1. Fall of Friendship, Part One
"Is everything ready?" Luster Dawn asked her best friends in the throne room in the Castle of Friendship, as they were all going on an outing that day.
"Sure are, I got them all packed up last night! You can't always do things at the last minute, that's too rash!" Sunshine Rays answered.
"Unfortunately, some of us are still yet to take those words in," Volcano commented, as he watched Krona rush into the Throne Room with a backpacks on her back.
"Krona so sorry! It's just....she wants this visit to go great!" Krona apologised.
"We all do," Nature Bloom responded.
"Especially when we invited our former teachers, the teachers at the School of Friendship, to go with us!" Evergreen contributed.
"I still can barely believe that they said yes!" Yellow Bright commented.
"They usually spend their days teaching at the school, and now they got to take a break since it's school spring break!" Buffer explained.
"And there's noting better than spending spring break far away from home and work!" Falcon Dive ended.
"I believe you meant have a vacation?" Alkali asked, arriving with her luggage.
"What's in that luggage, Alkali?" Volcano asked, before whispering to her, "Please don't say nothing other than soaps, Brussels sprouts, bitter melons, broccoli..."
"What?! Of course not!" Alkali replied, before opening the luggage to reveal nothing other than coconuts stuffed in ice.
"Coconuts?!" Volcano asked.
"It's a vacation! And nothing can make a vacation complete other than coconuts to drink and eat!" Alkali explained.
"May I remind you that only the young coconuts, sometimes called baby coconuts, can have their fruit flesh eaten?" Volcano asked, "Adult coconuts, sometimes called mature coconuts, can only have their coconut juice, or coconut milk drunk! Their flesh is too hard!"
"Of course I know that! I used to drink coconuts with my family before I left Mount Aris!" Alkali responded, sounding annoyed.
Just then there was a knock on the door, which meant one thing.
"They're here!" Luster Dawn happily said out loud, before galloping of to answer the door.
"Nice to see you again, Luster!" the Young Six all greeted in unison.
"Nice to see you all again, Captain Gallus, Madam Yona, Mr. Sandbar, Professors Smolder, Ocellus and Silverstream!" Luster greeted.
"We are so delighted that you invited us all!" Silverstream informed.
"Actually, there's more to the invitation than that," Sunshine Rays said, arriving with the rest of the Heroic Ten.
"You see, our newest friend Roca doesn't have neighbours, so she's alone all the time." Nature Bloom began.
"Therefore she is very antisocial and needs to be with others in order to learn to get along with them." Falcon Dive continued.
"She's already met us all, so we need some other creatures for her to meet." Evergreen explained.
"And since you creatures are the first creatures to become very close friends, and still are close friends..." Volcano began.
"You picked us to accompany you to visit her today." Gallus replied.
"Exactly!" the Heroic Ten nodded.
"Well, our kids are in good hooves at Sugar Cube Corner." Sandbar said while he turned to look at Yona with a warm friendly expression, who turned to look at him back in the same manner.
"Our kids are in good wings, at home with their all-day caregiver," Gallus said, gazing into Silverstream's eyes as she did the same to him.
"Ocellus and I never married any creature," Smolder declared in a proud-sounding tone.
"So we don't have kids, just each other as BFFs!" Ocellus replied, before bumping her front left hoof against Smolder's right claw at the end of her sentence.
"I believe that the better way to say is 'have not married any creature', because you have not married yet, but might get married to some creature in the future, and you just don't know it because the future remains unknown until it comes!" Volcano explained.
"Thanks, Volcano." Smolder responded.
"Come on Vol, it's a vacation! You should have fun instead of mind so much about little words and sentences!" Alkali told the dragon.
"I suppose you're right, Al, it's about time we took a break and have fun." Volcano responded as he gradually smiled.
"We're just missing one last creature, who should be here right now." Luster said, looking around, just a second before the said creature magically showed up through teleporting.
"Hello every creature! Sorry to keep you waiting!" Discord announced.
"Discord?!" Smolder asked in shock.
"Well...not only can Discord easily take us all to our destination..." Luster began, before Sunshine Rays finished for her, "He and Roca need to interact again, and learn to get along with each other after what happened the last time!"
"Surely that Stone Witch turned my beloved Fluttershy into stone," Discord began, before Krona cut him off.
"And then draconneques got so angry and that he got turned to stone, too!"
"Luckily for you, we managed to reason with the Stone Witch so she'll release you all." Yellow Bright reminded.
"And got a new friend, and more harmony!" Nature Bloom ended.
"Can we please stop staying here and get going?" Alkali asked as she looked inside her luggage, "The ice in here won't keep my coconuts cool forever!"
"If some creature says so!" Discord responded, before snapping his fingers and teleporting every creature out of Ponyville.
After the series' theme song played, Discord's teleportation spell brought the gang to their destination in a flash. The top of the Stone Mountain of Nothingness, which was built by Roca even before the birth of the Council of Friendship members.
"Roca, we're here!" Luster called.
"Heroic Ten, you all came!" Roca greeted back.
"And like we told you before, we'd like you to meet some of our friends," Sunshine Rays added.
"Well, they are more than just friends..." Evergreen stated.
"They too are heroes of Equestria who became heroes by learning friendship!" Yellow Bright contributed.
"And half of them are teachers at the School of Friendship," Nature Bloom included.
"And former teachers of ours since we graduated." Buffer informed.
"The other half is their closest best friends!" K?rona declared.
"Indeed, I'm Sandbar," Sandbar introduced.
"Yona yak!" Yona declared, "Distant relative of your friend Krona!"
"And Gallus," Gallus introduced, "I may be captain of the royal guards in Canterlot, but don't worry, I still know how to be a good friend!"
"Nice to meet all of you!" Roca greeted.
"She's remembered what I taught her the last time!" Nature Bloom happily said her thoughts out loud.
"Let's just hope that it pays off..." Sunshine Rays whimpered, as they watched Roca come face to face with Discord.
"Hello, Discord," Roca greeted, "The last time we saw each other didn't go so well..."
"Didn't go so well?! You petrified my beloved wife!" Discord pointed a claw at the stone witch, "And then turned me into stone and I winded up falling into the ocean when you released me!"
The other creatures gasped in unison as they watched and heard the conversation, thinking that Roca and Discord were going to fight.
"Discord, please! Forgive! Think of what Fluttershy would like you to do!" Nature Bloom cried out loud.
"Discord, I understand why you were mad at me, but I've already released your wife, you, and all the others! I really never intended for you to fall into the ocean." Roca explained, "I don't want to start such fights again, so I'm going to just...walk away and leave you in peace...."
Roca then turned away from Discord and walked off like she said she would, surprising every creature as they saw recognised how much Roca had changed.
"Wow, she's even better than we thought!" Yellow Bright commented.
"She did take in my words of no comparing with others, reluctance to fight, and not using a single nasty word!" Nature Bloom added.
Discord, overhearing the comments and seeing how Roca managed so well, quickly raced towards the Stone Witch, "Wait, Roca! I'm so sorry! Please, I beg for mercy!"
Discord kneeled down before Roca in a very dramatic manner, begging for forgiveness.
"I said I don't want to start a fight, so I made it clear that I don't want to hurt any creature, not even you." Roca clarified.
"You became so much better than I did when I reformed, Roca, you deserve a reward!" Discord began.
"I don't need rewards, having the Heroic Ten as my friends is already good enough." Roca replied.
"Then what about a little chance to explore the world outside your mountain?" Discord asked, as the scene zoomed out to show the big, wide ocean surrounding the Stone Mountain of Nothingness.
"It's just a big wide ocean surface, I've seen it each and everyday in my whole life living here!" Roca pointed out.
"But, I bet you'd wish to see what's underneath the surface of what you see everyday!" Discord said, snapping his finger and summoning a submarine in the process, causing every creature to gasp.
"A submarine!" Volcano exclaimed, "They're very expensive! Probably because building a good one is never easy!"
"Then you're all lucky to have me, because I, Discord, can summon submarines and operate them like an expert!" Discord claimed.
"So you're offering us a ride in the submarine?" Smolder asked.
"Indeed! To take a look at the Wonders of the Deep." Discord responded, conjuring up a scroll with his magic and showing a painting of many beautiful creatures and plants in the underwater world.
"I will like to see those Wonders of the Deep," Gallus joked.
