S9 E9: Sweet and Smoky (What If?)
An anxious Smolder rushed down the hall to the headmare's office, hoping to have a chance to talk to her! But the orange scaled dragon was more than a little surprised when she bumped into not only the headmare, but also one of her professors out in said hallway. "Headmare Twilight? Professor Fluttershy?"
"Oh, hello, Smolder," Twilight greeted the anxious looking dragon. "I'm afraid you've caught me at a bad time, though. Fluttershy and I were just about to leave for the dragon lands. And Spike's going too."
Spike waved a claw. "Yeah, Ember said it's urgent but she wouldn't provide anymore details in case her message got intercepted somehow," And to Smolder he added. "I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to take a rain check on our next flying lesson. Though, I think I'm finally getting the hang of my new body. Hard to believe it's been almost a year since my molt now."
Smolder shook her head. "It's not about that! It's about my brother! I'm worried about him! Like, really worried about him!"
"Wait, you have a brother?" Fluttershy questioned.
But Spike remembered having heard of said brother during the aforementioned molt. "Why? I thought he got kicked out of the nest once he started molting, and that was that."
Smolder rubbed the back of her neck with a claw. "A-actually, that wasn't quite true. We did sort of stay in touch for a while, especially when I was going through my own molt and he was the only one willing to hang around me. Said I didn't smell as bad as he did," A faint blush formed on her cheeks, but she quickly coughed into a claw and changed the subject. "Last night though, I had a dream about him!"
The mention of a dream caused Twilight to pause. She knew from experience that dreams could be a sign, often a warning sign. "What was this dream about? Maybe I could talk to Princess Luna about it? She is a dream expert, after all."
"No, I don't need some dream interpreter!" Smolder stubbornly protested with a snort! "I know what I saw! I could see my brother standing with these shadowy figures, one of which seemed to tower over the others. I couldn't really explain why but something told me he was in with the wrong crowd. So I have to go back to the dragon lands! I have to find my brother and make sure he's still okay! Please, Headmare Twilight! You have to let me go, it's a family emergency!"
Fluttershy looked at Twilight and commented to the alicorn. "I know it's almost the middle of the semester, but this sounds urgent. And we're on our way to the dragon lands as it is, so why not solve two problems at once?"
"Well, I... suppose there's no harm, just this once," Twilight pondered as she put a hoof to her chin. "But Smolder, I'll be writing a note to the rest of your professors about this unscheduled field trip. You'll have to make up all the homework you'll be missing from their classes when we get back."
The orange scaled dragon just waved a claw in a dismissive fashion. "No problem, I'll work twice as hard when we come back! Now come on, we'd already be halfway to the dragon lands if we hadn't been wasting time with this chit chat! I'll lead the way!" And she flew away before anyone could stop her.
Twilight just looked to Fluttershy and Spike. "Well, you heard Smolder. It's time to get a move on. Ember will be expecting us, and we don't want to keep her waiting. You know how impatient she gets."
Spike shuddered. "Don't remind me." But even he couldn't have foreseen what would lie in store for him in the dragon lands on this visit. It was a surprise he would never forget. And it would all be tied to Smolder's brother.
The ponies and dragons soon departed for the dragon lands, though not one knew exactly what would be in store for them there. They had vague ideas to be sure, but even Twilight and Fluttershy didn't know what to expect.
Soon the familiar smell of volcanic ash and brimstone, and the feel of warm, jagged rock underneath signaled more than words the arrival into the dragon lands. And for Fluttershy it was a sight to behold as this was her first time being in such an environment. "Hm, I expected the dragon lands to be a bit more... rough. This actually isn't as bad as I thought it would be," Then she commented. "Although it's definitely kind of toasty here."
"That's lava for you. As long as you don't get too close though, you'll be okay," Smolder waved a claw. "Though it doesn't feel as warm as it should be for this time of year. Guess some of the volcanoes have gone dormant."
Just then, who should descend from above but a familiar blue scaled dragon that looked only slightly taller than Smolder (and Spike)? All but Fluttershy knew who it was. "Ember!" They all exclaimed!
Ember smiled as she landed on the stony path. "Hey, Princess Twilight! So glad you could make it! And I see you brought Fluttershy and Smolder too," She then whispered. "Fluttershy's the yellow one, right?"
Twilight nodded. "Still having trouble with pony names and faces I see."
Ember fought back a blush. "I'm working on it! At least this time I didn't mistake you for Starlight, though you two really do sound and look the same. When you don't have your wings extended outward it only gets more confusing," Then her eyes started to dart around. "Uh, but where's Spike? Isn't he with you?"
