A Cloaked Heart

by morbiusgreen

Jethro Bethridge, a 30 year old bank manager, suddenly finds himself and his entire house and surrounding property whisked away to Equestria, specifically directly near the Palace of the Twin Sisters. With new abilities given to him by an Alicon named Athena, how will he fit into this new world when he was brought here by accident?

112. A Cloaked Heart's Talk And Discovery

When my two Dragon guards Gemini, Mica and I all left the cave, I saw that we were standing on the shores of a large island. Small waves crashed against the shore thanks in part to the day being somewhat windy. Frowning, I looked back up only to see that the island we were on had once been some kind of fortress. It wasn't nearly as big as the Ruins of Dormog, but I could see some of the same architectural styles in place. It was one big tower, with windows scattered throughout and five carved Dragon wing prongs lifting out of the top, each equidistant from the other. The tower itself was pentagonal in shape, with each prong carved into each corner of the pentagram. In a way, the prongs reminded me a bit of how Isengard was designed for the movies, except that the stone was a deep brown color, and there were large gems placed on the sides of the tower. A nerdy part of me bubbled up. "Barad-dûr."

"Pardon, Your Grace?" one of the Dragon guards asked.

I shook my head. "It's nothing. Forget it. What is this island called?"

"Duzoroth, Your Grace," the second guard said.

"And the tower?"

"Duzoroth Tower," the same guard replied.

"Hmm, I see." I looked around, then saw a very unusual shaped island far to the right. It took me a few seconds, but I recognized it from the Gauntlet of Fire episode. I pointed. "Is that Flamecano Island?"

"Yes, Your Grace," the first guard said.

Such a stupid name, I thought to myself, but held my tongue. I walked up to the beach, knelt and grabbed some of the sand. It was pure black and the closer I looked at it, the more I was convinced I was staring at crushed obsidian, which didn't surprise me since the Dragon Lands always struck me as being particularly volcanically active. A part of me wondered if they lived on a fault line somewhere, but I pushed that out of my mind as I straightened. "Where is Princess Ember's residence?"

"In a cave on the mainland, Your Grace," the second guard said as he and his other guard spread their wings.

"And just how are we gonna get there, Your Grace?" Gemini said, coming up beside me and glaring at me, claws on her hips. I highly doubted that her slight emphasis on my new title was respectful.

"Like this," I said, holding out both my hands towards the Lycans. My hands glowed, and soon the Lycan siblings also began to glow and float upward. Before they could respond, I spread my wings and shot up into the air. "Guards, lead on."

Despite the protests of Gemini, I carried them both in my telekinetic grip as we flew over the massive lake towards a large naturally formed stone tower with an entrance in the side that faced the shorelines. It didn't take us long to reach it, and when we all landed, I released the two Lycans and approached the large jagged entrance into the cave I'd seen before. I approached the cave and pressed my hand through the entrance. I saw some Old Draconic runes surrounding the cave light up, then vanish, but my hand went through. I turned and told the guards to wait outside, but while the Dragon ones obeyed, Mica and Gemini were extremely reluctant on doing so, but when I gave them a direct order, they promptly obeyed.

Unlike the set of caverns I'd come from, this one was a natural formation, with stalactites and stalagmites everywhere and small pools of water. Casting the Candlelight spell, I wandered around, looking for Ember. However, even in the room where she'd stashed her hoard, I couldn't find her. As if on instinct, I grasped the scepter, visualized Ember and looked deep into the crystal. The light within swirled and shuddered, then parted to reveal a particularly blue Dragon standing on a naturally formed balcony, overlooking something on the outside of the cave. I dimmed the spell, finally spotting a small patch of light coming from one of the walls near the ceiling. I spread my wings and flew up towards it.

Just as I'd seen, I'd found Ember standing and looking out over the vast and desolate landscape that was the Dragon Lands. She didn't even acknowledge my presence as I landed gently next to her. I followed her gaze, and despite everything, I could really appreciate what I was seeing as beautiful in its own right. Sure, there weren't any plants as far as the eye could see, but the large towering rock formations, a view of part of the lake and the erupting shield cone volcano in the distance only made this place beautiful in its own way.

