“…. So by the time dessert came around I told him that I would be his official, royal coltfriend.” I told Twilight and Starlight. This meeting took place the day after the trial date in which we were gathered in the throne room. Of course, Twi was rather annoyed that I had gone behind her back in dating Thorax – but once I was able to tell her what had happened, her mood changed to that of amusement.
By the time I was able to finish the story, Starlight raised a hoof. “As great as that sounds Spike, what exactly does all of that entail? I mean, I don’t know any royal consorts personally, does that mean that you get to have certain privileges or something?”
“You know,” I folded my arms, leaned back against my little throne. “Thorax did tell me further of what exactly I get to do now that I’ve given my consent. From what he said, I’m basically his husband and coltfriend at the same time, which means that I pretty much stand on the same level of his queen as a sort of adviser. That I’m free to give him advice and able to tell him no outright if I see fit. Also that I’ll be given some level of protection in which if I get hurt or sick in any way, his Changelings would immediately come to my aid. Oh! That reminds me,” I snapped my claws. “I think I should warn you guys about something important.”
“And what’s that?” Twilight asks, taking a quill and notebook in her aura.
“That according to Thorax, that if there was an incident that someone hurts me on purpose, the hive would declare war on the one that harmed me in the first place.”
The room went dead quiet. “Care to clarify?” Twilight inquired with caution.
“Like say that if somepony were to gang me up in an alley to mug me, the hive would be obligated in hunting down that pony down until they either die or surrender. And this doesn’t just include physical. If someone hurts me physically, psychologically, emotionally or financially, it would give the hive enough reason to give said pony a very bad day.”
“Note to self,” Starlight muttered, “Do not make Spike angry.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little extreme?” Twilight questioned.
“That’s exactly what I asked Thorax. And he told me that I do have the power to pardon those who have hurt me if I so choose. Then again, this was the same guy that had turned into a bear when he thought Ember was attacking me.”
“I see,” Twilight’s student nodded. “Does anypony in the royal family know about this?”
“Besides Prince Blueblood and his husband, everypony doesn’t know yet. I thought that I wouldn’t tell until I and Thorax are, in fact, a couple and I wanted you to be the first to know that it’s really happening.” Twilight thanked me and asked me if there were any other privileges that I was given. “Uh yeah! Since I’m technically his coltfriend, I can ask him to go on a date on a whim. Not only that, but I’d get to sit beside him during meals, dance with him whenever we feel like it, and uh…” My cheeks turned red when I trailed off.
“Yes?” Starlight asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Well… he also said that… since I’m his Royal Consort, that I have the… right to…” I was rubbing the back of my neck, my head on fire at what I was going to say out loud. I sighed, “Oh how do I put this elegantly…? That I can… sleep, with him. If I choose,” I quickly added the last sentence.
The two mares looked at me with wide eyes. “You mean have sex with him?” Starlight said.
“That’s putting it bluntly but… yeah. Pretty much.”
With my embarrassment evident, I decided to tell them the truth, “Which brings me to the… another thing I wanted to talk to you gals about. It’s another worry I have to be honest.”
“We’re all adults here Spike,” Twilight reassured me. “And I know how awkward it is talking on the subject. However, I think that we know and read plenty about it. So it’s okay to go ahead and ask whatever it is on your mind.”
I took in a deep breath. Here goes nothing… “Twilight, you know that December is coming up, right?” She nodded, “And do you know what happens to be around early December?”
“Oh!” her cheeks blushed. “That’s right, I’ve completely forgotten!”
Starlight raised an eyebrow, “Is there something I’m missing?”
“You know how mares have heat cycles that they go through every now and then?” Twi asked her student and she nodded. “As it turns out, as soon as they hit puberty, for male dragons, they too go into a similar cycle in which they would call rut. Yeah, it’s exactly as it sounds.”
“I mean… I’m able to just take care of myself when that time comes around.” I confessed. “However, I haven’t exactly had a… sexual partner as of yet. But while that may or may not change considering Thorax, I’m genuinely worried. Sure, the guy had said out loud that we can if I just asked. But what if in the heat of the moment that I might hurt him? From what Ember has told me, dragon mating can get rather aggressive and I don’t know if Thorax could handle it without getting burned.”
