//------------------------------//
// Burned Out 
// Story: Burned Out 
// by RunicTreetops 
//------------------------------//

You sigh as you finish laying one final brick. After climbing back down the side of the small cliff face, you swipe the sweat from your brow as you take a few steps back to admire your work. 

Before you stands a freshly crafted, almost igloo-like structure built into the side of a cliff. The "bricks" that make up the structure are made of basalt, and the whole thing is fairly dark in color. On the inside, the structure is simple, but there is more space than it appears at first glance thanks to you having dug out a sizable section of the cliff that's obscured by the building. There are a couple of windows that will likely get curtains made of leather or something, and a doorway that already has a door. Said door is also made of basalt. To most, this house you've built would seem extremely uncomfortable and simple. To dragons, it's more than they could ever ask for.

After catching your breath, you let out a whistle. From over a nearby hill, a lanky yellow dragon enters your field of vision, still dripping with lava from one of the many lava pools here in the Dragon Lands. She leisurely makes her way towards you, snorting as she does so.

"Is this it?"

"Yup, this is it."

"Hmm."

She walks towards the building, throwing open the door with way, way more force than necessary. To her surprise, the door doesn't break off of its hinges. You've made that mistake before.

Satisfied with the door, she steps inside. You don't follow. After a couple of minutes, she walks back out to look at you with a face that isn't quite happy, but does convey a sort of underlying respect.

"I have to say, I'm impressed. It's a lot bigger than I was expecting from someone as pathetic as you."

"I get that a lot."

"So, am I supposed to like, pay ya now or something?"

"Nope, Dragon Lord Ember took care of that. You are on your own for furniture, though."

"Pfft, I don't need any furniture." You stop yourself from rolling your eyes. They all say that, too proud to admit that they're definitely going to Equestria to "buy" the softest bed they can find. "Now get outta my turf before I claw out your eyes for seein' too much of it."

You would love to argue with her about why it would be a terrible idea to do that, but instead you simply give her a smile, turn around, and raise your hand in a lazy wave goodbye.

This has been your life for some time now, ever since that fateful day that you awakened in the Dragon Lands. You woke up after an evening like any other, only to find that you were sweating like a pig and that the ground beneath you was really hard. After getting your bearings, you found yourself in a volcanic region completely unfamiliar to you. While extremely confused, you were more concerned with the immediate danger you were in, and started to walk in a random direction. You didn't know where you were going exactly, but you were hoping to find someplace less HOT. It didn't take long before you garnered the attention of some of the locals. Three dragons to be exact.

Yeah. Dragons. Like, the scaly, fire-breathing lizards. THOSE dragons.

And they were having a grand old time making fun of your strange appearance, debating if they should "see how your skin tastes" or "place bets on how long you can last in a pool of lava." You tried to run, but although they were (surprisingly) about the same height as you, they proved to be much faster, thanks in no small part to their wings. Now surrounded, you figured that there was little you could do but call for help. As the dragons laughed at you, you realized that you were probably going to die there, scared, lost, and confused.

That was, at least, until another figure suddenly appeared. 

Slamming onto the ground with a heavy three-point landing, another dragon glared at you and the group surrounding you. Her scales were blue, she had a pair of white horns on the sides of her head that curl downwards, and she was about a head shorter than you. She said nothing, but the other dragons seemed very scared of her.

"D-Dragon Lord Ember! We were just-"

"If you try to lie to me, you're cleaning the lavafalls for the next month. All of you." Her voice was stern and commanding, although not nearly as scratchy as the other dragons' voices. The three dragons all stiffened up, apparently too scared to respond. After a moment, Ember spoke once again. "Get out of here."

The three dragons wordlessly retreated, leaving you alone with this "Ember." She crossed her arms and began to glare at you.

"Th-thank you..."

"And just what are you supposed to be? How did you get so close to the heart of the Dragon Lands?"

"Well, I'm a human, and I'm not quite sure of that myself..."

After you did a bit of explaining, Ember's expression softened, though she still remained the intimidating dragon that she is. She, in turn, told you a bit about where you were. Apparently, you're in a place known as the Dragon Lands, a volcanic region inhabited mostly by dragons. Ember rules over the Dragon Lands as the Dragon Lord. With that title, what she says goes, no questions asked.

"Wow, that's really cool, Ember!"

She blushed a bit.

"Sh-shut up. Anyway, you don't belong here, do you?"

"I'm not sure I do. Though, I also don't know how to get home."

Ember thought for a while until she eventually shook her head and groaned.

"This sounds like magic business." She looked around at the sky and noticed that the sun was starting to go down. "Ugh. Alright, follow me."

"Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you someplace where you can sleep. Tomorrow we're going to Equestria. There are some ponies there that know a whole lot more about magic than I do."

"P-ponies?"

"Just go with it, dude."

"Uhh, okay?"

