crystal ball and, activating his horn, sent Grogar's instructions to the clones of Lavan and Zeb. "Your instructions on their way, my emperor. Everyone knows what to do and how it should be done."

"Good. Very good, Sombra," Grogar smiled. "Now let's wait for the moment that the dragons fall, and my clones do what Squirk failed to do!"

Sitting down on his throne, Grogar kept one eye on his crystal ball, hoping for the best in conquering the dragon lands for himself.

…

Back in the dragon lands, several dragons flew over their territory as they were keeping a lookout for any sign of Grogar's forces.

"All's quiet on the western front," Garble (who was leading the platoon) declared. "No sign of Grogar's forces in sight, yet."

"Yeah, what's the whole point of locking down the dragon lands to begin with?" A pink scaled female dragon remarked. "It's not like Grogar is going to do anything. If he was he would've made a move by now."

This caused Garble to turn around and face his equal with a disappointed look on his face. "You think he's going to just leave us alone?" He bitterly remarked. "I don't think so! The self-proclaimed Father of Monsters has already conducted attacks elsewhere. The dragon lands may be next. So shut up and keep patrolling. We need to be ready!"

"Whatever." The female dragon remarked with a snort.

Soon, the patrolling group came to the borders where all of the dragons were stationed and ready to defend the land at any moment.

"Everything is in place, Garble!" A dragon declared as he prepared a catapult of molten lava rocks. "Any intruders who come here will be sorry!"

"Let's give Grogar a run for his money!" Another dragon roared! "We'll show him we're not to be trifled with!"

Garble then led his platoon towards a high rock where Ember and her father Torch sat on a perch overlooking the army of dragons. Ember was clad in the same armor she'd worn when a;; the dragons had competed in the Gauntlet of Fire years ago.

"No sign of those dudes yet, Ember," Garble sighed as Ember removed her helmet. "Do you still want us to attack at the first sight of trouble?"

"Of course I do, Garble!" Ember snapped in a sharp voice, briefly spooking Garble. Realizing her error, she immediately calmed down. "Sorry, sorry. It's just that...this is the first time I have ever been put in such a position. It's not easy."

"Perhaps now would be a good time as any to get used to it," Torch said as Ember looked up at her enormous father. "You must now learn to lead in the defense of our homeland."

"Yeah, I know, I know…" Ember replied while turning away from her father. "Dad, have you ever... been scared to fight? You know, like in a battle where your home is at stake?"

"Of course I have, Ember," Torch replied. "But a good leader must do whatever it takes to protect his or her kind from harm. It's okay to be afraid, but you gotta work through that fear or you're useless to anyone who depends on you to lead the way."

Ember took her father's words to heart as she continued to anticipate the growing conflict ahead. She then looked at her helmet, remembering how she'd once demonstrated her capability to lead the dragons. "I kind of wish Spike or Thorax were here," She thought to herself. "I could sure use their help. They always seemed to know what to do."

Just then, everyone heard a voice from overhead. "Ember!" The voice called as all looked up and saw Spike arriving with a squadron of pony guards. Spike was even dressed in silver armor along with a matching helmet.

"Spike?" Ember asked as he landed next to her. "What are you doing here?"

"Twilight thought you could use some help," Spike declared, showing off the pony soldiers who came with him. "She doesn't want you running into this alone. Especially after Mount Aris and Seaquestria just narrowly fended off an attack by Squirk."

"That the one who runs the school, right. Or is that someone different?" Ember questioned.

"Ember…" Spike groaned, planting a claw on his hand.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm just nervous!" Ember replied and quickly apologized.

"Don't be nervous," Spike spoke up. "I'd say the only thing really you gotta worry about is getting your wings pulled off…"

Ember then noticed a bothered look on Spike's face and the thought of getting her wings plucked off caused a shiver to go down her spine. "You aren't just saying that to motivate me, are you?" Deep down she knew that Spike was probably somewhat telling the truth. In her mind, she never envisioned dragons losing anything because of the enemy.

"I guess not," Ember sighed when she didn't get a response, accepting her possible fate. "Garble, take Spike's forces and spread them out across any weak spots. Spike, you stay here beside me."

"How come…?" Garble asked. But Ember gave him a glare and the red scaled dragon did as he was told, taking Spike's forces and spreading them out along the battlefield's perimeter as he saw fit.

Torch then had something he wanted to say to Spike. "If anything happens to my daughter on your watch," He warned. "I will have myself a midnight snack!"

Suddenly, one of the dragons cried out as a blast of fire went off in the distance! "They're coming! They're heading right for us!"

Heeding the call, Ember and Spike took to the air along with Torch. They looked out to see an army of rather ugly looking brown and gray scaled dragons flying towards them.