Spike chuckled. "Ember, I'm right here! Surely, Smolder told you I went through a molt," He stepped forward. "How do you like me now?! Check out these sweet new wings!"
The dragon lord gasped in amazement. "Wow! No wonder I didn't recognize you sooner, Spike. You look so different now. You're more... mature," Then she warned. "But don't think that gives you permission to try anything funny with Smolder!"
Now it was Smolder's turn to blush. "Come on, we're just friends. Maybe at best he's like a little brother or something," Then she asked Ember. "Uh, speaking of which, have you seen my older brother anywhere?"
But the dragon lord shook her head. "I'm sorry, Smolder. I've been far too busy dealing with this unexpected crisis to look into your concerns. I don't even know who we is, we dragons don't really keep track of families," And she quickly changed the subject. "So, Princess Twilight, Fluttershy. You two think you can help me with a little er... problem I'm having? I hate having to always depend on you ponies, but I really don't know who else I can turn to. I somehow doubt Thorax would know what I'm facing."
"Well, it all depends. Even now that we're pen pals, Ember, there's still much about dragons that we don't know," Twilight cautioned. "By the way, how's Singe? Princess Celestia said she came back here."
The young dragon lord blinked for a moment, then suddenly remembered. "Huh? Oh yeah. Well, she just left all of a sudden one day. She didn't really say why, all I found was a note saying 'Off to see the world'."
Spike frowned a bit. "That's a bummer. I was really hoping to see her again. There's still some things I wanted to ask her, and some things I wanted to tell her."
Ember reassured her fellow dragon. "Don't worry, Spike. Singe's note told me to tell you that she loves you very much. And if she runs into trouble again you'll be the first to know. Oh, and if you run into trouble, I can teach you how to contact her. I get the feeling she'd drop everything and come running if anyone dared to hurt you!"
But Spike protested by waving his claw. "I can take care of myself, I'm not a baby dragon anymore. I came here to help Smolder look for her brother."
"Well, you might as well have a look around. I'm going to be busy with your pony friends and uh... pony mom," Ember blinked. "It's odd to have a dragon with two mothers: One biological and one adoptive."
Spike shrugged his claws. "I made my peace with it long ago," Then he turned to Twilight. "You and Fluttershy go help Ember, Smolder and I will be just fine on our own. The dragon lands are a lot more peaceful now."
Twilight nodded her head. "Alright then. Let us know if you find him."
"I'm really looking forward to meeting him. The older brother of Smolder must be very nice." Fluttershy commented.
"Well, he was from what I remember of, but that was a long time ago." Smolder nervously replied. Her own memories of her brother were kind of fuzzy.
Ember simply snorted. "Well you won't find him by just standing around here, and that won't solve my problem either. So if we're done with all the reunion talk, let's get going!" And so the group split up: Spike staying with Smolder to explore the dragon lands while Twilight and Fluttershy went off with Ember.
The light blue scaled dragon lord led her pony guests to a not so small gorge that had several small pools of lava running through cracks in the ground. And near each of the pools was a nest that housed four or five dragon eggs a piece.
"Wow!" Fluttershy exclaimed as she looked to Ember. "Are all these yours? I didn't think one female dragon could lay so many eggs."
A raging blush broke out across the dragon lord's face! "What?! Don't be absurd, there's no possible way I could've laid all those eggs on my own! I could never carry that many!" She was quick to correct. "These are the official nesting grounds for all the dragon lands. As dragon lord it's my job to watch over the eggs during nesting season until they hatch."
"So dragon parents just dump their eggs here and take off? That seems a little irresponsible." Twilight questioned with an arched eyebrow.
Ember shook her head. "Not really. They come back to pick up their hatchlings as soon as they hear the news or as soon as nesting season ends, whichever comes first. In fact," She declared as she landed in the grove. "All the eggs usually hatch by now, nesting season's almost over. But for some reason they haven't even come close to hatching yet. I was thinking that since one of you hatched a dragon egg during an entrance exam for one of your pony schools, and the other takes care of all sorts of creatures, you might know what's preventing the eggs from hatching."
Twilight fought back a gulp. "I was just a filly when I hatched Spike's egg, I still don't know how I did it. It was apparently some kind of magic surge, but I don't think that's what these eggs need."
Fluttershy, however, got right to work on inspecting the nesting grounds. It didn't take the pegasus mare with a butter yellow coat to notice what was wrong. "The eggs are shaking!" She realized with a gasp!
