• Published 8th May 2015
  • 8,912 Views, 194 Comments

The Flames of the Phoenix - FrostTheWolf



I am more than what you think I am. You think that I'm weak, broken and easy to deceive? Well, you're about to find out the reason why I am not to be trifled with [Displaced story]

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19- An Old Friend

Author's Note:

This chapter was mostly based on an idea I had while re-watching 'If the Emperor Had a Text-to-Speech Device'. Mainly on the idea that is 'what if Ember finds out more about an old friend from long ago, but also finds herself extremely out of her comfort zone'. Which leads to this.

A particular trio of characters that happen to show up in this story were actually planned for another story that I happen to have much farther down the line, but I decided to add them in this just to get the chance to practice with writing their personalities.

Oh and this takes place during 'Gauntlet of Fire'. Just in case you were wondering. Feel free to let me know your thoughts and how you liked the chapter
-Frost

The Flames of The Phoenix- An Old Friend


Some time after they had stopped by to get some clothes for Amaryllis, Ember found herself walking over towards Carousel Boutique to try and see if Rarity herself was making any progress this morning. In the time that they had introduced Amaryllis to the element of generosity, she had met the rest of Applejacks friends as well as get a non-optional ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party, courtesy of Pinkie Pie herself. Which made the changeling feel rather comfortable with her newfound home, even if only the Apple Family and Ember knew that she was a changeling.

Though, as Ember was getting closer to the boutique, she found that there was a sign on the window that was next to the door. Which was surprising because Ember did not recall seeing anything like that the last time that the mancer came over here. Taking a closer look, she began to read what was on it and say the words to herself.

Carousel Boutique is closed today due to a personal emergency. I apologize for the inconvenience and business at the boutique will resume tomorrow. Sincerely, Rarity.

That was strange for a few reasons. One, Applejack had told her of times where Rarity had seen fashion emergencies, but not a personal one. Two, the writing on the sign looked to be done hastefully and did not look like she took her time to do it. But most importantly… what kind of emergency is she talking about? What would be so urgent that it would require for her to immediately stop what she was working on and have to close up shop for the day?

Immediately though, Ember thought of somepony who might know the answer to that question. That being Twilight Sparkle. Though, as the mancer rushed over to her castle, she was greeted by an empty room. There was nopony sitting at the Cutie Map, nor was there anypony else that was around. This castle was usually busy on a daily basis, but the fact that it was dead quiet in here was completely unsettling. There wasn’t even any guards stationed outside. Which, seemed like a rather big oversight issue considering what happens in Ponyville on a regular basis.

“Um… excuse me? Can I help you?”

Much to what Ember thought of originally, turns out that there was somepony in the castle. As Ember turned around, she saw a lilac colored mare with a mane and tail that were similar in color to that of Twilight, but instead of pink, this mare had a line of cyan on her mane instead. She had heard from Applejack that Twilight had a student, but never really had the opportunity to actually meet her in person. So this must’ve been Starlight Glimmer.

“Yeah uh… are you Starlight by chance?”

The mancer’s question only had the mare blink for a moment before the unicorn asked something in response. “How do you know my name?”

“Applejack told me about you. Though, I believe this is the first time we’ve met,” she explained, before extending an arm to her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Ember. Ember Valkyr.”

“N-nice to meet you too,” Starlight nervously responded, shaking the outstretched hand with a spare hoof before asking the pyromancer a new question. “W-what brings you here to the castle?”

“Well, I was originally looking for Rarity, but I saw that she had closed her boutique for today. So I came here to find Twilight, given that she has a habit of knowing where somepony is at a particular time,” Ember told the unicorn as she let out a small breath. “Only to not find anypony here except for you. Heck, I haven’t seen Spike this morning and he’s usually the first one I see when I come in. Do you know where they might be?”

Starlight put a hoof to her chin for a moment, thinking to herself before looking back to Ember and shaking her head. “Not exactly. Hay, I honestly did not think that Twilight would be going out anywhere. There isn’t anything on her schedule about it.”

That had the pyromancer lift up an eyebrow as she looked back at the unicorn. “Her… schedule? Don’t get me wrong, I know Twilight likes to keep herself organized. But I don’t remember seeing a schedule the last time I was here earlier this week.”

