Part 1: the swap gem
"I hope it's quick, who knows what those airheads will do while I'm gone" Said a celestial dragon to her 'protégé' so to speak.
As part of her history class, Smolder managed to convince Ember to tell him about the different Dragon lords that have existed including her.
Spike was also with them, knowing more about his species would always be something of her interest, especially when told by a good friend.
The trio of dragons were in one of the many caves in the Dragon Lands, the cave had a couple of gems as a snack, it was perfect for the interview.
"Come on Ember, you selected Smolder to go to school. You must help her with something" mentioned the purple dragon.
"More like he forced me to go, but it's true we won't take much of your time" added Smolder remembering that day when the dragon lord appeared with his parents and said 'YOU, I already talked to them so follow me' who would say things would it end with her and her friends saving magic and all of Equestria from a crazy filly?
"Okay, I hope you know how to write fast" and so Ember began to tell everything she knew about the dragon lords, their origin, the creation of the challenge Etc...
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Crackle was…well, not too different than he is every day.
He's just wandered the Dragon Lands aimlessly since he hatched, surviving on anything edible for a dragon (which was plenty just in case). And very rarely is he seen doing his favorite activity, looking around just because (sometimes you don't know if he was distracted by something or just looking for something to look at, most of the time he settles for clouds or rocks) or scratching, he is so 'special' that he unconsciously accomplished a feat that would be impossible for many creatures. Make the rest of the dragons feel sorry for him, of course with a few exceptions the vast majority of his kind decide to stay away from him because they consider him someone who is not worth it, but it's not like he cares.
Crackle was trying to fly to reach a high rock, but failing in the attempt, he had tried for hours but nothing until he got hungry, since there were no gems nearby (ignoring the ones that decorate his body) he decided to eat the same rock that was in front of me.
After taking a couple of bites, he discovered that there was something inside the rock, a gem, very different from the rest, with one half being white and the other black, both colors spinning nonstop inside the jewel.
But for Crackle, his basic instincts just said 'EAT, EAT, EAT' so he grabbed it and tried to chew it but couldn't, his teeth were never the strongest by adult dragon standards but still more than able to eat gems with little effort, but this one in particular didn't seem to budge, eventually giving up but deciding to keep it.
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"And that's how we got to the present day, with me as the first dragon lord to establish a close relationship with another species, who would have thought they would be ponies?" I finish telling Ember.
"We can agree on that, and I think this will be more than enough, so THANK YOU dragon lord, you thought that's right?" Smolder asked Spike getting a thumbs up from him.
"Okay, my job is more than just yelling at all of you, something that as we learned many dragon lords decided to ignore" concluded the dragon lord.
"Hey Ember, do you think we could take some gems back to school? Pinkie's sister ran out of them recently" Spike asked his light blue friend.
"Of course, just don't overdo it Ok?" And with that the two young dragons went out to collect some cool jewels, leaving the dragon alone, Ember would look at her reflection in the dragon lord's center gem with a pretty big smile coming from her "The best thing about being a dragon lord is without a doubt not have to be called princess again, and whoever does it will have to give me their dinner in exchange, as I love being me" despite complaining a lot, the dragon couldn't be more grateful with her life and with what she has, already be it thanks to his birth privileges or his recent friends, and although sometimes he wishes he could live like the simplest dragons he couldn't imagine being another dragon instead.
For his part, Crackle entered the same cave a few moments after Spike and Smolder left, although he didn't even notice them. But something he would notice is that the same Lord Ember dragon was there, even he knew who it was, legendary scepter emitted an unmistakable sensation, Crackle out of nowhere came up with the idea of giving the gem to the celestial dragon, maybe she will like it and receive a kind of prize, that was something that she liked about Ember and something that if she would like to be, what Too bad being a dragon lord was a big job and not being able to enjoy the wonders of the dragon lands that he enjoys so much, I wish she could understand him and be like Ember.
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Without knowing it, both thinking in such an opposite way and at the same time something similar, but being the greenish dragon the possessor of the strange jewel, it was enough to activate something in the gem that it had in its mouth, a kind of magic that the kingdom of the ponies had already experienced, and now it would be the turn of the Dragon Lands to experience it.
A chaos, good for one bad for the other.
Both the gem from the scepter and Crackle's food began to attract each other, pulling both dragons with them to her surprise. Crackle didn't want to let go of it and Ember, despite her confusion, couldn't let go of the scepter.
Both gems finally collided and as a consequence a small explosion was generated that seemed to stop time, the two gems had mixed their colors, a black and white spinning endlessly with a reddish tone that shone with intensity in both jewels.