I joined Ember, standing near the ledge and leaning against the scepter. No words were spoken between us for at least a solid ten minutes. Finally, I decided enough was enough and broke the silence by speaking my thoughts. "The Dragon Lands are really quite beautiful in their own way." Ember said nothing, so I continued. "Sure, there's no trees or grass or anything like that, but even a desert has its intrinsic charms."

Finally, I got a reaction from Ember. She sighed heavily, and replied with a hoarse sounding voice, "Don't patronize me…I know we're savages to you and your Pony friends."

I looked at her in shock. "Who says Dragons are savages? Would a savage race be able to build one of the most impressive feats of engineering as those ruins? Ruins, mind you, that have lasted for millennia with minimal damage? Would they be able to create weapons and armor that lasts just as long? No. As the new Emperor, I defy any other race to call my subjects savages."

She stood quickly and placed her nose directly against mine, eyes wide with anger. "We're beasts! We hoard because we're greedy, we fight over stupid things like hoards and lovers, we even kill each other for fun! The days of Old Aelyssia are done already! Thanks to the Dark Fae, we've lost everything!"

I raised myself up, pressing my nose against hers to match her glare. "I'll wager that even back in the days of Old Aelyssia, Dragons had a similar nature. They had those greedy tendencies. But you can learn to keep them in check. Any Dragon can learn it!"

"My own father couldn't learn it!" She shouted, and I could see the faintest glint of tears welling up in her eyes. She whirled away, fists held at her side, her body trembling with barely restrained rage. "My own father…he was the last of Old Aelyssia. If he couldn't learn it…"

"How old was Torch when the Fae came?" I asked.

She turned to face the Dragon Lands once more. "He never…never really said," she replied, "but I got the impression he was only a hatchling. Probably hadn't even molted yet."

"Then he was probably around Spike's age, more of less," I replied. "It takes a long time to learn the skill of proper restraint. I'm 30, and even I get urges that are hard to control." There was silence between us for a bit. Ember was facing the Dragon Lands once again, so I turned to face the same direction. In the distance, I saw the still floating ship in the shallow end of the lake, the stupidly named Flamecano Island, and the dark red crystals on one end. The unusually shaped volcanic island reminded me of the episode to first introduce Torch. "Ember…nobody's around right now. Nobody can see us or hear us. Tell me, do you hate me for what happened with your father?"

She froze. I stood there beside her, just watching the waves from the lake crash onto distant shores. The wind blew against me, sending the cloak I now wore fluttering backwards. While I waited for her to collect her thoughts and reply, I let my mind wander. My thoughts went a little something like this:

I'm an emperor now. I'm a goddamn motherfucking emperor! And of Dragons, no less! Dragons! Why me? Why am I always getting the short end of the damn stick here!? Ugh…I just wanna go home, snuggle with and/or fuck Zecora into oblivion, celebrate Christmas…a break would be so fucking nice! Whatever gods run this world must have it out for me. I love Equestria, but I'm just so tired from all the shit being dumped on me! Okay, no, calm down Jethro, deep slow breaths. In…and out…and in…and out…ah, there we go. That's a little better.

Okay, so what do I do here? Think, Jethro. Think! You've been studying what makes a good ruler with Twilight for a while now. Rule One: Your duty is to your subjects first and foremost. So I should get someone to tell me about our current situation. Borders, finances, military, housing…if Ember's living conditions are any indication, they're not exactly living very well. Dragons seem nomadic in nature…maybe we could find a way to break the spell surrounding the ruins and rebuild in there. There's a lot of empty houses just begging to be restored. The palace could be used to house any extra Dragons.

But I'll definitely need Ember's help. And maybe…maybe I can ask Equestria for some aid. Aid in studying the ancient ruins. Oh boy, Twilight will have a nerdgasm at the thought of being able to study ancient historical Dragon artifacts. Maybe Celestia will let me borrow her for a bit. But how will the Dragons react to me requesting aid from Ponies? And what about when they realize the Fae are in Pony custody?

Oh shit! The army in Equestria! I need to recall them!

