//------------------------------//
// Firestone's Story 
// Story: What Lies Within 
// by KidatHeart5 
//------------------------------//

	Discord flashed the royals into Dragon Town, the part of Fillydelphia where the dragons lived. To their surprise, it was bare, not a single soul on the street.
Spike said, “Okay, this is freaking me out.”
Apple Jewel asked, “I don’t understand. Where are the dragons?” 
Screwball said, “I thought Nightmare Moon said that the curse only affected ponies.”
Discord said as he put a sweating Snow Pea in Sunset’s arms, “Here. I have an idea.” He conjured up a stand and shouted into a megaphone, “ALL DRAGONS, MAY WE HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE?! WE ARE THE CANTERLOT ROYALS AND WE REQUIRE YOUR ASSISTANCE! WE NEED TO SPEAK TO FIRESTONE IMMEDIATELY! YES, THE FIRE TIARA’S THE REAL THING, SO IF THE CRAFTER OF THE TIARA WOULD COME FORWARD, THAT WOULD BE MOST APPRECIATED! THANK YOU!”
By then, every dragon in Dragon Town popped their heads out of the windows of the apartments. 
Spike muttered, “Well, you certainly got their attention.”
Discord smiled, “I know, right?” 
“Hey! Over here!”
The royals looked all around for the voice that just called. They then looked up to see a pink dragon with blue eyes and hair waving to them. She called to them, “I can take you to Firestone! Come on in!” 
The dragon led the royals up the stairs as she jabbered, “I cannot believe this is for real! I just wish that this could’ve been at a better time when all of Equestria’s not in so much trouble. But, still, you’re here! Oh, I almost forgot. I’m Mia, a big fan of yours! Huge! 
“Especially you, Spike! You are a dragon prince because you married a Canterlot princess and now have a cute, adorable girl, too!”
Spike smirked, “And I did it all for love.”
“Red rubies!”
Apple Jewel asked, “Where?”
Mia clarified, “It’s an expression, Apple Jewel. Your dad’s an inspiration to us all! He proved that dragons are not all that bad! Because of him, we dragons have gotten more respect.” They stopped at a door and she said, “Well, here’s my home.”
Spike said in a confused tone, “Wait, I thought you were taking us to see Firestone.”
She giggled, “I am.” She opened the door and called into the room, “Dad! The Canterlot Royals want to see you!”
Screwball said, “Wait. Is Firestone your…?”
Just then, a portly red dragon stepped into view. He had thinning blue hair, yellow eyes with white sclera, yellow horns, and glasses. 
Mia smiled, “Yep. My dad.” 





The royals relayed the whole story to Firestone and Mia. Midway through the story, they heard gasps and murmurs of “Ooh!” 
Discord went to the window and pulled back the curtains to find a group of dragons flying outside the window. He told them, “I’m sorry, but there’s no eavesdropping allowed.” 
He covered the window again as the group groaned, “Aww…”
When the royals finished their tale, Firestone said, “Hmmm…If Snow Pea has snow powers, the Fire Tiara will act as its polar opposite.”
Discord snickered at the unintentional pun until he saw the serious looks on the others’ faces. He shrugged, “Sorry. It was the way you worded it.”
Firestone cleared his throat and continued, “Yes, well, be that as that may…Both ice and fire magic will continue fighting each other until either the tiara will be rendered useless or little Snow Pea will…”
Sunset asked, “You must help us! You’re our only hope! We can’t take off the jewelry, so what else can we do?”
Firestone contemplated until he said, “We might be able to convert the fire element in the tiara into energy so that its magic could be safe for Snow Pea to use. But I must warn you: her powers will become even stronger than before. She must use her magic wisely and sparingly. Do you understand?” When the royals nodded, he sighed, “I just hope it works. Discord, can you conjure up an alchemy lab?”
Discord responded, “Will do.” With a snap of his talon, the entire living room was transformed into an alchemy lab.
Firestone remarked, “Well, certainly not what I expected, but this could work.”
After creating the potion, Firestone poured it onto the tiara and rubbed it all over the piece of jewelry. He said, “There. Now all we need is a tub of ice-cold water.”
Discord said, “Coming right up.” He snapped his fingers and a tub of cold water with ice cubes in it appeared. 
“Perfect,” Firestone said. He held Snow Pea close to the icy water and said, “May the fire energy flowing through the tiara fuel your icy magic.” 
He released Snow Pea from his grasp and she fell into the tub. The group watched with anticipation and seconds later, Snow Pea emerged from the water, coughing and gasping for air. The royals cheered when they saw that Snow Pea was all right. 
Spike asked, “How do you feel, Snowy?” 
She answered, “I think I’m okay, Uncle Spike. What happened to the tiara? Is the magic gone?”
As Snowy was lifted out of the tub and dried, Firestone answered, “The fire within the tiara will not bother you for as long as your wear the headpiece. It has been converted into magical energy that will increase your snow powers. You must be careful when you use your magic and the tiara’s.”
Snow Pea was horrified when she learned that. She said fearfully, “But I didn’t want my powers to become stronger! I might put somepony in danger because of my magic! Can’t you just take the tiara off?!” 