"But, Alkali and I can just help most of you here transform into sea ponies!" silver stream pointed out as she held onto her necklace with a small piece of the magical Pearl of Transformation.
"I don't think we should rely on magic all the time, Professor Silverstream." Evergreen stated.
"Plus, a ride in a submarine is something not every creature gets to get..." Yellow Bright added in a persuasive tone.
"Alright...perhaps we should take the submarine..." Silverstream gave in.
"But....Yona doesn't like water! What if something goes wrong with the submarine, and Yona drowns?!" Yona asked in a panicked tone.
"Maybe not all of us should go..." Falcon Dive suggested.
"Indeed, I've swam in oceans hundreds of times! I can sit this one out!" Alkali raised her claw.
"Some creature has got to set up the next meal," Krona added, offering to stay behind.
"Some creature just got to accompany some creature who doesn't want a submarine ride," Sandbar said, as he comforted his wife Yona.
"But, who will look after my mountain?" Roca asked.
"We will!" Alkali, Krona, Yona and Sandbar all replied in unison.
"Or...maybe you should put a sign. To tell others that they cannot invade this mountain, especially in your absence." Volcano suggested, "I suggest words like No Annexing, No Impingement, No..."
"Sorry Volcano, but aren't those words a little...too rare and too hard to understand?" Buffer asked.
"Of course they are rare and hard to understand for majority!" Volcano implied, "Using such deep vocabulary can prove that you're intelligent, knowing a lot of things!"
"But won't using such words decrease the chances of your audience knowing what you mean?" Luster asked.
"And what's the point of using such words for a sign to tell others something, when you decrease the chances of them knowing what you mean?!" Falcon Dive asked.
"Well..." Volcano struggled to reply, before Alkali came right beside him, holding his leg claw with her front right claw.
"I can help Volcano figure out, you all just enjoy your ride!"
"Sure will!" Yellow Bright replied.
"Or you should say, 'I think we will!' Because you never know what will happen in the future! There might be change of plans, reality different from what you expect..." Volcano began listing his reasons for choice of words, only to be interrupted by the leaving creatures who shouted in unison, "WE KNOW!"
Discord drove the submarine down to the daisy seafloor, passing by all the marine plants and animals, which amazed the submarine riders.
"Wow," Gallus gasped.
"Underwater is so cool!" Smolder cheered.
"This submarine is cool!" Silverstream exclaimed.
"I love the life down here," Ocellus said her thoughts out loud.
"Wonderful nature," Nature Bloom could not help but say.
"Too bad Krona, Alkali, Volcano, Mr Sandbar and Madam Yona are missing this, it's too amazing to be missed!" Buffer commented.
"But you heard their reasons," Evergreen reminded.
"One of them is scared of water!" Falcon Dive stated.
"What if we took pictures of what we see down here and show them the pictures?!" Yellow Bright suggested after thinking for a while, "That way they will know what we saw looks like!"
"Great idea, Yellow Bright!" Luster Dawn praised.
"And we can show our castle-mate friends Eclipse and Shapeshifter, who volunteered to help clean up the School of Friendship during the spring break." Sunshine Rays added.
"But, you did not bring a camera down here with you!" Roca reminded.
"Who needs to bring, when they can just summon?" Discord asked, using his magic to conjure up a camera which he used to take a picture of every creature on the submarine except himself as the photo-taker. The camera then quickly printed out the photo, showing its abilities to the creatures.
"That camera will do!" Luster Dawn insisted.
After taking many photos per turn, the creatures finally stopped the photo-taking process to look at the said photos.
"Nice photos, Ocellus, you really took them well!" Smolder commented.
"It ws nothing, Smolder!" Ocellus responded, giggling.
"Gallus and I will take the ones we took home, to show our kids and my relative who babysits them!" Silverstream announced.
"Your kids are still babies!" Smolder argued.
"Babies can be interested, too!" Silverstream argued.
"Come on, please! I don't like fighting!" Roca pleaded, "Even when I'm not involved."
"Listen, fighting and arguing can get worse upon continuing, you got to stop! And not fight over small things!" Buffer approached.
The present Young Six members quickly listened and said in unison, "Alright, I'm sorry..."
Upon realising that they said the same thing without planning it, the four creatures shared a laugh.
"One of the best things about our friendship!" Silverstream and Gallus began, before Smolder and Ocellus said the remaining part, "Is that we never let such setbacks tear it apart!"
Smolder and Ocellus then shared a claw-to-hoof bump before they looked back at the photos they took wth the camera.
"Mind if I see some more of your photos, Ocellus?" Smolder asked.
"Sure Smolder! What are BFFs for?!" Ocellus asked, passing her pile of photos to Smolder.
"Fish, seaweed, turtles, crabs, lobsters, eels, rocks..." Smolder named the things she saw in the photos, "Bubbles, more fish, it's the same things all over and over again!"
"Sorry Smolder, that's life when you get used to the same routine." Silverstream apologised.
"Sorry Ocellus, I just got bored..." Smolder apologised.
"That's alright Smolder, I understand you, like BFFs do." Ocellus assured, placing her right hoof onto Smolder's left claw that was on the submarine floor.
"I'm going to take a look out the windows, probably for our last minutes in this ride," Smolder announced, getting up to look at the window.
"I'll sort out the photos while you do so!" Ocellus called too Smolder.
"Of course, Ocellus!" Smolder replied, still looking out the window.
"Still nothing interesting..." Smolder said to herself, just before she noticed a creature when she turned her head to look at the view outside from an angle.
"Huh?!" Smolder asked, before noticing hat the creature swam away in a flash. "I must be seeing things."
"Discord, do you think that it's about time we head back to Roca's mountain?" Luster politely asked the draconneques steering the submarine, "Don't forget that the others back there are waiting."
As Luster Dawn and Discord talked, they did not see what was right in front of the submarine since they were facing each other. Their conversation caught Smolder's attention as she looked at them in the direction that she could see what was right in front of the submarine as well; the strange creature she saw earlier!
"There's a strange creature!" Smolder shouted, pointing a claw at the submarine's front window. This time, every creature saw the strange creature she was talking about, who quickly responded by swimming away from them.
"I think we scared it," Evergreen told the others.
"We actually did," Nature Bloom replied.
"And after all the time I helped my beloved wife Fluttershy at her sanctuary, I've never learnt of any creature like that strange creature!" Discord announced, conjuring up a scroll that showed a video of the creature's movements from his point of view.
Ocelus examined the video before saying, "I've never seen this creature in any of the books about animals and creatures that I have read!"
"Do you think it's a sea pony?!" Silverstream asked, "It has a tail just like a sea pony!"
"But it has the head of a stallion, too!" Gallus observed.
"And look! It has legs and arms!" Smolder pointed out.
"Its arms look like those of a monkey's...and its legs look like those of a duck's!" Ocellus observed.
"Definetely not a sea pony!" Silverstream commented after hearing what Ocellus said.
Every creature then looked at Discord, causing him to respond, "Why is every creature looking at me?! I already told you that I don't know this creature!"
"But you yourself has a body with other animals' body parts!" Falcon Dive blurted out.
"True, but I really do NOT know anything about this weird new creature!" Discord declared.
"And look! It has wings!" Smolder pointed out after another close observation, "And those wings look like...the wings of a dragon!"
"A creature with all those different animals' and creatures' body parts?!" Sunshine Rays asked in shock.
"I never read of any creature nor animal like that!" Nature Bloom added.
"Maybe we're the first ones to find out!" Buffer could not help but say.
"If we're the first ones to find out, we got to get a closer look!" Smolder insisted.
"But how?!" Ocellus asked.
"Fear not, because once seen by Discord, can always be found by Discord!" Discord declared, before he snapped his fingers and teleported the submarine right next to the strange creature that every creature just saw.
The creature immediately responded by swimming away, causing Discord to give chase, "Stay still, new creature! My friends want to discover you!"
Discord drove the submarine after the creature, copying its exact moves as the chase continued, including zig-zag, loop-de-loops, up-downs, causing the riders of the submarine to slide towards its sides.
The chase finally ended when the creature got stuck in a batch of seaweed, causing Discord to stop the submarine nearby, happily declaring, "Caught up to the creature!"
"Only because it's stuck in that seaweed!" Smolder insisted, approaching the front window to take a closer look.
"We should get it out, to make up for scaring it earlier," Nature Bloom figured.