“Well, it’s more of something that Twilight keeps on hoof so that she knows when to teach me particular lessons,” the unicorn replied back to her as she began to explain, “She also uses it to keep track of other things too just in case some kind of meeting crops up.”

“That way she could reschedule the lesson for another day?”

“Sort of, yeah. There was one thing listed for today involving the Princesses, but I don’t see Celestia or Luna here at all,” the unicorn said to her, “Sorry if this isn’t helping anything.”

“No no, you don’t need to apologize,” the mancer insisted as she looked back to Starlight and reassured her that it was alright. “I’ll just ask somepony else. Hope you have a good day, Starlight.”

No sooner after Ember said that did she step out through the main hallway of the castle as she was back outside and began to think through everything that she knew. For one thing, both Twilight and Rarity were nowhere to be found. Given how quickly things had transpired and how Starlight did not know where Twilight went, it was unlikely that Applejack or the rest of her friends would know where they went either. She could ask Celestia, but it was likely that she was holding Day Court right now and would not want to interrupt.

There was still one option that she had though, and frankly, it was the only other option that she really had at this rate. “Hey, Philomena? Are you there?

Yeah, I’m here,” She heard the phoenix say to her, which prompted to have the mancer sigh in relief. Something that the phoenix happened to overhear. “You alright? You sound a bit frustrated.

More like confused,” Ember replied back mentally, “I was heading over to the carousel boutique this morning to see if Rarity had finished Ama’s clothes, only to find that the boutique was closed. So, I went over to Twilight’s castle to see if Rarity happened to know if she was doing anything, only to find that she and Spike were gone too. Do you or Celestia have any idea what might be going on?

Actually, I think Celestia knows exactly what’s going on,” the phoenix told the mancer in response, “I heard her and Luna talking about something earlier when they came back from Twilight’s Castle. Something about getting summoned by the ‘dragon lord’ and that all dragons must answer the call.

That had Ember’s eyes widen a bit as she took the time in order to process that piece of information. “Wait… dragon lord? You mean like the ruler of the Dragons?

Yeah, I believe that Celestia said that their name was Torch or something like that-

Of course, before Philomena could explain anything further, that was when the mancer interjected. This time though, she actually sounded quite surprised… in a positive way. “No way… Little Torchy? He’s the dragon lord?

Hold on… Torchy?” Philomena asked, caught off guard the moment that the pyromancer asked that, “Ember, are you saying that you actually met the dragon lord that Celestia was talking about?

Yeah, years ago!! He was still growing and around Spike’s size when I last saw him,” Ember explained further, “I ran into him when he and a bunch of other dragons were migrating over and he got separated from the others that he was with. So, I helped him out. Oh man, I wonder how big he’s gotten now.

There was a brief pause from Philomena as she now began to try and process everything. Especially since she did not quite feel comfortable about the subject of dragons after overhearing what happened when Spike was part of a dragon migration much similar to this one. “You seem way too excited about all this.

How can I not? Earlier this week, I reunited with Amaryllis and now that I found that a dragon friend that I helped is now all grown up and the leader of the dragons? For someone that’s been around as long as Celestia, moments like these rarely come up at all!” the mancer told her mentally. Even though she wasn’t saying anything, Philomena can personally tell that she was getting a bit excited. “I gotta go see this for myself! Talk to you later, Philomena!!

By this point, the mancer already had her mind set on what she was doing and didn’t even listen to what Philomena was trying to say to her. It had been so long since she had last seen Torch that she began to wonder what he looked like now. “Guess I’ll have to wait and see when I get there. Hopefully, he hasn’t changed that much since we last saw each other.”


Some time later…

It was one thing to be able to reach a location by traveling through the badlands and reaching the edge of Equestria, yet, it was another for her to realize that in order to get across to the dragon lands, there was one obstacle that stood in her way. That being the Celestial Sea, the body of water that ran along the east coast of Equestria. Now, the issue was not exactly the ocean itself, but crossing over it. Trying to use her powers to soar across the gap would not only drain her life force, but also be suicidal if she happened to run out halfway across and find herself plummeting into the waters below.

“Come on, think… there’s gotta be some way to get over there,” Ember said to herself, trying to brainstorm something that she could do, while she stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean below, “I’m too far away from any known harbor, there’s no ships nearby and I’m sure as hell not going to attempt to swim across. What else could I do?”

