Burning Passion

by PonyPixel

Crushed

“He just choked,” Smolder said.

“I knew I should’ve been beside him,” Sandbar sighed.

“We’re never going to fix this problem.” She kicked a couple of stones in frustration. “Why was I even called? Why couldn’t it be Ocellus?”

“I’m worried about Thorax. Not just his crush, but his burn too. I sure hope he’s okay.” They looked over to Ember, who seemed to be a bit down. She then shook her head and donned a serious look.

“You think she’s okay?”

“She didn’t know about his crush.”

“It was kind of obvious.”

“Let’s try and talk to her.” The two walked over to the Dragon Lord. “Ember, do you have a minute?”

The dragoness let out a sigh. “Make it quick,” she ordered.

“Well, you saw Thorax panic, did you?” Sandbar asked.

“Of course. You know why he just choked like that?”

“Is it a crush?”

“...How did you know?”

“I could see him blushing. That’s probably why he flew off.”

“Right. How are you feeling?”

“A little surprised. How long has he been hiding that?”

“Hard to say,” Smolder said.

“Well, I just hope his foot’s okay. Lava’s really dangerous for non-dragon creatures.”

“I could image,” Sandbar commented.

“It’s kind of hard to believe. I didn’t know he felt like that.” She then walked off as she started to think a bit.

“One of us should go over to the changeling hive,” Smolder said.

“I’ll do it,” Sandbar replied. “I’ll use the tunnels to get there.”

“Alright. I’ll try and talk to Ember.”

“Got it. Wish me luck.” The colt ran off to the tunnels as his friend sighed.

“I’m the one that’s going to need it.” She took off to catch up with the Dragon Lord.

Ember was dipping her feet into some lava as she was in deep thought. The dragon student of friendship school landed behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. The princess looked to see her and was a bit surprised. “I thought you were going to get Thorax back,” Ember said.

“Sandbar said he’d take care of him. What are you thinking about?”

“Thorax. Why was he so interested in me? I didn’t think I was his type.”

“Maybe it was one of the things you did in the past few weeks. Anything you can think of?” Ember thought for a moment for past activities.

---

The Dragon Lord and fake drake stood in front of a lava pool. “Are you sure you don’t want to test your body?” Ember asked.

“I honestly feel like overheating just standing near it,” Thorax replied. Suddenly, without warning, some teenage dragons rushed past them and cannonballed into the pool of molten magma. Bit of lava splashed towards the disguised changeling. He stumbled back to avoid getting burned.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Just having a bit of fun,” a blue drake with white spike horns said. “Something wrong with your friend?”

“I just... Got out,” Thorax said trying to keep it cool.

“Yeah, whatever,” the yellow and green drake said. “Move aside, my girl’s about to dive in.” On cue, a red dragoness bumped past Thorax, nearly knocking him into the lava.

“Watch it,” Ember ordered.

“Sorry, Dragon Lord Ember,” the dragoness apologized.

“I made sure that dragons were supposed to learn about friendship.”

“Let’s just go,” Thorax suggested.

“Just a minute.” The princess glared down at the drakes. “I’ve tried to be nice to you, princess Twilight’s orders, so if I catch you being jerks again, there’ll be trouble.” Smoke billowed from her nostrils before she flew off.

The fake drake flew beside her. “Thanks for that.”

“No problem. Dragons like that are such a pain.”

“Yeah, it’s like having multiple Pharnyxs. One was bad enough. Are most dragons like that?”

“Unforinetly.” They landed on the cliff edge. “It’s gotta be nice to get away from your duties, right?”

“Yeah. I wish I could get away from this more.”

“Didn’t you say your dad watches over the lands while you're gone?”

“Yeah, but I haven’t gotten a good excuse to travel too far from here. My dad doesn’t allow me unless it’s important, like checking on Smolder at school.”

“So, there’s no good reason why you couldn’t visit the hive.”

“Doubt it.”

“Yeah, changelings are a lot nicer than dragons. No offense.”

“None taken.”

The fake drake sighed as he looked at the sun. “I think it’s about time I head home.”