"Prepare for battle!" Ember declared as she donned her helmet and drew out her sword. "And remember, don't fire until you are fired upon!"

As the army grew closer and closer, the dragons readied their weapons and their fire breath...preparing for the battle that had now arrived in the dragon lands!

…

…

Hovering overhead, Ember and Spike waited until the advancing army was well within firing range.

"Wait for my signal!" Ember shouted, raising her sword high in the air. And once the army got within range, she knew the time had come! "Commence firing!"

On Ember's call, the dragons opened fire, splitting out fire and tossing molten rocks, managing to knock several of the enemy dragons out of the sky.

Yet with each dragon that fell, another took its place.

And Spike and Ember had a far more pressing issue that quickly rose to the forefront of their minds. "Where's Lavan?" Spike shouted as he frantically looked around for any sign of the lava demon. "Twilight said he would be here!"

But what neither Spike or Ember were expecting at that moment, was for a blast of molten lava to almost hit them! Regaining their composure, they saw Lavan on the edge of a cliff in the distance.

"There he is!" Ember shouted! "Let's get him! He picked the wrong lands to invade!"

Taking flight, Ember and Spike proceeded after the Lava Demon while the rest of the dragons began to engage in physical combat with the invading enemy dragons.

Torch also joined in the fight, keeping a close eye on his daughter. "Take no prisoners!" He shouted as he landed on top of several enemy dragons and crushed them.

As he engaged with the enemy dragons, Garble also had an eye set on Ember and Spike as they confronted Lavan. But he couldn't keep his eye on him for very long as the enemy dragons continued to deal blow after blow to him.

Just like that, the memories of Dinobot II's attack came flooding back to him and Garble was determined he wasn't going to be defeated soundly again. As one enemy dragon opened its jaws to bite on Garble, Garble managed to grab both ends of the dragon's jaws and roaring loudly, managed to pry them apart! "No dragon makes a fool out of me!" He declared and proceeded to follow Spike and Ember. He wasn't about to let them face Lavan alone.

…

As Spike and Ember drew closer and closer to Lavan, a fleet of enemy dragons formed a barrier to protect their commander from Ember and Spike. It seemed they were quite determined to keep Lavan out of the fray no matter what the cost might be.

"Spike, we're gonna have to break through their ranks!" Ember declared before raising her sword. "Ready?! Stay by me, this is gonna get hot!"

Lowering his visor, Spike charged towards the enemy dragons with Ember! They swung their swords fiercely, determined to fight through the army at all costs!

Garble also arrived on the scene and began to engage the enemy dragons as well, breathing fire and throwing punches.

From beneath the barrier, Lavan opened fire on Spike and Ember, attempting to hit them while also firing on his own forces without concern. "Grogar will have your head, dragon lord!" He shouted, promptly leaping into the air and pushing Ember down onto the rocks below.

"Ember!" Spike and Garble shouted, trying to fight off the enemy dragons that swarmed all around them and prevented them from aiding the dragon lord themselves.

Landing on the rocks below, Ember struggled against Lavan. She tried to use all her strength to fight him off: Throwing punches and kicks and even trying to use her flame breath. But Lavan was too smart for her. He proceeded to pin down Ember's arm, preventing her from reaching her sword.

Growling, Ember managed to seize the moment and threw Lavan off of her. Grabbing her sword, she attempted to take to the air again! But Lavan used his powers to send her flying back into the cliff.

"You are strong, but not strong enough!" Lavan cackled, promptly using his fire powers to clip Ember's left wing. "Let's see how you fare without the aid of flight!"

Screaming in pain, Ember found herself suddenly losing part of her ability to fly as she badly limped off of the cliff!

Seeing what was going on, Spike realized he needed to think of something fast and quick! "Ember, I'm coming!" He yelled, clawing past the enemy dragons in his way and frantically rushing down to her!

Lavan, meanwhile, threw himself back onto Ember and pushed her hard into the ground!

"Take your claws off of her, hot head!" Spike roared as he tried to draw close, only for Lavan to swat him back!

"I'll deal with you soon enough, you puny runt!" Lavan declared. "But first I'm going to teach your lady friend a lesson in pain!" Forming a fist, he ripped Ember's helmet off of her head as he prepared to carry out the mission he was assigned to carry out. Before that though, he decided to force Ember onto her side as he grabbed her right wing and forcefully bent it.

Screaming loudly in pain, Ember continued to be punched and kicked by Lavan, each blow more hurtful than the last. But she was still determined to fight back somehow. Using her arms and legs, she did everything in her power to combat Lavan by any means.

Alas, the sharp pain in Ember's wings prevented her from concentrating or taking flight, and she continued to suffer burning and painful blows. In desperation, she tried breathing fire at Lavan only for him to absorb it like a sponge. Weakened badly, Ember fell to her knees in pain. She then realized what was about to happen to her.

