Ember and Rarity both sat down in the command tent. Ember glanced up at Rarity and saw she was just as nervous as her. The unicorn was cleaned up a bit and hand some bandages for some of her cuts. Ember then looked over to the entrance and saw a few shadows passing, but none approaching the tent.

“Ember?”

The dragoness glanced over and saw Rarity smiling softly at her.

“Darling, we know what Spike wants to talk about,” said Rarity. “I just want you to know something.”

Ember raised an eyebrow.

“Despite everything that’s happened this past week, no matter what happens now about what Spike decides, I just hope we can remain friends.”

Ember smiled a little. “I’d like that too.” She looked away and sighed. “But I think we can both agree that we’d just like Spike as a friend back. I want this mess put behind me and all this end for good.”

Rarity nodded. “Indeed. I believe we both have no one to blame but ourselves for ruining any chance of being with him.”

“Well whoever Spike finds as a mate, I hope he’s happy with her,” said Ember.

“Lord Ember!” a voice called from outside the tent.

The dragoness looked up. “Yes?”

“Mr. the Dragon is here,” he said. “Shall I send him in?”

Ember looked at Rarity and they both nodded together. “Go ahead.”

The tent flaps opened and the drake stepped in. Rarity and Ember looked over Spike and noticed he had several bandages around his arms, a large patch on his chest and stomach, and his left hand wrapped up. The three looked at one another, unsure of what to say. The noise from outside the tent fell silent and the tension inside it seemed to fill up.

“So, are you two alright?” asked Spike.

Ember and Rarity looked up at the drake in surprise.

“Much better now that I’m free from Garble,” said Rarity. “My ankle will be fine, but I just need these crutches for a few days.” she pointed to them next to her.

Ember rubbed the back of her head. “Um...yeah,” she said, softly. “Just got some cuts, but I’ll be okay. You should’ve heard what Master Ash said to me after I was patched up.”

“Did he lecture you or something?” wondered Rarity.

Ember smiled a little. “Actually, he said what I did was brave. When he learned what Garble did, he said I did the right thing to go in and save you, and that he was proud of what I did.”

Rarity smiled back. “Maybe he’s seeing you for how good of a leader you truly are after all.”

Ember nodded. “Yeah.”

Silence fell upon them again for a couple minutes.

“Girls…” said Spike.

“Wait, Spike!” Ember held up a hand. “We have something to say.”

“Indeed we do,” agreed Rarity. She looked at the drake with a smile. “Spike, you don’t have to worry about choosing who you want to be with.”

“What?” Spike tilted his head in confusion.

“What she means is that we know you probably don’t want us as mates,” said Ember. “All we want at this point is just to be friends again. We know that after what we both put you through, you probably don’t want to have either of us.”

“Spike, you don’t have to tell us anything about your decision,” said Rarity. “We know what we’ve both done and how we messed up.” She took Spike’s hand. “Can we please just be friends and forgive us for this?”

Spike removed Rarity’s hand from his own and looked at both Ember and Rarity. The two had a mixture of worry and a pleading expression on their faces. He looked down and took a deep breath.

“Are you two done?” he asked.

Ember and Rarity nodded.

“Good. Now listen, I thought I made it clear to you two that I do want to be friends with both of you again, but I still want to talk about what’ll happen now.”

Ember and Rarity looked at each other in confusion.

“But I don’t understand,” said Ember. “If you said you’d like for me and Rarity to be friends with you, what’s there left to talk about? We thought you wouldn’t want anything more than that after what we’ve done.”

“No, there’s more I need to say about the two of you.” He crossed his arms and his eyes narrowed slightly. “You two caused a lot of the trouble this past week. Fighting against each other, keeping secrets from me about how you two loved me, and you hurt all of us with this feud between the two of you.”

Ember and Rarity looked down and frowned remorsefully.

“But...in the last few days, I see you two understood what you’ve done,” continued Spike. “You realized how pointless this fight was when I cared about both of you. You talked and made up with one another. You even helped me stop Garble from trying to kill one of us. You two have tried to make up for this whole mess.”

The drake let out a sigh. “But no matter what you both may think, you two aren’t completely at fault.”

Rarity and Ember raised their heads.

“But it was the two of us that fought against each other for you, Spike,” said Rarity. “You said it yourself; we caused nothing but trouble with this love triangle.”

“Let me explain,” said Spike. “You two do share a portion of blame, but in the end it was really Garble who was to blame for helping get as bad as it did. He wanted to destroy the alliance between Equestria and the Dragon Lands. He even admitted in court he pushed you two to fight against each other, remember?”

The two ladies nodded.

Spike looked away and frowned. “And...and I share some of the blame too.”

“What!?” Rarity and Ember shouted.

Rarity shook her head. “Spikey, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Yeah, why are you blaming yourself?” wondered Ember.

“Remember the Academy and that cloud formation Ember made?” inquired Spike.

The dragoness raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything? Garble goaded me about my feelings for you.”

“Well, I remember when I got back to the castle that I wasn’t sure what to do. I even realized shortly afterwards that I had feelings for not just Rarity, but for you too, Ember.”

The dragoness blushed a little.

