• Published 16th May 2016
  • 1,465 Views, 67 Comments

Peace Porridge Hot - Metool Bard



Is the world ready for a nice Dragon Lord? Ember's authority is put to the ultimate test.

  • ...
3
 67
 1,465

Unsuccessful Uprising

For the longest time, all was still in the desert. Needles sat in quiet meditation on Khamshin's back, listening to everything around her. She could hear the flapping of wings; the shuffling of sand; Toro sniffing the air. But not once did she hear a Diamond Dog's howl or some other foe approach.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

"You look troubled, my dear Needles. Are you okay?"

Needles didn't even open her eyes as she turned away from Trigger. "I-I dunno."

"Still nervous about meeting your parents?" asked Ember.

Needles shrugged. "I little, I guess," she admitted.

Trigger smiled and placed a claw on Needles's shoulder. "Don't you fret, Needles. We're all here for you."

"I'm sure your parents are very nice," Ember added. "Unlike most dragons I know."

"I hear ya, sister," Needles concurred. "Up until a few moons ago, Trigger here wasn't exactly the gentleman he is now." She pointed over at Flint and Steel. "And those two were a lot worse."

"To be fair, you did kinda take over our nest," Flint snarled. "You can't blame me for getting angry about that."

"N-now now, Flint. Th-that's all water under the bridge," said Steel nervously.

Flint groaned and smacked Steel upside the head. "I never said I was upset about it now, dingus. Seriously, stop getting so worked up over nothing."

Ember blinked. "That is the most normal dragon interaction I've seen since I met Spike at the Gauntlet of Fire. Maybe things are changing too fast. Is that why Seth is challenging me for the Bloodstone Scepter?"

"It is possible, Your Lordship," Trigger mused. "Though seeing as he is some rogue Dragon Mage, he might have more nefarious goals. Ehheh... Ehheh..."

"Yes, but what are those goals?" asked Toro, furrowing his brow. "And why did a powerful dragon like him have to place a bounty on the Dragon Lord's head?"

Needles shrugged. "Well, I guess we'll just have to ask my folks and find out," she said with a sigh. "Still not lookin' forward to that."

"Yeah, speaking of which, how much farther is it?" inquired Steel.

Needles looked off into the distance and squinted. "Can't be far now. I can see the cliffs just ahead."

"And look, someone's coming to greet us," said Trigger.

Needles raised an eyebrow and looked up to where Trigger was pointing. Sure enough, a trio of dragons were descending from the sky.

"Huh. Well, that's unexpected," said Needles. "Not entirely unwelcome, though."

"Don't be so sure."

Needles turned to Ember, who had a dark scowl on her face.

"Something wrong, Your Lordship?" she asked.

Ember snorted and held her scepter aloft. "I know those dragons. They certainly aren't Dragon Magi."

"Heh, don't tell me you believe that old legend."

The three dragons landed before Khamshin, who stopped in his tracks. The leader of the bunch was a menacing red fellow with a pronounced jaw and fiery eyes. He was accompanied by a rotund brown dragon with a club-like tail and a lanky purple dragon with an orange mane covering his eyes.

"Garble," said Ember with a snort. "You're a bit far from home, aren't you?"

"Hey, I can go where I want when I want, Your 'Lordship,'" the red dragon snarled, putting emphasis on his air quotes.

"You know this fella?" Needles asked.

Ember made a face. "Let's just say you're all lucky he's not Dragon Lord."

"You wouldn't be Dragon Lord yourself if that stupid runt didn't help you," said Garble.

"Hey, watch your tone! You're addressing the Dragon Lord!" Flint roared.

Garble sneered. "Well, she won't be Dragon Lord for long, will she? Not with Seth calling her out."

"Heh, yeah. No one has ever called a dragon out for the Bloodstone Scepter before," said the purple dragon, wringing his claws. "She must not be fit to rule us after all."

"I'm more fit than you, Fume," Ember growled, gripping her scepter tightly.

"Then why are you getting called out then, huh?" asked the brown dragon. "Seth is gonna roast your hide."

