Ember ignites her claws to dig into the Manticore's fur and peel it; the pelt comes off smoothly, despite being cooked, as Ember tosses it aside along with the Manticore's feet; she cleaves them off with her claws after slashing them. Spike is drooling at the aroma of the Manticore; he wants to sink his teeth into the tasty meat Ember cooked.
"Hey, mind sharing that delicious meal with my bro and me?" An orange Dragon with purple spikes and blue irises approaches Dragon Lord Spike and Princess Ember.
"Ah, geez," Garble is embarrassed about being in the presence of Spike; he feels awkward after going on a hugging spree for many hours. "Can't we hunt elsewhere?" Garble whines, not feeling comfortable being close to Spike.
Spike sees Garble and his younger.., older.., but he doesn't know the age gap between their sizes and height; for now, he's waiting until Ember introduces the other Dragon or if she calmly expresses herself.
"I'm Smolder, Garble's younger sister, Dragon Lord Spike," Smolder shows respect in front of her King by bowing gracefully.
"You two can stay and grab a bite to eat," Spike doesn't want to deny the Dragons a meal. Plus, the Manticore Ember caught, killed, and cooked is an adult size; there's plenty to go around.
"Awesome, I am starving!" Smolder sits down and relaxes; she encourages her older sibling to enjoy the company of the Princess and Dragon Lord; however, she remembers the unfortunate tale of Garble forcibly hugging every Dragon on the way home without an explanation.
Spike deeply inhales while clearing his thoughts of punishing Garble for bullying him during the Dragon Migration and wanting to beat up his friends after the failed Phoenix Swipe and during the Gauntlet of Fire.
"Garble, I know we had a moment of brotherhood when you dubbed me Rookie Dragon after witnessing my belly flop into the lava pits. We had fun before the Phoenix Swipe. I know, deep inside, you still wanted to teach me the qualities of being a Dragon without the bloodshed of Ponies."
"Bloodshed?" Garble is confused about that statement; sure, he had thoughts about pounding the daylights out of Twilight and Rarity for trespassing into enemy territory unannounced. He had an awful notion of tormenting the two when Ember stopped him from delivering the onslaught. He sees Spike as someone else, not a murderer like him, during the Egg Swipe. Also, Garble wanted to teach Spike the values of being a Dragon, bringing the code of honor to live life to the fullest while showing him survivor skills to hunt anything alive. He closes his eyes and groans in defeat; the truth is evident about his motives before the Ponies spied on their progress. "It's true; I wanted to teach you how fun being a Dragon is compared to being part Pony."
"Garble," Smolder sounds displeased about the Phoenix Swipe; she's not fond of it since she knows what it means to separate a youngling from family. "You know better. We can't mimic what Ponies have done to us."
Garble balls his claws in anger and grits his teeth. He thinks he knows better, but his heart says otherwise. "I know..," Garble bitterly says about his faults for following a nasty habit. He sits next to Smolder.
"Did you suffer losing a Dragon Egg during the raid several years back?" Spike asks Smolder and Garble since they are distraught.
"Garble, you were there when it happened; please explain," Smolder said; she was only two years old during the unfortunate events.
Garble looks down and sheds a tear. He looks at Dragon Lord Spike and sighs; the mere memory becomes severe. "It was a day unlike any other."
Garble's current age is nineteen years old. He explains his youth at the age of five years old. During that time, Garble asked his mother to visit the Dragon Egg that would be hatching in a few weeks; she granted him that request while taking care of Smolder. Garble ran to the Volcanic Dragon's Nest, hoping to see his next little brother or sister.
Garble met with his friends, Clump and Fume, both eagerly to meet with their siblings and become an older brothers. They talk about gaining their wings, flying like their fathers and mothers, becoming better Dragons, and exploring the world together. The trio grabs gemstones to snack on, on the way to the Volcanic Nest since they're not old enough to hunt.
Many Dragons their age want to tag along to watch their siblings hatch since Dragon Lord Torch had a meeting with the elders of the Diamond Dogs for the usual gold for gemstone negotiation. Garble mentions that many younglings were the most optimistic generation in Dragon Land history. They wanted to show the world that Dragons are not monsters as other species named them to be.
"Diamond Dogs?" Spike is curious about their involvement in the story and why they played a crucial role during the invasion.
"Diamond Dogs and Dragons do business every three months. Since the Dogs love anything shiny and precious, we struck a deal," Ember explains.
"Anyway," Garble resumes the story.
When they arrived at the nest, Garble explained the horrors that unfolded; he remembers seeing a Pony Princess adorning armor and a helmet to conceal her face from recognition. She led a brigade of white stallion armored guards to attack the Dragons protecting the Dragon Eggs. The invasion happened in the absence of Dragon Lord Torch, who was still preoccupied with royal affairs. Garble details the magic and weaponry the guards armed themselves to defeat the Dragons. Their magic stunned them as spears pierced into areas that'll render them defenseless. A total of a hundred and forty-one Dragon Eggs were lost.