“Instead of talking to you two though, I just shut myself in and hid from you two about what to do,” said Spike. While I did talk to Starlight and she gave me some advice, I really should’ve gotten all of us together about what Ember did and talk about how much you both mean to me.”

He let out a sigh and shook his head. “I said I would choose the right time when to talk to you two, but I think it should’ve been earlier before it got out of control. Maybe we all could’ve saved ourselves so much trouble.”

Ember frowned. “Starlight told us about the feelings you had for both me and Rarity. I know you didn’t know what to do, but it wasn’t your fault, Spike. We both let this spiral out of control.”

Spike rubbed his chin in thought for a minute. “You know, I think maybe there were some good things that came from this though.”

Rarity and Ember looked at Spike with shock on their faces.

The drake held his hands up. “I know this sounds weird, but think about it. If Garble didn’t try to break up the alliance, who knows what he would’ve done to you, Ember?”

The dragoness’ eyes widened.

“You know how much he hated you and what you were doing,” he reasoned. “If we didn’t catch him now, he could’ve done something worse to you.”

“I suppose you have a point,” said Ember.

“But we both acted horribly to you and to each other,” argued Rarity. “Look where it landed us all.”

Spike smiled a little. “But now look at you two. After everything that happened, you both finally realized how you’ve been acting and patched things up. Sure, it wasn’t what any of us wanted, but through this whole thing, you both realized what you’ve done and make up for it.”

Rarity and Ember both couldn’t help but smile to themselves.

“Which brings me back to what to do now,” said Spike. “I know you two have been wondering what’ll happen now that everything’s come out in the open.”

Rarity gulped a little. “And?”

Spike crossed his arms. “To be honest, I’ve had a hard time deciding what to do, but after all this time and thinking, I believe there’s only one way to settle this once and for all.”

Ember and Rarity leaned forward and held their breaths in anticipation. Spike looked down, making it impossible for both of them to see his expression. Rarity bit her lip while Ember gripped the armrests of her chair so tightly, they were about to break.

Spike looked up after a minute and had a sad look on him. “The truth is, I don’t think it’s possible for it to work out without one of you feeling hurt.”

Ember and Rarity’s hearts sank and they looked down with remorseful expressions on them. Neither of them said anything as the words sunk in. Ember felt a hand on on her own and looked to see Rarity smiling sadly. The dragoness nodded at her and took a deep breath.

“We understand, Spike,” said Ember, solemnly. “We figured after all of this, the last thing you’d want to do is to have any kind of romantic relationship with me or Rarity.”

Rarity nodded. “We’re just happy to know we’re friends again. Whoever you find as your marefriend, we hope you’ll both be happy together.”

Spike frowned. “I don’t think you understand at all.”

Both ladies looked at Spike with confused looks on them.

“What do you mean?” wondered Ember.

Spike answered by reaching out with his hand and grabbing both Ember and Rarity’s hands. The two of them gasped and felt heat build up in their cheeks. Neither of them knew what to say or how to feel. Ember could feel her heart racing like as if she had run the Gauntlet of Fire back and forth. Rarity just kept staring at Spike’s hand and breathed heavily.

Ember shook her head in disbelief. “I...I don’t understand,” she stammered in shock. “You said there was no way for it to work.”

“Without hurting any of you,” corrected Spike. “If I only chose one of you, I know the other would be hurt and really, I can’t just choose one of you alone. I want to be with both of you.”

“But why?” wondered Rarity. “Why both of us?”

“I have to agree with Rarity,” said Ember. “Spike, this isn’t really making any sense at all.”

Spike smiled a little. “Well, you both mean a lot to me in so many ways that you influenced and helped change me.” He looked at Rarity. “You taught me about being generous and to help others out. If you hadn’t shown me this, I may never have gotten over my greed rampage on my birthday. I love to help you out, and I know you always look forward to me helping you out. And no matter what happens or big your business grows, you never let anything like fame and fortune make you forget your friends.”

The unicorn blushed and smiled.

Spike turned to Ember. “When I first met you, Ember, I knew there was something different about you. You weren’t like the others dragons I’ve met before that just look out for themselves or were cruel. There was something in you that made me realize you weren’t like the others. Even before you accepted friendship, you helped me and protected Twilight and Rarity from Garble’s wrath. When I chose you to become the next Dragon Lord, it’s because I knew after everything I showed you and how you saved me, that I knew you’d be a great leader and help show dragons that greed and looking out for themselves wasn’t everything.”

Ember’s eyes widened and could feel her face burning up, but made no attempt to hide it.

“But are you sure about this, Spikey?” inquired Rarity. “I know you weren’t sure what to do when you realized you loved both of us, but this…” her words trailed off as Spike put a finger to her lips.

“I’m sure,” he responded with a smile. “But I think I should be the one asking you two if you want to do this. After what happened between you two, I want to make sure you both won’t be trying to kill each other just to have me.”

Rarity and Ember looked at each other and both blushed a little.

The dragoness rubbed her head. “Truth be told, I think after everything we did and how we made up, I kind of feel closer to Rarity now than when I first met her.”

