The Ties That Bind

by chief maximus

Heavy Are The Horns Part 6

Spike enjoyed his time flying with Twilight. He hoped every day brought him closer to getting his own set of wings so that one day he could fly beside her instead of on her back.

As they flew, Spike idly observed the ground passing by below them. The shrubs and trees soon turned to rocks and boulders. The fortress appeared in the distance, the smell of magma wafting over the breeze. He looked toward the mountain, spying a blue speck leaving the mouth at a high speed.

As the mountain grew closer, he noticed something a bit different about it.

"Uh, has that hole in the side of the mountain always been there?" he asked.

Twilight cocked her head. "Well, volcanos have been known to erupt from the sides as well as from the top, but we would have at least felt the eruption."

Zooming in for a closer look, both noticed the glint of gold from their altitude. Twilight landed inside the room to discover a massive hoard, nearly the size of the treasure rooms of Canterlot.

"Wha... what is this?" Spike asked.

"I think it might be Ember's hoard," Twilight replied, pawing at a small mound of gold coins.

"Sweet Celestia!" she gasped. Twilight raised a coin to her eyes with her magic. "Spike, this coin is from ancient Sumareia! It's thousands of years old!" She put the coin back and sifted through the pile. "They're all from lost ancient civilizations!" Twilight began wading deeper into the hoard, her mind racing with all sorts of scholastic opportunities to gain untold knowledge from the millions of ancient relics stored within the volcano.

"Ember?" Spike called out, only his echo answering him. He walked further into the cave and found a hallway leading to another room. A smaller pile of gems and gold sat near a rather large stone chair. The room was opulent by dragon standards, with ornately carved rock furniture and pillars of lava flowing from the ceiling to provide light and heat.

Something in the air caught him as familiar... a scent he recognized, but from where?

As he walked into the room and took a seat on the throne to ponder it, it came to him.

Ember! This must be Ember's room! he thought. A wave of embarrassment swept over him with this realization. He was in a female's room without permission! A female that wasn't Twilight! He jumped off the throne as though nails had just shot up through the seat. He ran back into the hallway and called Ember's name one more time.

Still no reply.

He returned to the treasure room to find Twilight neck-deep in gold and silver artifacts.

"Sumareia crowns, Marecian jeweled scepters, a gold tablet depicting the fall of Trot!" Twilight squealed.

"Twilight!" Spike shouted, interrupting her chattering. "Ember's gone."

"Probably went to dig up more history! Oh, I have so many questions to ask her about where she found these!"

Spike climbed onto the pile and plucked Twilight from the gold. "I don't think this is Ember's room."

She paused. "But, if it isn't Ember's, who else could have possibly..." Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Do you think this is her father's room?"

Spike nodded. "That's what I was thinking."

"But then, where did he go?" Twilight asked. "Where did she go?"

"I don't know. I thought she told me Torch wasn't feeling too hot lately," Spike replied, scratching his head. "What would make them both just leave?"

Twilight lowered her back to Spike. "Hop on. I can only think of one other place they might be."

Spike clambered onto her back. "Balgok's place?" he asked.

"Exactly."

A push of her wings and they were aloft, leaving through the fortress' new skylight.

---

Torch pushed himself harder than he had in years. He had closed the gap between himself and his daughter, but she was still effortlessly ahead of him. The angry wind and blowing snow weren't helping his chase.

"Ember! Please, for your own good, you must stop!"

She could hear him shouting, but she didn't care. His words meant nothing to her. How could he do that? How could he just give up hope?

Ember turned her head over her shoulder. Her father was falling behind. In no time, he crashed into the ground below, sending up a mighty plume of snow. Ember paused at a hover, taking in her father's battered form. Her anger came surging back, her fury directionless and consuming her. What could she do? At whom could she point the fire of her rage, her feelings of betrayal?

Ember gritted her teeth, a line of tears flushing from her eyes. She clutched the Scepter tightly in both talons and turned north towards the mountains that she thought would hold closure.

