Chapter 7
Princess Twilight,
I was told that should anything like this ever were to occur, that you must be contacted immediately. Your presence is needed in the Dragon Lands at once. Dragon Lord Ember has been attacked and badly wounded by an unknown assailant. Under her orders you, and the dragon known as Spike, are hereby summoned to Fireglow, the ancient dragon castle. Make haste, we await your arrival.
Scorch
Wanting Shadow to become more at-home in Ponyville, Twilight asked her friends to stay behind and keep him company while she was gone. Spike sat on her back and Starfall flew by her side as they crossed over into dragon territory.
The three, pressured by the urgency in the letter, left early the next morning. The sun began reaching its highest point in the sky as they flew over the dried, barren lands below. Dragons were lying lazily all over the peaks and valleys, a few even glanced up at the three as they flew over.
Starfall watched them cautiously. Aside from Spike, he had never actually met another dragon before.
Twilight saw his anxiety, and said, “It is alright Starfall, they don’t seem to be paying much attention to us.”
Parting his gaze from the dangerous grounds below, Starfall looked to her. “I just hope I didn’t make a mistake in leaving my new armor back in Ponyville.” Having not been able to try on the armor yet, Starfall felt vulnerable around such hostile creatures without it. “By the looks of this place so far, I should have brought it.”
“I still don’t think it will be necessary.” Twilight tried reassuring him. “Ember is a friend, and the dragons all do whatever she says, so we shouldn’t be in any danger this time.”
Spike sat up and said, “But she was attacked and hurt really bad, Starfall may have a point.”
Passing over the giant, stone throne from their previous visit, Spike peered over at it as they flew by, seeing the Flamecano just off the shore.
“So, uh, Twilight?” Spike asked her. “Where exactly are we going?”
Using her magic to pull out a scroll from Starfall’s saddle bag. “I have kept in touch with Ember since our last visit here, and she was able to teach me a lot about the History of the Dragons; which is going to be the title of the book when I am finished.” Twilight levitated it in front of the small dragon. “Long ago, a great dragon called Smolg found and used the Bloodstone Scepter to become the first Dragon Lord. Though the dragons do not know how the scepter is able to do so, it grants any dragon that wields it with the complete loyalty of all of its kind.”
Spike nodded in reply. “That makes sense. When I had it, Garble and every other dragon listened to my every word, just like Ember and her father, Torch.”
“After all dragons submitted to his will,” Twilight continued. “Smolg ordered the construction of a massive castle, one that would serve as the Dragon Lords’ home for every generation to come. Unfortunately, his successor, a dragon named Calagon, burned the castle to strike fear into his underlings.”
“Well that sounds a little extreme.” Spike scoffed.
“Sounds like dragon nature to me.” Starfall remarked.
Twilight cleared her throat before continuing. “The castle was abandoned and left in ruins for a time that Ember claims to be uncountable, so it is safe to say hundreds of years. One of her first commands as Dragon Lord was for the castle to be restored. Since no one can remember what it was called, she named it Fireglow.”
“And that is where Ember is now?” Spike asked.
Twilight nodded. “We are getting close now, when we arrive, let me do the talking.”
A silhouette of the giant volcano had been in sight for some time, the longer they flew towards it, the more the three came to realize how big it was. It could easily have been the same size as the mountain that Canterlot was perched upon. A massive plume of smoke rose up from the crater at the volcano’s peak, darkening the sky for miles around it.
Spike hid behind Twilight’s head as he peered out at it. “It’s near there?” he asked, his voice shaking. Twilight grimaced at the question.
A second peak could then be seen, attached and just beyond the volcano. It looked like an ordinary stone mountain at first, but as they approached and saw the dragons flying around, it became clear what it really was.
Starfall felt his mouth drop a bit at the sight of it. “Unbelievable….”
Fireglow was enormous. A single, ruined structure that was larger than the Crystal Empire Castle and had streams of lava pouring out from underneath it all over. One could tell it was built by dragons because of how it looked, it was built to be sturdy, not pretty or polished. A single glance at it, even when in ruins, could tell anypony that its design was meant to inspire fear.
Twilight and Starfall flew towards the doorway at its base, where dozens of dragons were lying around. A few stood at seeing them, but most paid little attention. Landing on the platform, the three received silent glares and snorts of smoke as a welcome.
