It's almost time to leave for the moot, and I'm starting to get nervous. I know I'll have my mother there to watch my back, and having the Spartans nearby helps as well. But it's going to be tough facing the hordes again. Last time... last time wasn't good. I don't want to repeat what I did last time. Given, I was under Discords influence the last time I was here, so I'll be completely in control this time around. Facing what I ran away from will be tough, but I have to do it. I have to redeem my Dragon Honor.

"You remember the signal if you need help?" Storm asks me. We're in the barracks of Fort Corium Gutter. I'm taking my clothes and storing them in one of the cots here. No point in bringing them, they'll only burn up with all of the other dragons there. And I'm sure Rarity would absolutely hate that.

"Fly up and make a ball of fire, I remember Dad." I tell him for the tenth time as I pull my shirt off and fold it up nicely.

"Right. And your queue to check in?" He's starting to pace around again. He does this every time he starts to get worked up about something.

"Fly up and shoot and arc of lightning straight up into the air-"

"Right. And if-"

"Dad, I know what I'm doing. Please stop worrying, you're freaking me out." I tell him as I drop my pants and begin to fold them. It feels odd being nearly nude. Half of my mind is telling me to put my clothes back on for modesty, while the other half of telling me the exact opposite. Obviously in this situation, I'm going to pick the latter. It's just odd being clothed in a nude society. Dad stops pacing around comes back to my side.

"I'm not worried-" a lie. "-I'm just checking to make sure that you know what to do if something goes wrong. We can't help you if you don't give us the queues to help." He tell me as he takes a seat before me.

"I know. But don't worry about me. I'll be fine." I know telling him that won't do much for his nerves, but I have to say something. In all honesty, I'm probably going to be pretty safe there. I doubt many will want to mess with me after what I did there. "Well... I guess it's time."

"I really wish there was a way we could shadow you. I don't like the idea of sending you there alone-"

"I won't be alone. My mother will be there as well. It's not like she hasn't watched over me before." Storm closes his mouth and looks up to me, unsure of what to say. I sigh and take a seat on the cot, resting my elbows on my knees. "I... she saved me from Discords spell. If it wasn't for her... I would probably still be here. Or worse."

"What happened?" Storm asks quietly. I look up and consider telling him, but a roar outside reminds me to get moving.

"When I get back we'll talk, promise." I tell him as I stand up. He simply nods to me and stands up with me, offering his hoof for a shake. I stare at him for a moment before I sweep him up in a tight hug, burying my face in his neck.

"Whoa! Uh... not that I'm against this, but-"

"I know. I just... I..."

"It's alright son." I loosen my grip on him and bury my face in his neck a bit more, trying my best to keep it together. "Everything is going to be alright. Like you said, we'll talk when you get back." I set him down and take a deep breath, steeling myself for what I'm about to endure. It's not going to be easy, but...

"I'm glad you're here Dad. It means a lot to me." He nods to me, keeping quiet. I turn to the door and take one last breath before I march out the of the fort.

All of the Spartans are waiting for me out front, with my mother waiting just beyond them. I go by each of them, pausing to hear their acknowledgements. Most wish me luck while others warn me to stay safe. I go through each moment blankly. I can't be Spike the Dragon for this. Not with what I did. When I approach my mother she leans over to nuzzle me slightly. I pat her snout a few times before flying up to her back. I grab a large spike and hold onto it as she prepares to take off. I look back down to the others and stare back at them. The sooner we get back, the sooner I can leave this life behind.

With a mighty roar my mother takes off into the air. The fort shrinks away quickly as we gain altitude. Once we break through the cloud cover she levels off and begins to glide with the powerful air currents. With my mother flying and the wind on our back, it shouldn't take long to get there. A few hours, give or take. For the first bit of the trip I stay quiet, mentally preparing for what I have to do. I need to somehow win favor with Bolas to gain him as an ally. Or, at the least, make sure he remains neutral in any future conflict. I have to do that while trying not to elude to any probable war that might occur. Needless to say, it's not going to be easy. I know I'll have to talk about the probable war, but if I can avoid it I will.

Fat chance though.

"Kul."

"Don't worry about me. I can handle myself." I reassure her, giving her neck a few pats. She looks back at me and narrows her eyes.

"The blood is not on your claws alone," she growls to me. I sigh and look away from her.

"... maybe not, but that doesn't make my claws any cleaner. Look, we can work this out later. Let's just focus on getting there and making a good impression." She glares at me for a second before returning her attention back to flying.

"Very well. What do you suggest?" I can hear the irritation in her voice, but I ignore it as I think about how to approach the moot. When I finally do get an idea, an evil smirk crosses my face.

"I have an idea."

"I do not think this is the best of ideas." Mother tells me worriedly. We're a few thousand feet above the volcano where the moot is taking place. She's hovering just above a cloud with me in her claws.

"Trust me, this is going to work. Now, just like we rehearsed." She gives one final huff of annoyance before readying herself.

"Are you-"

"Three!" I yell, bracing myself.

"Maybe we should-"

"Two!"