"Then we can finally have an even better discovery of it!" Smolder exclaimed.
"Should the creature's good come first?" Falcon Dive asked.
"We're so close to getting it and now you don't want it?!" Discord glared at Falcon Dive while asking.
"We caused the creature to get itself into trouble! That is not very right!" Sunshine Rays scolded.
"Let me guess, the right thing to do is to free the creature?" Gallus asked the white pegasus.
"Exactly," Sunshine Rays replied.
"Easy peasy!" Discord responded, snapping his fingers and teleporting the creature stuck in the seaweed out of the batch and right beside the submarine. Unfortunately, that did not get the seaweed off of the creature, as the plant glued itself to the poor aquatic being.
"Is that what you meant to do?" Yellow Bright asked the Lord of Chaos.
"Obviously not!" Discord snapped, "Actually, obviously not completely! I was going to get the seaweed completely off of it by teleporting it out of the batch!"
"But it still has seaweed on it!" Ocellus pointed out.
"That is because the seaweed is not just any seaweed. It is called Unstoppable Underwater Weed." Nature Bloom informed, "It got its name from the fact that once it catches a creature, it will forever stick onto the said creature unless dragon fire burns the plant, causing it to wither and fall off."
"But dragon fire cannot be underwater!" Smolder pointed out.
"That's why it is unstoppable underwater. Underwater is the one place its weakness can never survive in." Nature Bloom responded.
"Speaking of weed, the creature that got trapped in a huge batch of the weed still has it stuck all over it!" Evergreen informed, looking through one of the submarine side windows.
"It cannot swim because its tail, arms and legs are all tied up in that weed!" Ocellus observed.
"It's mouth is tied up too, and the body...not so bad...plenty of gaps between those few wraps around the body making it like just quarter level of a full mummy bandage costume." Yellow Bright commented.
"What if I petrified the weed?" Roca asked, "I've practised my powers millions of times, even hit underwater targets without petrifying the water, so maybe..."
"But won't you risk turning the creature into stone alongside the weed?!" Smolder asked, worried.
"Don't worry, I practised enough," Roca reassured, before reaching out her left arm, palm facing the creature before she unleashed her full focus to turn the weed stuck onto the creature into stone. Unfortunately, Roca grunted as she struggled, with the desired effects yet to come. Finally Roca gave up and was tired from her attempts to petrify the weed, collapsing from exhaustion.
"Roca! Are you alright?!" Luster asked.
"Alright, just out of energy and focus, for now..." Roca replied, still tired from her attempts.
"Nature Bloom is right about the weed being unstoppable," Buffer pointed out.
"Nothing can stop it!" Silverstream added.
"Except dragon fire!" Nature Bloom reminded.
"And dragon fire can never go underwater to stop it." Smolder ended.
"What if we bring the weed out of the water to dragon fire instead?" Luster asked, getting an idea.
"But that will mean bringing the creature out of the water, and in here!" Falcon Dive pointed out.
"We don't have any other choice!" Luster declared.
"Bringing the creature covered in weed in it is!" Discord said, snapping his fingers and teleporting the creature covered in weeds inside the submarine.
The creature was startled to experience being in a submarine with strangers for the very first time, to the point that it sprayed water at Discord through its blowhole on its head.
"Hey! I am not due for a bath until tomorrow!" Discord complained.
"The creature's just scared!" Nature Bloom announced, before also getting sprayed by the creature's water jets.
The creature then turned its head all around, trying to hit every creature in the submarine with its water jets.
"It seems like this creature's water jets never run out!" Falcon Dive commented, dodging the blasts.
"But that's impossible! Everything has a limit!" Sunshine Rays commented, also trying her best to dodge the blasts.
A few more seconds after those sentences were said, the water-spraying creature finally tired out and could barely shoot water jets, as only a small droplet of water last out of its blowhole and fell back in.
"Phew, it's over." Discord heaved a sigh of relief.
"Listen, new creature," Luster approached, "We don't mean any harm, we were just amazed by your appearance and would like to discover more about you, so we chased you and accidentally got you trapped in the Unstoppable Underwater Weed Batch. We are really sorry about all this trouble we caused for you."
"And we're going to make up for it by fixing it!" Smolder added, approaching the creature, who was triggered to see her, but with its mouth wrapped up by the weed, I could not say a thing.
"Don't worry, Smolder just wants to help you," Ocellus told the creature in her best reassuring tone.
Smolder then released her controlled fire from her mouth, burning the weed and causing it to wither and weaken, falling off of its hostage. Once freed, the creature speechlessly thanked Smolder, "Thank you..."
"Smolder. My name is Smolder." Smolder introduced.
"I'm Droplet," the creature introduced in return, "Droplet Tidal...but you all should just call me Droplet..."
"My friends and I never seen any creature like you, Droplet." Smolder continued the conversation.
"That's because...I'm..." Droplet struggled to respond.
"You're what?" Smolder asked.
"A dragon..." Droplet finished.
Every creature else gasped in shock.
"But, you're like a hybrid of all kinds of animals!" Ocellus could not help but point out.
"And shot water at us!" Silverstream added.
"That's because I'm...a Water Dragon." Droplet revealed.
Every creature else gasped again.
"But, what explains your body?" Evergreen asked.
"Unless I am wrong, you're like a super hybrid with a head like a stallion's, dorsal fin and fin rays of a goldfish, hands and arms like those of a proboscis monkey, legs and feet like those of a duck, stream-lined body like a sailfish and a tail like a seapony's." Nature Bloom added.
"That's the unique thing about every water dragon," Droplet explained, "Our bodies are not determined by our parents nor ancestors, it's like a nature wonder. Having body parts of different animals, or should I say, body parts similar to different body parts of different animals makes water dragons amphibious, capable of living on land and in water."
"But, why don't we see any water dragons on land or anywhere above water?" Smolder asked.
Droplet immediately felt uncomfortable as he expressed a frown, "Water Dragons are never allowed to leave the huge bodies of water."
"What?! Why?!" Silverstream asked.
"In order to prevent something terrible that happened...over a millennium ago...from repeating..." Droplet he'd back his tears.
"What is that terrible thing?" Smolder asked.
"Smolder, you're a fire dragon, you will never like this story..." Droplet cried.
"Wait, did you just say I'm a fire dragon?" Smolder asked.
"You are a dragon that breathe fire, so you're obviously a fire dragon." Droplet explained, "And fire dragons do have...a not very nice part in the story behind the water dragons' disappearance from land and sky."
"I can handle it, I've learnt from the Council of Firnedship that these things must be handled!" Smolder insisted.
"A very long time ago...water dragons were free to swim in the bodies of water, run on land, and fly in the sky. Fire dragons could run and fly too, but unlike water dragons, they could not breathe underwater, they could resist lava instead. The water dragons were alright with the fact, but the jealous fire dragons were not. With most of the world covered in huge bodies of water, lakes, seas, oceans, the water dragons surely had a lot more space than fire dragons. So the fire dragons decided to attack the water dragons, resulting in a dragon world war which caused a lot of damage; forest fire, floods, smoke pollution, soil erosion... many creatures suffered from the dragons' actions. The Water Dragon Emperor did not want anymore harm done to any creature, so he decided that he and all of the water dragons should give in, and conceal themselves underneath the bodies of water forever, never to go on land nor sky. With land and sky no longer territories of water dragons, the fire dragons finally stopped their pursuit of the water dragons."
Smolder was speechless to hear the story behind the water dragons' life of being concealed underwater, mostly because of what her kind did in the story.
"Fire dragons did all that?!"she asked in disbelief.
"Over a millennium ago...back then...nothing but natural land all around the world the water dragons saw before they went into hiding underwater...forever..." Droplet sadly nodded.
"That means that was before the foundation of Equestria!" Luster gasped.
"So you water dragons hid underwater for a lot longer than we hippogriffs did!" Silverstream could not help but say in shock.
"It's alright, we got used to it...always being underwater..." Droplet then attempted to swim off by flicking his tail, only to fall onto the submarine floor, causing every creature to rush to his aid.
"I'm alright..." Droplet assured, getting up on his legs before trying to swim off again, only to fall once again.
"You do realise that there's no water inside this submarine here, do you?" Smolder asked.
"Wait, that means I'm...." Droplet was speechless, "On land?"