“Hehe….” Twilight said, a bit on edge at seeing them so calm. “Hello there, my name is Twilight Sparkle.”
Once again, the ponies were met with silence in response.
“My friends and I have come to see Dragon Lord Ember.” Twilight tried to explain.
“Princess Twilight.” Came a voice from above.
The three looked up to see a silver scaled dragon gliding down towards them. She had a white underbelly and sharp, short spikes running along the back of her head down to her tail. Landing down on the ground before the visitors, inspecting them with her blue eyes.
Twilight managed a smile. “Yes.” Moving her head aside, she said, “This is Spike, and this is Starfall Blitz, my guard.”
Looking at the other two, the dragoness didn’t seem too ecstatic. “Charmed.” Returning her look to the princess, she said, “I’m Scorch, I sent you the letter. Now follow me.” Scorch turned and walked through the large doorway. “I must bring you to the Dragon Lord at once.”
Twilight and Starfall followed after her quickly, wanting to be freed from the looks they were being given by the other dragons. On the inside, there were dozens of dragons lying about, only a hoof-full of them actually working to fix the ruins around them. The path spiraled and twisted about as it rose higher and higher, up the tiers of the castle towards its peak. Staying true to its name given by Ember, the castle had a crimson glow about it that almost made it seem like it were coals underneath a flame. Collapsed halls lie at the end of separate platforms, and heat-drenched statues of fierce dragons kept intimidating glares upon all who passed them by. The castle was in terrible disrepair, but it was still an architectural marvel.
Hastening her steps to walk beside Scorch, Twilight was very interested in the castle. “Could I ask you a few things about this castle, Scorch?”
The dragoness huffed out a puff of smoke before replying, “If you must.”
As Twilight began probing at the silver dragon for information, Spike hopped over onto Starfall’s back.
“Hey Starfall,” the little dragon asked. “Has being a royal guard ever been scary for you?”
Starfall could feel Spike’s lack of comfort in this place, and that it tugged at his fears. He nodded, and chuckled a bit. “Sure, in our line of work, especially in the last few years, there’s almost always something getting to us like that.”
Spike stood up and against the Starfall’s head, leaning over onto his mane. “Really? Then how come you all look so stiff and emotionless all the time?”
Starfall chuckled again, enjoying every time somepony described them like that. He looked up at the baby dragon, saying, “Fear can have a way of bringing out the best in us Spike, that’s why even though we are scared of what we may face, we face it anyway.”
Spike looked confused. “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, think about it.” Starfall suggested, facing forward again. “When we are struck with fear, our bravery is tested. We can stand idly by, run, or we can risk ourselves to protect the lives of others. Being brave doesn’t mean you have no fear; it means you are scared, but choose to face it anyway.”
Leaning back into a sitting position on the pegasus’ back, Spike thought about that. “Huh…” he scoffed, sounding surprised. “I’ve….never thought of it like that before.”
“And you know,” Starfall offered, earning attention from the dragon. “This place has me kinda spooked too. So you and I need to be extra vigilant, for Twilight’s sake.”
Spike nodded in agreement, looking back up at Twilight, who was still running Scorch through her questionnaire. Ascending the stone path, it led to the only opening in the ceiling, guarded by two sleeping dragons. The aura about the castle changed from tyrannical to serene in mere moments.
Apart from the crimson glow of the entrance, the air was lit in a calming sapphire color, made so by the blue flames along each side. It was a long, tall hallway that had more tranquil-looking dragon statues holding the braziers in each claw, their eyes replaced with gemstones.
Following Scorch, all three of the visitors found the serenity of the chamber difficult to comprehend. It was as if there was a whole different side to dragons that just didn’t seem to exist anymore.
The hallway led to an ornate, glyph-covered door guarded by four, very awake, dragons this time; each of them eyeing the ponies and foreign dragon with incredible distrust. Waiting for Scorch to approach, the two closest to the door pushed it open for her and held it as she and the three others entered, ascending the final flight of stairs.
Inside was a nonagon room, or chamber with nine walls. Directly across from the entrance, up on a lone platform, was an empty throne cut from a glowing, purple stone. The top of the throne formed a massive dragon head as two wings spread out from either side that attached to the walls. At the center of the room was a massive lounge that almost looked like a giant bed. Several older dragons stood in a circle, but all backed away as Scorch and the others approached. Dragon Lord Ember rested at the lounge’s center on a stone slab, likely dragged there for her to lie upon.