And will I ever be able to return to Ponyville?! What about my house? Is it okay? … Well…I assume Celestia's probably taken care of that. Maybe Sweetie Drops is keeping an eye on it?

"What happened to my father was his own stubborn fault. That jackass," Ember finally replied, shaking me out of my reverie with a jolt. I turned and saw her looking off into the distance at the erupting shield volcano with a thoughtful look. She didn't look my way as she continued. "He…you really got me thinking that night, you know?" Slowly, the Dragoness turned to me. "How the fuck did you manage to make me…become so emotional?"

"Ember, all I did was called it like I saw it," I replied. "Your father was being, for lack of a better term, a complete asshole."

She quickly raised her claw as if to slap me, breathing heavily in anger, but stopped. I watched as her claw slowly began to tremble, then ball into a fist as she did her best to slow her breathing. "As…as much as I hate to admit it, you're right. I don't…like thinking that he was as bad as you said, but I've had a long time to think about it. My head hurts from all the thinking."

I held back my snort of amusement and just nodded. "Even if he was an abusive monster, he was the last of your family. I know how it feels to be the last member of a household."

"Some household," she scowled, looking down at where Torch had fallen. His body had been removed somewhere, leaving the impact crater from his fall. "After I molted about a hundred years ago, he kicked me out."

"A hundred years?" I hadn't expected her to be older than anyone else. "Well, you certainly don't look it. I'd have guessed you were about my age. Or even less."

"Dragons age much slower than Ponies," Ember said. "Although your Dragon companion, Spike, was it? He's only ten and he looks much older now."

"I think that's a side effect of his being a new Phoenixborn," I replied, "but we're getting off topic."

"Yeah…that's a force of habit with me," she admitted.

"Same here," I replied, "but do you hate me for what happened?"

For a few moments, there was silence. Then, she shook her head. "I'm angry, but I don't hate you. He challenged you to a duel, and he didn't surrender. I don't like saying this, but he got what was coming to him."

"And all it took was for me to become a monster to do it," I said with a sigh.

"That was…pretty terrifying," Ember admitted, "but I think some of that can work in your favor. You'll gain the respect of the Dragons."

"Respect? Or fear?"

"Well…a bit of both, actually," Ember said.

"I was afraid of that. The fear part, not the respect part," I replied. "No good ruler rules with fear."

"My father did," Ember retorted automatically, before she furled her brows and added, "But…he was wrong for doing that."

"Ember, I'm not ashamed to say that I'm going to need your help with this," I said. "You're still royalty, and you know your culture better than I do. I know you're angry with me-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn't say I was angry at you," Ember quickly interrupted me. "I'm angry at the situation my dad put us in. And no, I don't mean him making you Emperor." She turned and raised her fist, slamming it into the rock with a roar. "He was a stubborn, selfish, jackass of a leader and bastard of a father! I HATE HIM! I HATE HIM! I HATE HIM! WAAAAAAH! DADDY!" And with that, she broke down into a torrent of frustrated wailing.

Reacting instantly, I rushed over and wrapped her in my arms. To my surprise, she didn't resist, but she didn't hug back either. The poor Dragoness…her head was probably all turned around emotionally. I guessed that talking about feelings was hard for a race of creatures like the Dragons, although I had to constantly remind myself that I couldn't fall into the fallacy of assuming things about an entire race from just a handful of examples. If I do that, I could very well judge the Ponies based off of the actions of one Nightmare Moon, or Starlight Glimmer, or that racist bastard Neighsay.

After a good long cry, she slowly pulled away from me, wiping her eyes and nose clean of tears and snot. She hiccupped as she glared at me. "Don't you fucking dare tell anydragon about this. Or your Pony friends."

"My lips are sealed," I said. "Do you need some rest or something?"

She shook her head. "Just…let me clean up. You're going to need to address the Dragons at some point, right?"

I frowned. That was something I had hoped to put off for a while longer, but she was right. A public address was something that would probably be expected of a new ruler who just ascended the throne. I held up the staff, looking at it with an intense glare. "Yeah…not really looking forward to that, especially since a lot of them are in Equestria, waiting to attack the Ponies."

