The following day was starting out mundane, which I was perfectly fine with; due to all the recent surprises we had dealt with, no news was good news, in my opinion. I was currently strolling to Sugarcube Corner with Pinkie for some breakfast, since I didn’t feel like making breakfast this morning. It actually hadn’t snowed the previous night, which had allowed the Ponyville maintenance crew to shovel the walkways clean, which in turn encouraged more people to be out and about. The town was positively alive with activity, many scurrying here and there to finish their Hearth’s Warming shopping, while others were simply out enjoying the day. If it weren’t for the fact that the memories were so fresh in my mind, it would be easy forget that anything bad had happened in the past week. Even with the vision of Scootaloo, broken and sobbing, burned into the backs of my eyelids, the image of Ponyvillians smiling and bustling with activity brought a faint grin to my own face. As Pinkie would say, a smile is a smile is a smile, even if it’s small; even in the darkest of days, there is always something to be happy about, if you look for it.
Pinkie and I approached Sugarcube Corner, hand-in-hand, just as Mr. Cake flipped the lights on, turning the sign around to “OPEN”. There was already a line at the door, since a good amount of the Ponyville folk were regulars to the bakery’s fresh breakfast, and even for those that weren’t, the alluring scent of fresh-baked goodies was enough to draw many curious people to the business due to the smell alone. Pinkie hurried toward the back of the building, obviously to help the owners begin the day, and I took my place at the back of the line. The mares and stallions -- and even a new changeling drone, which was a welcome sight -- waved at me and offered smiles and greetings as I waited with them for the door to open. My eyes kept gravitating to a few mares who were shyly smiling and/or waving at me, and I found myself playfully waving back with a boyish grin. Sure, I wasn’t going to actually do anything, but a little flirting never hurt anyone. After a few moments of this, Mr. Cake unlocked the door, allowing the growing crowd to file into the warm interior of the bakery.
“Always great to get the fresh pastries right as this place opens, eh Spike?”
The voice of a certain pegasus from behind me startled me, and I whipped my head around to see Rainbow Dash smiling at me. I gave her a quick one-armed hug and greeted, “Hey Dash, it’s good to see you. I gotta be honest, I didn’t expect to see you out and about so soon.”
Rainbow Dash shook out her long mane, reaching up to tuck the locks behind one ear so it wouldn’t hang in front of her eyes. “Yeah, but here I am.” She glanced around briefly before leaning in closer and whispering, “I figured Scoots could use some comfort sweets for breakfast, and I’m not exactly a baker, so…”
I nodded in realization. “Ah. Okay, that makes sense. How, um…” I did as she had, leaning close to whisper to her, “how was last night after we left?”
Seeing as how we were probably looking like fools leaning back and forth to each other to whisper, Rainbow Dash pressed herself under my wing and arm, close enough that she would no longer have to whisper so conspicuously to me. “Well...I guess it went pretty much how we all thought it would. It was rough, and it’s gonna be that way for awhile; she didn’t sleep, and I can’t say I blame her. I know that until she sees the bodies for herself at the funeral, there’s gonna be a small part of her that’s always gonna hold out hope that we made a mistake, and that her parents are gonna walk in that door, and everything’s gonna be okay.”
I nodded again, this time more somberly. “Two days. Hold out for two days, and we can get her the closure she needs. Until then, it’s just a matter of slogging through this tough bit.”
Rainbow Dash nodded slowly, shuffling forward in step with me as the line moved. “Yeah, I know. It just...sucks. It sucks that any of this had to happen, especially so close to Hearth’s Warming.”
Again, I nodded. “The time of year when most people are either having people over, or travelling to be with family for the holidays. The only worse time this could have happened would be on her birthday.”
The pegasus stiffened, narrowing her eyes at me. “If you just jinxed her by saying that, I’m punching you in the mouth. I mean it.”
Smiling sadly, I shook my head. “If I did, I’ll cut my own wings off.”
It was then that both of us had another surprise, and it was not one I would have even believed enough to expect even if I had been told about it ahead of time.
“Well, you two seem to be getting along fine after all these years.”
The raspy, sharp voice of a mare had chimed in behind us, and for some reason it tickled something in my memory. I couldn’t quite place the voice, but if the violent jolt of surprise from Rainbow Dash was any indication, she could. As one, we both turned around to see a heavily clothed pony mare, obviously trying to conceal her identity, and if the bulky coat was any indication, it was a pegasus. A gloved hand reached up to tilt the aviator shades down, revealing yellow fur and fiery orange eyes.
The same hand shot out to intercept the hand of Rainbow Dash, which I realized had risen to snap a respectful salute to a superior officer. The mare just shook her head and said, “Wearing this bulky getup to hide is kinda pointless if ponies salute me in public. At ease, Dash.”
Going off of the eyes, fur color, and the fact that Rainbow Dash had reacted as she did, I quickly identified the mare as Captain Spitfire, the de facto leader of the Wonderbolts. I just barely kept my lips from blurting the mare’s name and blowing her cover, but was unable to stop the question, “W-what are you doing here?”
The mare’s head shifted side to side almost imperceptibly before nodding to Rainbow Dash. “I was actually looking for her. I’ll explain when we have some privacy; suffice to say, what we’re going to talk about isn’t for all ears present. Grab your eats, and let’s find somewhere a little more private to talk.”
Nodding dumbly, Rainbow Dash turned back to the front just as our turn came up. I quickly gave my (large) order to Pumpkin, allowing Rainbow Dash to do the same, before stepping off to the side and waiting with the rest of the patrons for our order to be called out. It took a decent amount of time, with it being the breakfast rush, but eventually I was now loaded with a large cardboard carrier full of pastries, and another carrier full of individual coffee cups. The three of us left the bakery, and since Scootaloo’s home was close, we just headed in that direction. After walking for a few minutes and ensuring no one was around, Spitfire spoke.
“I heard about what happened in Tselinoyarsk,” she mentioned off-handedly, bobbing her head in Rainbow Dash’s direction. “As Dash knows, part of the Wonderbolts’ job is search and rescue, and we were handling a few of the other zones of the disaster area. I wasn’t personally there -- I was stuck in Cloudsdale at the time, kissing the behinds of our sponsors -- but Soarin, Fleetfoot, Misty Fly, and Rapidfire had all volunteered.” While I couldn’t see her eyes, I had the feeling she was looking directly at me when she said, “I heard Dash had received backup from a certain purple dragon after she had been basically killing herself for days, for some reason.”
Rainbow Dash glanced down to the ground as we walked, biting her lip. “...I had an important reason to be there, and I wasn’t gonna stop until I finished what I set out to do.”
Her scarf covered her mouth, but I could practically hear the smirk in her voice as Spitfire replied, “Even without access to classified information about VIP’s in Equestria, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why you were there, and for who. A certain ex-Wonderbolt is close with a certain young mare that lives in this town, and that young mare’s parents just happen to be frequent volunteers for disaster relief efforts around Equestria…” She bobbed her head side to side, as if considering something, before continuing. “I knew the girl’s parents, Dash. They were good, respectable ponies who put in years of volunteer work for ponies in need across Equestria, and even some other people in the neighboring nations. I’d be surprised if anyone in the Wonderbolts doesn’t know who they are.”
Repeating my question from earlier, Rainbow Dash glanced to the older mare and asked, “Why are you here?”
We had just arrived at Scootaloo’s house, and we stopped in front of the door as Spitfire let out a sigh and just kept looking at the quaint home. After a moment, she answered, “This isn’t about the Wonderbolts. I’m not asking as Captain Spitfire, as your superior, or any of that. As just Spitfire, a mare that respects and admires all those two ponies did, I want to ask if me and some of the other ‘bolts can come and pay our respects at the funeral.”
Rainbow Dash stood still with her mouth open for a few moments before she seemed to mentally shake herself and she looked down again in thought. After a few more moments of silence, she finally answered. “...a part of me wants to immediately say yes, that of course you deserve to pay your respects. But…” she glanced to the house in front of us, “it’s not my choice, because they weren’t my parents. I’ll ask Scootaloo about it tonight after dinner, and I’ll see if she’s up for it. No matter what, it’s her word on this, not mine.”
Spitfire nodded slowly. “I can respect that. Anyway, I’ll be staying at Derpy’s bed & breakfast, so drop by and let me know what she says. Thanks for the consideration.”
“You can thank Scootaloo when you see her,” Rainbow Dash said, nodding back to the mare. With that said, we both watched as Spitfire turned on her hooves and strode away, offering only a wave as she left.
While I wasn’t exactly as obsessed with the Wonderbolts like Rainbow Dash used to be, I was still awed enough by the sudden appearance of their captain that I was only able to mutter, “...well...that just happened.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash murmured, seeming just as off-balance as I was. “Haven’t seen that mare in years, and all of the sudden she shows up to ask to come to a funeral. I knew Scoots’ parents got around, but I didn’t know they were so respected by the Wonderbolts.”
I shrugged, turning to the mare with a smile. “If nothing else, when Scootaloo finally gets to the point that she can see past the negative, she can be proud of the fact that her parents were great ponies who people respected.”
Rainbow Dash nodded a few times before turning to me with a smile. “Anyway, I should get back to Scoots. I don’t wanna leave her alone for too long.” She wrapped one arm around me and gave a squeeze before pulling away, and I’ll admit, I enjoyed it far more than I probably should have. “See you around, Spike.”
I watched Rainbow Dash enter the home and shut the door behind her, finding myself also smiling at the good that might come of the Wonderbolts being at the funeral. For a pony like Scootaloo, who had battled with self-esteem issues for years, I thought it would do her good to know she came from a family that was well-liked and respected, even among big-shots like the Wonderbolts. That would be something she would look back on though, because I knew that for the moment, Scootaloo was grieving, and that would occupy all of her thoughts.
Rolling my shoulders, I turned on my heel and headed back toward the castle.
“Again, Spike. Feel the emotion; let it fill you up, but stay in control.”
With the primary concerns of the week dealt with, it was back to training, for me. Twilight was kind enough to pick up the slack as far as our regular workload was concerned, but Ember was a harsh taskmaster that didn’t allow laziness or anything less than my best. I had worried -- actually worried -- that she might take things easy on me since we were romantically involved, but wow was I wrong. In Ember’s own words, because I was her mate, she would not -- could not -- tolerate weakness on my part. The reason why dragons were culturally so reluctant to form alliances was because of a core value of draconic culture: strength was pivotal in all things regarding survival, and allowing yourself to be vulnerable when a friend is too weak to watch your back was, to put it lightly, foolish. I had the positively wonderful title of “The Dragon Lord’s Consort,” and apparently that title came with expectations by both Ember herself, and the dragon lands as a whole. I was already a disappointment in the eyes of many of the elders, since I was raised as a pony, and thus, had not learned the things I was now catching up on. I could understand this part of the culture, and even appreciate it, but at the moment, I was wishing I could just pass out.
