Chapter 16: Confronting old Wounds
Prior Note: As per the advice of one of my editors (Moon Leaves for Green Fire and Golden Flames) I’ve ‘tried’ to cut down on the flowery of my descriptions, just so the core isn’t lost amongst a bunch of unnecessary words.
Thanks goes to TheSecretBrony for editing, and everyone else who offered. Cheers!
Chapter 16: Confronting old Wounds
“You know, I seem to recall you saying that they’d be curious.” Cynder deadpanned, shifting her gaze between her mate and the class of statue-like, seemingly terrified colts and fillies before them.
All Spyro could do was groan and roll his eyes in reply to the statement, the purple dragon silently trying his best not to face-claw at her sarcasm. If Cynder had been born a pony of Equestria, then he knew exactly what her special talent would’ve been.
“And whose fault is that exactly?” He pondered rhetorically. “Ugh! Good or bad, you always did know how to make an impression, Cynder.”
The phrases ‘In over his head’ and ‘bitten off more than he could chew’ were presently coming to mind for Spyro, along with a hefty side-helping of rapidly growing uncertainty, just to make matters worse.
Sure, he’d done things no other dragon alive could even hope to do in the past; he’d been taught and mastered four different elements, defeated Cynder when she’d been corrupted, met and befriended the Chronicler, survived both being trapped in crystal for three years as well as a war, defeated the only other purple dragon in existence, and then virtually put his world back together after it had broken apart… to name a select few.
But convincing a room full of young ponies that he and Cynder weren’t going to eat them, what with Cynder having already lost her temper in the worst possible way, and after they’d all no doubt grown up with the idea that most dragons were nothing but beasts who made a habit of ‘gobbling you up’… yes, this was going to be a challenge, to say the absolute least.
“At least it’s a not an entirely hostile crowd,” He mentally chuckled, looking over at a certain set of still smiling filly faces. Three fillies wasn’t much to have on side, but it was something at least, and it did give him a little confidence that he wasn’t fighting for a totally lost cause. “Well, this’ll certainly be interesting.”
In silence, the dragon took the remaining moment he had to look over each member of the class individually, silently trying to gauge the rough chances of them attempting to bolt for the nearest window when he opened his mouth, presumably yelling and screaming their lungs out.
Spyro took a few small steps backwards in response, widening the gap between him and doorway, and thus from the path of any potential stampede.
He sighed once again before starting. “Alright, before we go any further, I’d like to make it perfectly clear to every… pony here, that this isn’t some kind of punishment from Cheerilee.” He began gently, noticing that there were a few, albeit nervous, sighs of relief from a few spots around the room. “Good. Now, for those of you who haven’t met or heard of us before, which I’m guessing is most of you, I’m Spyro, and this is Cynder and Sparx. As is pretty obvious, yes, we’re dragons and dragonfly respectively, and we’ve been invited by your teacher to come and talk to you all… so, uh, any questions so far?”
Well… that hadn’t been so hard.
Somewhat to his surprise, a sandy coloured hoof quickly went up from the back row. “Yes Applebloom?”
“How come Ember ain’t here with the three of ya?” She asked, head tilted with her oversized red bow following suite. Spyro couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight, and Cynder seemed to find it amusing as well.
“She’s spending the day helping Twilight and Spike clean up after last night,” he answered, a slight grin still across his scaled maw. “And between you and me, I don’t think she’d be willing to go anywhere without him anyway.”
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle proceeded to burst into their own little round of sniggers and giggles. Scootaloo, on the other claw, voiced her thoughts by sticking her tongue forward and making a gagging sound. The rest of the pony class just looked between the two dragons and each other, obviously confusion at exactly who this ‘Ember’ was.
“Ember’s another dragon who’s in Ponyville with us,” Cynder explained to the rest of class, flexing her tail before sitting back on her hind legs. “You’ll all probably see her around town eventually, heh, she’s kind of hard to miss. Just a forewarning though, she can be annoying as anything at times; I’d avoid her where possible.”
Spyro gave her an unimpressed look, to which Cynder just smirked in reply.
He just groaned and shook his head; at least she was being social. “Moving on; who was next?”
Once again, and before anyone else even had a chance she was that fast, another one of the three crusader’s hoofs went up.
“Can you show us you’re fighting attacks?” Scootaloo asked, what was very near a maniacal grin on her face. “I really want to see those again! Especially that shadow-claw move you did last night, Cynder; that was awesome!”
Once again, Spyro couldn’t help but chuckle in amusement; was this filly somehow related to Rainbow Dash?
The dark dragoness smiled but shook her head. “Hehe, sorry Scoots, but I’d rather not have your teacher remove my tail and nail it over her desk. Some other time, when we’re somewhere outside maybe.”
“You? Being responsible? Who are you, and what have you done with Cynder?” Spyro teased as Scootaloo huffed in apparent disappointment; Cynder just stuck her tongue out at him this time.
“I’m not completely reckless.” She said indignantly, her tail flicking and snout in the air as a show of mock insult.
Spyro sniggered and looked away. “Of course you’re not. Anyway, who was next?”
There were a few moments of silence after she’d finished, accompanied by a slightly uncomforting lack of movement from the class, the words hanging in the air as both he and Cynder just stood and waited. The dragon half expected Sweetie Belle to ask a question, but her hoof seemed content to remain firmly on her desk.
Eventually, a lone hoof, belonging to a charcoal maned, grey pegasus colt, shakily rose from the middle of the room.
“Yes… um?”
“R-Rumble,” the small pegasus squeaked out, shrinking in his seat when his classmate’s attention, as well as that of both dragons, settled on him. “C-can I just ask what you’re doing here?”
“Two words, kid; your teacher.” Sparx yawned from atop Spyro’s horn, a few ponies jolting upright as his input.
Spyro just rolled his eyes at the dragonfly’s snark. “Sure. Well, it was Cheerilee’s idea to be honest. See, since you ponies don’t know a lot about dragons, and we don’t know a lot about you ponies, your teacher thought that it would be a good idea for you to learn about dragons through us, and vice-versa.”
“That’s his side of the story, anyway,” Cynder added with a chuckle of her own. “I came partly to have a little talk with Diamond Tiara… well, I had intended to, and partly because I promised my three ever persistent shadows that I’d be here.”
