Peace Porridge Hot

by Metool Bard

Petulant Aggression

When Needles and Ember rejoined the others, everything had already erupted into chaos. Diamond Dogs sprang from the ground while dragons soared through the air. The atmosphere sizzled from fire elementals, redstone, and dragon breath darting about. The Dragoons themselves were already attacking with full force, trying to drive the mercenaries back. And at the center of it all was Seth himself, his own fire elemental flying around him.

What surprised Ember most of all was that through the combat, she could recognize three of the diplomats from the Inter-Speices conference. The buffalo, Little Strongheart, darting left and right and ramming anyone in her way. The griffon, Gilda, flying about with the agility of a hummingbird. Even Princess Celestia herself was in the middle of the fray, placing magical barriers and warding off all who got too close.

Needles, however, noticed something else entirely. Even with all the fighting going on, the Dragon Magi did nothing. Even her own father, who was content to fight her before, just sat there, eyes closed in meditation. The greatest contribution they made was through their fire elementals, who protected them from harm. Needles let out a strained sigh.

"It looks like Seth got impatient," Ember growled, gripping her scepter tightly. "No matter. We won't let him win. Right, Needles?"

Needles cast her gaze downward and bit her lip. Ember raised an eyebrow.

"Needles?"

"I'm sorry, Your Lordship," Needles muttered. "I-I can't help you."

Ember frowned. "Why not?"

"I don't know."

"You've helped me so far."

"That was before. This is now."

"Needles, I—"

"Look, it's just a Dragon Mage thing, okay?! I don't expect you to understand! Just leave me alone!"

Ember scrunched her eyes shut, refusing to show Needles how much her words stung. With a snort, she passed her off to Nova.

"F-fine. I'll fight him myself then," she growled. "At least I'll be doing something."

She flew off in a huff. As Needles watched her go, she could feel her own heart breaking. But even so, she stood firm and watched from her mother's back.

"Needles, is something wrong?" asked Nova.

Needles shook her head. "Nothin', Ma," she muttered bitterly. "I'm just tryin' things your way. Because this is what it means to be a Dragon Mage, apparently."

"Even if I wasn't bound to you, I could still detect your sarcasm," said Ocard. "What are you trying to prove?"

Needles didn't answer. She simply watched in silence, not daring to move a muscle.

No matter how much it hurts, I won't fight, she thought. If that's what Ocard and the Dragon Magi think I should do, then I'm doin' it. But I don't know how long I can last...

***

"Seth!"

Seth looked down, seeing Ember fly at him with fire in her eyes. He smirked.

"Princess Ember. How nice of you to join us," he said.

"What's going on here, Seth?! You said we'd fight at sundown!" Ember barked.

"You can blame your friends for interfering," said Seth. "Seriously, what kind of dragon are you?"

"The wussy kind, that's what!" Garble taunted.

Ember glared at Garble. "I thought I sent you home."

"Yeah, but Seth called me back," Garble retorted. "My offer's still on the table, by the way. We can end this now if you just give me the scepter and let me become Dragon Lord."

"Still not happening, Garble!"

Garble shrugged. "Well, I tried. Guess I'll just have to take it from you!"

He flew at Ember and breathed his flame. Ember swiftly dodged the attack and raised her scepter.

"I am your Dragon Lord, Garble!" she bellowed. "If you must attack anyone, attack this usurper!"

Garble flinched, fighting against the instinct to redirect his flame. Seth, meanwhile, simply cackled.

"Well, well. You have some backbone after all," he said mockingly. "You see now, Princess Ember? You don't need your pitiful friends; all you need is power. That's all that should matter to a dragon."

"Shut up!" Ember snapped. "That's not my thing!"

"Oh? Then why did you order Garble to attack me?"

Ember's entire body felt tense. Something inside her warned her that she was walking into some sort of trap, but that feeling was drowned out by her anger.

"Well, how else am I going to get him off my back?! Ask him politely?!" she roared.

"You could, but it wouldn't do you any good," said Seth with a sneer. "But oh, you don't want to be the kind of Dragon Lord who forces others to listen, do you? You want to be soft and friendly and all that other rubbish. Well, you can't have it both ways, Princess Ember. Either embrace your true nature, or submit to my will!"

