//------------------------------//
// A Little Drinking 
// Story: A Reluctant Herdstallion 
// by Tatsuzaku 
//------------------------------//

At the Rainbow Friendship Castle, just like out of the comics that Spike love to read came a figure crashing into the ground like a meteor. As the dust settled, a light-blue dragoness stood up. It was the Dragonlord Ember who, after dusting herself off went inside the castle. Ember walks into the room of the Friendship Map where she found two unicorns talking inside that she recognized as Rarity and Starlight. She strolls calmly into the room as their voice floated up to her ears. 

"Thank you, darling. I know you're not much for emotions, but it's nice to have an pony listen to my problem," lamented Rarity as she laid her head on the crystalline table. 

"That what friends are for, Rarity," comforted Starlight as she patted Rarity on the back. "Oh! Hello Ember, what bring you about?" 

"Oh! Where are my manners? Ember, please sit," said Rarity as she offers Ember a chair, then after returning to her own chair asked, "So what the meaning of your visit, darling?" 

"I was hoping to speak with Twilight and Spike about a... umm... dragon's problem... yeah that's it, a dragon's problem... heh heh," chuckled a nervous Ember. 

"Well you just miss Twilight. She and the rest of our friends travelled to Appleloosa to celebrate the town's founding. I would've gone if I didn't have such a big order to fill," replied Rarity.

"Yeah and Spike in his room, out cold. Poor Spike, Twilight have him up for three days straight helping her get ready for Appleloosa's founding celebration," sighed Starlight. "But mayhap Rarity and I could stand in for them and help you with your problem." 

"Umm...It's kind of personal," said a red-tinted Ember as she took a gulp from her cup. "Ugh! What is this weak-ass drink? Dragon's piss would taste better than this swill." 

Rarity giving Ember a mortify look, "I'll have you know this is some of the finest and strongest spirit in all of Equestria. I certainly don't see how something gross like the urine of a dragon could ever taste better." 

"It because dragon's piss have a higher alcoholic content than this dreg," countered Ember. 

"But how could dragon's piss be alcoholic. That doesn't make sense," wondered Starlight. 

Ember sighs while she explained, "That because of an organ all dragons have called the pyredix or pyrus appendix. It absorbs and store alcohol that a dragon may consume. When a dragon gets ready to breathe fire, the pyredix release alcohol into the mouth. If a dragon consumes more alcohol than the organ can absorb, it releases the alcoholic excess through body fluids such as sweat, tear, spit, urine, and feces." 

"I guess that answer my question but now I had a new one. Does that mean dragons don't or can't get drunk?”, asked Starlight. 

"Normally no. But a dragon can become drunk if the drink has either a high alcoholic content or strong magic," answered Ember. 

"Oh dear, that was Spiritus ex Mortis you drank there. You won't find a drink stronger than that in Equestria at least. Anything stronger would just kill a pony," gasped Rarity. 

Ember groaned, "And I was looking forward to get stone-faced drunk. I guess that won't be happening now." 

"Maybe you can be drunk after all," grinned Starlight while Ember scoffed, "And how in Tartarus will I do that?" 

"Well as I came down this morning, I saw Big Mac giving Spike a bottle of apple cider. Apparently, it was made from zap-apples. I think he took to his room," replied Starlight. 

Rarity giggled, "Darling, I hate to burst your bubble, but apple cider is generally non-alcoholic. If you want alcoholic, you'll have to get hard apple cider." 

Starlight sip from her cup, "I know that, Rarity. But the thing is I had been studying zap-apples a bit. What I discover is they're full of chaos magic which give them their rainbow coloring and make them taste like any fruits in the world." 

"You ponies sure love to talk. Can we get to the point?", huffed Ember as she crosses her arms. 

"Oh sorry, of course. What I learnt is zap-apples naturally have a high alcoholic content. So, when you make apple cider with zap-apples it become hard cider," replied Starlight as Rarity interject, "But the zap-apple jams that Applejack and her family make doesn't have any alcohol." 