"WHAT'S GOING ON!?" asked/shouted the dragon lord trying to loosen his claw from the scepter, until he saw who was in front of her "YOU! your lizard has something to do with this, right!? And don't think you'll eat my scepter, or if you will not face ME, THE DRAGON LO-" before finishing their threat, the two gems would open a vortex in the face of both dragons, who could not do anything because a second later they would absorb their respective heads.
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The next thing they could see was without a doubt, strange, they seemed to be inside a reddish tone sphere, with a white half where Ember was and the other was black where Crackle was, Ember didn't even say anything because she had a very bad presentiment, she couldn't feel her body, something would undoubtedly mark this day both for her and for the strange dragon in front of her, and she was right.
Both the white and the black began to rotate, and with it the heads of the two dragons would also do so even if it was not by will, both above and below the sphere small spirals began to be noticed that gradually became larger. and spinning faster and faster, Ember squeezed her eyes shut as Crackle braced herself for a vomit that never came.
It was like being inside a tornado without wings, both dragons began to see things, have memories they never had, it was complete madness, until it finally stopped, Ember slowly opened her eyes dizzy, so dizzy that she didn't realize She realizes that now she was on the black side while an equally dizzy Crackle was on the white.
"...... for my scales...." Those would be the last understandable words that would come out of the dragon's mouth, since she couldn't even blink when they were shot out of the 'whirlwind of chaos '.
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Meanwhile in the outside world, the bodies stood there, inert, Ember's claw still hadn't let go of the scepter. But after a few moments that seemed like forever, Crackle's gem began to shatter, until once and for all, she burst into millions of dust particles, signifying that she had finished the job.
The gem on the scepter returned to its former state, and the vortex expelled both dragons with gigantic force before disappearing.
Time flowed again and the two unconscious bodies flew out at a speed that would match the sonic boom of a certain pegasus, this would even be felt by two young dragons who were having an inexplicable headache.
"Ugh what was that?" Smolder would ask.
"I don't know, but I hope it's not related to this headache, since something has just changed in Equestria and we don't even know it" the purple dragon would say rubbing his head, for some reason he felt that something had happened, thanks to a force with which he was quite familiar.
"Ouch, I guess it doesn't matter, for sure it was a dragon wanting to go at the speed of mistress dash or something, anyway we have a good loot that if we take advantage of it well it could last a few days, long enough until Miss Maud I can find more gems" and so both dragons would begin a flight back to school with a good feast of gems, and although Spike still suspected that something had definitely gone wrong in reality, he decided he would check with Twilight later.
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Crackle felt his head spinning, and his body felt unrecognizable, he was just going to give a gift and ended up getting involved in a madness with no one but the DRAGON LORD, surely he will be very furious and when he finds him it will be his ruin, already I was thinking about the multiple punishments that they would ultimately give him.......
Wait a minute, think? That ........ that's new, little or never had she done that in her entire life, but now? Why? THERE IT WAS AGAIN, something was definitely wrong with him.
Still with his eyes closed, Crackle would get on two legs, climb out of what could be a crater, and try to........two-leg......two-leg........ It can't be a coincidence, he feels very different, unconsciously he is grasping something and he doesn't know what it is, but there are too many thoughts at this moment, this has never happened to him, he has to open his eyes, he has to do it.
Okay, one o'clock, two o'clock and..............
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"THREE!!!" Opening her eyes she would find something 'normal', the scepter of the Dragon lord, held by the claw of Ember herself in... First sight? The tension Crackle felt would finally make the claw drop the scepter.
"In the name of-" he would immediately cover his mouth, those words, he said, COULD YOU TALK!? But that voice, this was too much to take in, he started walking backwards, trying to take in all these thoughts, until he collided with a wall, or by noise a very large gem.
Crackle couldn't help but turn around and could only open his jaw to the fullest so now he couldn't deny seeing, his head, it was BLUE, and his eyes…..they weren't his, but he didn't hit him. as much as what he saw below.
The bright and hard celestial scales, the aerial dynamic wings, the agile and elegant form, all that and more formed a body that could only belong to someone.
"...Ember???"
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Ember has managed to feel pain before, a pain that none of her scales could protect her from, be it with her father's training, battles with the toughest dragons, the ring of fire's own challenge etc...
But this pain was new, not only did both her body and her mind ache, but she also didn't feel like she was...herself, it was hard to explain and she couldn't understand it at all, least of all with her brain spinning.
He slowly returned, opened his eyes for who knows how many times today, the little he could see was a few trees even if he couldn't focus his gaze, he was in one of the few forests that existed on the borders of the Dragon Lands, but that didn't matter. It was worse, the worst thing was that he didn't know how he had gotten here.