As she continued to think and ponder on what to do, Ember looked up to notice a few birds flying across the ocean. Wings spread out as they were gliding along the breeze that was blowing and soaring across the ocean. But as she watched the avians fly, a new idea began to click inside of her brain. One that got her to begin thinking outside of the box and after a few moments, had her backing farther away from the edge.

“This has got to be my craziest idea yet,” the mancer told herself, getting herself ready as if she was about to start a race. Heart rate increasing as she took a moment to compose herself before letting out a deep breath, “Okay, here goes nothing!!”

Without hesitation, she ran towards the cliff’s edge, having her flames form around her with each step. Conjuring more and more past her limits as the flames began to channel around her body the closer she got to the edge. As she prepared to jump forward, her power now only surged around her, but also began to change her. Her appearance began to morph and change to the point that when she leapt off the edge at full speed, she wasn’t in her human form.

Instead, she had taken on the form of a bird. An avain of pure flames that soared with the wind and left a trail of smoke behind her. It was not like that of a phoenix, but it was enough for her to travel over the ocean much more quickly than if she attempted to cross in any other way. Though, with this new change came a few things that she had to adjust too.

Mainly though, there was the factor of control. When she would try to use her powers to quickly travel from place to place, it either involved transmitting herself to someone she was familiar with or propelling herself forward and channeling fire through her hands behind her like it was the throttle on a race car. Now though, those hands and arms were her wings and if she held them behind her like before, she would end up diving towards the water below. She had to keep them straight and use them to propel herself forward.

Of course, there was one other thing that she completely forgot to keep in mind as she saw land in the distance. That thing being that you need to slow yourself down before being able to land. Which she learned the hard way. Because the moment that she pulled the plug on her power to change herself down, she found herself tumbling forward towards the rocky plateau beneath her. “Aw, son of a-”

THUD!!

The first moments on the ground were painful for the mancer. Not even trying to use her powers to slow herself down was helping any as she found herself rolling around on the ground like she was thrown from a carriage in an accident. Once she stopped moving and her life force began to tend to the sores and scrapes that she sustained from that crash, Ember pushed herself up off the ground as she tried to take in her surroundings. Everything around her was a rocky wasteland aside from the volcano that was off in the distance as she let out a deep sigh.

“Well, at least I’m here-”

“Over here! I think I heard something!”

That had the mancer turn around as she saw four dragons come up the ravine and approach her. One was a mud brown colored body with a set of cerulean horns on its head, another that had a purple body and had blond hair cover its eyes, the third one that had a charcoal colored body and had a set of horns that looked like the horns of a goat and the last one was white with some pink scales along his head and light pink scales along its body. All four of them were equally caught off guard once they saw her, but it was only after Ember spoke up that they actually reacted.

“Uh, Hi-”

“Holy scales, it talks!?” the third one was the first to speak, before turning to the other two.

“Who cares if it talks?! It’s not some creature that we’ve seen around here before,” the second one shot back, before turning its head to Ember. “Hey, You! What is an outsider like you doing on dragon territory?!”

“Me? I’m just looking for a friend of mine,” the pyromancer retorted, folding her arms as she looked back at the dragons. For some odd reason, the first one seemed a bit nervous. Though, the other two looked like they were eager for some kind of fight. So Ember was trying her best to remain calm and ask them her question carefully. “It’s been years since I’ve seen him, but I still know his name. Would you happen to know where can I find Torch?”

Unknowingly though, asking about Torch got a much different response from all of the dragons as the first one was quick to say the first thing that came to his head. “If this thing knows about Torch, then she must be partaking in the Gauntlet of Fire!!”

“Gauntlet of wha-?”

Before she could fully ask her question, the dragon that was speaking moments ago charged at Ember, leaping up into the air before slamming the ground with its tail. Of course, even though the dragon thought that it landed a direct hit, when the dust cleared, he was caught off guard as they saw Ember holding him by the base around his tail. “No seriously, what are you even talking about?”

The mud colored dragon attempted to break Ember’s hold on him by clenching his claw and swinging it at Ember’s face, striking her. Yet, to Ember, the dragon's claw hitting her felt less like a punch and more like a soft tap on the face. The pyromancer just let out a sigh, before tossing the drake up in the air and as it fell down, delivered a return punch that send the dragon crashing into a nearby boulder.