With that, Ember led you around cliffs, through ravines, under overpasses, and everything in-between. On more than one occasion she had to lift you into the air to fly you over a pit of lava, and to say that those moments freaked you out would be an understatement. Still, the two of you eventually reached a massive, throne-like mountain.

"Welp, here we are."

"What is this?"

"Closest thing to a castle I own. Come here."

She led you beneath the shade of the mountain, where a cave is inconspicuously tucked between a few boulders. She practically pushed you inside, and you were greeted by a decently sized cavern filled with many kinds of amenities, like some furniture and a few trinkets here and there. Despite the fact that everywhere in the Dragon Lands is really hot and smells like sulfur, it's a fairly cozy cave.

"Do you live here?"

"Yup. And it's the nicest living space in the Dragon Lands, so you'd better appreciate it."

THIS is the nicest it gets? It's just some stone and a bed!

"I do. Thank you, Ember. Do, uh... do dragons not have houses?"

"There's no one around to build 'em. The Dragon Lands don't really have a society like you're used to. We don't have an economy or jobs or anything like that. Everyone follows the rules I make, but aside from that, they're free to do whatever they want. It's hard to tie dragons down. They're a rowdy bunch."

"Well... you seem pretty cool."

Ember blushed yet again and looked away from you.

"Sh-shut it! Now go to bed! We have a long trip tomorrow, and I'm not happy about having to babysit a fur-less ape!"

She quickly threw herself into the nearby bed, and you couldn't help but smile. Intimidating dragon though she may be, you can tell that she's really sweet beneath that tough exterior.

Even if she took the only bed in the cave.

When you woke up in the morning (after having miraculously fallen asleep on the stone floor), you noticed that something was off. There was a weight on your chest not present the night before. Opening your eyes, you realized that Ember was asleep on top of you. Your eyes went wide and you found yourself afraid of saying anything out of fear of waking her up. When did she get there, and why?!

Apparently the sound of you jolting awake was enough, however, and after slowly opening her eyes, her face went red and she leapt off of you.

"Wh-what do you think you're doing?!"

"That's what I wanted to ask you!"

After staring at each other in shock for a moment, she looked away from you.

"You're warm-blooded, aren't you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"...It's comfortable."

"Comfortable?"

Ember shakes her head.

"Alright, less talking about my sleepwalking habits, more getting a move on. We've got a long flight ahead of us."

"O-okay."

Sleepwalking, huh?

Sure enough, Ember scooped you up into her arms and took to the sky. You were impressed at how strong she is considering you're larger than her, yet she can lift you with little effort. The flight, however, was not much fun. While neat at first, it quickly grew uncomfortable, and it didn't help that it took a couple of hours to cross the ocean to the nearby continent of Equestria. Sure enough, it's a country full of colorful talking ponies. Frankly, it seemed much more pleasant than the Dragon Lands in every conceivable way. Eventually, the two of you reached a large castle, where Ember apparently knew the reigning princess. The cute purple pony heard your plight, and after a few hours, concluded that your sudden appearance was due to a "magical surge," and you just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Plus, to your dismay, it seems that there is no way to send you back home. When you questioned what you could do now that you're in an alien world, the princess offered to let you stay in Equestria. You thought that sounded great with how pleasant Equestria seems to be, but Ember interrupted before you could.

"N-no! He's going to stay in the Dragon Lands."

You looked at her in surprise.

"What?!"

"We've already claimed him, Starlight. He's going back with me."

The pony princess looked back at Ember with just as much surprise as you.

"I-if you're sure you can take care of him, then I guess it doesn't really matter. Also, it's Twilight, Ember. Twilight Sparkle."

"Right." Ember nodded despite clearly having not retained that last part at all. "Alright Anon, you're coming with me."

"But I- WOAH!"

Without warning she lifted you into the sky once more. You wished you had more of a break before making the long trip back to the Dragon Lands, but you decided that it was probably best not to upset the dragon lady keeping you airborne.

Anyway, that's the story of how you came to live in the Dragon Lands. You finish reminiscing right as Ember's cave becomes visible in the distance. You smile to yourself. If it wasn't for Ember, you wouldn't want to be living here at all. And yet, you can't get enough of that girl.

Entering the cave, you notice that Ember hasn't returned home yet. You roll your shoulders as you make your way to the corner of the cave, which is the closest thing this cave has to a kitchen. It's really just a fire pit that uses lava instead of fire, but hey, it gets the job done. You walk over to a nearby "pantry," which is just a big square hole you dug into the wall and built a stone door over. Pickings are slim, as per usual. After all, the Dragon Lands have no economy. If you don't catch or forage food for yourself, you don't eat. That's just the way of the dragons.

Fortunately, you've gotten pretty good at both of those things. Unfortunately, it's practically impossible to get any sort of refrigeration in the Dragon Lands, so getting stuff to stay edible for more than a day or two is really difficult. Oh well.