I was panting and tired, but I gave a nod to Ember as I stood on my feet again and took a solid stance. Today’s training was focused on an emotion that was notoriously difficult to control, but also important to gain control of: rage. Rage was an emotion that was wild and untamed simply because of what it was, and due to the fact it was tied to so many other emotions, it was of paramount importance that I master control of it as soon as possible. Deep emotional attachment could be a powder keg for rage, as was my strong sense of justice, and my tendency toward seeing the good in everyone. To put it simply, because of who I was as a person, I had quite a few weaknesses that could be exploited by an enemy, which was why Ember was working so hard to help me overcome them. I knew Ember was doing it out of love, but that didn’t change the fact that she was pushing me to my limits. I wasn’t dealing with “Ember, my mate” at the moment, but rather “Dragonlord Ember, daughter of Torch”.
Ember was standing a dozen feet in front of me, arms crossed behind her back and her chest held high like her head. With her narrowed gaze and firm stance, she was every bit the picture of the intimidating dragoness most of the other dragons knew her as. She flexed her wings as she mildly chastised, “I told you: you can’t overpower a wild emotion like ‘rage’. Emotions like ‘love’, ‘happiness’, and even ‘sadness’ are gentle enough that you can directly assert control of them like a shepherd controls a flock of sheep. ‘Rage’ isn’t like that at all; ‘rage’ is like having your wings tied down, and being thrown into the middle of the ocean. If you want to survive, you have to work with the current, not against it, and learn to immerse yourself in the emotion without letting it exhaust you. As you’re learning, fighting it is just going to leave you tired and defeated, and that isn’t going to help anyone.”
Still panting, I shook my head as I looked at Ember. “I’m trying, but it feels like a pot of boiling water that keeps boiling over, and then I have to fight with fang and claw just to keep from losing control.”
Ember sighed through her nose and shook her head slightly. “I figured this might be one of the more difficult lessons for you. Because of how you were raised, you don’t have a lot of experience with negative emotions. That’s why greed can still steal your rationale, and why ‘rage’ seems like trying to catch lightning with a butterfly net.”
I chuckled despite the situation. “Yeah, that’s a pretty apt description. I never had to feel this amount of emotion before, so I’m still learning to handle it.”
Ember nodded slightly, apparently deciding to throw me some measure of reassurance. “You’ll get there, but right now, it’s not going to be easy. I’m going to keep pushing you, and we’re not going to stop just because you’re tired. You need to learn this; there’s no other option. If you let rage take control, it will not give up that control until its desires have been sated; I don’t think I have to tell you that rage can be a very destructive emotion, so usually, it means the destruction of anything and anyone in the area. You might hurt or kill those you care about, and not even realize it until rage’s hold on you has been broken.”
Even before she told me, that had been the exact thought that had been my driving force behind this training. I had imagined Twilight, Lyla, Rarity, or any of my other close friends lying at my feet, broken and bruised, looking to me in fear and sadness. I had imagined hurting them, and not even caring because I was unable to feel anything but rage at the time. I couldn’t let that happen, which was why I was perfectly okay with continuing the training, no matter how difficult it was.
I took a few more deep breaths before nodding once more. “All right, let’s go again.”
I turned my focus inwards, thinking about the things that would bring unbridled rage to my heart. It didn’t surprise me much anymore, but I still found it worrying just how easy it was to think of things that made me furious. I could think about some of the Canterlot Royal Court, and how some of them still brought up Luna’s past crimes right in front of her, sometimes blatantly claiming it was just a matter of time before she “fell” once again. Those same ponies would then try to charm her at banquets or special functions, attempting to curry favor with her with some pretty words and false respect. Hadn’t she paid enough for her crimes? She lost a thousand years of her life -- a thousand years spent in complete solitude -- and they still acted as if she hadn’t served her penance! Didn’t they realize that sort of irreverence had been what had caused her heart to fill with darkness in the first place? And now they were doing it again!
...see? It’s like I said: easy.
“There it is,” I heard Ember voice from across the room. “Now, try and forge that ‘hot’ rage into ‘cold’ rage. ‘Hot’ rage is intensely impulsive, indiscriminate in what it destroys, and it burns out fast; ‘cold’ rage, on the other hand, has been tempered. It is focused, calculating, and has a clear direction and purpose. Give that rage an objective, and guide it with logic so that you can accomplish that objective.”
In the thick of that emotion, it was easy to understand why learning to control the emotion “rage” was so important. Without direction or a cool head to guide it, “rage” would make me destroy anything and anyone around me, regardless of whether they were the source of the emotion or not. As Ember had said many times before, avoiding these negative emotions was an exercise in futility. Only by learning to harness them constructively could I claim to have overcome them, since as a dragon, I was particularly vulnerable to strong emotions.
So...what did I want to accomplish?
Rage without purpose was what made the emotion so dangerous, so I had to give it purpose. Rage was powerful, and downright intoxicating, so I had to focus to give it a proper direction to flow. With that in mind, I tried once again to come up with something I could use the power for, but before I could come up with anything, I once again felt the emotion bubbling up too strong within me, and threatening to take control. Once again I had to fight myself to keep control of my own body, and found myself growling in frustration.
“Spike, focus!”
Ember’s voice was like a splash of ice water on my burning body, and I felt clarity come back to me for a few moments. During that time, I was able to randomly pick a spell to channel the emotion into, and began drawing quickly in the air. First came the symbol for “body," followed quickly by "earth" and "force". The hastily cobbled-together spell resulted in a shockwave rolling through the ground from my feet, and I was vaguely aware of Ember hitting the ground with a dull thud.
With a purpose given to the emotion, rationale returned to me, and I was able to once again take in what was happening with a clear mind. I combined the first three words I could think of in an effort to give constructive form to “rage” before it could take control of me, and I found myself feeling sick at the possibility that I could have easily killed myself. Ember was right: I needed to learn better control.
“SPIKE! SPIKE, ARE YOU OKAY?!”
My ears were ringing from the blast, and if Ember’s loud, concerned yelling was any indication, her hearing had taken a hit, too. I opened my eyes and walked over to the downed Ember, who was repeatedly falling over as she tried to reassert her balance so she could stand. I was able to easily walk over to her, since (I assumed) as the caster of the spell, its effects on me were minimised. I extended my hand down to her and pulled her up, catching her in an embrace as she nearly fell over again. She kept nearly souting, which reinforced my theory that her hearing had been affected. I held a finger to my lips in a “shh” motion, and pointed to my ears. She seemed to get the message, and we spent a few minutes just standing silently until the ringing in her ears was apparently at a manageable enough level that she could hear herself to keep from yelling at me.
“Well,” I began, shrugging as I looked at her, “I might have a long way to go before mastery, but I’ve just proven to myself that I can do it.”
Ember smiled at me, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. “Remind me again: who said you could do it if you just kept your focus? I can’t seem to remember, but she’s clearly a smart girl.”
I rolled my eyes at her jab. “Yeah, yeah. You’re awesome, you’re a better dragon than me, and you know what you’re talking about; I already knew all that.”
She settled her hand on my shoulder as she affectionately nosed my throat, playfully darting her tongue out to tickle the brand she had left there what felt like so long ago. “Just because you were raised by ponies, it doesn’t somehow mean you’re less of a dragon. I’m already finding that there’s a lot of differences between you and other dragons that I really enjoy, like the fact you actually give a damn about me.”
By now, I was used to the fact that Ember used a few different swear words that were generally not accepted around polite pony company, and that’s if they were even understood. The language didn’t really bother me; after all, I’d grown up around Rainbow Dash and Applejack, both of whom were known to curse like dockworkers if they were particularly angry or frustrated. I instead found I actually liked her colorful, often passionate, way of speaking. Ember always said what she meant, having no fear of what others thought about her unless they directly affected her life; since she was not among the other dragon lords, and I had basically given her the all-clear as far as the language was concerned, she was quite happy to speak with no filters. I’d already known Ember was brutally blunt sometimes, and I was fine with her being herself. I wouldn’t want her any other way, to be honest.
“Of course I do,” I shot back, raising a brow at her. “I don’t understand how others can only look at you and see a pretty dragoness, or the daughter of Torch, or any of that other shallow stuff. Being raised like I was, I’ve learned there’s always so much more to someone than just what we see at a first meeting, and it's always interesting to get to know who someone is on the inside.” I then slowly trailed one of my claws down the center of her spine, between her wings, and ending just at the top of where her tail began, causing a full-body shiver to run through her. I just smirked and added, “That’s not to say there’s not plenty to enjoy externally, but you know by now that I like you because of who you are, not what you look like.”
Ember fluttered her eyes at me and pulled me into a quick, but heated kiss. After pulling away, she licked her lips and said, “Dad might not really understand you, or the customs of Equestria, but I think he’ll be happy for me. He always used to say I deserved better than the dragons my age in the dragon lands, and I guess he was right; I just had to find someone from another country.”
“Technically,” I teased with a stupid grin, “I found you, if you remember.”
She shrugged and turned her nose up. “Eh, same difference.” She glanced over to the wall, where a shielded face clock was ticking away. “All right, I think that’s enough for today. You were able to properly channel your rage, and all that you’ll need now is more practice. Besides, I’m thinking I should meet your family, so if we can’t do that today, you should set something up.”
I raised my brow, confused. “Why exactly do you need to meet my family?” At her challenging look, I backpedaled. “I-I mean not that I have anything against it, I just want to know why.”
She continued staring at me before poking me in the nose with a claw. “What decides how much political influence a dragon has in the dragon lands? I already taught you this.”
I furrowed my brow in thought for a moment before realization struck me and I slapped a hand to my forehead. “Family...right.”
She nodded and began to lead me out of the room. “And, as your mate, I need to meet your remaining family members. I know it doesn’t seem all that important, but it is to a dragon. If I didn’t know you like I do, I would see it like any other dragon does: if you are reluctant to introduce me to your family, it shows a lack of conviction on your part, which looks very bad. If dad found out you haven’t introduced me to your family yet, he’d be furious.”
Removing my palm from my face, I glanced at her worriedly. “You uh...you’re not gonna tell him though, right?” At Ember’s smirk in my direction, I pressed, “Right?”
She just chuckled and shook her head. “Part of me thinks I should, just to teach you a lesson, but no, I won’t. These aren’t things you’ve had drilled into your head since you were little, like the rest of us, so I’m not gonna expect you to be able to immediately remember all of them. Dad would, but I’m not my father, and I’m inclined to offer you a little leeway since you’re still learning. But,” she raised a finger and again pressed it onto my nose with a grin, “I want you to arrange a meeting as soon as possible. This is serious, and I’m not letting you get out of it.”
I nodded with a sigh of relief, allowing myself to be led out of the training room and into the corridor. “Well, Hearth’s Warming is coming up, and everyone’s going to be there, including Twilight’s parents. That’ll be the perfect time for you to meet them, and there’s no better time than a holiday that’s meant to be spent with family.” Thinking about it for a minute, I then chuckled. “You know, Shining used to joke that the only reason I became infatuated with Rarity when I was younger was because I didn’t have a dragoness around. Guess I proved him wrong; I have both, now.”