"Clump, Clump. Easy," said Garble, holding up his palm. "Even if she doesn't deserve to be Dragon Lord, she's still Torch's daughter. We should show her some respect."

Ember scowled. "Spare me the lip service, Garble. What do you want?"

"Well, as it turns out, Seth is offering a big reward for your capture," said Garble. "But, like I said, you're Torch's daughter. You don't deserve to be incinerated by that guy."

"Translation: You're afraid my dad's gonna kill you," said Ember.

Garble scoffed. "Heh, what? Please. Torch ain't Dragon Lord anymore. Besides, Seth could whoop his butt, too." He suddenly cleared his throat. "Um, could you possibly not tell Torch I said that?"

"Wow, and I thought I was a wimp," said Steel, scratching his head.

"I-I'm not a wimp!" Garble barked. He took a moment to compose himself and turned back to Ember. "Look, Your 'Lordship.' The point is I'm offering you a deal to get out of this alive. Give me the scepter and let me be Dragon Lord."

Ember snorted out a plume of smoke. "Not on your life, Garble."

"It's the only way you're gonna keep your head, Princess," Garble snarled. "I get what I want, and you get to keep on living. It's a win-win."

"You think I'm scared of you?" Ember snapped, drawing herself to full height.

"No, but you should be scared of Seth," said Fume with a snicker. "He's gonna eat you alive."

"Now hold on just a minute," said Needles. "What do you fellas know about this here Seth guy?"

Garble's eyes glistened. "Oh, look at this uppity little runt. You think you can talk to me like that, shrimp?"

Needles's face darkened. "Oh, don't get me started," she growled. "I've taken on way bigger varmints than you."

Garble laughed. "Isn't that cute? The small wittle tyke thinks she's grown up!"

"You'd better back off, buddy," Trigger warned, wringing his claws. "Needles is a lot more mature than you'll ever be. You can't even accept your loss with dignity and grace. Ehheh..."

Garble simply continued to roar with laughter. "Get this, guys! Two of 'em! Two little babies talking all big and strong! You're just like that Spike punk!"

Needles's eyes narrowed. "You say that as if it's a bad thing," she grumbled.

"Needles, stay in control," said Ocard sternly. "He's not worth it."

"Listen, missy. The grown-ups are trying to have a conversation here," said Garble mockingly. "So why don't you go back to your nest and cuddle up with your mama?"

"Leave her alone, Garble!"

Garble blinked as a pulse of energy radiated from the Bloodstone Scepter. He soon found himself bowing his head towards Ember.

"Y-yes, Your Lordship," he said. He then blinked in confusion. "Wait. What am I doing? I don't have to answer to you!"

"As long as I remain Dragon Lord, you do!" Ember boomed, her voice amplified by the scepter.

Garble gnashed his teeth as he struggled against the scepter's power. "N-no fair! You're not a proper Dragon Lord! Seth says you're not!"

"And why do you believe him, huh?" asked Flint, folding his arms. "What kinda clout does this Seth guy have?"

"Sh-shut up!" Garble barked. "Last chance, Princess! Either give me the scepter, or I'm taking you to Seth!"

"You will do no such thing!" Ember proclaimed.

Garble blinked. "O-of course not, Your Lordship. Wh-what was I think—?" He shook himself. "Now cut that out!"

Ember smirked. "Make me!"

Garble snorted and flew towards Ember in a blind rage. Ember rolled away from the strike and smacked Garble's back with the butt of her scepter. Garble tumbled from the sky and plowed straight into the ground. He got up and sputtered.

"It'll take more than some fancy tricks to best a true dragon," he said, turning to Clump and Fume. "What're you two standing around for?! Get her!"

Clump and Fume took to the skies, only to be intercepted by Flint and Steel.

"You're not laying one claw on the Dragon Lord!" Flint snarled. "Not while we're around!"

Garble scoffed. "Oh, I see how it is. The big mighty Dragon Lord can't do anything on her own. She needs her precious friends to bail her out. No wonder Seth is challenging you for the scepter."

Ember blushed madly. "Y-you don't know anything about me or friendship!"