"What? They're afraid to come out into the world? I've tried everything I can think of to coax them out of their shells," The dragon lord groaned. "The maker almighty if I have to cave train them all!"
But Twilight protested. "I don't think that's it. I'm not an animal expert, but I'm pretty sure shaking eggs means they're cold. And, is it just me or do those lava pools feel kind of... lukewarm?"
Ember let out a sigh. "I just thought they were slow to warm up because some of the volcanoes around here are have gone dormant. It happens sometimes."
"And you haven't tried to warm them up at all?!" Twilight demanded while stomping a hoof down in visible anger.
"I tried everything I could think of that wouldn't harm the eggs, even using my fire breath underneath the nests in controlled bursts," Ember explained. "Heck, I even tried sitting on them like I hear some mothers do with their eggs. It just didn't work. And that's why I was hoping you two could come. If anyone could figure out how to warm up the eggs it would be you."
Twilight pondered a possible solution. "I could try to cast a heating spell, but it could take a lot to get it just right. If I made it too hot I could cook the eggs."
"Oh, I wish I'd thought ahead and brought blankets," Fluttershy groaned. "Wool blankets especially are really good at warming up other creatures. At least all the creatures at my sanctuary, anyways."
Twilight's eyes were scanning the nesting grounds. "But there's hundreds of eggs! I don't think anything we tried could warm up the eggs fast enough, at best maybe we could get a few dozen to hatch," And she gave a sigh. "I think we're going to need back up on this one. I just hope Spike and Smolder are having better luck on their end."
The two teenaged dragons (at least in terms of size) started their search almost as soon as they had separated from the others. But Smolder ended up doing most of the questioning since Spike had no clue who or what Smolder's brother was.
The search went on for a while but no promising leads or results turned up. Smolder began to worry. "My big bro just has to be here, he just has to be! If he's not here, then I don't know if I'll ever get a good night's sleep again!"
Spike draped a wing over his fellow dragon. "Calm down, Smolder. We're going to find your brother eventually. But it might help if I had some idea of what he was like."
Smolder gave a deep sigh. "Look, I told you that I don't really remember him all that way. I don't think he even knows I'm attending The School of Friendship. We lost touch shortly after I stopped molting."
Spike didn't care, he just looked his fellow dragon firmly in the eyes and pleaded. "Anything you can remember at all about him will be a big help in finding him."
"Alright," The orange scaled dragon reluctantly replied. "I remember he had light grayish green eyes or something like that. He had moderate red scales, orange spikes, and I think light amber wings."
The details came pouring into Spike's mind slowly. But once he had processed them all he let out a gasp! "Wait a minute!" He dramatically exclaimed, hoping beyond hope he was wrong! "Did he have a light grayish gold underbelly and a name that started with G?"
"The name escapes me, but the underbelly I remember." Smolder confirmed with a nod.
Spike suddenly broke out into a cold sweat and froze right on the spot! "N-no way! That can only mean one thing! Your brother is... is... Oh, I hate to even say his name because it brings back bad memories."
Smolder looked at Spike with a mix of concern and confusion. "What? Are you saying you met my brother before?"
"If his name's Garble, then yes, I did!" Spike declared and then shook Ember! "Please tell me this is all your idea of a joke! Please! Because there's no possible way a dragon like you could be the younger sister of a nasty dragon like Garble!"
But as if to confirm Spike's worst fears, at that very moment the dragon that matched Smolder's description (and Spike's) happened to appear. "Smolder?" He blinked in surprise.
"Gar Gar?" Smolder hopefully commented. "Is it really you?"
Garble answered with a half smile. "Yeah, it's me. Long time no see, little sis." And Spike could only gulp as he found himself frozen, unable to move. To him it was like something straight out of a nightmare!
Garble didn't appear to recognize Spike at first. He just looked at the dragon that was the same size as his younger sister and eyed him suspiciously. "You look just like that namby-pamby pony loving pipsqueak of a dragon, Spike. Are you perhaps related to him somehow?"
"Not related, Garble, I am him!" Spike protested and puffed out his chest! "And as you can see, I went through my molt! I've got wings and a bigger body, so you can't push me around anymore!"
Garble snorted and blew smoke from his nostrils. "Oh wow," He sarcastically proclaimed and then muttered. "I don't care. You're still a pony lover. And I'm not so sure I approve of you being around my sister."
"For the record, Gar, I don't need you telling me what to do!" Smolder protested. "You may be my big brother, but you don't have to be so overprotective anymore."
Spike added with a stern glare. "Yeah! In fact, I came all the way out here to the dragon lands because Smolder was worried about you! Had I known you were her brother though, I would've said forget it!"