Rarity nodded. “Indeed. We both got to know each other and I think we’ve become good friends after all this. It’s a shame both of us had to look like mules before we became true friends.” She took Ember’s hand and smiled at her. “Well, Ember, I think this is the best choice for all of us. I’ve thought for a long time of having Spike to myself, but I know you love him too. I wouldn’t mind sharing him with you after all of this.”

Ember looked at Rarity and then at Spike. “But, there’s one thing, Spike. You know I’m the Dragon Lord, so I gotta stay here and watch over the kingdom. How can we make something like this work if I’m so far away from you two?”

Rarity frowned. “She has a point, Spike. What exactly are we going to do?”

Spike just smiled. “Well, if I remember right, Starlight is in a relationship with Sunburst and Trixie. Sunburst lives in the Crystal Empire and Trixie travels a lot for her shows. Their relationship is working out great from what she told me. So if their relationship can work out, I think ours can too.”

“Are you sure, Spike?” wondered the dragoness. “I don’t want to feel like I’m neglecting you or Rarity because of how busy I am.”

Spike nodded. “Ember, you and Rarity both mean a lot to me, and after all this, do you really want to turn down something like this?”

Ember smiled and shook her head. “I’ve never heard of a Dragon Lord having two mates, but I guess there’s a first for everything. I’d love to be a part of this and be with you and Rarity, Spike.”

The two girls stood up and all three of them hugged each other. Spike closed his eyes and sighed in content. Rarity and Ember pulled away from him and smiled at him. Rarity and Ember pulled away and both had alluring expressions on them. Spike couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

Ember looked towards the tent entrance. “How do you think they’ll react?”

Spike took both Rarity and Ember’s hands. “There’s only one way to find out.”

Rarity grabbed her crutches and and the trio walked up to the tent flaps. Spike looked at Rarity and she nodded, and then at Ember who also nodded. The trio walked out together and were instantly greeted with guards lined up and looking at them. Almost immediately, the murmurs and whispering started to fill the air.

“Hey, look at them.”

“Wait, that’s Spike, but he’s holding hands with Lord Ember and that pony?”

“What’s going on here? What happened in that tent?”

“Lord Ember!” a voice boomed.

Everyone fell silent as Master Ash, Princess Celestia and Luna, and Twilight and the others came walking up towards them.

The elder dragon bowed and said, “My Lord, we’ve been wondering when you would step out. I’ve just received word Garble’s been transferred to a hospital and is under heavy guard. How are...things...with…”

Ash’s words trailed off as his eyes caught the sight of Ember holding Spike’s hand and the drake holding Rarity’s hand. He stared back at Ember with a puzzled look on him. “My Lord, what’s going on here?”

The dragoness smiled. “Well, Spike talked to me and Rarity and convinced us that rather than him being with one of us, the three of us will be in a relationship together.

The guards all gasped and some looked like they were about to faint. Master Ash’s eyes widened in shock and stepped back.

“A...polygamous relationship?” he inquired. “This is unheard of. There’s never been a Dragon Lord who’s–”

“Been in a three way relationship,” finished Ember. “I know, but Spike convinced us this was the best way to make us all happy.”

The elder dragon glanced at Spike. “Mr. the Dragon, explain yourself.”

Celestia frowned. “Now, Master, if this is what they want to do, we shouldn’t intervene.”

Spike held a hand up. “It’s okay, Princess, I know you all want to know.”

The others looked on in anticipation.

“I didn’t realize it up until the day at the Wonderbolt Academy, but after what Ember did, I realized how I had a crush on both her and Rarity,” explained Spike. “For a while, I didn’t know what to do or how to act.” He looked over at Starlight and smiled. “It wasn’t until a friend gave me some advice about what to do and shared some of her experiences.”

The unicorn blushed a little and smiled back.

“But both Miss Rarity and Lord Ember fought each other over you,” said Ash. “Even if you three wish to do this, what’s to say they won’t start fighting over your affection again?”

Spike rubbed his chin and looked at both Rarity and Ember. “We all know what they did, but they’ve made it clear how much they regret it. However, I think I want to hear from both of them.”

The drake brought the two ladies to the front and looked at both of them with a stern expression on him. “Now listen, I want you both to promise this; no more fighting. I don’t want to see or hear you two do something like this again. The reason I’m letting this happen is so we can all be happy and I know you two are better than this. If there’s some other mare that seems to like me or is just talking to me, I don’t want you two pulling this stunt again, got it?”

Rarity and Ember nodded. “Yes, Spike,” they said in unison.

“But there’s still one thing,” said Ash. “Distance. While there are no laws prohibiting polygamous relationships here, the fact that Lord Ember has a mate living far away will make it difficult to maintain a good relationship.”

Ember stepped forward. “Master Ash, I know you may not be completely on this idea, but this is something we all agreed to. I don’t care if Spike lives in Equestria, he’s my…” she looked at Rarity briefly, “...no, our mate. After all this, we’ve grown closer to one another now, and we l...lo…” The dragoness’ face turned red.