Ember froze. She remembered what the neko ambassador said the night before. If she used force, she couldn't have friends. If she embraced friendship, others would take advantage of her. She was stuck, and not even the Dragon Magi knew what to do. She wracked her brain, trying to come up with a rebuttal that Seth wouldn't be able to counter.

In that moment of hesitation, Garble flew in and tackled her to the ground. He tried desperately to tear the scepter from her claws, but she held on for dear life. That was the only thing that made sense. No matter what, she couldn't let anyone else have it.

"He's right, you know," Garble said smugly. "You know he's right. Just admit it and give up. Dragons don't do friendship, and if you try, Seth's gonna destroy you."

"Hey, ugly! Back off!"

A brown blur flew in and slashed Garble with her talon. Ember blinked in surprise as Gilda stood before her, wings outstretched and eyes narrowed. Garble snickered.

"Like I said, Your 'Lordship.' You can't do anything on your own," he gloated. "You always need your friends to bail you out. You don't deserve that scepter!"

Ember let out several strained grunts, desperately forcing back tears. Gilda took note of this.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Ember snarled, getting to her feet.

"You sure? You looked like—"

"I said I'm fine," Ember growled through gritted teeth. "Got a problem with that?"

Gilda snorted indignantly. "Well, excuse me for trying to help."

"You're excused," Ember spat. "Just get out of my way."

Gilda couldn't help but stare as Ember flew back into the battle. She let out a strained growl and clenched her fist. Garble saw this as another opportunity and flew towards her. However, he was quickly rammed out of the way by Little Strongheart.

"Gilda, get it together," she scolded. "We're still in the middle of combat."

Gilda quickly shook herself. "Oh. Uh, sorry." She sighed. "You didn't happen to catch that, did you?"

Little Strongheart tilted her head. "Catch what?"

"I tried to help Lord Ember, and she just blew me off," said Gilda.

Little Strongheart winced. "Really? Oh dear. Are you okay?"

Gilda let out a bitter scoff. "Y'know, it's funny. If you were to talk to me several moons ago, before Griffonstone's rebirth, I would've done exactly what she just did. When you said we had a lot in common, you weren't kidding."

Before Little Strongheart could ask Gilda what she meant, Clump came in from above, ready to smack her with his tail. Before he could reach her, he slammed right into a golden forcefield.

"There's a time and a place for such discussions," said Celestia sagely. "Perhaps after we've settled this?"

Gilda nodded. "Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Fight first, talk later." She pounded her fist into her palm. "C'mon, Strongheart. We've got a Dragon Lord to protect, whether she wants us to or not."

She flew back into the fray with Little Strongheart at her heels. Meanwhile, Celestia held back, observing the chaos around her with a sharp eye and making sure not to gloss over a single detail.

***

Watching Ember fight the teenage dragons made Needles sick to her stomach. Desperately, she tried focusing on another part of the battle. The Dragoons themselves were pinned by the Cobaltvest pack, though she noticed two extra shapes standing beside them. Squinting, she spotted a familiar female Diamond Dog and her Rock Lobster companion.

That's Isabelle and Pepito, she thought. What're they doin' here?

She almost asked Nova to travel into the battle so she could take a closer look, but she thought better of it. Instead, she continued silently watching, holding back her agony.

***

"You can't hide forever, Toro! My redstone repeaters will flush you out!"

Toro let out a snort. Indeed, the stone he hid behind was being peppered by explosive redstone. He could see two of Cortez's elite dogs holding specialized rifles that fired redstone at an alarming rate.

"What're we gonna do?" asked Steel. "We can't stand up to that kind of firepower!"

"If only Needles were here," Trigger grumbled. "She'd think of something, for sure."

Toro sighed. "Indeed, her help would be most appreciated right about now. She is quite resourceful, even if she doesn't think so."

"What I'm wondering is how those two got stuck with us," said Flint, leering at Isabelle and Pepito.

"No look at me. This no my idea," said Pepito.

"Because you never have any ideas," Isabelle growled.

Toro sighed. "We can't go underground; they'll be expecting that. Khamshin! Try and draw their fire! It might buy us some time!"

Khamshin rasped and dived below the surface of the sand. He reemerged next to the Diamond Dogs, letting loose his petrifying breath and snapping his mandibles. Cortez smirked and waved to his gang. Soon, all fire was directed at the antlion.

"You know we don't have to do this, Toro," he said, fiddling with his pistol. "Even though you and Isabelle have run away, I still think you have a place in my pack."

