“So, this is what ponies call ‘courting’?” a certain confused dragoness asked.
Ember and I were sat at a gryphon restaurant in town that catered to carnivores and omnivores. Most ponies were fine with it, since the meat was sourced from non-sapient animals outside of Equestria, but I still got odd looks whenever I went to the place, as if I were expected to change my biology simply because I was raised in Equestria. Still, no one had given me trouble for it, so I figured it was a nice place to bring Ember to experience a bit more of modern Equestrian culture.
“Yeah,” I agreed, “though the modern term is ‘dating’.” I swirled my beverage a bit -- a strawberry fizzy drink -- before taking a sip from the straw. I glanced around at the mostly-empty restaurant, pleased that lunch was pretty quiet, since it made Ember more comfortable. “For ponies, dating includes outings and generally just spending time together with someone to see if you’re compatible. Dates can be as simple as a walk through the park, or as extravagant as a five-star restaurant visit in Canterlot. Really, so long as two consenting people are spending time together with the idea of romance, a date can be pretty much anything.”
Ember mulled the explanation around for a minute before asking, “So you’re trying to figure out if we’re compatible, then?”
Chuckling at her half-worried expression, I soothed Ember by holding her hand in mine and assuring, “Not at all. We already are, and I know that; dates are also ways to just spend time with someone you care about, setting aside time specifically for them. For you and I,” I gave her hand another squeeze, “that’s precisely what this is. You’re my mate, so I wanted to spend special time just with you.”
The color of Ember’s head spines deepened with a blush. “O-oh, okay. I get it. Why here, though?”
I shrugged, glancing around the restaurant. “Well, in here, you’re less likely to be gawked at. Here, we can be away from most prying eyes, we can get some good meat to eat, and it’s warm. We certainly could have just stayed at the castle, but we’re going to be doing plenty of that in the coming weeks, so I wanted to take my girl out somewhere.” I reached up and scratched my cheek as I tried my best to word what I felt. “It’s...kind of a primal thing for males, not just dragons. It sounds stupid when I say it out loud, but guys like to show off their girlfriends to others, almost claiming overt ownership.” I smiled sheepishly at her raised brow. “I know that’s not what we are and it’s not even what most ponies are, but like I said, it’s a primal thing that’s hard to articulate. Mostly, it feels more real if I can go out and do things with you, where other people can see.”
Ember waved the assurance away. “Hey, I’m not knocking it, I just didn’t understand. Doing things together is...nice.” She smiled at the end, nodding to me. “I used to see my parents being like that, which is weird for most dragons, but I couldn’t help but always think, ‘I want that.’ Now,” she nudged me with her shoulder, “I have it. And I gotta say, it’s kinda nice.” Leaning back against the backrest of the booth we were sat in, Ember released a long breath. “It’s freeing to not have to watch what I say or do. It’s liberating to know all I have to do is be myself, and that’s good enough.”
Nudging her back, I asked, “You have to put on a mask as a dragon lord?”
Snorting as if it were a dumb question, Ember glanced at me. “Are you kidding? I’m the daughter of Torch, and one of the youngest dragon lords. I have to become an entirely different dragon just to be accepted in the dragon lands, nevermind the role I’m supposed to play. If I step one claw out of line, I’ve got every dragon questioning my competence and making snide, passive-aggressive remarks under their breath. The phrase ‘I don’t know’ is basically forbidden for me to even say, so that’ll give you a good idea of just what I have to deal with.”
Luckily, while I wasn’t in a ruling position, by living with Twilight, I was quite familiar with the stress it brought. “I might not be a dragon lord or anything, but I know exactly how hard it must be, given what Twilight has to put up with. There’s thousands of ponies looking up to her for guidance, even disregarding the school, and it seems some of them aren’t happy with anything she does.” The thought of a certain group caused me to snort angrily, shooting sparks out of my nose. “And don’t even get me started on the nobles. Those puffed-up, good for nothing backstabbers practically make it their life’s mission to be a thorn in our sides. As elected officials that supposedly represent the people, we can’t just tell them to buck off, so we have to just deal with it. Basically, they do everything they can to block or slow any legislation that doesn’t benefit them -- or, stars forbid, regulates them -- and the majority of them do it just on principle, or out of spite from some perceived slight against them.” I shook my head with a tired sigh. “In Twilight, they saw a new, naive princess that they could manipulate to get what they want. But, when they found she wasn’t some stupid little filly that could be pressured to do what they wanted, they started doing whatever they could to aggravate her. She’s gotten used to it over the years, but in the beginning, I’d usually have to listen to her cry herself to sleep at night.”
“Now see, a dragon would just set their house on fire for being zräg ghour, but ponies are all about their laws.” Ember commented, half sarcastically. At my bewildered expression, she explained, “Oh, um, ‘zräg ghour’ is a really vulgar insult that translates to ‘stain of excrement’. Considering the taboo of talking about bodily waste among dragons in any way but academic, it's one of the better insults you use if someone is really pissing you off.”
I knew what “piss” and all its forms meant, but learning a curse in the draconic language was actually pretty exciting. A bit foalish maybe, but definitely entertaining.
“So anyway,” Ember began, drawing my attention once again, “I was thinking we can use the later hours of the day to start your education, since you already have responsibilities to take care of, and there’s no reason we can’t do it from inside the safety of the castle.” I noticed that, though she tried to make it sound as if she didn’t really care, the faint shudder in her body was more noticeable than she probably wanted.
Wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her close, I sent a smoldering gaze Ember’s way. “If you needed protection from the cold, all you have to do is ask. I’m quite happy to find ways to keep you warm.” Frankly, the words had practically tumbled out before I could even think about them, which left me internally throttling myself for essentially propositioning Ember in public.
I felt a shudder run through Ember at my words, and if her stuttered breathing and half-lidded gaze was any indication, she wasn’t exactly averse to my suggestion. I had never exactly been the kind of drake to be focused on the physical aspects of a relationship, but something about Ember specifically was demanding I yank her to her feet by the back of her neck, force her face into the table top, bending her over the table and-
“Spike, are you okay, there?”
The “fire” within me was practically an inferno at this point, and I released my own stuttered breath as I fought to control myself. Ember had told us that one of the effects of a mate’s brand was increasing the sex drive, but I was clearly unprepared for just how much.
Taking another, deeper, more controlled breath to steady myself, I nodded shallowly with my eyes closed. “Y-yeah, I’m fine.” My control was nearly thrown completely away when I felt a firm, clawed hand posessively grab my behind and squeeze, and had I not been restrained by a table and the dragoness next to me, I would have probably shot into the air with a very feminine screech.
Looking at Ember with a wide-eyed gaze awarded me with a positively predatory expression from her, as she assured me, “You’re not exactly subtle, you know, and you’re not the only one. If your twitching wings and stronger scent* are any indication, you’re thinking exactly the same things I’m thinking.” Leaning her muzzle into my neck and flicking her forked tongue out to tease the side of my throat earned her a barely-restrained groan from me, and I shot her the same look she had just given me. She just chuckled at me. “Oh, believe me, the only thing that’s keeping me from practically jumping you is the fact that there are a lot of breakable things around here, and I imagine you want to be able to come back to this place at some point.”
And to think, I thought Lyla was assertive with her flirting.
With a muted whine, I closed my eyes again, working on breathing to calm myself. “Ember, you’re killing me, here.”
Fortunately, before Ember could tease me further, I picked up the sounds of claws on wood from the stairs that led from the bottom floor to the second floor, which was where our booth was. The scent of seared steak and sautéed seafood was unmistakable, and I had to swallow the excess saliva that was building to keep from outright drooling.
“Okay, we have the filet mignon,” the gryphoness announced, setting down a finely seared, rare cut of beef tenderloin with all the trimmings in front of Ember, “and the seafood platter.” The latter dish was set in front of me, with an assortment of steamed prawns, sautéed scallops, and a dish of fragrant, creamy lobster bisque with a fresh-baked roll. The server smiled as she motioned to our meals. “This was prepared with care by our finest chefs. Please, enjoy. Ring the bell if you need anything.” She punctuated the statement by pointing to the braided string that led to a cord that ran through the wall, presumably to the kitchen. Without anything further to say, she left us to our own devices.
After a few moments of me just enjoying the aromas of the food, Ember commented, “It seems males are the same no matter where they are. Easiest way to the heart is through the stomach.”
Unable to even offer a retort, I nodded sheepishly, shooting a goofy grin her way. “Heh, yeah. Even as a puberty-driven younger drake, if the food is good enough, it wouldn’t matter if a supermodel was delivering it topless: food would be the only thing on my mind.”
Tilting her head a bit at the statement, Ember shrugged. “I guess ‘topless’ means a lot more if you have something to cover.” She glanced down at her slim, scaly chest and poked the delicate scales with her fingers. “Kinda lacking in that department, but it saves on expenses, since I don’t have to wear clothes.”
She was right, of course. Female dragons lack mammary structures, and a reptilian cloaca kept “naughty bits” well-covered, so that they could be completely decent, even when naked. Still, even though she resolutely refused to wear clothes for modesty, she had already teased me when she caught me staring at her fit form in the morning. It was a lot more difficult for a pony to sexualize a dragoness, since they lacked “traditional” feminine features, but from a drake’s standpoint, she had plenty to show off, and I had a feeling she wanted me to look.
“Trust me when I say I don’t feel cheated when I look at you.” I blurted, blushing immediately when she smirked victoriously at me.