Spike chuckled a little and patted Ember. “We know what you’re trying to say, Em–”

“LOVE HIM!” she blurted out, loudly. Ember could feel the heat in her cheeks build up more as she looked around at everyone staring at her. She gulped and gripped her fist. “We...love him,” she said in a shaky tone, “and we don’t care if any dragon, or pony, says otherwise. He’s everything I think a dragon could be; smart, brave, and willing to help out no matter what.”

Rarity cuddled against Spike. “Not to mention, cute as well.”

Ash looked down and nodded. “Lord Ember, if this makes you happy, then we won’t stand in your way.”

Rarity and Ember hugged Spike tightly. The two girls looked at Spike with warm smiles on their faces, and their eyes drooped a little. Rarity slowly closed her eyes and moved in slowly towards Spike’s cheek. Ember, still blushing, did the same thing as the unicorn. Spike gasped as he felt two lips kiss each of his cheeks. Spike saw out of the corner of his eye how Rarity was getting into it, and how Ember’s blush seemed to fade away and looked more relaxed. He just closed his eyes and let the moment go on as the world seemed to be nothing more than a blur, and the two girls in his embrace were all that mattered.

Spike’s eyes suddenly shot wide open. “ARGH!” he cried out.

Ember and Rarity broke the kiss and looked on in concern at Spike.

“What’s wrong, Spikey?” wondered Rarity.

The drake broke the embrace and stumbled back. He fell to his knees and groaned in pain. “My...my back!” he yelled. “It’s hurting way worse than before!”

Spike gripped the rocky ground hard enough to break it and panted. He banged his hand against the ground and fell to the side, kicking his legs. His groans soon turned to yelling as he felt like someone had cut him deeply in the back. The others watching on in horror.

Rarity ran over. “SPIKE!” she cried out in horror.

She was suddenly stopped by a blade appearing in front of her. She looked up and saw Ash with a neutral look on him.

“Master, what’re you doing!?” demanded the unicorn. “Spike needs help now! Call a medic or something!”

“There’s nothing worry about,” he said, calmly. “In fact, this is actually normal.”

“What!?” the ponies questioned in unison.

Celestia frowned. “Explain yourself, Master,” she demanded. “What is happening to my son?”

“I remember Mr. the Dragon talking about his back pain while on the way to the Gauntlet of Fire,” he said. “I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now that I’m seeing it, I finally understand now what’s been making him experience such pain.”

“What’re you talking about?” inquired Twilight.

“Twilight, don’t worry.”

The alicorn looked over and saw Ember with a rather calm look on her. “I know what Master Ash is talking about. I should’ve been able to realize it sooner, but now I see what’s going on.”

Starlight groaned in frustration. “Will somedragon please tell us what’s going on!? Spike’s having another back spasm and you’re all taking this easily!”

Ash shook his head. “No, not another one, the last one.”

Spike continued to scream in pain and rolled around on the ground in pain. His panting became more rapid and could feel his heart racing. He desperately tried to crawl over to his friends for help, but as he put his hand out, he gasped at the sight before him. His hand was slowly being covered and turned to stone.

The drake struggled to get up and looked at the others. “Twilight! Ember! Mom! Someone help me!” he called out.

Celestia began to move forward, but Ash put his hand up in front of her. The elder dragon shook his head.

“Master, are you sure this normal?” the solar princess inquired. “If something goes wrong with my son…”

“Just watch,” said Ash. “You’ll understand soon enough.”

Spike looked on in horror as his body continued to turn to stone slowly and crawl up to his head. As the rock reached up to his neck, he looked at his friends with a pleading expression for help. Suddenly, everything went black for him as the stone covered his eyes and silenced him completely. The others looked on at the drake turned statue and didn’t know what to say, or how to act.

Rarity turned to Ash and glared daggers at him. “What’s happened to him!? What happened to Spikey Wikey! Tell me!”

“He’s undergoing something that should’ve happened to him a long time ago, but only now is it happening. He was a slow grower, but it’s finally come around.”

“What’s come around?” wondered Rainbow.

Ember smiled. “You’ll see.” She pointed a finger at the statue.

A cracking noise echoed throughout the area. A large crack ran down Spike’s stone arm, then another appeared around his chest area. More and more cracks appeared around the statue until soon the entire thing looked like nothing but loose rock barely held together. The rocks then slowly fell off piece by piece, revealing the drake again. Twilight and her friends gasped as they saw Spike emerge from the stone and looked on in shock.

Spike groaned as the last of the stone broke and fell to his knees again. He rubbed his head and opened his eyes. Everything was a blur before him, making it impossible to tell what everyone was looking at him for.

“What...what happened?” he asked, weakly. “I remember pain, but then I blacked out.”

Ember and Rarity looked on with blushes on their faces.

The dragoness leaned against Rarity. “I knew this kind of a thing would affect him, but not like this.” Rarity just nodded back at her.

Rainbow’s jaw dropped. “Whoa! Check those out!”

Applejack let out a whistle.

Fluttershy nearly fainted, but was caught by Pinkie and Starlight.

Twilight rubbed her eyes in disbelief. “Spike, what happened to you?”

The drake looked up and noticed his vision was clearing up. He saw the shocked looks everyone had on their faces and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “What happened to me?” He looked down. “And why do you all look a little smaller?”

