For many of the differing races and peoples of the world, there was always something about their respective homelands that could be seen as great or beautiful when viewed by outsiders. The green fields and gentle hills of Equestria. The mighty seas surrounding Mount Aris. The new and lush greenery of the Changeling Hive. The awe-striking snow-caps of Yakyakistan. Even Griffonstone, as run-down and troubled as that place was, had a certain majesty to its high-up mountains. But then, after all of that, there was the Dragon Lands, and here, outsiders would be greeted with far less to be happy about. No pleasant fields, no soothing seas. No, this was a blasted Hellscape of charred rocks and open lava pits. Smoke rising in all directions and air so hot that it threatened to burn. Appropriate then that it was home to the dragons, the most feared race in all the world. Ferocious, resilient and aggressive, they had carved a name for themselves in many cultures as beasts of legend, who would rather kill you than speak to you.

However, the dragon that now approached those lands could not have been further removed from this nightmarish mental image. She was smaller for one thing, and walked about with a smile on her face that could only come from someone who was genuinely happy. And in truth, she had every reason to be happy. Having endured the frigid lands of the Yaks in the far-North, Smolder now instead looked upon the sight of her own home. Gone were her chills and look of discomfort, for here, she felt right. Taking in a deep breath, she exhaled, placing her claws upon her hips before giving a firm nod.

"Oh yeah, that's more like it! No snow! No ice! No cold! This is where a dragon is supposed to be, right, Yona?"

A moment passed, and then another, and then another, but no response was heard. With her smile fading somewhat, Smolder raised an eyebrow, looking over her shoulder.

"Er...Yona?"

Her fellow student was indeed there, but unlike Smolder, she seemed far less comfortable in being in a place like this. And she had good cause to feel that way. For just as she was approaching Smolder, she happened to pass by an admittedly small lava pit, which immediately burst out a broil of fume as she was close enough. Yona, understandably, recoiled from this, letting out a yelp of surprise and fear. She rushed over to Smolder's side, even hiding behind her for a time, all while she looked to the surrounding lands with terror.

"Yona no like friend-Smolder's home! It dangerous!"

Smolder snorted to that.

"Come on, Yona! The Dragon Lands aren't that bad!"

As soon as she'd said that, there was an immediate eruption of lava from the ground close to where the two had been standing, prompting Yona to shrink behind Smolder even more, lest she get doused in the fiery substance. Smolder, after watching the lava die down, scratched the back of her head.

"Huh...you know, living with ponies, you forget how often that happens around here."

And if that wasn't enough, it was around this time that the two students actually saw another of Smolder's kind arrive onto the scene. But, in contrast to the comparatively small figure of Smolder, this dragon was far more in-keeping with the image most had. It was massive, almost as big as their school in fact, and it flew over them with such speed that it caused wind to nearly blow them off their feet. But, thankfully, they held their ground and watched as the towering reptile continued to fly off, none the wiser to the damage it might have caused them.

"Hey! Watch where you're flying, jerk!" Smolder raged.

Then, she turned, and saw that Yona was curled up on the floor, terrified of what had just happened. With her expression softening, Smolder walked over to her, giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"It's okay, Yona. He's gone now."

Slowly, Yona opened her eyes, and after an encouraging smile from Smolder, she got to her hooves.

"Um...other dragons here aren't all that big...right?"

Smolder chuckled.

"Don't worry, I know a place. Come on."

Understandably, Yona continued to be wary of this place, but she trusted her friend, and so followed her away from that spot. On and on the two went, passing by many dangerous-looking geysers and lava holes, with Yona cowering from each one she saw. Smolder was not so afraid of the dangers of her homeland, but nevertheless continued to guide Yona through the safest route through it all. After a time, they entered a relatively less dangerous place, and here, Yona looked on to see a collection of smaller dragons, around Smolder's age, all hanging out with one another.

"There we go!" Smolder exclaimed.

She looked back to Yona.