She sighed, then nodded. "Dad was…a fool for going to war. Sure, Dragons don't exactly see eye to eye with Ponies, and some of them love to terrorize Pony villages, but they've never done anything to us. That damned idiot was just trying to make an excuse to go to war!" And with that, she spread her wings and flew down to a larger pool of water. She sank into it and splashed herself.

I flew down, looking away from her out of decorum and casually looking over her hoard. Unlike the load of ancient bits, gold and gems I'd found in the mountain cave, this hoard was much smaller than what I'd taken. The pile was circular, about four to five feet in diameter, and about a foot to a foot and a half tall at the center. I leaned down, took a gold coin and looked at it. It was a standard gold bit, minted in Equestria. A large stylized sun had been stamped on the heads side with a sideways profile of the Tree of Harmony stamped on the tails side.

"Find something you like?" Ember asked from directly behind me, sounding somewhat amused.

I stood and tossed the coin back into the hoard then turned back to her. To my surprise, she was wearing the same type of armor she'd worn just before my fight with Torch. She had a long but slightly curved blade attached to her side, as well. "Nah, just curious to see how the bits in your hoard compare to the pile of gold I found half a year ago near Ponyville. The one I claimed before a Dragon could."

Ember raised an eyebrow. "Wait, are you Smaug?"

"Yeah, I named myself that to scare the Dragon away when he showed up."

"Razer came back here with his tail between his legs. Literally!" To my surprise, Ember was laughing hard as she said that. "I think he even pissed himself as he landed!"

"Heh, well, I chased him off for a pretty selfish reason, really," I admitted. "I found money in that cave near Ponyville and claimed it for myself since nobody else was there."

She raised an eyebrow. "Staking a claim to a hoard, huh? How very…Dragonlike of you."

"Well that, and I didn't want him sleeping around Ponyville for the next hundred years or so," I admitted. "Do Dragons really sleep that long?"

Ember shrugged. "It's rare, but it happens," she said. "We call it a Greed-Induced Nap. It happens when we get a major influx of stuff added to our hoards."

"I see," I said. Turning to the door, I sighed. "Are you coming with me to help?"

"As horrible ruler and father as Torch was, he was still the Dragon Lord," Ember explained. "He still knew a lot about our old culture and he was right about how you became Emperor. Claiming the Sunsword and Moonsword as your own means you're the Emperor of Dragons, along with all the titles that come with it."

"And I can't just pass the title on to someone else, can I?" I asked.

"I wouldn't, and not because I want to rule the Dragons," Ember said, "but because if you did, it would be seen as a sign of weakness."

I closed my eyes. "Yeah…I guess so."

"Oh, by the way, if you're going to talk to the Dragons, I think you should be armed with the swords," Ember suggested.

"Sword," I corrected. "They merged into one sword." I opened my eyes and looked back at Ember, only to see her eyes widen. "Okay…what is it now?"

"You mean…Eclipse was finally forged?" she asked.

"Eclipse?" I asked.

Ember nodded. "Mom and Dad told me about it when I was still a hatchling. If somedragon was ever found worthy of wielding both the Sunsword and Moonsword, they would finally merge and become Eclipse, the Emperor's Blade. I always thought it was an old hatchling's tale, but after what I saw…" She paused, then cleared her throat. "I'd like to see it."

"I'll have to go back to Duzoroth to go grab it," I said. "You want to come with me?"

She nodded, and the two of us headed out into the bright sunlit early afternoon sunlight. My Dragon honor guards snapped to attention as Ember and I spread my wings. "Guards, we're returning to Duzoroth for a bit," I said as I grabbed Gemini and Mica in my magic before bursting up into the air. Ember was quick to follow me, with the two guards close behind me.

As we flew across the lake, I looked over at Ember, only to see her staring at the Duzoroth Tower in what could only be a look of reminiscence. Without even thinking, I asked, "How long has it been since you were back here?"

"Ninety years," she said. "Never even got to take the small bits of my hatchling hoard with me. Dad just grabbed me and flew me over to the mainland, dropped me off and left me there."