That moment alone caused a deafening silence over the small group. A silence that was broken when Ember chose to repeat the same question that she was trying to ask a few moments earlier. “Now, do any of you know where I can find Torch-?”

Unfortunately, her question didn’t give her the answers she wanted the second time around as both the second and third dragon glared back at the mancer.“You’re gonna pay for what you did to Clump! Get her!!”

As the second and third dragon charged at her, Ember just rolled her eyes. The second dragon was attempting to use its claws in order to scrape and slice at the mancer’s skin, while the third dragon attempted to ram her with its horns. Backpedaling out of the way, the mancer intentionally fell back, before following through with a sweeping kick to knock the third one off its legs and a fiery jab kick to send it back to where ‘Clump’ was on the ground. Seeing this, the second one swung at her with a ferocious combination of claw attacks. One of them grazing the side of her face.

Even though the dragon thought that was good, the mancer did not. “You’re going to regret that.”

The dragon did not have enough time to respond. All Ember place her hand in front of him, before firing off a blast of pure flame. One that was powerful enough to send him flying towards the other two dragons while also burning off the hair that was once on its head. Leaving only the fourth one standing. However, unlike the others… this one was not exactly wanting to fight. If anything, he was afraid for his life.

As Ember looked at the last one, there was a glare in her eyes as she firmly began to speak. “I will not tell you a third time… Where can I find Torch?”

“H-he’s over there!” the fourth dragon hastily gave the mancer the answer she was looking for, while also pointing at the burning mountain in the distance. “T-there’s a canyon by the volcano. He’s waiting in there-” At first, the dragon thought that Ember was going to harm her… but instead, her fierce gaze changed in an instant and now was smiling.

“Thank you,” was all she said, before disappearing shortly afterwards in a plume of flames. The dragon known as Fizzle was speechless. He not only witnessed some of his friends easily get beaten by whoever that creature was, but later spared? Just what was she-?

“Fizzle?! What the hide happened here!?” He heard an all too familiar voice as he turned back around.

“Garble! Thank the ancestors! You would not believe what just happened-”

“Look, I don’t care for you just sitting around doing nothing!” Garble snapped at him, “There’s no way that we’re going to get anything done if we sit around like what you are doing now.”

Of course, in Garble’s mind, he thought that Fizzle would just automatically say yes and then do what he said. However, what happened was much different. “Forget it.”

“Excuse you-?”

“Garble, I don’t think you get what the hide just happened here at all,” the white dragon snapped as he pointed at the dragons that were flat on the ground. “Fume, Charcoal and Clump were all beaten in combat by a creature who barely broke a sweat and now you’re asking them to just walk it off!? If you think that we’re going to just listen to you and throw ourselves in front of you just so you can get what you want and not give a damn about what happens to us, then forget it!”

At first, the dark red dragon was caught off guard by Fizzle’s sudden shift, before he snorted as he stomped his foot into the dirt. “You know what? Fine! I don’t need you four to help me! I’ll become the next dragon lord, even if it means that I have to do it myself!!”


As time began to pass and the Gauntlet of Fire was well underway, the dragon lord named Torch began to lay down and rest within the confines of the rocky valley that he had tore through with his own two claws. The walls of stone were smoothed over as amber crystals were placed on the walls as decorations while he waited at the end of the gorge that served as his own throne room. He was waiting for the dragon that would return to him with the bloodstone scepter, the relic that would prove that they were the next in line in order to become the leader of the dragons.

Of course, the one thing that he did not happen to anticipate at all was visitors. Some creature that was there for a purpose not related to the Gauntlet of Fire. He could not see them, but could feel their presence as they carefully entered the ravine. Their steps echoing as they came closer.

When they were approaching the ledge where his throne was, Torch opened his eyes as the dragon lord began to speak. “Who’s there? Identify yourself now or you will be seen as a threat.”

At first, there was silence. Something that did not settle right with the dragon as he began to rise up off of the floor and look over the canyon that was his throne room. The sound of steps got closer, before he found himself looking at a strange figure. It was bipedal, but not a dragon. In fact, it was as tall as his daughter. The only difference was that it was wearing light clothes and a scarf around its neck.