"Actually, you're in an environment that is kind of like land because there's no water in here. The round is the submarine floor, and he surroundings are walls, the top is the ceiling, and there's air...." Luster explained before being cut off by Droplet.
"I always wanted to feel air!" the water dragon said dreamingly, before snapping out of it, "I mean, being underwater for the whole of my life, I never get to know what it feels being out of it!"
"Droplet, I remember you said that water dragons flew in the skies...a very long time ago..." Smolder reminded, trying her best not to make either of them uncomfortable,"So...can you...fly?"
"All water dragons have blowholes on their heads, and dragon wings naturally part of their bodies. The blowholes are not for breathing unlike those that dolphins and whales have. Water Dragons use their blowholes to shoot out the water they generate. The wings, are dragon wings. Both these traits make us dragons. We can magically produce something natural, and we fly with wings like a dragon." Droplet explained, before attempting to take off, but unfortunately, he did it in his swimming manners once again and fell back onto the submarine floor.
"You did not open your wings!" Smolder said, rushing to Droplet's aid as she pulled him up by his hand.
"Sorry...never leaving the water means never getting to fly. I got too used to swimming." Droplet explained.
"Looks like some creature needs flying practices," Falcon Dive announced, "And I know where there's plenty of fresh air and space!"
"Please don't say this submarine..." Sunshine Rays whispered to herself.
"Roca's mountain!" Falcon Dive revealed the answer.
"What?!" Luster panicked, "Roca's mountain! Oh no!"
"What do you mean, oh no?" Roca asked in a confused tone.
"Our friends are still there! Waiting for us! They must have waited forever!" Luster explained.
"That's an exaggeration." Gallus pointed out.
"But it means that they waited for a very long time!" Luster stated the main point.
"Calm down Luster, we can just explain everything to them..." Evergreen began, before being cut off.
"Discord, please, please, please, get us all back to Roca's mountain right away!" Luster pleaded.
"As you wish!" Discord insisted, snapping his fingers and teleporting every creature back onto the mountain, taking Droplet with them while making the submarine vanish.
"There you all are! What took you so long?!" Alkali asked, approaching them while Volcano, Krona, Yona and Sandbar stopped their business in order to turn their attention towards the recently returned creatures.
"It's...kind of a long story..." Nature Bloom shyly replied.
"And who is this new creature friends brought back?" Yona asked, pointing a hoof at Droplet.
"Every creature, I will like you to meet Droplet, he's our new Water Dragon friend!" Smolder introduced.
"Hi, every creature..." Droplet waved shyly, as he was not used to meeting creatures out of the water.
"Is it just me, our does he look like a super hybrid of a lot of different kinds of animals?" Volcano asked, observing Droplet.
"That's because water dragons like him have body parts similar to those of different animals. That makes them amphibious, although, they never left the water for a very long time..." Smolder explained.
"As a result, I never got to fly, never got to see the world..." Droplet sadly sighed.
"Until now! Look all around you! You're in the world out of the sea!" Alkali cheerfully told Droplet, spreading hr front legs out as she stood on her back legs, as the scene zoomed out to show Roca's mountain from a far away point of view.
"Wait. We brought him out of the water, where he's never supposed to go?!" Sunshine Rays asked, her eyes widening at the same time.
"Is something wrong, Sunshine?" Krona asked.
"We did something wrong!" Sunshine Rays shouted, "Droplet said that he is a water dragon, and water dragons are never allowed to leave bodies of water, and we literally brought him out of the water onto land! We're helping him do something against his kind's rules! It is terribly wrong!"
"Sorry Droplet, I'm afraid that you got to go back underwater...Sunshine's got a good point." Luster apologised to Droplet after hearing what Sunshine Rays recently said.
"But...I just got to see this world!" Droplet complained, "I always wanted to see this world! Please, just let me see a little more!"
"Breaking your kind's rules and resuming this act after knowing that you did so?!" Sunshine Rays asked, sounding somewhat angry, "That is going from terribly wrong to super wrong! And if we supported you in the act what we will be doing is extremely wrong!"
"Just a few more minutes?" Droplet continued pleading, but Sunshine Rays was not buying it.
"Come on, Sunshine. Think of others," Falcon Dive flew towards and landed right beside the pegasus.
"I actually am thinking of others, wanting them to do what is right!" Sunshine Rays insisted.
"But Droplet might never get such chances ever again!" Smolder stood up for her new friend.
"If you want to do what's wrong, don't blame any creature but yourselves when the consequences come!" Sunshine Rays informed, before physically turning her back and walking away.
"That's classic Sunshine Rays for you, always so strict and wanting every creature to follow rules." Smolder whispered to Droplet.
"Who wants lunch, every creature?!" Sandbar asked, "Yona and I set up the picnic formation!"
As the others rushed to the picnic, Smolder steed another conversation with Droplet, "We're having lunch now, will you like some?"
"Lunch? With you?" Droplet asked, causing Smolder to realise something.
"Right...you water dragons never visited land nor sky. You don't know anything about food out of the water. And all th food my friends and I brought are from land, not water."
"Actually, water dragons are omnivorous, we can eat anything...except for poison, obviously..." Droplet replied.
"But you still did not get the point. You probably never ate food from land before!" Smolder clarified.
"There's a first time for everything..." Droplet pointed out.
The next thing every creature knew, was Droplet's lack of knowledge about the most basic food from land.
"What is this?" Droplet asked, pointing at a bowl of hay.
"That's hay, ponies and yaks eat that." Smolder quickly explained.
"What's this?" Droplet asked, pointing at the bowl full of apples.
"Apples from an Apple Farm, Sweet Apple Acres. Apples are fruits that grow from trees." Smolder explained.
"What's this?" Droplet asked, pointing at pieces of a water melon on a tray.
"Those are pieces of a water melon, a huge juicy fruit with lots of water in it." solder answered.
"What's this?" Droplet asked, pointing at an opened box of cupcakes.
"Those are cupcakes from Sugar Cube Corner!" Smolder quickly answered.
"This is going to take all day!" Krona complained.
"Sorry Krona, but if Droplet wants to know about all these different types of food from land, he got to see them before we eat them!" Buffer pointed out.
"How about this?" Luster asked, using her magic to levitate one kind of every food from the picnic and place them onto one huge tray.
"Now you can ask about all these different foods without bothering every creature else!" Luster told Droplet and Smolder, levitating the tray to the water dragon.
"Thanks, Luster!" Smolder thanked, before walking towards the mountain's cliff's edge with Droplet.
"Wait a second! Don't forget a coconut!" Alkali called, to the two dragons.
"A coconut?!" Droplet asked, showing that he did not have any knowledge of the said fruit.
"Some of the food are unhealthy, so drinking coconut water helps you cool down and neutralise the heat in your body!" Alkali explained, giving Smolder two opened young coconuts with straws, since Droplet was holding the tray of food with his two hands.
Once the two dragons fitted down on the stable edge t have their meal, Droplet began apologising, "I'm so sorry for asking all those questions, Smolder. You usually never have to answer them, but I...I'm new to everything here. I just wanted to know more about this world."
"I understand Droplet, I mean, I totally would ask you that many questions if I finally got to be part of your world underwater..." Smolder assured.
"There's no way Emperor Oceanic will ever want that," Droplet sadly sighed.
"Emperor Oceanic?" Smolder asked.
"The emperor of the water dragons. Ruler of Dragon Seas, the underwater kingdom empire of water dragons" Droplet explained.
"Your land is called Dragon Seas?" Smolder asked.
"Territory, our territory is called Dragon Seas." Droplet clarified.
"I'm originally from the Dragon Lands, the land of the dragons, ruled by Dragon Lord Ember!" Smolder could not help but tell Droplet.
"So...you fire dragons have a lords, while the water dragons and I have emperors and empresses?!" Droplet asked.
"Looks like it," Smolder replied, before taking a sip of her coconut drink through her straw.
"What are you doing, making that noise?" Droplet asked, changing the subject.
"I'm just drinking the coconut juice from a straw." Smolder replied.
"I thought it was called coconut water." Droplet responded.
"It can be called coconut milk, coconut juice or coconut water. If you cannot decide, call it coconut drink." Smolder answered.
"And what does it mean by 'drink'?" Droplet asked, showing another basic thing on land that he did not know about due to his life entirely underwater.
"That means swallowing a liquid like water, or juice or milk!" Smolder explained, getting annoyed.