The last few words also came out with a sort of amused snort, prompting the three fillies in question to giggle quietly behind their respective hooves; the rest of the class, bar a now somewhat nervous looking Silver Spoon, just exchanged confused looks yet again.
Rumble, however, just shook his head at the responses. “T-that’s good… but what are you doing here in Ponyville?” the quivering pony asked. “My brother said you got into a fight with the royal guard.”
As unfortunate as it was, that particular question, and the statement made thereafter, managed to get everypony’s sole and undivided attention in an instant… and if their suddenly paling expressions and murmurings were anything to go by, not in a good way either.
The fragile calm in the room held firm for a moment, and seemed to have a slim chance of lasting, before being shattered like an emerald caught in an adult dragon’s jaws.
In short, Rumble quickly set off what could be best described as a verbal landslide.
As if triggered by the nature of Rumble’s innocent enough question, and united all at once by both their primeval and socially ingrained fears of dragons, nearly every colt and filly in the room descended into a state of panic, their voices only gaining volume with each passing second. Each proceeded to frantically start throwing various theories and accusations to their neighbours, most centred on how the two dragons would somehow bring about Ponyville’s demise and ruin.
What was more, and as young minds had a habit of doing, each fearful idea they came up with seemed to be even less logical than the last one; everything ranging from ‘forefront for a dragon invasion’ to ‘spies hired by the FlimFlam brothers’… whoever they were, and even things like ‘evil minions working for Discord’ were being thrown around the room.
He mightn’t have known her particularly well, but Spyro would’ve confidently bet his horns that even Pinkie Pie would’ve been face-hoofing at some of them. These ponies were worse than Volteer.
“Just when you think things are under control, huh?” Spyro groaned with a shake of his head… only to receive no reply. “Cynder?”
Turning his head, the purple dragon half expected to see his mate rubbing her head in frustration, or perhaps baring her fangs in a state of annoyance; what he saw was far worse.
Cynder was basically trembling on the spot, her crimson wings twitching, nostrils flaring, tail stiff as a tree root, and jaw locked tight in a agitated snarl, resulting in her upper ivory fangs jutting down from all to see.
Her green eyes, however, were misty with unformed tears.
If he was asked, Spyro would’ve honestly said that Cynder was perhaps the stubbornest, most hard-headed dragon he’d ever met and ever would meet, but these were also the traits he loved her so dearly for. It was because of her never-give-up attitude, and her ability to disregard what she was told, or what trouble might await them, that they’d managed to defeat Malefor and save their world in the first place.
If she had a weakness, if she was afraid, or if she knew that the odds were stacked against them, she made every effort to never let it show. Instead, Cynder had always chosen to wear a stern, prideful, and brave expression wherever they journeyed, no matter what challenges came before the two of them.
But that didn’t mean that Cynder didn’t have a vulnerable side. A side that displayed the fear, sadness, hurt, and regret that she always carried with her for all the world to see when it showed itself. It was a side he’d seen only a few, rare times in their many travels and journeys together, but all those times’ shared one common theme in particular.
It was when mistrust was being directed at her, just as it was now.
It mightn’t have been her past actions under Malefor being called into question, as was the usual spark to the fire… but mistrust was still mistrust all the same, and the same pain that came with it was still there in her shimmering green eyes, as clear and obvious as daylight. One way or another, with each word the colts and fillies said, another thorn was being unintentionally driven between Cynder’s scales.
Before he could do or say anything to reassure her, however, a voice rose above the others, and it was at that point that Cynder appeared to finally snap.
“Y-you’re not going to take our things… are you?” a cyan coated filly with a gold mane spoke up, speaking as she pulled the various pencils and odds on her desk a little closer.
“Ugh! Glimmer!” Sweetie Belle started.
“What?! Why would we want to do something like that?!”
Spyro couldn’t help but cringe, and silently grind his teeth, at the pure amount of anger and venom that Cynder’s snarled words carried with them, the accompanying scratching sound revealing that the fuming dragoness had just gone and clawed notches into the classroom floor.
The young ponies in the room reacted about as well as anyone could’ve been expected to, in the event of finding themselves being snarled at by an angry dragon. Whether it was out of fear of Cynder, fear of dragons, or just fear of loud noises in general was up for debate, but they were definitely afraid either way.
Within the span of a moment the entire class had fallen into absolute silence. Each pony now looked just as terrified as the pony next to them, with their ears back, heads lowered, and front hooves pulled protectively against their chests as Cynder’s eyes burned into them.
In other words, thanks to Cynder’s spat, most of them once again looked ready to try and flee the room at a moment’s notice.
“But… this might be the chance I need to get through to her.”
“Nice going venom breath, as usual,” Sparx muttered.
“Sparx, now really isn’t the time,” Spyro growled, turning around to face a now fang-baring Cynder.
With the combination of flaring nostrils and twitching wings, he couldn’t honestly tell if she was more angered or distressed at the abrupt and unsavoury turn of events. And things seemed to have had been going so well.
If there was one emotion that was definite and obvious, it was how disheartened Cynder looked. He didn’t need to ask her about that particular feeling, he’d seen her in such a state more times than he’d like to remember; it was the first look that crossed her face when her past became the centre of a standoff, with what she’d done under Malefor being brutally used against her.
“I just hope this works,” He thought, allowing a scowl to cross his face. “Now, that didn’t go down so well, did it?”
The glare she gave him could’ve made Terrador tremble. “Don’t you even think about going there.” She hissed indignantly, but a wavering crack still carried through in her voice.
Just like all the other times.
“Oh, I am,” Was his equally growled reply. “Cynder, I’m not going to be nice and ask if you’re alright this time. You’ve just gone and made an entire class of colts and fillies even more terrified of you then they were to begin with. Now everyone here sees you just like they do back in Avalar.”
He was sure a colt or two murmured the word ‘Avalar’ in a questioning tone, but given the nature of the situation, they kept their curiosity as quiet as possible.
The words themselves made his stomach churn as they came out, but it was the look of pure, emotional agony that crossed Cynder’s face that truly brought the taste of bile to Spyro’s tongue. It was only then made worse when the dragoness turned away from him in shame, her already bared fangs now clenched and grinding in ever growing frustration at the hole she’d dug herself into.
Despite how painful the fact was, they both knew what he’d said was true.
But, as Spyro had learned through his own experiences, namely the loss of the dragon he’d once called his father-figure, the nature of some wounds meant they had to be reopened in order to heal properly.