"I think these dragons will be a bit more to your liking!"

Yona stood beside her scaly companion, looking on at what the younger dragons ahead were doing. There was a lot of rough and tumble, in much the same way that there would be with the Yaks back in Yakyakistan, and as such, Yona started to smile. She and Smolder walked ahead, drawing closer to the other dragons, and as soon as they were close enough, another of Smolder's kind, a female, looked down to them and gave a loud whistle, gaining the attention of all the others.

"Hey! It's Smolder!"

All eyes were upon them, and several of the dragons flew over, ready to greet their long-absent colleague.

"Smolder! You're back!" one declared.

"How's life with the ponies?" another asked.

"Are they scared of you? And was it awesome?" a third added.

Smolder, amused by the attention she was getting, let out a hearty laugh.

"Yeah, it's pretty neat. The ponies and all the other creatures are kinda great. Plus, there's a whole bunch of other stuff I gotta tell you guys about!"

The other dragons certainly seemed eager to hear her story, that much was certain, but before long, it could no longer escape their notice that Smolder was not alone here today, and so it was that the dragons turned their attention instead to Yona. The young Yak female, smiling nervously, gave a little wave.

"Um...hello?"

The dragons blinked to her a couple of times, then one of them, a male, looked down to Smolder again.

"Who's this?"

Still smiling, Smolder walked over, putting her claw on Yona's shoulder.

"This is Yona, one of the other students. She's a friend of mine..."

Her eyes narrowed.

"...so be nice to her!"

Though Smolder was, by far, the smallest dragon there, her words had the expected effect, and it was clear that nobody here was willing to even try and put on a dangerous face for Yona. So, rather nervously, one of them stepped forward, stretching out a claw.

"Um...hey, Yona! Nice to meet you!"

Pleased that at least one of them was making an effort, if only out of fear of Smolder, Yona smiled back, taking the offered claw and shaking it.

"Nice to meet you too!"

"So, you brought back one of your precious little classmates, Smolder?"

Yona didn't recognise the new voice, but Smolder did, and she grunted with irritation over it.

"Okay, here we go!"

Looking up, the collection of youths watched as a bright red dragon, larger than all of them, descended to the ground. Unlike the others, he looked like he was in a a permanent state of being ticked off, and after looking to Yona, he then glanced over to Smolder.

"Remember the days when only tough and ferocious dragons came to the dragon lands? Whatever happened to that?"

Smolder folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"They went away, Garble. Maybe you should follow their example?"

Garble frowned to that, taking a few steps over while the other dragons backed off.

"Oh, little Smolder acting all big and scary! How cute!"

He looked over to Yona.

"And what's this? One of your little pony friends?"

Smolder chortled.

"Wow, I knew you were dumb, but mistaking a Yak for a pony? That's stupid even by your standards!"

Yona, who could sense a conflict brewing, looked on with worry at her friend, even though the latter continued to act as though absolutely nothing was wrong. Garble, on the other hand, did not take kindly to what had been said to him.

"Tough talk, little Smolder. But guess what? Dragon Lord Ember ain't here to see what goes on, so I guess nobody will mind if I give this outsider a piece of my mind."

Immediately, Smolder stood between him and Yona, glaring angrily at the older male.

"Back off! Unless you wanna get hurt!"

But Garble simply laughed at that.

"Awww! How cute! Smolder standing up for her friend! Like a little pony!"

Reaching forward, the dragon teen gave Smolder a rather insulting pat on her head.

"Move aside, squirt! The big kids got this one!"

Smolder fumed at this, but then, her ears perked up slightly, because she'd just heard something being whispered to her from behind. At first she seemed uncertain about what she was hearing, but after a while, she gained a knowing smirk. Looking back to Garble, she shrugged her shoulders.

"Alright, you wanna do something to her? Be my guest."