"Let's get this over with," Lavan declared as he walked up to Ember to do the deed assigned to him. "You're not getting away from me now."

…

…

As Ember struggled to her feet, the pain she felt through her body left her battered and bruised. All she could do was prepare for the inevitable.

Taking his hand, Lavan placed it around Ember's neck and forced her up, intending to choke her. "Say goodbye, Dragon Lord Ember!" But suddenly, he felt a pair of claws pull him away from Ember! He turned and saw Spike and Garble behind him.

Growling, Lavan threw Spike and Garble off of him, turning his attention from Ember to them. "You dare interfere with me?!"

"Yeah," Spike replied. "Just like when you tried to burn down Ponyville!"

Snarling, Lavan breathed fire at Spike and Garble, determined to keep them from reaching Ember. "You can't stop me, little dragon! But I'll enjoy crushing you all the same."

Taking his sword, Spike swung it hard at Lavan, trying to hit him in the chest.

"Foolish dragon, you shall suffer the same fate as the dragon lord!" Lavan yelled, forming a fist and punching Spike in the cheek, causing him to lose a tooth.

Angered, Spike briefly winced before he flew towards Lavan and punched him in the stomach.

Before he had a chance to recoil, Lavan felt himself being picked up by Garble who subsequently threw the lava demon back down onto the ground below.

This gave Spike a chance to get Ember to safety. "Ember, let's go!" He pleaded, trying to help her up.

But Ember refused to leave. "Not... until... he is... defeated," Ember declared, picking up her sword just as Lavan got to his feet after being thrown to the ground.

As Lavan starred down Ember, Spike and Garble, both sides were now taking casualties as dragons and some pegasus ponies were dropping like flies. Suddenly, all three dragons noticed a strange substance leaking out of Lavan's chest. Said substance trickled down Lavan's leg and onto the rocky surface below.

"So you want to do things the hard way...don't you?" Lavan gasped, suddenly feeling himself beginning to lose strength. "I shall defeat...you all for Lord Grogar." But suddenly, Lavan was clutching his chest while trying to face the three dragons in front of him. He staggered forward some more, only to drop to one knee and began to vomit some more of the black substance.

"Long live...Emperor Grogar!" Lavan gasped as he suddenly fell forward and landed on his back, his blue eyes staring up into the sky.

Spike then noticed the black substance on the ground at his feet. Taking his claw, he picked it up and studied it as Ember painfully walked over to the downed Lavan.

Ember then took her sword in her claw, knowing that she needed to carry out the final blow. Closing her eyes, Ember raised her sword and finished off Lavan for good! "You messed with the wrong dragon lord, Lavan! May the maker have mercy on your soul!"

…

…

Staring over the dead body of Lavan, Ember could only take several deep breaths as she, Spike and Garble watched the remaining enemy dragons retreat in defeat.

"You hurt, Ember?" Spike asked, wiping some dirt off of his face.

"Just my wings, Spike," Ember sighed and groaned as she looked down at Lavan's corpse in disbelief. "But we won...that's all that matters," She then beckoned for Garble to come forward. "Do a headcount, Garble. Find out who is still alive and who is dead."

Garble gave a salute. "You got it!" Taking to the air, Garble carried out Ember's orders as Spike joined his fellow dragon at her side.

But Ember wasn't prepared for what Spike said next. "That's not really him!" Spike declared, much to Ember's shock.

"What?!" Ember asked with a shocked look on her face. "What do you mean that's not him, Spike?!"

"He's a clone. The real Lavan must be somewhere else," Spike explained. "Otherwise, how else can this be black blood? There's no record of Lavan having such blood, all records indicate his blood is as red and hot as he is."

Ember could only still stand there in total confusion over what Spike had said. Though even if had been a clone, the defeat of it was hopefully still a blow to Grogar.

…

…

"Idiots!" Grogar thundered, slamming his foreleg on the armrest of Vorak's throne and firing magic from his horns in rage into the ceiling. "Another battle lost! I don't understand it. First the Predacons, then Squirk and now this."

"My emperor...it's only a loss. We will win eventually, I'm sure!" Sombra tried to reassure Grogar, only to be met with a growl.

"Of course we will win, we just have to do whatever it takes and keep trying," Grogar angrily declared. "Princess Twilight is responsible for this! She's probably encouraging them all to embrace friendship and her silly ideologies! It's the only explanation."

Suddenly, Grogar took another deep breath. "Well, two can play at that game, Sombra," He declared, looking over towards his map of Equestria. "I can break friendship just as easily as Princess Twilight and her friends build it!" He then turned his attention towards Griffonstone, seeking an all-important victory in his conquest of Equestria!

…

...