"Where would Ponies strike with their spears?" Spike interrupts the story.
Garble turns Smolder around and points at the back neck, where the spine is. "There. Those punks had excellent precision with their attacks, permanently removing movement. Some were wounded when Ponies used their spears to impale Dragon's wings and pin them, preventing their flight."
Spike cringes at the thought of being pierced by spears. The closest memory is being used as a pincushion for Rarity, having those needles inserted deep into his scales.
"I saw how they operate," Ember interjects herself into the conversation. "They listened closely to their leader, awaited commands, and brought down some of the Dragon's finest protectors."
"Do you remember the color of the Princess' fur or mane?" Spike asks, hoping to thin out the decision between Princess Celestia and Cadance. Luna was Nightmare Moon still imprisoned; Spike couldn't recall other Princesses in Equestria.
"No," Garble and Ember shake their heads.
"The Princess' armor covered most of her body; if I saw any features from the Princess, I would have told my father, and Equestria would be nothing but ashes."
"Ponies are scumbags that deserve every affliction coming their way. Those that are nice are pretending," Garble warns Spike since he was traumatized from the raid. "If they saw the real you, the Dragon you, would they still be your 'friends' or end you?"
"Not everypony is vile, Garble. I met many nice Pony folks during my travels with Princess Twilight and her friends; Also, my neighbors are not hostile; they are friendly and show love and compassion. There are evil and tyranny in Equestria, Ponies who are willing to do devilish atrocities with magic, time, even cast shadows to bring endless torment."
"Are there really nice Ponies in Equestria?" Smolder has doubts about Dragon Lord Spike's claim.
"Not a hundred percent cause there are some out there that are nasty, but like a good seventy-five through eighty percent of the populous that is good."
"Hmm, better than nothing, I suppose," Ember said, hoping to support Spike's statement since he resided in Equestria before becoming the Dragon Lord.
"So, anything else that happened during the raid?" Spike wants to know more about the travesty.
Garble reveals the brutalities armored guards unleashed; the guards trampled on some Dragon Eggs to retrieve a dozen, they used their spears to separate the younglings away to avoid killing them, and the Princess used her magic on the protectors, making them collide with each other.
Garble, Clump, and Fume attempted to retrieve the Dragon Eggs that belonged to their families but got hit by the backend of the spears and flung them into a rock wall. Many younglings pleaded to the invaders about leaving their unborn brothers, sisters, and cousins go, but they ignored them; the Princess inserted herself and cast a bubble shield to repel the younglings away from her brigade and withdraw the Dragon Eggs away from the Volcanic Nest.
Ember reveals that eighty-seven Dragon Eggs got taken to Equestria, and fifty-four died from trampling and magic beam misfire. Her father, Dragon Lord Torch, arrived late and saw the ravages on his kin and the sorrow written on everyone's faces; He roared in mourning for the fallen unborn Dragons that died. Her father taught every youngling that the world is cruel and only the strong survive. Dragon Lord Torch told the younglings to be assertive, mean, and dominant whenever another invasion happens; every Dragon can slaughter the unwelcome guests.
"That would explain why you had no problems attacking Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash when they defended me from you and the others..," Spike said, now understanding the viewpoint of Dragons on Equestrian Ponies.
"I took delight in imposing fear on them before you shouted to run away. Also, when I read the letter from Princess Celestia, I wanted to show you my true colors about them, but, at that moment, in front of the guys, I went with mockery instead of blatant disrespect. The guys laughed and followed my lead because.., I knew you had to be one of the survivors from the raid."
"You did?" Spike is stunned by that comment; he starts putting pieces together.
"Yes," Garble sounds serious. "The moment you mentioned a region from Equestria's borders, I knew you had to be one of the survivors from the raid. I couldn't allow myself to scream in fury and interrogate you."
"Oh," Spike looks down and theorizes that one of those questions must be about the other Dragons hatching in Equestria.
"Say, while in Equestria, did you happen to see any other Dragons your age?" Smolder asks, beating Garble to the punch.
Spike quietly says no in sadness. "I'm the only Dragon that was living in Equestria."
"Oh.., no..." Smolder sadly says while imagining all the other Dragon Eggs decimated.
Spike may regret asking this. "Do you remember the Dragon Egg that belonged in your family?"
"I don't," Smolder says and turns to her older brother. "You?"
Garble sighs. "Purple. A purple Dragon Egg with dark purple polka dots."
Spike's eyes widen in shock, and he faints a second time.
"He fainted! That means-" Garble and Smolder now realize they just spoke to their long-lost brother and pass out from the shock.
"Great!" Ember facepalms herself, now having to deal with three Dragons that fainted.