Scorch stopped and stood aside for Twilight and Starfall to approach Ember. Her once flawless, sapphire scales were now marred and bruised. Her right wing and arm had undoubtedly been broken. Deep, cringe-inducing slashes cut into her neck and stomach. With labored breathing, her chest rose slowly and fell in the same fashion, making the sight of her difficult to bear.
Twilight turned back to Scorch, but the dragoness already knew what she was going to say, and said, “We tried to repair the damage, but there was only so much we could do.” She walked up beside Ember as well. “As much as we dragons bud heads and fight….no one ever goes this far.”
It was impossible for Starfall to look down at Ember with the same paranoia as he had all the other dragons. She was so….young. So small for her kind. From what he had learned about her, she was the last dragon in the world that deserved this kind of cruelty besides Spike.
“You mean to say that dragons never harm each other?” Starfall asked Scorch.
Scorch scoffed at the question. “Harming each other is really all we do when it comes down to it. But not like this. We may be aggressive, but we never wound our own kind this badly.” By the way Scorch looked down at Ember, Twilight could tell there was a deep care between them. “We don’t really have anything else other than each other anymore.”
Spike climbed down from Starfall’s back and walked up to the stone slab, reaching out and grabbing hold of Ember’s claw.
Allowing the baby dragon a few moments to hold onto Ember, Twilight turned back to Scorch. “What can you tell us about the attacker?”
The question got the dragoness out of her mini-meltdown. “No one saw what happened.” Scorch stood up straight, taking in a deep breath and snorting smoke out of her nostrils. “At least, I haven’t been able to find out anything.”
The way she responded made Spike look up at her in confusion. “What do you mean? Aren’t there other dragons trying to find out what happened?”
Scorch shrugged her shoulders. “There were many dragons helping me at first, but after a few hours, they all just went about their own business. Most of them are just waiting for her to wake up and tell us what happened.”
Twilight looked back over at Ember, not believing she was going to be awake anytime soon, at least in the right mind. “Well then, we’ll just have to solve this ourselves. Scorch, take me to the scene of the crime.”
Although she was relieved someone else was helping her, Scorch kept a grim face, looking at the two ponies with little enthusiasm. “Yeah, fine.”
Turning about, Scorch led Twilight and her guard back towards the door. Pausing when she noticed Spike wasn’t with them, Twilight turned to see him still by Ember’s side.
“You guys go on ahead,” Spike said aloud, turning back around to the blue dragon. “I think I’ll stay here in case she wakes up.”
After the three left the chamber, Spike was alone with Ember. He climbed up onto the stone slab and sat there, watching over her with protective eyes.
“This is where we found her.” Scorch said, walking into one of the lower level chambers. “She had come to write another letter to you princess, but someone jumped her.”
The floor was solid rock, and yet, marks clearly made from claws were etched into it. Twilight inspected the markings, and then looked around at the walls to find a single, narrow opening like a window. She approached it and examined the stone; she could tell by the impressions in it that something had squeezed through.
Starfall gave the room a quick scan, and then shook his head. “And there were absolutely no witnesses that saw this happen?” he asked to make sure.
Replying with an annoyed growl, Scorch said, “No, I already told you, no one knows what attacked her.”
It took a moment for Starfall to process the answer he received. “Wait, hold on. Whoever did this had to have been another dragon, right?”
Scorch squinted at Starfall. “That’s impossible, she had the Bloodstone Scepter with her. No dragon can be harmed by their own kind when holding it, it is enchanted to command the loyalty of our entire species.”
Twilight examined two different sets of claw marks on the floor, one of them was definitely Ember’s, but the other was larger. “We can’t say anything for sure yet. I’ll have to take a look around to see if I can find anything else. Let’s go back to see Ember, maybe one of her wounds can tell us more about her attacker.”
Spike had sent Ember letters before, and she always replied to them. They never talked about her life as Dragon Lord or any problems she had ruling them. Ember was always so eager to hear about Spike and his friends. Every time she wrote him, she asked about Twilight and the others she had never met, about new friends, old friends, and anything else of the sort. He didn’t have to see her face to know she excited when she wrote him, and it made him happy too.
