//------------------------------// // 7 - Dragon's Heart // Story: A Kingdom of Her Own // by Dizastrous //------------------------------// Dragon's Heart "How did he get into the city without anypony noticing him?" Steel Hoof asked, a scowl painted on his face. "Probably an invisibility potion, we all know how advanced their alchemy is in regards to potions." Frost Horn offered. Twilight frowned as the council members seemed to go off on a tangent here. Summer Wind now voiced the question of why the zebra didn't prepare enough invisibility potions to get the job done and get out if that were the case. The three of them had been going over this for a quarter of an hour, since Twilight and Frost Horn had come back and explained about the failed attempt on her life. She was beginning to wonder how anything got done around her, and coughed gently to attempt to get the three back on track. "Wha- oh right. Well, more importantly there is the matter of the end of the armistice. I suspect soon the southern province will be attacked. No worries there however, they still have yet to let their guards down since the moment the armistice was signed." Frost Horn said, addressing the princess. "From what we saw here though, we may need to employ some more mercenaries as sentries." Steel Hoof said rubbing his chin with a hoof. "About that, would it be alright to get some actual guards around the castle? I understand that the staff are all well versed in combat, but it is easy to sneak past maids and butlers." Twilight said, voicing her concern on the matter. "Well, while I would be all for increased protection of yourself princess, it may be somewhat a waste of money. There are not many ponies around that are qualified to be a royal guard. It is hard enough for our banks to find ponies who are masters in the field of combat that are willing to stand around in one spot. Most ponies who are qualified much prefer moving around as they like." Summer Wind explained with a frown. "I could set about conjuring magical protections if you wished. I would not be able to do anything as close to what Eclipse had, but I think I could manage something sufficient." Frost Horn said stroking his beard with a hoof. This made Twilight perk up, "Eclipse used his own magic to secure the castle?" "Why yes, it was all astounding actually. He somehow managed to weave magical webs that could sound an alarm if an unfamiliar pony passed through them." Frost horn explained. "How did he make them differentiate?" Twilight's face lit up showing how intrigued she was. "No idea, he never showed me..." Frost Horn's face was suddenly sad. "Do you think he would show me? It would definitely be beneficial to know that..." Twilight said suddenly deep in thought. "Though even if we are alarmed, that still does not guarantee the princess' safety." Summer Wind interjected. "True, we will need a plan of sorts..." Steel Hoof said thoughtfully. "What about the dragon? Spike would no doubt be more than enough to deal with any assassins. Plus it would be a deterrence from them even trying." Frost Horn offered. "So what? Move Spike's room to next to mine?" Twilight asked as if it were a joke. "I was thinking more along the lines of having you move to his, for the time being of course. Until we can think of something better or easier." Frost Horn said with a shrug. "Speaking of dragons, its getting to be about that time again isn't it?" Steel Hoof said rubbing his temple with a hoof. Twilight blinked in surprise as all three council members groaned, "What time?" "Dragon mating season..." Summer Wind said with a huff. "What is so bad about that?" Twilight asked with an uncertain smile. "I don't know what dragons are like where you are from, but around here dragons have come to have a specific mating ritual, one that was born out of what I can only assume was their hatred of us." Steel Hoof explained. At the confused look Twilight held, Frost Horn elaborated, "The female dragons of these parts, in hopes of catching a male's attention if they have yet to find one, will go on a destructive rampage. It is seen as a sign of strength and that they are able to produce strong children if they can destroy a pony town." "Why would they hate ponies that much?" Twilight's voice was laced with concern. Frost Horn perked up at this, "Well, that had actually been a matter of speculat-" "It's said to be traced back to the founding of this city as our capital. The Heart family is said to be responsible for it all as well." Steel Hoof cut in, not wanting to listen to a long winded explanation from the wizened Unicorn. "What did they do?" Twilight asked, her face now showing her feelings of concern. "This used to actually be the spot for the dragon migration. However, in a matter of days and with the combined efforts of the entire Heart family, the entire area's dragon population was moved, or exterminated. Before then our