Even after waiting for a while and her headaches would pass, she still did not remember, something strange considering that what characterized her most was her intelligence and therefore a good memory, and she barely had any memory when she most needed to use her head. . As if on instinct, she Ember began to bang her head on the ground comically as if that would help her rather than confuse her more.
With a new headache, the dragon would begin to walk aimlessly, she stumbled a few times for not managing her body well, but she didn't care, she didn't look at what had happened to her, she just continued wandering wherever her instincts guide her back to the dragon lands, unaware that she was skirting the borders of the lands that were about two meters to her right.
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Crackle couldn't believe it, he just couldn't, this must be some kind of dream but it all felt so…real.
"W-what is this? It's me, but this is the body of the dragon lord, but it's my face with his colors, I have her voice and ....." Suddenly something Clicked, he remembered everything . He had seen Ember in a cave and out of nowhere both his gem and the fire rod had attracted each other, then the vortex and the spins, and then he was here.
But the weirdest thing was that there were parts of Ember's own perspective, her talking to her reflection after seeing off two young dragons she didn't know, stop, her names were Spike and Smolder. How did she know? ? He already had an idea why.
".........Oh no, that gem...did something, definitely magical, that turned me into Ember, she must have listened to my thoughts and fulfilled them, but did she just change me and leave Ember as she was?" Was I? Or is this why Ember became me? Or did she just combine the two of us into one? Does that mean I made her disappear so she could take the body? Or is it somewhere in my mind? Ahhhh! THIS THINKING IS VERY COMPLICATED!" The now dragon lord didn't know where to start, but he had to do something, if the former dragon lord and Ember's father, Torch, would find out about this it would be the end of him, but he wasn't that cowardly to run away.
"Ok, calm down Crackle, there must be a way to fix this. I have to go back to that cave, retrieve the gem and find Ember if she is in my body so that we can go back to being before, and if not and in reality is still her then asking for everything to return to normal because I doubt that her father likes that a dragon like me has copied his daughter's body... wow that was not bad at all, I could get used to thinking, and talk...and to be a normal dragon NO, concentrate, this is for the reputation of the dragon lord Ember and to keep me alive, oh and of course I can't leave him barred" finished the dragon taking 'his' scepter and addressed the cave, it seems that Ember's knowledge of the Dragon Lands would be of great help to her.
He walked, glided and dived into the lava trying not to be seen, Crackle had to admit that it felt good to have Ember's body, he wanted to fly to try an experience he wouldn't normally have, but he couldn't since they would see him. It was hard for him not to seize the moment and fly freely through the air at top speed, but he didn't want to risk being discovered. Even so, he had to admit that it felt great to move with a physique like that of the dragon lord, it was a unique experience, too bad it will have to last a short time.
After a few minutes, Crackle was finally able to reach the same cave, he made sure to see if Ember was still there but apparently she was also blown away by the explosion.
There seemed to be no trace of the gem either, he searched for a few minutes until he observed a pile of dust lying in the middle of the cave. With some curiosity, Crackle approached and noticed something that disturbed him, part of the powder was white while the other was black.
"Oh nononono" he expressed with concern while looking at the dust "the gem...it's dust, that means I'm like this forever, I doubt the effect will be temporary, now what do I do? If someone sees me like this, I'll be in big trouble, Crackle thinks, it's time to bring out all the knowledge I have" suddenly he had small memories but of Ember, who was talking to some ponies, that gave him an idea "Of course! I have to talk to one of those ponies and fix It's crazy, but first I have to find Ember and see if she's okay" taking the scepter Crackle left the cave to look for Ember.
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"Ahhh, where can it be? Don't tell me it disappeared or it's hidden in my mind" Crackle complained walking on a cliff, hours of intense search had passed but nothing, not even a clue about the whereabouts of the dragon lord, but he knew he refused to give up "Ember? Are you in there? If so I mean it wasn't my intention, I just wanted to give you a gem and be a little more like you, I didn't think I would literally become you, sorry" he was so focused on his thoughts that he tripped and fell to the bottom of the cliff, but that would not happen, he was a full-fledged dragon now, thanks to his instincts his wings expanded and he avoided a very painful fall.
Crackle began to fly all over the cliff with incredible speed and agility "Ahhhhh woo wwooojjooo!" There were no words about how he felt, with his other body this would not be possible, it was a dream come true.
With grace and skill, Crackle landed back on top, smiling at what had happened "WOW, that was amazing, that's how real flight feels and without a single scratch" he said the latter seeing his reflection in the scepter, but after a few seconds he would notice something, his tongue was staying inside the snout, also his eyes were not looking at opposite poles as usual, not to mention that they seemed to be the same eyes of Ember instead of his own, of course the rest was still his face always but with a different color, and yet it was strange that he looked so... normal.