Ember chuckled as well. “Almost as if you’re any other dragon, picking out the prettiest treasures for your hoard.”
Smirking her way and turning on the charm, I quipped. “Well, if I’m gonna collect mates, it would make sense to pick the best ones, now wouldn’t it?”
“Cor-ny. Boo,” Ember teased, poking my side. “I’m immune to your charm now, Spike. You’re just a dork again, to me.” Even though she said that, I noted the blush that was showing through in her vivid blue spines.
“Your blush says otherwise,” I countered, poking her back and getting a girly squeak in as an answer. She glared at me and I just poked her again, which soon escalated into a poke war between the two of us.
Complete silence enveloped the room. No one moved, and I was sure at least one of us wasn’t breathing. Oh, wait, that was me. With a deep breath to restart my lungs -- and thus, my brain -- I darted my eyes from Twilight, to Lyla, Ember, and then to the fourth person in the room: a noblemare from Canterlot, and a member of a very influential family within Equestria. The mare was a pale pink with a mane and tail of graying violet, and her equally pale orange eyes seemed a bit mismatched as far as the rest of her coloration went. Nonetheless, as a member of House Silver Vein, Rose Quartz was a mare that had the power to make nearly anyone’s life very unpleasant if she so chose. This was the only reason a practically smoking Twilight was not physically throwing the haughty mare out the window right now, though I questioned whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
I gulped hard as I fought to find my words, eventually forcing out, “...I-I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”
The mare adjusted her heavy cloak, pointedly ignoring the glares coming from the three other females in the room. “I said that I am here to enter into negotiations for marriage between our families.”
While normally I would make a silly quip about the mare being just a bit out of my acceptable age range (like, 40 years out of it), I reminded myself that I really didn’t want to piss off this mare. “Ma’am, with all due respect, I find myself very confused as to why you’re here. I understand the words you’re saying, but this is quite literally coming out of nowhere; it doesn’t make sense.”
The mare huffed in annoyance, rolling her eyes at me as she condescendingly answered, “You would do well to keep aware of the goings-on in Canterlot. Families are regularly crossed to form beneficial unions, or to produce heirs to keep noble bloodlines strong.”
Holding up my hand and counting two fingers, I answered, “I can’t produce offspring with ponies, and I’m no one. Until I started to do things on my own, most of the nobility said I was Twilight’s pet. You’ll have to forgive me if I’m caught off guard here because, yet again, you’re not making any sense. Please, explain your reasoning for this.” Yes, I was proud of myself for how calm I was being, because now that the shock had worn off, I was quickly approaching the same amount of anger that Twilight was just barely keeping contained.
The mare huffed and rolled her eyes once again, acting as if she were explaining to morons. “You have proven yourself as a valuable asset to Equestria over the years. As an Equestrian-raised dragon, you are an untapped resource that has remained unknown until recently. The incident in the mountains,” I winced at that, but narrowed my eyes at the smirk she gave, “your connection with a dragon lord, your close relationship with national heroines, and the fact that you are the only dragon citizen in Equestria makes you quite the desirable addition to any of the high houses. Luckily, I move quicker on more dependable information, which is why I am making this request now.”
This was a power play, and I knew it, but the sheer balls this mare had astounded me. What the hay made her think I’d even entertain such a thing? Wait...that’s a good question. “Why would I even entertain the idea? I don’t know you, I don’t know your family, and frankly, I’m not in the business of political marriages.”
I didn’t like the fact that the mare was still smirking. It spelled bad news for me, and I mentally braced myself for it.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she wondered aloud, checking her fingernails casually, “but I think it might be...let’s say problematic, if all of Equestria learned that you leveled three mountains in the mountain range because you went into a draconic rage, again. I wonder how Equestria would respond if they realize that you are quite the liability to have in this country.”
My eyes widened briefly, but I quickly schooled my expression to neutrality. “You have no proof that was me. I went there to evict a potentially dangerous dragoness, not to make it my own roost. I have an entire town behind me that would back me up, as well as a few important international individuals.”
The mare sighed, though she didn’t drop her smirk. “Oh yes, roughly forty thousand against sixty-seven million. I wonder how that would go, when so few actually know anything about you. You forget: you are not the two sisters. Most of Equestria only knows what they read in the papers, and if those papers just happen to claim you destroyed several million tons of rock in a rage, well...I think you may find your support quickly dwindling.” She then sneered at Lyla, and I nearly snarled at the mare as she added, “The integration of changelings in society is also very recent, and fragile. If they were to find that your precious changeling here had transformed into a monster strong enough to hold off a dragon...well, I don’t think I need to say what may happen to public opinion of them. Tell me little changeling, can your kind feed on fear?”
With that said, my mask of civility completely broke away, and with it went my fear of this mare. I pressed a palm to my forehead and chuckled darkly, muttering. “Wow, you must be shooting to make enemies of everyone today, aren’t you?” Sighing heavily, I removed my hand from my face and settled for a flat look of disgust. “It’s time for you to go. You are not going to intimidate me into some Canterlot political scheme, and you lost what little respect I had for you when you insulted my mate.” The mare’s face had fallen from a smirk to a slight frown, and then an outright grimace as I pointed my thumb to Lyla. Seeing the expression, I nodded with a grin of my own. “That’s right, that ‘little changeling’ is a part of my herd,” I then glanced to Ember and corrected, “or, I guess, since I’m a dragon, it’s hoard. That hoard includes Lady Rarity, who I’m sure you know, as well as Princess Twilight Sparkle.” The mare’s face had graduated from a grimace now, and she was now practically snarling at me as I finally grabbed Ember by the arm and pulled her against me. I then turned her so that her Mate’s Mark was showing, and showed my own as I explained, “And with these marks we share, we are basically the Equestrian equivalent of married as well, so I’m already claimed. I just want to remind you that you are standing in a room with three females that probably want to hurt you pretty badly right now, so if you don’t have anything smart to say, you should probably leave. In closing, thanks for coming, buck you, buck your family, buck your friends and colleagues, and buck that hairstyle, while I’m at it -- Rarity would be appalled at the lack of style. Oh,” I interrupted as she opened her mouth, stepping away from Ember and closer to the mare, who just now seemed to realize she was pissing off a dragon that was nearly twice her size (size is relative for a dragon, but she didn’t know that), “and if you think you’re going to head back to Canterlot and start planning ways to destroy my life and/or reputation, let me remind you: I’ve got the backing of Equestria’s most powerful living weapons, at least one clan of dragons would mark you for death, and then of course are the changelings.”
Seemingly reading my mind, Lyla stepped forward and quickly shifted her shape to a dozen different forms of differing sizes, genders, colors, races, and even to inanimate objects. Shifting back to her native form, Lyla glared at the mare and growled, “Remember, fool: changelings can be anything, go anywhere, and are the worldwide masters at perfectly replicating the way someone talks, acts, even breathes. If you want to make an enemy of Spike, fine. However, keep this in mind:” she leaned closer to the shorter mare, purposefully showing off her fangs for good measure as she whispered, “you will make enemies with a good number of the changeling race. There is nowhere you can go, nowhere you can hide to escape us. We could replace your son, your daughters, your house staff, your banker, your friend you meet at the corner cafe at noon on Tuesdays,” the mare’s eyes widened at that, and I raised a brow, “the maintenance stallion that regularly inspects things in your home, your carriage drivers, your attorney, even the stallion that works the counter at that donut shop you visit when you think your husband isn’t watching.” The mare was practically shivering now, realizing she just picked a fight with the wrong person. Lyla leaned just a little closer, close enough that the mare would be able to pick out the individual freckles under her eyes, as she maliciously hissed, “Your information network is nothing to a changeling. I know when you eat, I know when and where you lay your head at night, I know that you like the drink more than you should, and I even know where you hide the things you want no one to see. DO. NOT. TEST. ME.”
Once again, like so many times before, I was glad Lyla was my friend.
Lyla pulled away, stepping back and jerking her head toward the door. “You should see yourself out, and remember this little talk we had. Keep it in mind should you want to start flapping your gums about any of this, because if anything suddenly happens to us or any of our friends or family, I’ll know exactly who to hunt down, and how to find her. Now,” she pulled the door open with a flash of magic, letting the cold winter air invade, “safe journeys. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, you despicable mare.”
I had the great satisfaction in watching the older mare practically tripping over herself to leave, and the door slammed shut behind her by Lyla’s magic.We all stood silently for a few moments before letting out a collective breath.
Twilight, unfortunately, had to inject some truth into our relief. “I hate to say it, but that’s going to come back to bite us. House Silver Vein isn’t known for backing off when they have an ‘asset’ in their sights, so expect to hear from them again at some point. Once she calms down, she’ll realize that if Lyla did what she threatened, it would destroy Equestria’s relationship with the changelings that live here, so in the meantime, we need to think of a plan to neutralize their threats.”
Groaning, I stomped the ground and shouted, “I HATE POLITICS!”
After a moment of us all basking if my shout, Twilight cleared her throat and announced, “Actually...I just thought of something, and you’re going to like it even less. You might want to sit down for it.”
Shooting a tired look her way, I then tromped over to the public dais and sat on the stairs, slumping my head and shoulders. “All right, hit me.”
Twilight chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before she said, “...as rude and pompous as she was, the more and more I go over the exchange in my head, I don’t think this visit was for her house. I think she was a probe.”
To my annoyance, neither Lyla nor Ember seemed at all confused by the term. I raised my hand like a student and replied, “Pretend for a moment that not all of us are masters of politics and/or subterfuge. What do you mean by ‘she was a probe’?”
Twilight shifted uneasily, darting her eyes about. “W-well, what I mean is that it’s likely she was sent here by another house that has more power than hers, either for a monetary fee, or a favor of some kind. Her demeanor, her words, and even her insults seemed specifically catered to get a rise out of you...like a scout-”
“Probing defenses,” I finished, groaning as I collapsed back against the stairs, splaying my wings on the dais haphazardly. “Can we just move away to a different dimension or something? I’m so sick of this underhanded, two-faced game we always have to play.”
“Trust me Spike,” Twilight muttered with equal exhaustion, “you’re not the only one. What I do know is that her being a probe makes the most sense. The Silver Vein is a third-tier noble house*, but they didn’t become as powerful as they are by being stupid. The way she treated us and the way she approached you were all ‘rookie mistakes’, as Rainbow Dash would say; as one of the heads of the house, it doesn’t make sense that she would act the way she did without purpose...and the only one that does make sense is that she was a probe for another house.”
I released a blast of hot air out of my mouth, not caring that I was acting this way in a public area of the castle; I just didn’t care right now, and I was so tired of all of this.
“And, of course, we won’t know what house is responsible or what they want until it’s too late to prevent it,” I surmised, feeling just as defeated as I likely looked. Raising my arms briefly before letting them flop down again, I asked, “Do you think we should let Mom and Auntie Luna know?”