“You’re gonna be alright.” Spike said quietly, no one else in the room to hear him except the wounded dragoness. “I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere until you wake up.”
The talk he had with Starfall built up Spike’s pride, but also battered it. He wanted to be strong enough to protect his friends, and brave enough to stand in between them and danger. He hadn’t had many opportunities to prove himself to his friends, but the few times he did, he had given it his all.
When Applejack was trapped and the giant timberwolf stood ready to strike, he ran forward and threw the rock into its mouth to save her. When Twilight told him to take the Crystal Heart to Cadence, he did it, and saved the Crystal Empire. When he and his friends were trapped in the comic-book world of Maretropolus, he came to their rescue. And when his friend Thorax had nowhere else to turn, Spike defended him, even from his own friends.
“Anyone who tries getting to you now is going to have to go through me.” Spike huffed. “I don’t care who it is.”
“Well, well, well.” Came a tempered voice from the hallway behind Spike. “Looks like Spikey-Wikey came back a little too late for his friend.”
Spike turned to see Garble leaning against the wall. He would have snapped back with a quick comment, but he stopped himself when he saw the condition that the red dragon was in.
Garble’s scales were bruised and broken all along his chest and stomach. His left wing membrane was torn clean up the center and he had a painful looking scar from a claw-strike on the left side of his face, forcing the eye shut.
“Whoa….” Spike muttered. “What happened to you?”
Garble scoffed, walking towards the small dragon. “I missed the part where that’s your problem runt. What are you doing here anyway? This castle is for real dragons, not namby-pamby pony lovers like you.”
Although the feeling was diminished, Spike was still unable to comment back at the sight of him. “I came to help Ember, not meet up with you again.”
“Help her?” Garble scoffed, stopping at the edge of the stone slab. “What could you possibly do?”
Spike grimaced and shouted, “I don’t know!” He then calmed down and turned back to her. “I-I’ll protect her in case whoever did this comes back.”
Garble laughed as well as he could without aching. “Yeah, right! You’d get crushed to bits if you tried fighting him.”
“I don’t care what would happen to me!” Spike yelled back. “Because Ember is-” Spike paused mid-sentence, an eyebrow raising. He thought hard about what the red dragon just said. “If I tried fighting him?”
Garble’s good eye shot wide open and he shook his head. “Y-yeah, if it was a guy dragon, that is.”
Spike spun around and faced Garble completely. “Guy dragon?” he asked.
Eyes darting about, Garble looked uncomfortable all of a sudden. “Well….whatever! As if I’m going to waste my time talking to a pipsqueak like you.” He went to turn and walk away.
Before he could Spike breathed a plume of fire from his mouth over Garble’s head, making him stop and spin around in surprise.
“What do you know about the guy that did this to Ember!” Spike demanded to know.
Garble snorted out a puff of smoke and got over in Spike’s face. “I don’t have to tell you squat you little whelp.” He growled. “You’ve got no backup this time, and now you’re really getting on my nerves.”
“Hey!” came a shout from the hallway. Both dragons looked over and saw Twilight entering the chamber. “You leave Spike alone!”
Garble’s eyes flared up at the sight of the pony. “You!” he roared, spinning around and hunching over in anger. He knew that purple color anywhere; this was the same pony that helped Spike every single time they met. “You’re not getting away from me this time!”
Advancing on the alicorn princess, Garble was halted when a certain pegasus stepped into his path. With glaring, purple eyes, Starfall said, “Because you’re wounded I’m going to give you this one warning; back off.”
The situation allowed for Garble to grin past his anger. “You want a piece of me too?” he chuckled. “Then I’ll beat you down first.”
Garble lunged forward and swung a claw at the pony. Starfall leapt up over the swing and front-flipped into a double kick that smashed the dragon in the face, sending him reeling back across the floor. Growling, Garble attacked again, lashing out with both claws. Starfall spread his wings and performed a barrel-roll in mid-air, passing over and underneath the strikes. Landing against the wall, Starfall kicked off of it and delivered a powerful head butt to Garble just as he turned around.
Grabbing at his face, Garble backed away, his existing wounds already wearing him down. Starfall low-kicked the dragon into a fall and then struck him with an apple-bucking kick in the gut, spiking him up against the opposite wall. Sliding down from the impact, Garble rolled slowly away from the wall, groaning.