"Nunca le seguiré, mentiroso," Toro spat.

Cortez chuckled. "Tales palabras fuertes. Pero, tengo miedo que no tiene una opción," he said. "A Diamond Dog never leaves the pack. Isn't that right, Isabelle?"

Isabelle swallowed. "Wh-what?"

"Think about it, Isabelle. This is your chance," said Cortez. "You wanted to get back at your big brother, right? Well, I'll allow it. Drag that lizard-loving pup out of there and force him to surrender. I promise I'll overlook all of your transgressions if you do so."

Isabelle looked at Cortez, then at Toro, then back at Cortez again. "But, I..."

Toro frowned. "Isabelle, no puede dejarlo jugarle."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Isabelle blurted out. "Don't act like I owe you anything, big brother! You hurt me when you left, and now it's my turn to hurt you!"

She readied her lasso and swung it over her head. "This is for the good of the pack, big brother! Don't even bother trying to fire; I know you always miss!"

"¡Sí, sino yo no haga!"

Isabelle yelped in pain as Pepito pinned her with one of his stable traps. Both she and Toro were bewildered.

"Pepito! Wh-what do you think you're doing?!" Isabelle barked.

"Something I should have done a long time ago!" Pepito responded, chastising Isabelle. "I tired of you making big mistakes! I tired of you no listening to me! You no want to do this!"

"Shut up! You don't know me!" Isabelle snapped.

"I know enough! But you think I know nothing! You talk to Toro, no hurt him!"

"You don't get to make demands of me!"

Toro sighed. "Isabelle, did I really hurt you that much?"

"You stay out of this!" Isabelle cried. "This is all your fault! You don't care about me at all!"

Toro shook his head. "That's not true. I-I didn't know you felt this way."

"Really?! Did the constant attempts to bring you back not tip you off?!"

"I thought you were doing it for Cortez!"

"I was doing it for Cortez! You belong to the pack!"

"I wish to choose my own destiny!"

"At my expense?!"

Cortez sighed. "You know what? Forget this. You're both useless to me, and I'll put you down like the dogs you are. Hasta luego."

He aimed his pistol and pulled back the hammer while Toro and Isabelle continued their quarrel. Trigger and Pepito quickly noticed this.

"Mr. Toro, sir!"

"¡Señorita, mirada hacia fuera!"

Their warnings came too late. Two blasts erupted from Cortez's pistol. However, neither Diamond Dog was struck down. Puzzled, Toro opened his eyes and noticed Flint and Steel lying before them.

"Seriously, would it kill you idiots to pay attention?" Flint grumbled, nursing a wound in his shoulder.

"Actually, that would've saved their lives," Steel grunted.

"Oh, shut up," Flint moaned. "This was your idea."

"It was my idea to protect that Isabelle girl! You protected Mr. Toro on your own!"

"Yeah, 'cause he's part of the team! His crazy sister just tried to turn him in!"

"Maybe it's more complicated than that..."

Cortez couldn't help but laugh. "Seriously, Toro? These lizards are who you decide are more valuable than your own pack? You're worse off than Isabelle!"

Toro growled and hefted up his cannon. "No one disrespects the family of Toro the Bulldog, Cortez. Not even you. Señor Trigger!"

"C-coming!" Trigger said, wringing his claws. He skittered up Toro's back and perched himself on his shoulder. But as soon as he climbed up, a redstone projectile whizzed past Toro's ear. He turned around to see Trigger on the ground, a serious burn marking where the redstone grazed him.

"Quite an inconvenient weapon you've got there," Cortez scoffed, aiming at Toro. "Then again, I expect no less from a lizard lover."

***

Needles couldn't believe her eyes. None of the Dragoons were in any condition to fight. Ember tried again and again to force the teenage dragons back, only for her insecurities to overwhelm her. Even Gilda and Little Strongheart were running out of stamina. And all the while, the Dragon Magi did nothing. Finally, Needles couldn't take it anymore.

"That's it! I'm through sittin' around!" she proclaimed.

"Needles, wait!"

But Nova's warning fell on deaf ears. Needles leapt from her mother's shoulder and levitated in the air using her magic. She then summoned a throwing star.

"You ain't hurtin' anyone no more!" she yelled, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Agniki, Ocard!"