Garble bitterly remarked. "I don't recall asking either of you to care about me. As you can clearly see I'm just fine," Then she looked at Smolder. "You really disappoint me, Smold. You've gotten soft. But I guess that's to be expected when you hang around pony loving dragons."
Smolder growled back. "And you've definitely changed, I don't remember you being this bitter. But at least now I know you're okay. That you haven't joined up with that shadow monster from my dreams."
Spike, meanwhile, having finally found the courage to move declared. "Well, as nice as this little family reunion is I think I'm just going to go. I've got better things to do than waste my time rekindling bad blood with you, Garble."
"My thoughts exactly," Garble snarled back. "You've got wings now, so why don't you just buzz off and bother some other dragon?!"
"Garble!" Smolder complained.
But Spike protested. "No, Smolder, I know where I'm not wanted. You can catch up with your big brother all you want on your own. And if you still wanna come back to The School of Friendship afterward, you can just let me know." Then he flapped his wings and flew away.
A downtrodden Smolder watched her fellow dragon fly away. She was going to fly after him, but a claw from her brother stopped her. "Hey, forget about that pee wee! You're better off without him!"
The orange scaled dragon snorted anew. "He has a name, you know."
"I know, but far as I'm concerned he doesn't deserve to have one when he's been raised by ponies all his life. We weren't raised by ponies and we turned out just fine." Garble protested as his tone of voice seemed to take on the faintest hint of jealousy.
Smolder just shook her head. "I don't care about your silly rivalry with Spike, he never did anything to you."
"Oh really? He never told you about our many encounters? I don't blame him, every single time he got to where he was because of his pony pals." Garble bitterly remarked.
"Well I've got news for you, Gar Gar!" Smolder sternly declared! "We found out that Spike has a dragon mother! Her name's Singe, and let's just say that if you thought Torch was big you ain't seen anything yet! Singe could crush you like a grape if she found out you were picking on her son! And you don't wanna know what Spike's other mother would do if she caught you picking on him!" She was only slightly exaggerating but it had the intended effect of unnerving Garble.
"W-well, on second thought I... guess we can talk about other things." The red scaled dragon insisted.
Smolder smiled. "Great! We can have one of my top secret tea parties and I'll tell you everything you've missed out on since I stopped molting! Just wait 'til you hear about the time I kicked a nasty changeling queen's butt!"
"Huh, great," Garble nervously chuckled. "You do that. I uh... need to check up on something really quick." And he hurried away before Smolder had a chance to ask him what that something was.
Garble retreated to a secluded spot not far from where he and his fellow teenaged dragons used to hang out and make their own hot springs by redirecting the flow of lava.
But ever since Ember had risen to power as the new dragon lord (or dragon lady as she was sometimes called), Garble had had it rough. And after word reached Ember's ears that he'd tried to hurt Spike during an important friendship ambassador mission in the dragon lands, he'd gotten more than just an earful.
"Garble, your reckless actions are a threat to the delicate alliance that ponies and dragons now enjoy!" Ember had sternly scolded him. "You leave me with no choice but to officially expel you from the dragon kingdom all together! You will no longer be welcome here or in the colony ruled by King Drake! I only regret that I didn't do this sooner."
Garble had tried in vain to plead his case. "I wasn't really gonna hurt him too badly, Ember. I was just making sure the little guy knew his place."
Ember didn't buy the argument for a second. "Your actions have twice brought the dragon lands and the dragon kingdom to the brink of an international incident! You won't get a third chance." And just like that, the exile had been made official.
For over a year or so Garble had been left to fend for himself with no dragons to rely on for assistance. It was tough going, but considering he'd had to fend for himself once before during his molt he managed. And the survival period had only toughened his resolve to "get even" with the one he believed was responsible for this unfortunate turn in his life, Spike.
Then one day not too long ago, Garble had the good fortune (at least in his eyes) to come across a moderate cornflower blue coated ram. Said ram had very dark blue horns, a light bluish-gray mane and tail in short, razor stubs, and pale apple green eyes. Just above his hooves rested a red collar with several yellow orbs on it. "Are you the one they refer to as Garble? The one who has been exiled from his own kind?" The ram had asked him.
"What's it to you?" Garble grumbled. "You got five seconds to explain yourself before I flame broil you alive!"
The ram immediately and effortlessly restrained Garble with the lime green glow of his magic. "You would do wise to consider not to anger me! For I am Grogar, maker of all monsters and the one destined to rule all! But to do this I require soldiers, a Legion of Doom."