Twilight, Spike, and even Scorch stood speechless at the display of talent. Starfall trotted up to Garble and pressed his hoof down on the dragon’s chest.
“Make it easier on yourself and tell us who attacked the Dragon Lord.” Starfall commanded.
Garble choked on a growl. “Bite me, feather brain.”
Starfall shook his head. “I’d rather do this my way.” He replied. Using his other hoof, Starfall stomped down hard on the bruises on Garble’s stomach. The dragon yelped in pain, but still couldn’t rise from the floor, pinned down by the royal guard’s hoof. “Who attacked her?” he asked again, still calm.
“Go ahead and pound me all you want, I’m not telling you a thing.” Garble growled.
Before Starfall could strike him again, Twilight said, “Starfall, that’s enough.”
Without hesitation, Starfall lifted his hoof from Garble’s chest and backed away, keeping a cold stare on the downed dragon as he sat up.
“Garble,” Scorch snapped. “You knew who wounded Ember and you kept it to yourself!?”
Slowly rising to a stand, Garble scoffed at them all. “Yeah, so? I should have been the Dragon Lord! Not her!” He growled at the four of them, all standing together. “Look at all of you! Dragons and ponies aren’t friends! And dragons don’t do helping!”
Running around them, Garble took off through the hall running, not able to fly because of his damaged wings.
“Stop him!” Scorch shouted. “He knows-”
“Wait!” Spike yelled, stopping everyone from giving chase. “Let me talk to him.”
“Spike?” Twilight asked. “Are you sure?”
With a look of determination, Spike lifted his chin and clenched his claws down by his sides. “Yes, I am.”
Garble didn’t stop until he was far from Fireglow, way out along the outer rim of the great volcano called Mount Magmoor by the dragons. Slowing down to a walk and then stopping, Garble took a few moments to catch his breath.
As if his wounds didn’t make moving hard enough, now that pony had to go and make it all ache again. Sitting down on a nearby rock, he stretched out his wings best he could, but the tattered membrane made it painful to even try.
His mind was being tossed and turned by a storm of conflicting emotions. He didn’t know what that dragon was going to do. He didn’t know how badly he was going to hurt her. Dragons don’t help each other, but they sure don’t bludgeon each other inches from death either. Now everyone was going to think it was his fault.
“Stupid Spike…” Garble huffed under his breath. “Tricking me like that.”
He sat there for what felt like hours, trying to process all that was going on, and all that had happened. He tried thinking about why the dragon did what he had, but all of this thinking only made his head hurt more.
“Ahhh! What do I care!?” he shouted at himself. He looked down at his wounds, grunting abruptly. “Serves me right for sticking up for her.”
“Garble?” Spike asked, approaching the red dragon from the direction of the castle.
The red dragon turned his head slightly and growled. “Can’t you just leave me alone!?”
“I just want to talk.” Spike reasoned with him. “One dragon to another.”
Garble turned his head back around and leaned his head down onto his claw, puffing smoke out from his nostrils. “Go away Spike….” He groaned, sounding more depressed than angry.
“You know,” Spike said, walking over beside him. “One of the best things about having friends is that you can never really be alone.”
The red dragon gave Spike an un-amused look, but didn’t offer any insult.
Spike jumped up on the rock with him and sat down. “Can you honestly tell me that you’ve never wanted someone you can trust? Someone you can talk to? Someone who actually cares about who you are?”
Garble sighed. “You don’t get it Spike. You were raised by a bunch of frilly ponies, you’re not like the rest of us. Life is supposed to be hard for us dragons, that’s why we’re so tough.” He ruffed his claw onto Spike’s spines on his head. “And why you’re so soft.”
Spike pushed away Garble’s claw, saying, “But you’ve seen the way my friends treat me, you’ve seen it every time. Don’t you ever wonder why I chose to stay with them in the first place?”
“Cuz you’ve got no backbone?” Garble chuckled.
“Because they make me happy.” Spike replied. “I know you don’t like my pony friends, or me for that matter, but if Ember and I could make friends and be happy, why can’t you? Having friends helped me escape from you and the other dragons in the forest. Having friends is why Ember became the Dragon Lord before you.” Spike patted Garble on the arm. “Imagine how strong and happy you would be if you had something like friendship to help you.”