Leaning in closer to my ear, Ember whispered, “I like it when you look at me, Spike. Knowing that your eyes are on me, running over my well-kept scales, probably imagining running your fingers over every part of me, is thrilling.” Her admission made me shiver, and I had to remind myself again to remain decent in public.
“You’re making this very hard, Ember.” I muttered, picking up my spoon and ladling a bit of the steaming lobster bisque to my lips. The soup was perfectly cooked and seasoned, as I expected, and the creamy, cheesy, lobster flavor practically made love to my taste buds as the soup splashed over my tongue. I couldn’t stop the pleased moan from escaping my throat, but I didn’t even care at that point.
“Maybe I want to make it hard, my mate.”
And suddenly I was choking on the wonderful soup, Ember’s purring declaration making me gasp...and a gasp plus soup equals a bad time indeed.
Ember, of course, was laughing hard enough for the both of us. “I-hehehehe! I couldn’t h-have timed that better! Bahahaha!”
I probably committed a few social screw ups due to spraying the tablecloth with bisque, as well as pounding my chest to aid with expelling the offending substance from my throat, but health and safety comes first. Ember was still laughing when I stopped coughing, so I just rolled my eyes and tore into my food, trying my best to ignore the chuckling dragoness next to me.
After a few moments of this, Ember chimed in, “Aww, c’mon Spike, I was just playing around. Don’t get all butthurt on me.”
I actually snarled at her, annoyed at her antics. “You can’t say that kind of thing to me just for a prank, and expect me to be cool with it. That was too far, Ember.”
An awkward silence settled between us as I turned back to my meal, but it was only a few seconds before I felt the tips of a forked tongue tease my ear fin, as a warm breath whispered, “It wasn’t for a prank; your reaction was just a bonus. I meant everything I said.”
I felt my whole body stiffen at the words, and my pants were suddenly becoming a bit tight around the front for...another reason. This would mark one of only a dozen times any female had gotten such a reaction out of me, not counting physical contact -- there was just something exciting and alluring about the sheer confidence Ember had, and her voice alone was like auditory foreplay. There was no denying I loved and was attracted to Lyla, Twilight, and Rarity, but there was a different sort of attraction between Ember and I. It was something raw, primal, and, dare I say, a little intimidating.
With a delighted shiver, I turned my attention back to my food as I whispered, “Hold that thought for when we’re not in public, then. I’d rather not be pitching a tent in public, thank you very much.” At Ember’s confused tilt of her head, I explained, “When a stallion -- or dragon, in my case -- is wearing pants, arousal looks like-”
“A tent,” Ember surmised, chuckling at the imagery. She nudged me with her elbow. “Well, it’s nice to know I can get that kind of reaction from you.”
“You’re among a special few able to do it with just words.” I answered honestly. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. “I trust you’ll wield that power gracefully, and with restraint?”
Ember glanced back, delicately grabbing her own fork and knife to cut a bite-sized piece off. As she brought the bite of steak to her mouth, she casually replied, “I won’t get you into trouble, if that’s what you’re worried about, but a sword that goes without maintenance becomes rusty, and weak. I’ll need to keep practicing to make sure I stay on top of it. Besides,” she popped the bite of steak in her mouth, chewing slowly with a happy hum before swallowing and adding, “you’ve become too confident and smooth in the past few years, so I need to be sure you don’t get too full of yourself.”
Clearing my mouth of some of the lovely scallops before speaking, I queried, “Don’t females like that, though? Hasn’t gone bad for me yet, at least.”
Ember shrugged. “Can’t really say. I’ve never had a mate before, and besides that, I’m not a pony; I know we share a lot of similarities, but the few differences in culture we do have are pretty big, so it’s not safe to assume. But,” she paused for a moment, taking a sip of her drink, “for me at least, I enjoy the confidence, and respect that it takes a lot of it to be able to say and do things with the possibility of it blowing up in your face, though I imagine it comes a lot easier if you know your target well. It’s only a risk if you’re dealing with someone you’re unfamiliar with, so I guess you got it pretty easy.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Oh, don’t presume that this comes naturally. I’ve had a lot of cringe-worthy moments in my early dating life, and they still pop up from time to time. Let’s just say there are a few ex-marefriends that will never speak to me again, and even a few that I still kinda miss due to unresolved issues between us.” I gave my own shrug as I mused aloud, “I guess romance is the same as any skill: no one starts out great, regardless of talent; you just have to practice and get experience to learn and grow.”
Ember just stared at me for a few moments before teasing, “You know, with you being a O&O player, I see you not saying ‘level up’ as a missed opportunity.”
While I was glad Ember didn’t make fun of my dungeon-crawling RPG that I still played with Macintosh and Discord from time to time, the fact she brought it up was embarrassing enough to make me blush. As much as I would like to say it didn’t matter, I had worked very hard to not be seen as the only dragon that was a major geek. I got enough teasing being a pony-raised dragon when I was younger, so I didn’t need to give the few bullies I came across more reason to mess with me.
“And give you more reasons to tease me?” I snarked at Ember, half-seriously. “You already are using our relationship to fluster me, so I think it would be pretty stupid to basically give you a roadmap on how to publicly embarrass me.”
Ember’s grin turned very predatory. “You really think O&O is the only embarrassing thing I know about you? That’s cute.”
I sighed to myself, turning back to my meal. I cared about Ember a lot, and I was happy she felt the same, but I knew that she was constantly going to keep me on my toes. I’d need to practice finding ways to fluster her, so that I wouldn’t feel like some young stupid drake in the claws of an intimidating dragoness...even if the latter was true. One thing was for sure, though: no matter what happened in the future for us, a romantic relationship with Ember was sure to have no end of entertainment.
On our way back from lunch, we met up with Lyla, and Ember got to know my changeling soldier. I had thought that the protective nature of Lyla would clash a bit with the proud bearing of a dragon lord, but to my utter surprise, they found a sort of kinship with one another. If I really thought about it, the strange bond made sense, since both were bluntly honest for the most part, and both felt the need to assert themselves as my protectors. I’ll admit, the latter point had me feeling a little emasculated, but a playful wink or affectionate brush from the two calmed those feelings of inadequacy rather quickly. Without anything particularly pressing to do, Ember and Lyla followed me around as I ran my daily errands, though we quickly found our path to the Carousel Boutique when Ember began shivering due to the cold.
The small brass bell on the hook above the door frame chimed from our arrival, and Rarity announced, “Comiiing~!” as her hooves clopped on the upstairs floor. After only a moment, the unicorn herself appeared around the corner leading to the stairs, and she immediately brightened upon seeing me. “Spike, darling! I thought that was you. And you brought guests! Welcome, welcome!”
I met Rarity halfway and embraced her, sharing a chaste kiss with the beautiful seamstress. “Mmm, afternoon. Anyhow, I dropped by because I have a commission, if you’d be so kind.”
Rarity’s horn lit up with a familiar blue cloud of magic, and her red working glasses settled onto her nose as a small notepad and pencil floated to her hands. “Of course, darling. What can I help you with?”
I jerked my head to Ember, who looked like she felt out of place in the clothing shop. “Well, Ember here feels the cold, unlike me. We would like to get some winter gear made for her. I was thinking the full shebang: a coat, a hat, gloves, leggings, and some boots.”
Rarity was taking down some notes as I spoke, nodding once I’d finished. “Right, I believe that’s doable.” She then raised her eyes and took in the sight of the dragoness herself, who was nearly half a foot taller than Rarity. The unicorn approached Ember and began circling her slowly, her eyes roving over the form of the dragon lord. Before any of us could say a word, four tape measures were levitated into the room, and they began measuring every inch of Ember in a dizzying array of speed and precision, and I chuckled when Ember yelped a few times when she likely felt what could be mistaken for a snake slithering across certain areas of her body.
Finishing with her measurements, Rarity dismissed the tape measures, taking a knee to look closer at Ember’s feet. After a few moments, she nodded and stood, finishing her notes with a few lines on her notepad. “I think that should do it. You know, Spike, I think Ember will actually be a far simpler client to clothe. Her scales are much smoother than yours, and her feet are more akin to paws than dragon claws.”
Ember, feeling suddenly self-conscious, shifted a bit at the words. “Is that a bad thing?”
Looking to the dragoness, Rarity shook her head with a small smile. “Not at all, it is simply different. While it is true you aren’t ‘soft’ by pony standards, the differences between you and a male like Spike are very obvious. Spike has made it quite clear that you would not wear clothing for fashion or modesty purposes.”
“Yeah, no,” Ember bluntly agreed.
Rarity waved the thought away. “It is no real loss, dear. Over the years, friends like Applejack have shown that I was missing out on quite the market: practicality is all that matters to some, and I was unintentionally turning down business by only catering to fashion. While I would like nothing more than to make you look beautiful for our dear Spike,” she threw a smile my way, “I know when not to push my views of beauty on another, even one who is so naturally gifted.”
Ember’s head tilted at the latter statement. “What do you mean by ‘naturally gifted’?”