"And you wanna recruit me into your ranks?" Garble snorted. "What could you possibly offer me that would make me want to help you? Give me one good reason!"
The ram's eyes seemed to reflect a fiendish glare. "Because in return, I can help you take revenge on Equestria. Revenge on the ponies whom Spike has been with."
"Believe me, I've already tried that! Those pesky ponies and their little dragon always win in the end!" Garble snorted again. "Magic or not, I don't see how you could help me."
But Grogar simply used his magic to conjure up a skull. He chanted something, causing it to briefly glow before he placed it ever so delicately in Garble's claws. "You doubt my methods and that's understandable. But you are not the only one I wish to recruit into my legion. Change is coming, and I think you would very much want to be on the winning side," He then instructed. "Think about my offer, consider what you have now versus what I will grant you if you join my ranks. I know that you will make up your mind eventually. And when you do, simply rub the top of this skull to contact me. I shall await your reply."
And then just as mysteriously as he had arrived, Grogar vanished. Yet the enchanted skull remained with Garble.
"If you're here, Spike, then so are those namby pamby ponies. If you're gonna side with the ponies then I guess I'm siding with whoever's against them, and thus against you." Garble said to himself as he inspected some rocks and found the skull where he had stashed all that time ago.
But at that very moment, Spike happened to come by. "What are you doing here, Garble?!" He questioned, not noticing the skull.
Garble flinched and quickly moved to hide the skull behind his back. "I could say the same to you, you runt! Your pony friends aren't here to save you this time!"
"I just came here to be alone with my thoughts and enjoy the view," Spike bitterly grumbled. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be catching up with Smolder? She was worried sick about you ever since she had that dream."
"Really? She had a dream about me?" Garble rolled his eyes. "I fail to see how dreams could mean anything. I have dreams all the time, they never come true. Now why don't you go find your pony friends and get out of here? Smolder doesn't need you, the dragon lands don't need more pony lovers!"
Spike could only groan. "You really are cold hearted, aren't you? You don't even care about your own sister? Your own scales and blood?"
Garble waved a claw. "Don't you talk about my feelings! Don't presume you know me, because you don't! I cared once, and I learned the hard way that caring is for losers."
The light purple scaled dragon could only sigh and shake his head. "You don't get it, do you? Caring for others and having feelings isn't for losers."
"It is as far as I'm concerned," Garble roared back at his fellow dragon. "Ever since I met you my life has been one of constant set back. All because you just can't let me win."
"Is this the thanks I get for saving you back during the Gauntlet of Fire?!" Spike snorted. "Don't forget, if it wasn't for me you'd have been trapped under that rock forever! I saved you against my better judgement because I thought you would change. If I'd know this is what you'd become I would've just left you pinned there."
"Exactly," Garble declared with narrowed eyes. "Having feelings for others only means you finish last. That's the way life is. You don't know what that's like, because unlike me you got to grow up having your every need taken care of. You got to have comfort and luxury that other dragons were denied. Even my own family regarded me as practically nothing, the moment I started molting they wanted nothing to do with me. My dreams of being a poet, of being anything, they all disappeared!"
Spike blinked. "So that's it, huh? All this time, all the bravado, you were just jealous because I had a better life than you did," And he rolled his eyes. "Just when I thought you couldn't get any more pathetic, Garble. No wonder I couldn't believe you and Smolder were family, you're nothing alike and I thank the stars above that's the case!"
The red scaled dragon just replied as he reached for the enchanted skull. "Yeah? Well you won't be saying that for long when you learn that I'm planning to join a higher calling: Grogar's Legion of Doom."
"What?! A Legion of Doom?!" Spike gasped in shock! "Just who is this Grogar and who else is part of his Legion of Doom?!"
Garble shrugged his claws. "I don't know and I don't really care. I didn't meet any of these other members. All I know is that Grogar is opposing the ponies, so if I side with him I'll be siding against you. And that's good enough for me. I wasn't sure if I wanted to at first, but seeing you has made my decision crystal clear."
"And you don't care that you'll also be opposing Smolder?!" Spike questioned. "Because guess what, she's just as much a friend to ponies as I am. I guess Ember didn't tell you how Smolder is one of the best students at my mom's School of Friendship."
But Garble fiercely roared as he lunged at Spike! "Of course she didn't tell me! Because of you, I was expelled from the dragon lands all together! Bet you weren't expecting that!"
Spike was speechless for a moment, and when he finally did speak he could only say to Garble. "You're right, I wasn't. But if you think siding with this... Grogar will solve anything, then you're a dragon who cannot be reasoned with," He then sighed. "I just hope you and Smolder never cross paths, for her sake. I don't think she could live with the heartbreak of seeing her brother on the side of evil."