relationship with the dragons was tenuous at best, after then though its just been a history of bloodbath after bloodbath." Steel Hoof explained. "Why did it need to be this spot then?" Twilight asked with a frown. "That would be because of what this castle is built over. Nopony knows where it is aside from Eclipse now, but apparently somewhere under this city is the tomb of the very first Alicorn, Gaia. It is a sacred place for us, and after the dragons refused to relocate the Heart family, who were a clan of religious zealots at the time, 'purged' the dragons, as they wrote it in the history books." Summer Wind butted in. "Has the Heart family always held a history of murder?" Twilight asked, her ears lying against her head. "No, there have been many notable figures that even our enemies have written about positively. Heart of Gold's father for example is remembered as one of the fairest rulers to ever sit upon a throne. Why, when I was but a colt I remember reading about his military exploits. He even lead the charges into battle himself, always on the front line and inspiring courage within his troops." Frost Horn said with a smile. "Hmm, interesting. Could you recommend some good titles among those for me later?" Twilight asked, getting caught up in the old Unicorn's pace of being off topic once more. The large double doors burst open as a panicked pegasus mare burst into the room, and skid across the floor, stopping feet from Twilight before coming to a halt. The council members and princess of magic eyed the mare as she caught her breath. After a brief moment the pegasus bowed deeply to the floor in respect before procuring a scroll from her saddlebag and opening it. "The northern province has sent this message for the eyes of the princess and the council only." The mare said as she turned the scroll so that the four could read it. "Attacked? By who?!" Steel Hoof roared as he read the scroll. "By Dire Wolves, they came in with the blizzard and were gone before the storm cleared. Only twenty casualties, but the food stores were ransacked." The messenger said as she rolled up the scroll and placed it back in her saddlebag. "Olaf..." Twilight whispered in realization. "How do you know of him?" Steel Hoof asked, raising an eyebrow. "Ulf told me that Olaf's pack has broken from the others. He warned me that he might attack, but I never would have guessed so soon..." Twilight frowned in thought. "This is most unfortunate..." Frost Horn said stroking his beard. "A war on two fronts then? If I remember correctly Olaf's pack is the largest of any of the Dire Wolves." Summer Wind said to Twilight. "The timing seems to perfect if you ask me." Steel Hoof muttered. "You may be on to something. Two different forces attacking on opposite sides, during the dragon's mating season. We will be stretched thin if we are forced to deal with all of this." Frost Horn commented. "What if we used Spike as a means to speak with the dragons, perhaps he could at least hold them off for this year. They might listen to him long enough for us to strike up a barter." Summer Wind offered. Twilight's horn lit up and her face scrunched up in confusion, "Speaking of Spike, I haven't seen him since this morning. I can't seem to find him within the castle either..." The council members shared a glance before Summer Wind spoke up, "We may be in trouble..." "What?" Twilight asked in surprise. "If mating season has started and he is out of the capital..." Summer Wind began as she rubbed a hoof against the table in front of her, not wanting to say what was on her mind. "No... He is not a pheromone crazy teen anymore. I'm sure he will resist any dragon trying to seduce him." Twilight said, waving the notion off. "Well, if it is a dragon younger than him perhaps. But the older females have been known to capture younger mates and keep them in their lair until the mating season is done." Frost Horn said with a scowl. "Spike was in very good shape. A female would most likely take a pass at him if they thought they could overpower him." Steel Hoof said shaking his head. Twilight's face was a mask of shock and horror, "What is wrong with the dragons here?!" "Well, given the conditions they have, the dragons around these parts have been forced into a barbaric lifestyle to survive. Think of it as a form of Social Darwinism." Frost Horn explained. "Social what now?" Twilight asked, not sure if she caught what she heard correctly over her internal screaming. "Ah, perhaps you wouldn't know that term. I will have to recommend you some more books on the subject." Frost Horn said with a shrug. "I can't believe I'm saying this... But now is not the time for books, Spike could be in danger out there!" Twilight exclaimed. "Nonsense, at worst he will be gone a few months until the female finally manages to lay an egg. You are the one that is in danger right now." Steel Hoof cut in. "Steel Hoof is right, without