"There has to be-"

"One!"

"Do we have to?"

"FIRE!" She hesitates for a second before taking a deep breath in and blasting a massive plume of fire towards the ground. Before the fire disappears she rear back and chucks me through the inferno. I dive through it with my wings tucked in and hold my eyes shut. Once I break through the heat I open my eyes and snap my wings wide. Below me is a massive crater filled with dragons. Most are laying around, but there are a few mulling about. There's also a large hoard of gems where most of the adolescents are located. I don't see Bolas anywhere though. With my main target out of sight, I set my eyes on whatever will make the biggest impression.

KRA-BOOM

With the aid of my magic, I crash into the pile of gems and create a massive explosion. Gems and young dragons go flying in a large plume of smoke all around me. I feel bad for the other dragons, but it's all part of the persona. I let out my own breath of fire around myself to keep of the smoke up. I wait a second before I hear all of the commotion beyond the smoke. Roars, yelling, pounding; yeah, I have their attention.

"BOLAS!" I scream as menacingly as possible, silencing the crowd. It seems they recognize me at least. I give my wings a powerful flap and clear the smoke around myself before I start to walk out into the open. I flare my wings out and glance from side to side, waiting for Bolas to show himself. I know he will, I just need to wait a little longer. Any dragons that were near by flinch away from me. And not just the younger ones. Full grown adults back away from me with a simply glance in their direction. The adolescents hide in fear of me too.

"Jerk!" I stop and look to my left. A young dragon has step forward to yell at me. She's about my size, just a tad bit shorter. I glare at her for a moment before stepping closer. She flinches away, but doesn't back down. "J-just leave us alone!" I get in her face and stare her down. She looks down and shakes in fear. I hesitate for a moment. The last time I was here, I would have crushed her for speaking out against me. This time though, I'm not that dragon. I have my mind this time.

"Do yourself a favor, stay alive. Stay out of my way." She nods and steps away from me.

"HOW...COLD." The ground beneath me shakes as cracks start to form in the center of the crater. I hold my ground and wait for whoever this is to appear. It's definitely not Bolas, that's for sure.

The heat begins to rapidly rise as the cracks burst open. Torrents of lava spew from the ground as a massive molten arms breaks out of the ground. Mother lands behind me as a dragon claws its way out of the ground. It's massive. Whoever this is, he's are easily twice the size of mother,or any other full grown adult. His entire body looks to be made of brightly burning lave and cooled points of slag. When he finally pulls himself out and cools off completely I take a good look at him. He doesn't have wings, but the spikes on his back look to be small volcanoes that each spew black smoke. He has two horns coming off the top of his head that curve a bit before going straight back. His eyes are bright magma while his maw is molten earth. The heat from coming off from him is almost enough to make me start sweating. Many of the dragons around here are backing away from him, though the tougher ones are sticking around.

"LITTLE DRAGON, SO COLD FROM HIS FLIGHT. COME TO URZA, AND BREATH IN THE FIRE." His voice sounds like it's being grated through a metal grinder. He doesn't really use his mouth to speak either. His voice just emanates from him.

"Urza? Never heard of you." I tell him, crossing my arms. He chuckles at this and starts to walk around the edge of the crater, smirking to any of the dragons that are still lingering around.

"NOT SURPRISING. YOU MAY NOT KNOW ME, BUT I KNOW YOU. SPIKE, SON OF-"

"You don't speak of him!" Mother snaps, snarling at Urza. I glance back to her for a brief moment before returning my attention back to Urza. We can talk about that later.

"HOW... COLD." I think he smiles at this, it's hard to tell when his face is made of lava.

"You're the Elder of Fire, are you not?" I ask, getting his attention. "Why are you here?" He chuckles again and takes a seat.

"OH, I HAVE MY REASONS. BOLAS AND I HAVE BEEN... TALKING, STUDENT OF CELESTIA." He says this... oddly. Like... the only comparison I can make is when one of the Spartans shit talk about sex and... stuff.

... I think my job just get a little easier.

"SO WHAT IS THE SUN GODDESS UP TO THESE DAYS?" Okay, it just got a lot easier. I knew I was going to talk about the threat of was. But, getting a giant magma dragon as an ally will be worth it.

"Worrying." I tell him casually, walking slowly to the side. If he's as obvious as I think he is, all I have to do is toy with him a bit. For once, Rarity's advice will actually pay off.

"WORRYING? I FIND THAT HARD TO BELIEVE-"

"Believe it! The threat of war is about to consume her land and her ponies and they're all looking to her to solve everything! She-"

"CONTROLS THE SUN." He says dryly. Well, as dryly as he can at least. "NO ENEMY COULD STAND AGAINST HER. HER FIRE IS ABSOLUTE-"

"It's not her fire she's worried about. I know it's strange for a dragon like you to understand, but it's the ponies she watches over that she worries about. They can't handle a war the same way she can, and she can't fight an entire war by herself. Well, not without coming into harms way-"

"WHO IS THIS THREAT?" Like taking candy from a baby.