I frowned. "Why the fuck do Dragons do that? It's completely cruel!"

"It's tradition," Ember said evenly.

"I'm guessing your dad started it?" I asked as we began to descend towards the black sandy shores of the island.

"I'm not sure why he did," Ember said, "but we've done that for a thousand years at least."

As we all landed and I released Gemini and Mica from my magic, I said, "Now that's barbaric."

"I agree with you," Ember said as she looked up at the massive brown tower. "It looks exactly the same as it did before."

"Do you…want to come inside or wait out here?" I asked.

"I'd like to come in," Ember said. "It's been so long since I've…"

I put a hand on her back and patted her gently before letting go. "Come on in, then," I said as I walked towards the entrance. Ember and my four guards followed me in.

The moment she entered, she seemed to take in every little detail, looking around slowly at every wall and door we passed. I couldn't very well read her placid expression, but if she was anything like me, then coming to a childhood home in this situation was bringing back good and bad memories for her. When we reached a spot in the hallway where a smaller side corridor headed down to a massive set of doors, Ember stopped and looked down at it. I paused, looking down at it with her. I'd seen it earlier, but I hadn't stopped to ask what it was. Before I could, Ember said, "That's where Dad's hoard room was."

Looking back up at the guards, I asked, "Is that where it is now?"

One of them looked back at the door, then back down at me and nodded. "Yes, Your Grace."

"After I grab Eclipse, I want to see it," I said.

The look of discomfort on their faces startled me, but one of them said, "As you command, Your Grace. Do you want me to retrieve the key?"

"Yes, go get it," I commanded.

As the guard bowed and headed down the hall, the rest of us headed back down the hall to my room. When we passed the room where Spike was, I could hear him talking about something, but the voice was too muffled for me to understand what they were saying. Finally, we reached Torch's chambers. Turning to the Dragon guard, Mica and Gemini, I said, "Stay out here."

I opened the doors, then Ember and I walked inside. Once the door was closed, I reached out and lifted Eclipse off of where it was hanging. Ember couldn't take her eyes off of it as I took it and walked towards the light of the fire. When I finally reached the fire, I grabbed at the hilt and quickly drew the blade.

The moment I did, I felt not only the emotions of Celestia and Luna, both of whom felt surprise at our mental connection, but then warmth and affection directed at me, but also the emotions of Eclipse itself. Supplication for one, then joy at finally being able to meet me. I poured out a plethora of emotions in reply, a warm affectionate greeting towards both Princesses, and to Eclipse, I expressed as best as I could how much of an honor it was to be able to meet it.

Ember stared in wide eyed astonishment at the blade I now held aloft in my hands. The hilt itself had the same look as both the Sunsword and Moonsword hilts had, only now that they'd merged, the sword looked complete. The blade itself looked a lot like Damascus Steel, only with gold and silver waves spread about evenly. From a distance, it had a white golden color to it, much like what might happen if gold and silver colors were mixed. The blade still had spikes coming out of the bottom portion of the blade, about five on each side. I'd begun noticing that there was a motif of five in Dragon designs or weapons, but I put that aside as a need to study later issue. The sword itself gleamed in the roaring firelight, and I could see how it reflected onto the walls around me. In fact, the more I held it, the more the reflections on the wall began to imitate a starry night sky. I slowly sheathed it so I wouldn't be tempted to get lost in the starry reflection. I slung it over my back and adjusted my clothes so I would look more presentable.

As if coming out of a trance, Ember, who had been doing nothing but stare at the blade ever since I drew it, blinked and shook her head. "Well, that's…I never thought I'd ever see the blade before today. And the patterns. I've never seen a sword look like that before."

"I have," I replied. "Those waves look a lot like Damascus Steel from back on Earth." I stood up straighter and continued, "Now then, I think it's time I see Torch's hoard. If that door is any indication, he was a rich little shit."

"I wouldn't know," Ember said, "he never let anydragon go in there when I lived here. Only he ever went in."

"Dragon greed at its finest, I guess," I said as I headed to the door. As I opened it, I saw the second guard just about to knock. Underneath one arm he was carrying a massive iron key. "Wow…that's the key to the hoard room?"