Something he’d been ignoring with Cynder for far, far too long.
“But this is why I agreed to all of this in the first place,” He continued after a moment, giving her a gentle nuzzle along the cheek. “Now I want you to listen to me. Remember how Chief Prowlus acted when we first met him?”
Cynder growled at the cheetah’s name, the sound causing the otherwise perfectly silent class of ponies to flinch. “How could I forget? He did chain us both to a pole.” she seethed.
“Well then, if you do, you’ll also remember how he didn’t trust you because of what you’d done in the past when we first met, and also how that all changed when we rescued Meadow for him.”
Cynder just snorted at first. Though, after a long moment spent in silence, and as the words seemed to at last sink in for the dragoness, she eventually turned back and faced him.
She was obviously still stuck somewhere between being frustrated and annoyed, her pained expression made that more than clear, but it did seem that some small part of her anger had died away.
“What are you trying to get at?” She asked, the dragoness keeping her voice tight and controlled.
Spyro sighed and went on. “I want you to take a look at how you’re acting right now, and how you’ve acted in every situation like this we’ve ever faced. Notice something similar? Like how you keep letting yourself get wound up like this because of what someone says?”
“Can you really blame me?” Cynder snapped a claw’s width from his face, puffs of black smoke drifting from her flaring nostrils; the class flinched again. “How do you think it makes me feel, huh? Being seen as… as something I’m not anymore.”
“You do realize that there isn’t a pony in this room who knows about that, right?”
Once again, Spyro ignored his brother. “You can’t expect time to do all the healing for you, Cynder, or expect that everyone’s thoughts on you will just change over time. You have to do something about these things as well. Chief Prowlus’s opinion of you only changed because you showed him who you really were, remember?”
“What? That I was capable of dealing with a few pests?”
“No. You showed him that you weren’t the dragon he thought you were, who everyone thought you were… and right now that’s exactly what you need to show these ponies.”
A violet eyebrow arched in mild confusion.
“That you’re not something out of their nightmares!” Spyro grumbled, the dragon now very close to face-clawing. “Cynder, these ponies are just like Chief Prowlus was; the only reason they don’t trust you is because you haven’t given them a reason too yet.”
Cynder let another growl escape her throat at her mate’s mild insult, but her eyes couldn’t help but direct themselves to the class at his words, all of whom were looking about as unsure as she felt… but not particularly frightened per say anymore. Just as Spyro had said they were.
All except for a certain three fillies. All of whom, despite how she’d reacted to their classmates thus far, were still giving her their best smiles of support.
She couldn’t help but find their unwavering faith in her both unusual and surprising, to say the least; after all, all she’d gone and done was put Diamond Tiara in her place when the chance arose, and then offered the three of them a little kindness afterwards.
Was that really all it had taken?
“Cynder, this is the entire reason I agreed to Cheerilee’s offer; I wanted you to learn how to open up to others,” Spyro went on, his voice calm once more. “I know this isn’t easy, especially not after all we’ve been put through, what you’ve been put through… but you need to learn to let your guard down and reach out to them.”
Gazing over those smiling faces, and with Spyro’s words still ringing in her ears, some long solid wall seemed to buckle, crack, and begin to collapse in Cynder’s mind, the emotions and feelings they’d held freeing themselves in a rush.
She hated what Spyro was saying, almost loathed it even… but his words did carry an unquestionable truth.
Ever since the day she’d at last been freed from Malefor’s dark taint, she’d allowed what he had forced her to do whilst under his control, and what others thought and said about those actions, to hurt her without even trying to fight back. The mistrust, the cold remarks about her past, all of it… and she’d stood there and took it as it was flung in her face, time and time again.
It was undeniable that over time she’d gone and allowed those wounds to fester, corrupting and controlling her in just the same was as Malefor had, and denying her the chance to know feelings like compassion and friendship. The likes of which the three smiling fillies had gifted her with without any hesitation.
Cynder’s lips parted into a snarl as something like rage began to rise inside her, the pieces at last falling to place. For what felt like forever she’d been letting every word said about what she’d done drive her further and further into a state of solitude and insecurity, forcing her into curling up into a tighter and tighter ball.
And frankly, she was over it.
Somewhere deep in her mind, a long dormant, barely hot ember flickered to life as a small tongue of flame, then rapidly grew a roaring fire, and finally erupted into an absolute inferno.
“Spyro’s right. Shining Armor was right. I’ve been living with this all way, way too long,” She hissed, the words filling every fibre of her being. “I’m not going to let that… that monster rule my life anymore!”
She allowed the words to sink in as she thought them, burning up all the doubt that had swelled to the surface, and leaving in its wake only feelings of confidence and certainty. If she could survive being corrupted by Malefor twice, she could do this.
“All I need to do is show them who I really am.”
With those words now firmly in mind, and her will set like hardened mortar, Cynder turned back to the cyan and gold filly.
The pony, apparently named Glimmer, shrunk a little under her gaze… but her ears and eyes still betrayed a slight sense of curiosity through her fear; she’d no doubt heard most, if not all, of what was said between the two dragons, although how she would react was anyone’s guess.
“I’m… I’m sorry I acted how I did,” the violet dragoness offered gently, lowering her head they were eye to eye, and only a claw’s width apart. “You were only being cautious, and I let myself get wound up when I shouldn’t have, so it was wrong of me to snap at you like that.”
A long moment past as both the dragoness and the class held their breaths, before, to Cynder’s silent joy and relief, the filly nodded, and offered something of a small smile in return. To anyone else it would’ve seemed like only a small action, a simple sign of acknowledgment perhaps; but to Cynder, it felt like she’d just been given something that she’d been longing for her entire life.
Acceptance.
At the back of her mind, she could almost imagine Malefor thrashing and roaring in absolute rage at her small victory, and it was like music to her ears.
“I’m sorry too, I… I shouldn’t have been said a mean thing like that,” She smiled. “But… um, what did Spyro mean when he was talking about all the other times? Were you being bullied for something you did?”
A momentary, low growl rippled from Cynder’s throat as her eyes found the wooden floor. “That’s… a long story that I’d much rather keep to myself. I’ll be honest with you and say yes, for a very long time I’ve been… bullied… for something I did, something that I had no control over,” her green eyes closed as she let out a shaky breath. “But I’m done with all that now. I’m not going to let what others think or say about it hurt me anymore. I’m… I’m better than that now, and I’ll keeping doing all that I can to make amends for what I did, so everyone knows that.”