"Sorry...being underwater all the time means never drinking...therefore, never needed to use that word!" Droplet shyly replied.
"You water dragons don't need to drink?" Smolder asked.
"We generally have lots of water in our bodies that we produce. Plus, we shoot water out of our bodies, no need to take it in. But then again, I will like to know what does this coconut drink tastes like." Droplet explained before expressing curiosity as he looked at the opened young coconut in his hands.
"Then there's only one way to find out!" Smolder chirped, signalling Droplet to take a sip of the drink.
"It's...it's...divine! It's so good! The best drink I've ever had!" Droplet could not help but exclaim.
"Isn't that the first drink you've ever had?" Smolder asked.
"Oh, right....sorry, I just...love all these things from land that I never got to try until now..." Droplet shyly smiled.
The two dragons then continued sipping their coconut drinks from their straws until no more could be consumed. Smolder then took her spoon off her tray of food, causing Droplet to point at the spoon and ask, "What's that tiny shovel?"
"It's called a spoon," Smolder replied, showing that she was a bit annoyed that Droplet did not even know what a spoon was.
"Sorry, water dragons just never needed to use...spoons...." Droplet apologised.
"Dragons...I mean, fire dragons don't need to use spoons much, neither. But a spoon really comes in handy when it comes to eating the flesh of young coconuts." Smolder explained, using the spoon to dig into the young coconut's soft flesh and send it into her mouth.
Observing Smolder, Droplet did the same using his spoon, feeding himself the flesh of his young coconut. The two dragons quickly finished the flesh with Dorlet asking, "The coconuts are now empty, what should we do with them?"
"We can either throw them into the trash, or bury them, or keep them..." Smolder began listing, before being cut off by Droplet.
"I'd like to keep them, in order to remember this moment that we shared."
"Suit yourself," Smolder responded, getting up, causing Droplet to stop her.
"Wait, if you don't want to keep yours, at least let me keep it. Please?"
"As you wish..." Smolder sighed, giving her coconut to Droplet's free hand.
"Thank you, Smolder." Droplet thanked, before the fire dragon noticed his tray beside him, still full of food.
"Droplet, your food! I haven't explained them all to you!"
"That's alright, that coconut surely satisfied me more than ever." Droplet assured.
"Alright, every creature. Ready to make some soup?!" Alkali asked, catching the dragons' attention.
"Soup?" Droplet asked.
"Guess that means you water dragons don't know what soup is." Smolder responded.
"Soup is a liquid dish, typically savoury and made by boiling vegetables in stock or water." Volcano defined.
"Did you say 'in water'?" Droplet asked.
"You know, water in a pot placed above fire?" Yellow Bright tried to explain in as less words as possible.
"So...water and fire are both needed to make soup?" Droplet asked.
"Well...the pot is needed, too...to contain the water!" Alkali quickly pointed out, as she hung the pot over a a circle of firewood.
"If you need water, I can give you as much as you need!" Droplet offered.
"No thanks, I've brought the water for the soup." Alkali assured, before flying to her luggage, only to discover that the water she was looking for was not there. "Hey, where did the bottle of water I hid in my luggage among those coconuts go?!"
"Sorry, Alkali, but when we came back, I was very thirsty, so I drank it all." Silverstream apologised.
"This is great!" Falcon Dive sarcastically commented, "No water, no soup."
"Never fear, because Discord's..." Discord began, only to be cut off by Droplet.
"Sorry Discord, but I believe that a Water Dragon is the correct creature for the job."
"But, the water we need is freshwater!" Sunshine Rays pointed out.
"Despite being underwater for the whole of their lives, water dragons know how to produce the specific kind of water they want to produce!" Droplet insisted, before closing his eyes as he focused on the water he wanted to produce, before spraying the fresh water from his blowhole into the pot, making the pot half full.
"This is really freshwater?" Roca asked.
"I'll double check." Luster said, before casting a spell to scan the water. "Yes, it is freshwater, clean and fresh."
"Water Dragons can make all sorts of different water; Pure Water, Freshwater, Seawater, Deionised Water, Distilled Water, Rain Water..." Droplet explained, before Volcano cut him off.
"Wait, if you water dragons never left the bodies of water and never went to the surface before, how do you know about rain?"
"Water Dragons know all about water," Droplet explained, "It's our thing, we taught it for generations since before we disappeared from land and sky to conceal ourselves deep underwater."
"Can creatures please stop talking and get soup-making?!" an annoyed Krona asked.
"Oh, right. Sorry..." Luster apologised.
"Allow me to do this," Smolder proudly announced, before setting the firewood ablaze.
"Now we can start making soup," Evergreen announced.
"Can you believe it? Both water and fire are needed to make soup!" Droplet asked Smolder.
"Yeah I can believe it. I made soup before a gazillion times," Smolder exaggerated.
"Sorry, I just never made soup before. Never drank any liquids, only eating underwater plants, carcass of dead animals underwater..." Droplet listed.
"Dead animals?!" Smolder asked in shock.
"It's to clear up the waters of rotting meat." Droplet quickly explained, "Dead underwater organisms can really pollute the waters, especially dead animals."
"Looks like you're the underwater life dragon expert," Smolder commented, with her claws each on one side of her waist.
"And you're the land life dragon expert, telling me everything about life on land." Droplet remarked, doing the same gesture.
Hearing Droplet's comment made Smolder blush a bit, "Well.... not everything about life on land, just all that I kow. The basic things like the food here, drinks here, actions like walking, running, flying and climbing..."
As Smolder went on, she was oblivious to the fact that Ocellus was staring at her(Smolder) and Droplet in silence and hesitation.
"Ocellus, your soup." Sandbar handed a bowl of soup to the cyan changeling.
"Thanks, Sandbar..." Ocellus thanked.
"Is something wrong?" Silverstream asked, noticing that Ocellus was frowning.
"Nothing's wrong!" OCellus shook her head vigorously, "I was just thinking of something negative..."
"If you think of negative thoughts, cure it by thinking of positive thoughts! Or something funny!" ?Yellow Bright advised.
"Thanks, positivity expert." Gallus thanked.
"Alright, positive thoughts...positive thoughts..." Ocellus said out loud, as she tried to think.
"Like some soup?" Luster asked Smolder and Droplet, levitating two bowls of soup into their claws and hands respectively.
"Thanks, Luster." Smolder thanked.
"Thank you, Luster." Droplet politely bowed as he thanked her.
"There is no need to be so respectful, Droplet. We're all friends here." Luster giggled.
"Sorry...it's just the way Water Dragons thank those who give them food. It's our living thing need." Droplet explained.
"May I remind you that living things need food, water and air to survive?" Volcano corrected.
"Water Dragons can breathe underwater without doing t the surface, making us unique. So the only thing we don't always have with us all the time is food. We only have food sometimes, not all." Droplet explained, before walking off to the cliff's edge with Smolder.
This time, Ocellus was having both her eyes on them, and giving an excuse to follow them,"Every creature, please don't mind me, but I need to take a little break from sitting here...to look afar at the sea, it's good to look afar."
"Yes, looking at far away things is good for your eyes." Falcon Dive commented.
After finishing the soup, Droplet could not help but tell Smolder, "This soup is delicious!"
"Yes, it is carrot, corn and tomato soup, made of the sweetest vegetables..." Smolder replied, before being cut off by Droplet.
"And it came from my water and your fire."
"I would say partially, not completely because my fire just provides the heat that cooks it while your water is needed to boil the ingredients into soup." Smolder pointed out.
"Right..." Droplet responded, "But look, fire and water, both used in order to make soup..."
"Yes, they are both used to make soup alongside the pot and other ingredients! For different soups, different ingredients, but the fire, water and pot are always needed!" Smolder replied in an annoyed tone.
"Sorry for annoying you, it's just...the way we're both needed makes me think; if we work so well together...why can't all fire dragons and water dragons work well together, too?" Droplet voiced his thoughts out.
"You mean you... want fire dragons and water dragons to be friends?" Smolder asked.
"Yes...especially since we're friends Smolder, a fire dragon and a water dragon, being friends with each other." Droplet explained.
"Well...since the different creatures of Equestria and Beyond got together because of the friendships formed between their leaders and an individual of each of their kind...I don't say that fire dragons and water dragons becoming friends is impossible..." Smolder replied.
"So that means we can make peace between fire dragons and water dragons?" Droplet asked, lightening up.