Starlight facehoofed, "I know that, Rarity. As I was going to say you can lower the alcoholic content of the zap-apples by cooking them. That why the zap-apple jam has little to no alcoholic content." 

"Are you suggesting we sneak into Spike's room and take this zap-apple cider. You're acting like a dragon, I think we can be friends," smirked Ember. 

Starlight blushed, "Umm...I guess I am? I mean this is the only way I can think of for you to get drunk and It's not like I wasn't planning to pay Spike back for the cider. What you think, Rarity." 

"If this will let Ember vent then I'll go along. Beside, I am interested in how this zap-apple cider taste and if I need to I can help you pay Spike for his service render," said Rarity as Starlight and Ember laid their hoof/hand across her outstretched hoof. 

With their plan laid out, Rarity along with Ember and Starlight sneak up to Spike's room. After opening the door and quietly coming in, Rarity and Ember awed when they found Spike sound asleep cuddling the bottle of zap-apple cider. Starlight shushes them as she uses her magic to switch the zap-apple cider with the Rarity plush doll. After Rarity opened the bottle, she along with Ember and Starlight tasted the zap-apple cider. Finding out that they really like the flavor, they snuck out of Spike's room with the bottle. After a half-hour of drinking, the girls began opening up about their troubles. 

"Buurrp...oh my! excuse me. So, Ember please tell us what this problem is you're having," belched Rarity as she holds a hoof to her mouth. 

"It happens a few weeks ago, for some reason many drakes began following me around, giving me gifts, or brawling over me. They said I was giving off some kind of smell that they found appeasing when I interrogated them." grinned Ember as she slams her fist into her hand. 

Starlight glances nervously at Ember, "So did you find out why they were doing all that?" 

Ember rolled her eyes, "Those damn drakes were no help, so I went to talk to my dad." 

"What did your father, Torch, said about the whole thing?”, asked Rarity as she rolled the zap-apple cider around her mouth savoring the taste. 

"I thought he was joking when he told me, but now I got an inferno itch that I can't scratch. Damn it," complained Ember. 

"Umm...where does it itch, exactly?”, asked Starlight. Ember look away blushing, "It's...umm...it's my pussy! OK!" 

"So, I'm guessing your dad told you that the bloodstone scepter compels you to breed, am I right?”, theorized Starlight as Ember nods her agreement. 

"Oh dear! I didn't know being Dragonlord would make you go through a heat. And a magnified one giving the way you make it sound," sympathized Rarity. 

"Yeah... if I had known being Dragonlord meant I would suffer from, what you called it, a magnified heat...ugh...I would probably have let Spike remain Dragonlord," grumbled Ember. 

Rubbing her chin, Starlight pondered, "Than the solution to your problem is easy. You just need to have sex then your heat will be gone." 

Ember laid her head on the table, "It's not that easy. If I have sex while I'm like this, then most likely I'll become pregnant and I refuse to have a muscle-brain be the father of my draclings." 

"Oh, I couldn't agree more, Darling. Some of the dragons we met has been nothing short of barbaric...umm...no offense, of course," grouched Rarity. 

Ember sighed, "None taken, like Spike I guess I'm the odd one out. I want dragons to be more than: me dragon, me breathe fire, me make hoard, me having sex, me eat then sleep. That's why I can't just have sex with any dragon."

Starlight smile slyly, "How would you feel if Spike were the father of your draclings...umm...hypothetically, of course?" 

"Not saying I like him because I don't but I guess the runt would be better than other choices. Even though he a little sappy, at least he smart, brave, witty, and have a adorable chubbiness look," dreamed Ember. 

Rarity sighed, "Yes yes, all pretty good points. Spike could be the perfect gentlestallion, if not for his age." 

Ember looking confused, "What the heck are you talking about?" 

Rarity waving her hoof around, "You know Spike being a kid and all. He is a kid, right?" 