"It is, Your Grace," the guard said.

I turned to Ember. "Well, do you want to come and see what your dad kept hidden away from the world?"

She shrugged. "Sure, why in the hells not?"

With that, I headed back down the hall, Ember walking by my side and with my four guards flanking me. I'd only been an Emperor for a day, and I could already tell this was going to become annoying as hell. As we walked, I saw Spike's room coming up. On an impulse, I stopped in front of the door and knocked. "Spike? Everyone? It's me. Can I come in?"

I heard the sound of magic, then the door opened. Spike was sitting up on the bed, with Twilight seated next to him with a hoof around his shoulders. The others were sitting (or, in Celestia's or Luna's case, standing) around his bed facing him. Their heads swiveled to look at me. Spike's eyes widened when he saw me. "Whoa…what sword is that?"

"Eclipse," I said. I drew it again, and for the first time, I saw the reaction of both Princesses as our minds connected. Celestia barely reacted, but I saw her eyes widen nearly imperceptibly. Through the link, I could feel the same warmth directed at me. Luna, on the other hand, was less subtle about her physical reaction. Her eyes widened more than her sister's and her mouth opened slightly. Through the link, I felt a similar warmth, but somewhat restrained, like she had to maintain a distance between us. "Ember told me it's known as the Emperor's Blade."

As it had before, the entire night sky was reflected off of the sword onto the walls and ceiling. Everyone in the room looked around, gazing in awe at the reflection coming off of Eclipse. They didn't even notice when Ember walked in and stared at the blade in complete awe. Even Celestia didn't seem to be immune from looking at the blade or its reflection. Slowly, I sheathed the blade, then looked at everyone in the room. "So…I'm gonna go see Torch's hoard, then I'll be addressing the Dragons. Spike, are you feeling up for a little walk?"

"I think I am," he said.

Zecora quickly grabbed a small vial from the saddlebag at the edge of the room and gave it to Spike. "Drink this," she said, "it should give you energy enough for the rest of the day."

Spike took the vial, popped the cork and drank the light blue liquid quickly. Handing the vial back to Zecora, he slowly stood, Twilight constantly by his side as he stood. I smiled as he was now pretty much eye level with Twilight and about a foot and a half shorter than I was. Twilight let him lean on her as he got used to walking with his new height. Finally, he stood up and took a few experimental steps and was doing well until he fell while near me. I caught the young drake and steadied him. He looked up at me gratefully. "Thanks," he said, "and I think I'd like to go see his hoard. Good excuse to exercise these new legs."

"I would be careful, though," Zecora cautioned. "I'm no physician, but I think you will need to undergo some physical therapy to build up your muscle."

"I'll take him to Ponyville Hospital when we get back," Twilight said automatically.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Ember replied. "He's a Dragon, so he should be looked after by one of our Healers."

"She's right," I quickly interrupted Twilight before she could argue. "I doubt a small town Pony hospital knows how to treat a Dragon."

"We were able to treat you," Twilight argued.

"In Canterlot," I replied. "I'm guessing Canterlot doctors are more widely trained with non-Ponies."

Celestia nodded. "Although, I'm embarrassed to admit, we brought in an expert on simians, so…sorry, Jethro." She actually looked slightly embarrassed.

I waved my hand. "Eh, you work with what you got. And I mean, humans did evolve from simians, so that was probably the right call. Anyone else want to come see?"

"Oooh! I'd love to see just how many gems he had!" Rarity said excitedly. When she saw Ember, though, she stopped clapping her hooves and her ears flattened. "Oh…sorry."

"Eh, don't worry about it," Ember said. "Dad was a bastard, anyway. Besides, now that this human's the Dragon Emperor, my dad's hoard belongs to him."

"Goddamn it," I groaned. "As if being the richest person in Equestria wasn't enough…but…come on, everyone. Let's go see this hoard."