Rarity mock-gasped as if the dragoness had just said something completely ridiculous. “Darling, have you looked into a mirror lately?” She gently took the dragoness’ hand in her own and ran her fingers along the back of it, marveling in the thick, yet well-tended hide. “You may not be a pony, but there is a certain je ne sais quoi about you that cannot be denied. You are an exotic specimen, and your very bearing -- the way you hold yourself amongst others -- exudes strength and confidence in oneself. As any honest pony will confirm, confidence is very attractive.” Releasing a blushing Ember’s hand, she gestured to the dragoness’ midsection, leading down to her legs. “You have a beautiful complexion, with striking coloration that accentuates your natural attributes. I see long, toned legs, and wide hips leading to a narrow waist and sculpted abdomen; you have a body most mares would kill for. Darling,” she looked directly into Ember’s eyes with an intensity that I knew would provoke a certain effect, “you are beautiful, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
I was well aware that Ember wasn’t used to being complimented on her looks in an honest way that wasn’t an attempt to bed her, so the awkward scuffing of her foot against the floor was certainly expected. Still, I had to admit she was adorable when embarrassed, and I was definitely going to try and make that happen more in the future.
Ember silently stared down at the floor as a flush held strong in her head spines, before she finally mumbled. “...d-do you really mean that?”
Rarity smiled wide and nodded. “I do, darling. However,” she held up a hand as her demeanor shifted to a more professional mode, “I know fashion is not exactly your cup of tea, so I will let you decide if and when fashionable clothing is what you desire. If you truly do feel the cold, unlike Spike, then I will promptly create an outfit tailored for you. And I promise, I will refrain from adding unnecessary frills. It will be a well-made, practical bundle that will keep you warm even during the coldest day.”
Ember had composed herself, returning to her usual casually confident demeanor, and was quite obviously appraising Rarity in much the same way the pony had her a few moments ago. After a few seconds of silence, apparently having come to a decision, she smiled to Rarity with a tilt of her head. “You know, you’re not what I was expecting, going off of what Spike wrote about you. I expected someone more prissy, to be honest.”
Rarity briefly shot a glare my way, silently promising retribution, before smirking at the dragoness. “I am pleased to have surprised you, then. I think you will find that we ponies are not the soft, quaking little creatures that some may assume we are. I will admit, we live within a culture built upon the tenets of Harmony, but it would be unwise to mistake our adherence to Harmony as weakness. I think that if you take the time to get to know some of us, you may find yourself surprised quite a bit, and often.”
Ember shrugged nonchalantly, looking out a window toward the distant mountain that housed Canterlot. “Most dragons choose to dig in their heels and stick by their biased beliefs, rather than have their beliefs challenged. For me, though, I can see a lot of the assumptions among my kind are wrong, just based on Canterlot itself.” She shot a look at Rarity with a toothy smile. “Dragons stand on their own for the most part. Even though they swear fealty to the dragon lords, we are more of guides than actual rulers, because dragons do not like being told what to do. For you ponies, though, ‘togetherness’ is part of your culture; ponies are comparatively weak, and squishy when you compare them to dragons, but put a bunch of ponies together and you get a place like Canterlot.” Again she glanced out the window toward the marble mountain capitol. “Canterlot is not weak, and even the most arrogant dragons speak about the ponies that protect it in hushed tones, with reverence.”
Rarity tilted her head as well, allowing a moment of silence as she mused over the words spoken. After a pregnant pause, she returned Ember’s smile. “I am surprised as well. Contrary to our earlier impressions of you and your kind, you appear to be quick-witted, intelligent, and humble. I believe that we could all stand to learn quite a bit from each other during your time here, Ember.” Rarity seemed to drift off to a very warm place for a moment before catching herself, shaking her head slightly, and plastering on a practiced smile. That was odd. “Anyhow, darling, I should have some winter wear ready for you by tomorrow. Come back here to pick it up, and we can perform a final fitting with any minor alterations to be sure the clothing fits comfortably.”
“I’ll pay, Ember.” I interrupted, Ember not even able to open her mouth before I answered the obvious question...or, depending on the confused looks Rarity and Lyla were sending my way, it wasn’t so obvious.
“Cool, I was just about to ask. I figured you would, but I didn’t want to assume.” Ember returned, confirming my guess (Was it a guess?).
Seemingly shaking off her momentary surprise, Rarity again smiled brightly. “Well then, I will see all of you tomorrow, unless we run into each other sooner. Now, I must get started. Ciao, dears!”
I met Ember and Lyla’s eyes with mine as I suggested, “We should get going, then. Rarity’s going to be working hard, so there’s no point in bothering her. Was there anything you two wanted to do before we check in with Twilight?”
Ember shivered a bit as we stepped back out into the winter cold. I extended my wing to cover her, earning a grateful smile as she answered, “Eh, I’m not really sure. It’s been awhile since I’ve been here, so a lot of things have changed.”
That was true, of course. “I guess you’re right. Well, I visit Applejack and Fluttershy each at least once a day, so we can swing by them if you’re cool with it.” I glanced at Lyla with a raised brow, as well.
Ember just nodded in response, while Lyla gave an affirmative hum. “Yes, I think it would be a good idea to visit Applejack, at the very least. Fluttershy was with us last night, but it has been nearly a day since you’ve visited Sweet Apple Acres.”
I gave my own nod as we turned down one of the plowed paths that led toward the farm. I shot a grin to Ember as I teased, “So, how was your first pony sleepover? Not so bad, was it?”
At the mention of the previous night, where she had shared a bed with not just me, but four others, Ember began to blush once again. “...it was all right, I’ll admit. I still can’t say it’s something I would seek out, but it wasn’t as bad as I was thinking.” She then threw a look to Lyla. “How did you settle into Equestria?”
The mention of Lyla’s “settling” brought back some bad memories for the both of us, considering how much racial discrimination changelings faced as a whole. It took years for the “old-style” changelings to be accepted in Equestria, and even now, there were certain parts of the nation that were wary of the shapeshifters. I couldn’t even feel vindictive about the response either, since certain hives gave changelings as a whole a bad reputation, and ponies had no idea there were separate hives.
“It was...really hard,” Lyla reminisced, frowning slightly. “Early on, there was still outright hostility against my kind, due to the multiple major instances of hostile actions by certain hives, against Equestria. A part of me knew it wasn’t the fault of Equestrians -- changelings are secretive by nature, so there wasn’t exactly much known about us -- but even so, it is still upsetting that I can be judged for the actions of others with which I share no connection.” I extended my other wing to curl around Lyla protectively, but she still sighed in defeat. “Things have vastly improved, but to certain ponies, all changelings are ‘cut from the same cloth’, so to speak, and we are all judged the same.”
I gave a reassuring nuzzle to my changeling, adding, “And honestly, Thorax didn’t have much to do with that. Don’t get me wrong, he helped move things along when it came to integrating changelings into Equestrian society, but it was easier for him because he and the other ‘new changelings’ look completely different than what most Equestrians remember, so it was easier for them to separate the new changelings from the ones of the past.” I gestured with my head toward Lyla. “But Lyla, here, has not gone through the change, so she’s a walking reminder of a lot of bad memories, to some ponies. If it weren’t for Twilight and Starlight, things wouldn’t be as good as they are now.”
Ember looked between the two of us for a few moments before cautiously asking, “Was Lyla ever attacked?”
I sighed through my nose, doing my best to keep from losing my cool over past memories. “Yes, once. We still don’t know what happened, or how. I was walking around town one day, doing a quick patrol of the Everfree border, and I found Lyla face down in a creek near the edge of the forest, with hoof prints all around her. She was battered and bruised, her chitin cracked and warped, and there were even magical burns over parts of her face.” Ember winced at my description, but I continued nonetheless. I couldn’t help the hitch in my breathing as I remembered what I felt that day. “...she was a mess, and I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to save her. I was still kid-sized back then, so carrying her to the hospital was nearly impossible, but I somehow managed.” I tightened my wing around the changeling soldier, remembering how frail and vulnerable she looked at that point. “I’ve never been more afraid in my entire life; the storm king taking over Equestria doesn’t even remotely compare.”
I found myself unable to speak more at that point, but thankfully, Lyla was able to pick it up from there. “The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital, and Spike was sleeping, half-laying down on the hospital bed, gripping my hand as if he were trying to physically keep me from leaving this world.”
The memory of that moment, when I woke up and looked into Lyla’s tired, yet grateful eyes, was enough to bring a smile to my face as I composed myself a bit to be able to speak. “I was so relieved, I almost kissed her. The terror I felt knowing that Lyla might die, and there was nothing I could do, shook me to my core, and I realized just how much I cared about her at that moment. I wouldn’t call it romantic love, at that point -- not yet -- but the seed had been planted, and I vowed to stand by her side for however long I needed to.” The memory that followed caused me to chuckle a bit. “Anyway, after Lyla woke up, the entire hospital started shaking, and instruments went crazy for a few minutes; it turned out Twilight was basically screaming at the entire town from on top of the castle, openly denouncing what had happened, and daring anypony to defend those actions. She openly called Lyla her friend for the first time, defending her and the innocents of her kind, and made sure the entire town knew she was ashamed that such an atrocious act had happened in her own town.” I gestured generally to the air with one hand. “Ponies respect Celestia due to her fair ruling practices and endless patience, and they respect Luna due to her power, majesty, and adherence to the old ways of chivalry and honor. But,” I smiled a bit at the thought of my alicorn mate, “people respect Twilight because she is willing to see past the barriers of race, ethnicity, or creed in order to forge friendships among anyone and everyone. To disappoint Twilight is to know the shame of being the anathema of friendship, to be the one that the Princess of Friendship can’t even stand to look at. Twilight doesn’t truly hate many things in this life, but baseless bigotry and hatred of others, especially just because they look different, is something that strikes a nerve within her every. Single. Time.”