"No way is Spike a kid...hiks...not from what I've seen. Heh heh," hiccupped Starlight. 

"Oh my! peeping, Starlight, really. Now you do know it's rude for a lady to intrude upon a pony's private time," raved Rarity as lecture Starlight on etiquettes. 

Slamming her hooves on the map, Starlight gave Rarity a red-faced glare, "It's not like I did on purpose. It's this castle. Every time I open a door, there Spike. It's a conspiracy, I'm telling you. You think I like watching Spike clopping in the bathroom." 

Ember burst out in laughter, "Sound like you were enjoying the show... hah hah... I remember when Spike told me all about those "accidents". I laugh for a week on some of them. But the important question now is how big was he?"

Placing a hoof to her head, Starlight nurse her drink, "I have better things to do than to catch Spike in his intimate moments. But about his size, I'm not sure. It not like I have a measuring tape on me at the time. But from what I'm have seen he certainly be able to buck a mare's world." 

Waving her hoof in dismissing manner, Rarity spoked, "Putting aside somepony's digression, what are your thoughts on his age, Starlight." 

"I don't think it's right to compare a dragon's age to a pony. But Spike have done "royal business" for Celestia. Last, I check a pony must be like, I don’t know, sixteen to work for the government. That means he should be at the age of consent, correct?”, offered Starlight. 

"But what about his size. He certainly not as big as the other dragons," countered Rarity. 

Starlight countered back, "But size nor appearance dictate age or maturity. There was a stallion who was 21.51 ins. That's 2.49 ins short of two feet." 

Bashing her head against the table, Ember growled, "WILL YOU PONIES SHUT UP!!!" 

"Okay okay, we're shutting up, right, Rarity?”, said Starlight as Rarity replied, "O-of course Starlight, is there something you want to say, Ember?" 

Ember clear her throat, "Hnk. . .now I feel embarrassed, I'm sorry for yelling." 

Starlight patted Ember on the back, "It's okay, in one of my friendship lesson I learned it's better to express your emotions than to use magic to bottle them up." 

Ember raised an eyebrow, "Oo-kaay then? Since you ponies know nothing about dragons I was going to explain a few things about dragons biology." 

"What kind of things would they be," wondered Rarity. 

"Like the two things you both brought up, age and size. For dragons, those two are affected more by meeting milestones than by the years a dragon has live," explained Ember. 

"What kind of milestones would they be?”, questioned Starlight. 

"While there are milestones that are unique for each dragon, there are generic one as well. Some of the basic milestones are as follows: breathing fire, hoarding, sparing, hunting, and... umm...having sex," lectured Ember as she blushes at the last part she said. 

"Oh no! My poor Spikey-Wikey! I never knew he could be malnourished," lamented Rarity. 

"That drake is many things, but being malnourished isn't one of them. He's a runt after all," laughed Ember. 

Starlight thinking deeply, "Mayhap he not a runt nor malnourished." 

Rarity and Ember both stare bewildered at Starlight, "Whatever do you mean?"

Starlight started, "Well before I began my anti-cutie marks campaign I would read any books I could get my hooves on including myths, legends, and ponytales. If I read them right Spike would be like the third dragon to live among the ponies. The funny thing is that the two other dragons were known as Spike as well."

"Seem when it comes to ponies naming dragons, they aren't very creative," scoffed Ember. 

Starlight continued, "There not much written down about the first Spike because of the amount of years that had passed. But with the second Spike, it seems that was a nickname he chose. His full name was Kenbroath Gillspotten Heathspike. It said that he slept for a thousand years in the catacomb under the capital city of the earth ponies ancient homeland, Hearthome. Their capital was known as Ponyville as well." 

"It seems Ember is correct about ponies being uncreative when it comes to names. But to be asleep for a thousand years, I mean I enjoyed my beauty sleep, but that a bit much don't you think?" , inquired Rarity as she look at Ember. 