As the figure spoke though, things began to start clicking inside his head. “Woah… I heard that you had grown, but damn. I did not think that you would’ve ended up growing this big.”

That voice… was familiar. He remembered hearing it once before, when he was just a hatchling in fact. However, in his mind, he did not think that it would be possible to see them again. Even as he was able to clearly see them in front of the steps, the dragon lord did not think that it was actually them. “I must be hallucinating… is this a dream? There’s no way that this is possible.”

“Oh? And why exactly is that?”

“You look exactly like the same one that I met when I was only a hatchling… yet, you look as if you haven’t aged a day,” the dragon lord spoke, “If you were really them, then they would look much different than you right now.”

Yet, even though his reasoning was clear, the response that he got was not one that he expected. Not to mention that he was completely wrong. “Wow… and just when I thought that you were actually a gentledrake to dragonesses, little Torchy.”

Instantly, the dragon’s thought process was derailed as they looked back at the figure that stood in the ravine. Realizing that this was no hallucination, but that it was indeed the same being that he had met before. “By the ancestors… But how?”

“Hmm?” she tilted her head, a bit confused by the question.

“It has been over forty years since I had last seen you, yet you look as if you haven’t aged a single day,” the dragon lord further clarified. “How exactly is that possible?”

At first, there was silence, just before the mancer that stood in front of the dragon lord realized where the confusion was as she let out a sigh. “Well, the best way to explain that is that ever since I came here, I was given the abilities of a phoenix when I met one that was dying and could not reincarnate. Therefore, I am immortal and cannot age,” As she looked back at the dragon, she smirked as she began to move closer to him. “And all these years, I thought that you forgot about me.”

The dragon lord looked away for a moment, scratching the back of his head before letting out a small sigh. “Sorry Ember… it’s just things are a lot different than what they used to be when I first met you.”

“You tell me. I just found out that you are the dragon lord of all things,” the mancer replied back, “Back when you were a hatchling, you thought that obtaining such a title was near impossible for you.”

“To be honest, I once did think that such an achievement was impossible,” Torch admitted, “But after meeting you, I learned an important lesson. You might not have the strength or the might to face your foes, but as long as you have your pride and something to go towards, nothing could stop you. But being the dragon lord is not just about sheer power or will, it’s about bearing the responsibility of all dragons on your shoulders. Choices you make not only affect those you talk too, but every other dragon you represent… I just hope my successor understands that responsibility.”

That response had Ember look at Torch with a raised eyebrow as she asked him a new question. “Wait… successor? You’re calling it quits?”

“Ember, I’ve been the dragon lord for nearly thirty years. In that time, we’ve had close calls with that of other nations and almost gone to war over misunderstandings. I believe that my kind need a brighter future, and to ensure that, today is where all dragons compete in the gauntlet of fire to prove who becomes the next dragon lord.”

“Hunh. Now that you mentioned it, I heard something like that earlier,” the mancer told the dragon, “I was asking a group of dragons for directions on where I can find you, but they ended up attacking me because they thought that I was participating in the gauntlet they just mentioned. They were rather rude all things considered,” after finishing her sentence, she then proceeded to ask another question as she got up on the same ledge Torch was sitting on. “So, how exactly does the gauntlet of fire work?”

“Well, dragons from across the continent would come to the dragon lands to face a series of challenges that I constructed,” he explained. “The first one who obtains the Bloodstone Scepter and returns it to me will be judged by me and if I believe they are qualified, then they will become the next dragon lord.”

That sounded a little bit risky. But as Torch explained it further, and even went on to show her what the Bloodstone Scepter would look like, the mancer had a much different response. “So wait… you’re having them go through a death course just to get a scepter that, in your claws, would look more like a toothpick? Doesn’t that seem… overkill?”

“Many dragons would want to have the scepter because they are driven by greed alone. The gauntlet is a test to root them out and to rely on the other instincts a dragon would have,” he explained further, “It’s the same test that was run by my predecessors, just in a different proving ground.”

“But couldn’t they just come here to find out where the scepter is from you without having to go through the gauntlet?” the mancer then asked as she folded her arms and looked back at her friend. “I mean… I don’t mean to sound rude, but with you being the dragon lord, wouldn’t you have some guards or something to protect you-?”