“None of us could ask for a better friend,” Lyla praised with a bright smile. “Twilight isn’t perfect, but there is no doubt in my mind that she would be the first pony to stand beside someone in need, even if she didn’t know them. She helped to reform Discord, reformed Starlight Glimmer, and reformed Fizzlepop Berrytwist.”
“Wait,” Ember held up a claw, “who’s the last one? I don’t recognize that name.”
“Tempest Shadow.” Lyla and I answered at the same time.
A surprised look crossed Ember’s face. “The storm king’s lieutenant? That Tempest Shadow? The hornless unicorn that took down three alicorns, and an entire city of royal guards, without magic?!”
I chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. “Y-yeah, that’s the one.”
Ember nearly tripped over her own feet as I confirmed what she had asked about, and she was silent for a long few moments before speaking again. “If you tell anyone this, I’ll deny it, but there were a lot of dragons terrified about going up against Tempest Shadow. The storm king might have been the leader, but he was just some pompous yeti with a lust for power. Tempest Shadow, though...” Ember shivered a bit, and I had a feeling it had nothing to do with the cold, “this little, unassuming pony was more ferocious than we’d ever have expected from such a small, squishy species. She single-handedly brought the minotaurs under her boot, and the deerfolk of Clefthoof Isle were forced to surrender when she set their entire forest ablaze...and then, she let it burn to the ground, eliminating all but a few lucky survivors.”
I’d never heard about the darker portions of Fizzle’s crusade across the world, but even before Ember said so, I knew that she had probably done some terrible things. Honestly, the only thing that kept Celestia and Luna from charging her with war crimes was the fact that she was manipulated by the storm king, and Fizzle had willingly gone out into the world to atone for the atrocities she’d committed. Even now, we received letters every now and then about her progress, but I knew it might be years before we saw her again, because there was a lot of damage caused by the storm king’s armada. Even though I was sad a new friend was going to be gone for quite some time, I was kinda glad I wouldn’t have to be teased by the girls anymore. Let’s just say it was hard for me not to stare and enjoy Fizzle’s bodysuit-clad form.
“Y’know, I had a feeling more had happened than she told us, but this is my first time hearing about it.” I mused aloud, trying not to sound horrified at what I had heard. I’m not sure I succeeded, if Ember’s knowing look was any indication.
Ember nudged me as we kept moving. “It’s not really her fault, you know. From what I heard, she was loner for pretty much her whole life, even compared to Starlight. She probably doesn’t feel comfortable trusting other people.”
I frowned a bit at the thought. As someone who had been surrounded by family and friends since day one, I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to only be able to count on myself for everything. I guess I would have become a very different person if I had to depend on myself for food, shelter, protection, and stars knows what else. It would probably make me more serious, less willing to let others help, and maybe even cold-hearted.
“...I guess I can see that,” I admitted, with a sigh of defeat.
Conversation trailed off as the farm came into view, and I quickly led the three of us to the front door of the farmhouse. Knocking three times, I waited patiently with Lyla and Ember on the porch. The heavy, spaced steps that approached told me that Big Mac was back, and only a moment later the door was pulled open by the giant of a stallion. He glanced briefly at my two companions before silently nodding to me and standing aside to let us enter.
After a moment of staring with a dumbfounded look of surprise at the giant pony, Ember allowed herself to be tugged inside. After Big Mac walked away, presumably to fetch Applejack, Ember turned to me and whisper-shouted, “What in the seven hells was that?!”
I shrugged calmly. “That’s just Big Macintosh. He’s the oldest child of the Ponyville Apple clan, a mean Paladin in O&O, and one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. I’m surprised you’ve never met him before.”
Ember kept staring at the doorway he’d disappeared through, shaking her head slowly. “Never had a reason to. That guy is, like, freakishly big. Ponies aren’t supposed to be that big.”
I shrugged again, mentally chuckling at the response my next comment would get. “His herd seems to be able to handle his size just fine, from what I can see.”
Ember’s face went through a multitude of expressions, chiefly confusion, before realization struck her and she practically fell on the floor in laughter. Though Lyla looked downright ashamed at my terrible joke, I could only think, “Totally worth it.”
A few moments later, after Ember had composed herself, Applejack strode into the room with a bright smile on her face. She looked momentarily surprised by Ember, but approached regardless and pulled me into a hug. While pulling away, she ran her cheek over mine, and her eyes were shining with happiness.
“Heya Spike, good t’see ya,” she greeted jovially, then turned her eyes to Ember. “And it’s good t’see ya again too. First things first: is Spike all right?”
“Yes, and he’s going to stay that way.” Ember answered directly. She jerked her head to me. “Just some dragon stuff he’s going through, and I’m going to help him adjust. He’s not going to grow anymore, and he’s going to learn things that he should have a long time ago. He’ll be just fine, I promise.”
Applejack visibly sagged in relief as she made her way to her favorite chair, plopping down into it with a groan. “That’s real good news, ma’am. Ah’m glad t’hear it. Ah ain’t gonna lie ‘n say Ah wasn’t worried somethin’ fierce.”
I smiled at Applejack’s concern, then pointed to her healing arm. “So, how does it feel?”
Applejack shifted her shoulder around, and though the arm was still in a cast, I could tell just by looking that she was quite happy to be able to move it a little more. “Gettin’ better every day. ‘Least now Ah can use tha arm again, even though Ah still can’t lift nothin’. Still, some mobility is better’n none. It’s annoyin’, but Ah’ve made peace with tha fact Ah’m just gonna have t’deal with it for some time, yet.”
“Dash and I will help get you back to 100%, AJ. Promise.” I assured with a smile. “Just because you’re weak now doesn’t mean you’re going to stay that way. An Apple never stays down for long.”
Applejack grinned at my words, puffing up a bit in pride. “Darn tootin’. Ah’ll be up ‘n about by early next year.”
“So,” I began, glancing around the house, “was there anything you needed help with? I figure that since we're here, I might as well lend a hand.”
The farm mare bobbed her head from side to side for a moment before shaking her head. “Nah, Ah think Ah got ev’rything well ‘nough in hand, right now. Ah think Mac could use a hand in tha barn though, Spike.” I stood to leave, as did Lyla and Ember, but Applejack stopped them with a quiet, “A-actually, do y’all think you could stay? Ah wanna talk to tha to’ve ya about somethin’.” At my raised brow, Applejack just shot a nervous smile my way. ”Girl stuff. Sorry, Spike.”
I stared at the notoriously-bad-at-lying mare for a few moments before shrugging and turning again to leave. “Eh, that’s fine. You know where to find me if you need me.” With my piece said, I quickly jogged out the rear kitchen door, and out into the snow again. The large, red barn was only a hundred or so feet away, so it was easy to see Big Mac moving stuff around inside, with the doors wide open.
The stallion’s ears perked up as I approached, and he turned to me as I entered the barn. He shifted the sprig of wheat around in his mouth before guessing, “AJ sent ya out ‘ere?” I gave a nod of affirmation, so he jerked his head toward the haybales. “Gotta feed tha cows. Help me spread it out to tha girls.”
I joined Big Mac in his work, trying not to be disturbed by the fact that he was no longer the giant to me that he once was -- where he had once been head and shoulders taller than me, now he only topped me by an inch or two. If physical labor was good for something, though, it was allowing the mind to wander and relax, so I threw myself fully into the monotonous work. My recent gains in both strength and size came in handy, allowing Big Mac and I to quickly and efficiently tend to the cows.
Unfortunately, with the job so easy and quick, my mouth saw fit to bring up what my mind was thinking. “It kinda worries me that AJ wanted me out of the room like that. I thought we didn't keep secrets from each other.”
Having spread out the hay among the twelve cows, Big Mac stuck the pitchfork in the ground and raised an eyebrow at me. “Ya wanna be the pot, ‘r the kettle?”
I raised my own brow in response. “What the hay are you talking about?”
“Did ya tell ‘er about O&O?” he challenged.
“What's to tell? She already knows about it.” I countered with a frown.
With a snort, Big Mac argued, “She found out about it, yeah, but y'all never told her. It woulda been a secret you kept, Ah’d wager.” The normally-stoic stallion let out a sigh as he rubbed his eyes. “Ah ain't perfect Spike, ‘n neither are you. We both got battles we fight with ourselves, ‘n we both got secrets we keep from tha world. Don't make tha mistake ‘f holdin’ somepony to a standard that ya ain't reachin’ yerself. Y'all only got tha right ta demand honesty if ya ain't got no secrets ‘f yer own.”
I couldn’t refute that, unfortunately. “Everyone has secrets, Mac.”
“Then don’t expect ‘t know ev’rythin’ about yer friends.” he answered, turning back to his work and beginning to pick up the hay ties and stray strands. “Some people got skel’tons in their closets, ‘n they’ll take ‘em to tha grave with ‘em. Ya gotta accept that, if yer gonna be close ta anyone.”
While I agreed on a silent, private level, I didn’t say so. I wished that I could know everything about those I cared about, but Big Mac was right: I had my own things I kept from others, so I had no right to demand to know everything about everyone. And to think, I didn’t used to keep things from those I care about. Adult life was complicated.
“Is there anything else you actually need help with out here?” I questioned, glancing toward the hulking stallion.
Big Mac shook out his orange mane and snorted. “Naw. Truth is, Ah didn’t need help t’begin with. You ‘n Ah both know AJ just wanted t’ talk with tha girls in private. You ‘n AJ are thick as thieves, but there’s some stuff that’s just b’tween other girls.”