"Oh wow, I really feel like I'm going to miss this, I might not remember it but I have to get everything back to normal, I should go with those ponies, even without Ember they should 'help me'" no matter how bad she felt she couldn't stay like this Crackle knew, but that didn't make it any easier to digest.
Just as he was about to take off a familiar voice was heard from behind "h-hey, what's up dragon lord?" Reacting quickly Crackle used his wings to hide his head, who was behind him was none other than Garble "oh I scared her?, sorry, I'm not causing problems I swear"
"No no, it's fine I believe you, but look at the sunset, it's better to go home and sleep unless you still have plans for today"
"Well I'll go with the guys for a nice lava bath first so... see you later" and when she heard it far enough away she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Fiu, it's great that Garble has a lot of respect/fear of Ember or he would have found out and ratted me out, ohh and it's night he thought I'll save the trip for tomorrow" apparently everything would have to be postponed, Crackle could tolerate it.
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The changed dragon started looking for a cave where no dragon could see it all night, but it was easier said than done, even with Ember's memories there were few caves she could find on foot and that made her sigh.
"Ahhh I think I have no other choice, anyway at this time it is more difficult for them to see me" and began to fly, she would be lying to herself if she said that she is not enjoying it, she searched and searched for minutes until she found a hole covered in gems, perfect.
"Hmmmmm, this looks like a good place to sleep. Besides, it's well hidden will do" but before going down I hear a noise "Eh? I swear I heard something" looking around the changed dragon noticed something in the distance, a silhouette that he knew even before the change.
"TORCH!!!" Afraid of being discovered, Crackle quickly hid in the hole, hoping she hadn't been discovered.
There she was, the former dragon lord had landed, probably for a bedtime snack. Crackle just tried not to make any noise until she left.
"* Snif * * snif * ahhhhh knew that my nose didn't fool me" That made the changed dragon began to shake thinking they had discovered her, but to her surprise it wasn't.
"Nothing like a sandwich before sleeping" Crackle felt his hiding place torn off and saw how he was going to the mouth of the major dragon, he had no other option he had to leave.
"Eh?" Torch managed to see from the corner of his eye how his 'daughter' flew out of his night candy "Ember?"
"Oh no" was his end, he knew it. And there was only one thing to do "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, please don't eat me great Thorch!"
"............. What the hell are you talking about daughter? Is it a kind of joke?"
"Eh? You won't do anything to me?" The combination between fear and confusion was more than notorious in Crackle's expression.
"Why would I do something to you!? I care about you a lot Ember, I don't care how weird your face may be, you will always be my daughter, I think I've told you many times before"
"B-but... what?"
"Because we better not go to sleep daughter, if I remember correctly you have many things to do tomorrow"
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Having more questions than answers, Crackle was taken by TORCH to the cave where father and daughter lived, all night Crackle looked at the new memories of her looking for an explanation, and more or less found it.
First of all, EMBER WAS FINE, her memories showed her with her previous body, eyes and personality, she was a little embarrassed to see what her old SELF was like. Second, the gem seemed to change ALL of her lives, as if they had always been the other, there were memories of dragons laughing at her on her face, but TORCH was there to shut them up.
"I can't believe it, thanks to that gem I've ALWAYS been Ember, at least I won't have to hide from any dragon, ok new plan I'll have to be Ember until I have free time and look for Crac-Ember and then go with the ponies, and see if they can fix this" and With those thoughts organized, the new dragon lord set out to sleep, tomorrow would be a new day and she would have to do a lot of work.
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Meanwhile the former dragon lord tried to climb the rock but only ended up crashing, and did the same thing over and over again without stopping until he got angry and started biting hers as revenge.
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"Wow, I didn't expect this. Hello readers, it's me, DISCORD seeing how my gem just moved the plot of this weird fanfiction, a bit of context for the curious, basically I made that gem to help the ancient dragon lord a regain his position when that pink dragon, Scales if I remember correctly will steal his scepter. Why do something as complicated as a gem that being close to two dragons and the scepter makes them change both their heads and their lives??? BECAUSE I AM THE GOD OF CHAOS, if you expected something more from me, and especially from my young self, I feel a little sorry for you, but that leaves us with a question: Are the appearances of the dragons shown in the official episode the ones they always had? to the change? You can choose the one you want, this is a fic after all. For now I say goodbye, and I'll see if my breaking the fourth wall puts the author in trouble with the site, and I say this because he thinks that those of FIM are very strict compared to other as pages, anything to not be a Wattpad 2.0 I gess, nor do I enjoy the chaos that is that page, bye ".