It wasn’t a very significant action, but like Glimmer’s smile, what happened next would stay with Cynder for a very, very long time.
At first she felt something soft and furry wrap itself around her right foreleg, and upon opening her eyes found that the gold and cyan filly had not only abandoned her seat, but happily embraced the dragoness as best she could. The size difference did make it a little unconventional, but with Glimmer’s cyan face smiling up at her, the message of affection and caring was by no means lost on Cynder.
Sweetie Belle was the next to join in, followed shortly after by Scootaloo and Applebloom, the three fillies walking up and embracing their scaly friend around her sides and middle, actions in silent demonstration of their own reassurance and care. She’d been there for Sweetie Belle, and for them all through Diamond Tiara’s extension, and thus they appeared more than willing to return the favour.
Before she knew it, more and more colts and fillies were joining the group hug until none remained left out, even Silver Spoon and Rumble hesitantly joined in after a few moments. All of them seeming to have heard the dragoness’s plight, and in turn, after seeing perhaps that their fears were unfounded, and learning what Cynder was truly like underneath her exterior, had decided to offer their own support in the best way they could.
Soon, Cynder stood with a mass of young ponies surrounding her, sharing their affectionate embrace, and silently wondering why she’d not learnt her lesson sooner.
Spyro just smiled as he watched the scene unfold. “Heh, now that went a whole lot better than I expected it would.”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
“You know, I absolutely love Sugarcube Corner food and all, but I’ll never get used to how this place looks,” Spike said with an amused snigger, the doors to the giant, mock-gingerbread confectionary now coming into view.
Ember just giggled and rolled her blue eyes. “Says the dragon who lives in a tree,” She replied happily, offering him a quick but affectionate nuzzle. “But I know what you mean. I’m pretty sure you couldn’t build something like this in Dragon Village, it’d barely be there five minutes before someone would try and eat it.”
The two dragons shared a laugh, much to the curiosity of a few of passing ponies.
The town of Ponyville was presently described best as being its usual, quiet Thursday midday self, with many of the town’s residents able to be found at their respective places of work, and thus only a select few could be seen out and about.
Business was likewise subdued under the late morning sun. The flower triplets went about delicately arranging their bouquets as the occasional buyer walked past, Applejack and Carrot Top casually battled it out for fresh produce sales with the few browsing customers, and Bon Bon and Lyra were to be found chatting away on a shaded bench, with Bon Bon’s sweet stand located a few meters away should a customer need her.
Spike sighed happily all the same; after a night spent primarily partying, fighting, and then cleaning up, a quiet walk through Ponyville, with Ember at his side no less, was so far proving to be a dream come true…
“Oh! Why hello there Spikey-Wikey!”
… Which had just become a nightmare.
Sharply turning his head at the call of his name, Spike’s eyes were met by the sight of a smiling Rarity gracefully trotting towards them from the down the street, and a second later he inhaled sharply.
Her elegant indigo mane was bouncing up and down with each refined step she took, while her equally beautiful white coat glistened like polished marble in the sunlight, both betraying the mare’s constant lust for perfection in her looks that he knew she had. To say she was gorgeous would’ve been an understatement worthy of a dozen face-hoofs, perhaps more.
Any stallion, no matter if they previously met Rarity or not, and single or not, probably would’ve been trying to pick up their jaws as she walked by.
For Spike though, the sudden appearance of the alabaster unicorn brought only one string of words to mind
“Ugh! Really? You’re out and about now of all times?”
As his brain finally broke from its prior Ember-bliss though, Spike couldn’t help but blink and furrow his brows at the thought. Hearing that very same voice or seeing that very same mare, a mere few days earlier, would’ve seen his pupils become love hearts… and yet now instead it was just causing an uneasy feeling to blossom in his stomach, and prompting his brain to spout sour words for no reason.
Besides, she was still his friend, and a very good one at that; thinking something like that had been both blatantly uncalled for and unkind.
Shaking his head, he smiled and waved as she came over. “Good morning Rarity, are you going out to lunch?”
The white mare giggled and shook her head. “Morning to you too Spike, and no, just a bit of shopping today,” she replied, nodding to the empty saddlebags hanging at her sides. “I fear our last dress line used up more of my materials than I’d first thought.”
Spike recoiled a little. “Our line?”
“But of course! Why, with the amount of time you sacrificed helping me, it’d be utterly wrong of me to claim all the credit for their success…”
The drake nodded in some matter of understanding, although a slight sense of confusion still remained; he’d helped Rarity out on a number of dress lines in his quest to woo her, and had done everything from act as a living pincushion to lead a crusade against a pack of diamond dogs… and yet it was only now that she chose to acknowledge his efforts?
“…but I digress. Ehem, so tell me then, what brings you and Ember out at this time of day?”
“The library was a bit short on food, so Spike decided to buy lunch for us,” Ember answered happily, the pink dragoness gifting Spike with another fond nuzzle on the neck.
Perhaps it was all in his head, but Spike could’ve sworn Rarity’s joyous expression gave way to a tiny, split second scowl as Ember’s snout touched his scales, before her smile seemed to widen… no, that was a silly thing to think.
“Oh Spike! That sounds delightful!” Rarity smiled, reaching forward and pinching one of his purple scaled cheeks. “My Spikey-Wikey; ever the lady’s gentledrake, as always.”
Well… that was still the same.
As if the sudden invasion of his personal space wasn’t enough, Ember snorted in an apparent effort to control herself, before bursting into a full blown round of laughter at his expense, prompting Spike’s already stretched and sore cheeks to flame crimson.
Thankfully though, Rarity did let go after only a moment. “Hmhm, you truly are adorable when you’re embarrassed Spike,” She smirked, a hoof politely over her own muzzle as she giggled. “I’ll tell you what, how about you go and grab you and Ember a bite, and we girls can finish our chat from last night… my sincerest apologies for ‘fleeing the stage’, as it were, Ember, but I try to avoid being anywhere near fights where possible.”
“Sure!” the pink dragoness smiled, before noticing Spike’s sudden change to a slightly apprehensive expression. “I’ll be fine Spike, promise. I’m a big girl.”
She couldn’t help but snigger as he exhaled and rolled his eyes, the purple and green drake giving her a somewhat amused look, before turning and departing for Sugarcube Corner’s doorway, Ember’s eyes following him until he disappeared inside the establishment.