"If we can get our leaders to be friends and maybe show them how well fire and water work together to make delicious soup, maybe we can!" Smolder said her ideas out loud.
"And that means that water dragons can finally visit land and air again! And finally be part of this world!" Droplet exclaimed, rising his arms high in the air with joy.
"And we can exchange what we know about our lives. On land..." Smolder began.
"And underwater." Droplet finished.
A song's music then began to play, as Smolder sang;
"I used to think that water is slippery, rusts metal and gets things damp.
Also think of its disadvantages, of being able to spoil a candlelit lamp.
But now that I see the plus side,
that water is useful as a need for a living thing's life.
Water also has lots of good uses,
making it beneficial as long as there's no misuses."
Droplet sang;
"I used to think that fire burns things down, turning them into ashes.
Also think of the disadvantages, of causing harmful gases.
But now I see the need to have fire around,
it provides warmth to cook the food,
that is needed for the creatures on air and ground.
Fire can still be something good,
as long as it is used in the way it should."
Both sang the chorus as they flew and danced in their imagination;
"Fire and water,
so different from each other,
but still alike in a certain way.
Both have their pros and cons in life,
with their advantages making your day!
When used together,
in the correct manner,
they can create an amazing delight,
when fire and water unite."
Smolder sang;
"Fire may not be as loved as water,
for causing burning disasters.
But it can clean things up by clearing out the bacteria,
in the region or area.
There are still somethings to love about fire,
like being a light and warmth supplier."
Droplet sang;
"Water may be something many love and enjoy,
but similar to fire, there are things that it still can destroy.
It may be essential for washing and cleaning,
but it needs the aid of other compounds to do its thing.
There are still some downsides of water,
but there is still plus sides that it offers."
Both sang the chorus once more;
"Fire and water,
so different from each other,
but still alike in a certain way.
Both have their pros and cons in life,
with their advantages making your day!
When used together,
in the correct manner,
they can create an amazing delight,
when fire and water unite."
After a short instrumental verse, the two ended their song, singing, "When fire and water unite..." as they gazed into each other's eyes.
Ocellus, who witnessed and overheard everything was speechless to see how close her Best Friend and new water dragon friend had become.
"So, I can send a message to Dragon Lord Ember to tell her that I befriended a water dragon, who wishes to have peace between fire dragons and water dragons, and tell her to have a meeting with the leader of the water dragons, alone, before letting the subjects meet." Smolder began.
"Are you sure that she will listen to you? I mean, from what history says, the fire dragons are not willing to listen to what water dragons say about wanting peace and harmony." Droplet asked.
"That is the past, Droplet. A lot has changed, fire dragons are mostly friends now, including the Dragon Lord, trust me." Smolder assured, "She even chose me to represent the dragons at the School of Friendship ages ago, and I was the only dragon student at that school back then!"
"Really? Your leader chose you out of all the dragons?" Droplet asked.
"Probably because I was the right size, right age, and perhaps...the younger sister of her former enemy Garble, who competed and fought her for the role of dragon lord when her father, the old dragon lord had to step down." Smolder figured.
"You have a sibling?" Droplet asked.
"Of course I do! My older brother Garble, whom I nickname Gar-Gar, is definitely my sibling, and closest sibling not in terms of distance, but in terms of character and friendship." Smolder explained.
"I have a brother, too! Only, instead of older, my brother is younger. Plus, he's my non-identical twin, named Dribble, we hatched on the same day, but I came to the world a few minutes before he did." Droplet explained.
"Does he dream to be free and see the world above the water like you do?" Smolder asked.
"He does, but he knew it was impossible as long as water dragons are forbidden to leave the underwater world." Droplet explained.
"Don't worry, we'll change that and grant you water dragons freedom!" Smolder assured.
"But...I never physically went to see Emperor Oceanic, the leader of the water dragons, the ruler of Dragon Seas, before! What if he doesn't believe me when I tell him that fire dragons changed, or worse, punish me?!" Droplet asked.
"You have new friends who can and will help you." Smolder assured with a determined facial expression.
"You want us to do write a letter to the emperor of the water dragons for you?!" Buffer asked in shock.
"I'm sorry, I can't think of what to write to ensure he won't see half of it and....punish me for having something to do with fire dragons..." Droplet apologised.
"Listen, you got to learn to write it yourself, or you'll never learn!" Sunshine Rays pointed out.
"All we can do is point you in the right direction," Evergreen added.
"And let you spread your wings from there!" Falcon Dive ended.
"Speaking of spreading wings, you already did that when you flew with me just now." Smolder told Droplet, nudging the water dragon as she did.
Seeing how close the dragons were getting was making Ocellus even more uncomfortable with each passing second, as she could not help but growl in jealousy and storm off without every creature noticing.
"I'm Smolder's BFF whom she trusts the most! I'm Smolder's BFF whom she is closest to, the most! I'm Smolder's BFF whom she spends time with the most! And now, she's letting a new, just-met, just-discovered water dragon take my place?!" Ocellus angrily said to herself as she paced at the cliff edge before stopping in her tracks and cried.
"It's only a matter of time before Smolder completely forgets that I even exists! What do I do? What do I do?"
"Come on Droplet! Do you really want to share this world with all of your water dragon friends or not?!" Volcano asked.
"Sure I do! Especially get to see all of you again, you're all wonderful friends, especially you, Smolder!" Droplet complimented.
"It's nothing, Droplet." Smolder responded in a tone that expressed that she liked the compliment.
Ocellus, watching the group from afar and overhearing what they said, was even angrier to hear that Smolder liked Droplet complimenting her(Smolder).
"That does it! I got to get that water dragon away from her! If that's the last thing that can make sure Smolder doesn't forget me!" Ocellus announced to herself, in a blind, jealous rage.
"Maybe you should not mention anything about fire dragons until the end," Alkali suggested.
"Good point, alongside warning him that what would come later in the message can be very shocking..." Droplet commented, before a wasp came buzzing at his face. "What is this little creature?" he asked, his eyes focusing on the insect capable of flight.
"It's a wasp!" screamed Krona.
"A wasp? Out of the water and able to fly? And a lot noisier and different from the sea wasps underwater?!" Droplet asked.
"Sea wasps?!" most of the creatures asked in unison.
"Doesn't matter that, Droplet! This wasp in the air can sting, too! " Smolder warned.
"Try releasing water! Wasps don't like water, so maybe if you show it the you can shoot water, it might not want to go close to you anymore!" Nature Bloom advised.
Droplet did as told, and released a geyser of water through his blowhole, but the wasp was still not giving up until he bent his head down and shot the geyser of water at the little insect, sending it far away.
"Well done, Droplet!" Evergreen praised.
"But what was that wasp doing on my mountain?!" Roca asked.
"I don't know! There isn't much food, and there's no way a wasp can fly a long distance without resting!" Nature Bloom answered.
"Maybe it's a super wasp, an unknown species of wasp that is yet to be discovered?" Falcon Dive sarcastically commented.
"I doubt that..." Gallus replied.
Unknown to every creature, the wasp landed on an edge of Roca's mountain, closer to the splashing waves. The wasp turned into a dizzy Ocellus, who tried to make Droplet look terrible in her wasp form.
"How about this; I am Droplet, an explorer and material-collector who discovered that the creatures on land had invented a machine that they could use to explore the underwater world." Droplet asked the others about his first line in the letter.
"Introducing yourself is a key that must be featured..." Sunshine Rays commented, before Droplet noticed a skunk behind her, pointing a finger at the animal.
"A skunk!" panicked Silverstream.
"I got this, Droplet!" Smolder bravely declared, leaping right in front of him as every creature else cleared.
Smolder then scared the skunk away by releasing several fireballs that erupted into flames that lasted a few seconds in front of it, causing Droplet to praise her, "Wow, Smolder. Your fireballs are amazing!"
"And useful," Smolder added.
"First a wasp, now a skunk?!" Yona asked.
"Where did these animals came from, anyway?" Sandbar asked.
"And how did they get here?!" Krona added.
"Don't look at me! I would never do such thing as bring them here! I swear!" Discord insisted, when every creature looked at him, expressing that they thought that he was the reason.
"Look on the bright side, they're gone now!" Yellow Bright informed every creature.