I gave a thoughtful nod, knowing that there were certain things about being a guy that I didn’t bring to my female friends -- not so much because it was embarrassing, but because they wouldn’t be able to relate or properly understand. With a lazy salute to Big Mac, I made my way back to the farmhouse and knocked on the door before entering.
Walking back into the main room, I was treated to the sight of Ember looking confused, Lyla grinning like a cat that caught the canary, and Applejack looking as pale as a ghost. With a look over the gathered girls, I decided to be blunt and ask, “Did something happen that I should know about?”
Before Lyla could even form words, Applejack blurted, “Nope, nothin’ here. Ain’t nothin’ happened, and ain’t nothin’ gonna happen. All’s good here, Spike.” Her eyes betrayed her with that shifty-eyed thing she did when she was telling a horrible lie.
Raising a brow high, I placed my hands on my hips. “You sure about that? We’ve known each other for years AJ, and you know that we all know you’re a terrible liar.”
A faint blush lit up her cheeks, but she glanced away and mumbled, “A-Ah can’t, Spike. Sorry. It’s personal.”
I kept Big Mac’s words in mind for her answer, and just sighed with a nod. “All right then, I’m not going to bug you about it. When you’re ready, you know I’ll listen.”
Applejack opened her mouth before closing it a moment later. After a few seconds of silence, she offered a quiet, “Thanks, Spike. Ah’ll keep that in mind.”
Glancing out the window, I noticed the weather was starting to pick up again, so I motioned to the door. “Anyhow, unless you all needed anything, I think we should mosey. We still want to go see Fluttershy before the blizzard hits tonight.”
Applejack, to my surprise, looked a little disappointed for some reason, but she nodded regardless. “Ah understand. Naw, we don’ really need nothin’ -- thanks to yer help, all tha logs f’r winter are caught up, so we’re good for the season.” She stood from the cushioned chair and made her way to me, bringing me in for a strong, one-armed hug. “You be safe out there, ya hear?”
I returned the embrace readily. “Of course. Take care of yourself, AJ. I’ll see you tomorrow, if I can.” Lyla and Ember offered their own farewells before following me out into the winter cold again.
With the day waning and the temperature dropping, I took a shortcut through the south field of Sweet Apple Acres, hopping the fence and continuing toward Fluttershy’s cottage. The cottage was visible through the leafless trees, and I wasted no time in hopping the small creek and skirting the edge of the forest toward our destination. I found Ember floating next to me with a raised brow, her wings flapping lazily, and I mentally kicked myself for not just using my own wings to make the trip easier and quicker. Nonetheless, we arrived at Fluttershy’s place within only a few minutes, and since Lyla and I were close friends of Ponyville’s resident animal caretaker, we just walked inside without knocking.
Fluttershy was in the living room, carefully wrapping a bandage around the rear hoof of a young male deer. The woodland animal nearly bolted at the sight of us, but a shushing sound and comforting hand on its back from Fluttershy settled it quickly, and while we were watched cautiously, it was now not on the verge of a panicked sprint. The three of us waited patiently for Fluttershy to finish her work, and within only a few minutes, she gave a firm nod and words of encouragement to the deer, walking over to her back door and opening it for the animal to leave.
“Now, I want you to take it easy on that hoof. I don’t doubt you’re a strong young buck, but it needs to heal.” she warned, mildly chastising the animal, likely for something it had done to injure itself in the first place (conjecture on my part, only due to the fact I knew Fluttershy’s body language pretty well by this point). The deer gave a thankful lick to her cheek before carefully walking outside, soon disappearing into the nearby forest.
Fluttershy spent the next few moments cleaning up the gauze and bandages before finally turning to me with a half-smile. “Good afternoon. I’m sorry I couldn’t greet all of you at the door, but…” she shrugged helplessly.
I gave a shake of my head and reassured, “Nah, it’s okay. We’re not injured, and he was, so your animal friend was the priority. Is he going to be okay?”
With a look that suited an exasperated mother, Fluttershy sighed and answered, “Yes, but I don’t doubt I’ll see him again sometime pretty soon. Like many growing males, he thinks he’s invincible, and does foolish things for recognition. He tried to buck a tree like Applejack and her family, and ended up splitting his hoof instead.”
The surprise I felt was mirrored by my two companions. “Animals talk about the Apples like that?”
She nodded with a sigh. “Yes. Sometimes, like this time, it ends up causing trouble for them when they do something to hurt themselves. Just because they can’t speak like us doesn’t mean animals don’t talk about us.”
I suddenly found myself becoming very paranoid.
“Anyhow,” Fluttershy continued, smiling that slightly sad smile I had become used to recently, “it’s good to see you, Spike. Thank you for visiting. Oh,” she jumped a bit at finally noticing the blue dragoness beside me. While she held eye contact, she retreated a bit into herself, with hunched shoulders and a cautious stance. “H-hello, Ember. It’s good to see you, too.”
I had long accepted the fact that Fluttershy would always be shy around people until she got to know them, so I just smiled to the mare and opened my arms for a hug. The pegasus wasted no time in rushing to my embrace, practically teleporting, if I didn’t know any better. We held the embrace for a few moments before stepping away from each other.
Running a curled digit along her cheek, I offered a customary, “How are you, ‘Shy?”
Fluttershy shrugged slightly, glancing around the dimly-lit room. “I’m...coping. It’s hard, and I still miss A-Angel, but I’m doing all that I can to keep going. Having my animal friends drop in for help lets me focus on something else, so I’ve been dedicating my time and energy to that.”
“I know it gets kind of lonely around here during winter,” I commented idly, giving a shrug, “so you’re always welcome at the castle. I know Twilight wouldn’t mind, and we’re always happy to see you, regardless of the reason.”
Fluttershy grew a cute blush as she scuffed the floor with a hoof. “W-well, I don’t want to be a bother. You two are so busy all the time, so I feel like I would be in the way.”
I rolled my eyes at the behavior, which was reminiscent of how she always acted in the past. “Fluttershy, you could never be a bother. While Twilight and I are mostly focused on administrative tasks nowadays, simply having a friend to talk to during work makes the day pass so much faster, and easier. Please, if you ever feel like you want to see us, visit; we would love to have you any time you want to come over.”
Fluttershy continued looking at the floor for a few moments before shyly looking up and asking, “...w-well, what about now?”
I glanced at Ember and Lyla, who offered their own shrugs. I turned back to the pegasus and answered, “I did say you’re welcome anytime. Are you sure you don’t have prior engagements?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh, no. As you know, winter gets rather quiet around here, so I often spend my time reading or listening to music. It would be nice to spend time with friends, though.”
I nodded with a smile to my friend, jerking my head toward the door. “Well, even though I set aside time to spend here, with you, it would be better if we left sooner. Grab whatever you need to and let’s head back to the castle, before it gets too cold.”
Fluttershy gave me a nod before scampering up the stairs, likely to her bedroom, and the three of us were left standing in the living area. After only a few seconds Ember asked, “Is having friends over this often commonplace for you all?”
I shrugged with a nervous grin. “Eh, not really. Ever since Twilight and I took on a heavier workload regarding local government, we usually don’t see the girls but once or twice a week, and spending the night over was pretty rare until recently. Not that we wouldn’t love to see everyone every day, and it’s not like we’re lacking the space to have friends over, but we just don’t usually have the time, and the others are often just as busy with their own lives.” I tilted my head as I really thought about the situation. “Thinking about it, it’s kind of sad to know that we’re all living such separate lives, when we all were once in each other’s lives every day. We do the best we can, but adult life and responsibilities have a way of wedging our lives apart.”
“Dragons like their space, as I’m sure you know.” Ember commented, glancing to me from the corner of her eye. “Having get-togethers and inviting friends into one’s home is a foreign concept to most dragons; friendship in itself is a foreign concept.” I was slowly learning the more subtle bits of Ember’s body language, and so I caught the twitching of the tip of her tail and shifting of her wings that practically screamed “nervousness.”
“You’re uncomfortable around my friends.” I prodded. It wasn’t a question.
Ember turned her head fully so that she could focus completely on me. “...kinda, yeah. It’s not their fault, though. To a dragon, home is quiet and often solitary, and it’s a place we can go to feel safe and protected. My instincts are telling me that we shouldn’t be inviting people over to the place where I’m going to be staying. It makes me...antsy.”
I brought my hand up and began rubbing between her shoulders, just above Ember’s wing joints, a place I had found soothed her. Slowly, as I caressed the soft hide there, the tension in her shoulders, wings, and neck began to dissipate, and I offered a nuzzle behind her horn as I assured, “You’re already accepted by all of them, so this is okay. You’re safe, and even if you weren’t, I’d keep you well-protected.”
Ember gave a lazy snort. “I don’t need protection.”
“No,” I soothed, “I don’t suppose you do. Still, the eyes only face one direction, so it’s nice to have someone at your back, that can watch out for the things you don’t see. This is what it means to trust someone: to have someone know how and where you are most vulnerable, but rather than exploit those weaknesses, they protect them from those that might do you harm.” I chuckled a bit as I lowered my hand and wound it around her waist, pulling her close. “Or, in our case, I’m just guiding you in the weirdness that is pony society, so that you don’t feel so out of place.”
With a sigh that seemed to be half defeat, half grateful, Ember nodded. “All right, fine. Anyway, I can feel the temperature dropping, so we should get going soon.”
“Just as soon as Fluttershy is ready.” I answered, only for that to apparently be the cue for the pegasus to float down the stairs with a packed back ready. “Okay, cool. Let’s get going, then. C’mere and I’ll help you out, ‘Shy.” I gestured to her winter gear next to the front door.