Celestia stepped forward and her horn glowed. A large mirror appeared near Spike. “Why don’t you take a look for yourself?”

Spike got up and slowly walked towards the mirror. When he got in front of it, the drake gasped and stumbled back a bit. He slowly reached his hand out towards the reflection to check if it was his, and did a double take. He looked at his body all over and was at a lost for words about what to say.

He noticed he was now taller than before, and not only that, he was more muscular now instead of the lean muscle he was, he now looked more ripped than before. But what really caught his attention and made him freeze was something on his back he never thought he’d see; wings. The wings popped out and were shown to be rather large. They were mostly purple, like the rest of his body, and had a white webbing going on between each finger of his wings.

Spike shook his head. “I...I don’t believe it. I sprouted wings.” He beamed and pumped his fists. “I JUST SPROUTED WINGS!” He looked around and chuckled weakly as everyone stared at him. “Um...sorry.”

Ash smirked. “Don’t be, Mr. the Dragon, you have every right to be happy about what happened to you. I’m surprised though it took someone like you so long to finally grow wings.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “But what happened to me? How did this happen?”

“The molt, Spike.”

The drake looked over at Ember.

“Spike, remember that day in the library when we talked about different types of dragons?” she asked. Spike nodded. “I said to you those who are about to grow wings get back pains the closer they get to the time. There was one thing I forgot to mention; the molt.”

“Which is what?” he inquired.

“When dragons are about to grow their wings, they get a massive back spasm and feel like they’re in massive pain. It’s part of the final stage, but there’s more. The dragon’s body slowly turns to stone to protect them for the few brief minutes they end up being unable to move. During that time, they undergo a change as they grow taller and sprout their wings. You must’ve been one of the rare cases of a dragon being delayed to grow their wings.”

“I thought it took some kind of magic power though,” said Spike.

Ash rubbed his chin. “Mr. the Dragon, a question for you.”

“Go ahead.”

“On the day of the Gauntlet of Fire, you picked up the Bloodstone Scepter first, correct?” he questioned. “Did anything happen to you when you picked it up?”

Spike nodded. “That’s right. I remember that some sort of power went through me when I picked it up. It was hard to describe it, but it felt like some kind of magic power that…” The drake’s words trailed off. “You don’t think that was it, do you?”

Ash nodded. “Perhaps it was. The Bloodstone Scepter is usually seen as a symbol of leading the dragons and being the Dragon Lord, but at times it does contain mysterious power that can help whoever wields it. In your case, perhaps it sensed that despite being an adult dragon, you hadn’t grown your wings yet. So perhaps that served as some catalyst to awaken it.”

Spike looked at his wings and touched them. They shivered a bit from the touch.

“Easy now,” cautioned Ash. “They’ve only recently sprouted, so they’ll be rather sensitive.”

“But what made me finally sprout them?” wondered Spike. “I was feeling the pain for a while, but only now did I sprout them.”

Ash looked at Ember and Rarity and smiled. “Perhaps there was another catalyst. Usually wings take around a week or so to grow after the pain begins, but sometimes there can be other factors too.”

Spike looked at Rarity and Ember. The trio smiled at one another as they all came together and hugged each other. Both ladies snuggled against Spike’s shoulder and he just smiled.

Twilight looked at Ash. “So he’ll be okay?”

The elder dragon nodded. “More than okay, he’ll be perfectly fine now. I would suggest though having one of our doctors check his wings to make sure there are no complications.”

Twilight smiled and nodded.

Rainbow pumped her fist. “Aw, yeah! I got a dragon racing buddy now!”

Twilight frowned. “Rainbow, Spike isn’t there to be just for racing against you.”

“Well, I want to see how a dragon does against a pegasus. Besides, I got to find a way to see who would win since my race with Ember got cut short.”

Ember chuckled. “We’ll just have to get a rematch one day then. I don’t think it would be fair for you to take on some dragon who’s learning to fly against an expert.”

Rainbow smirked. “You’re on!”

Ash crossed his arms and smiled. “Well, I guess this finally ends this whole ordeal.” He looked over at Ember. “My Lord, I know this has been herrowing for you, but I’m just glad Garble’s treachery didn’t end up with you or your friends hurt.”

“Not so fast, Master.”

The elder dragon turned to Celestia and Luna walking up to him.

“I’m afraid it’s not over yet,” said the solar princess.

“Indeed,” said Luna. “There’s still one last matter that needs to be taken care of.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “What else is there? We stopped Garble and a conspiracy against Lord Ember has been halted. What other threat remains?”

“A promise,” said Celestia.

A clicking noise echoed throughout, and all the guards gasped. Ash raised his hands up to show a pair of large chains cuffing him. He looked at the stern expressions of both Celestia and Luna.

“Master Ash of the Dragon Lands, you’re under arrest for crimes against Equestria including invasion, causing an international incident, and illegal extradition,” said the solar princess, coldly. “You haven’t forgotten the deal we made, did you?”

Ash looked down and frowned. “No...I haven’t. I understand fully, Princess.”

Suddenly, the guards started yelling and were letting out blasts of fire from their mouths.