With that, we all headed out into the hall, slowly so Spike could get used to walking. Zecora was by my left and Ember my right. The others were around Spike, making sure he was okay. He did look a bit skinnier than looked healthy. I decided to ask this so-called Dragon Healer about Dragon dietary requirements later, since I suspected that Spike would need to eat meat in order to be really healthy. Like how humans were with a strictly vegetarian diet.

As we walked, Zecora pressed herself against me, looking up at me. In Farasi, she asked, "So…Dragon Emperor, eh? Should I call you Your Majesty now?" She had a teasing tone in her voice.

"Nah, just Your Grace will suffice, and God in the bedroom," I teased back as my hand surreptitiously grazed her flank.

"You naughty stallion," she said, her tail swishing and hitting my leg a few times. "But seriously, are you okay?"

"Far from it," I admitted. "There's so much going on in my head right now."

She stood on her two hind legs, leaned in and kissed my cheek, "Talk to me about it later, okay dearest?"

"Thank you…thank you love."

She smiled reassuringly. "I wouldn't be a good marefriend otherwise."

Soon to be more than that if I have anything to say about it, I thought as we finally arrived at the massive door. We were standing in front of two stone double doors, barred with a massive metal bar which itself was held in place with a large iron lock. To the right of the door, I saw a massive set of different keys on an iron ring hanging on a hook. I grabbed these keys, guessing that they were needed for some chests or something inside. I stepped aside and looked at the guard still holding the key to the door. "Unlock it."

He nodded obediently, approached, stuck the oversized key in the lock, and turned. The lock snapped open and fell to the floor, and the guard then lifted the bar, setting it aside to the left. He then grabbed both handles and pulled. With a groan and loud creak, the doors opened, rumbling as they did so, revealing nothing but darkness.

And out of the darkness, I heard the sound of whimpering.

My heart immediately dropped as I quickly walked in and held up my hand, casting the biggest Candlelight spell I could. The bright silvery light headed up…and up and up until it reached the ceiling where it illuminated everything in the room.

And what a humungous room it was. I was reminded greatly of Erebor as depicted in The Hobbit movies with the amount of gold coins, weapons, armor, gold statues and gemstones just lying around in the vast cavern the magical light illuminated.

What Erebor lacked, however, were the Dragons imprisoned in cages on a massive ledge surrounding the massive hoard. They were in a sorry state. Thin, dirty, weakly looking, hopeless expressions in their eyes, which they immediately hid from the bright light. As I listened, I realized that the few I heard whimpering and crying were all females.

Immediately, my shock turned to horror, then absolute rage as I looked at the keys in my hand. I felt sick to my stomach with unbridled rage. Whatever little regret I might have had at killing Torch was snuffed out in that moment. I clenched the keyring in my hand so hard my knuckles turned white and my fist began to shake. "Why that…that…FUCKING BASTARD!" Before anyone else could say anything, I turned to the guards. "Gather the guards and tell them to go out and get as many Dragon Healers over here as quickly as possible! Tell them their new Emperor has need of them!"

They straightened and nodded. "Yes, Your Grace!" However, only one of them flew away as the other stayed behind.

I spread my wings and flew down the massive flight of stairs towards the nearest cage. The Dragon inside had orange scales and olive-colored eyes. She backed away when she saw me, trembling despite the fact that she was taller than I was. "Y-You shouldn't be here…" she whimpered as I began going through the set of keys, trying to unlock her cage, "I-If my Lord Torch finds you-"

"Torch is dead," I snarled. "I killed him and was made the new Dragon Emperor for my troubles." Finding the right key, I unlocked the cage and flung it open. Looking up at the female Dragon, I backed away from the door slowly. "And as Dragon Emperor, I'm freeing each and every one of you from this hellhole."

She hesitantly looked at me, then up at the entrance where she saw the Ponies either flying down or running down the set of stairs. Spike was on Twilight's back despite his new height. Zecora was leading the charge down the stairs, running towards me with something in her mouth. The Dragon swallowed hard. "P-Ponies…did…did we lose the war?"