Spike around we need to find another plan to keep you safe. We may need you to seek out Eclipse and either have him reinstall the magical security, or have him show you how to do it." Summer Wind said, nodding in agreement with Steel Hoof. "What then about the Zebras and Olaf?" Frost Horn asked rubbing his temples with his hooves. "Well, it will be hard to deal with Olaf right now, all we can do is employ mercenaries to hunt down Olaf's scouts so that we can at least tell what areas he is in. As for the Zebras, its a little more straightforward. We will merely need to send supplies to the south and let them do their thing." Summer Wind explained. "If we can pinpoint where the Dire Wolves that follow Olaf are at, we could try to deal with them quickly and then move our attention towards the Zebras, and see if they will negotiate peace once more." Frost Horn offered. "How will we deal with an entire army of magic resistant Dire Wolves?" Twilight asked skeptically. "Well, we could always utilize different methods than magic. Eclipse once made a chlorine elemental to deal with the Dire Wolves." Frost Horn said with a shrug. "Hmm, I could ask him if we could use it..." Twilight said with a frown. "Wait, you know of it?" Steel Hoof asked in a surprised tone. "Yeah, he actually told me where he keeps it... Would you believe its under his kitchen sink in a jar?" Twilight said with a nervous laugh. "He keeps one of the most devastating creatures to ever see a battlefield... In a jar under his sink..." Steel Hoof said in an unbelieving tone. "Why does this not surprise me? He always left dangerous magical items lying about the castle when he was still living here." Summer Wind said rolling her eyes. "Look at them in his perspective. They couldn't harm him. He was like a child leaving his toys strewn about him." Frost Horn said in a defensive tone. Twilight cocked her head at this, "Frost Horn, do you look up to Eclipse?" The wizened Unicorn seemed to freeze at this for a moment, but then let out a sigh, "Yes, I suppose I still look up to him. He did teach me most of the magic I know after all. I was a prodigy, and he saw me as holding talent that needed to be honed. I spent many hours of every day growing up under his tutelage." "He never mentions you though, if he spent so much time with you then why wouldn't he?" Twilight asked with a frown. Frost Horn seemed to deflate at this, "I... Don't know. While he never seemed to be too attached to me, he still showed pride in my early years when I accomplished something others could not. But around the time I reached adulthood, he grew less and less enthused with my achievements. I thought it was to make me strive to better myself even further. But after I reached the top, he almost seemed... Disappointed... I never had the courage to ask him why though..." "I had never heard of this..." Summer Wind said in an apologetic tone. "There must have been a reason though..." Twilight said. "Perhaps there was, but it is in the past now." Frost Horn said, regaining his composure. "Yes, we need to set about with preparations. Messenger, send word back to the north that we will be employing mercenaries to hunt down Olaf's pack." Steel Hoof said in a commanding tone. "Yes sir!" The messenger said before speeding off. As Twilight watched the Pegasus she had almost forgotten was even there leave, her thoughts drifted back to Spike. She trusted what the council said, in that he was not in danger. But she was not so much worried about his physical well being, she knew he was hardy enough to survive on his own. What she worried about was how his mind would take it. Because he wasted his adolescence chasing Rarity in vain, he never managed to form a relationship. She hoped that he would return without any mental scarring. With any luck though, He would not be spotted by a female stronger than him. "And ye' are sure this be safe? I would rather not lose any limbs here. Being a bounty hunter is a might bit hard when ye' be missin' a hoof." The grizzled stallion asked with a frown. "Oh come on Rusty, you don't trust me?" Eclipse asked with a faux insulted expression. "Nay, I don't. I still dunno' how ye' got meh into this." Rusty Nail said shaking his head as he stared at the white mare with icy blue hair. "Eclipse, why am I practicing against him?" The mare asked impatiently. "Because Rusty here is a special pony. He was born with a natural resistance to magic." Eclipse explained, patting the stallion on the back. "I would appreciate it if ye' stopped blabbin' meh secret. Sometimes th' surprise be the only thin' 'at keeps meh breathin'." Rusty was still nervous about the mare, because he knew who she was. "She will be careful not to aim for any vitals, and as long as you aren't dead I can fix you up good as new. Or at least as good as you currently are." Eclipse said, shrugging as he added the last part. "Was 'at supposed