Late one night, Scootaloo returns from a meal at Sweet Apple Acres to find Penumbra pacing the floor like a pony possessed. "What's wrong?"
Her co-ruler sighs as she looks over at her friend. "We've saved Equestria from the likes of Blueblood and Tirek, even formed an alliance with Chrysalis and stamped out foal abuse with an iron hoof. And yet, Equestria isn't perfectly safe."
Scootaloo gestures for her counterpart to continue. "Tirek could escape at any time and dragon attacks are still rampant. If we can't stop this, everything we've done will be in vain. Twilight and our friends are powerful but even they can only do so much, especially if one attack is immediately followed by another. This was, after all, a major reason why I came to be nicknamed Nightmare Moon; Luna was worn down by fighting Sombra and then Discord and then Celestia got all of the credit than her sister. Combined with her already growing resentment over how ponies act during night-time, it pushed her over the edge."
Scootaloo shakes her head sadly. "We can only do so much for our people. Unless..."
Penumbra peaks up at the familiar sound of contemplation. "What're you thinking?"
Scootaloo looks at her friend curiously. "Do you happen to have a history with the dragons by any chance?"
Penumbra nods after a moment. "A considerable one that is considered legendary among the dragons but how will that help us?"
Scootaloo beams at Penumbra. "We first need some parchment and Spike." After a moment of looking at her co-ruler strangely, Penumbra summons the necessary equipment. None of Scootaloo 's ideas have failed yet; why stop trusting them now?
Dragon Lord Torch sits atop his throne basking in his own hoard. "Hmph, another day and another long wait for nothing. Maybe Garble has gotten into another fight with that domesticated dragon Skyke or whatever his name is." As he thinks that though, a scroll appears in a puff of green flames and smacks him on the snout. "Grrrr, who dares?"
He rolls his eyes as he recognises the Seal of Equestria. "Hmph, what could those ponies want now? Another plea for me to stop my people from doing what comes naturally to them?" With a chuckle, he slices open the scroll and reads.
To Torch, Dragon Lord Almighty and ruler of the Dragon Lands.
We have never personally met but you know me as the one who helped your great, great grandfather Cinder to unite the dragons. You have called me many things; Unifier, Peacemaker, and Guidance but my true name is Penumbra also known as Nightmare Moon. You have most likely learnt of my takeover of Equestria a year ago and I write to you in order to propose an alliance between our species. An alliance that will greatly benefit both of our nation's equally. If you agree to discuss the terms, please send a representative to Canterlot Castle.
With respects
Queen Void.
Torch huffs. At least she had the decency to call me by my true title but to claim that she is the Unifier? What an absolute disgrace. Having been in power for four hundred years, and alive for well over six hundred before that, he's heard plenty of stories about Nightmare Moon and her actions against the pony princess Celestia. He doesn't care for the ponies and thier petty wars but does follow any new conflicts closely in case they pose a threat to his people. It's not that he hates the ponies or wants them to suffer; it's just that the dragons' naturally greedy tendencies usually pit them against thier neighbours and he has to put his subjects' needs first and foremost.
As he looks down at the scroll though, he notices some familiar hallmarks associated with the Unifier; her official greetings in paperwork that put even the former Princess Celestia to shame (she always did just address him as simply Lord Torch on the extremely rare occasions that they ever needed to communicate), the appealing offer and her cunning way to appeal to his greed driven curiosity.
Lord Torch decides that he can't pass up a possible way to improve his subjects' life and possibly lower anti-dragon sentiment. With a groan, Torch decides that he can't afford to send any regular dragon given how... excitable several of them are. As much as he hates it, he can only trust one dragon with such an important mission.
Queen Void sits atop her throne waiting for the dragon ambassador to arrive. Though she had initially worried about the offer being rejected, reports of a dragon heading for Canterlot have confirmed that the offer has been accepted. Before long, one of the Guards marches into the room and bows. "Presenting Princess Ember, daughter of Lord Torch of the Dragon Lands."
Void smiles slightly at the sight of the stern looking blue dragon entering the throne room. Figures that Torch would send none other than his own flesh and blood. Other dragons may be overcome by greed on the way and he can't come in person or he'd leave his people leaderless.
The dragon princess takes one look at the Queen and scowls deeply. "You've got to be kidding me. I fly all night and the almighty Queen of Equestria is a hatchling?!"