Though at first surprised that the younger dragon seemed to be giving up without a fight, Garble still smirked, eager to get down to what was probably a long-brewing period of bullying. But, as he watched Smolder step aside, he soon found, to his dismay, that he was not looking at a cowering Yak, but rather a Yak with fury in her eyes, who now charged right at him. Before he could have any kind of reaction, Yona rammed her head right into his stomach, and with her great Yak strength, this impact sent him flying backwards, right into a nearby rock. All others were stunned by this, and Yona herself snorted angrily.

"Yona no like bullies! Be nicer next time!"

Smolder looked to her friend with pride, then turned to see Garble slowly get up, nursing the spot on his stomach where he'd been hit. Angrily, he grinded his teeth, then looked to several of the other teenage dragons.

"Don't just stand there! Get her!"

But nobody moved, instead looking between him and Yona. After a while, another of the dragons, a male, shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head at Garble.

"Dude, are you crazy? I ain't gonna mess with a girl like that!"

Garble, dismayed that he was going to get no help from the others, seethed at the sight of Yona, before starting to march towards her.

"Oh, you little punk! When I get my claws on you, I'm gonna...!"

"You're gonna do what, Garble?"

Garble froze after hearing the other voice, and he, like everyone else, turned to see that it was none other than Dragon Lord Ember herself. Though she looked far calmer than she usually did, there was still a steel to her eyes, especially when she looked to Garble. Stretching out her wings, she flew off the high rock she'd been standing on, landing right between Garble and the two students. Garble himself, seeing his leader right there in front of him, gulped.

"Oh! Dragon Lord! I was...er...just giving this little...um..."

Smolder rolled her eyes.

"Yak?"

"Right! That! I was just giving her a good Dragon Land welcome!"

Ember raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.

"Leave...now."

Garble stepped forward, his voice pleading.

"But...but...but..."

However, Ember simply frowned at him further.

"Look, it's either you leave, or I teach you some proper manners. Which is it?"

Sweat rolling down his forehead, Garble turned tail and flew off, much to Ember's amusement.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

She turned, looking to all the other teens.

"Alright, that's enough for one day. Now scram, all of you!"

Obediently, the other dragons flew off, leaving just the lord and the two students. Putting her claws on her hips, Ember let out an amused chuckle, then walked over to Yona.

"Well, you certainly made an impression."

She glanced over her shoulder.

"To Garble's stomach if nothing else."

The three enjoyed an expected laugh over that, and when it was over, Ember looked down to the one she had chosen to go to Equestria in the first place.

"So, I hear you gained quite the name for yourself down there, Smolder?"

The younger dragon took on a prideful look.

"Yeah, you could say that."

Ember smirked.

"Don't let it get to your head. But, I am happy you've done good over in Equestria. We wanted to show them that dragons could be their friends, and I'd say you've done a pretty good job of that."

Smolder smiled to her.

"It's been pretty great at the school. And Yona..."

She looked over to her companion.

"...has been a pretty good friend."

Yona smiled back, as indeed did Ember as she regarded the two.

"Well, if a dragon like Smolder says you're good, then you're okay by me, Yona."

Yona gave a quick bow of her head, and soon afterwards, she and Smolder watched as the leader of the dragons turned, ready to fly off again. Before she did so, however, she paused, looking back to Smolder.

"Oh, and Smolder?"

"Yeah?" the younger female asked.

Ember chuckled.

"Try not to have too many fire-breathing contests with Spike when you get back. Wouldn't be good to have one of our people be responsible for that school going up in smoke."

Smolder smirked right back, and watched as her leader began to fly off. As soon as she was gone, the two youths enjoyed the rare moment of quiet, save for the occasional bubbling of the lava pits nearby.

"So...welcome to the Dragon Lands, Yona," Smolder declared.

Smiling, Yona moved forward, embracing Smolder in one of her trademarked bone-crushing hugs.

"If friend-Smolder here, Dragon Lands is best place in world!"

Through the tight embrace, Smolder nevertheless smiled back to her.

"Yeah, yeah...it's good to have you here too."

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