In the moments after Ember asked her question, she heard what sounded almost like a record scratch as she turned around, trying to find out where the noise came from. Unfortunately to Torch, hearing that meant something completely different to him. “Not again…”

Before Ember could ask, three different dragons broke through the stone walls and landed gracefully on the stone floor that wasn’t far from where Torch and Ember were. All three of them had muscular builds and wings, looked like they came out of an oil bath and wore leather loincloths around their waists with each one having a different feature that made them stand out. The first one had a scale pattern where the outer linings look to be dark brown, but the inner shade was the color of meat if it was cooked ‘medium rare’, while also sporting iron bracers around its claws. The second one had lines of white around its darkened red body and sported a leather cuff around one of their ankles, while not being as muscular as the other two and bearing a well groomed mustache across his face. The third one was the color of marinated meat with ‘grill markings’ along his arms and body, while also wearing what appeared to be tribal bands around their wrists and ankles.

If that did not make the mancer feel rather uncomfortable before, things did not really settle right for her once the first one began to speak. “Mmm Mmm MMMmmm! Greetings, my glorious dragon lord!! I did not think that you would be having guests visit you while the gauntlet is underway.”

“Mmm yes,” the second one then began to speak, “It is a rather odd coincidence, to say the least. Especially since it’s not like any other creature that we have seen before.”

“The suspense of the mystery surrounding the visitor’s identity is just FLARING up inside of me!” the third dragon dramatically announced, “Who would be so bold and daring to burst into our lord’s own personal chambers while such an important event is taking place!?”

If Ember was not uncomfortable the moment that all three of them first arrived, then she was definitely feeling uncomfortable right around now. Uncomfortable to the point that she needed to know who exactly these three idiots were and why they were acting like this. “Torch… Care to fill me in?”

“Those three are Sear, Simmer and Sizzle,” Torch explained, letting out a groan while doing so, “They served as custodes, personal guards and caretakers of my predecessor and in turn, serve me.”

That had Ember blink a bit. Torch’s response answered one question as to who their identity was, but not the why. “Okay, but why-?”

“If I remember correctly, these three were able to convince my predecessor that they could be able to do their duties more effectively without being weighed down by the armor that most dragons would wear to protect themselves during combat and instead take on more ‘traditional attire’,” the dragon lord continued from where he left off as he looked over at the other three. “Personally, I think that’s only part of the reason why they decided to be… well, like this.”

“More to the point though,” the first one, Sear, soon spoke up he soon approached where Ember and Torch were standing. Getting rather too close to the mancer as he spoke. “Who is your visitor? Out of all those who have visited you over the years before and after each annual migration as well as over the short time that our kind have been in our new home, we have not encountered any creature quite as majestic as this one-”

“Sear… what have I told you about giving my visitors personal space?” the dragon lord’s question was followed by Sear backing up a few steps as he turned back to Ember. Allowing for her to answer the caretaker’s question as she let out a deep breath.

“To answer your question, my name is Ember Valkyr-”

“Oh MY!” The third one, Sizzle, soon interjected. Preventing the mancer from continuing on with her explanation, “Another Ember!! Does the princess happen to know anything about this, my lord?”

That had Ember raise an eyebrow, shortly before looking back to Torch. Unlike the calm and composed self that he had mostly been in the last few minutes, his eyes this time around were wide with shock. Almost as if he forgot to tell her something rather important. “Torch, what are they talking about?”

“Uh…” Torch was at a loss for words, finding it hard for him to answer her question. Unfortunately, before he even remotely had the chance to say anything, the other dragons beat him to it.

“Oh, you are not aware? Our glorious dragon lord has a daughter,” Sear spoke again, before the second one, Simmer, soon began to finish the statement that his comrade, “Mhmm yes, and oddly enough, both her and you share the same name. Which is strange considering that its tradition for dragon lords to name their kin after powerful warriors.”

Ember looked back at Torch, her eyes narrowed a bit as she looked back at the dragon lord. “You named your daughter after me?” that was only followed by a small nod from the dragon lord as the pyromancer let out a sigh. “I… did not think that you would remember me to the point that you would do that-.”

“I wanted for her to be strong and brave, just like you when we first met all those years ago,” he admitted, letting out a breath. “I wanted to tell you, but I did not know where I could possibly find you or if you were even still around. It was only just moments ago that I found out that you were still alive… You aren’t angry now, are you?”