“We all know there’s nothing they’re allowed to do directly,” Twilight reminded, “but, I suppose it can’t hurt to let them know you’re currently in the crosshairs of one of the big families. If nothing else, Luna’s spy teams can keep an eye on the movements of the members we know about. It will basically be putting a plaster on a broken leg, but it’s all we can do for the moment.”
“Well,” Ember began, and I could clearly hear the smirk in her tone, “it’s not all we can do.”
This was followed by the sound of a feathered wing slapping against something -- likely Ember herself, if the “Ow” was anything to go by -- and Twilight chiding, “Nuh uh, no burninating the nobles.”
“But-”
“No, Ember.”
“Fiiiine…”
I couldn’t help the chuckle that bubbled up in my throat, and with how stressed I was at the moment, the laugh felt soothing. There was sure to be issues we had to deal with in the future, but knowing my girls would be by my side made things not feel so bleak. And, if I were being honest with myself, turning the estates of certain noble houses into ashes had some appeal. Maybe another time…
“All right then,” I said aloud, sitting up again and looking to the three in front of me, “I defer to your knowledge. I have no idea what to do about this, and the three of you are clearly far more knowledgeable, so tell me what we need to do.”
Twilight reached down with Ember, each taking one of my hands, and pulled me to stand as she advised, “We’re going to take one day at a time. First things first: we need to prepare for the upcoming funeral, the trip to Canterlot, and then Hearth's Warming. It will take time to establish an information base on the noble houses, so just living our lives will give Princess Luna the time to do that. Until we have more information, we just have to keep moving forward as usual, and keep from doing anything particularly absurd.”
“Well,” Ember began, rolling her eyes with a theatrical sigh, “there goes most of my plans. You’ve put me in a box here, Twilight.”
Twilight only smiled at the dragoness and nudged her as we all began walking back toward the private apartments. “In all seriousness, maybe you should go out and spend time with Spike among the populace. You’ll be around a lot more once I get the gates up and running, so it would be a good idea to get to know the neighbors.”
With that idea, I got the chance to see the rare unsure, timid side to Ember that was adorable. The slightly withdrawn posture, hunched wings, and nervous expression was quite endearing, and I couldn’t help it as I took to her side and wrapped my wing around her tightly. Ember fell into step beside me, leaning her weight on me and lovingly nosing my throat as we continued walking back toward the common room.
“I-I mean...I guess if you think I should, I can,” Ember finally murmured, her anxiety clear as day.
Twilight turned around at the tone of Ember’s voice, and pushed herself into my wing right beside Ember herself. I felt as one of Twilight’s feathered wings wrapped around the dragoness as well, and the taller female herself jolted at the sudden embrace of the mare. After a moment of hesitation, Ember slowly snaked an arm around Twilight’s body, and accepted the embrace fully with a gentle sigh of appreciation.
“I think you should, yes,” Twilight breathed, barely loud enough to hear as she slowly stroked her hand in a comforting motion up and down Ember’s forearm, “but you don’t have to. In the end, it’s always your decision, and I’ll respect your feelings no matter what they are. Just know that I didn’t particularly like other ponies back when I lived in Canterlot, but getting out among this town, and getting to know the ponies that lived here, did wonders for me.” After a moment of holding the dragoness, Twilight slightly pulled away so that she could look her in the eye. “We want you to be comfortable here, Ember. I don’t think it would be fair for you to be essentially confined to the castle every time you come here, which is why I think it would be good if you desensitize yourself to Ponyville as a whole, so that you don’t have to confine yourself to such a small space when you’re here. I want this to be more for you than just ‘where Spike is’. With time, I want it to become a second home to you, and you will always be welcome here.”
While Ember wasn’t exactly comfortable sharing her emotions freely, it was easy to hear the sea of gratitude in her tone as she shakily breathed, “...thank you, Twilight.”
Since she didn’t want to push her luck and make the dragoness distinctly uncomfortable with physical contact between them, Twilight pulled away and ducked out of my wing, stepping around and nodding to Ember with a smile. “You’re welcome. Now, I do have some things to go through in preparation for the next few weeks, so unless you want to help…”
Ember’s face took on a sour look, sticking out her tongue for good measure. “Forms and appeals have never been my strong point. I think I’ll follow Spike around town for a little while, to see what trouble we can get up to.”
“Don’t do anything illegal,” Twilight warned. Then, thinking for a moment, she amended, “...rather, don’t hurt anypony. Or destroy property.”
I just chuckled aloud, leading Lyla and Ember out with me as we left the room. “Oh ye of little faith. I promise, the town will still be standing tomorrow. See you later, Twi.” Twilight threw a wave my way as we left, but said nothing more when we vacated the room.
Arriving at the coat racks, I began helping Ember get dressed up in her winter clothing, which included a long hose-like portion that connected to the rump of her trousers to cover her tail. I’ll admit, it was a bit odd seeing Ember’s brilliant blue coloration only on her face, but warmth was more important than beauty in this instance, so I shook the thought away. Even with her body mostly covered, Ember’s form was still distinctly female in shape, and her brilliant red eyes glittered like rubies in the dim light of the room. After also helping the equally attractive Lyla get dressed in warm clothes, I escorted the two out of the castle and into Ponyville proper, immediately picking up on the sounds of ponies out and about all around us.
There were some errands I had to run around town, namely grocery shopping, so I decided to start our little outing by heading to the market. With one mate on each side of me, I led the three of us toward the main square of the town, greeting the neighbors with a wave and smile. A few of the braver ponies approached and greeted Ember and Lyla directly, but while the changeling was quite used to interaction with ponies, Ember’s responses were still short, reserved, and nervous. Since part of the reason for us going out was exposing Ember to the populace more, I made it a point to stop and let the ponies talk to her directly when they wanted, so that the dragoness could get used to interacting with them. I’ll admit, I was impressed at how composed and formal Ember sounded to my own ears, but I knew that Ember only spoke formally when she was nervous, or intimidated. I could only hope that with time, and some effort on our parts, her awkwardness would fade away, and she would feel like just another part of the community. I knew it was going to take time, and Ember was unlikely to do it on her own, which was why I was quite willing to escort her. More personally though, I was always happy to spend time with my friends, whether we were romantically involved or not.
As we approached the market itself, we were treated to a fairly quiet affair, since most of the Ponyvillians were enjoying the day instead of shopping for groceries. This allowed us to quickly and efficiently pick up what we needed while allowing Ember to talk to one or two ponies at a time instead of six or more. She did much better with smaller interactions, and as time passed, she became more confident and animated in the way she spoke, which was closer to the way I knew her. It was heartening to see her adjusting so fast, and it brought a warmth to my chest to know she was willingly putting forth real effort in this endeavor. Having me and Lyla with her helped the ponies feel more comfortable around Ember, and the dragoness herself also felt more confident with us supporting her. It also helped that the ponies we met knew she was my mate, which made their salutations and greetings much more personal than if we had just met strangers on the street. All in all, I would like to think it was a good start for Ember, and she seemed to be getting used to casually speaking with other ponies.
Even though we didn’t have anything particularly pressing going on, there were other things I wanted to do, so we waved goodbye to the ponies in the market and made our way back to the castle to drop off the groceries. Twilight was hard at work on something or other, waving me off with a smile when I asked if she needed help, so the three of us left once again and headed toward Barnyard Bargains to just shop around and see what we could find; Filthy Rich was a shrewd business owner, but he was known for having good stock at fair prices. My idea was to find some things that Ember might be able to take back with her as momentos for her home in the dragon lands, but also, I wanted to give her the opportunity to meet more ponies in a more relaxed environment.
The glass doors opened and activated the air curtain that kept the cold air out, and warm air in. We passed through the rushing air and entered the building, and I heard the sigh of content from Ember as she enjoyed the warmth. The first pony we came across was the owner himself, since Filthy Rich devoutly believed that a good business owner should always be an integral part of his or her own business. The stallion was currently standing at the front door, meticulously going over a merchandise delivery from a few stallions with several large boxes full of goods.
Filthy Rich looked up at the sound of our entrance, and smiled brightly at the sight of me. He happily greeted me in his slow, lilting southern accent*, which was far different than Applejack’s. “Well hello there young Spike; it’s always good t’see you here. How are y’all doin’ today?”
I smiled back and nodded to him. “We’re doing just fine. We had some time to kill, so I thought we could come see what your store has to offer. I know it’s close to the holidays, and I don’t expect to find much, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you somehow always have a way of surprising me regarding your stock.”
Filthy Rich had the good grace to look respectfully flattered, and chuckled lightly as he signed off on the paperwork on his clipboard, handing it to the delivery ponies before facing me completely. “Well, I thank you for your kind words.” He glanced to the changeling and bowed his head slightly. “Miss Lyla, it’s good to see you as well. My thanks once again for your help with the roof.”
Lyla gave her own nod and smile. “Of course, Mr. Rich. You paid for the best, so you got the best. You let me know if you see any problems, and I’ll fix it right up.”
Filthy Rich nodded back before turning to the third member of our group, raising an eyebrow slightly at the sight of her. “Well now, I wasn’t expectin’ t’see another of Spike’s kind. If I remember it was...Princess Ember, yes?”
Ember looked a bit surprised, but nodded with a polite smile. “I’m surprised you remember me, sir. I didn’t exactly mingle all that much. Oh, and just ‘Ember’ is fine.”
“My dear, in my line of work, it pays to keep track of visitors to Ponyville, even if I don’t speak to’m di-rectly,” he answered, his smile never wavering. “That, and it would be difficult to ignore another dragon in our town, since Spike here was the only one we had regular contact with for many years.”
“That’s actually part of the reason we’re here, Mr. Rich,” I advised, gently placing my hand on Ember’s shoulder. “As you can imagine, Ember here hasn’t exactly had much experience interacting with ponies. I thought it would be a good idea for us to get out and about so we could change that.” If Ember’s angry snort was any indication, I was going to pay for that comment later, but it would be worth it to have another friendly neighbor ready to help if needed.
Filthy Rich nodded a few times before jerking his head to the store. “Well, I’m always willin’ to help a neighbor. Go on and browse ‘round the store to your heart’s content; I believe your friends Dinky and Snips are working today, if you want to greet them.”
I nodded to him with a smile. “That sounds great, Mr. Rich. Thanks for understanding.” I turned away from the stallion and made my way through the store, which sold everything from general knick-knacks to some more rare items, imported from all across Equestria, and even outside of it.
As we passed around one of the aisles, and out of sight of the front of the store, Ember suddenly jabbed me hard in the ribs and glared at me. “What in the holy flames was that? You made me look like some kinda meek little whelp that’s afraid of ponies.”