Leaving her and Rarity alone in his wake.
“He truly is something else, isn’t he?” Rarity asked with what was best described as a refined chuckle, her voice snapping Ember out of her prior stupor.
The dragoness simply nodded, her sapphire eyes still lingering on the bakery’s doorway. “Yeah; he’s a lot nicer than most of the males our age are… and I guess I have ponies like you and Twilight to thank for that.”
“We all try darling, but its Twilight far more than the rest of us that you should be thanking,” the mare replied. “Tell me though, if I may pry a little, what exactly are your intentions with him?”
Ember blinked and broke her stare. “Intentions?”
“In other words, where do you see yourself going with him? Do you intend to try and convince him to go back to your world with you? Do want to leave your family and stay here with him? That sort of thing.”
The question caught Ember off guard. Not because it was a rude question, but just because she would’ve expected a question like that to come from someone akin to her mother.
“Then again, these ponies are who Spike calls family.”
She put a pink claw to her chin. “I know we’re only young right now… but I like to think that I can see a future of some kind with Spike, so I’ll do everything I can to stay with him,” the dragoness replied, her mind trying to correlate her thoughts into words. “It’s kind of funny really, for a long time I had a huge crush on another dragon, and I’d go on and on about how we’d get married when we were older… but thinking about it now, I think back then I was just in love with the idea of having a mate, not who my mate was.”
“And you’re sure you love Spike?”
“I’ll be honest and say that I’m still not entirely sure. I know for sure that he’s virtually one of a kind, a gentle, caring male who’d always want me to be happy, and who’d do anything for his family… he’s the kind of male dragonesses like me dream about, but that doesn’t necessarily make him ‘the one’ for me. I really, really like and care about him, of that I’m certain… but I think I’ll need to know him a bit longer before I can say I truly love him.
It was perhaps the strangest thing to have ever come from her fire-breathing maw, even Ember would honestly admit that, and she’d said more than her fair share of odd words over her relatively short life time… but these ones felt right, and they were meant with her whole heart behind them, each and every one.
After a long moment of silence, Rarity finally nodded. “Fair enough, I guess,” the unicorn said flatly, lifting and inspecting one of her front hooves. “Although I’m guessing that you’d be wary of trying to build a hoard together then?”
That got Ember’s attention. “What do you mean by that?”
The pearly hoof remained mid-air, but Rarity’s attention suddenly left it, and drifted onto her, both of her elegant eyebrows rising towards her horn as if in a show if disbelief.
“You mean he hasn’t told you about… well, it?”
Ember tilted her head, the pink dragoness unsure of what to think of the question, or what ‘it’ could possibly be referring to. “Told me what exactly?” she asked tentatively.
The dragoness wasn’t sure what to expect, and both her curiosity and unease only grew when Rarity took a quick look in either direction, before leaning inwards. “I’d much rather you not tell Spike it was I who told you this, but… well, as his potential partner, I guess you should know that… Spike almost destroyed Ponyville not that long ago.”
Ember stiffened like a statue, and her jaw tightened a second later; was this some kind of joke to play with her emotions? If it was, then it wasn’t funny. At all.
“Not intentionally, mind you.” Rarity went on quickly. “But… well, the best way I can put it is that his hoarding instincts suddenly kicked in on his birthday… and he lost control of them. If that wasn’t bad enough, he just started growing bigger and bigger with everything he hoarded, and the next thing we all knew he was the size of small moun…”
“Stop.”
Judging by her sudden change in facial expression, Ember figured Rarity hadn’t been expecting her to speak, or to put one of her claws over her muzzle for that matter.
“If this is true, then I understand why you think it’s something that I should know,” Ember said simply, allowing her claw to return to the ground. “But it’s Spike’s story to tell me, and only when he’s ready to. We’ve all done things we’re not proud of; I know a lot of the things that Cynder’s done in the past that she’s not proud of, but those are Cynder’s stories to tell to those who she chooses, not mine, and I think Spike deserves that same respect.”
Rarity only nodded, seeming a little shaken.
In truth though, it was another thing entirely, that Rarity honestly hadn’t expected in the slightest, that had caused her to go into a state of fluster; Ember’s own expression.
She hadn’t known the dragoness more than a day, if even that, but it was a simple task to tell that she was a joyful and bubbly soul inside and out, one that could be pedestalled with Pinkie Pie when it came to happiness and Fluttershy in kindness.
If it was anyone other than Spike caught between them, she would’ve been appalled at herself for what she herself was trying to do.
But the stern face of the dragoness before her spoke volumes of something else besides happiness and kindness entirely. Something solid, powerful, and unwavering… and something you truly did not want to be on the wrong end of when it came to the surface, the present state of a known few royal guards attesting to such. It was if Ember’s expression provided a tiny glimpse through the drawn curtain of her bubbliness, a tiny glimpse of just what Ember, and Rarity daresay what all dragons were truly capable of.
It was almost like the titanic incarnation of greed that slumbered inside of Spike; it was a side of her that spent most its time sleeping perhaps, but it was still very much there, and it was not something you wanted woken up.
“I… I understand,” was all Rarity could murmur out, her normally confident voice wavering ever so slightly. She was a full grown and capable mare, and yet she found herself scared witless of a dragoness half her age! And she was bright pink for Celestia’s sake!
Thankfully, it was about then that the door of Sugarcube corner loudly swung open as Spike emerged from its depths, a coloured box of mystery treats balancing on one of his claws. Rarity let out a silent sigh of relief.
“Well, I think that’s my cue to be off,” she smiled, flicking her gaze between the two dragons. “Do enjoy your day, darling.”
The pink dragoness barely had time to nod in acknowledgement before the Rarity was gone, the white mare heading off down the street at a brisk pace, and not giving so much as a glance back before disappearing from sight.
Ember just watched her go in a state of mild confusion, her head tilted and her tail flicking from side to side at the unicorn’s behaviour.
“I hope I didn’t scare her.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………
“So, I was wondering… do dragons actually have hoards of things?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Because wouldn’t that mean dragons would be trying to take stuff from other dragon’s hoards all the time?”
Cynder’s raised an eyebrow at the swirl maned filly, who was currently sitting on her tail, and occasionally giving the end a playful bat with her hoof as it moved as it snaked about the floor. “Well, sure we do, but why would you think that we’d want to take others things?”