“What’s that pony doing to the head of the Dragon Council!?”

“She can’t do that!”

“Those ponies are going to pay for this!”

“ENOUGH!” roared Ember.

The yelling ceased as all the dragons looked at the furious Dragon Lord.

“If you all must know, Master Ash himself agreed to turn himself over to Equestria once this whole ordeal was over,” she said. “Once I let him know what really happened and what he did, Princess Celestia would have him taken to stand up for his crimes against Equestria.”

One guard stepped forward. “My Lord, even if Master Ash agreed to this, we were under orders to rescue you! Master Ash believed you were in danger and we had to rescue you at all costs!”

Ember nodded. “While it’s true Master Ash’s intentions were good, it doesn’t mean this can be overlooked and must face up to what he’s done.”

“This isn’t fair though!” another guard yelled. “Those ponies are just looking for payback! They can’t do this to Master Ash! He had no idea Garble set up the whole thing!”

“That much is true,” said Ember. “However, he still needs to answer for what he’s done. Regardless of his good intentions, he nearly got a citizen of Ponyville wrongfully imprisoned.”

“But what’ll we do without the head of the Dragon Council?” another guard asked. “If those ponies are being like this over a mistake, then we don’t need them”

Ember’s eyes narrowed. “That’s where you’re wrong!” she barked.

All the dragons looked at Ember with curious looks on them.

“If you think we don’t need Equestria, you’re all wrong,” she said, sternly. “If anything, I believe this whole thing has shown us how much have to learn still.”

A silver dragon stepped forward. “My Lord, what do you mean?”

“We’re dragons, and we’re supposed to be a proud race, right?” All the guards nodded. “I’ve seen a lot of dragons boast about everything from how big their hordes are to even seeing who can do the longest burp. For everything we claim we’re so good at, I’ve seen a lot of the worst aspects of dragons, and this whole incident proves it.”

All the guards looked and muttered at each other.

“My ‘rescue’ from Ponyville showed how quick we are to react without thinking. I know you all must’ve been feeling angry about what Master Ash told you all, but without even letting me get a word in, you all assumed something terrible had happen to me. When I came back home, I heard you all talk about how ineffective I was as a ruler and were ready to turn on me. Now, here when Master Ash did something wrong, you all overreact again and think ponies are somehow to blame for something you all did.”

“But Lord Ember,” a guard shouted. “We were following orders! Those ponies don’t have a right to punish Master Ash for thinking you were in danger!”

Ember crossed her arms. “I know Master Ash meant well and was tricked by Garble, but he nearly got a pony wrongfully sent to jail for something she didn’t do.”

“But what does this have to do with us needing Equestria?” another guard asked.

Ember looked down. “All my life, I’ve always been told by my dad how strong and proud us dragons are. How we didn’t really need anyone else, and that it’s the strong survive while the weak serve them. I thought that for a long time myself, but not to the extreme I’ve seen others show. I thought dragons didn’t do stuff like hugs, friendship, and all that other stuff,” she sighed. “That was until I met Spike.”

The drake raised an eyebrow.

“When I first met Spike, I thought he was just some runt dragon and all his talk about friendship was some fluffy garbage not worth my time. But...the longer I hung around him, the more I came to see how different he was from other dragons. He didn’t know much about me, and he trusted me to help him through the Gauntlet of Fire. He wanted to make sure I was okay and looked out for me and his friends. I know other dragons wouldn’t have stopped to help someone like me when I fell into the ocean unconscious during the Gauntlet. If it wasn’t for Spike coming to help, I know I wouldn’t be here.”

The other guards looked at Spike in awe.

“By the end of the Gauntlet, I felt uncomfortable by abandoning him to try and go off on my own for power. I realized that despite how goofy it sounded, there was something about what Spike said to me about friendship that hit me about what I did was wrong. Even though he ended up winning the Gauntlet of Fire, he left me in charge to continue what he told me about. He could’ve easily stayed here and lead us all, but he left me to do this because he trusted me, and thought I was the best choice.

During my first month as Dragon Lord, I told all the dragons about friendship, and while many disagreed on it at first, I did notice some changes. Dragons were no longer being aggressive towards each other. They looked...happy, and not like they found a pile of treasure happy, but it looked more peaceful now. It was a major change compared to how dragons would either beat each other up to see who was better, or just have one of them have a pack to boss around and treat like dirt.”

Ember pointed a finger. “Spike showed me how we can all be better. He’s not only kind, but he’s smart, willing to help others out, and brave. Despite growing up in Equestria, I believe he’s shown us how better we can all be. He even gave me a chance to prove how sorry I was when Rarity and I messed things up and made him upset. Any other dragon would never have been that forgiving.”

The dragoness scowled. “Garble, on the other hand, showed me how we need to change and become better. He was willing to do anything to get rid of me and become Dragon Lord himself. He used others, threaten other dragons, believed all creatures were inferior to dragons, and tried to kill both Spike and Rarity before I came to help. He showed everything wrong with dragons and why I feel we need to try and be better.”

“And how does Equestria fit into this?” the silver dragon asked.