I expected the reaction, but was surprised she didn’t wait until we were at home. Nonetheless, I had a response planned ahead of time. Taking her hand in mine and placing the other on her shoulder, I assured, “I didn’t do it to be a jerk, I did it because that guy has a knack for talking his way in circles around even the most socially-adept pony. He got to be where he is because he knew who to talk to, how, and when. When it comes to communicating with other ponies, that stallion is a master, and it could only help to have him know we’re putting a real effort into helping you acclimate to life here. He doesn’t need to know why, but having a guy like him willing to help is always a good thing; if the worst happens and you step full-tilt into a social faux pas, he will be able to help smooth it over.”
Ember stared at me for a few moments before sighing heavily and slightly pouting. “I don’t like strangers knowing that I feel uncomfortable about certain things. It makes me look weak.”
“It makes you look like you’re willing to learn to be a part of Equestrian society,” Lyla pointed out, speaking up after being silent for so long. “As the ‘land of love and tolerance’, any effort to fit in and be accepted is seen as a good thing. The ponies of Ponyville -- who are quite literally under the watch of the Princess of Friendship -- will welcome you with open arms and stand beside you, if only you’ll let them. If they can accept and welcome me, they can do it for you, too.”
Nodding in agreement, I motioned to Lyla. “Changelings did the hard part. If you remember, Chrysalis nearly irreparably damaged Equestria’s view of changelings, but through some hard work by Thorax, Luna, Twilight, and yours truly, they’re now widely accepted everywhere, and are valued for their unique contributions to the nation. I don’t care if I have to go to each and every pony in town: I will never let you be excluded simply because of who or what you are. You’re my friend and mate, and I will ensure everyone knows that. I’ll write it with fire in the sky if I need to.”
By now, it was clear Ember was blushing, but she still smiled at me as she joked, “You don’t need to go that far...but thanks. I’ll put forth real effort, I promise.” With that we began walking through the store again as she continued with, “So who is Dinky and Snips?”
I smiled briefly as we looked over the different items on the shelves, some of which I found real interest in. “Dinky is the daughter of one of the local mailmares, and Snips is one of the few guy friends I have around here. I’ve known both of them since shortly after we first moved here, and we’ve stayed pretty close through the years. They both work here as part of their intern program with one of the schools in Canterlot -- Snips manages the stockroom while Dinky comes up with the interior design.” I pointed to the walls, which had a soft shade of blue-green paint along with the strategic placement of the merchandise and displays. “All of this is Dinky’s work, and simply going by the numbers, her work has increased sales for the store by 5% in just the last year alone. People don’t think about it, but colors and decor affects what we buy, and how much.”
Ember shook her head with an exasperated expression. “I’ll have to take your word for it. Colors are colors, to me.” She then stopped what she was doing and approached one of the shelves, which had a column of jars with a viscous liquid inside that shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow. I knew what it was immediately, but Ember clearly didn’t.
“Liquid rainbow,” I advised, pointing to the jars. “Useful in alchemy, and when mixed with water, energized clouds, and a bit of pegasus magic, it can produce the same kind of rainbow fountains that Rainbow Dash has at her house. This stuff is pretty hard to come by,” I pointed to the price tag on the shelf, “so the 300-bit price is fair.”
Now realizing just how valuable the jars were, Ember was far more careful as she gently lifted one of them up to her face to examine it. “You know, ten years ago, if you’d told me ponies could distill a rainbow and make it into a liquid that could be bottled and sold, I would have called you crazy.”
I shrugged with a grin. “That’s the power of pegasus magic. They might not all be able to cast actual spells, but all ponies have magic that can do amazing things. Even before Twilight became an alicorn, it was nuts the kinds of things she could do.” I then smiled wider as a thought came to mind. “Oh, and a certain dressmaker I love knows a spell that can find gems in the ground, no matter where they are.”
Ember glanced at me with a surprised expression. “Really now? That’d save a lot of time for gem-harvesting. Would be nice to know exactly where we would need to dig, so we wouldn’t have to waste time in areas that have nothing there.”
“Unfortunately,” I continued, “the spell is her unique ability*. That isn’t to say other unicorns can’t learn the spell, but it’s extremely complex, and even Twilight has trouble casting it properly. Put simply, most unicorns would be unable to learn the spell. Rarity is the only pony that can use the spell with any sort of efficiency, and it wouldn’t be fair to ask her to find gem snacks for all of the dragons.” I then nudged Ember with a grin. “So, beyond becoming closer to another member of my hoard, being friends with Rarity would give you access to gems without needing to search for hours or days for a decent amount on your own.”
Ember shot a slight glare my way. “I wouldn’t try to be close to Rarity just to get gems, Spike. Give me more credit than that.”
“Does that mean you’d turn her down if she offered you some?” I countered with a knowing smile.
Ember ducked her head slightly and muttered, “...well, I didn’t say that…” Ember suddenly perked up and looked behind us.
I followed her gaze to see a familiar mauve unicorn mare, whose yellow eyes shone brightly with happiness as she gave some hand motions with a bright smile. Following that, she stepped forward and embraced me in a hug, and I almost laughed aloud at the growl Ember gave.
Turning toward the dragoness, I dipped my head toward the mare in my arms. “This is Dinky. She’s one of my childhood friends, and one of the first mares I dated when I was growing up.” The mare herself tapped me to get my attention before making some more hand movements, and I just chuckled at the display. “Hey, that was not my fault. I remain convinced your dad never liked me.”
Ember just looked confused. “Am I missing something?”
It took a moment for me to understand just why she was confused, and I slapped a hand to my forehead. “Oh, sorry about that. Dinky’s mute, meaning she can’t speak; she uses sign language to communicate. And put that green-eyed monster of yours away; you don’t need to feel possessive of me around Dinky. We had our time together, and it was nice, but we discovered we worked out better as friends. I care about her, and she’ll always be special to me, but Dinky and I are strictly friends.”
Ember released an audible “oh” of realization and had the good grace to look apologetic. “I didn’t mean anything by it, I promise. It’s just...y’know, dragon instincts.”
Dinky now looked confused, so I explained to her, “Dragons don’t usually have more than one special someone, Dinky. Ember is a part of my herd, so she’s having to learn to share me with others. Be patient with her.” The mare looked up to the dragoness and gave a nod with the “okay” hand signal, waving off the apology. She made some hand gestures, which I translated as, “Dinky says don’t worry about it. She’s willing to forgive and forget, and she hopes you can be a friend.” She made a flurry of gestures. “She also says you have beautiful coloration, and she loves the striking shade of your eyes. Your scales shine like polished gems, and your eyes carry the fiery intensity of a volcano.”
Ember was blushing up a storm as she absently stroked her cheek with a claw. “...I think I know where you got some of your smooth-talking, Spike.” She then shot a smirk my way and added, “You better be careful, or your friend here might lure me away with talk like that.”
I was well-aware that Dinky had no preference on the gender of those she was interested in, so the next response was sure to be entertaining. If there was one other thing Dinky was an expert at besides interior design and color-matching, it was knowing how to manipulate others to get a certain response. It was a small mercy that sign language was not a skill most ponies had. I had no doubt that in the infinite timelines among the aether, Dinky was a widely feared pony due to her silver tongue (hands?) in a significant number of them, and at least one had her as the leader of a comically-sized harem.
This was proven when Dinky left my embrace, and stepped up to Ember with a disarming smile. She extended one open hand toward the dragoness, and after a moment of hesitation, Ember placed her own hand in the mare’s. Dinky locked her eyes on Ember’s, and slowly ran the fingers of both hands over the digits of the larger female in front of her. Her gaze remained on the eyes of Ember as she touched just the right places, at just the right times, soon bringing another blush to Ember’s head spines, and causing her eyes to dilate as primal feelings began to swirl in her mind and body. Dinky then slowly released the hand she held, and gently ran her palms over the forearms of Ember, up her elbows, upper arms, and then across her collar as she almost lovingly cradled the jaw of the dragoness that was completely fixated on her. Unbidden, Ember leaned down toward the mare, completely captivated, but just before she could give in to the desire that held her, Dinky playfully booped the dragoness on the snout and pulled away, silently giggling as she turned to me and waved before walking away.
Ember was in a daze as she seemed to come back from some other place in her mind, and she roughly shook her head as she composed herself. She darted her eyes to the back door that Dinky had left through, and more gently shook her head with a snort. “I’ve never questioned who and what I was attracted to before now. That mare is dangerous.”
“See? You’re learning new things every day, just like me,” I quipped, smoothing my hand over the clothed back of Ember. “Ponies might not be physically big and strong, but I’d imagine you’re learning that they’re powerful in other ways.”
“I already knew there was more to ponies than meets the eye; this isn’t the first time I’ve been here, and my first meeting with you and the others at the Gauntlet of Fire proved that a lot of my assumptions were wrong,” Ember answered, shaking her head slowly again, seemingly in awe at what she had just experienced. “Still, to actually have it happen in front of me, first-hand, is...crazy. I understand how you can be so annoyed by a bunch of nobles up in the capital now.”
I nodded a little more soberly. “Since I make it a point of principle to adhere to the laws of Equestria, they can and will use it against me if I make them upset. They’ve done it before, and I have no doubt they’ll do it again. I’m already expecting them to do something when you, me and Twilight go up to Canterlot soon.” I glanced at Ember from the side of my eye. “Probably you specifically because you’re largely an unknown variable, and they’re going to ‘probe’ you like that mare did to me, earlier.”
Ember grimaced at that, and looked to Lyla. “I kinda wish you could be the one to go instead. I don’t do too well when people purposely try to get on my nerves.”
Lyla, who had been silently observing us until that moment, smiled reassuringly. “Twilight and Spike trust you to behave, so trust yourself. Follow their lead, and just try not to shout at anyone, and you’ll be fine. Yes, they’re probably going to poke at you, but the nobles know better than to do anything overt in front of Twilight.”
“Why does it sound like you two are preparing me like I’m walking onto a battlefield?” Ember asked, half-seriously.
I gave a short laugh before I began leading her through the store once again.
One thing I found interesting about dragons was that our culture was not so against piercings and body modification, like ponies were. Dragons regularly pierced parts of their bodies, faces, and even modified the size and shape of their horns, though as I really thought about it, the practice made sense. Dragons usually hoarded jewels and precious metals, so piercings would allow a dragon to take a little bit of their hoard with them. When I asked Ember why she hadn’t gotten any yet, she replied that she hadn’t had a reason to until recently.
“Like birds and many other animals that flash bright colors and adorn themselves with pretty trinkets, dragons also do the same to stand out and draw attention to themselves,” she explained as we browsed the wares of one of Ponyville’s master jewellers. She glanced back at me in an almost teasing manner. “Lately, however, I have a reason to look good. I might not like dresses or things like that, but shiny chains, rings, or piercings are more my style.”
The only experience I had with those that liked to pierce themselves was the “goth” clique among young ponies and teenagers. The group was still fairly new to Equestria, and thus were sometimes called “freaks” because of their abnormal appearance, but there was still something very interesting about the people that took that road. I’ll admit, the thought of Ember with piercings, maybe a tattoo or two, and a spiked leather collar was...shockingly exciting.