“Well, uh, because dragons… collect things for their hoards, right?”
Cynder gave her a polite flat look, to which Sweetie Belle replied by blushing and continuing with her dragon-tail slaying; did these ponies actually know next to nothing about dragons?
“Hmhm, that all kind of depends on your definition of a hoard,” Spyro offered with a chuckle.
Cynder glanced over her shoulder to find him grinning as, much to his chagrin, a few of the more curious pegasus colts and fillies went about inspecting his wings, the orange ball of fur known as Scootaloo included among them; ugh, males.
There was no doubt in her mind that Cheerilee wouldn’t have approved of their present choice of seating, but following Cynder’s ‘group hug’ experience, both dragon’s had decided that the floor at the front of the class was a much more comfortable, and less formal place to converse on the subject of dragons. After all, dragons never used desks for mentoring to begin with.
Hence as to why Cynder, as well as the annoying purple dragon she liked to call her mate, were currently finding themselves being used partly as an attraction, and due to the warm and smooth scales that came with being a dragon, partly as a group seat.
“Yes, all dragons have hoarding tendencies, but they don’t really start kicking in until you’re older… and the term ‘hoard’ doesn’t always translate to a big collection of gold, either, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Wait… so dragons don’t always hoard treasure?” another, dark blue filly, Archer she believed, asked, this one presently admiring one of her silver bracelets.
Cynder sighed and shook her head. “Some dragons do, but really it’s to each their own. And we definitely don’t make a habit of taking other’s things for our hoards… just out of curiosity, where’d you ponies get that crazy idea from anyway?”
No proper answer came, but a few ponies did shudder at the question, and Cynder was sure she heard Spike’s name muttered once or twice. She made a mental note to query him later on the subject.
“Cynder’s right. A hoard can be a collection of gold or gems, but not all dragons want that sort of hoard,” Spyro offered. “A hoard is simply something that a dragon cherishes and protects, but that something isn’t always… material. Our friend Ember’s mother’s ‘hoard’ was made up of the unhatched eggs of other dragons, which she cared for and protected until they eventually hatched.”
Much to both of their surprise, a few of the fillies let out quiet giggles or adoring sighs… while somewhat less to their surprise, most of the colts just stuck their tongues out and made gagging noises.
“Heh, speaking of which, kinda feel sorry for Spike; if he and Ember stay together, poor guy’s gonna have Shoutfire as a mother-in-law.”
“I’d very much like to see you say something like that to Ember’s face,” Cynder smirked at the dragonfly as he flew around overhead. “Or who knows; if you decide to keep talking, I might just tell her myself.”
“You wouldn’t.”
Cynder’s grin only widened further. “Try me.”
Sparx wisely shut his mouth then and there, the dragonfly’s fluster prompting a few shy giggles and laughs from the class, and even a small snigger from Silver Spoon of all ponies, who’d since managed to involve herself in the fun… well, a little at least. Small steps, but steps none the less. Cynder had a quiet suspicion that Diamond Tiara was more like Malefor in regard to her ‘friend’.
He muttered a few quiet words, most of which best not heard by under aged ears, and shot the class his best annoyed glare. The laughter continued regardless.
The initial tension of the day, and the aftermath of Cynder’s snap, were now seemingly all but forgotten.
“So, moving on from all that, any other questions?” Spyro asked between his own chuckles.
“What’re your hoards like then?” the brown speckled white colt, who they’d come to know as Pipsqueak, spoke up. “Lots of gold and treasure? A mountain of jewels?”
The two dragon’s exchanged an amused glance. “We’re still too young to have hoards of our own.” Spyro shrugged and answered. “In all honesty, I’d think that we’re not that much older than most of you are. We’re definitely not hatchlings, but we’re not adults either.”
“So then… what are you doing in Ponyville on your own?” Rumble looked up and asked; he was initially one of the more apprehensive ones about of getting up close and personal, but had since taken a slight liking to Spyro’s warm scales.
“Trust me, that’s a long and complicated story that even I can’t wrap my head around.” Cynder grinned with a roll of her green eyes. “Long story short; we’re just here until we can figure out a way to get home. No evil intentions whatsoever. Next?”
“How did you and Spyro end up as special somedragons?”
As her brain finally registered what her ears were telling her she’d just heard, Cynder, unintentionally of course, suddenly found herself vocalising both her own and Spyro’s thoughts on the question in a single word.
“Bwah?!”
Sweetie Belle blushed and rubbed the back of her neck with hoof, while the other continued to bat at Cynder’s silver-barbed tail. The rest of the class just went about trying their hardest not to laugh at the dark dragoness’s chicken impression.
“What? I’m curious.”
“Uh, well… That story’s a little complicated.” Cynder blundered out, suddenly feeling the need to hide her burning face; annoyance was an emotion she was far more than a little accustomed to, but embarrassment was something kind of new to her. “How are you so evil but able to look so innocent?”
“Complicated?” Sparx huffed flatly, abandoning his prior post and circling Spyro’s head. “Well sure it is, if your definition of ‘complicated’ happens to involve a prophecy, an army of apes, a ridiculously long journey, dragon guardians, a tribe of cheetahs, a dragon known as the Dark Master, three years spent in a crystal prison, a war, the very near destruction of a world, and running commentary by yours truly.”
Needless to say, Sparx’s words set every set of pony eyes in the room ablaze with a mixture of curiosity and excitement… yeah; he’d gone and done it on purpose.
“Sparx, I just want you to know that I will be telling Ember about your little joke earlier.”
“Eh, still worth it,” The dragonfly shrugged, casually returning to Spyro’s horn with a grin on his face. Now it was Cynder’s turn to mutter a few choice words under her breath.
She’d been putting up with him for well over three years now, and that dragonfly was still the world’s biggest pain in the tail, claws down.
She turned to her mate. “What do you think? Should we tell them about… well, us?”
Spyro shrugged at the question. “Honestly, I think so. Twilight and her friends already know, as do your three,” he smirked as she gave him a flat look. Her three? “And they’re all going to find out eventually anyway. Better we tell them now and get it across clearly.”
“Alright… just… leave what I did out of it, ok? I’m still not ready for that to come out yet.”
Spyro simply nodded in understanding, before allowing a long sigh to escape his snout as he faced the mass of fidgeting colts and fillies; right back at the beginning, it seemed.
