//------------------------------// // Rematch and Revenge // Story: Who's the Toughest Dragon? // by StarkyShy //------------------------------// For the next couple of weeks, the “training sessions” continued. Smolder would go into Gallus and Sandbar’s room and allow the gryphon to gently tickle her feet with his talons and drive her crazy by complimenting her soft soles and wiggling toes. All in the name of gaining resistance, of course. The little kisses on her feet were also essential to building her endurance. Smolder challenged Ember to a rematch for the title of “Toughest Dragon”, with the same challenge as before. Despite not wanting to go through that ticklish hell again, Ember’s dragon pride meant that she couldn’t decline the challenge. In the library, Starlight assisted with the same process as last time. The spell was cast to put the dragons back in the wall with their feet exposed. Even though she dreaded the upcoming tickling, the feeling of her body back in the pocket dimension still felt soothing to Ember. As the chains pulled back their middle toes, the plaques transformed again, still labeling the dragon above it. The middle plaque now read “Who is the toughest dragon? (Rematch)” “Ooooh! That’s so cool!” “You said that last time.” “Yeah, because it’s still cool!” Gallus and Silverstream sat down in front of Smolder and Ember’s feet respectively. “Same rules as last time, if the tickling’s too much for you, just admit that the other dragon is tougher.”  “Let’s do it! No way I’m losing twice!” Smolder said, confident that she’s built up a fair amount of resistance. Ember scoffed as she tried to put on a cocky grin. “I didn’t give up last time, I’m not gonna give up this time!” “I can’t wait to get started!” Silverstream grinned, already wiggling her fingers menacingly. Gallus put his bag between him and Silverstream. Now that he knew the secret to making a dragon beg for mercy, he was better prepared for the rematch. He opened up the bag, pulling out some paintbrushes and makeup brushes to hand to Silverstream. “Hey wait, those are Professor Rarity’s! How did you even-” “That’s the LEAST of your concerns right now…” Gallus grinned. Silverstream looked at the brushes with glee. She ran her hand across the bristles of the paintbrush, getting a feel for it before sliding it down Ember’s sole. A sense of impending dread struck Ember as she saw Silverstream’s sadistic grin while she approached with the brush. The regret of agreeing to a rematch was almost immediate as the bristles made contact. “No...Nononono...NOOOAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!” Ember’s reaction made Silverstream start squealing in delight. “Oh my gosh, this is gonna be sooooo fun!” Seeing the softer brushes made Smolder instinctively curl up her toes. During their training, Gallus only tickled her with his claws, wings, and occasionally his beak. Not once did he break out any sort of tool. She wanted to call him out, but revealing to Ember that she was secretly training for a rematch might not be the best idea. “W-Wait! Gallus, g-go easy on meeheeheehee!” “Psssh, heck no!” Gallus scoffed, nuzzling up to her sole, giving her a knowing smug grin. “I play to win.” Silverstream did wide brush strokes all over Ember’s feet. “Ooh I wish we had some paint, I’d be painting happy faces aaaallll over your cute toes!” she giggled, pretending to paint a masterpiece on her big blue soles. “STAHAHAHAP! THEY’RE NOT CUHUHUHUTE!” Ember started blushing once again, her toes twitched with each swipe across them. “Awww, yes they are! They’re the cutest dwagon toes I’ve ever seeeen!” Silverstream cooed, drawing big circles on her toes. Ember’s feet started thrashing around, making the paintbrush tickle even more. “EEEEAAAHAHAHAAA! GET OHOHOHOFF!” With Smolder’s left foot, Gallus went up and down her arch with the paintbrush. The makeup brush pressed and powdered the ball of her right foot. Smolder gasped and squealed. No matter how much she could feel her legs kicking, her feet stayed in the same place. “AAAHAHA! GALLUS NOOOOOHOHO! M-MERCIIEHEEHEEHEE!” “Such soft bristles against even softer soles,” Gallus teased, having the makeup brush tease her toes just for a split second. “Just the way I like it.” After making a few more invisible drawings on Ember’s feet, Silverstream decided to see how she’d react to the makeup brush. She pressed it against the center of her foot and made little wiggling motions against her sole. “BWAHAHAHAHA NAHAHAHAT THAHAHAHAHAAAT! WHYHYHYHY?!” Ember’s eyes widened as she exploded with laughter. The soft bristles made her squeal harder than any hairbrush or scrubbing brush could. Gallus decides to up the teasy tickle talk to get underneath Smolder’s scales. He got up closer, speaking in a hushed voice. “I bet these brushes tickle like crazy, huh, Smolder? All those bristles going up and down your feet…” Smolder cheeks started to burn red, the gentle way Gallus was speaking gave her the chills. “EEEEEEEHEEHEE! HAHAHAHA NONONOHOHOHOHO!” “Yeah, that’s right, gimmie more of that adorable laugh of yours!” With one type of each brush in hand, Silverstream got up in Ember’s face. “Sooo Ember, since we know these brushes tickle like crazy, which one of them tickles more, paintbrush or makeup brush?” She started with her toes, making the soft bristles glide all over, under, and in between. “GYAAAHAHAHA! THAT ONE! THE MAKEUP BRUSH TIHIHIHAHAHAHAAA!” Each little stroke from the makeup brush made Ember’s foot tremble, violently rattling the chain around her toe. Silverstream tossed the paintbrush over her shoulder, grabbing another makeup brush from the bag. “Perfect!” She pressed both brushes against her arches just to hear