Unknown to every creature, the skunk who ran down the mountain transformed into Ocellus, as she tried to make Droplet get a bad reputation in her skunk form. Ocellus was angry that her second attempt failed, and was even angrier to know that Smolder, her BFF, had defended who she(Ocelllus) was jealous of from her(Ocellus).
"I was stuck in some Unstoppable Underwater Weed, and the creatures helped me by bringing me into their machine to get the weed off of me. Among them was a fire dragon, who burnt the weed without hurting me..." Droplet went on telling the others what he thought that he should write.
"Go on..." Evergreen calmly encouraged.
That was when Droplet noticed a colourful shell that he was familiar with, right behind the Kirin.
"A cone snail!" he gasped.
"A what?!" Yellow Bright asked.
Droplet flew over the creatures and bravely shot a powerful water jet at the cone snail, sending it into the ocean.
"Epic targeting!" Falcon Dive complimented.
"I could really use a guard like you," Gallus added.
"No need to thank me, and no need to get so excited. Water Dragons are taught to handle dangerous creatures like cone snails." Droplet responded.
"But you handled that cone snail out of the water, for the very first time since you never left the water before! You're awesome!" Smolder hugged Droplet as she praised him.
"Thanks, Smolder..." Droplet blushed a tiny bit as she hugged him.
Out of every creature's sight, the cone snail turned back into Ocellus, who had transformed into it in an attempt to scare Droplet and make the water dragon look awful. She growled as not only did the attempt failed like the last two, it also brought the dragons closer together, accomplishing the opposite of what she wanted!
"The fire dragons are not like their forefathers anymore! They have changed! They are friendlier and better for real now! Thanks to their creature friends from Equestria and Beyond!" Droplet continued saying what he thought he should write, just before he was interrupted by Smolder.
"Droplet, look out!"
Smolder leap right in front of Droplet, facing her head towards the sky as a hungry hawk swooped down at him. The fire dragon released a cloud of smoke at the predatory bird, causing it to cough and change its direction and mind, leaving every creature alone.
"Thanks, Smolder." Droplet thanked, "You really saved me this time."
"Just returning the favour," Smolder winked.
The hawk flew close to the surface and snuck to the rocks at the bottom of Roca's mountain, landing on one of the rocks and turned into a furious Ocellus. She could not believe that she had brought the dragons even closer again!
"Underwater, we don't use pencils and erasers nor quills and ink. Instead, we write with our fingers or fins in by making lines in the sand, or scratch a small stone against a flat stone tablet." Droplet explained, after Smolder attempted to give him a scroll and quill.
"So you're going to write on stone using stone?!" Smolder asked.
"Something like that..." Droplet smiled nervously, just before their conversation was interrupted by Alkali's screams.
"What is that thing?!" she asked, pointing her claw to the strange animal that looked like a giant scorpion with wings.
Smolder and Droplet bravely reacted by shooting fireballs and water jets at the beast, but their attacks cancelled each other out, to their dismay.
"Your water jets put out my fireballs!" Smolder complained.
"While your fireballs took out my water jets!" Droplet argued.
The beast seemed delighted to see that the dragons were having an argument, before it got zapped by a beam Luster fired.
"Leave them alone!" the unicorn bravely distracted the beast, turning its attention towards her.
"Luster!" both dragons stopped arguing as they called their friend's name in unison.
Smolder got ready to shoot another fireball, but Droplet intervened, "Wait! You saw the your fireballs and my water jets don't work well together in combat!"
"Then let me use my fireballs alone!" Smolder shrugged.
"Why don't use your smoke clouds?! I'll wet its wings so they won't work well, so you can release a smoke cloud to weaken it!" Droplet explained.
"I actually think that will work!" Smolder smiled.
Luster kept shooting the flying scorpion with her beams, but it kept coming closer to her as if it had grown a resistance against her attacks. Luckily for her, Droplet flew above the beast and released a huge droplet of water onto its wings, causing the animal to fall onto the ground as its wings stopped working.
"Bull's eye!" Droplet cheered.
"It's not over yet!" Smolder announced, releasing a cloud of smoke that surrounded the animal, causing it to cough while Luster teleported herself to safety, beside some of her best friends, Sunshine Rays, Volcano and Alkali.
Once the smoke cleared, Smolder and Droplet approached the giant winged scorpion with their own glares and fierce stands.
"Leave our friends alone, now!" they shouted in unison, as Smolder revealed some flames in her mouth, while Droplet's blowhole released a geyser of water.
Defeated, the animal left by crawling down the mountain seconds before Roca arrived with Falcon Dive and Nature Bloom.
"Where's that giant flying scorpion?!" Roca asked, ready for a fight.
"Droplet and Smolder just got it to leave," Volcano informed in response.
"What?!" Falcon Dive asked.
"You should thank Droplet, he came up with the best idea to defeat it." Smolder insisted.
"But we were both needed, Smolder." Droplet nudged her.
"Then we work well together!" Smolder responded.
At the bottom of the mountain, the giant scorpion with wings turned into an extremely envious Ocellus, who lashed out her anger, "I can't believe it! No matter what I did, Smolder and that water dragon just kept getting closer and closer! Like there's nothing that can break them apart!"
Ocellus then overheard the conversation among the creatures from where she stood. Although not being able to see them, she knew whose voice was whose.
"So...what do you think?" Droplet asked.
"Good enough for an emperor!" Sunshine Rays replied.
"Very polite, and clear of mistakes as I scan through..." Volcano added.
"Oh come on, Volcano! You should have known that errors are unavoidable!" Alkali playfully told him.
"But it's best to not make a single one!" Volcano responded, complaining.
"Alright, alright, you to, calm down, please!" Evergreen was heard trying to calm the serious marker and his playful teaching assistant down.
"Well, good luck getting this message to the emperor and empress, Droplet!" Smolder could be heard wishing her new friend good luck, "I'll get word to Dragon Lord Ember as you do so. Hopefully we'll succeed in making peace between our kinds."
"And be together..." Droplet could be heard approaching.
"For the rest of time..." Smolder added, in the same tone as Droplet's.
Ocellus snapped her teeth together in anger as she watched Droplet leapt down into the ocean from the mountain.
"So...what are you going to write to Dragon Lord Ember?" Sandbar could be heard asking.
"Don't worry, I know just what to write!" Smolder insisted.
Underwater, Droplet greeted the Royal Guards guarding the Emperor's Palace.
"Good day, sir's..." Droplet tried his best to greet the protectors of the emperor, "Look, I have a message for his excellency...Emperor Oceanic!" Droplet then showed the stone tablet that had his writing on it, "Can you please make sure that his excellency receives this?"
One of the guards grabbed the stone tablet with his own claws and swam into the palace, with Droplet watching the events unfold.
In the Throne Room, the emperor of the water dragons could be seen sitting on his throne while his wife was entering through the doors.
"Oceanic, one of our subjects sent this message especially for you...and I believe that it's quite....important..." the empress informed, holding the stone tablet with her claws.
"Thanks Mariana, I'll take it from here." Oceanic responded, taking the tablet from his wife using his own claws.
Dear Emperor Oceanic,
I am Droplet Tidal, and I have something important to inform you: Today, I was doing my job exploring the area beyond Dragon Seas to gather material when a strange machine showed up nearby. There were creatures from land in the machine, who helped me when I got stuck in some Unstoppable Underwater Weed. I was surprised that among the creatures that helped me was a fire dragon who freed me from the grasp of the weed with her dragon fire. I learnt from them that fire dragons are currently friendlier, and different from a millennium ago. The fire dragons had became better through the efforts of some very amazing ponies and their dragon assistant, and are now in peace with many other creatures. We can be in peace with them, too, and work together to benefit from one another. So please, help to make it possible for both dragon kinds to be in peace.
Signed, your sincerely,
Droplet Tidal
In the Dragon Lands, an older, larger, slender, Dragon Lord Ember was silent reading a letter she recently got from Smolder. "What?! Water Dragons?!" she could not help but comment.
"Water Dragons?" Garble, who was right beside the dragon lord, overheard and responded by asking.
"Stay here and look after the Dragon Lands. I'm going to see your sister." Ember ordered Garble.
"As you wish, Dragon Lord Ember." Garble saluted, before Ember flew off wit the Gauntlet of Fire in her claws.
Meanwhile, underwater, Droplet nervously waited outside the emperor's palace just before the emperor himself, accompanied by a pair of royal guards, swam to the commoner.