Just then, in the distance the familiar voice of Twilight called. "Spike, where are you? There's something very important we need our help with."
Eager for the opportunity to get away from Garble, Spike sighed and turned his back on him. "Do whatever you want, Garble. If you'll excuse me, I have more important things to do than try to talk sense into someone who hates me just for standing up to him." And he flew away without another word.
Garble was all set and ready to rub the top of the skull and contact Grogar, telling the ram that he was ready to serve in his self described Legion of Doom.
But then suddenly something inside him hesitated. Something inside him was second guessing his decision. And he didn't know what it was or why he was doing it. It seemed so easy and so simple.
"Gar Gar?" The familiar voice of Smolder called from afar. "I got the tea party all set up! Come and hurry before the tea gets cold, it'll take forever to heat it back up."
So the red scaled dragon reluctantly put the enchanted skull back in its hiding place, his decision would have to wait. At least he felt he owed it to his sister to have one last tea party with her.
The tea party was a private affair, owing to its top secret nature. The only company the two participants had were the surrounding rocks.
Smolder broke up the silence as she noticed how tense her brother seemed to be. "Garble, you've changed."
"Yeah? Well so have you." Garble defensively retorted.
Smolder narrowed her eyes. "The difference is that I became a lot nicer and a lot softer. You, on the other claw, seem to have gotten bitter and lonely," She then pointed out. "I know about the banishment, I overheard some of your 'buddies' at the lava pool talking about it. Is it true what they say? Have you really had it out for Spike all this time just because of how you were brought up?"
Garble nodded. "And who wouldn't be when a namby pamby pony lover got all the benefits and got to name the next dragon lord? It ain't right!"
"But don't you see?" Smolder unhappily sighed and sorrowfully declared. "By focusing on that you've lost sight of the dragon you could've been. The big brother I remember looking out for me until I was old enough to do the same myself."
"Well the big brother that you knew is long gone, and he's never coming back!" Garble declared as he got up! "If you're siding with Spike now, then you're my enemy as well! I should've seen it coming, though. A pony loving dragon like him was going to have more influence over you when I didn't."
"And what about your dream to become a poet?" Smolder questioned her big brother in concern. "Please, Garble, it's not too late! You can be who you were meant to be, you can let go of your past and stop focusing on Spike so much!"
But Garble only snapped! "No, it's too late for that! You're too late! You didn't care enough not to leave! You didn't care enough to stay in touch!"
"Because back then dragons were supposed to fend for themselves after a certain age. We both knew the rules," Smolder protested. "And you didn't become this way just because you got kicked out of the nest for being an early molter. I can't believe it, Spike was right about you," Then she got up. "This tea party's over, I'm going to go find my true brother. A dragon who understands me for who I am and doesn't hold onto silly grudges."
Just like that, Garble was alone once again. And now he truly had no one.
Spike had been briefed on the situation when he met up with Twilight, Fluttershy, and Ember. "It doesn't sound like a volcano problem to me," He commented. "I get the feeling that something else is causing the hatching grounds to be so cold."
"Like what?" Ember asked him.
"Well," Spike explained as he pressed a claw down to the pools of lava. "All this lava has to come from somewhere, doesn't it? Where does it all flow?"
Ember started scratching her head. "I actually don't know, I never found out."
"Well, there's probably a blockage or obstruction somewhere along the line that's redirecting the lava away from here," Spike suggested. "If I can follow this trail to its source, we'll probably find the answers. Maybe even how to get the lava to start flowing back to the nesting grounds."
But at that moment the familiar voice of Smolder called out. "Don't bother, I know what the problem is. I saw it while I was getting all set up for my tea party earlier."
"Smolder?" Fluttershy blinked. "Weren't you looking for your old brother?"
Smolder nodded and then sadly sighed. "I was, until I found out he's nothing like I remember and I'm better off with just my memories."
"Smolder, I am so sorry to hear that. I know finding your brother meant a lot to you." Twilight reassured her student.
Smolder just declared. "It's alright, I've already moved on from it and so has he. Now I'm here to help with your problem," And she then explained. "You wanna know why there's so many dormant volcanoes? It's because my brother's buddies have been creating their own hot springs by changing the lava rivers. All the lava's been going to them and not the hatchlings or the volcanoes."
Following Smolder's lead, the group soon discovered two teenaged dragons relaxing in a lava bath that was pooling into a crater in the ground. And all because one of the dragons had moved a huge boulder that would normally keep the lava flowing upstream instead of downstream.