The mare blushed, but made her way over to me without protest and I helped her get dressed in her coat, gloves, and boots, finishing the whole ensemble by wrapping her scarf around her neck. She was bundled up in browns and dark greens for the most part, the only splash of color besides her fur and mane being her scarf. Honestly, it was almost criminal how cute Fluttershy was.
It was only when Ember loudly cleared her throat that I realized Fluttershy and I had been staring into each other’s eyes for nearly a minute, and I violently shook my head as I coughed nervously. “R-right. Well, I think we’re all set. Let’s head back to the castle.”
What was wrong with me lately?
“Again,” Ember ordered.
We had all arrived back at the castle as the sun just began to touch the horizon, and though she would never admit it aloud, Ember was grimacing at just how cold it had gotten, and how quickly. After getting everyone inside, fixing some warm drinks to heat everyone up, and rejoining Twilight, Ember and I made our way to a secret room on the bottom floor that technically didn’t exist. The room had been developed by Twilight, using certain spells to create a pocket dimension behind a door that normally led to an empty storage room. When a crystal geode lock from outside was properly manipulated with fire, however, the spell activated, allowing the normal door to open to the secret room.
The room itself was solid stone, with no windows and only a few slits in the ceiling and walls to vent air, and the walls themselves were scorched, burned, and scratched all over. This had become Twilight’s practice room for dangerous spells she learned or created, so that it wouldn’t cause damage to the rest of the castle. Since it was technically in a different dimension than Equestria, nothing that happened in this place would affect anything outside of it, even though it was accessible from a certain doorway within the castle. Because of this, it was the perfect place for Ember to begin teaching me about what I had missed regarding dragons, their magic, and their heritage.
At the moment, however, I was learning that dragon magic was much different than pony magic.
“This is a pain.” I grumbled, watching as a burning draconic character, made in my emerald fire, faded away from the air in front of me.
Ember crossed her arms as she stood a dozen paces in front of me. “Unfortunately, growing up around Twilight will work against you when it comes to casting spells. By fetching her books, helping her study, dictating letters and notes, and even reading her the spells out of her tomes, you’ve subconsciously latched onto how ponies cast magic. However, as you’re finding out, dragon magic isn’t cast the same way as pony magic. Instead of intense focus, clearing your mind of emotions, and studying spells and matrices, dragon magic is far more primal. As I said before, your emotions are your power, so you have to learn to let go. Dragon magic isn’t studied, perfected, and tested like a science experiment, it’s just done. In that way, it’s much simpler than pony magic, since you don’t have to learn spell diagrams, arcane matrices, and the primal words of the aether, but being by Twilight’s side all these years has filled your head with the wrong approach. Here,” she walked around me, and I felt as her claws slowly began to massage my shoulders, “you need to relax. Getting yourself all worked up isn’t going to do you any favors when it comes to casting spells. Emotions are our power, but that doesn’t mean we give up control to them. You have to learn to embrace them, and harness them properly, or else you’ll be a danger to yourself and others.”
I won’t even try and deny that Ember’s slow, firm ministrations relieved the tension in my shoulders, and I eventually found myself succumbing to her gentle massage. Breathing a deep sigh of relaxation, I gave a nod. “You’re right, I’m sorry. So,” I glanced to her from the side, “what exactly is this spell again?”
Stepping out to my side, and moving her one remaining hand to massage my neck, she gestured to her own draconic character, which was still burning happily on the other side of the room. “This spell only uses one character, so it’s just a weak spell. The character is called ‘laah’, which translates to ‘light’ in common. Care to guess what it does?”
I shrugged, guessing, “It’s a light spell?”
Ember nodded before releasing me completely, stepping away to the side. “Yes, one that follows you around like a personal torch. Depending on how much power you put into it, it can last anywhere from a minute, to a few days before dissipating. Put too much power in it, though,” she raised her flaming hand into the air, and the fire on her claws grew brighter in intensity at the same time the glowing character did, until with a loud boom, it blew up and disappeared, “and you overload the spell, eliminating it. Control is just as important as skill, no matter the spell, so you have to learn to control those emotions. A spell like this isn’t going to hurt too much, but even with you being immune to fire, the concussive force is still enough to knock you off your feet.”
I gave another nod before raising my own hand in the air. I breathed another gout of flame onto my hand, and the flames burned merrily on my scales, though they didn’t harm me in any way. Slowly, keeping in mind to feel the emotion of happiness within, I began to draw the character as neatly as I could.
Seemingly sensing what I was doing, Ember commented, “Dragons aren’t perfect when it comes to penmanship. The emotion is far more important than getting the exact shape of the character; so long as your character closely resembles what you wanted it to be, the emotion you hold within you will be enough to make the spell do what it’s supposed to. You have to feel it deep inside, let it fill you up, and draw with that feeling in the air. Let your hand dance with that emotion in each movement, and try and translate the intangible into the motions you make.”
I thought of what she meant, and in my mind’s eye, I saw Twilight taking notes. I could easily remember how her quill strokes would change depending on her mood -- when she was happy, her words were flowy and pretty; when she was annoyed or stressed, the words became straight, block letters. Finally realizing what Ember meant by “writing with emotion”, I brought my claw back to my half-finished character and continued, this time with a smile on my face.
I thought of the most recent time all of my friends got together, at Applejack’s house. For once, everyone had been free at the same time, so we all gathered at the farmhouse to spend time with the Apple family. It was a rare occurrence, but this had been one of the times when there were no obligations we needed to discuss, no royal business to take care of, and no matters of state or national security. For the first time in what felt like forever, all nine of us (not including Big Mac and his herd) spent time together, with nothing more pressing in mind than just enjoying a good time with our best friends. Just like the old times, Applejack and Rainbow Dash joked and teased each other, Rarity gleefully talked about her recent dress designs, as well as the shop in Manehattan, and Twilight excitedly recounted her most recent discoveries. Pinkie of course was bouncing around, adding her own two-bits to each conversation, while Starlight was sitting back with a drink, just enjoying the very concept of having friends that loved and accepted her. Lyla, of course, was glued to my side, simply happy to be with me, and Fluttershy was the same, smiling gently at the warm, comforting atmosphere. It was a wonderful memory, and I knew I was going to have to make similar things happen more often in the near future, and hopefully Ember would join us.
“Woah.”
I opened my eyes, not realizing I had closed them, and saw the burning character in front of me. It was pulsing with light, instead of burning like my normal fire, and I could feel something bubbling up inside of me. Without knowing what I was doing or why, I began to sing a seemingly random melody, with no words, and with a beaming smile on my face. I felt the happiness swell up inside of me, and I let my hand dance around the character, adding pretty filigree around the edges, which broadened out into a vaguely circular border around the character. I reached out to Ember, pulling her close as I lowered my hand, continuing to sing, and began to dance a simple waltz with her. I could easily tell that Ember didn’t know how to dance, since her steps were clumsy and unsure, but she followed me regardless, and a smile slowly bloomed upon her own face. We danced for a few minutes as I just enjoyed myself, nearly forgetting what we were there for, until I noticed the room was now awash in green light, pulsing to the beat of my song. I decided to stop finally, and ceased my song, noticing my still-glowing character stopped pulsing with light, fading to a normal fiery flickering.
We stood still for a few moments, as I was unsure exactly what just happened, before Ember finally breathed, “I have to be honest, I didn’t think you’d be able to do something like that.”
“What did I do?” I asked, honestly confused as to just what the hay I did.
“A few things, actually.” Ember began, smiling at me. “That elegant design you added to your spell is what’s commonly known as ‘padding the words’, and it adds power to the spell in a way that doesn’t increase the strength, but rather the stability. With that skill, spells can be built stronger than normal, so long you’re good at your calligraphy.”
I shrugged sheepishly. “Sorry. A lot of the arcane words in Equestrian magic are really complex and flowy like that, so after helping Twilight take her notes for so many years, it’s basically second-nature.”
Ember shook her head fervently. “No, that’s a good thing. You might not know much about dragon magic, but that skill will help you, a lot.”
I gave a slow nod before biting my lip. “What about the singing? I just suddenly felt the urge to start singing, and I’m not sure why.”
“I told you that dragons are deeply tied to emotion.” Ember lightly teased, smirking at me. “Music is a creation of emotion, and so dragons are also tied to that. I hadn’t thought about it before, but that’s another advantage you have over most other dragons: with Equestria’s ‘Music of Harmony,’ you’ve been exposed to music as a part of normal life, so much so that it’s a part of this culture. Think about it,” she nudged me in the side with a finger, “there’s music for every emotion that exists. Dragons are innately musical. We don’t build instruments or symphonies, but we can sing. It’s an instinct that’s existed for thousands of years, and you’re proof that it still runs strong in us.”
I scratched the back of my head nervously. “I’ve never really been a singer.”
“Maybe you never did it as a hobby,” Ember soothed with a bright smile, “but all dragons are singers. Our songs don’t need to have words, written music, or rigid rules: our songs come from the heart, and they show exactly what we’re feeling. Every dragon has a certain way that they cast spells -- some harness emotion directly, some practice until it’s practically muscle-memory, and some sing. I think you’re a singer, Spike.”
I nodded, trying to take everything in. “Okay, but how was my spell reacting even after I drew it?”