But in the back of her mind, she knew her father was right. No dragon could possibly survive for long in conditions like that.

Ember held the Scepter above her head, gripping it as though she could choke the pain out of the stone rod. A warmth washed over her from the tips of her talons down to the end of her tail. It filled her up, it beat in time with her heart. She opened her eyes, her vision tainted crimson. Ember stretched the Scepter out in front of her and released a guttural roar.

A blast of fiery bright red energy erupted from the Bloodstone. The beam streaked across the horizon before vaporizing a mountain in the distance.

Ember felt physically and emotionally drained as she slowly lost altitude, eventually landing at her father's side.

"Dad, are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

Torch coughed weakly. Ember breathed a sigh of relief. Only now, as she calmed down, did she realize that blindly flying off into the icy north with no preparation whatsoever would have been a death sentence. Now it was clear that she had not only nearly killed herself, but also her father.

The snow was still coming down as she looked around. They were on the edge of the dragon lands, and miles away from the fortress. She couldn't well carry her father back, but staying out in the snow was out of the question. Ember could already feel the cold biting through her scales.

She felt panic grip her heart until a thought came to her:

The Scepter! With its link to every dragon, she could use it to call for help.

A brief flash of guilt flashed by Ember’s mind as she also realized that she could have used the Scepter to tell if her mother was still alive, instead of blindly rushing off into the north and getting into this predicament in the first place.

Though, how do I call dragons with it? The Scepter didn't come with instructions, and she hadn't bothered to ask her father to help her learn to use it.

Well, maybe I just hold it and think really hard about my message and who I'm sending it to, she thought, holding the stone above her head and thinking as hard as she could about Spike.

After holding it for about a minute, she cracked one eye open, beginning to shiver in the cold.

I sure hope that worked.

---

"Why do you think they left in such a hurry? I mean, Torch could have just used the mouth of the volcano instead of making a huge hole in it, right?" Spike asked as they flew to the elder dragon's cave.

"I don't know, but it must have been something huge," Twilight called over the wind. "I'm hoping Balgok will be able to shed some light on the subject."

Twilight landed at the mouth of the cave as Spike slid off her back. "What if Torch... well... you know..." Spike began.

"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't considered it," Twilight replied, following Spike into the cave. "But you heard Balgok, the Land of Shadows is a one-way trip. You don't think she..."

"No way!" Spike said. "But... I mean, she wouldn't do that, would she?"

"I hope not, but the pressures of power can do strange things to the mind."

They arrived at the main chamber to find Balgok, sleeping amongst her massive hoard. Spike swallowed his nerves. "Isn't it bad luck to wake a sleeping dragon?" he asked.

Twilight took a deep breath and collected her courage. "No, but it's probably not good for your health," she replied. "Balgok?"

The dragon remained still. "Balgok?" Twilight asked, a bit more forcefully. Still, the dragon didn't move.

"Is she still... alive?" Spike asked. "I haven't heard her breathe or anything since we got here." He said, stepping up to stand right in front of Balgok. A blast of hot air rushed out of her nostrils and bowled Spike over into a pile of gold.

"Huh. That's an incredibly slow aerobic rhythm," Twilight remarked as she drew closer. She thought for a moment. How could she wake Balgokshort of prying her eyes open?

Then it hit her.

"Uhm... Gam-Gam?"

A grunt echoed through the cavern as Balgok cracked an eyelid.

"Ah, Princess Twilight," she yawned, raising her head and shaking off the sleep. "And the youngling, Spike!" Spike crawled out from the pile and brushed himself off as he joined Twilight. "And where is my beautiful Ember?"

"Well, we were actually hoping you might be able to tell us where she and Torch might have gone," Twilight asked.

Balgok raised an eye ridge. "Ember is missing? And Torch?" Balgok hummed to herself. "I did not believe Torch would have the strength to leave the cave. He has been without the Scepter for quite some time."

"Do you think he went to the Land of Shadows?" Spike asked.