Upon seeing this sight Ember became quite furious! "You idiots!" She shouted at them as she flew down! "Do you even realize what you've just done?! Thanks to you, the next generation of dragons may not even hatch on time, maybe not ever!"
The teenaged dragons gulped. "W-we're sorry, Ember!" They protested and one even tried to push the boulder back into place.
"That'll never work, lava only flows one way," Smolder commented with a shake of her head. "We'll have to find some other way to warm up those eggs."
Ember immediately declared! "Well, these two knuckleheads are going to help us as a form of punishment. But we're going to need more! Every able bodied dragon is going to have to help! The sake of the next generation depends on it!" She promptly flew up to the top of a nearby mountain and let out a mighty roar!
The roar reached each and every corner of the dragon lands, and all dragons immediately ceased what they were doing and came to help.
Twilight pitched in too, using her magic to conjure up warming spells for the some of the eggs. And Fluttershy worked as fast as possible to sew some blankets. "I know they're not wool blankets, but blankets are blankets and they'll still keep you warm, right?" Fluttershy told the eggs as she draped them in the blankets as soon as she had finished them.
But even with Spike, Smolder, and Ember working alongside the other dragons, the eggs weren't warming up enough to hatch! "Come on!" Ember shouted! "Put your backs into it!"
"It's no good, Dragon Lord Ember," One of the teenaged dragons panted. "The eggs can't warm up fast enough. They keep cooling down too much when we have to stop and catch our breath."
Just then, a familiar red scaled dragon appeared with a set of wooden bongos tucked under one of his claws. "Perhaps I can be of assistance?" He offered as he cleared his throat.
"Garble?! What are you doing here?! You're supposed to be exiled!" Ember declared! "And thanks to your buddies the next generation of dragons has been put in great danger!"
Garble tried to keep a straight face, which seemed more like he was gritting his teeth. "Look, I know I did a lot of bad things and I'm not here to atone for them. But I want to see those eggs hatch just as much as you do. So let me help you just this once, and then you'll never have to see or hear from me ever again."
"What are you going to do? We've already tried everything to get the eggs warmed up." Fluttershy nervously commented.
Twilight nodded, wiping the sweat from her brows. "Even my heating spell isn't working, it's just not strong enough. It doesn't help that dragon eggs are unusually strong against magic. Oh, if only Rainbow Dash could produce another sonic rainboom! I could really use another magic surge right now!"
But Garble just set his bongos down as he explained. "You guys aren't doing it right. You gotta warm up 'em nice and slowly. Do it too fast and they'll overheat, the eggs will absorb it to protect the dragons inside from cooking. Of course, if you go too slow or take too long they cool down and the dragons won't come out because they're too cold," And he started pounding his claws on the bongos. "All dragons, time your breaths to my beats! Together we can get these eggs hatched in record time!"
Some of the dragons were hesitant at first, but Ember silenced all of them with a glare. "The future of the dragon race is at stake!" She told them all! "So we're going to try Garble's idea, unless any of you have any better suggestions!" No one did.
Twilight and Fluttershy could only do so much to help this time since they couldn't breath fire, and magical induced fire didn't seem likely to help. But sure enough, Garble's rhythm in conjunction with the dragons' fire breath finally got the eggs to crack open. Soon, a multitude of brightly colored baby dragons emerged.
Fluttershy couldn't help but coo! "Oh my gosh, you're all just so cute! I wanna take you all home with me!"
Twilight giggled. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Fluttershy. Baby dragons are big responsibilities. Let's just say it was a good thing I had my parents to help me raise Spike."
When the egg hatching had concluded, Ember was prepared to thank Garble. But to her surprise (and the shock of Smolder and Spike who had started to think that perhaps they had been too quick to pass judgement on Garble), the red scaled dragon had vanished. "I guess he wasn't kidding when he said I'd never see or hear from him again."
"You weren't going to undo his exile, were you?" Smolder somewhat hopefully asked Ember.
Ember shook her head. "No, his previous actions can't be overlooked. Still, I guess his last act here goes to show that anyone is capable of change, if they truly want to that is."
But Garble hadn't completely left the dragon lands. He couldn't until he had taken care of some unfinished business. he returned to the rocks where he had hid the enchanted skull and pulled it free. His eyes locked onto it for but a moment as he knew what he needed to do.