Realising what she said, she Princess hopes she hasn't ruined any chance for the negotiations but the monarch just beams cheekily at her. "Emotional maturity isn't everything you know." Ember rolls her eyes. I already want to go home.
Much to the Princess' relief, the negotiations don't begin until much later that evening after the Queen insisted that she have a rest which she happily agreed to. "So Queen Void, you claim to have a special proposal for my people that we couldn't afford to pass up. What could you ponies possibly have that we can't just take for ourselves?"
Void flashes the Dragon Princess a smile. "Friendship."
She forces back a smile at the look of utter disbelief on her counterpart's face. "You're joking, right? Your massive, international relationship changing proposal is to offer us... your hoof in friendship?"
"Yep."
Ember is silent for a moment before laughing. "The ponies are offering the dragons, who raid and pillage thier homes, peace and friendship? I've heard it all now." When she sees the steadfast look on Void's face, she stops and goes back to looking neutral. "You are serious."
Void nods. "Why are you so opposed to the idea of friendship, Princess Ember?"
The dragon rolls her eyes. "Because you're asking one of your oldest and most recurring threats to work with you. That's not just stupid, it's dangerous." She gets up from the dinner table and heads for the door. "If you aren't going to take this seriously then I am no longer needed."
Before she can leave though, Queen Void teleports in front of her. "Princess Ember, you know that you can trust the Great Unifier can't you?"
The Princess glares back. "As far as I'm concerned, you have yet to provide any proof beyond the words of a usurper."
"And what if I can prove that I am who I say I am?"
The Princess crosses her arms. "Do it then." The Queen gestures to sit and they do although Ember continues to look on blankly as Void begins her tale.
The Dragon Lands were little more than a volcanic wasteland where the dragons shared a common kingdom but were constantly fighting for territory and only small groups of dragons stayed together for long to maintain a collective hoard. In the midst of this chaos though, there was a young green dragon named Cinder who had a true ambition to unite all dragons and finally end the conflicts. He never had the power or confidence to do this though until one faithful afternoon.
Cinder finishes eating an unfortunate sheep who wandered too far into his territory when he spies an unusual darkness wafting in. "Who's there?!"
He hears a strange ethereal voice on the wind. "A being who can help you to easily accomplish your greatest dream, Cinder."
The dragon glares. "Yeah, right. This is all a trick to let you into my body so you can do whatever you want to me."
The being chuckles humorously. "You're partially right, Cinder. I must merge with you for this to work but I promise you, I mean no harm whatsoever. If anything, you'll thank me for it once you become Dragon Lord."
Cinder huffs. "And I'm just supposed to believe you?!"
The being chuckles. "Do you really have anything to lose?"
Cinder thinks for several moments and realises that he doesn't. He is a lonely, mateless dragon barely scraping together an existence and trying to avoid being pulverised by those that want his land. "Fine."
The shadowy being chuckles. "Thank you." She merges with the dragon whose scales immediately turn black as he grows substantially with his wingspan easily surpassing thirty feet and his already incredible strength becomes insurmountable.
After the aches of the transformation die down, Cinder opens his eyes in disbelief. "I-I'm still...me."
He hears a familiar voice in his head. I told you, Cinder. As you will have noticed, you are now much stronger and more powerful than ever before but still very much yourself. In exchange for your body, I have made you the strongest dragon to ever exist. You shall easily be able to gain leadership of the dragons now. Smiling gleefully, Cinder nods before taking flight and launching towards the prime dragon territories.
"And afterwards, Cinder was able to defeat the tyrant Syndus and unite the dragons under thier first leader whose bloodline still remains in-power today. Many have tried to become Dragon Lord but none outside of the family have yet succeeded."
As she finishes her story, Queen Void chuckles at the shocked look on Princess Ember 's face. "H-how? That story is known only to the dragons and you can't have learnt it from that domesticated dragon."
Void looks imploringly at the Princess. "I'm the great Unifier and you can feel it, can't you? Please, have your father consider my offer."
Princess Ember shakes her head. "I believe you but our species are truly incompatible. We will always covert what you ponies have and attempt to take them by force."
Queen Void looks thoughtful for a moment. "Why do you need to take anything at all?"
Ember looks confusedly at the suddenly much more childlike energy from the up until now stoic Queen. "What?"