“You’re thinking naughty things again, Spike,” Ember commented off-handedly, smirking though she didn’t look at me directly. She pointed to her own mate’s mark, which was glowing slightly in green. “As our bond becomes stronger, we can pick up on what the other is feeling, if we’re in close proximity. I can’t read your mind, but I’ll know what you feel.”
“Same,” Lyla threw in, smiling at Ember as she drew her attention. “Nice to know that I’m not alone in being able to feel what Spike is feeling.”
I glanced at the two and rhetorically asked, “You two are going to use this against me, aren’t you?”
Ember just smiled enigmatically. “What were you thinking about that stirred you up?”
I rolled my eyes and continued looking over the display full of necklaces, chains, and bracelets of various materials. “Remember when we saw that pony in the market with all the piercings, and the black eyeliner, and the dark colors, and the collar?” At Ember’s raised eyebrow, I pointed to her. “I was imagining you like that, and for some reason it...stimulated my mind.”
Ember seemed to consider what I said before she chuckled and went back to the jewellry. “Oh yeah, I’m definitely going to use that against you. And Lyla here is going to help me.”
“I am?”
“Yes, you are. And it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Ember promised the changeling, shooting me a mischievous smirk.
Trying not to sound too excited at what might be in store for me, I muttered, “I’m not sure if I should be afraid or not. I’m well aware of what Lyla is capable of when she puts her mind to flustering me, and I’m beginning to understand just how dangerous you can be in that respect, Ember. Just promise me that I won’t get in trouble for whatever you have in mind.”
Ember seemed to think quietly for a moment before requesting, “Define ‘trouble’.”
I opened my mouth to respond, only to shut it a moment later. I stopped and thought about how I should define the word, eventually answering, “Just...make sure whatever you do isn’t going to get me ostracized or banished.”
“You worry too much, Spike,” Ember teased, pointing to a set of simple gold bracelets, and one golden ruby ring. The jeweller pulled out the items from the display case, and Ember casually put the bracelets up to her horns. “What do you think?”
I rounded her and stood in front so I could get a good look at the dragoness. Gold clearly suited Ember much better than silver, and dragons adorned their horns just as much as the rest of themselves. However, I couldn’t help but think, “...I don’t know. Your father has the same kind of thing, so I think you should get something a little more unique -- you know, something that says ‘Dragon Lord Ember,’ not ‘Ember, daughter of Torch’.”
She lowered the bracelets and looked at them carefully before placing them back on the display. “Yeah, I think you’re right.” She then pointed a claw at two small golden studs connected by a thin, curved piece of metal. After they were presented to her, she placed them up by her brow, looking to me with a silent question.
I did my best to visualize what Ember would look like with a brow piercing, and found it worked a lot better than I thought. “You know what, I think that one works.”
The jeweller then moved to the side, pulling up another set of items that looked like golden rings with one ball on each end. She explained, “You’re clearly interested in the recent interest in piercing among the younger folk, so I thought I’d mention a new trend we’ve begun seeing lately.” The mare pulled two of the rings up to her face, placing one on each side of her mouth, just under her lower lip. “The colts and fillies call these ‘snake bites’, and it’s become rather popular among the youth of Manehattan, Fillydelphia, and Canterlot. It hasn’t hit Ponyville just yet, since this is traditionally a farming town and tends to be...well, traditional, but I imagine it won’t be long before we see these, too.”
Ember looked at these “lip rings,” and grabbed them as well. “Sounds good, let’s do it.”
I raised a brow at Ember. “What’s with the sudden binge and decision to pierce yourself all up?”
Ember returned my expression before poking me in the chest. “Like I said, I’ve got a reason to look good, now. I’ve actually been wanting to do this for awhile, but it just wasn’t practical.”
I snorted and waved my hand in her face. “Hello? I already think you’re good-looking. You don’t have to do this if-”
“Like I said,” she interrupted, “I’ve wanted to do this for awhile. Now, I have a reason to. Do you think I’ll look ugly with them?” I had nothing to say, and at my silence, Ember just nodded with a grin. “Exactly. Just enjoy it, and I will too.”
The mare at the counter smiled to Ember and nodded. “I’m glad you’ve found something you like. We also do piercing services here, for a cleaner, safer experience.”
Ember didn’t even hesitate. “Sounds good, but you’re going to need a stronger needle than normal. Dragonhide is like armor in some places, and while the brow and mouth are softer, the flesh is still thicker than the skin of a pony.”
The mare smiled before heading to a back room. “I have just the thing! I’ll return in a moment!”
While we waited, I nudged Ember in the side with a finger, prompting a jolt and glare my way. I just returned the look with a flat expression. “And you say I’m impulsive.”
Ember just smiled at me and nudged me back. “You should get one.”
“Yeah, no. Twilight would freak,” I advised, though I’ll admit I had thought about it before that day. “I’ll have to ease her into the idea, and that could take some time. I think you having some would actually be a great ice-breaker, though, so this could actually work in my favor.” I glanced to Lyla, who had been silent the entire time. “What about you, Lye? Up for a piercing?”
Lyla just deadpanned at me. Her head lit up in emerald fire, and when it dissipated, two silver earrings could be seen hanging from her ears. Another flash of emerald flame, and they were gone. “Kind of pointless to get body piercings when I can just give the illusion that I have them. Why, do you like them?”
I shrugged, rubbing the back of my neck with a sheepish smile. “...kinda. Cadence had some when we were younger, and I’ve always thought they made her look really cute.”
Now Lyla was doing her own eyebrow-raise at me. “Auntie Cadence? You thought your aunt looked cute?”
“We’re not actually related,” I retorted, blushing all the same. “Besides...she’s the princess of love. You’ve seen her, and I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s almost like she was born to be a sex object. If little Flurry Heart got those genes from Cadence, she’s going to end up the same way, and Uncle Spike is going to have to scare off a bunch of horny teenage colts.”
Lyla just giggled and shrugged. “All right fine, you’ve got me there. Well, like I said, they’re just an illusion, so if you like the look…” Lyla’s head was again engulfed in green flames, and the silver earrings were back on the lobes of her ears. She fidgeted with her ears a bit to show the rings moved like they should, and then asked, “Do they look nice?”
I could only give a single, silent laugh at her, nodding with a smile. “Yes, they look good. And you’re a treasure, Lyla.” I affectionately pressed my nose against hers as I stroked my claws through her hair, and then pulled away as I heard hoofsteps returning from the back room.
The jeweller had returned, holding a small case in one hand and a sturdy stool in the other. “All right, let’s get you adorned with your new purchases.” She beckoned Ember back behind the counter, and we all followed. Pointing to the stool, she gestured for the dragoness to sit, and after that, she opened the case and pulled out a sealed package containing a shiny needle. “This here is made of tempered titanium, with an impurity rating of less than 1%. It’s stronger than steel and lighter than aluminum, as well as being magically sharpened to a microscopic degree. This could puncture through royal guard plate, if needed, so this will be nice and quick.” She pulled on a pair of medical latex gloves before grasping a bottle of rubbing alcohol, pausing. “Are dragons able to tolerate acetone and ethanol?”
I nodded. “Yeah, there’s no difference between us and ponies, there. She’ll be fine.”
The mare nodded before wetting a cotton ball in the strong-smelling liquid. “So, how do you want the eyebrow ring? One brow or both?”
Ember shrugged. “Both on the right side.”
The mare nodded once again before dabbing the area with the cotton ball. “Now, I’m going to use surgical steel piercings to actually hold the place until it heals. Since this metal is unlikely to cause an allergic reaction, it’s the safest kind to use until the site has healed. Once it’s healed, you can change them out for the ones you are buying.” The mare quickly tore open the package, which contained a curved, hollow tube-like needle. She fixed the piercing on one end of the needle and prodded the skin of Ember’s brow a few times, seemingly looking for a good area before pinching a place and saying, “Okay, hold still and take a breath. I’ll be doing both in quick succession. 1, 2, 3 and…”
The first piercing slid into place as easily as if she were a certain fashionista using a sewing needle. She quickly screwed on the ball to secure it, then immediately moved a half-inch over and placed the second piercing. Ember didn’t so much as flinch as this was done, and I have to admit, I was impressed that she didn’t even growl.
The mare pulled back briefly before grabbing another sealed package, this time with a much longer set of needles, which also looked quite a bit more intimidating. “Okay, so, do you want to wait for a moment, or-”
Ember shook her head. “Nope, keep it going. It’d be stupid to wait for the swelling to set in.”
The mare looked suitably impressed, glancing at me with a smile. “I like her. Well chosen, Spike.”
I felt embarrassed at the teasing, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, me too. She’s pretty cool. I might just keep her.” Ember attempted to shoot a deadpan look my way, but her amusement won out, and she just ended up smiling at me.
The mare then grabbed a pair of forceps with holes at the end, and brought them up to Ember’s face. “Okay, now relax your jaw so it hangs open, then close it normally.” Ember went through the motions, and the mare pressed a few times on her bottom lip. "Okay, relax your bottom lip and don’t move whatsoever; I’ll do everything, I do not need your assistance.” The mare used the forceps to grab Ember’s bottom lip on either side, pressing them and locking them on the skin just below the lip itself. I knew it would be a challenge since the skin of a dragon didn’t dimple or color the same way that pony skin did, but the mare was a professional and soon found what she was looking for. She nodded to Ember and let the forcep dangle as she pulled open the second package and brought the needle in close. “Okay, I’m going to pierce from the inside out. You’ll feel a sharp pinch, and I’ll follow with the piercing immediately. Don’t move, jerk, or bite me, and everything will go fine.”
Ember chuckled in her throat at the latter part of the statement, but did as she was told. Again, the mare counted to three, and the needle passed through her lip just as easily as the eyebrow was done. With practiced precision, the mare grabbed the curved lip ring and fed it through the hole as the needle was pulled through it, and immediately screwed on the small ball on the end. The second piercing was done the same in short order, and in only a few minutes, Ember was suddenly wearing four new pieces of jewelry that weren’t rings or earrings.
I’ll readily admit it was a bit exciting to see, and it made her look more alluring for some reason.
The mare pulled away after the last piercing, letting out a breath and smiling at the dragoness. “You know, I’ve been doing this for nearly ten years, and you are one of the best customers I’ve had. I’ve seen stallions cry at the sight of the needle or even pass out, as well as mares suddenly decide they didn’t want to do this while I was in the middle of pushing the needle through. You though, you held strong all the way through, and didn’t flinch once. Very well done, miss.”
Ember took the praise graciously, and nodded her thanks to the mare. “Thank you for doing this. Considering how dragons do this, your way was far less painful.”
I could only imagine how dragons would pierce things...and then remembered they had no formal industry for this kind of thing. I shuddered as I imagined the messy use of just claws and teeth to do the same job, and even felt a little sick at how agonizing that must be.