Garble sat silently for a few moments, his tail swaying a bit off the rock behind him. His only open eye slowly lowered its gaze to the ground. Scratching his shoulder, he sniffed the air, trying to think more clearly. The little squirt had a point.
“Let’s just say I consider it,” Garble mumbled. “What good would it do me?”
The question made Spike smile. “I know Ember would be grateful.”
Garble’s eye softened at hearing the answer.
Twilight, Spike, Starfall, Scorch, and Garble all sat around Ember as she rested.
Garble grimaced at the thought of helping the ponies, but it meant helping himself and the dragons too. Leaning forward, he eyed the pony princess across from him.
“This is how it happened.” Garble explained.
Itching his glowing scales, Garble stood in wait for the Dragon Lord. This was the fourth time in the last week he had been called by her, and it was unimaginably frustrating that he had to obey.
Ember flew into the room and landed softly on the floor. “There you are!” she snapped. “You sure took your time, didn’t you?”
“What do you want now?” Garble growled.
Ember back down at the dragons in the interior. “Everyone is moving too slowly, they’re hardly doing any work. I need you to keep them on track for me while I go see my father.”
Garble snorted in anger. “Why me!? Can’t you get some other dragon to do that?”
“They won’t listen to anyone else.” Ember replied, turning to face him. “Just keep them going and wake them up if they try to sleep, I won’t be gone long.”
Before Garble could say anything, Ember flew out again. He barred his fangs and clenched his claws, teeming with anger. He muttered something under his breath and walked down into the chamber below.
For hours he kept the dragons cleaning and repairing the broken castle, hating every moment of it. Dragons were trying to sneak away for a nap every five seconds, forcing Garble to have to track them down and force them back inside to continue working.
Wanting a break, the red dragon flew out from the ruins and landed on a ledge of Mount Magmoor. Cracking his neck and claws, he leaned back to get some shut eye.
“Are you Garble?” asked someone above him.
Eyes flashing open, Garble saw a black dragon in mid-air looking down at him. He had gold, mane-like spikes coming out from his head than ran down his back all the way to his tail. His underbelly and wing membranes were dark gray and he had bright, red eyes.
“Who wants to know?” Garble scoffed, closing his eyes again with the hopes that he’ll fly away.
Landing down on the rock surface, the black dragon stood with an imposing glare fixated upon the red dragon that ignored him. He lightened his expression, saying, “I heard you were the dragon that got cheated out of the Bloodstone Scepter.”
Garble snarled, sitting back up. He hated that everyone knew about that now, probably that little punk Spike’s doing. “What about it?”
The dragon grimaced, saying, “Doesn’t seem fair that they worked together like a couple of pathetic ponies to get what they want. Makes us dragons look bad.”
Raising an eyebrow, Garble replied, “Yeah, that’s right.”
Lifting up his head to peer down at Garble, the black dragon hid a smirk. “How would you like to be Dragon Lord instead?”
The stranger now had Garble’s full attention. “Yeah? And just how would that happen exactly?”
“The details are my problem.” The dragon scoffed. “If you can get me into the castle, unseen, then I will get the scepter for you.”
Squinting, Garble couldn’t figure how that would work. “Well that’s a dumb plan. Even if you managed to get to her, you wouldn’t be able to just take the scepter. All she would have to do is command you not to; dragons can’t disobey her while she holds it.”
“Again,” the dragon muttered. “Details. If I can get inside without being spotted, then I’ll get the scepter and give it to you.”
Now Garble may have been impulsive and an opportunist, but even he could feel something off about the offer. “What’s the catch? Why wouldn’t you just take the scepter for yourself?”
The dragon looked around for others to make it seem as if he was being cautious. “You are the dragon everyone looks up to and follows, even without the scepter. I don’t want to be Dragon Lord, I never did. All I want in return is for you to invade Equestria, pillage the pony cities, and burn their precious homes to the ground.”
Garble’s caution went out the window in an instant. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
Knowing that the dragons guarding the front gate would be asleep, Garble and the dragon snuck in through the door. Garble had been around the castle so much, knew the dragons there so well, that he was able to come up with a path for the two of them to reach the cellar floors without being seen.
Finding an open chamber that had no use yet, Garble signaled the black dragon inside where no one would think to look.
Entering the chamber, the dragon looked out the narrow window, and then back at Garble, saying, “This is perfect. Now are you sure you can get Ember to come down here with you alone?”