"Droplet Tidal, isn't it?" the emperor asked.
"Yes, your majesty, I am Droplet Tidal." Droplet respectfully bowed before his superior.
"There are a few things that we have to discuss about, one-on-one." the emperor insisted, leading Droplet into the palace throne room.
In the mean time, at Roca's mountain, the creatures were looking at the ocean, waiting for their new friend's return.
"Well, it looks like he didn't have any luck with his superior, we should just give up..." Ocellus insisted.
"Come on, Ocellus! Droplet may not be chosen by his kind's leader to represent his kind at the school unlike us, but I know he can bring good to his kind and ours just like us!" Smolder expressed her faith in her new friend, to Ocellus' annoyance, which every creature was still oblivious about.
"Smolder!" Ember's voice could be heard, causing the creatures to look up into the sky to see the Dragon Lord, accompanied by six adult dragons, showing up.
"Dragon Lord Ember!" Smolder greeted.
"Smolder, I've seen your letter, and you got to be kidding me! Make peace with dragons whom we took freedom away from?! They'll never agree to make peace!" Ember scolded.
"But Dragon Lord Ember, dragons and creatures managed to make peace!" Yona argued.
"That is different! We never forced any of you creatures to conceal yourselves from land and sky!" Ember pointed out.
"But...the hippogriffs did just that!" Silverstream pointed out in response.
"You hid from the Storm King! Not dragons!" Ember reminded.
"Right..." Silverstream speechlessly replied.
"Dragon Lord, it's not impossible! Just take it as making peace with another creature!" Smolder tried to reason with her superior.
"I get it you want peace, we all do. But, do you think that the fire dragons will want that?" Emperor Oceanic asked Droplet.
"Look, my new fire dragon friend have different creatures as her friends! They're all very friendly, especially her! I can feel it; she didn't lie to me about the current Dragon Lord and how dragons are currently like!" Droplet insisted.
"I do wish that you are right about her, but what if it's a facade? You'll never know how sly some creatures can really be." the emperor asked.
"Smolder can't be that kind of trickster! She's really kind and generous! She was willing to spend her time teaching me the most basic things about life on land like the names of the food they have! And the term 'drink' which is swallowing liquid, and..." Droplet began before he was cut off by the emperor.
"Perhaps you should take a few guards with you to visit her again. Try to get to know her better, before we make a big move as meeting with the fire dragon colony."
Six of the royal guards showed up to accompany Droplet for his next out of the water visit. Unknown to him, the emperor secretly handed a small faint-yellow pearl to one of the guards, literally behind his back.
"Dragons used to be enemies with yaks and even hurt yaks, but managed to become friends!" Yona argued with Ember.
"But we never forced you yaks into hiding!" Ember argued back.
"Smolder!" Droplet's voice could be heard, as the water dragon himself flew up to her.
"Droplet! You're back!" Smolder smiled.
Ember was shocked to see a water dragon for the first time in her life. "That is a water dragon?"
"Each water dragon is a unique hybrid of all kinds of different animals." Smolder explained.
"Since our hiding, we never get to fully know our own whole combination," Droplet awkwardly commented.
From beneath the surface, the spying water dragon guards were observed by the emperor through a larger magical pearl that was similar to the smaller one he gave one of the guard earlier, revealing the reason he did so; to observe what was going on between the dragons himself.
"Dragon Lord Ember, is it?" Droplet asked the dragon lord.
"I told him about you..." Smolder quickly filled in.
"I sure am the Dragon Lord, ruler of the Dragon Lands, leader of the fire dragons as the one with the Gauntlet of Fire!" Dragon Lord Ember declared, holding the gauntlet up in the air as she spoke.
"I am Droplet Tidal, but every creature can just call me Droplet." Droplet introduced, "Smolder and I had a great time knowing each other and finding out that fire and water can be similar and get along in some ways."
"Most likely when we make soup together!" Smolder quickly filled in.
"I love the world out of the water, and can't help but wish that all water dragons can visit it, too! And figured that the only way is for water dragons and fire dragons to be in peace!" Droplet stated his point.
"Listen, young adult. Just because you think of things like that doesn't mean all water dragons think things like that!" Ember pointed out.
"True, but don't forget that best and most popular are not the same!" Volcano reminded.
"And isn't peace the best?" Droplet asked.
"Well..." Ember was obviously beginning to agree with him, which Ocellus observed.
"I'm not letting him take away my Best Friend!" the cyan changeling said to herself, before she used her powers to change into a tiny fly behind every creature's backs.
"Droplet is bravely standing up for his kind with the intentions to bring good to them! And not just his kind, other kinds, too! Just like I did! Just like my best friends did when Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy were on the loose!" Smolder reminded, "You listened and we made the right choice to help other creatures and become close friends with them!"
"That was a long time ago!" Ocellus, disguised as a tough adult dragon with a deep voice said, catching every creature's attention, "There's no way any baddie is going to show up to bring us to fight against them together. Plus, everything's going fine without those water dragons around."
Every creature was shocked to hear what Ocellus said in her disguise, while the water dragon guards were offended.
"Excuse me, but you're offending a water dragon right here in front of you!" Smolder scolded.
"Standing up to a water dragon against your own kind? What kind of dragon are you?!" Ocellus asked, causing Smolder to get even angrier.
"Kind doesn't matter! What you will do does!" Smolder shouted.
"Because what you will do is what truly makes you you; it's your personality!" Sunshine Rays added.
"You care about personality? Water Dragons do that too! A lot!" Droplet could not help but comment.
"I don't remember bringing you with me! Where'd you come from?!" Ember asked the disguised Ocellus.
"Does that matter?!" Ocellus asked in response.
"Why you..." Ember huffed, her face turning red and expressing a desire to fight.
"Now, Dragon Lord Ember....please calm down..." Evergreen tried to reason with the angry dragon lord as Smolder and Volcano used their claws in their attempt to restrain her(Ember).
"Let go of me!" Ember ordered, facing the dragons who held onto her, causing the six dragons she brought as company to completely focus on them instead of the disguised Ocellus, who snuck off to a lower part of the mountain to generate a smoke cloud to hide herself in before transforming into a chameleon ad camouflage herself.
"Violence is never the best! Peace and reasoning are!" Luster tried to remind the angry dragon lord.
"See?! I knew it! Fire dragons are violent, and they always are! They're never friends!" Ocellus, disguised as an adult male water dragon complete with an adult male's voice said out loud, revealing her position on the water's surface, watching everything.
"What?!" Droplet asked in disbelief, sounding hurt.
"Come on, stop being with those revolting fire-breathing beasts and go home, fellow water dragon!" Ocellus continued in her disguise.
"Revolting fire-breathing beasts?!" Ember angrily asked, facing the disguised Ocellus.
Smolder quickly noticed that one of the other fire dragons that accompanied Ember was heading towards Droplet in an attempt to confront him.
"Droplet, go!" Smolder quickly swung Droplet around, tossing him into the ocean in an attempt to shield him from her own kind.
"Smolder, no!" Droplet cried, as he fell into the water.
"Droplet Tidal," the guard whom the emperor gave the pearl to earlier approached Droplet, "Let's go back to the emperor. See what his excellency has to say about this."
"But...." Droplet cried.
"No 'buts'. Let's go." the guard insisted.
"And you, what was with you back there?! Insulting the fire dragons with such a terrible adjective!?" another guard asked the disguised Ocellus, not knowing that she really was not one of their kind.
"Doesn't matter..." she arrogantly responded, before transforming into a micro-organism, which was undetectable to the water dragons.
"Where did he go?!" the guards asked in confusion.
Back on Roca's Mountain...
"This must be a misunderstanding!" Smolder cried.
"You saw and heard what that water dragon was like!" Ember fiercely argued.
"You can't judge their whole kind just by one of their individuals!" Smolder argued back.
"That water dragon can lead to disharmony between the dragons in less than one minute! Imagine if we signed a peace treaty and then that happens!" Ember continued her side of the argument.
"But..." Smolder began.
"No 'buts'! Your time here is over, young adult!" Ember declared, grabbing Smolder by her arm and dragging her(Smolder) with her(Ember), followed by the six adult dragons company as they flew to the direction of the Dragon Lands.
The rest of the creatures on the mountain speechlessly watched the events unfold.
"Please tell me that that never happened..." Nature Bloom spoke up.
To Be Continued...
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