"It is possible, yet... Ember would not have accompanied him. It is forbidden to take the journey before your time," Balgok answered softly. "As the Dragon Lord, she knows this. To abdicate her crown, and forfeit her life would be—"

Balgok's eyes widened, Twilight's ears perked up, and Spike's spines stiffened.

"Did you feel that?" Spike asked.

Balgok nodded. "That was the Scepter."

"But... that was a huge amount of magic! I've only ever felt something that strong from one of the Princesses!" Twilight added, turning to face the entrance of the cave.

"It seemed to be north of here," Balgok said. "And it feels like an urgent summons. " Worry found its way across the aged dragon's features. "I fear Lord Ember may be be in danger."

"Then we have to hurry!" Spike shouted, hopping onto Twilight's back.

"Go quickly! There's no telling what sort of peril has found her!" Balgok called after them as Twilight galloped out of the cave.

Spike put a hand on his head as Twilight took a flying leap into the air. He thought he could hear something faint over the rush of wind. He closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to isolate the sound. The more he tried, the more it began to sound like a voice…
A female voice…

Ember's voice!

Spike gasped, opening his eyes. "Ember's that way! She's with Torch, and she needs help!" Spike pointed a claw to her approximate location and hunkered down on Twilight’s back. The princess pushed herself as hard as she could, flying as fast as her wings allowed.

Minutes ticked by at an agonizing pace. Spike could still feel the direction Ember had pointed out for him, but he could also feel the distance. It would be a bit of a flight to reach her.

Just like that, the feeling of helplessness he'd felt so many times before in his life came rushing back. Here he was yet again, dependent on another to help those he cared about. He had tasted independence during the Gauntlet of Fire, and being relegated to this position yet again was like a punch in the gut to his newfound pride.

Spike pushed those self-defeating thoughts out of his head. He had already proved to everyone around him that he had the courage of a proper dragon. Now he just had to convince himself.

But all that Spike had to go on right now was whatever sense the Scepter was giving him. Somehow, he felt like he could sense how far away she was—and it seemed to be miles. That was not helping his sense of dread. He wanted to signal her, to let her know she'd heard him, but what could he do?

Spike lifted his head from his aerodynamic position, the wind buffeting against his chest as he tightened his grip on Twilight's shoulders.

With a deep breath, he released a bright green ball of fire that streaked into the air and exploded brightly.

I hope she saw that, he thought as they flew. It would still be minutes before they reached Ember.

---

Ember could feel the cold creeping towards her heart. Her toes and tail tip were already numb, and her claws grew stiff around the Scepter. She huddled around her father, trying to share body heat, though it was a losing battle. She couldn't discern how long she'd been lying next to her father. Five minutes? Ten minutes? An hour? There was nothing around her but the blowing snow, and it wasn't letting up. A bank of snow was building around herself and her father.

She was shivering uncontrollably now. She couldn't even tell if her limbs were still attached, they were so numb. Soon, she found herself taking deeper breaths, her eyes growing heavy.

A deep sadness gripped Ember's heart. In one foolish motion, she had doomed herself, and her father, and possibly the entire dragon race, depending on who recovered the Bloodstone Scepter from her frozen corpse. She cursed herself for giving into her emotions so readily. What ruler would do that? Dragon Lords are supposed to govern firmly, yet fairly, keeping emotion from clouding their judgment.

Perhaps she wasn't fit to rule after all. Maybe this was the logical conclusion to her extremely short rule.

Her eyes closed.

---

"There they are!" Spike shouted, pointing to patches of scales now barely poking out of the snow.

Twilight raced down to them, using her wing power to blow away some of the loose snow that threatened to swallow them both. Spike leapt from her back and rushed to raise Ember's head out of the snow.

"She's freezing!" Spike cried, brushing the frost from her face. "We've got to get them out of here!"

"I can manage Ember, but what about Torch?" Twilight asked.

"Can’t you just teleport us all back to the fortress?" Spike asked, cradling Ember's head in his arms.