"No war has taken place yet, and there won't be one," I said. "They're also my friends and loved ones, so there's no need to be afraid." I moved onto the next cage repeating the process of looking through each key until I found one that matched the lock. I held back my nausea as I saw how these captives had been living. The smell was awful, putrid and dank. This world was definitely not the same one from the show, and every time I was reminded of that it was like a massive punch to the gut. Many of Torch's victims were terrified of me, crawling away from the entrance to their cages despite the vast majority being larger than I was. Only two had any bite to them, and they were the smallest Dragons there and were in better shape than most. Presumably they were newer arrivals.

Finally just as I had freed the last of the slaves, I heard new arrivals from upstairs. Turning, I saw a number of new Dragons flying in, being escorted by guards. I spread my wings, flew up to them and landed on the stairs right in front of them. There were at least five older Dragons there, each carrying large sacks in their claws. I turned to the guard I'd sent off and asked, "Is this all?"

"We're still searching, Your Grace," he said, "but these were the closest Healers we could find."

"Good work," I said, then turned to the five Dragons, each of whom were looking at me with surprising expectant looks in their eyes. Pointing at them with the Scepter, I said, "You five, I want you to tend to the Dragons behind me. Clean them up, get them on some better food, do what you need to do, but help heal them!"

Once more, to my surprise, they all nodded and bowed. "Yes, Your Grace," one of them, and older female Dragon with gray scales, white spines and a white set of horns. As they rose, they spread their wings and flew down to the nearest Dragons.

Turning back to the guard, I smiled at him with a proud grin. "Good work, soldier. What's your name?"

"Um…Lahar, sir," he said hesitantly.

"Lahar, eh? Strong name," I said. "I'll see to it you're greatly rewarded for today. But for now, resume the search! I want each of these Dragons to have their own personal healer before the day is done, or if you can't manage that, as many as you can find."

Lahar seemed to get some new motivation from my words and straightened, putting his fisted claw on his breastplate. "Yes, your Grace!" And with that, he turned and headed out with the other guards.

I turned back towards the hoard before me. The Mane Six, Zecora, Luna, Spike and the five Dragon Healers were busily assisting the weak and fragile Dragon females, cleaning them for the most part. But I didn't see Celestia anywhere. Not until I felt a warm presence making themselves known behind me. A pair of alabaster wings wrapped around me and I was pulled back slowly. She pushed aside the sword with her magic, then rested her chin on my head. I looked up as best I could, but I felt one foreleg wrap around my stomach. "O…kay…this is…Celestia, what are you doing? I've got to help them down there."

"I'm so sorry," was all she said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Um…sorry? Why are you sorry?"

"That your first day as an Emperor has you dealing with…this." Celestia's voice had gone to nothing more than a loud whisper now. "Nopony should have to deal with this."

I cleared my throat and tried to untangle myself from her, but she held me steadfast. I sighed and, seeing no other way out, just leaned back against her chest. "No, nobody should. But it's happening now, right in front of me. What's gotten into you?"

I felt Celestia take a deep breath, then exhale. "I've had to see my Knight go through more than anyone else has in such a short period of time. You've been in danger so many times. Can you blame me for wanting to keep you safe?"

I closed my eyes, and found myself smiling. The way she said those words, the tender care I felt from her in that moment, warmed my heart. I reached up and put my hand over her hoof. "Oh Celestia…I appreciate it. I really do. But I'm not a child."

"I know that, and that's not how I meant it," she said, and her grip on me tightened ever so slightly, "but it seems like, no matter what I do to try and keep you safe, things happen that make it harder for me to do that. And now…"

"Now that I'm the ruler of a foreign nation, you can't do anything more to protect me?" I guessed. When I felt her nod, I squeezed her hoof in my hand. "Celestia, you're my friend and I care for you, but you do tend to be a bit overprotective at times." As I slowly pulled away from her, I turned and saw her worried expression. I took both her hooves in my hands and said, "Don't worry about me so much. I'm a grown man. I can look after myself."

Her smile returned and she leaned down to nuzzle me. "Thank you, Jethro. And sorry for being overprotective."

"It just goes to show that you care," I said as I put a hand on her cheek. I slowly broke away from her, then turned back to the hoard. "Now, then, time to get back to work."

I spread my wings, as did Celestia, and we flew back down to the others…