The mare stood up and put all the implements away, then handed a small pamphlet to Ember. “Here are your healing instructions. Follow them to the letter; I can’t stress enough how important it is that you do not deviate. Unless you want to end up in the hospital with a swollen, infected lip or brow, you better listen to the instructions.” She moved behind the counter again and pressed a few buttons on the register, looking back to me with a smile. “Okay, well, the piercing service and body jewelry comes to a total of 150 bits.” I pulled out the appropriate amount and handed the coins to the mare, which she took with a smile.
“Y’know,” I began, looking around the much more “traditional” jewelry all over the place, “I didn’t think you would have services like this, here. Maybe ear piercing, but not brow and lip.”
The mare giggled and shrugged. “I make it a point to expand my business as much as possible, so including things for both the ‘traditional’ crowd as well as the ‘modern’ crowd ensures I get plenty of business. Anyhow, was there anything else I can help you three with?”
I looked to Ember and Lyla before shaking my head. “Nah, not right now. I might be back later to get something for myself, but I have to run it by my other herdmates first.”
The mare reached into her pocket and pulled out a business card, handing it to me. “Well, should you decide to shop for yourself, remember that Glittery Dreams has what you need. You three take care, and don’t forget to come back should you require an engagement ring or brooch for any of your mares.”
I blushed a bit at the implication, but smiled nonetheless. “We’re not quite there yet, but I’ll definitely keep you in mind. Thank you, ma’am.”
As the three of us headed back out into the cold weather, Ember momentarily shivered before pulling her coat tighter and walking beside me with a smile. Almost simultaneously, as if were rehearsed, both she and Lyla took one of my hands each, and smiled at the gestures.
“I like that mare. Professional, didn’t freak out at the sight of me, and even joked with me. Plus, it takes some pretty sturdy stones to pierce a dragon, I’d imagine,” Ember commented, looking rather impressed.
I gave a nod as we continued toward the center of town, catching sight of dozens of young ponies playing in the snow. “Ponyville’s become a far more welcoming place than most, over the years. It doesn’t have the traffic of places like Manehattan, and it’s not a capital like Canterlot, but with the School of Friendship and Twilight herself residing here, diversity has become normal. Besides,” I glanced over at Lyla briefly, “if there’s anything Ponyvillians are good at, it’s adapting to change. I guess they’d have to be to live so close to the Everfree, though.”
As we neared the main square, where most of the younger colts and fillies were playing in the snow, Ember slowed to a stop, forcing me to do the same. I glanced at her questioningly, only to find her staring almost dreamily at the young ones having fun. I looked to the ponies themselves, trying to discern exactly what was so interesting about them, but was unable to see what Ember was apparently seeing.
“You know, I want some of my own, at some point,” Ember commented softly.
She didn’t have to clarify, because I was able to easily pick up on what she meant. The thought brought a blush to me, along with a pleasant warmth in my chest. Nonetheless, I still joked, “I don’t think we’re allowed to buy ponies. I’d have to check with mom, but-”
Ember elbowed me in the ribs with a bark of a laugh, shaking her head with a smile. This of course drew the attention of a few of the ponies, and we received a few waves and smiles, as well as excited grins from the younger foals at the sight of dragons in Ponyville. A few of the braver colts and fillies approached, standing a dozen or so paces away, as they just stared at us in awe. The parents knew me well enough, but to most of the younger foals, dragons were still a novelty, so I understood why we were drawing a crowd.
Contrary to what I expected, as Ember finally realized we were drawing a small crowd of foals, she didn’t react the same way she had to the adult ponies earlier in the day. Instead of anxiety, she smiled warmly and kneeled in front of them, placing her hands on her thighs as she waited patiently for one to approach. It didn’t take long for one of the little fillies to gather her courage, and the little indigo-coated pony slowly inched forward until she was standing only a foot away from Ember.
Ember kept her welcoming smile and nodded to the filly. “And what’s your name, little one?”
The filly seemed surprised at just how gentle Ember’s voice was (I’ll admit, I felt the same for a moment), but quickly gathered herself and gave her own shy smile. “Um...m-my name’s Moon Lily.”
Ember slowly extended her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Moon Lily. My name is Ember.”
The filly hesitantly placed her own hand in Ember’s, but her smile grew as Ember gently shook her hand, maintaining her warm smile. “I-It’s good to meet you too, Miss Ember.” She then looked up at me, then back to Ember, before asking, “Umm, Miss Ember, are you Mister Spike’s special somepony?”
Ember looked up to me with an unsaid question, so I clarified, “She’s asking if we’re together.”
“Oh,” Ember exclaimed with a chuckle, “then yes, yes I am.” She turned her eyes back to the filly and nodded to her. “Dragons refer to their ‘special somepony’ as their ‘mate’, but it’s the same thing.”
The little filly, further displaying her adorability, blew a raspberry at one of the other foals. “See? I told you! Mister Spike has his own herd now, so,” she ended her statement by sticking out her tongue at the colt.
I was well-aware that recently, my herd and I had become a rather common point of conversation for most ponies, so I wasn’t really that surprised. What did surprise me was what happened next.
“My daddy says dragons should stick to their own kind,” the same colt said, looking confused instead of malicious. It was clear he was just repeating what his father had said, and didn’t really know what to think.
Ember, to her credit, didn’t snarl or growl. Instead, she merely nodded to the little colt, gesturing with a hand to me and Lyla. “Do you think we should treat people different just because they’re not a pony? Do you think that’s fair?”
The colt glanced down at the ground for a few seconds, apparently thinking, before looking up at me and smiling. “Nope! Mister Spike is cool; dragons are cool! And Miss Lyla can do really cool things, too!”
I found myself impressed at the answer, and felt a small measure of gratitude for the colt. I didn’t even know who he was, but already the young pony had become cool, in my book.
“Exactly,” Ember answered, gesturing to the ponies that were now all looking our way -- about half were parents, keeping an eye on their foals. “We might look different, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. We all have something special to offer, so never be afraid of someone just because they don’t look like you.”
The filly raised her hand and hopped around happily. “Yeah, that’s what Princess Twilight and the teachers at the School of Friendship said!” She then suddenly stopped, and huffed. “I miss Smoulder; she was really fun.”
Ember’s smile widened, and she gently laid a hand on the filly’s shoulder. “I’ll see if I can have her visit. You might find Ponyville becoming a very popular place, soon.” At the filly’s questioning look, Ember just tapped a finger on the side of her nose. “It’s a secret. You’ll just have to wait and see. Anyway,” she stood and smiled down at the gathered foals, “we should get going.” At the collective whines, Ember laughed and raised her hands. “Calm down, I won’t be going anywhere for awhile. We’ll be sure to meet again, I promise.”
The filly tilted her head as she seemingly noticed something for the first time. "Miss Ember, why do you have that metal on your face?"
Laughing nervously for the first time, she answered, "Ask your parents about them. Now, it was great to meet all of you, but we should get going. Have fun!"
Sufficiently placated, the foals ran back to the field to play, leaving the three of us to walk back to the castle once again.
As we left, however, I found myself commenting, “I have to be honest, I didn’t expect that. You’ve got a soft spot for young ones, it seems.”
Ember gave an embarrassed smile, but nodded anyway. “Even back in the dragon lands, I’ve always been enamoured with the young whelps. That youthful innocence they have, before life, politics, and culture beats that wonder and imagination out of them, has always been something I loved.”
Pulling her close and affectionately nosing her cheek, I assured, “We’ll have our own, someday. I promise.”
Ember took her place under my right wing as Lyla did the same with the other, and the three of us made our way back toward the castle.
“Don’t stare, don’t stare, DON’T STARE. STAHP!”
Even though I repeatedly recited those lines in my head, I still couldn’t take my eyes off of the pony rump a few feet in front of me, a rump which belonged to a certain roommate that wasn’t part of my herd. Starlight was bent over as she rummaged through one of the many bookcases, and I was doing my best not to drool as her tail languidly swished from side to side as she took her time selecting a tome. Though she was fully-clothed, the tight leggings she wore only barely passed for “pants”, and left very little to the imagination. I had, for example, now confirmed that Starlight also had been to a piercing specialist of some sort, though said body jewelry was not something that could be shown to polite company.
I swear she was doing it on purpose.
“Spike...Spike, are you listening?”
I jolted at the voice, and whipped my head toward Twilight, who was staring at me with narrowed eyes. I tried my best to play off the fact that I was ogling the backside of our mutual housemate, and coughed hard a few times before answering, “Uh y-yeah, of course.”
“Then what did I just say?” she challenged, her eyes narrowing further.
I shrugged helplessly, smiling sheepishly. “Stuff about...things.”
Twilight was silent for a few moments before her horn lit up. With a flash, a dome of translucent, magenta magic surrounded us, and she sighed heavily as her expression softened to something half exasperated, half understanding. “Spike, I know that dragons have a higher sex drive than ponies do most of the time, but you have to control yourself. I thought you had grown out of this years ago.”
I let out a long breath ending in a small flame, and slumped in my chair with a frustrated grunt. “Yeah, me too. All of the sudden lately I’ve been...looking. I can’t seem to stop myself. And it’s not just my friends either: mares in the market, on the street, and even Mrs. Cake. MRS. CAKE, Twi. She’s married with two kids, and isn’t even my type. It’s been getting worse and worse lately, but I’ve been just pushing it away since I had other stuff to worry about.”
Twilight blushed a bit as she asked, “Are you and Lyla on a break or something?”
It took me a moment to pick up on exactly what she was suggesting, and I blushed a bit as well with a hard shake of my head. “No, and that’s why it’s frustrating. If it were a biological imperative, that would take care of it...but it’s not. I feel like I’m turning into some kind of pervert, and I don’t know why.”
Twilight reached across the table we were sitting at, and grasped my hand in hers. “Hey, no matter what’s happening, we’ll get through it together...just like everything else.”
It was then that we both heard a jingling sound approaching from the corridors, accompanied by the padding of non-hoofed feet on the crystal floor. Moments later, a certain blue dragoness entered the room, complete with a new accessory she commissioned from Rarity in secret.
She approached Twilight and I, jingling the whole way over, and I commented, “You know, when I said we should put a bell on you, I wasn’t serious.” I pointed to the black collar around her neck, which held a small bronze bell on it, which chimed with every step she made.
Ember looked a little embarrassed by the mention of her new accessory, but countered, “...well yeah, but I thought it’d be a funny prank, and...I kinda like it.” She then forcefully shook her head and grabbed my hand, hauling me to my feet. Her eyes flashed green -- the same shade of green as my own eyes -- before returning to their normal crimson while she practically dragged me out of the room. “C’mon, we gotta talk. Twilight, stay here please.”
Immediately, my anxiety spiked, and Twilight’s worry mirrored what I felt as I was ushered out of the room. Nonetheless, I followed Ember as she led me through the corridors until we once again approached the door that led to our training room. Blowing a gout of flame over the crystal lock, the door shifted colors a few times before swinging open, showing the way to the room I had been training in for the past few weeks. Ember practically threw me inside and shut the door behind us, quickly walking purposefully over to me with a neutral expression.