Garble cackled to suppress a laugh. “No problem there, all I have to do is tell her some dragons are refusing to work in here and she’ll come.”
The dragon nodded to him. “Alright, I’ll be waiting.”
Garble turned to leave, but then stopped. It occurred to him that he was never told something that seemed important. Turning back to the nameless dragon, he asked, “How exactly are you going to get the scepter anyway?”
He was met with a cold stare that told him the answer without having to say a word. The black dragon replied with a single word. “Details.”
Going into this, Garble felt nothing but excitement. But now there was a small warning playing over and over in his head. “You’re not gonna….” He trailed off, knowing the dragon understood what he meant. “You know, right?”
The scarlet eyes remained, unblinking. “Of course not.” He replied, backing up into a shaded corner by the door. “Just get her down here, and the scepter is yours.”
“How many did you say there are?” Ember asked as she flew with Garble down to the lower levels.
“Four, I think.” Garble replied, leading her towards the cellar chamber. “They keep saying they’ll come out, but then stay in there and sleep.”
Seeing the chamber opening, Garble pointed to it.
“That one there.” He said, lowering his arm as Ember flew ahead of him.
Entering the chamber, Ember flew to the middle, but spotted no one. She went to turn to Garble and demand what the big idea was, but then stopped when she spotted the dragon leaning against the wall.
“Hello Ember.” He said, stepping in front of the only exit besides the window. “Been a while, hasn’t it?”
Ember squinted to try and get a better look at the mysterious intruder, recognizing him immediately. “You!?” she shouted, lifting up the Bloodstone Scepter. “I command you to bow down and tell me why you’ve come here!”
Garble thought it was all over and waited for the dragon to do as he was commanded, but he never did. Standing there with an amused smirk on his face, the dragon chuckled to himself, shaking his head.
“I’m afraid that won’t work on me, Dragon Lord.” He said, a dark aura flickering about him, only to vanish. “I apologize in advance for this.”
Ember went to say something to Garble, but was stopped as the dragon grabbed hold of the scepter as well, the two of them in a grapple for its possession. Overpowering Ember rather easily, the dragon pushed it down and head butted her. She was dazed, but still held on, trying to bite at him as she used her tail to counterbalance their weights. When she moved her head forward, he smacked the scepter into it and tore the artifact from her grasp, sending it flying into the corner of the chamber.
Now removed of her only defense, the dragon grabbed hold of her by the shoulders, keeping her arms tucked down and useless. Ember tried kicking and scratching at him with her legs, but they had little to no effect. Spinning her around, the black dragon heaved her at the wall, making her strike it so hard that cracks splintered all over the stone.
Garble thought he would go for the scepter and use it to command her, but it looked as if he had no intention of stopping just yet.
Not giving Ember a single moment to recover, the dragon rammed her into the wall again as she tried to stand up. Pinning her up against the wall, he grabbed hold of her right wing and sank his fangs into it. Ember cried out in pain, trying desperately to free herself, but his grip was too strong. In a matter of moments, he tugged and pulled while biting her and a loud, cracking sound rang out.
Taking a step forward, Garble stopped himself from interfering. Every fiber in his body told him to jump in and stop the aggressive assault, but he stayed put; watching with surprisingly worried eyes.
Releasing Ember’s wing from his jaws, the black dragon spun her around and began clawing her all over as she could only cover herself with her arms and defend. Bruised scales turned into broken ones, and at some point, she couldn’t keep her right arm up anymore.
Grabbing her left arm and holding it away, the dragon began clawing her savagely while she stood there helpless. He released her left arm when she lost all strength to resist, and he delivered a strike to her neck that looked fatal.
He raised his claws to strike again, but he was tackled from the side, letting Ember collapse to the floor. “That’s enough!” Garble shouted, heaving the dragon up against the wall. He backed away, saying, “What is wrong with you!? Look at what you did to her!”
Standing up after having been slammed against the wall, the dragon glared at Garble, his eyes narrow and emotionless.
Garble looked down at Ember, who remained motionless on the floor, and then back up at him. “We have the scepter now. A deal’s a deal, and you’re done.”
The dragon tilted his head. “We?” he asked. Opening his mouth wide, he breathed a bright inferno onto Garble, distracting him long enough to shoulder-tackle the red dragon and send him across the floor. “Are you really that dull? Did you honestly believe I was going to give it to you? Just like that?”