Starlight leaned back in her chair, “To be honest, I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s like any romp in bed, that as long both sides know what they’re getting into and if they’re fine with it, go for it. But if the other isn’t enjoying it, then they say something to do something else. Pretty much goes the same with any other kink.”
Twilight deadpanned and responded with, “You’ve learned this from Trixie, haven’t you?”
She only shrugged.
Twi returned to me and asked me when I was planning on seeing him next. “Probably in a few days, after all, I’ve got Celestia, Luna, and Cadance with Shining Armor to tell them the news. But after that, I’m going down to visit the Hive. Although, I do hope that those princesses don’t start betting on me as they did with Blueblood.”
Needless to say that the reactions from the royal family were similar to when I told Twilight and Starlight in several of my degrees. For example, when I told Celestia and Luna that I had just become a coltfriend to the Changeling King, they were overly happy about it to the point where they were crushing me underneath their hugs. Quickly followed by asking if I made the first move (whatever that means). Princess Cadance was without a doubt glad about it, if not somewhat annoyed that she wasn’t there shipping me and Thorax, to begin with. Shining Armor simply congratulated me, but didn’t let me go until he took me aside to give me a lecture for me to “use protection.”
But once the royal family and my friends were made aware of my new coltfriend, (especially towards those that I happened to be in power) I made my way southward towards the Hive. Even after having more awkward conversations in those few days, there were two more that I needed to have a chat with Pharynx and Lavender.
Walking up to the Hive that afternoon, I remembered it being a cold day as the forest outside of it had nothing but sticks in the mid-November air. The vegetation that grows on the towering Hive looked like it was dying where frost was evident.
Being so chilly, I distinctly remember that I was wearing a black, wool overcoat that Rarity custom made for me that it reached down just past my knees. I was blowing puffs of fire to keep my claws warm when, as expected, Pharynx appeared in a burst of purple green flame. “I was kinda hoping that I would run into you,” I told him.
“My brother tells me that’d got himself a Master,” said he, his forelegs crossed. “And I was told that it was you.”
I frowned, “So I take it that you don’t exactly approve of me?”
He raised an eyebrow, “Who said that I didn’t? Look, I already knew my brother leans towards males. I mean, I didn’t much care as that means more gals for me, you know what I’m saying?”
I rolled my eyes, “Yeah I do. But do you have any problem that I am technically dating your brother?”
“Just one,” he said. “Did you know that this is the first time that he’d asked anyone to be his mate, right?”
This surprised me, “Not really…”
“Let me make this clear for ya,” he then began to circle around me. “I have gone out of my way to protect my baby brother. From bullies, Ponies, Gryphons, Zebras,” he narrowed his eyes at me, “Dragons even. While I’m grateful for how far he’s come to learn how to protect himself, the last thing I want is to have him get hurt. That includes you. You might have gotten Thorax to fall head over hooves over you, but just so you know, I’ll be watching.” He poked at my chest to make this point. “And if you do happen to break his heart, I’ll be sure to stomp on yours.”
Well, this has escalated quickly. “I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied to him. “Look, I need to have a word with Queen Lavender too so could you point out where she is?”
“Throne room.”
I nodded and thanked him as I walked around him and made my way inside. Once I was inside, I noticed how surprisingly warm it was compared to the outside. Upon investigating where the heat was coming from, I swiftly found that in every room there was a small, iron cage in which had a red-hot stone. It didn’t take too long to figure out what these were: Cinderstones. The only place in all of Equestria that has any was the Dragon Lands. So it was clear that the Changelings were trading with them.
So after climbing up to the top, I found that even the open air throne room was just as warm as it was encompassed by those stones that were providing heat for the Changelings and a few diplomats surrounding the throne in which both Thorax and Lavender sat. Each of the diplomats was taking turns petitioning to them about this or that. It wasn’t until that the new Changeling Queen spotted me that he nudged the king into noticing me. I waved over to them.