Firestone shook his head, “I’m afraid not, Snow Pea. When the Elemental Jewelry was first created, Equestria was in great peril. The Umbrum and the Windigos were on the loose, creating havoc all across the land. The elders all across the land decided to forge four powerful items that were each connected to a single element. However, they would have to be attached to the body yet subtle enough so they didn’t attract the attention of the enemies. It was Star Swirl the Bearded who suggested that the items would be pieces of jewelry that would fasten to the wearer and would be connected to a fifth element: the soul.”
The kids were agape when they heard Star Swirl’s name. Screwball asked, “You knew Star Swirl the Bearded? But wouldn’t that make you, like, super-old?” 
Sunset admonished Screwy, “Screwball!”
Firestone chuckled, “Well, we dragons age a bit differently than ponies, though there are some exceptions. You see, I had recently become of age when the jewelry was made. I was known for my brilliance, so I was asked to supervise the creation of the tiara and even design it. We had to find the most suitable material for the tiara, nothing less. For that, we used the best rubies and the strongest of molten ore from volcanoes. We even used the hottest of fiery breath to match the power the tiara would possess. 
“However, the tiara wasn’t created by fire alone. Water was used to cool it, air to dry it and give it its luster, and the ore came from the very earth. The same applied for the rest of the Elemental Jewelry in almost the same way. After the jewelry was imbued with magic, we chose a pony to wield them all to battle the Umbrum and Windigos. To this day, Star Swirl is the only known pony to have worn all four pieces. He was chosen because he was a powerful unicorn who had a righteous soul. We all knew that if a being with any darkness in their soul wore even one piece, that piece would turn as dark as the wearer.
“As soon as the Windigos and Umbrum were defeated, we scattered the Elemental Jewelry across Equestria. Their locations were only known to the members of the secret society. However, they left a few clues behind to find them again should another great danger arise. But if what you say is true, then the sirens had already discovered the hiding places of the Fire Tiara and the Earth Bracelets and were intending to bring them to Belladonna.” 
Sunset deduced, “So that leaves only the Air Vest and the Water Necklace. How do we find them?”
Firestone rubbed his chin and said, “Well, I have the clue to the Water Necklace’s location, but not to the Air Vest. But I do know that the original crafters of the vest know where the location is. You can ask them at Griffonstone.” 
Discord said, “Then let’s start there!”
Suddenly, the tiara glowed and Snow Pea’s eyes began to glow white. The royals and dragons looked on in shock.
Mia asked worriedly, “What’s happening to her?”
Firestone answered, “If I remember correctly, I’d say that she’s having a vision. Star Swirl was said to have experienced the very same thing.”
As Snow Pea gave a shriek and fell backwards, her eyes and the tiara stopped glowing. 
Sunset caught her in her hooves and asked, “Are you okay, Snowy?”
She shivered, “I saw something really scary. There was a castle and the door was pounding. All of a sudden, green bugs came bursting out and a creepy bug-like pony trotted out the door behind the bugs.”
Discord and Spike faced each other in shock and said simultaneously, “Oh, no…”
Apple Jewel asked, “What’s wrong, Daddy?”
Discord tittered, “Slight change of plans, kids. We’re going to have to make a pit stop first.”
Spike said, “But we can’t stop her on our own!” 
Screwball asked, “Who’s ‘her’?”
Discord and Spike cringed at each other and the draconequus whispered, “Should we tell them?”
Spike countered, “We all made a promise to never tell the kids.”
“Well, in this case, they’re eventually going to find out.”
Screwball said, “Dad, what aren’t you telling us?”
Sunset told the guys, “I think it’s time they knew.” 	
Discord and Spike nodded solemnly to each other. 
Sunset started, “You know how your parents fell in love and got married, right?” When the girls nodded, she continued, “Well, there’s more to the story.”
Discord said, “Long before your grandparents had their first daughter, they defeated Queen Chrysalis in battle. She’s the Changeling Queen and the bug-pony Snow Pea saw in her vision.”
Spike said, “Years later, she ambushed the Everfree Castle when Apple Jewel’s and Screwball’s mothers were just fillies.”
Sunset spoke, “Chrysalis intended to cast a curse on your grandma, but your grandpa took it for her. And since my sisters were his daughters, Chrysalis could track them down whenever they were in love.”
Spike continued, “So your grandma did everything she could to keep your mothers and aunts from falling in love. It worked out great until…they met us.”
Apple Jewel said, “But I thought it was the happiest time of your lives.”
Discord said, “Don’t get us wrong. We cherished every moment we spent with your mothers, but because of us, Chrysalis was able to find the girls and…kidnap them.”
Sunset said, “Don’t say it that way! You guys didn’t know.”
Spike nodded, “That’s true, but from the moment they were taken, we vowed to find them.”
Discord added, “We and your uncles traveled to the Changeling Kingdom and rescued our beloveds.”
“After we saved your mothers and aunts and trapped Chrysalis –“
“Courtesy of moi.”
“We had guards posted at the castle to make sure she stayed there.”
Sunset said, “But according to your vision, Snow Pea, Chrysalis could be making her escape right now!” 
Screwball said, “We have to stop her!” 
Discord rubbed his goatee as he contemplated, “Yes, but Spike is right. We’ll be vastly outnumbered.” Suddenly, his eyes lit up when he thought of an idea. He then smirked, “So we need to have firepower to even the score.”