The Queen chuckles childishly. "Just because dragons covert possessions and hoard valuables doesn't mean that they have to take them by force. We can make whatever thier instincts demand."
Ember looks thoughtful for a moment before turning to leave. "I shall speak to my dad but I can't promise anything."
Void nods and waves goodnight. "I'm sure you will, Princess Ember."
Just as Ember leaves for the night to get ready to leave by morning, Rainbow Dash enters through an open window. "How did it go?"
Void smiles knowingly. "All is going according to plan. Now we just have to take care of our other problem."
Rainbow Dash scowls. "Do we really have to? He deserves everything that he gets."
Void nods grimly. "We don't like him either Dash but he's our biggest remaining threat. We have to try."
A cloaked figure lurks in his giant cage when he suddenly hears familiar voices approaching and comes face to face with the Queen of Equestria. "Can't you ever just leave me alone? Even when I'm contained, you feel the compulsion to come and harass me."
Queen Void rolls her eyes. "I came to talk about the future, Tirek."
The frail centaur looks at his creation with boredom. "What future? My future in here or my future of trying to conquer Equestria?"
Void looks back frustratedly. "The future potential of you being released, Tirek."
The centaur huffs dismissively. "That's your great plan? To turn me into another one of your obedient citizens like you did Chrysalis? Forget it. I don't have a guilty conscience or a great responsibility to look after like that pathetic Changeling. I know what I've done, I know that it was wrong and I don't care. I will keep on attacking Equestria until either I win, am destroyed forever or everything ceases to be."
Tirek looks sadly at Void. "You know, when I heard what you did to Luna and how you managed to defeat Celestia, I was genuinely proud of you. I thought everything good that you did before was just to survive before you could really take what you wanted." The look turns to one of absolute disgust. "But now look at you; befriending a filly and being friends with those you once hated. I have nothing more to say to you, Penumbra."
Tirek turns his back on the Alicorn and waits for her to leave. "That's not true and you know it." Tirek rolls his eyes. They really have done a number on her. "When you created me and held me before letting me out into the world, I could tell you cared about me. Not in an evil way but like a father would cradle thier own child."
Tirek chuckles. "You really have gone soft, Penumbra. I hope you enjoy your new life whilst it lasts. Once I get out of here, you'll regret ever turning against me." Sighing sadly, Void turns and leaves as Tirek watches her go disappointedly.
For a few days, Penumbra is upset so Scootaloo takes over many of thier responsibilities. She knew that Tirek would most likely never turn to the right side but she had a slight hope in her soul that she would somehow be able to get through to him. In spite of Tirek's evil nature, she still cares about him much like a child would about thier father but she slowly manages to come to terms with the truth.
Her thoughts are soon broken by a loud and confused commotion from outside the throne room. What the hay is happening? Scootaloo chuckles. "Lord Torch has arrived to reveal his decision." As she speaks, the same Royal Guard from before nervously enters. "Presenting Lord Torch of the Dragon Lands."
With that, the extremely tall dragon enters flanked by two massive armed dragon guards. "Welcome to Equestria, Lord Torch. It's an honour."
The dragon eyes the tiny pony sitting on the throne before shaking his head. "My daughter tells me that you are the Great Unifier of the Dragon Lands; the one who enabled Cinder to unite the dragons and brought around a golden age. And yet, I am looking at a mere hatching pretending to be a mighty ruler. I see Ember was clearly mistaken." He turns to leave.
"The Dragon Lands may one day fall but dragons will stay together no matter what. That is the power of the Dragon Lord."
The Dragon Lord's neck snaps around. "What did you just say?!"
Void smiles at him. "Those were Cinder's final words, weren't they? Information known only to the Dragon Lords and the Dragon Elders?"
Torch glares at her. "How would you know that?"
Void sighs sadly. "I was still a part of him when he died and he was a truly honourable being." The Dragon Lord takes a moment to digest that information but Void speaks up. "We don't need to make the decision today, Lord Torch. We can settle this somewhen else if you need some time."
Torch nods before a Guard leads them towards the largest bedrooms in the Castle; specifically designed by Celestia to house dragons in the event of such an agreement being possible.
Twilight quickly enters and bows though Void gestures for her to not bother. "How'd it go, your highness?"
Void smiles. "The meeting went slightly differently than I expected but I have a good feeling that good results will come from this,, Twilight. A very good feeling indeed."