“Hey, Spike!” Thorax waved back, smiling. “Oh everyone, I have an announcement to make.” He stood up and took a few steps away from the throne. “I think it’s about time that I let you know some rather exciting news. Just to let you all know, I have officially taken up a royal consort in which I have been granted permission by both the Queen and the one I wanted to be with. And I’m happy to say, that Sir Spike, is my personal consort.”
There was a collective muttering and whispering all around. Changelings glanced over at me and Thorax, many of them looked as if they were taken aback by the news. However, despite feeling all eyes on me, I calmly walked over towards the throne. “Hey Thorax, you mind if I could visit you for a couple of days?”
“Not at all!” he grinned before nuzzling me. “It’s great to see you.”
“Thanks,” I turned my attention towards his wife, “Hey Thorax? Can I have a word with your Queen for a bit?”
“Why?”
“I just wanted to talk with her for a minute. After all, I’ve been spending a couple of days going around talking to my family about… well… us. I just talked to your brother you see, and the last one on my list here is Lavender so… would you mind?”
“Well I could use a break,” the new Changeling Queen said as she got up from her throne. “We’ll be in the meeting room downstairs, but I’ll be right back. Follow me, Sir Spike.” I obeyed as I walked behind her out of the Throne Room and towards a lower level where I was lead into a windowless room with a round stone table. The only light in the room was a glowing chandelier that had glowing blue crystals. “So what do you want to talk to me about, Sir Spike?” she inquired taking a seat near the table.
“You know, for this past couple of weeks, there has been something on my mind that while I’ve heard it from Thorax, I definitely need to hear it from you. And that is this,” I sat down on the edge of the table. “Are you sure that you’re okay with this? I mean, you are his wife after all.”
She tilted her head in confusion, “That’s obvious for sure. Although I don’t exactly see why this would be a problem.”
“But doesn’t the idea that a married Changeling like yourself would be even slightly jealous that your husband is with someone else? Yeah, I know that you’ve given your consent and all, but aren’t you afraid that you might be seen as second rate to him?”
She shook her head, “Thorax and I, we see each other as friends that just so happened to be married. Don’t misunderstand me, he’s nice, there’s no doubt about it. In truth, I see this duty of Queen like you would view a job. In that, I was chosen to help give Thorax a conscious on how to realistically run the hive.”
“But he is trying to have… you know… babies with you.”
“I know,” she nodded in acknowledgment, putting a hoof over her stomach. “But once again, it’s more of a duty. Yet, that doesn’t mean that I won’t love them when they do come. To tell you the truth, I do want to be a mother, and Thorax is helping me out with that. Still, I guess he already told you that you’re welcomed into helping to raise them?”
“He did,” I told her.
“Yet, I can sense that there’s something you’re not comfortable with.”
Here we go, “Would you feel jealous if I… chose to sleep with your husband? There are not that many wives out there that would like the idea of having their husband being with somepony that wasn’t them.”
This made her giggle. “You’d be right. For those who have a little bit of love for their spouse, it would make one angry if they were being dishonest with one another. With my situation, however, it’s the complete opposite. I’m not just letting you be my King’s Master, but I encourage it for the sake of his own happiness. Which I’m glad that you’ve decided to be his since, up until now, he hasn’t been given such a luxury. And from my examination, not only are you safe around him but, more importantly, you are healthy. So I wouldn’t have agreed to this if you weren’t otherwise.”
“Well, yeah. But what about you? Do you get to have a consort of your own?”
“When it comes to this sort of thing, it works both ways. Only that with me, if I decide to take up a male Changeling, then, of course, there would be necessary for him to have something to prevent an accidental pregnancy. But even then, I would be given just as much happiness as Thorax. So really, there’s no shame in this. If anything, it’s a huge honor among us to be his greatest source of happiness. For if he’s happy, so will the kingdom.”
This reasoning did make sense to me. “Well… since you put it that way. What’s Thorax doing tonight?”
She smiled, “After court (which ends in an hour), the King will have free time until dinner. Of course, you are welcome to join us.”
“Hey, how can I turn down free food?” we both chuckled at this.
“I am glad that he chose you,” Lavender said. “After all, I think it was about time that he started dating.”
“Well I am rusty on my part, but I’ll do my best.” With that, we returned to the Throne Room, and I waited until Thorax was free.