She cupped my face in her palms, looking into my eyes for a moment before walking a small circle around and inspecting my body, clearly searching for something.
“Is there a reason we’re here, Ember? I thought you said we were done for today,” I asked, mostly confused with an undercurrent of fear from her actions.
Ember stepped in front of me again and sighed, lowering her eyes as she shook her head. “I should have known about this before, but your situation is unique, since you’re the first dragon in recorded history to be around so many ponies so regularly.” Raising her head again and focusing on me, she explained, “To put it simply, we need to vent your magic. It’s been building far too quickly because of the amount of magic you’re around every day, and as it gets worse, your dragon instincts amplify. Right now, for example, you smell like a dragon that’s about to go into a lust-frenzy*.”
I gulped and shifted uneasily, but as if to prove it to myself, my gaze began to rove over Ember’s form appraisingly. As the moments passed, I found the fire within growing stronger and hotter, and eventually, Ember was forced to smack me across the face to get my attention. To my surprise and shame, I actually growled at her, immediately backing away and shaking my head. “S-sorry, I don’t know why I did that.”
Ember closed the distance between us and placed a hand on my throat, over the mate’s mark. “Calm down Spike, it’s okay. This is what I’m talking about.” She motioned to the air as she explained, “Twilight is an alicorn that radiates raw, unfocused magic constantly, and even your other friends give off free magic of varying degrees. Whenever you’re around any of them, you’re absorbing that magic, and it’s building faster than you can get rid of it -- blasted flames, the entire castle is a magical construct. I should have seen it sooner, but it all makes sense now.”
Raising my brow at her, I asked, “What are you talking about? Why is it hitting just now? I’ve lived pretty much my entire life here, and I’ve never been ogling mares like some horny teenager before.”
Ember averted her eyes, removing her hand from my throat. “That...might actually be partially my fault. A mate’s brand forces your mana pathways open so that we can exchange our Flame with each other. Your body adapted a long time ago to live in a magic-rich environment by limiting how much ambient magic affected you -- think of it like a flood of people trying to rush down a hallway, but the hallway is only big enough for one at a time; no matter how many try to force their way in, only one can pass. With the brand, I basically took a sledgehammer to those walls, allowing all of the magic to flow into you without restraint, like a dam that’s all of the sudden had all the flow valves opened at once.”
I wasn’t as versed in the workings of how magic flowed as, say, Twilight, but I knew enough to recognize the danger of what Ember was suggesting.
Chuckling nervously I asked, “S-so what can happen if we don’t handle this?”
Ember grimaced slightly. “You know how you’ve been looking at random females more and more lately? Eventually, looking wouldn’t be enough, and you’d graduate to aggressive flirting, or even...indecent actions.”
Gulping and feeling my heart start to race, I shook my head fervently. “Then we gotta do something. What do we need to do? How do I fix this?”
“Like I said,” Ember said, glancing away again, “we have to vent your excess magic. There’s a few ways we could normally do this, but since I didn’t realize what was happening before just a few minutes ago, we have to resort to the most drastic way.”
Tilting my head slightly in confusion, I took note of how Ember seemed very uncomfortable with what she was saying. Hesitantly, I asked, “...and what way would that be?”
She still kept her eyes averted, for some reason unwilling to look at me. “Take off your clothes so they don’t get destroyed.”
While I was confused, I did as she said -- I didn’t exactly feel the need to be modest in front of Ember anymore, considering how often I’d been naked in front of her lately. After carefully removing my clothing and tossing it to the side, I turned back toward Ember and waited for her to tell me what we needed to do next. Before I could so much as blink, Ember gave a single mighty flap of her wings, and impacted me with enough force to knock me onto my back. Without any sort of warning, she mounted my waist and pinned my arms to the ground as she loomed above me.
Ember was still grimacing as she leaned close and whispered, “Mate with me, Spike. Make me yours, body and soul.”
A flaming inferno seemed to ignite within my chest, and it took every ounce of self-control I had left to throw Ember off of me roughly. My instincts and desires were roaring angrily at what I had just done, but my rationale wouldn’t allow this to happen. I stood up and backed away from her, keeping my sharp eyes trained on Ember so that she couldn’t surprise me again.
I shook my head hard, growling. “No. You don’t want this, and we’re not doing this just because-”
“WE DON’T HAVE A CHOICE, SPIKE!” she shouted, her face showing both regret and a deep hurt that made my heart cry out in sympathetic pain. “Because of what I overlooked, we don’t have the luxury of waiting any longer. What I want is no longer feasible, because if we don’t, you might end up banished from Equestria. You might think, ‘I’m fine, I can beat this,’ only to lose control on the streets and breed the first mare you see, whether she wants it or not. How do you think that’s gonna pan out? Ponies might be able to overlook many things about your dragon heritage, but I don’t imagine rape during a lust-frenzy would be one of them.” She sighed and shook her head with a soft cry. “What I want now is no longer relevant. By joining with one another, I can channel your magic through me and use it to fuel the passion of our union. That’s the only safe way to vent your magic, at this point -- anything else runs the risk of you losing control.” She gave me a sad smile and pointed at herself. “If you want someone to blame, blame me. I should have noticed this sooner, and the mate’s brand was the catalyst.”
Again I shook my head, but more softly this time, pleading, “Ember...there has to be another way. I-I don’t...you shouldn’t have to do something like this just because there’s something wrong with me! It’s supposed to be something magical that we remember fondly, not because you’re just ‘opening the valve to release the pressure’! It…” I dropped to my behind on the floor, and leaned back against the wall. “This is wrong. This is not what love is!”
Ember smiled sadly at me, slowly approaching and kneeling in front of me. “This is the life of a dragon, Spike, and not all of it is nice. This can still be special and memorable, but this is also something that needs to be done. It’s either this, or you leave Ponyville for a few months and wait for your magic to normalize on its own; which is it going to be?”
The thought of the latter option brought to mind all of the ponies that cared about me, and all the ones that counted on me. Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and so many others...they all depended on me. As much as I hated it, when the options were presented that way, there was really only one choice.
“...I can’t leave,” I muttered, hating myself for this entire situation. I hated myself for being weak, for letting Ember take on the consequences of my own problem, and even more for knowing she was completely right.
“Part of being a proper mate is doing what’s in the best interest for one’s mate, even if it requires a sacrifice on our part,” Ember reminded, smiling reassuringly at me. “I’ll admit, this is not ideal, but it’s okay. I don’t blame you for this, and once all is said and done, I’ll make sure this doesn’t have to happen again.” At my questioning look, she backpedaled with a laugh, “No, not this, I mean what led to what’s going to happen between us. You’re right: physical intimacy should be something borne completely of affection and attraction, not a requirement. When it happens again, it’ll be because of that, not because you have too much magic in you.” Ember then blew a gout of flame onto her hand and traced a few characters in the air in front of her.
Reading the characters, I recognized “body”, “young” (the noun, not the adjective), and a character that simply meant “no” in the broadest sense. She then flicked her hand and caught the spiraling characters in her hand, and pressed her flaming palm to her lower abdomen. Upon removing her hand, the three words were arranged in a circle, glowing softly on the area she had pressed against.
At my silent question, she smiled gently. “Dragon contraceptive spell.”
The fact she had prepared a spell for this suddenly made it inescapable: this was going to happen -- it needed to happen -- and she was fully committed to it. Nonetheless, I still released a sad sigh and was unable to hold back a tear as I whispered, “Ember...I’m sorry.”
Ember grasped my chin softly, and raised my face to look at her. She had a look of trepidation, but also love and acceptance. She just shook her head at me, and grasped my hand as she brought it to her chest and pressed it against her warm hide. “Look into my eyes, Spike.” She gently squeezed the hand that was against her chest. “Feel my heartbeat.” She leaned in and placed her lips right by my ear and whispered, “Hear my voice. I am yours, and I give myself willingly. All I ask is that you give yourself to me as well, and I’ll be happy. I do want this, and I know you do too. Don’t hold back; you won’t hurt me.”
As Ember pulled away, I stared into her bright, ruby-red eyes, and pursed my lips as I took in what she said. Slowly, I raised my other hand, cupping her cheek and leaning in to gently kiss her firmly on the lips. I held it for several seconds before pulling away and smiling back at her, giving a firm nod as an answer. “I love you, Ember...I think I always have.”
Despite the severity of the situation, Ember’s eyes glistened with a glassiness that suggested she was just barely holding back tears, and she returned my smile. “I love you too, you big nerdy dork. Now, enough talk. Show me how much you want me, Spike.”
I lowered my knees extended my legs out in front of me, pulling Ember to sit on my lap in a position that was about as intimate as we could be while still being decent. She let out a soft squeak at the action, but settled herself comfortably as she wiggled her rump against me, coaxing the primal desire in me into a mighty flame once again. I ran my hands over her supple figure, letting my fingers tease over the joints to her wings, her lower back, and her tail, before finally settling hesitantly on her rump, taking one side in each hand. She moaned my name into my ear, further spurring me on as she leaned heavily against me, her breathing beginning to pick up. Hot puffs of breath tickled my ear as she reciprocated my actions the best she could, using her own fingers to touch me everywhere she could, as well as her dexterous tail to tickle my sensitive throat. This sent white-hot bolts of pleasure running down my spine, and I found myself groaning in response.
Carefully, I reached up and undid the clasp on the collar she wore, removing the accessory and tossing it vaguely over to some corner of the room. With that out of the way, I refocused my efforts on touching, squeezing, and kneading every pliable bit of flesh I could, coaxing more moans and half-coherent words. My body felt like it was on fire from the inside, and Ember was so hot I could feel her through my scales. As she ran her tongue over the fin of one ear, I jerked with a surprised moan of my own, and before I could realize what I was doing, I latched my teeth on her exposed throat. The startled gasp from Ember shocked me out of the lusty haze that had settled in my mind, but the feel of Ember’s palm pressing the back of my head into her even harder, I relaxed and gave myself over to the moment.
Scrambling to my knees, I pushed the beautiful, panting dragoness down onto her back, marvelling at how vulnerable she looked beneath me, and the burning desire in her eyes that mirrored what I felt. She growled low and pulled me by my wrist down onto her, spreading her legs wide and then locking her ankles behind my back. Her tail wrapped around mine as she gazed at me with unbridled passion and love in her blazing gaze.
“I am yours, Spike. You have left your mark upon me, now leave your mark within me. Join us together, as we are meant to be,” she pleaded softly, her husky voice stoking the fires within me even more. “Unleash yourself. You don’t need to hold back anymore, and I don’t want you to.”
With those words, the last of my resistance crumbled, and I felt my body reacting exactly as nature intended, preparing to claim my mate the same way that had been done since time immemorial. With a growl, I pressed myself against her roughly, hearing her gasp in surprise and pleasure as I completely gave into my desires and proceeded to show the beautiful dragoness exactly what I felt for her.