Though Twilight had always hoped that her time upon the throne would be calm, peaceful and devoid of troubles, she knew that a day would come when a more serious matter would need her direct involvement. And today was that day. Soaring through the sky as fast as her alicorn wings could carry her, the wind sped past her ears to the point of being almost deafening. Her eyes squinted with the increased speed she was achieving, passing over places both familiar and foreign in her quest to get to where she needed to. The message had come in the middle of the night, and while most castle staff would be loathe to wake her, she'd made it abundantly clear that all important news was to be brought to her immediately. As soon as she'd read that letter, she was off, and though her escort would have wanted to be alongside her, there really was no catching up to the magically-enhanced flight ability of an Equestrian princess. Fear and concern were abundant in her, but as ever she maintained her cool head, looking across the horizon for that which she knew she'd have to face. "Where...where are you?"
"Princess Twilight!" a second voice called to her.
Twilight turned as she maintained her flying, and she smiled, albeit briefly, to the familiar sight of none other than Dragon Lord Ember, bearing the great sceptre of her people, flying in an intercept course for her. Eventually, the two met up, and together carried on, speaking loudly so as to actually hear one another over the loud winds up here. "What's the word?"
The leader of the dragons sighed. "Not good, I'm afraid. He's been told time and again not to do this, but he's just not listening."
Twilight's eyes drifted over the sceptre she was carrying. "I thought Dragon Lords had absolute authority over their subjects?"
Ember groaned. "Believe me, I wish that was the case. But in truth it's just a really strong influence. Get a dragon who's hot-headed enough and trust me, they'll disobey alright."
Looking ahead, Twilight's eyes narrowed again. "Then we may have no choice. Reports say he should be close now. Maybe together, we can convince him to step down."
Ember chuckled. "Good luck. From what my Dad told me, he's been difficult for a long time now."
Twilight didn't doubt it, for their destination was soon straight ahead of them. A mountain, and one that, at first glance, was just like any other in the area. But what was especially eye-catching was the surroundings. Where once there had been a woodland, now there was scorched earth, with smoke still rising from the freshly burned-out timber. Even the remains of a small village were there, though thankfully no sign of any bodies. "It's a miracle the ponies here got out okay," Twilight said to herself. Ember took on an understandable look of guilt, but instead of saying anything she focused on the task at hand, which at this point was her and Twilight landing at the entrance to the massive cave nestled at the very top of the summit. Stepping forward, Twilight frowned as she could hear the sound of snoring from within. A sound she remembered well from her first year in Ponyville. But, she also knew that this was, first and foremost, a dragon matter, and so looked to Ember before giving a nod. "Go ahead."
Ember took a deep breath, then took a single, authoritative step forward before bellowing out in a commanding tone. "Blaze! This is your leader, Dragon Lord Ember! By the right given to me as ruler of all dragonkind, I demand you leave this place and return to our homeland!" After that, there was nothing. The snoring had stopped, so both of them knew he was awake, but besides that it was utter silence. Frowning to this, Ember took another step forward. "You coming here, terrorising the ponies, burning these lands, is a direct violation of the Equestria-Dragon peace accords! You will answer for your crimes and come peacefully!" Her grip on her sceptre tightened. "Or else I will have to take you back home by force."
That did the trick. For now there was a very angry-sounding growl coming from within the cave, and after just a moment, two bright eyes could be seen from the gloom. Then, a sound. A loud stomping. Twilight knew what was coming, and though her instincts told her to retreat, she would not do so. She was Equestria's leader, and her place was to stand her ground. Before long, the occupant had finally emerged. An enormous dragon, the likes of which Twilight had not seen for many years. But her expression became one of shock, for emerging into the daylight had revealed the dragon's appearance to her. In general terms, he was not unlike the great beast Fluttershy had talked down so many years ago. But the big difference was that this one was coloured green. Instantly, Twilight knew who this was. "You!"
Both dragons looked to her, with Ember especially looking concerned. "You...know him?"
Twilight's shock soon morphed into a barely-contained disdain. "Yes...I do." She stepped forward. "This dragon nearly killed Spike!"