Twilight's eyes widened. "Well, yes, I mean... it’s possible, , but I've never tried this many people before, nor someone so…huge!"

"We have to try! They can't have long left!" Spike shouted, the blizzard picking up in intensity.

Twilight gritted her teeth and landed between Ember and her father. She put one hoof on Torch, and one on Ember.

"Just take us to the caldera! The lava’s heat should save them!" Spike shouted as Twilight charged all the magic she could muster. A glowing purple orb formed at the tip of her horn, discharging arcs of magic streaking from it.

"Close your eyes!" Twilight shouted as she cast the spell.

In a brilliant purple flash, the four of them vanished, leaving a crater of melted snow in their wake.

---

Fizzle's head was pounding. He managed to roll himself onto his back. He opened his eyes and tried to remember where he was, or what he was doing there. He put a claw to his snout and looked at it. Crimson smeared his off-white scales. His focus passed his claw and fell on Garble, standing on a ledge overlooking a magma chamber.

His memory came flooding back to him. He was trapped with a crazy dragon hell-bent on releasing upon an unsuspecting world a creature that he had recently thought was only a myth.

Garble was too busy carving runes into the floor to notice his hostage had awakened.

Fizzle let his head hit the floor as he stared up at the roof of the volcano. There was no way out. He would bare witness to the beginning of the end of everything but the dragons. The only way he could stop the impending doom was to fight Garble himself. While he may have been able to pull it off when they first arrived, with a concussion, there was no way he'd be able to beat him.

He needed a miracle.

And he would receive just that.

The roof of the volcano evaporated in a blinding red flash, sending a shower of dust and pebbles between himself and Garble. He wisely covered his nose and mouth before the plume swallowed them. Once his ears stopped ringing, he could hear Garble coughing and hacking. Fizzle looked toward the roof again. He could see the sky! He struggled to his feet and stretched his wings.

Nothing broken? Here goes! he thought, taking to the sky. He made it out of the volcano and stayed low and fast.

He had to reach Dragon Lord Ember. Fizzle knew only she could stem the tide of what was coming.

Comments

[EchoWing]

Oh this is just cranking up the tension.

[Born-From-Black-Lightnin]

This is really starting to get interesting. Oh it was before but now it's heating up.

-BFBL

[shinigamisparda]

Oh, looks like we're about to hit something interesting.

[MixMassBasher]

Ohhhh... the drama continues

[zimmerwald1915]

Amusing coincidence, blowing-up that mountain

[Peachy Keen]

An excellent chapter!

[Kevin Lee]

7374152 "Coincidence? I didn't see no coincidence ♪♫"

[pahnazd]

Increasing the drama of the story. But it certainly builds momentum more and more.
Keep going

[Alondro]

Can we just skip to the part where Spike goes crazy with blood-lust greed growth and starts chomping Pony McNuggets?

[krazykidfannumber2]

More.

[Kage no Brony]

Am I the only one who hopes Garble is the first meal the fire spirit takes?

[Fido]

Very exciting! Will be keeping an eye on this.

[JimmyHook19]

I see where you said Ember character tag pls. I agree with you on that! Princess Ember so needs a character tag on FIMFiction because after all, Princess Ember is my 7th favorite character :)

[grogar]

Ember now has a character tag! please add it to this story.

[StarryPenName]

I am tracking! Looks fascinating!

[BirdsBooksBrownies]

I am loving what you have written up to now, I am definitely adding this to my tracking list. On that note, are there any plans to update?

[TwibraFlattercordlover]

One day you'll make moar... when that happens reply to my comment.

[Antiquarian]

No! Why is this the end?! Noooooooo!!

[chief maximus]

9243612
It's not over yet, I've just been busy and trying to find time to write.

[Antiquarian]

9245258
Rejoice! For, lo, the story is not dead! Rejoice, ye bronies! Rejoice!

In all seriousness, I am gratified to hear that. This story has captured my interest.

[SPANIARD KIWI]

Dead story?