She tossed the star at Seth, and Ocard engulfed it with its own flame. A large flaming dragon flew towards Seth at great speed, yet he did not budge. Instead, he raised his claws and channeled his own magic.

"Temhkas, if you would."

His own fire elemental roared in reply and met Ocard head-on. As the two grappled, Seth moved his claws in a sweeping motion. To Needles's surprise, the fire elementals bent around him and flew right back at her. Their roars echoed in Needles's ears, which was the last thing she heard before they collided with her.

"N-Needles! No!" Trigger called out.

The fire elementals slammed Needles into the ground with great force. When they disappeared, she was enveloped in a pink and blue aura. Zin and Nova's fire elementals hovered over her, shielding her to the best of their ability. Seth roared with laughter.

"Pathetic! The whole lot of you!" he bellowed. "The Bloodstone Scepter is as good as mine!"

"Not quite."

A powerful ray of sunlight pierced the heavens, blinding Seth and his cronies. Celestia flew before him, looking quite serious indeed.

"You said you would duel Lord Ember at sundown," she said. "Seeing as I can still use the sun to impede you, you're not upholding your end of the bargain. Nor did you say anything about mercenaries."

Seth snorted. "Why should I answer to you?"

"Because I control the very sun above our heads. And I can bring it down upon you if I have to," Celestia responded coldly. "Now, unless you want that to happen, I suggest you leave and take your hired henchmen with you. Lord Ember will meet you at sundown, as promised."

Seth let out a growl. "So strong, yet so weak. I loathe your kind. Temhkas. Tell them we're withdrawing. For now."

He disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Temhkas's wail echoed as he vanished. Getting the message, the mercenaries retreated one by one. Celestia descended back to the ground and sighed. Ember made a beeline towards her.

"What the heck?! Why didn't you do that sooner?!" she roared. "Or while we're at it, why not just drop the sun on him now and get it over it?! You could've ended this a long time ago!"

Celestia didn't so much as flinch at Ember's tantrum. "I get that question a lot, actually. It's a bit of a pet peeve of mine."

"Y'know, a 'thank you' would be nice," said Gilda, folding her arms.

Ember blushed, desperately trying not to cry. "I-I never asked... But Needles, she... And Seth... Y'know what? Just leave me alone! All of you! I-I'm sick of this!"

She flew off towards the cliffside.

"Lord Ember, wait up!" Gilda called out, flying after her.

Celestia looked over at Little Strongheart. "We should probably follow them. It appears Lord Ember needs to learn something about being a ruler."

"I suppose," said Little Strongheart with a shrug. Celestia took off after Gilda, with Little Strongheart quick at her heels.

While this was going on, Trigger rushed over to Needles's side.

"Needles. My dear, sweet Needles," he whimpered, looking over her body. "Please, be okay."

Needles squirmed a bit, looking up at Trigger. Trigger breathed a sigh of relief and held out his claw.

"Don't worry, I won't try and kiss you this time. Ehheh... Ehheh..." he said.

Needles sniffled. "I-I have to go."

Trigger blinked. "Go? Go where?"

Needles didn't answer. She simply picked herself up and ran away crying.

"Needles! C-come back!" Trigger hollered, chasing after her.

Nova and Zin turned to one another and nodded. They both followed their daughter into the desert.

All that was left were Flint, Steel, Toro, Isabelle, Pepito, and Khamshin. Khamshin rasped in pain, encumbered by the several burns riddling his body. Flint and Steel weren't fairing much better.

"H-how is it that Trigger gets wounded and has the strength to chase after Needles?" Steel griped. "Why can't we bounce back like that?"

"Maybe 'cause we're not in love? All I know is that this is still your fault," Flint growled.

Toro and Isabelle looked at one another before turning their backs to each other, refusing to speak. Pepito looked between the two of them and smacked his forehead.

"Ay yi yi," he lamented. "This no gonna be fun..."

Comments

[OmniFox]

If they don't make amends Equestria forfeits its life along with every single living thing regardless of ageless and immortal.

[redmar]

Bot Needles and Ember have problems with their emotions and they don't know what they are supposed to do.
The Dragon Magi are a bunch of idiots that don't use their power to stop a conflict in their own home. I get the impression that they will need to change because being more pacifistic than Fluttershy doesn't help anyone.

[StarryPenName]

redstone repeaters