“I take it you’re all interest now, huh?” the entire room erupted with simultaneous nods and cries of ‘Yes!’ “Well, alright, if you really want to know… but be aware that this’ll take a while.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Some drawings me thinks.
Thanks goes to DragonFlyFire
Me (attempting) to transfer my architecture drawing skills to art.
(http://freelancer4life.deviantart.com/art/Cynder-and-CMC-427726147)
(http://freelancer4life.deviantart.com/art/SpikeXEmber-PS-417898469)
I'll fix these once I get DA figured out.
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Dude I love it so much this story just keeps getting better and I can't get enough of it.
I can't wait for the next part to come out. 
I need to read it NOW!
PLEASE!
Cynder daycare agancy
I don't konw why but that just sounds so accurate, huh wonder why?
love this story, thanks for the update
3806354 agreed
I just thought of something. Is greed growth common among other dragons because if it isn't than it could be a special power found only in certain dragons like Spike? That would be a cool power to have and I wouldn't mind seeing the looks on Ember's and Rarity's faces when the see a bigger older looking Spike.
Oh Rarity, trying to manipulate and drive a wedge between spike and ember so you can score on the rebound... how very Discordant of you...
static4.fjcdn.com/comments/why+not+dat+cord+_2fa5752b918a4f19ac6a2856cc7d4275.png
Spyro did some good work helping Cynder realize how she needed to open up.
But Rarity...she's becoming my least favorite character in this story.
Could you have any of the hero dragons or Spike say 'sugar dragon' to there respective mate?
Also you forgot the 'e' in Belle.
3806543
That, my friend is the $1,000,000 question. And we don't even really know!!!
Spike x Ember? Oh yes.
...the Ex...
majhost.com/gallery/iluvmudkipz/Ponies/abandon-thread.gif
img4.joyreactor.com/pics/comment/full/sandbox-572024.gif
quickmeme.com/img/68/68a685255348097e81a4460393f7c18743fe72cb83482906300d539d7e92e5e1.jpg
NEVER LEAVE THE EX ALONE WITH THE CURRENT!
I been during the skylanders image of spyro and cinder, as well as ember (it's amazing how many want her in skylanders....) I think the skylanders look fits better with mlp but that's me.
Well, Rarity is certainly quite determined to have her Spikey-Wikey back. I wonder how far she will go to reclaim him? And how far will Ember go to keep Spike? Find out, next time on "Ponyville goes to the....dragons?"!!!!
3807297 Same bat-time, same bat-channel!
3806828
Shssssh! Don't go foiling my evil plans!
3808395
What plan? All I can really see is a jealous (or envious) Rarity showing up, a surprising defiant Ember, and a dubious Spike that still doesn't know the tension between current girlfriend that actually likes him and a girl that constantly teases him but is showing that she likes him as well.
nice, cant wait to read what happens next
3808446
Ugh, my bad, this is why I shouldn't reply at 7:00 in the morning... Brain = nope
3806543
Just gonna say it now... You're in for treat a bit later on.
3806543
, but you never know!
It could just be a quality of "Equestrian" dragons, Avalar being a different world that may or may not run on slightly different rules. We already know that there are differences since
(A) the green dragon from Owls Well That Ends Well breathed fire instead of lobbing boulders from its mouth (assuming Avalaran dragons really are Color Coded for your Convenience) and
(B) Avalaran dragons are exclusively quadrupedal, while Equestrian dragons at the very least remain bipedal well into adolescence (the teen dragons from Dragon Quest) and seem to be a lot less clumsy even when fully grown (in addition to being much bigger)
Honestly, unless one or the other is as genetically flexible as D&D dragons (half-dragon is a template that can be applied to any living thing, even plants!) the two probably wouldn't be able to interbreed.
Of course, given the story so far, that's probably not an issue
3808446 I think he was talking about me dude.
3808805 So I manage to hit close to home. The question is which thing I said I was right about.
3809041
Oh....whoops
I didn't realize that he was talking to you. My bad.
3806710
Only makes it more satisfying when Rarity squirms as she gets her cumupets(not sure how you spell that).
3809555 It's comeuppance.
Rarity... what is going on in your evil mind...
I was just like Cynder + CMC = Adoptive family
Nice way to tone Cynder. Character development for the win. Still waiting for Luna though. And can't we see how everyone in the dragons realms is doing? Maybe eventually?
3810852
If everything goes right, Luna should make an appearance next chapter.
I believe you need and "and" in there.
...nail it...
Spies. Plural, not possessive.
Too many abbreviations, and I think you meant "confident" to be an adverb.
Bouquets. Plural, not possessive.
Than. "Then" denotes time.
cue
3811109
Fixed! Hehe, thanks!
And is it strange that whenever I see your name, I think of a pirate with a list? 
3811155 Yes. You should be thinking of a pirate with a bucket list.
3811158
Huzzah! So much sense is made.
3807375
How did I forget that?! What is wrong with me?!
3820437
Hmmm... steak sandwich with pepper sauce, or bacon and avocado?
DAH! DOES NOT MATTER! MUST FIND SANDVICH!! 
interesting
When will the next chapter come out
4009115
I'm hoping next week. After three re-structures of the chapter, I've got three of the four sections done and finalized (actually writing it as I'm posting this).
4009380
Awesome can't wait for the next chapter
Also don't ask how I thought of it because I have no clue I'm just a high schooler
4009476
*Freelancer kicks down door, drags in a piano*
Spike: "What!"
Ember: "Huh?"
Me: *glares at Spike* "You are going to serenade Ember, and you are going to love doing it!"
Spike: "...ok?"
...I swear I'm sane
Talk about getting mind fuked
4180045
I know
I based the idea off of the shock value, like it was something that Twilight would never have had expected (she knew Ember and Spike were friendly with each other, but not that friendly).
It'd kind of be like walking in on Fluttershy masturbating... I just said that aloud, didn't I?
So, it's time to break the ice with the school fillies.
Perhaps if you opened up to them?
Well, Spyro is the first to start, opening with introductions and then brief Q&A. Of course, Applebloom and Scootaloo are the first to ask questions; "Where's Ember?" and
Well, despite it being confirmed in canon that they aren't blood-related, they are definitely as close as sisters could possibly be.
To be fair, Spyro, she's a much more careful fighter than you.
So the question finally drops from the kids: Why are there two dragons in their classroom?
AT his input.