“Dang. I was hoping you can me with target practice.”

“Maybe next week.” He stepped closer to his friend so he could hug her. The dragoness wasn’t soon keen on this, yet she just took it. “Bye Ember.” With that, he took off.

“See ya.” She just sighed and went back to work.

---

“I thought it was just a friendly hug,” Ember admitted. “I just stood up for him. Any friend would do that.”

“I think friendship and love are completely different things,” Smolder explained. “I would know how you would feel.”

“Seriously? Who is it?”

“It’s... Ocellus.”

“That changeling. I mean it’s kind of fun... Hold on, isn’t she a girl?”

“I know. I think your problem is easier than mine.”

“You sound like you should be assisting Thorax.”

“I think Sandbar is better suited to that. Do you find... This hard to believe?”

“I don’t know just... Why am I feeling this.” Smolder could see that the Dragon Lord was starting to blush.

“What emotions are you feeling?”

“I don’t know! Thorax and Spike told me about being nice and other friendship things but they didn't tell about these kinds. My heart is rushing now.”

“Not to mention you’re blushing.”

“I am?” Using her bloodstone scepter, she looked at her reflection to see she was blushing. “GAH! Why are emotions so complicated. I thought you only needed happiness, anger, and confusion.”

“I feel like you need more than that. Don’t you feel sadness?”

“That’s... Something I don’t like to talk about. Look, I don’t want to talk about this.” She was about to take off, but Smolder stopped her.

“I know this is something you don’t like to, and I don’t either. In the end, this can help with your problem.”

Ember sighed. “Fine, you’re right. Why do they make this harder than it needs to be?”

“Maybe it’s because... Thorax was one of your first friends.”

“Spike was the first friend I had. Why isn’t he in Thorax’s place?”

“Maybe it’s the amount of time you spent together. Spike doesn’t usually visit you for two hours. You had more time to get to know him.”

“That’s true. I’m glad Thorax is getting more confident but he’s still a bit worried around other dragons. Especially those jerks that nearly splashed him with lava!” The two dragons were surprised by this outburst. “I don’t what came over me.”

“I don’t think you know who’s the only one that has a crush here.”

“What are you talking about? Thorax’s the only one who has one.”

“So why do you keep mentioning his name?”

“Because he’s who we’re talking about. Thorax is why you’re here, Thorax is injured, he needs attention, I’m the reason he got burned.” Ember noticed she had a tear coming from her eye. “Am I crying now?”

“Maybe it’s guilt.”

“Are you saying that his injury was my fault?!”

“N... No. I’m just saying, what do you think about him?”

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything. He just has purple buggy eyes, he’s pretty tall, and he’s cute when he... I just called him cute. ...I have a crush on him.” She slowly brought her claws to her face and groaned.

“Emotions are complicated. I get fuzzy feelings when I’m around Ocellus. I can’t help it and you can’t either.”

“So, you can’t really tell me how to control it.”

“...I think I know one to get rid of your fuzziness.”

---

At the changeling hive, Thorax was having some cold leaves placed on his burn. “What did you think was going happen?” Pharynx asked.

“I’m not in the mood to talk to you,” the king grumbled.

“Is the burn bothering you?” a changeling asked.

“It’s not just that. Could you leave me alone for a little bit?” The changeling did as Thorax told and left. The king sighed as he remembered his encounter after his injury.

“Do you want to talk about that?” asked a voice. He looked up and Sandbar walking towards him.

“How did you get here so fast?”

“My friends and I had some tunnel made... Long story, let’s just focus on what happened. I know you feel silly with how that went.”

“Don’t remind me.” The changeling winced as he nearly stood up. “I hate this burn.”

“I could imagine. You know, it’s a lot colder here than it is in the Dragon Lands.”

“True. That’s why most changelings prefer to stay inside during this weather.”

“Yona doesn’t seem to mind this. She’s got pretty thick wool.”

“Speaking of which, when did you ask her out?”

“At the pony pal dance.”

“No, before that.”