Ember smiled. “I believe we can all learn a lot from these ‘pathetic ponies’ you all like to consider useless. Spike was raised in Equestria and while he’s far different from the other dragons we’ve seen, I believe we can learn a lot from them. In my time there, I’ve seen so much and while some of the ponies there are a bit...eccentric we’re not too different from them. There’s so much though that we can learn from them.”

“Like what?”

“Trusting each other, helping each other, and friendship,” said Ember. “There was no trusting me when I went to Equestria and you all thought I wasn’t fit to rule. Dragons don’t help each other out when they need it like I did when I knew Garble was lying. Friendship because we shouldn’t always be trying to look out for themselves, but to look out for each other.”

The dragoness stepped forward with a confident look on her. “For so long we’ve always stuck to the idea that we’ve been better than all creatures and what we do is right. If we learn more from Equestria, I believe we can all live in peace. Not just as allies, but as friends too, and I believe it’ll start with making up for what Rarity was put through. I know most of you still think friendship is corny and we don’t need it, but after what Spike’s shown me and what he’s done, I think we could learn some things about how much better we can be. I don’t care if you all want to think I’m crazy, we dragons can improve and by passing on what Spike has taught me about friendship, we can become stronger than before!”

Ember looked around the crowd waiting for someone to say anything, but none of the guards moved. They all stared at her in awe and said anything at all. Suddenly, she heard a slow clap and turned to see Spike smiling at her. Rarity then joined her, then Twilight, her friends, and the princesses. Ember turned to Spike who nodded at her slowly, making her blush a little.

“Lord Ember.”

The dragoness looked at Ash, who was smiling himself.

“That was quite the speech there,” he said. “Hard to believe in such a short amount of time you’ve become quite the leader. You’re father would be proud to know the Dragon Lands are in safe hands with you leading us.”

Ember beamed. “Thank you, Master Ash.”

The elder dragons’ face drooped. “It’s just Ash now, my Lord,” he said, solemnly. “After today, I no longer am the head of the Dragon Council; nor am I prosecutor. I’m just merely Ash now.”

Ember frowned. “I understand, Ma...erm, Ash.”

Princess Celestia stepped forward and had a stern look on her as she looked at the guards. “There’s one last part of the deal Lord Ember and I had made with Ash. I want all the guards who were responsible for the invasion of Ponyville to come forward and turn themselves in here and now! I assure you all that if you come forward now and surrender yourselves, I’ll be lenient on you.”

The princess’ eyes narrowed sharply. “However, if you were one of the guards responsible and you run or someone else covers for you, know this! Know that I won’t be so merciful to you for running from what you’ve done! Now come forward!”

At first none of the guards moved and just looked at the alicorn in both fear and awe. Then, a gold dragon stepped forward, dropped his spear and put his hands up. Then a second guard, then five, ten, twenty five, fifty. More and more guards stepped up and put their hands in the air and looked down in shame. The sound of weapons falling and clattering on the rocky ground echoed throughout, nearly drowning out the noise of the volcanoes exploding in the distance.

Celestia looked at Ash. “How many guards did you bring with you on the day of the invasion?” she inquired.

Ash grimaced. “Three hundred. I brought at least three hundred guards to Ponyville.” He squinted his eyes. “I believe that’s most, if not all, of them. I can help identify them as I personally oversaw who was coming with me to Equestria that day.”

Princess Luna nodded. “Very well. We’ll see if any of them either ran off or tried to have someone else take their place.”

“Leave it to me,” said Ember. She turned to face a black dragoness. “Commander Cynder, inform the other guards to start having those who stepped forward placed in chains and have their weapons taken away. Get a message back to the castle we’ll need several large chariots to transport the guards to the jail and have them held until it’s time to transfer them to Equestria.”

The dragoness saluted. “Right away, my Lord.” She turned around to two guards. “Alright, let’s move out!” she barked.

Ember watched as Cynder walked off and shouting orders. She turned to Spike and smiled at him. “Well, I guess this is it.”

Spike looked confused. “What do you mean?”

Ember’s smile drooped a little. “It’s going to take a while to get things straightened up here, Spike. With Ma...Ash gone and the fallout of what happened with his actions, I’ll be needed to help make sure things don’t get worse. I need to inform the Dragon Council about this change and where to go next from here. As much as I want to be with you, Rarity, and all your friends, they need me now more than ever.”

Spike looked down and frowned. “Just when you and Rarity finally get along too.”

Ember put a hand on Spike’s shoulder. “Look, I really don’t want to either, but you chose me to be the Dragon Lord because you trusted that I’d make a great ruler, right?” The drake nodded. “It’s time I really stepped up now and assure the dragons who’ve doubted me they’re wrong about me.”

Spike snapped his fingers and looked up. “Why don’t we all stay here then? Maybe we can help you with–”

Ember held a hand up. “I know you want to help, but this is something I need to do. I won’t be by myself though.” She looked up and saw Matches walking up to her. She placed a claw on his shoulder. “I got a friend to help me here already. I just need to remember to listen to him and tell him any problems I’m having. I’m going to need a good sergeant around to help keep the other guards in check too.”

Matches looked shocked. “S–sergeant?” he stammered.