t' be a jab?" The stallion said raising an eyebrow. "He smells of whiskey..." The mare commented. The two stallions shared a glance and Eclipse whispered to Rusty Nail, "If you beat her unconscious I'll give you a thousand gold coins on top of what I'm already paying you." Rusty's eyes widened at this, and the grizzled stallion charged, his orange mane billowing behind him as he leaped at the startled mare. To her he seamed like a green blur aside from the orange mane, and she barely managed to teleport out of the way. Before he could turn around and face her, she fired several magical bolts. Each of them bounced off, freezing what they came into contact with. "No no, you are doing it all wrong! Put more feeling into it, feel your emotions burn deep inside of you and release them!" Eclipse yelled. "I don't work well with fire spells!" The mare yelled back as she narrowly evaded a green hoof. "It's a metaphorical fire, feel it freezing your damned icy heart for all I care. Just FEEL" Eclipse returned shaking a hoof at her. The mare screamed in disbelief at how Eclipse was treating this, and in that instant, Rusty landed a blow. The mare spiraled away from him, but never hit the ground, firing off another teleportation, and appearing above him. She rained down magical bolt after magical bolt, each one growing in intensity, but all of them bouncing off the stallion's green coat. "Closer, but it doesn't necessarily have to be rage you use. Any emotion will do as long as its strong." Eclipse yelled, trying to speak over the profanity the two fighting ponies were slinging at each other. "What does this prove?! Why do we start with a field test before you teach me how to use it?" The mare screamed as she galloped away from Rusty Nail. Eclipse chuckled to himself here before responding, "Because unless it works against him we won't know if you are doing it right." Eclipse looked away as he felt somepony approaching him. He smiled as he saw the flickering of the shadows around him. A dark gray mare stepped out of his own shadow, and before she could say anything Eclipse wrapped her in a hug. "My little Shadow, how are you doing?" Eclipse asked as he nuzzled his adoptive daughter. "Daaad!" Shadow whined as she tried in vain to push him away, "We are in public." "Bah, not like anyone will notice." Eclipse said gesturing behind him. "Is that... Heart of Ice?" Shadow asked warily. "Yes, I'm just teaching her something in exchange for something else." Eclipse said releasing his daughter. "Teaching her how to lose to a stallion who is immune to magic?" Shadow asked with a smile. "She is only losing because she won't follow my directions." Eclipse said with a shrug. "Rusty looks really into it..." Shadow commented. "Well I may have told him I would pay him handsomely for knocking her out..." Eclipse said innocently. "Think she stands a chance?" Shadow asked laughing as Heart of Ice tried once more in vain to land a magical bolt. "Depends, if she can get over herself, she is actually a talented Unicorn. Nowhere near as talented as Frost Horn, but she has the benefit of lineage on her side." Eclipse shrugged. "What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked, as she flew down next to Eclipse and Shadow. "Princess, what a pleasure it is to see you. What brings you to this side of town?" Eclipse said bowing deeply. Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, "I can hear them yelling and see magical bolts flying around all the way to the castle..." "Busted..." Shadow said in a teasing tone to her father. "Well, to answer your question, Twilight, I am teaching Heart of Ice there how to harness magic in the way the Heart family has for as long as they were royalty." Eclipse explained. "A specific way to harness magic?" Twilight said in thought. "Yes, it is actually surprisingly similar to how eldritch magic is channeled with your emotions, but only those of the Heart lineage seem to be able to use it. Not sure if it is a bloodline trait or if the family is blessed, but no matter who I try to teach it to over the years, only Heart family members are successful in learning. "So I take it you tried teaching Frost Horn how to do it?" Twilight asked quirking a brow. "Yes actually, he had so much promise. He was the most gifted Unicorn I had seen in centuries... But he failed to do it. Having nothing else worth teaching him I let him be on his own so that he could live life like a normal pony, and not the student to a tyrant." Eclipse said offhoofedly as he watched the two ponies fighting. Twilight's face fell at this as she thought for a moment, "So, you distanced yourself on purpose? You do know Frost Horn still looks up to you, don't you?" Eclipse put on a difficult to read expression at this, and glanced over to where Heart of Ice was now freezing the ground, causing the stallion she was fighting to lose balance and tumble past her, "I know..." "You