Clutching the skull tightly, Garble tossed it into the lava below! The lava consumed the skull and slowly began to melt it away, the magic inside it surging up and fading away into the sky. Then the red scaled dragon walked away. "Sorry, Grogar," He thought to himself. "I'm not gonna go up against my sister, even if I can't bring myself to be friends with Spike. It's better for everyone if I'm not around. However this change turns out, I won't be any part of it." He turned back briefly in time to see Spike and Smolder departing from the dragon lands with Twilight and Fluttershy. A rare smile formed on his face. At least he knew his sister was in the right claws and hooves.
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Well one thing’s for sure, Garble may be able to redeem himself in the future. Plus, Grogar won’t be getting any more members for his army anytime soon. Looking forward to the next chapters of this series. And I hope there’s gonna be some awesome rewrites for volume 12!
10072822
Well, those are really good points. But IF there IS a Volume Twelve, it will most likely be an "Equestria Girls Edition". And, in THAT case, we would get a good glimpse of how much better the series could be if somebody like SPB12 were writing it.
Have to say, you did an excellent job on this re-write. The exchanges, characterizations, nods to other rewrites (both past AND future), general wrap-up and future "episode" set-up are quite well done in all the right places. I particularly liked Garble's reflections on the series of events that lead to him CONSIDERING (but thankfully deciding NOT TO) join Grogar's Legion as well as Smolder basically using Singe to discourage Garble bully Spike and Spike finding out about the Legion (though NOT the members yet, even if, by this point, they would HAVE TO know Tirek and Chrysalis BOTH escaped from Tartarus if they had guards checking up on Tartarus even semi-regularly). And, yeah, showing Garble still honoring his banishment even after helping hatch the eggs was at least a reasonable bit of character development.
Definitely looking forward to the final two rewrites in this volume.
Plus, a couple of ideas for Volume Eleven:
Hearts and Hooves Day: NO love potion/poison. Rather, it is only passingly mentioned that they tried to check out a book on love potions and got denied. Thus, the Crusaders have to stick to more comparatively honest methods of match making using stuff both Mac AND Cheerilee like that would allow them to get to know each other on a deeper level (but still WELL within an Everyone rating)
Hard To Say Anything: None of the characters from Ponyville appear in this one. Rather it focuses on Party Favor trying to work up the nerve to admit his feelings for Sugar Belle while competing with Feather Bangs.
Ail-Corn: replaces "the Break-Up Breakdown" on the episodes list with all kinds of stuff added to expand it to the length of a standard episode (such as explaining how Twilight got sick to begin with, showing Zecora working on the medicine and showing the rest of the Mane Six helping Spike take care of baby Twilight until the side-effect to Zecora's medicine wears off).
"Growing Up Is Hard To Do": A whole episode flashback told by the Crusaders to the Cake Twins while the former three are foal-sitting them (the Cake Twins [fully talking and out of diapers by this point] are in a bit too much of a hurry to grow up, Pinkie is unavoidably detained on "Mane Six business", the Crusaders fill in for her and tell the Cake Twins a story about how they, too, were in too much of a hurry to grow up a few years back).
Of course, if you already have other/better ideas, I will completely understand.
Really took this one off in a different direction with Garble here & the Legion of Doom, I like it! Glad that even though he still doesn't like Spike he at least grew up a bit by not joining Grogar, for Smolder's sake!
Also like another reviewer pointed out, Garble may be able to redeem himself later in this continuity. Just gonna have to wait & see.
Everyone Has Standards
Garble Is Maybe Doing It Out Of Love For His Little Sister because He doesn’t want to ruin her future.
Garble will realize the Hatred for someone is meaningless and realizes it is his own fault and the bad influence by his evil parents that makes him this way and becomes and honorable member of The Courts For The Dragons
Suggestion: For The Band Of Misfits for Grogar
Lord Tirek
Queen Chrysalis
King Sombra(If You Can Bring Him back since the Rest Of Us Don’t have Closure, also if King Sombra is voiced by Mark Hamill aka Fire Lord Ozai/Skips/The Joker That would be great)
The Diamond Dogs
Svengallop
Suri Polarme
Gladmane
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy(Fluttery Shy)’s Bullies
And All Of The Villains Trapped In Greece Hell aka Tartarus to make it awesome. Also If You Reveal ________ is brainwashed and turned into The Winter Soldier Like Villain like What MCU Captain America vs The Winter Soldier it would be great.
Plus All Of The Villains That Want Revenge or Is Bored and Wants To Rule Equestria
But Here Is The Thing Grogar has one thing all villains don’t, knowledge, like Brainiac, he wants to rule THE WORLD in order to completely win with help of his evil allies.
Grogar summons the 13 nastiest villains in Equestria
https://m.