Like he had with Ember, the dragon raced up to Garble and punched him in the gut, overwhelming him with powerful strikes from his claws. When the red dragon stood dazed, the aggressor slashed him across the face, sending him spiraling down to the floor.
Garble stayed conscious as he watched the dragon grab the scepter and walk over to the window. He stopped and turned to Garble, saying, “Congratulations. Now you’re a failure and a traitor.”
With that said, the dragon forced his way through the narrow window, cracking the stone and flew off into the sky.
Slowly rising up, Garble looked down at Ember. He reached over to her, but stopped, feeling ashamed of himself. He limped out into the castle interior and made it down another level before shouting, “The Dragon Lord has been attacked!”
Garble shook his head as he kept it lowered. Scorch wanted to scold him, or yell at least, but she knew that a dragon’s pride gave limitations to their decisions.
Spike patted Garble on the back. “Thank you Garble.” He said sincerely. “Now we can make this right.”
“But we can’t.” Garble replied, lifting his head. “I don’t know where he went, no one else saw him leave…..I didn’t even get his name!”
Starfall looked over at Twilight. “What do we do now? If no one else saw him, I don’t know what else we can do.”
Twilight sat, deep in thought as everyone waited for her to reply. She stood up and walked over to Ember, placing her hoof gently on the dragon’s arm. “He probably left the Dragon Lands by now, so there’s nothing more we can do here.” She then turned to Scorch, saying, “Keep whatever dragons you can on the lookout in case he comes back and make sure Ember recovers from her wounds.”
Scorch nodded, not caring at this point that she was taking orders from a pony.
“Garble,” Twilight said, grabbing the red dragon’s gaze. “You need to stay here with Ember and get better. If that dragon comes back, don’t let him finish what he started.”
Garble growled and puffed smoke out from his nostrils again. “With pleasure.”
Turning to her friends, Twilight said, “We need to return to Ponyville immediately; I have to find out what I can about this dragon from the library.” Both Spike and Starfall nodded in reply. “But before we go, I have to write a letter.”
Dear Princess Luna,
I need your help Luna, something doesn’t feel right. Dragon Lord Ember has just been attacked and the Bloodstone Scepter has been stolen. The only witness says that the attacker was a black and gold dragon that resisted the scepter’s power. I am going to be researching everything I can about this dragon from my library in Ponyville, but I have my doubts it will do much good. I have a feeling that everything that’s happened is connected, but I don’t know if I can figure it out on my own. Please keep this between us; I’m not sure how Princess Celestia will take it.
Twilight
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After reading this twice now, I can honestly say I couldn't look away from it. It most certainly has a gripping, shaded tone, while also maintaining that colorful atmosphere. The portrayals for the Mane 6, Spike, and the rest are well done, overall, though I just couldn't quite understand what made Rainbow Dash so pumped up in meeting Twilight's arriving guard, even before she knew it was only one Pegasus. Speaking of which, Starfall Blitz is certainly a character I enjoy reading, imagining him speaking slightly carefree though self-collected, like Bing Crosby, with a touch of anxiety of how to bond properly with everypony. He has that friendly, Bing demeanor, for me at least, whenever speaking with Twilight and the others. But when need be serious, he can convey a Kevin Conroy demeanor from Batman: TAS, due to his Royal Guard Training. His interactions with Moon Frost seem intriguing, as well. Shadow Light, I find, to be equally, though distinctively compelling, hearing him speak as though he were a kid. Timid, anxious, and easily frightened, maybe even having a lighter voice, like a kid. It's no wonder he and Fluttershy hit it off, so well. His moments of epiphany in finding sources of joy in Equestria and Ponyville, after spending millennia locked in the dark, countered with his sudden assaults from inside of him makes him even more a treat. And having him be the catalyst of Celestia and Discord being on the exact, same page, for probably the very first time? Just what are we dealing with, exactly? And did that black dragon get the amulet, along with the staff from Ember? How? That little portrayal of paranoia was spot on, in that segment. I definitely look forward to more. God Bless.
7850007 Thank you very much. Hearing such high praise on my first story is very spirit-lifting. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you find the rest of the story equally exciting, if not more.
7850356 So far, I am confident that it will be the case.