//------------------------------//
// Chapter 30: Enter Cakenstein 
// Story: Fire and Steel 
// by shirotora 
//------------------------------//

"Princess Ember, Prince Luke, so nice that you could join us," Celestia greeted as she noticed us.

Ember and I winced internally. We weren't exactly fond of the titles, but Celestia assured us she would only use them in public and only for the time being. 

The nobles needed regular reminding of our station, even if Ember's had no real meaning to dragons and mine wasn't technically true.

"Hey, Princess Celestia," Ember said casually, much to the indignation, and in some cases amusement, of the nearby nobles. "Kinda wish you mentioned this was happening earlier. We wouldn't have left Smolder at the training ground."

"And how is her progress?" Celestia asked. "Goodness, it's hard to believe it was just this morning you succeeded in awakening her magic."

"Yeah, a lot's happened today," Ember said with a laugh. "Magic, my egg, training, now cake. It's still so weird saying 'my egg'."

"No kidding," I agreed. "But it's a good weird. So, we were told there would be cake. Did you already eat it all?"

Celestia chuckled. "They haven't quite arrived yet. Their train was delayed due to a rockslide, but they should be arriving soon. Mingle if you wish. There is some more proper food being served, if you don't want to wait."

"That sounds great," Ember said. "I'm starving."

"The chefs have gem flakes they can add to anything, if you so wish," Celestia said.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to eat until I'm stuffed," I said. "We won't really have another chance for a while, and as decent of a cook as I am, I can't hold a candle to this stuff."

"Well, might I recommend the apple pork sausages?" Celestia said. "They are a favorite amongst the hippogriffs."

"Hippogriffs?" I asked. I hadn't remembered hearing about any in the show, and wasn't even aware they existed here.

"Yes, old allies of ours," Celestia replied, a hint of sadness coming from her.

I decided not to pry. It felt like it was probably a delicate subject.

"Well, then I shall take my leave. I have to see if these sausages live up to the hype," I said with a bow.

I made my way to the tables, taking note of the other guests. It wasn't the same type of nobles as was at the party before. These seemed more like the 'lesser' nobility.

The term 'less is more' certainly applied when it came to them. For one, there was very little disgust or indignation at my presence. In fact, it was mostly curiosity and even excitement I felt.

There was one, though, who stood out more than the other.

"-it turns out, no matter how bird-like they look, harpies can't actually fly." Blueblood spotted me and smiled. "Ah, you were curious who was responsible for pulling my head out of the hay. Luke, so glad you could join us."

"How have you been, Blue?" I asked, shaking his hoof. "Finally given up on trying to lodge a stick up your rear?"

He raised an eyebrow at that. "Quite the colorful term, but surprisingly fitting."

He turned to the other two ponies he was talking to. "Allow me to introduce my new acquaintances, Nightlight and Twilight Velvet. This is my friend, Luke. He speaks telepathically, so do be aware."

"Twilight Velvet? You wouldn't happen to be related to Twilight Sparkle, would you?" The resemblance was pretty uncanny. Plus, I'm pretty sure I saw her in the show.

The mare smiled, offering her hoof, "I am."

I shook it gently. "She never mentioned a sister."

She guffawed, "Ha! Good one. No, I think you know exactly who I am."

"To be honest, I wasn't sure," I said, truthfully. "You ponies always seem to age so gracefully, and I didn't want to assume."

"Princess Ember, so glad you could join us." Blueblood said with a smile as Ember joined us.

"Glad to be here... uh..."

"Blueblood."

"Blueblood!" Ember's smile wasn't fooling anyone.

Surprisingly, the mare, Twilight Velvet, went right up to Ember and stuck out a hoof. "I must say, it is an honor to meet you, princess."

"Just call me Ember," Ember said. "Until I'm dragon lord, titles don't really matter to dragons."

As the ladies drifted off to chat amongst themselves, Nightlight Turned to me.

"I want to thank you," he said. "I heard what you did for Twilight and her friends in the dragon lands."

"Ah," I nodded. "Yes, that was a surprising day, to be sure. I never thought I would see my friends again, yet there they were."

"Yes, I'll admit, I was surprised to hear that those little pups were actually a sapient species," Blueblood added. "I had seen photographs of them, and I've  seen Luna's hound around the palace. Admittedly, I always felt that hound was smarter than he was letting on.

"Though, I must wonder where you came from," he continued. "I've traveled all over the world, further than any Equestrian alive today, perhaps even the princesses, yet I've never encountered creatures like you or those eevees."

I debated whether or not to say anything. The princesses have already guessed we're from another world, but outside of them and my dragon friends, I didn't think anyone else knew.

"That's a good question," I answered. "In truth, I don't know how to really answer that. If I just said we're from the nation of America, would that have any meaning to you?"

"No, I can't say it rings any bells," Blueblood replied. "I could ask some of my contacts beyond Equestria."

"That's assuming they call the place the same thing," Nightlight chimed in. "Remember, we used to call Minos Blood Rock Island until we made contact with the minotaurs."

"Even so, there are few places that haven't been explored this side of Gaia's Wall," Blueblood stated.

"Gaia's Wall?" I inquired. 

"An impenetrable storm that covers nearly an eighth of the planet," Nightlight explained. "Legends say the storm was created to protect Gaia's Garden, a paradise of endless beauty, unusual creatures, and strange magic."