"And you don't know anything about being a Dragon Lord," Garble retorted. He took to the sky and made a beeline to Ember, his claws ready to snatch the scepter from her hands. "I do."

"Likely story!"

Garble suddenly spun out of control as a magic throwing star grazed his jaw. Ember looked down to see Needles, bathed in a golden aura and ready to fight. Garble snorted.

"Oh, so the baby wants to get her butt pounded," he said, smacking his fist against his palm. "What'd you throw at me, runt? A rock?"

Needles smirked. "You really wanna see?" she asked coyly. Several magical throwing stars appeared between her fingertips. "I've got loads."

Garble's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "H-how are you doing that?! Dragons can't do that!"

"She must be one of those Dragon Magi thingies from those old legends!" said Fume. "Oh man, we're so hosed!"

"Sh-shut up, Fume! Dragon Magi don't exist!" Garble bellowed.

"Well, I've got five little retorts for that," said Needles. In rapid succession, she threw her stars at Garble. "One, two, three, four, five!"

Each one hit their mark, scratching Garble's scales.

"Let's get out of here!" Clump cried. "We can't take on the Dragon Lord and a Dragon Mage!"

Clump and Fume broke off from Flint and Steel and took off into the sky. Garble shook his fist at them.

"Come back, you cowards! We can take 'em!" he shouted. "Seth summoned us for a reason!"

"Follow you comrades back to the Dragonlands!" Ember commanded.

Garble winced and did as he was told. "This ain't over, Your 'Lordship!' Think about my offer! You'll never defeat Seth, you hear me?! Never!"

Once Garble and his gang disappeared from sight, Ember sighed and hung her head. "Well, so much for that not being my thing."

"Are you kiddin'? That was great," said Needles, wiping some sweat from her brow. "I love how ya played with that bully like a cheap fiddle. No one's gonna push you around."

Ember shook her head. "But I promised that I wouldn't push others around. That's how the old Dragon Lords did things. Spike showed me there was a better way, and I want to follow his example. But with jerks like Garble and Seth challenging me, i-it's just so..."

She quickly rubbed her eyes and sulked. "Actually, forget I said anything. Let's just keep moving."

Needles shrugged. "Whatever you say, Your Lordship. And Ocard, I don't wanna hear it."

"Your spirit guide giving you trouble, Señorita Needles?" Toro asked.

Needles sighed. "It's just tryin' to make sure I don't lose my temper and nearly incinerate everyone."

Ember's eyes widened. "You can do that?!"

"Yeah. Not exactly proud of it, though," said Needles sheepishly. "That's kinda why Khamshin here lost his home. I just got all worked up and summoned Ocard by accident. It went on a bit of a rampage, and I didn't know how to turn it off. Y-you can't imagine how scared I was."

Ember frowned. "No, I can't. Because any other dragon would be using that power to make everyone else do what they wanted."

Needles chuckled. "Yeah, well. That ain't me. The road I walk ain't easy, but it feels right."

Ember furrowed her brow. "I see. It appears the Dragon Magi are as wise as the stories say."

Needles blushed. "N-no need to flatter me, Your Lordship. I-I ain't that good."

Toro sniffed the air and scowled. "Redstone, due south. The Cobaltvest pack is on the move." He then sniffed the air again. "Along with, seafood?"

"Must be Rock Lobsters," said Flint darkly. "Those guys must've gotten the bounty, too."

"Which means we can't stay here," said Needles. "Let's keep moving there, Khamshin. Hyeup!"

She tapped her foot against the back of Khamshin's head. The antlion let out a rasp before continuing forward. Needles sighed, closing her eyes and going back into her meditation.

"The Dragon Lord is right, Needles. You're better than you think you are," said Ocard.

Needles scowled. And here I thought you were gonna lecture me about controlling my temper, she thought.

"Two separate subjects, young mage," said Ocard. "But yes, you should be more mindful of your actions."

Needles groaned. I don't need this right now.

"Then when?"

Needles couldn't answer that. She simply continued to empty her mind and prepare herself for the trials ahead...