“No, I… am honored,” Ember replied, but found it hard in order to continue based off of that. So instead, she had to take a moment to recompose herself and to get her thought process in order as she looked back at the dragon lord. “My apologies, I needed a moment to recompose myself after everything you told me so far.”

“Hmm? My apologies for interrupting, but what were you two talking about before we came in?” Sear decided to ask after hearing the mancer say that “I will admit, I am a bit curious about what my lord was discussing with you since the two of you happen to know one another.”

That had Ember look back to Torch, before the dragon lord nodded his head. A cue for her to start explaining to the trio, even though the other two seemed more occupied by flexing their muscles instead of listening. “Well, in the short time I was here, I found out that Torchy over here is the dragon lord, a competition is going on to determine who his successor will be, found out he has a daughter that shares my name and also met you three-”

“Torchy? Is that what you used to call him?” the simple question from Simmer was met by a nod from Ember, which soon lead to all three of the caretakers snickering among themselves before Sizzle immediately proclaimed the first thing that came to his mind, “Oh by the ancestors, that is the cutest nickname I’ve ever heard!!”

“Don’t you three have something better to do than bother the two of us?”

For a moment, all three looked at one another, shortly before they all shook their heads from side to side, “Not that I can think of, my lord. I mean, what could be more important than watching over you?”

Both the dragon lord and the pyromancer just groaned simultaneously, before Ember herself let out a small breath. “I don’t know… anything? Something tells me that you do a lot more than just stand around and wait for something to happen, and I still don’t understand why you guys are dressed like that. I mean, what do you do when you’re not busy helping Torch? Stand around and pose for visitors?”

Only on thursdays…

“Mhmm, well, you see… we are assigned to not just protect the dragon lord, but to also attend to him when he needs assistance,” Simmer soon spoke up.

“You do realize that there’s a competition going on that will determine who the next dragon lord right? Shouldn’t you… I don’t know… wait to see who the victor is? I mean, they technically would be the next dragon lord, right?”

That sole comment from Ember had the room go immediately silent, just before all three of them began to realize what she was saying. “She’s right!! Hurry comrades! We need to make our way to where the scepter will be, posthaste!! We shall return soon, my former lord!!!” Just as dramatically as the three of them have entered the ravine, all three of them dramatically left in the same fashion. When they were gone, Ember let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Finally they’re gone,” the mancer said as she took a seat on the ground next to Torch.

“You seemed rather composed during all of this,” the dragon lord told her.

“Honestly, I was trying…” she admitted, “Those three creep me the buck out.”

For a moment, Torch seemed a bit surprised, but found himself agreeing with Ember as he too also took a seat. “I agree with you. Even though the three of them mean well, they are all rather ignorant and don’t always understand that being a dragon lord is more than just a fancy title. That there are duties associated with that title as well. That and they have a rather unhealthy obsession with… well… everything you just saw. Though, they all have their own personal issues too.”

That had Ember raise an eyebrow for a moment. “Can’t you just find some replacements or something?”

“It doesn’t exactly work that way, Ember,” Torch began to explain to her, “The reason why they are the only ones who actually have served the dragon lord is because they are more interested in helping the dragon lord rather than helping themselves. One of the major flaws with our kind, something that many species also notice too, is that many dragons only care about themselves. Some would steal to satisfy their greed while others would hide so they would feel safe. The three of them have something that many dragons don’t have. The only other one that I could think of that might have these traits is my own daughter.”

That got Ember thinking for a moment, shortly before replying back. “You know, there is one other dragon that can possibly fit in that category. Though, I don’t think you have met him yet.”

“Oh? And who would that be?” the dragon lord asked.

“Spike. He actually reminds me a lot of you when we first met,” Ember explained, “He was actually raised in Equestria and lives with ponykind. He not only demonstrates putting himself in front of others, but also is living proof that ponies and dragons can co-exist.”

“Really? All of this and he’s only a half pint?” Torch asked, his tone sounding like that of utter disbelief as he shook his head. “Come on, you can’t be serious.”

“I am-”

BOOM!!

Before either of them could tell what was going on, they heard the three custodes barge in once again, with Sear making the dramatic announcement or their arrival, “We have returned, my former yet-still-glorious dragon lord!! We bear good news from the gauntlet of fire!! A victor has been determined and we have a new dragon lord!”