Ember shrugged her shoulders, "Like I would know? We dragons can't control the number of years we sleep through during the deep sleep. When it come you just fall asleep then wake up when it over. So, what do these ancient Spikes have to do with present Spike." 

"Well before I answer that question I like for Rarity to tell us how Spike was hatched," spoke Starlight as she glazes over at Rarity. 

Rarity set her cup down, "If you want the finer details you should talk with Twilight about it. From what I know Twilight was trying to get admitted into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorn. They have her do an entrance exam which include using her magic to hatched Spike." 

Ember shook her head, "You can't be telling me that a pony was able to hatch a dragon. you know that's not possible?" 

"There a little more to it than that. See at the time of Twilight's exam, Rainbow Dash did her first ever sonic rainboom. The shock waves frightened Twilight so much they cause her to suffer from ignis flatus," said Rarity as she explains to Ember, "Ignis Flatus or magical backfire is when a unicorn's magic burst from their bodies and become uncontrollable. It was only years later where we learn that was the point when we all got our cutie marks as well as became connected to the elements of harmony. Starlight, what was the point of having me explaining Spike's birth?" 

"Well after meeting Spike, I renew my research on the two other Spikes. What I found is there are similar traits that are shared between the three of them. One being they never seem to grow bigger than the ponies they were living with. The second one is they have a sleep schedule more akin to ponies than dragons. Another peculiarity is nowhere was it ever written that they ate meat. Not to mention they were nice, intelligence, and very friendly," said Starlight. 

"Wait a minute...how in Tartarus did that pony princess ever gotten a hold of Spike's egg?!" ,spated Ember as smoke rose from her nostrils while Rarity did her best to soothe the Dragonlord. "Darling please composed yourself. I doubt highly that Princess Celestia would ever sanction stealing dragon's eggs." 

"O-okay? Although it sounds suspicious, I'll trust you two. That what friends do, right?" vowed Ember as Starlight sighed, "Yes, trusting is what friends do. As I was going to say before I was interrupted was I believe that our Spike could be a descendant of those other Spikes. Just maybe beginning with the first Spike, his family chose to develop a symbiosis-like relationship with us ponies. This could help to explain how Celestia came into possession of Spike's egg. Mayhap his parents felt that it would be better if Spike were raised amongst the ponies." 

Ember gives Starlight a baffle looks asked, "What seem...bay...oh...sush?" 

"Sihm-bee-oh-sihs, it where one creature builds a give-and-take...umm...friendship with another creature. It a relationship that is beneficial to both parties. In case of Kenbroath and Spike, it's been them serving and advising a pony princess who in turn feed and sheltered them," spoke Starlight as she glance at Rarity before continuing her theory. "In regard to his size, there are creatures like newts and salamanders that because of environmental conditions remain in their juvenile form. Although they keep their juvenile form they develop the organs needed for breeding. This could very well be the case with Spike and his family. They grow into a small but cute juvenile-like bodies that would appear less threatening to us ponies." 

"You can't be telling me that despite looking like a child that Spike could be an adult or a teenager," laughed Rarity in a disbelieving manner before Ember interrupt her, "Sigh...do I even have to repeat myself once again? On this point, Starlight the one that's right, you can't compare a dragon's aging with that of ponies. You were there at the Gauntlet of Fire, remember? None of the dragons that were there would ever be mistaken for being an adult, a child, or a baby. When my dad summons us dragons, we were all teenagers that including Spike." 

Starlight smirked, "And that from the Dragonlord. Can't possibly argue with that now can you, Rarity?" 

Rarity taking a slow drink before answering, "Guess you’re right, Starlight. If that what Ember say, then I can't rebuke it."

"Hah hah, glad you ponies finally get what I was saying. Now, Rarity, I'm wondering why you have been so dead set on Spike being a child," said Ember proudly as she views Rarity with knowing eyes. 

"Oh? Oh! I think I know why. Heh heh, it’s because she is crushing hard on Spike. Aren't you, Rarity? Oh my, she blushing," grinned Starlight in a devilish manner.