What you DO have are a couple of cockatrice eggs, some berries, and a few gems. While the Dragon Lands are big, they aren't MASSIVE, and you can get to a nearby forest outside the volcanic region via a two-hour hike. That's where you got this stuff, and it's where the dragons do a lot of their hunting. You have no meat today, but that's fine. Omelettes it is.

Cockatrice eggs are fairly large, so you can only cook them one at a time in your pan. Just as you begin finishing up the second (which you added a few gems to), Ember enters the cave and sniffs the air.

"Omelettes?"

You turn and give her a smile.

"Found a couple of cockatrice eggs yesterday. We're eating good tonight."

Ember fiddles around for a second.

"C-can you make mine with-"

"Rubies and sapphires? Already done."

You give her a thumbs up and remove the now-finished omelette from the pan before putting it onto a plate you had ready to go nearby. You hand it over to Ember, who takes a seat next to you.

"You know, when I basically forced you to live here, I didn't expect you to be the one doing the cooking."

"Ember, no offense, but your cooking sucks."

She hits you on the shoulder. It's meant to be playful, but it really hurts regardless.

"Sh-shut up!"

"I thought you valued honesty!"

"I honestly think you're a jerk."

"Eh, you love me anyway, don't you?"

Another hit on your shoulder. That thing's really going to be sore. At least her blushing face is cute to look at.

"Don't make me say it out loud. It's embarrassing enough having a mate in the first place."

You know, sometimes you forget that it's just that easy for dragons in the Dragon Lands. They pick someone they like and just... decide to be "mates." No courting, no wedding, none of it. And Ember picked you. It's a good thing you're fond of her as well, but since she's the Dragon Lord, you wouldn't have really been allowed to say no even if you wanted to. You woke up with burns in places you didn't know possible the morning after that.

"How did today go? Any dissenters to the Dragon Lord?"

"Hah! They wouldn't dare. Even if they did, I would just beat the snot out of them."

"I don't doubt that." 

You rub your poor aching shoulder before taking another bite out of your omelette as she continues.

"What about you? You were building a house for Crag today, right?"

"Yup. I think it went really well, actually. She seemed ecstatic at the finished product."

"Well that's good at least. She is one of the nicer dragons around here." As rude as she was, Ember is right. Giving you the cold shoulder and backhanded insults is more or less the highest praise a dragon can give you. Actually vocalizing that she was "impressed" is practically unheard of. "Plus, I think you're finally starting to earn the dragons' respect."

"You sure that's not just because I have your protection covering me?"

"I can't prove it, but I think the Dragon Lands have been generally happier since you decided to start building houses for everyone."

You chuckle.

"Then it sounds like my work is paying off."

"I still can't believe you refuse payment."

"What are they going to pay me with? You're the one that told me the Dragon Lands don't have an economy, remember?"

"Yeah, but you could at least ask them for food or something. Then you wouldn't have to alternate between hunting and building every day."

"They'd just give me a few handfuls of gems. Besides, my payment for doing all of that is getting to live with you."

"Ugh, this again. I already told you, I'm not charging you to live here! You're my mate!"

"It's a matter of pride."

She groans.

"I have to hear that enough from the dragons on a daily basis. Don't tell me you're picking up their bad habits."

"No, but I wouldn't mind if I starting picking up some of your habits."

She blushes again as she finishes off her omelette, just as you do the same.

"Sh-shut it!"

You laugh and take her plate from her, putting both of them away where you can wash them later.

"So long as I'm making the Dragon Lands better for everyone, I'm happy. Wouldn't do for the Dragon Lord's mate to be a layabout, now would it?"

"Uhh, yes, it would? That's why the position is so coveted."

"Meh."

"Don't you 'meh' me!" 

The two of you make your way to the nearby couch. In a practiced motion, you lie down longways on it while Ember crawls on top of you, relishing in the feeling of your body heat.

"You know, I've never asked. Why do you like my body heat so much? Surely the lava pool right outside is way warmer."

"Maybe. But it's a different kind of warmth."

"Good different or bad different?"

She closes her eyes and lets out an aggravated sigh, but you catch her smiling.

"Good different."

You wrap your arms around her and gently stroke the back of her neck. She stifles a coo at your touch.

"If it makes you feel any better, you run a bit cool, which feels pretty good compared to the rest of the Dragon Lands to me."

"Then we mutually benefit from this and you can stop teasing me."

"Hah! Never."

Without warning she lifts her head, grabs you by the shoulders and gives you a (frankly somewhat violent) kiss, catching you off guard. She pulls away after a few seconds, and you're both left red in the face. You find yourself at a loss for words, and she plops her head back down onto your chest and starts to tease you back.

"We've done worse than that, so why does it always embarrass you so much?"

"You can't really make that argument when you're blushing just as hard as I am."

"A-am not!"

You chuckle and reinforce your grip on her, making sure to hold her close. Life in the Dragon Lands is far, far from easy, but so long as you have Ember in your arms...

You'll never get burned out.