Ember reached to my wrist and held up my hand, which was still on fire. “As long as your fire is still active on your claws, you can control your creations in certain ways. Since you never rid yourself of the fire, it reacted when you started singing. It was an amazing display, if I do say so myself.” She went over my fireproof bag in the corner, reaching inside and pulling out a watch. “Anyway, it’s getting late, so I think that’s enough work for today. You stepped into your first bit of dragon magic, and from there, we’ll be able to pretty quickly reach the point where you can control your size. I guess I was right when I figured you’d pick this all up pretty fast; you’ve got a natural aptitude for magic, though I guess that’s not surprising.”
I shook off my hand, causing the fire to go out, and waved my hand through the burning character. The character wisped away like a smothered flame, casting the room into dim light, since it was now only lit by Ember’s light. As we made our way over to the door, she did the same with her own light, and the room faded into darkness as we reentered the castle, reactivating the magical lock before making our way to the upper floors.
Twilight, Fluttershy, and Lyla were waiting for us when we returned, and Twilight immediately asked Ember, “So, how did he do?”
“He’s basically a dragon version of you.” Ember quipped, chuckling lightly. “He’s got the instincts of a true dragon, so it’s making this a lot easier than I could have hoped for, because most of what he has to know, his mind already wants to do. I just have to teach him to realize what he’s doing and why, and he’ll be casting spells like a master in no time.”
I couldn’t help the blush that crawled into my spines and ear fins. “I wouldn’t say that, but it’s going better than I thought it would.”
Twilight, of course, nearly glomped me in excitement, and only my larger frame and mass kept her from knocking me over. “That’s so great, Spike! I knew you could do it!”
“Congratulations, Spike!” Fluttershy quietly threw in, smiling supportively.
Lyla added her own praise in the way of a silent smile and raising of her mug of what smelled like hot chocolate.
I blushed harder at the praise, but smiled anyway. It was nice to be reminded of all the support I had, and it brought up a now-familiar warmth inside. Deciding to let loose one more time, I closed my eyes and sang a wordless tune that was “bouncy” and happy. I only sang for a minute before going silent, opening my eyes to see all but Ember staring at me, jaws agape and eyes wide.
Twilight recovered first, stammering, “W-what...what was that? I didn’t know you could sing like that, Spike.”
“All dragons can,” Ember answered in my stead, smiling proudly. “It’s a part of who we are, and that right there was a song of happiness. Dragons can assist the casting of their spells by singing with the emotion tied to the spell, and Spike just happens to do so instinctually.”
While I would never get a cutie mark like a pony, it was nice to know that, as a dragon, I had certain innate talents that some ponies just didn’t have. It made me feel special, and unique.
“Anyhow,” Ember interjected, “we’ve finished with Spike’s education for today, so we thought we’d join the rest of you for the night.”
Snapping back to attention, I nodded to Twilight. “Yeah, was there anything you all wanted to do?”
Twilight glanced at Lyla and Fluttershy before shrugging. “I was thinking just some warm drinks and spending time together in front of the fire, unless you wanted to put on some music.”
“Music sounds good.” Twilight answered herself with a nod, moving around the furniture toward her new record deck, which replaced the aged gramophone we once used. The gyro-balanced deck and diamond-tipped needle were pricey, but the soothing tones of some contemporary piano music showed how much the quality was improved by those implements. Twilight then left the room toward our private kitchen, likely to fetch those warm drinks she promised.
With night falling, as well as my mind and body switching to “relaxation mode,” I decided to forego my normal modesty and remove my shirt, which was singed and burned in a few places due to my “tutoring” with Ember -- luckily, the shirt was an older piece that I often only wore around the castle for cleaning and such, so its loss wasn’t a big deal.
I was now the target of both Lyla and Ember’s gazes, as well as the third party, who was blushing madly. Realizing my faux pas, I grunted and slapped my hand on my face. “Ugh, I’m sorry Fluttershy. Give me a second and I’ll go put on a shirt.”
The blushing pegasus reached a hand out to me briefly before jerking away and shifting her head in a perfect, practiced way that concealed her face behind a waterfall of pink hair. “O-okay, Spike. Umm...I’m sorry.”
I balled up the damaged shirt in my hands and raised my brow at Fluttershy. “Sorry for what?” Fluttershy opened and closed her mouth a few times in a few “false-starts” before shaking her head and remaining silent. I just shrugged and bounded off toward my room to quickly fetch another “house shirt” to wear, returning only a few minutes later to see Ember standing outside of the main room, in the hallway leading to our personal quarters.
Again my brow slid up my forehead as I asked, “Why are you hanging out over here? Did you get nervous without me there or something?”
Ember shot a glare my way, promising punishment for my slight, before jerking her head back toward the main room. “No. Fluttershy wanted to speak to Lyla privately about something after you left, so I graciously gave them privacy. Due to how well dragons can hear, I had to come all the way over here to keep from eavesdropping.” I continued staring at her, silently asking why she felt the need to do that, but she seemingly read my thoughts as she elaborated with, “I might not get a lot of things about ponies or their culture, but dragons definitely understand the value of privacy. Besides,” she did that quickly-becoming-adorable foot-scuffing motion on the floor as she averted her eyes, “if I’m being completely honest, I do feel more comfortable when you’re there with me. I know you all have said it’s cool, and that this is normal for ponies, but it’s still weird to me. It’s going to take time for me to get used to being welcomed with open arms into the home of someone else, and told that it’s completely normal to do so with friends.”
I tried to stop myself, but I couldn’t help it as my mouth worked faster than I could control. “I never thought you would be scared of a bunch of ponies.” I winced as she elbowed me in the ribs, and I offered a sheepish smile as I rubbed the sore spot. “Right, sorry. That was uncalled for.”
Ember continued glaring at me for a few moments before sighing and closing her eyes. “...it’s fine, and you’re not wrong. I’ve lived my whole life one way, and all of the sudden, to fit into your life, I have to adapt. I’ll get there, but it’s going to take some time, and I need you with me.”
“Hey,” I took her hand in mine and rubbed my thumb over the back of it, soothing, “it’s okay; I’m not going anywhere. I need to ask for your forgiveness ahead of time, because I’m probably going to stick my foot in my mouth quite a few times, but if you can put up with that, I’ll stand beside you every step of the way.”
Ember’s features relaxed into a loving smile and she leaned over to run her nose along my cheek. “Right, let’s get back, then. I can smell that coffee Twilight makes from all the way over here, and that stuff is good.”
I guided Ember along with me by her hand, shrugging noncommittally. “Eh, I’ve never really been a coffee kind of guy, except in the mornings. I know plenty of ponies that love the taste of coffee, so much so that they’ll eat things that taste like it, but I’ve never been one of those.”
Ember poked me in my stomach with a claw, teasing, “I know. You used to be a chubby little thing back in the day, and I’m well-aware of your sweet tooth. Honestly, I’m surprised you’re not a bit more round, even now.”
I shot a glare her way. “Hey, I’ll have you know that I work hard with Rainbow Dash to keep myself in tip-top shape. I might enjoy sweet things, but I have no intention of being chubby.” I paused for a moment, adding,”...again.”
Ember chuckled, her voice ringing delightfully in my ear. “Hey, you might not have been hot or sexy as a younger drake, but you were cute for a whelp. Besides,” she ran her free hand over my stomach (and yes, I admit, I tightened my abs), “whatever exercise you do is clearly working. I’m not complaining at all.” And again, just like at the restaurant, I was grinning like a fool, and blushing like a lovestruck teenager.
We arrived back in the commons room to find Twilight sitting next to Lyla and Fluttershy, the latter of whom was still blushing like crazy. Upon catching sight of me, Fluttershy looked like she was going to have a panic attack, but Lyla leaned in and whispered something that I couldn’t hear, which caused the pegasus to release a breath and relax. Twilight, by her token, looked very conflicted, but after a few tense moments, she sighed and performed a zipping motion across her lips. A part of me was irked that there was clearly something being kept from me for the second time in one day, but I kept Big Mac’s words in mind and remembered that we all had things we kept secret. I had to accept that I wasn’t going to know everything about everyone close to me, and that’s just how life was.
True to Ember’s nose, there was a steaming mug of coffee waiting for her, and some lemon tea for me, so we took a seat on the free loveseat and took our drinks from Twilight’s magic. Lyla nearly scrambled over to sit next to my unoccupied side, while Twilight graciously took her place next to Fluttershy on the sofa. I allowed a few moments of silence as I joined Ember in enjoying the drink provided to me.
“So,” Twilight broke the silence, focusing on Ember directly, “as I’m sure Spike has told you, I like to have schedules to plan everything out. Do you, at this point, have any idea how long Spike is going to take to learn everything you have to teach him?”
Ember immediately shook her head. “At this point, no. It’s too early to tell, and while Spike shows a natural aptitude for magic, that’s not to say he’s going to have an easy time with everything. I’m sure you can relate to the fact that not everyone learns everything equally easily, and some concepts will be harder to understand than others. For example: I still have to teach Spike the whole of our language, he needs to learn to have better control of his emotions, and I have to basically reprogram his way of learning so that he thinks about magic like a dragon, instead of like a pony.” Twilight looked moderately offended, but before she could respond, Ember held up a hand. “I don’t mean that as an insult, Twilight. I explained the same thing to Spike, so I’ll give you the basic footnote: dragons don’t use magic the same way ponies do. Much of what Spike knows about how magic works is based on a pony’s perspective, and while we both technically use the same naturally-occuring energy to cast spells, the execution is very different. He’s going to have to learn to see magic and its applications from a dragon’s perspective in order to use it for more than sending letters with his breath.”
