Lyra bounced in her spirited trot down the road. "Now, not sure I ever asked before, but do you have a favorite kind of music? You're getting a lyre, not much flexibility there, but you can do a lot with a lyre." She threw a hoof wide at the idea of the musical possibilities. "So, give me a hint! It's your party."
Barb considered from Lyra's back, half-watching the town scroll by with the ride. "I'm not that picky. Give me a good beat to move to and I'm a happy dragon."
"You were already a happy dragon." She paused, curling to pressing her nose into Barb's belly. "And now, even happier." She squealed with joy, trotting in place. "This is going to be so fun! Oh, and I have the perfect--"
Barb put a finger on her snout. "Gifts not required. We don't need another... big dragon... thing."
Lyra inclined her head, full of thought. "A big greedy lady dragon? Part of me wants to see that... But also would be a pain. Still! It's not the gifts, silly."
"It wasn't?"
"No." Lyra shook her head firmly. "It was you deciding you deserved everything, instead of just the gifts." She reached up to poke at Barb on her back. "You're awesome, but not that awesome. Now, your party, getting you a gift, and you will like it, and not ask other random ponies for stuff. Either they give one, because they want to, at the party, and that's it."
Barb gave out a little huh of consideration. "I think I get that..." She fell forward onto her hands on Lyra's back. "Thanks for being awesome. I bet your song's gonna be great."
"You bet your last bit," sang Lyra, her horn glowing as she plucked up Barb and set them on their feet. "See you at the party, Barb." They shared a wave, Lyra heading off to Lyra-related business.
Barb turned in place, hands behind her head. "This is a great day! Nothing could go wrong."
The universe would not be so casually challenged. "Nng." She suddenly felt a stab in her midsection and glanced around. "Maybe..." She scurried home as quickly as she could, dashing up the steps and throwing open the door. She vanished into the bathroom, a seldom-animated place to take care of what she decided might be the problem.
But it wasn't. Sitting and waiting for that, but it didn't feel right. "Nng." It wasn't... It wasn't like she was being hurt, but something strange was moving in strange places. It was all new and uncomfortable. "What's even going on?" she asked of the empty room.
But it hit her. "Oh... Oh no..." She hopped to the floor and crashed into the door jamb on the way out of the room. "Twilight?! Smolder?!"
Twilight appeared with a flash of magic. "What's..." She trailed off, seeing Barb out of sorts. They had stopped on Twilight's appearance, leaning against a wall and huffing for air. One hand was on their belly, eyes wide with fear, pupils dilated. "Wait... right here." She vanished just as quickly.
Barb slid to the ground. "Welcome... to being..." She flopped onto her back with a groan. "There has to..." There had to be a way to deal with it, but she didn't know it. She was just along for the ride. Things were moving in ways she didn't quite grasp, and it was inside her, which didn't make it even a little better.
Elsewhere, Twilight appeared at the front of a classroom, to Rarity's shocked gasp. "Twilight! Dear... We're in the middle of a lesson, hm?"
Twilight rushed to Rarity's side, whispering urgently to her.
"Oh... Oh my, dear, yes." Rarity pointed to Smolder. "The headmare requires your presence. You are excused."
Smolder got to her feet, confused expression worn. "What's up?"
Twilight grabbed Smolder's hand in her magic, tugging the draconic student forward. "We have to go. You said to get you."
"I said to..." Click, it came together with her posture shifting from confusion to determination. "Woah! Let's go!" They hurried out into the hallway. "I wasn't that interested in the fashions of Baltimare anyway," noted Smolder quietly. "Where's Barb?"
Twilight frowned at the admitted lack of scholarly interest, but that faded quickly. "This way." They vanished, to appear an instant and forever later beside the heaving Barb.
"Woah, let's take a look." Smolder went around Barb for a better angle. "You're alright. It's gonna be alright..."
While some part of her was curious to see how the whole thing worked... It was also her little sister, and watching them during a moment of vulnerability felt wrong. "Do you need me for anything, Smolder? Just shout." Twilight fled, dragging the camera of the story along with her. "I hope she's... She'll be fine." She took a Cadance-approved breath. "She'll be fine... She's a tough little dragon." Twilight had witnessed that herself. "She'll be fine."
Twilight sat in front of a desk, reaching with her hooves to adjust the lantern there she lit with her magic. "She'll be fine..." Things had... taken directions. Her precious little brother had become a sister. "She'll be fine..." And was experiencing dragon puberty in a way that mares wouldn't ever know. "She'll be fine..."
They were becoming a lady, a grown lady, at least at the start of that path. "She'll be fine..." Things became blurry and she frantically swiped at tears that threatened to obscure her vision entirely. "She'll be fine!" she wailed, trying desperately to convince herself. "Oh, Spike..." She thumped, face to the desk with a low thud of only that wood holding her up. "What have I done? What have you done?" She clopped a hoof down slowly on the desk, desperately trying to gather herself. "Is this... Is any of this right?"
She wanted to call for her #1 assistant, but they were busy, upstairs, performing an act that wasn't even possible not that long ago. "I'm not fine!" she screamed, shoving away from the desk and tumbling down to her hooves. "This isn't fine. None of this is... fine..."