still hadn't taught him everything though, he told me about the intricate security spells you used to set up around the castle. That is actually why I am here, I need to learn how you made them differentiate between allowed ponies and trespassers." Twilight said with a small smile. "I will show it to you, but it will be better for everypony if I continue my distance from Frost Horn. Trust me on this Twilight, neither of us will be happier in the long run." Eclipse said, causing Twilight's smile to turn slowly into a frown. Rusty Nail in the meantime had regained his footing, "C'mon lass, I 'ave had near 'bout 'nuff out o' yeh.'" Heart of Ice huffed at this, her anger seemed to be draining from her face. The steady light blue glow of her horn brightened slightly, and began to jerk about more sporadically. Eclipse turned away from Twilight, his full attention on the white mare. Rusty Nail was not deterred by this, and charged the mare, slamming his hooves hard enough with every step to crack the ice and grant him the traction he needed. Heart of Ice simply stared with a level expression as she sent a single magical bolt at the stallion. The bolt however, connected at the same time that Rusty struck out with a hoof. The mare spun in place from the strength of the blow, and slid on the ice a ways after collapsing. Rusty Nail huffed as he watched her spin away. Eclipse approached the stallion here, the ice melting around him as he made his way. "Well well, would you look at that..." Eclipse said as he stared at the the stallions front right leg, which was covered in a thin sheet of ice. Spike carefully pushed the female dragon away from him, but to his dismay she simply grabbed a hold of his wrist and moved back in closer. She was letting off heavy pheromones that Spike was picking up on now, and at this proximity it made his mind feel fuzzy with its intensity. A primal urge stirred in him, in a deep part of his mind that living with ponies had almost sealed off. The dragoness was in heat, and Spike could see she was not ready to take no for an answer. A roar from above shook the volcano that the two dragons were perched on, Spike looked up and his face fell at what he saw. A large yellow dragon had spotted them, and had her eyes locked on Spike. While Spike was sure that he could at least overpower if not evade the smaller dragoness that was clutching him, the older female would no doubt prove too much for him to handle. The smaller turquoise female that was clutching onto Spike hissed and snapped her jaws at the larger female in a warning. The yellow dragoness dove immediately at the sign of the challenge, causing Spike to duck and tense himself as the two female dragons collided and began rolling down the side of the dormant volcano. Spike seeing his opportunity now spread his wings and bolted. Glancing back he saw that they had not yet noticed his departure, causing Spike to sigh in relief as he flew on. He was only a few hours flight from the capital, he could easily make it there before being spotted by another dragon. 'Hell, I hadn't even met another dragon all the way out here before now. I should be in the clear.' Spike thought to himself. As if he had just challenged some sort of god to take action, Spike noticed that a shadow had just fallen over him. Looking up slowly he saw a dragoness that was as large as the yellow one he had managed to give the slip earlier. This one however, sported jet black scales, and had large white horns that curved around her face like a rams. She flew in place, watching Spike with calm crimson eyes, seemingly weighing him as if he were an apple on a market stall. Spike then glanced at her arms and legs, and noticed that she had what looked like abnormally large and thick scales protecting her limbs, and ever her pale yellow belly scales looks tough. Everything about her screamed danger at Spike, and muttering a quiet curse Spike set his attention back to escaping. Behind him now, and unseen to him, the black dragoness smirked as she watched Spike fly away from her. Spike flew as fast as his wings would take him, hoping that the female had deemed him not worth the effort to chase, surely a dragon as mature as she looked could find an older, more suitable male. Spike worried more about living through an encounter with her, than being captive. As Spike flew he noticed that a large city he had previously flown over was drawing nearer, perhaps he could seek refuge there for a moment. Surely no dragon would chase him into a city as well garrisoned as that one. As if she could read his mind, a purple orb of fire sped past Spike, faster than most Pegasi could fly, and it collided with the thick stone wall around the city. Immediately a raging purple inferno tore a gaping hole in the wall. Spike flew in place there, eyes wide at what he had seen. He had never seen a dragon breath fire like that, turning his head back to