That had the dragon lord look back towards the three of them, shortly before asking a new question. “Oh? Who is the victor?”

“Why it is none other than your own daughter,” Simmer soon explained, shortly before three of them stepped aside to let two new dragons come in. One was around the same height as the mancer, it’s body colored blue as it wore a set of yellow battle armor around its chest. The other one… was a much smaller one that the mancer herself recognized immediately. The same one that she was telling Torch about no less than a few moments ago.

Much to Torch’s dismay, it was Spike that was the first one to speak. “Ember? What the heck are you doing here?”

“Spike, I’m right here-”

“I believe Spike’s referring to me,” the mancer interjected, getting up from her spot next to Torch and walking over. Jumping off the ledge that was not far from Torch’s throne as she walked over to greet herself. “Ember Valkyr. Pleasure to meet you. I actually know your father when he was a hatchling.”

“You have the same name as I do?”

“Mhmm, technically, lord Torch told us earlier that you were named after this Ember here, mhmm yes,” they all heard Simmer say from nearby while Sear was inspecting his claws and Sizzle was somehow sliding along the stone floor.

Yet, the comment from Simmer just had a few other questions show up in the back of the new dragon lord’s mind as she looked at the mancer. Inspecting her appearance, her attire, her clothes and even how she was looking at her during her inspection. “May I ask you a question?”

“Yes?”

“It has been known that throughout the years that dragon lords named their kin after powerful warriors, but… I’m having trouble understanding something,” the dragoness explained as she folded her arms. “What exactly would make you fall under that category?”

It took a moment for the pyromancer to come up with a proper response for the newly appointed dragon lord. But after a bit, she thought of the perfect way to get her point across. “I don’t know…” As she spoke, she extended her right have off to the side, having flames channel from the palm of her hand as its glow began to shine throughout the ravine. Growing in size a bit before the mancer finished her sentence. By asking the dragon lord a question of her own, “Are you saying that you rather not be named after an immortal badass who channels enough power to turn a nearby forest to ash in a matter of moments?”

The new dragon lord took a moment to look at the fire that was churning in the mancer’s hand, seeing how she controlled it before dismissing the flames on command, shortly before saying one thing. “I like you.”

“Sear, I want you, Simmer and Sizzle to leave us for now. I believe I want to hear from our new dragon lord what happened in the Gauntlet of Fire,” Torch’s words were followed by the three custodes leaving the room, while the mancer herself said that she had to go as well. Transforming back into a bird of fire as she took to the skies. Leaving Spike and Ember to explain what happened during the gauntlet of fire to Torch.


“Stupid Spike! Stupid Ember! Stupid Fizzle!! Stupid EVERYTHING!!” the dragon named Garble yelled as he kicked a stone that was on the ground to release his anger and rage. He was so close to the Bloodstone Scepter. So close to becoming the next dragon lord. Yet, because of that half pint Spike, not only did he have to leave in shame, but he had been dealt the most embarrassing punishment ever. Having to hug every dragon that he came across on the way to his cave.

How was he going to explain something so humiliating to his sister-?

Bump!

“Hey! Watch where you’re going, you jerk-!” Garble snapped, shortly after falling backwards onto the ground. As he tried to get back up, he found himself staring at three dragons. All of whom were dressed rather weirdly and some were colored in oil. They were all a little taller than he was and from his position on the ground, looked rather intimidating. “Oh no…”

“Oh my, who do we have here?”

“Uh… no one! No one. Just passing through-” the dark red dragon spoke, trying to get himself up off the ground and out of there before they could press further.

“Isn’t this the dragon that was ordered by decree to hug every dragon that he came across on his way back to his cave?” One of the other dragons with a slimmer build then asked his two companions.

“Hehehe, I think I remember now. Garble… Garble the selfish one, only cared about himself and not at all about others,” One other soon spoke up. Garble himself tried to turn around and walk away, but they immediately took notice. “Of course, he would know that there would be far greater punishments if he disobeyed a direct order.”

As Garble took notice, he soon found all three dragons just feet away from him as he looked back at them. “N-now w-wait just a second! C-can we talk about this?! N-no? P-please?”

The only thing that Garble could think about was that he was definitely not going to tell his sister about what he had to do on his way home.


End Chapter 19