Ember nodded. “I think a promotion is in order for what you’ve done in helping out. There’s going to be some changes in the Dragon Army too after what I’ve seen and learned. How about it, Matches? Are you ready?”

Matches smiled and bowed. “It’ll be my honor, Lord Ember.”

Ember looked back at Spike and Rarity. “I think there’s only one thing left to do now.”

“What’s that?” wondered Spike.

Ember answered by bringing both Spike and Rarity in for a sudden hug. Spike and Rarity didn’t know how to react. They both looked at the warm smile the dragoness had on her face, and just returned the hug themselves.

Spike couldn’t help but chuckle. “Whatever happened to being hesitant about hugging, Ember?”

Ember laughed back. “You know what? I don’t think I mind it with you or Rarity. There’s one last thing I nearly forgot though to go with this goodbye hug.”

“And that is?”

Spike’s question was answered with another gesture from Ember. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. The drake froze up and his eyes widen at first. However, they soon slowly closed and found himself returning the kiss himself. The world slowed down between the two and the noise around them drowned out. After what seemed to be hours of being like this, Ember broke the kiss and slowly opened her eyes.”

“A goodbye kiss,” she answered, sweetly. “I’ve read sometimes mates kiss one another when they have to leave each other for a while.”

Spike smiled and giggled a little. “You got that right. But...you’ll be back soon, right?”

Ember nodded. “Of course I will.”

Rarity smirked. “Well, Ember, looks like you got the first kiss from Spikey Wikey. I was kind of hoping to be his first, but since the three of us are together, I guess it’s time for both of us to have our first kiss with him.”

The unicorn grabbed Spike’s head and turned it towards her. Before the drake could react, she leaned in and kissed him on the lips as well. Spike quickly returned the kiss with her and leaned against her. Ember smiled a little as she let the two have their own moment. Suddenly, Spike’s wings flapped wildly, causing him to break up the kiss.

“Whoa!” he yelled as he grabbed his wings. “What was that?”

Ember laughed. “Probably a reaction of how you felt from what Rarity and I did to you. Maybe before you leave you should see one of the doctors to make sure your wings are healthy.”

Spike nodded. “Good idea. Hope they can help tell me how to control them too.”

Ember looked at Twilight. “Can you use your magic to give me two scrolls and an inked quill?”

Twilight nodded and her horn lit up. The scrolls and a red quill both popped up seconds later. Ember took them and wrote on the paper for a few seconds. She rolled up and the scroll and took a deep breath and in a blue flame, the scroll was gone.

“What did you do?” inquired Twilight.

“I sent a message to one of the doctors at the castle. I told him to see Spike as soon as you all get back there.” Ember handed the other scroll to Twilight. “Just use the chariot we all came in from the volcano and let them know I ordered you all back to the castle. I’ve also given them orders to help take you all back to Equestria after Spike’s been cleared.”

Twilight nodded. “Will do. Thank you for everything, Ember.”

The dragoness shook her head. “No, thank you all for everything you’ve taught me. I hope the next time we meet, it’ll be a proper visit; not some stupid fight.”

The group waved at Ember, and the dragoness returned it. They all walked towards the chariot and stepped into the ride. Spike and Rarity took one final glance at Ember and waved tearfully at her. The dragoness waved harder than ever and bowed at the two of them. Rarity and Spike bowed back and walked into the carriage. The door slammed and a few seconds later, the guards pulling it slowly flapped their wings and took off into the sky above. Ember noticed as the chariot went off into the sky, the clouds in the sky started to clear and the sun shined on the ground below.

Matches whistled. “Wow. We don’t usually see the sun during Erupting Season. Must be a good sign.”

Ember sighed contently.

Matches looked over and raised an eyebrow. “Ember, are you...are you actually crying?”

The dragoness froze up and quickly looked away. “No!” she barked, “Some of the ash got in my eye! Dragons don’t cry so easily!”

The green drake chuckled. “Whatever you say, my Lord. I didn’t see anything strange at all. But if I could ask one thing.”

“What is it?”

“What was it like?” he asked. “You’re first kiss with some dragon you love?”

Ember smiled and looked up at the sky. “Like the sweetest Fire Ruby any dragon has ever had.”

Author's Notes:

Holy mother of mercy, I am so sorry to everyone. If you recall my previous chapter's A.N., I mentioned about training for my career. Not gonna lie, it kicked my ass. For the last 4 months or so, I've been working really hard either at training, or at work. I barely had any days off and it was draining me big time. Any day I had off, I tried to do some writing, but I lacked motivation and energy. All I wanted to do was recover from all the work.

We're just about at the end though, people. There's only a few chapters left. A possible clop chapter, one to wrap up some minor things, and then an epilogue. And yes, I didn't forget about Ash like some people thought I would. Although, I should say this isn't the full end for him...yet. There's still one last bit of business to deal with him.

I also know some people may find the overall choice Spike made to be a rather cop out way to resolve things. This has been something hinted throughout the more recent chapters about Spike's dilemma about his conflict with Ember and Rarity, an what to do.

Thanks for being patient as usual, and hope you all enjoyed this chapter.