once again look at the female that had followed him. He now noticed that he could not hear her wing beats, she had followed him unheard because of this. "Your move pretty boy." She said in a husky voice. Spike glanced back at the city, the ponies within it were hurriedly dousing the odd flames as best they could, and a line of unicorns seemed to be preparing to launch a defense if the need be. But Spike had the feeling they were in over their heads. Turning his eyes back to the female he briefly wondered if there was a way to talk her out of it, to point out that she could easily find better than him. "You will need to do something other than talk to get away from me." She said narrowing her eyes. Spike eyes shot wide. Fear crept into him as he slowly understood what was going on. The female licked her lips in response to the fear he was feeling, and it confirmed what Spike suspected. She was in fact reading his mind. "Are you going to destroy this town?" Spike voiced his concern. "You know the answer..." The female purred in a victorious voice, "Say it." "Only if I don't go with you..." Spike whispered. "Pretty and smart. See? You are a catch worthy of me." The dragoness laughed. She beckoned him with a claw to follow her, and with head hung low Spike complied. The two of them flew in the same direction Spike had just come from, flying higher than Spike usually cared to. Glancing down as he followed the black dragoness, he noticed that the two females who had previously been fighting over him sat next to each other and watched him fly by. They merely watched though, not even considering fighting for him now. Spike's unease only grew at this. Within an hour of silently following the black dragoness, Spike saw that the geography changed dramatically. Gone were the rolling hills and plains with the occasional mountain, replaced with a dark marsh. The female then began to descend and Spike followed her into a cave that had been dug into the ground. Spike noticed that it looked as if it had been dug recently, and judging by the size of the talon marks, it was dug by her. "Like it? Took me a week to make our new home." She said, glancing back to Spike with a proud smile. Spike flinched at the word 'our', but kept following her into the darkness of the cave. Spike could only see sixty feet ahead of them, even with his incredible vision in the darkness. With how deep they were getting he was amazed it only took a week to dig out. The path however, finally widened out into what he assumed was a massive circular chamber, but he could not see the ends of it, just the oddly smooth walls near him. The dragoness blew one of her strange fireballs towards the center of the room, and Spike found himself staring at the effect the fireball had. The purple flames raced along the ground instead of exploding. It followed a track that had been dug into the ground, and spread around the room, the trench followed the walls from its track in the center, and within seconds the entire chamber was lit in the purple light. Spike's eyes then fell on a great mound of gold and jewels that was piled high on the far side of the chamber. Beside the small mountain of riches, where the trench began in the center of the room, was a glass construct that Spike could only imagine was meant to incubate eggs within, heated by the fire from the trench. "What do you think of it?" The dragoness asked. "Don't you already know the answer?" Spike returned. "It is no fun if I read your mind all the time." She laughed as she drew nearer to him, "I want to hear it from your mouth, not your mind." Spike frowned at the game she was playing, but felt it safer to play along, "It is impressive, though I can't help but wonder how this only took a week." Her face lit up at this, "Impressive then? Maybe I will tell you if you be a good little boy." "I have to get this out of the way though..." Spike said in a frustrated voice, "Why me?" The dragoness took a moment of thought before replying, "Purple is my favorite color." Spike's face fell at this, "What, so you saw me and immediately thought 'hey, he looks like a good mate' just because I am purple?" "Not quite but close." She said as she put a hand behind his head, and another behind his back and pulled him into her, embracing him passionately. "What else then?" Spike asked as he tried in vain to pry himself from her. "Because of what I saw in your mind." She whispered next to his head before trailing a talon across the green fin next to Spike's ear. "How do you read minds anyway? I have never heard of a dragon doing that." Spike commented, hoping to throw her off her current course. "Secret!" She exclaimed happily as she licked along his jawline. "Ahh, fine! I'll bite, what did you see in my mind?" Spike said urgently pulling his head back now that her hand was no longer holding it. "I saw a dragon who cared for more than fighting and fucking. I saw a