“Oh, you mean how I asked her out. Well, after I nearly got crush by a statue one of my friends made, Yona pushed me out of the way in time. After we started our second year at the School of Friendship, I started having funny feelings for her. I couldn’t help but blush when I was around her. I couldn’t find the right chance until the Pony Pal Dance was announced.
After the dance, Yona and I started dating more. We had a few bumps, but we managed.”

“Yona’s personality seems closer to yours. Ember and I are like apples and oranges.”

“Professor Applejack’s aunt and uncle have orange related names. Sometimes different things are good together. While it may not be true for somethings like eating something you’re allergic to, but I’m saying that you should try again.”

The changeling thought for a moment. “You know, you’re right. I just made one mistake. I have to be more confident.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Thorax flew upwards. “Thanks, Sandbar. I hope Ember can...”

“King Thorax,” a changeling said, “There’s someone here to see you.”

“Who is it?”

“She’s in the visiting quarters.” The king and colt followed the changeling to see two familiar dragons sitting at a table.

“Ember?”

“Hey, Thorax,” the Dragon Lord replied. “I’m really like the look of this place.”

“Th... Thanks. What are you doing here?”

“You visiting me tons of times, so I thought I visit you for once.”

Before he could start freaking out, the changeling king remembered what Sandbar told him. “It’s... Nice to see you again.”

“Same to you. You were wanting to say something earlier, remember.”

“Um, right. I... Sort of...”

“Have a crush?”

“...Yes.”

“Figured. I don’t you’re the only one who has one.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah. I really enjoyed you visiting. I hate to admit it, but I’m not to keen on showing my emotions.”

“If you were you’d probably be sneezing smoke right now.” The two rulers shared a laugh as the king sat down.

“It’s kind of colder here than in the Dragon Lands.”

“Yeah, Sandbar told me about that. You’re not uncomfortable, are you?”

“I’m just not used to it. How do you guys stay warm in here?”

“This hive changes the location of its tunnels. Starlight helped find a spell so it’s more controllable for guests. With no holes, we help keep the heat in.”

“Smart.”

Smolder slipped over towards Sandbar. “Looks like we did it,” the dragoness whispered.

“Hold on,” the colt replied, “I wanna make sure.”

“Ember, you’re a great friend,” Thorax said. “You’ve helped give me tips.”

“Same with you,” Ember replied. “If I’m having these kinds of feelings, I’m happy that you’re the one I’m sharing them with.”

“Yeah. Same with you.” The new couple suddenly saw some glowing and saw they came from Sandbar’s cutie mark and Smolder’s spines.

“Now, we’re done,” Sandbar said.

“Thanks for the help guys,” Thorax said.

“No problem,” Smolder said. “Now, we’re going to get back to the school.”

“What about Fluttershy?”

“I told Garble to tell her where we were going,” Ember explained.

“See ya,” Sandbar said as he and Smolder walked away.

“Let me show you around the hive,” Thorax said to the Dragon Lord. “I think we still have some sushi.”

“What’s that?” Ember asked.

“It basically fish rap in rice.”

“Ooh.” The two walked off to start their tour in the hive. As they did this, the dragoness and changeling started holding each other’s claw and hoof.

Comments

[Comickook]

Great job on this final chapter. The exchanges, characterizations and general wrap-up were all well done in all the right places. I particularly liked the origin of Thorax's crush on Ember, how quickly Sandbar and Smolder were to catch that Ember DOES return those affections and Sandbar's attempts to encourage Thorax.

All in all, as I said in an earlier review, I could EASILY see this as a mid-Season 10 episode if there WAS a Season 10 outside the comics.

[Vinylcollector4433]

Great job. I loved how you did the story telling. Also including Ember's father Torch having that whole Hobbie obsession. And showing smolder and ocellus ship.

[lillytheomegawolf]

I enjoyed this. Pretty good story that flowed well and the characters all felt good.

[PonyPixel]

10529169
I’m at least glad you’re able to enjoy something from that episode.

[Uknikorn]

Embrax or Thormber is a ship I support 100% love the idea of them going on friendship missions as well! I really really loved this, Great☆Work!