"I must say, the 'unusual creatures and strange magic' bit certainly fits," Blueblood said. "But the storm is entirely impenetrable. Even magic fails to work too close. How would they have come here?"

"A mystery for the eggheads," I declared. "Right now, I'm wanting to try some of these hippogriff sausages I was told about."

Blueblood smiled. "Ah, yes, quite the rare treat. Follow me. I'll show you where they are."





"... And he just looked up at me, all teary eyed, and said, 'I sowy, momma,' and I just couldn't stay mad," Velvet finished her story, as Ember laughed.

"Oh, wow," Ember said, getting herself under control. "You know, I gotta admit, you did a pretty good job raising the little guy."

"Oh, it wasn't easy," Velvet assured. "Let's just say, I got real good at fire extinguishing and fire proofing spells."

Velvet looked at the dragon princess and smiled as she asked, "So, what's bothering you?"

"Wh-what makes you think something's bothering me?" Ember asked, trying to play it off.

"I'm a mother," Velvet said with a serene smile.

Ember groaned. "It's just... I have no idea how to be a mother. I'm going to mess it up."

Velvet nodded. "Neither did I."

Ember looked at the mare in shock. "Wait, what? No way. Your hatchlings are, like, super important and awesome!"

Velvet laughed. "And I still don't know what I did so right. All I did was the best I could."

"But... you had to have help, right?" Ember asked.

"And you won't?" Velvet countered. "Even if there aren't any dragons that are willing to help, I am. I'm sure other ponies would help, too. Besides, your mate seems like he'll be an amazing father."

Ember chuckled. "Oh, he's not the one I'm worried about. Dragons tend to raise our hatchlings to be fierce, tough, and mean. Heck, I was raised like that. It was Star teaching me what dragons used to be that changed my mind."

"Well, there you go," Velvet said. "It sounds like there's at least one dragon that'll help you raise your child."

"No!" Ember shouted, startling the ponies around her. "She is not helping raise my hatchling. No way. I like Star and all, but she's not exactly 'hatchling friendly'."





Celestia wasn't kidding. Those were some damn good sausages. Nice and sweet from the apples and just a touch spicy.

I had to request a few to take home when we left. The chef was quite pleased by my praise.

"You know," Blueblood said as I polished off my sixth. "If you keep on, you won't have room to sample the contest entries. Trust me when I say, these will be the finest desserts you will ever taste."

I looked at the platter, struggling with indecision. "Oh, fine. I'll stop for now."

And just in time, too.

"Attention, guests," Princess Celestia said. "The contestants have arrived and we will begin the sampling soon, so prepare your tastebuds for some truly delectable desserts."

Sure enough, the scent drifting on the air had my mouth watering. It smelled like heaven approaching.

When the first of the desserts were brought out, I was immediately drawn to a berry cream cake. I already decided that would be my first target.

Then, I saw the most bizarre, unusual, random looking dessert I could ever imagine.

Then I saw Pinkie Pie and it made sense.

I also saw a griffin, a donkey, and Donut Joe, and it made even more sense. At least, considering the donuts on the thing. They must have decided to team up.

The rest of the group was following close behind. I saw Rarity and Fluttershy talking while Zann and Leo brought up the rear.

I gave a wave in their direction, which they returned.

"I'll talk to you guys after the competition. I have something to show you guys," I said, focusing on them. "Also, you wouldn't believe the range I get with this."

I could see the surprise on Leo's face, even from that distance, so I knew she heard.

Zann, just got this big smile that told me he already knew, somehow.

I suddenly felt a wave of dread from my noble friend.

"You okay, blue?" I asked. 

"Th-that mare... the white unicorn," he said.

I looked at the mentioned pony and back. "Miss Rarity?"

He nodded. I had a feeling I knew what the problem was. "She and I, well..."

"You had an encounter when you were trying to fit in with Gilded Anus Club?" I pretended to guess.

"That's one way to put it," he replied. "Another way would be to say I treated her like utter garbage."

"Well, sounds like the perfect opportunity to right a past wrong. Go talk to her. Explain yourself and apologize," I said.

A soupy mixture of emotions poured off him; dread, hopefulness, fear, and even admiration. Unfortunately, the dread and fear were too strong.

"I... can't," he said, hesitantly. "Not yet. I will. I just need to get to a point where I'm more comfortable talking to others."

I sighed, but relented. I knew that trying to force it would be a bad idea. "Fine, but you need to talk to her, eventually."

"I will," he said, hanging his head. "For now, I believe it would be best for me to leave. I wouldn't want my presence to spoil her day."

I wanted to stop him, but I could understand. He wasn't ready to speak to her and staying might have just caused a scene.

So he left, just as the judging began. Celestia and a few other ponies, one that looked suspiciously like Gordon Ramsay, went around examining the different desserts, looking at presentation and appearance, and encouraging us to do the same.

Then, they started passing out samples. There were several that were making it hard not to drool. The ones I most wanted to try were these honey cakes a mare from Stalliongrad made, some berry tarts from Manehattan, and of course the cakenstein that Pinkie and the other chefs I didn't recognize made.

Honestly, though, I only wanted to try that one because how much I hear Pinkie and her bosses are the best bakers in Equestria. It looks a little too rich for my usual fare.

Finally, Celestia announced it was time to eat, as Pinkie expertly cut a ridiculously huge piece from the cakenstein for herself and skipped off.

Considering most of the guests were heading to that, I decided I'd try the other two, first. That thing was so big even this crowd wouldn't eat it all before I got a piece.