male who could think and reason. A trait all too lacking within our kind these days... A trait I want to see in my children. If we dragons are ever going to retake our rightful place in the world, it will be with might AND wisdom. Like it was in the old days my mother told me of..." She explained with a far off dreamy look. "Rightful place?" Spike asked face screwing up in worry as alarms went off through his mind. "Shh, this is our first night together. We are mates now, and we should consummate our joining. Is that not how your precious ponies do things?" She asked as she began planting small kisses along his neck as she worked her way back towards his face. "Wait, we- er, they get to know each other better first!" Spike exclaimed. "Hmm, true enough... But I want you now..." She said in a pouty voice. Spikes primal urges were trying to wrestle control of his actions with his reasonable mind. Every single thing she did sent chills down his spine, she was attacking his resolve in all the right places, in a way only a female that could read his mind would be able to. She knew what would work before she tried it, but Spike still held his urges in. He needed to derail her, and soon. "What is your uh... name?" Spike asked trying not to look at her. "Oh, how rude of me." She said with a frown, "I am Dusk." "Dusk? That's a... pretty name..." Spike said, with a nervous smile. "Flattery won't get you out of this, though I suppose I could delay it for a while." Dusk said planting one last kiss on Spike's lips. Dusk's tongue invaded Spike's mouth entwining itself around his before darting back out as quickly as it had entered. Spike caught himself before his tongue followed after hers, and he swallowed hard as she pulled herself away from him. She laughed to herself at the sight of the barely contained lust. "You will be a fun mate, I can already tell." Dusk said as she dragged Spike over to her horde. "I thought you said you were going to delay it!" Spike exclaimed as he was pinned under the larger female. "Don't worry so much, I am. But in return you need to keep me company still. You wanted to get to know each other better, what better way than this?" Dusk said as she nuzzled Spike. 'My my, you seem to be in a pickle.' Discord's voice echoed through Spike's mind. "Who was that?!" Dusk shrieked as she crouched defensively over Spike and glared around the chamber. 'Can she hear me?' Discord asked in a shocked tone. "Discord, a little help buddy?" Spike asked with a nervous chuckle. "Where are you? He is mine!" Dusk began spitting fireballs against the cavern walls, as if hoping to land a hit on some invisible foe. 'Sorry about the intrusion, I was unaware you two love birds were having a moment. I will come back another time, I was just a little bored. Celestia is having some meeting with the Gryphon King about some Eclipse guy.' Discord said from within Spike's mind, groaning at the mention of Celestia. "Wait what? What is she talking to Arion about?" Spike said urgently. "Spike who is that?" Dusk asked with a frown. 'Ooh, Celestia is glaring daggers at me. Tata Spike, I will check up on you another time.' Discord said before his presence was gone from Spike's mind. Spike's face fell, and he met Dusk's worried gaze. The black dragoness was not amused, and looked a little hurt. With a sudden look of determination Dusk stared at Spike for a moment, before a confused look replaced the worry. Dusk seemed to be doubling her efforts at something, but judging by the frustration he saw, Spike guessed she was failing to read something in his mind, though he had no idea what it could be. She read him like an open book before, but now she was struggling with something? "Who is it that is able to block me from finding them? Why can't I find out who this Discord is from your mind?" Dusk said as she grasped Spike by both sides of his face. "He... Is a friend of mine from the other continent. He is the Spirit of Chaos." Spike explained. "I don't like him..." Dusk said in a quiet voice. "Well, not like anypony can stop him. He just kinda... does what he pleases." Spike said nervously at the dragoness's anger. "I don't want him around." Dusk said firmly. "Wha- but why? He is harmless, I promise." Spike said, glancing at the sharp talons on either side of his face. "Because when you don't know what another is thinking, they can cause great harm to the ones you love..." Dusk said as she slowly settled down, no longer hunched over Spike defensively. The larger dragon then curled herself around Spike, resting her head next to his, and pulling him against her. Spike sighed in defeat as he found himself stuck in Dusk's iron grip once more. He suspected this was going to be a recurring thing until he found a way to escape. "You won't escape, because you aren't the type of dragon that would abandon his children. Once I lay them, you will be mine..." Cooed Dusk as she fell asleep.