"Ulf-"

"ENOUGH!" The sky above me thunders when that powerful voice roars from above. The ambient energy in the area suddenly grows tremendously as dark clouds rage above the mountain top. It feels like the static electricity you get from rubbing a balloon, only a lot heavier. Another crack of energy shoots through the air before Bolas came crashing down through the cloud cover. He's roughly the same size as Urza, only skinnier. His black scales shine brilliantly as he rears up above Urza, snarling down at him.

"BOLAS." Urza regards calmly.

"DO NOT BE SWAYED SO EASILY URZA! KEEP YOUR LUST UNDER-"

"LUST? THIS IS MORE THAN PROCREATION. THIS IS ABSOLUTION, IN ITS MOST PURE FORM." Urza tells him proudly. Every dragon here seems to roll their eyes at this. He... knows what he wants at least. I don't know what that is exactly, but I hope Celestia doesn't mind the lead on. If it's to help... I'm sure she'll take one for the team.

"And I'm sure if you help protect her ponies from Ulfric, she'd absolutely love the assistance." I try to lay on the charm, but I can tell that I really don't have to try that hard. It's a bit creepy how much he wants Celestia, but at the same time I kind of get it. I mean, when a dragon really wants something, it can get to their heads a bit. "All she needs is a hero to come in and-"

"ENOUGH DISILLUSIONS!" Bolas screams. "SHE WILL NEVER BE YOURS! HE'S LYING TO YOU FOR HIS OWN PERSONAL GAIN! DO NOT LET HIM-"

"Is something wrong Bolas?" I ask, glancing at my claw nonchalantly. "We could settle this like last time." I ignite the magic in my claw and glance up to Bolas. He fidgets for a second. It was hard to tell, but it was there.

"LOOKING FOR FOLLOWERS WITH MURDER? HOW MANY ARE YOU GOING TO KILL UNTIL-"

"Don't talk back to me as if you care for the lives of those under you-"

"THIRTEEN." I stop and think back to that day.

I was alone, lost to the lie Discord had put on me. So I left. At first it was just home. But that wasn't enough. Then I left Equestria and wandered around the Badlands for awhile. At first it wasn't so bad, but I was alone at first. At the same time there was a moot happening nearby, Bolas's moot. A few dragons tried to approach me, for whatever reason. I never found out why though. Instantly I turned on them. They were young, barely old enough to venture from the nest. And I killed them without hesitation. My attack wasn't quiet either. Their mothers came quickly and attacked.

I slaughtered them. Ripped them to shreds. In my anger and sorrow I gave in to the power and grew into the monster within me. Thirteen lives later, Bolas came. Not for their lives, but because my power was growing immensely. So we fought. It was an unstoppable force hitting an immovable object. We couldn't kill each other, but we wouldn't stop fighting either.

A year later, mother finally came. She was drawn out of her seclusion because our fighting had damaged her home. Somehow, I still don't know how to this day, she got to me. She calmed me down enough to the point where I could at least end the fighting. Something she said to Bolas got his to stop as well, but I was not in any condition to understand it. She took me into her care and nurtured me back to health. She forced me to believe that I wasn't alone, that I was wanted, and broke through Discords curse.

I agreed to come here for selfish reasons. To face the demons I left here, and try to connect with my people. I know it won't happen today. It will take more than a life time to earn their trust, but I have to start somewhere. I'll still try and help the Spartans, but this is more for me.

"Thirteen. You don't have to remind me, I know." He scoffs and lowers himself down to eye me. I keep a strong face on as I stare him down.

"WHY ARE YOU HERE? WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY GAIN BEING HERE?" I look around as I try to form my answer. I've dreamed about this moment for the past year, but in the moment, I'm still scared.

"I'm here, because what I did was wrong. And I want to make amends for it." He blinks once, but doesn't say anything. So I continue. "Let me in so I can mend the wounds I opened."

"... THOSE THAT COME TO MY MOOT MUST PRESENT AN OFFERING OF POWER. YOU MUST DO THE SAME AS WELL IF YOU WISH TO ATTEND. BUT BE WARNED. I AM ONLY ALLOWING YOU TO ATTEND TO BETTER GAUGE YOU YOUNG DRAGON. SLIP OUT OF LINE, AND I WILL DESTROY YOU. THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER DEATHS IN MY MOOT, UNDERSTOOD?" I beam at this and nod to him, getting him to rise. "AND LASTLY, YOUR OFFERING WILL BE EVALUATED BY THE OTHERS. IF THEY FEEL YOUR GIFT IS NOT SUITABLE, YOU WILL LEAVE. UNDERSTOOD?"

"Of course, thank you-"

"DON'T THANK ME YET. THE MOOT WILL BE IN HELD IN THREE DAYS, SURVIVE TILL THEN. IN THE MEAN TIME, URZA AND I HAVE MATTERS TO DISCUSS."

This chapter was going to be longer, but I decided I liked it shorter. Plus, now I have a good start on the next chapter!

Cultural Reference Guide: Griffin Colonies

Cultural Reference Guide: Soviet Bear Union

Brony on!