So, yeah. Spyro elaborates: they're here to learn more about ponies and to help the kids learn more about dragons. Though, I do have to point out: they're from a different world, so the portrayals of dragons in each world are vastly different. In the Dragon Realms, dragons are the dominant species in the world and are as civilized as Ponies are in Equestria. Meanwhile, in Equestria, dragons are a rare sight for ponies and are all basically wild animals with a minor degree of intelligence beyond basic speech and "MY TREASURE STAY AWAY!!!" At least, from what we've seen in the show.
Actually, it'd be cool if we get an episode shining more light on the wisdom of dragons we've all seen in mythology.
And with that, the rest of the class just loses their minds trying to spin a bazillion-and-one conspiracy theories, all of which spark the voices in Cynder's head.
Those horrible...accusing voices......
Then cue Spyro berating Cynder for what seems like an hour on her reactions every time something like this happens: she always ends up exploding and solidifying the fears others have of her, when she should be doing everything she can to prove the accusations false. She could take a lesson from Emmeryn, the Exalt of Ylisse from Fire Emblem: Awakening who had to live in her father's bloody legacy and heal an entire country from a terrible war that he started; the people hated her because of what her father did. When she managed to end the war peacefully and bring the people home, and they "forgave" her, she never resented them. What Cynder needs to learn is patience. At the moment, the mere mentioning of her past sets her off like a nuke. Emmeryn, on the other hoof, had the patience to muscle through what her father left for her and make the world better for it.
(But...doesn't she still---)
No spoilers, Billy!!!
One too many O's. Also, Spyro is 100% right.
After letting Spyro's words sink in, Cynder takes a moment to steel herself before softening up to the class.
Development for Cynder. Love it. (Writing: +1)
Then, less than a minute later, the class comes up to Cynder and, one by one, they hug her.
What, you think she's just going to be suddenly okay with all this? She's got the first step down, but she's still got some work to do. At least, if this is going to be believable, she's got to learn this lesson early but learn to master it over time, making a few mistakes, slipping up a few times, and growing from those mistakes.
Anyway, let's check on our little dragon couple at Sugarcube Corner, shall we?
Wait! *holds STOP sign* Hold it!
Dragon Village. As in the hub area in Spyro: A Hero's Tail?......And you mentioned something earlier about Ember being involved in "a previous adventure" of Spyro's. So, we're taking into account A Hero's Tail into the "canon" of this story? .......How the hell would that work!?
Okay, we've established that we're using the Spyro from the Legend of Spyro trilogy, so we'll use that trilogy for the base. Now, how can we fit A Hero's Tail into this in the span of those three games and no more than two months afterwards.....
(twenty minutes of thinking later)
Nope. It doesn't work. Think I'm wrong? Let's have a look at all the places where it could possibly fit in:
1. Between Spyro's egg hatching and him meeting/reuniting with Ignitus
So Ignitus sends Spyro's egg down the Silver River, and it hatches a day or so later. Between that time and Spyro meeting Ignitus, there's roughly 15 years to fill in with adventuring, right? Not so. During that entire time span, Spyro was not aware that he was a dragon, nor has he come into contact with any other dragons before Ignitus.
So that throws out that bit. How about any other spots it could fit?
2. The gap between A New Beginning and The Eternal Night
According to the wikia, Eternal Night takes place several weeks after New Beginning. Perhaps enough time to fill in the events of A Hero's Tail. Problem here: Spyro's powers were exhausted from his battle with Cynder previously; unable to use his breaths and still not exactly physically fit as of yet, I doubt he'd be able to take on Red yet. Also, it's established he spent that entire time in the Dragon Temple - either trying to get closer to Cynder and make her feel welcome or trying to lose some weight via Sparx's requests is up to speculation, likely the former - leaving no room for adventuring.
There's only one other possible place for it.
3. Just after Dawn of the Dragon
This one is actually the most plausible; Spyro and Cynder would likely have been at some point separated and Spyro would have found Ember, she brings him to the Dragon Village and asks for help when Red summons the Dark Gems. However, at this point, Spyro is absurdly powerful, easily twenty times stronger than he was in A Hero's Tail. So by the simple fact that Spyro has available to him more power than those from A Hero's Tail and the classic trilogy combined, this area is debunked.
Basically, the Classic Spyro games and the Legend of Spyro trilogy don't mix in the slightest. Be it by Spyro's isolated upbringing, his lack of powers during his recovery, or simply having too much power in general, there's no melding them.
Of course, that's just for Spyro's involvement. Ember, on the other hoof, is another story. Perhaps Spyro and Cynder were exploring and they came across the village and perhaps the residents decided to move to Warfang when Spyro and Cynder returned. Ember would have been among them, so we have the possability of the village existing, though the events that take place during A Hero's Tail cannot be canon to the Legend of Spyro world.
Wow... When I geek out, I really go all out.... Back to the story!
.......
So Spike and Ember head into Sugarcube Corner---
So Rarity asks Spike to go in and get his and Ember's lunch while she continues her previous conversation with Ember from the previous night.
Ah, the biggest dilemma with interdimensional relationships: For it to work out, one of them has to leave their world behind. Barring, of course, any shark-jumping shenanigans such as Twilight creating a portal between the worlds that could be opened at any time from either side.
So then we get - and I love this part - Ember being honest, not just with Rarity, but with herself.
(Forgot an ending quotation---)
Shut up, Billy! You're ruining the moment!
I love this bit; it shows that Ember has learned from her failed relationship with Spyro and now wants to make sure that it's actually love this time. Well, here's hoping that she'll find out before they find out how to send them back.
Then Rarity decides to play a little mind game by trying to tell Ember about Spike's less-than-successful birthday from Secret of my Excess and the hoarding he did.
My respect for Ember has just gone WAY up. Rarity, however..... (Rarity Like-ability meter: -2)
So Spike comes back with the food and Rarity decides to take her leave.
Back to Spyro and Cynder with the kids, they've taken quite a liking to the couple, and the Q&A has turned to dragon hoards.
I find it convenient how everything that's happened in the last two scenes at least hinted at Secret of My Excess.
Eventually, though, Sweetie Belle asks a particularly personal question.
I've said it regarding the show, and I'll say it here: makings of a future supervillain, that white filly!
Yup. That's basically what happened.
6567657 It could've taken place during The Eternal Night, between Spyro leaving the temple and arriving at the Ancient Grove.