Ember scream some more. Gallus alternated between stroking up and down Smolder’s arches with the brush, and peppering Smolder’s toes with kisses. Once he pulled back from the kiss, he wiggled the brush, then leaned back in to kiss another toe. With each gentle peck on her toes, Smolder jolted with a squeak. “AAAACK! NAHAHAHAT AGAIIIIN! GAHAHAHALLUS PLEHEHEHEASE!” The brushes kept her laughing, but the kisses were what made her feel tingly all over. Silverstream went wild with the makeup brushes, her hands moved in whatever direction they felt like. The softness of the bristles meant that she could go as fast as she liked and still be gentle. “Hey Ember, can we do this again sometime? Hearing you laugh is like the best thing ever!” Ember’s laughter reached a brand-new high. As the brushes stroked against her soles, she threw her head back and squealed. Her feet temporarily froze up in shock, unable to even try to move away from Silverstream’s evil brushes. The shock eventually wore off, and her feet started thrashing around again, much to the delight of Silverstream. The makeup brushes danced all over Ember’s feet, dusting every inch of her blushing soles. All the while, Silverstream continued to gush over her. “Awww! Lookit how much your toes are wiggling! And the toughest dragon ever’s got such an adorable laugh! Tickle tickle tickle! Oooh, I’m gonna loooove playing with your feet all day long!” Tears flowed down Ember’s cheeks, Silverstream’s verbal teasing and the soft makeup brushes made her entire body shiver. Each little stroke against her soles became too much to handle. “GAAAAAHAHAHAA! SMOLDER’S TOUGHER! SHE CAN BE TOUGHEST DRAGON! JUST NOHOHOHO MOHOHOHOHOHORE!” Silverstream pumped her fists in the air. “WOOHOO! That’s victory, baby!” “Well well,” Gallus smirked at Smolder. “Now you’re the toughest dragon around,” he said with a wink. Smolder was still giggly and lightheaded, but she sighed in relief. “Whew…Can’t believe...I did it…!” Ember growled to herself as Silverstream went off to fetch Starlight. “Gah, stupid tickling…” Before Starlight could cast the spell to release them, Smolder spoke up. “Wait! Since I won...could you only let just me out?” Ember froze up in shock. “What?! Are you kidding me?” “I mean, I gotta get my reward, don’t I?” With a reluctant shrug, Starlight only released Smolder, who grinned with delight as she approached Ember. ”Hah, so this is what it looks like on the other side…” she grinned, wiggling her claws. “W-wait! Smolder, this isn’t funny!” Ember started to panic, her toes curling up in defense. “You’re gonna get it once I get out of this! D-Don’t you DARE tickle my feet!” “Well, as the newly-titled toughest dragon, I think we need to help toughen you up!” Smolder let out an evil cackle as her fingers skittered across her feet. “Eeeheeheehee! Nohohoho nahahat agaiiiin!” Ember’s squealing started all over again, though the humiliation was far greater. Smolder’s fingers slid up and down her soles. Making her dragon lord squeal felt so satisfying. “Oh, this is fun! Not so tough now, are you, Ember?” “Quit ihihihit! I...I ohohohorder you to stahahahahap!” Ember tried to look stern and commanding, but Smolder’s constantly skittering fingers made it impossible. “C’mon guys, join in!” Smolder motioned Gallus and Silverstream tfo gather around Ember’s feet. Gallus and Silverstream were more than happy to help out. The two got on opposite sides of Smolder with wide grins on their faces, and together, the trio struck. Three different pairs of hands wiggling and scritching all over Ember’s feet, occasionally shoving each other just to tickle a certain spot. Ember was left screaming. Her head and feet thrashed around as much as they could, but no matter how hard she struggled, those six hands were always on her feet, tickling every bit of her soles and toes, even the tops of her feet weren’t safe. Silverstream squealed with delight. “Coochie coochie coo! You’re such a ticklish dwaggy! Yes you are!” “Wow, these feet are soft too! Might even be softer than yours, Smolder!” Gallus joked, lightly ribbing Smolder with his elbows. “C’mon, Ember! This is gonna help you get tougher!” Smolder said with a sinister chuckle, focusing her gentle tickles on her heels. “GYAAAHAHA! NOMORENOMORENOMOHOHOHORE! TOOHOOHOO MUHUHUHCH!” Ember felt completely overwhelmed by the triple tickle attack. The teasy talk made Ember feel tingly all over, and it made all the little strokes against her feet feel extra tickly.  “Aww, look at how hard she’s blushing!” Silverstream giggled, pointing at the growing pink spots on Ember’s cheeks. “She must really like this!”” “NOHOHOHO! I DOHOHOHON’T!” Ember’s entire body tensed up at the accusation, the blood rushed to her cheeks faster. Gallus started peppering the makeup brushes against her arches. “You sure? I don’t think you’d be blushing that hard if you didn’t like it.” “Yeah, we won’t tell anyone, promise!” Smolder grabbed one of Gallus’s feathers, sliding it between Ember’s toes. “BWAAAAAAHAAHAHA ALRIIIGHT! I-! I KINDAHAHAHA LIKE IT OKAY!? I LIHIHIHIKE THE TIHIHIHIHICKLING!” Ember felt weird saying it out loud, but all the attention at her feet quickly washed that unease away. Silverstream turned to brush her wing down her sole. “Yay! Does that mean we can tickle you more once we get you out?” “AIIIEEEHEEHAHAHAHA!” As Smolder played with Ember’s toes, she leaned over to Gallus, whispering to him. “Uh...hey Gallus?” “Mmhm?” “Since I won this time, Ember miiiight wanna go best two out of three later…So...” Gallus stifled a chuckle. “Lemmie guess, you wanna do more ‘training’ to prepare?” With a wide grin on her face, Smolder eagerly nodded. “Yeah! Y-You know, just in case...”