Ember's eyes widened, and her head snapped towards the larger of her kind, her voice now filled with rage. "For the sake of your health, you'd better tell me she's wrong about that!"
The large dragon chuckled. "That little runt? Yeah, I tried to torch him. Serves him right for wandering into my home and eating my gems."
Ember looked like she was ready to deck the guy, but she was halted by a raised hoof from Twilight, who looked to her and spoke in a tone of diplomacy that would have made Princess Celestia proud. "Personal matters aside, we have the more immediate crimes to prioritise."
Ember was unhappy of course, but she knew her fellow head of state had the right of it. So, after taking a calming breath, she again looked to Blaze. "I will say this once, and I expect it to be obeyed." She paused, waiting to make sure she was being listened to before continuing. "You will return to the Dragon Lands immediately. And you will answer for the crime of violating Equestrian territory!"
Blaze lowered his snakelike neck down to his leader, his eyes, for lack of a better word, blazing with fury, and his voice very clearly that of a person who was just an inch from being pushed too far. "Oh yeah...or what?"
Ember glanced to Twilight, who herself spoke to him. "Or else we will have to have a more direct confrontation with you."
To that, Blaze bellowed with laughter, clearly amused by the prospect. "Oh, you think me intimidated, little one? You may be an alicorn, but I promise you, a tangle with me will be no easy thing." His eyes turned to Ember. "And having our diminutive Dragon Lord here won't help you either." He grinned, showing off his razor-sharp teeth. "Face it, neither of you has the strength to bring me down if it came to it!"
Ember gave a quick shrug. "Maybe...but he does."
Blaze was confused, but only for a moment, for as he turned to look to his left he was just in time to see a bright red claw grab onto his face and slam his entire head into the side of the mountain, sending a ripple through the ground. The two royals stepped back from the impact, looking on another, familiar full-grown dragon that had arrived. And one that Twilight had known even longer than Blaze, smiling up to him. "Nice to see you again, Red."
The new dragon smirked back to her. "And you, Princess. Apologies for my lateness. Fluttershy's message didn't get to me very quickly."
"Don't worry, you're here now, and that's what matters," Twilight replied.
Blaze, who had at least partially recovered from having his head colliding with solid rock, glared angrily at his fellow dragon. "What is this?! Why are you helping them?!"
Red's nostrils flared angrily, smoke blowing out of them. "Because unlike some of us, I actually obey my lord!"
Ember folded her arms with satisfaction. "Dang right he does."
Blaze's wings unfurled and spread out in an intimidation display, but Red matched this motion. And while Blaze was big and strong, Red was even more so on both counts. Despite the former's attempts to lunge, Red simply pushed him back, eventually pinning him against the mountain. And it was right around here that Twilight's escort, which had been far behind her until now, finally arrived onto the scene. Dozens, if not hundreds of the Royal Guard, now maintaining their mid-air positions above the errant dragon. And speaking of whom, Blaze looked around, no doubt calculating his odds against such an amassed force. In the end, and with no small amount of discomfort, he sighed, ceasing his struggle against Red. "I...yield."
Ember gave a firm nod. "Took you long enough." She looked to his brief opponent. "Red, escort him back home. Make sure he doesn't take any side-trips on the way."
Red gave her a bow of his head, then firmly grabbed onto Blaze's claws and held them behind his back, as if arresting him. Twilight watched them go, her own guards joining Red as they left, before finally sighing in relief. "Well, glad that's over with."
Ember balled her one claw into a fist before slamming it into her other palm. "And I'm gonna have a little chat with him about threatening Spike."
Twilight nodded solemnly. "Thank you for dealing with this, Ember. If we're going to keep the peace, we need to work together whenever this happens."
Ember placed her claws upon her hips. "I just hope we won't have to rein our people in too often."
Twilight, for the first time today, smiled. "Well, with luck, friendship will win out, and one day we'll find ourselves looking upon a world where ponies and dragons will live as happily together as me and Spike have always done."
To that, Ember chortled. "You know, I sometimes forget how optimistic you ponies get."
Twilight shrugged. "Well, I'm their leader now. Kind of goes with the job."