A soft knocking startled her. "Who's there?"
"It's me," called Smolder. "It's over."
Twilight hurried to the door. "Already?!" She willed the door open to reveal Smolder. "I thought..." She glanced at the clock. She had... She had lost herself for some time, still... "How is she?"
"A happy mother." Smolder crossed her arms with a cocky smile. "She insisted in holding onto the egg for now. Typical first egg thing." She colored faintly. "I held onto my first too... But you have to put it down eventually... That egg isn't destined for anything fancier than the trash or an omelette."
Twilight blanched at the idea, recoiling. "You wouldn't consider!"
"It's a joke, teach." Smolder sure didn't seem that worked up about it. "Eating your own egg? Nasty. May as well chew on your arm while you're at it. Either way! Barb laid her first egg, and she's proud and a little tired, but it all went smoothly. She's ready for the hardest part of being one of us." She hiked a thumb at her chest. "Besides all the other things."
"Other things?" Twilight sank to her haunches. "Is there more I should be waiting for?!"
"Nothing you don't already know, teach." Smolder shrugged at that. "You may not be a dragon, but you are a girl, and so is she, and me! There's more to being one of those than popping out an egg, or a foal. You can help her with the other parts, right?"
"Oh, right, yes, of course." Twilight let out a strained laugh, trying and failing to compose herself. "Of course I'll help with that..." She glanced away and back at Smolder. "Are... they happy? I mean... That didn't look easy... If they want to go back...?"
"Nope." Smolder leaned forward at the headmare Twilight. "Not happening. Barb is 100% in this. I mean, shoot, little thing just laid her first egg, and she looks happy, not sad. Scared while it was happening... but who isn't? But she did it, and she looks ready to do it again." Smolder rolled a hand palmside up. "Shoot, she's more interested in 'girly' clothes than I'll ever be." She smirked viciously at that. "I blame that on her pony pals."
Twilight darkened at that. "I barely wear clothing, except for formal occasions..."
Smolder rolled her eyes at that, stepping past Twilight into the office. "She has more than one pony pal. You're just one. I mean, wasn't she in love with a pony that was all clothes? Hardly surprising she's that interested... Speaking of that." She twirled to face Twilight. "What's up with that? They still a thing?"
"N-no..." Twilight stood up, willing the door closed. "Rarity called it off... That's for the best, likely." She let out a grunt of a sigh. "I should have been a better sister and made that happen moons ago..."
"She left an impression." Smolder leveled a finger at Twilight. "Makes sense, being their first crush. She can't wait to look as girly as a soft pony mare." Her voice lowered suddenly. "little jealous..."
"What?" Twilight perked an ear to try to hear those low words. "Something wrong?"
"Nothin' nothing," Smolder quickly waved away. "She's ready to be cute and girly, is all I'm saying. It's nice... She would get tore apart, trying to live with other dragons like that..."
Twilight cocked a brow. "You're another dragon."
Smolder colored, called out like that! "They were already a friend of mine! Also, sibling of the one in charge of my school... so... not exactly a fair comparison. I'm not going to bust their chops... They came to me for advice... They... trusted me." She fidgeted with her hands nervously. "I never had a little sister, but suddenly I did, and she looked at me with these big hoping eyes... I was their everything, for a little while... I liked that part, alright? Is that so bad?!"
Twilight broke the tension with a brief little hug. "Thank you for being such a great friend, and big sister, to Sp--Barb. They really appreciate it, and so do I."
Smolder's worry became malicious grinning. "You're still trying to learn their name? Come on! You live with her! Barb. Barb Barb Barb!" She started to sing the word. "Barbity Barb Barb. Barbara, dragon of legend!" She twirled with the words, laughing with easy joy. "Say it until it's the most boring word you know. Barb. She is Barb."
Twilight shrunk in misery, called out in return. "Sorry, I owe her at least that much... They've been a huge part of my life. Hopefully, they will continue being that... Thank you, again. You can return to class. Well, not that class..."
"The one happening right now, got it." Smolder flashed a thumbs up. "I'll get back to it. You remember Barb, which is her name." She pushed open a window and jumped right through it, sailing down towards the school. "Good luck!"
Twilight waved at the receding form, her horn's magic closing the window gently. "You have such good friends." Twilight smiled, relaxed at that. "Now..." She emerged from the room. "Barb? How are you feeling?" She found Barb in the map room, seated on her crystal chair and cradling an egg all wrapped up in a warm blanket.
Barb saw Twilight coming. "H-hey. I know this is silly." She jostled the egg gently. "This isn't... a kid... Takes a daddy dragon for that to happen, I know that..."
Twilight sat next to Barb. "But it's still yours... I can't pretend I know, personally... Ponies don't do this..." The pony cycles were not dragon cycles, by quite a degree. "But I do understand that you are proud of it. You can keep it until you don't want to, whenever that may be." She put a hoof on Barb's shoulder. "I heard you were very brave."
"I was so scared," admitted Barb, coloring. "But... I did it."