With a look of startled realization, Twilight’s horn lit up and she snapped her fingers, causing a sealed scroll to fall into her open hand. “Speaking of letters, this came for you, Spike. It has anti-tamper spells keyed to your magical signature, so I thought it was best to leave it for you to read in private, if you wanted.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Well, there are spells to ensure privacy when reading, so I’m sure if it was that important, there would be some of those.” I pulled the ribbon off and unrolled the parchment, reading over the first few lines. “Oh hey, it’s from Thorax! He says hey to everyone, and…” I continued reading a little further, finding a smile coming to my face, “he says he’d be happy to join the Hearth’s Warming celebration, and he’ll bring Ocellus with him.” Squinting at the words on the scroll, I glanced to Lyla. “He actually says he wants to speak with you privately when he gets here, but it doesn’t say what about.”
Lyla leaned past my shoulder to glance over where I was pointing on the scroll, and she shrugged her shoulders with a look of confusion. “I’m not sure what about. I haven’t spoken with him that often, to be honest, so I can’t think of what he might need to say to me personally.”
“May I?” Twilight asked, holding her hand open toward me. I handed the scroll to her, and her horn lit up as a bright spell diagram formed over the palm of her hand, between her skin and the parchment. After a few moments, the diagram faded, and she handed the scroll back to me. “I can’t find any hidden distress signals or illusion spells, so whatever it is, it must not be urgent. I guess you’ll just have to wait and see what he wants. Hearth’s Warming isn’t too far away, so you won’t be waiting long.”
I set the scroll aside and continued nursing my tea, while Twilight picked up a conversation with Ember about some of the intricacies of dragon magic. I tuned the two out, having done my part with magic for the day, and pleased with my results so far. Lyla snuggled up to my side, leaning her head to rest on my shoulder as we just sat and enjoyed the warmth of the fire and the friendly atmosphere. Through my half-closed eyelids, however, I caught sight of Fluttershy staring intently at me and my changeling. I couldn’t decipher exactly what she was feeling by her expressions alone, but to my surprise and confusion, Fluttershy almost looked...sad.
As much as I wanted to address it, I wasn’t sure how, so I decided to fall back on an (admittedly unhealthy) response by just ignoring it, and hoping things would work themselves out. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to think about it for long, because before I knew it, the voices became muddled, and I found myself slipping away into a light doze.
I awoke what must have been hours later, as everyone around me was asleep, and the fire was burning on glowing embers instead of fresh logs. I carefully maneuvered myself out of the grasp of the changeling and dragoness before standing, walking over to the hearth and adding two more logs to the fire, including one of a set that Twilight had enchanted specifically to burn cooler than the others, but much longer, so that the fire wouldn’t go out overnight.
With that done, and the natural flow within the castle ensuring the private chambers wouldn’t get too cold during the night, I carefully picked Lyla up in my arms and trekked to Twilight’s room, laying the changeling down on her side after pulling the topsheet and blanket back. Following that, I repeated the action with both Twilight and Fluttershy, but before I could return for Ember, a strong hand grabbed me from one of the side rooms and yanked me inside, tossing me onto the bed with a poof of escaping air from the comforter and mattress.
After taking a quick moment to deduce what just happened, I glanced to Ember with a raised brow as she closed the door behind her. She stood by the entrance, looking over the switches on the wall beside the doorframe, asking, “What are these for?”
I was confused by the question, but answered regardless. “Um, the top knob is a light with a dimmer function, the middle activates or deactivates opacity on the walls for windows, and the bottom one is a silencing charm that keeps sound from getting into or out of the room.”
Ember turned to me with a smirk and locked the door, tapping a claw on the silencing crystal, which began to glow a soft blue. Without any warning, she shot forward with a single, powerful flap of her wings, and pounced on me like a deadly predator capturing prey...and I’ll admit, I was both worried and excited.
Ember held a grin on her face as she bent her knees to sit on my thighs, and began running her claws over my clothed chest for a few moments before stopping abruptly, licking her lips with her forked tongue. She stared down at me with an unsure expression before leaning closer. “...you know, there’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but never found someone to share it with until now. And no, it’s not what you’re thinking.”
Of course, my mind had gone to dirty places, so I tried not to sound disappointed as I answered, “And what would that be?”
Carefully, tentatively, as if she were afraid to scare me away, Ember slowly leaned closer and closer until we were only a hair’s breadth apart. The anticipation built as her warm, earthy breath splashed over my face, and when I finally felt I couldn’t take anymore, she leaned the last few centimeters, and connected us together. Unlike me, she was extremely inexperienced when it came to kisses, having apparently never done it before, but the fact she was trying was enough for me. So, like any good teacher, I guided her; bringing my hand up to the side of her face, and softly stroking her cheek with my thumb, I gently moved my lips against hers, keeping the kiss “clean” to avoid surprising her with too much, too soon. Nonetheless, if the happy vocalization in the back of her throat was any indication, she was enjoying the new experience, and I definitely was as well. I allowed my free hand to move up to her lower back to add a new dimension to her experience, and she moaned at my touch, pressing her lips more firmly against mine as her eyes fully closed and she lost herself to the kiss.
Her lips, soft and supple, moved against mine slowly, cautiously, and the pleasured “mmhs” that she gave every now and then were invigorating. I have to admit, it was downright adorable how innocent the proud dragoness was with this new experience, but I was very happy to be the one to bring her into the more pleasurable parts of being with someone in a romantic sense.
After a few minutes of this, we finally broke apart, both of us with heavy breaths. She held herself only a few inches away, breathing heavily, before uttering a surprised, “Wow.”
I continued rubbing the side of her face with my fingers, and she closed her eyes as she enjoyed the touch. I silently willed her down again, and as if hearing my request, Ember reconnected our lips, this time with a bit more confidence. This time, as opposed to a timid student, Ember pressed both her lips and body against me insistently, seemingly trying to be as close to me as physically possible. Of course, my stupid-smart brain immediately brought up the Pauli Exclusion Principle, and I had to fight to keep from outright laughing, though a few chuckles escaped anyway.
Ember pulled away with an audible pop, and licked her lips before saying, “What? What’s so funny?” The slightly defensive tone in her voice wasn’t lost on me, and I immediately placated her with a loving smile and a continued caress of the soft hide of her lower back.
“Nothing, just me being a dork.” I assured, continuing to smile at her happily. “Not about you, I promise. You were -- are -- great.”
After a moment of thought and a grin, Ember returned, “Yeah, but you’re my dork, and I like you this way.”
I smiled at her, happy she enjoyed a quality I sometimes saw as less-than-desirable about myself. After a few moments of just looking at her, taking in the primal beauty that was Ember, I subtly suggested, “...so, is there anything else you wanted to do?”
At this, Ember bit her lip as she shifted on top of me. After a few silent moments of deliberation, she shyly answered, “I know that I got you all worked up earlier, and the things I said at the restaurant kinda led you to think I’d be ready for that, but…” she glanced away from me, seeming ashamed as she mumbled, “...d-do you think we could wait on that?”
While a part of me was a little disappointed by being turned down, a much more prominent part of me was surprised that this proud, strong dragoness was nervous about this subject. Honestly, I had expected her to take complete charge, and be wild and crazy just like…
And there I realized I had made my mistake.
I had been thinking of Ember as a dragon, instead of a female -- my mate -- that just happens to be one. I had forgotten the most important thing that I had to teach others about me, once I started growing larger, and more intimidating: what I was did not decide who I was, and it was unkind to expect someone to act a certain way just because they were different. Unknowingly at the time, I had pushed those same prejudiced thoughts onto this aspect of Ember, and I had made the same mistake about her that many ponies had made about me over the years.
My smile softened, and I again caressed her face with my hand as I brought her down for a quick, but no less affectionate, kiss. Looking deep into her eyes as we separated, I nodded to her. “I’ll wait for as long as you want, Ember. I’m sorry if I made you feel pressured.”
Ember’s own features softened as she returned my smile, shaking her head. “I’m kinda at fault, too. I mean, I shouldn’t have been teasing you that much, so I have myself to blame, as well. Still,” she held my gaze firmly, bringing her own hand to replicate my own actions, and I have to admit, it felt nice, “I’m not going anywhere, so if you’ll just give me time, I promise I’ll get there.”
“Again,” I soothed, “don’t feel pressured. We’ll move at your pace, and I’ll wait for you. I care too much about you to screw this up.”
Chuckling heartily, Ember dismounted me and laid at my side instead. “You’re just a big old softy, aren’t you? Any other dragoness would walk all over you, you know.”
Reaching across to rub the soft scales of her stomach, I praised, “I guess I’m privileged to have one that’s caring, and understands me, then.”
Ember said nothing more, but blew a burst of flame over her claws. Before I could ask what happened, she drew a familiar symbol in the air before reaching through a fiery portal, and I noticed the light dimming until darkness overtook the room.
As Ember pulled her hand back through the portal and extinguished the fire, I chuckled and commented, “That’s really useful. I’m not sure if you should teach me that, because I’ll be really lazy if I don’t even have to move to get things.”
The dragoness stretched in a languid manner before settling herself down and yawning, sleepily answering, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you stay active, and I’m sure your friend Rainbow Dash will help, too.”
The warmth of the body next to me was quickly relaxing me to the point of no return, so I was only able to offer a snort of a laugh before my heart finally calmed, and sleep began to overtake me. Before the waking world completely left, however, Ember gave me one last kiss to the side of my mouth before she joined me in slumber.