//------------------------------// // Angering a Dragoness // Story: My Son, My Soldier, My Hero // by That_Random_Pony //------------------------------// Draco awoke to his mother's morning rays, which brought forth a small headache and some nausea. He shifted a little before another body stopped his movement. Twilight groaned from the pounding in her head, and she lifted her head up, pushing her snout against Draco's nose. They looked at each other with blushes, the previous night's events catching up. But… …they weren't afraid. Draco placed his thumb and index finger on her chin and guided her forward, locking lips. Twilight returned the gesture without the drunken passion from last night, pressing against his muscled body feverishly. His hands ran up and down her back, massaging her in all the right ways. She giggled as he ran his fingers through her tail, then seperated and laid on his chest. His heart pumped powerfully beneath the skin and muscle, and Draco could feel her's just as well.  "So… did you make your choice?" Twilight asked, a small laugh leaving her in the end.  Draco rested his hand on her lower back, while his other supported his head. "Sort of," he sighed, enjoying the smell of her coat. "What do you mean by that?" Twilight questioned, looking up at him.  "Remember… Remember when I ran into the Everfree after that thing attacked me?" Draco asked, Twilight nodding in response. "Well… I don't know why, but I fainted or just fell asleep. I was in this white space. Then this voice… it said that I would have to choose a female." "Choose? So…" Draco moved his hand to her cheek. "It's either you, or Rainbow," he told her. "Me and Rainbow… we were friends for a few years, me and you for a year and a half. Seeing you both now… it brought me some confusion and I just didn't know what to do." Twilight looked off to the side, processing more than what she was being told. "Have you and Rainbow… gone far?" Draco chuckled and guided her back for a kiss. "Of course not," Draco smiled. "I'm only going to do that when I'm sure of who I want. Don't take this the wrong way, Twi, but I love the both of you. I'm just so messed up in my head about who I love more." Twilight nodded, nuzzling his cheek. "Well I hope its me," Twilight giggled. "But Rainbow's a nice mare too. Maybe if she didn't crash into my home every now and again I'd say she's awesome." Draco laughed softly and kissed her lips. "Just promise me you won't be mad if it is Rainbow," he smiled. "Pinkie Promise." He had learned the movements, and consequences, of the Pinkie Promise and he smiled as she went through them. "Promise." Draco kissed her muzzle and sat up. "I should get going… make sure that Moon is alright." Twilight nodded and moved aside as Draco sat up and grabbed his discarded shirt. His headeache returned as he stood and stumbled back. "Maybe you could leave after some coffee?" Twilight asked, wrapping her forelegs around his shoulder from behind. Draco chuckled and locked lips with her again. "That would be great."                                                                                       Draco passed Sugarcube Corner with a bright smile on his face, even as the ponies around him gave vicious and hostile glares. He waved and nodded happily to each of them, but his attention turned to a rather large crowd near the inn he used to rent with Moon. Cautiously making his way over, he noticed several pieces of furniture were thrown around outside, along with glass and a few charred pieces of wood. Draco ignored their sudden looks of disgust and hatred as he pushed to the front, where a small group of Solar Guards were waiting with raised spears. "What's going on here?" Draco questioned, moving out of the way as another piece of burning furniture fell. A guard doused the flames with a chill spell and turned to him. "Lieutenant South Star, sir," he bowed. "There were a few complaints of noise coming from one of the rooms upstairs. We checked it out… but a couple of our colts got knocked out while the rest of us barely got back down." He turned to the side to show his partially melted armor and singed fur. The others showed burn marks as well, one guard's spear melted in half. A smack in the face, that was what it felt like when he remembered. Ember lived in the upper floor of the inn. "Stay here! Do NOT attack the dragon!" Draco ordered.  He bolted inside and leaped up the steps until he reached the hallway with four doors. Three guards were lying unconscious on against the walls, no cuts or blood showing on them. Draco sighed with relief, but another burning piece of wood reminded him of who he was there for. He tapped out the flames with his shirt and went inside, seeing Ember tearing a wooden beam out of the wall. Her bare claws were enough to light it, and she threw it behind her with a loud growl. "Ember, what are you doing?!" Draco exclaimed as he walked up to her. The moment his hand touched her shoulder his hand seared with pain, and he yelped as he jumped back. Ember turned around slowly, steam coming from her scales. Smoke was billowing continuously from her nostrils as they flared angrily, and he gasped as he looked into her eyes. They were completely white, even as she growled at him. Draco felt her tail wrap around his neck, the axe-like end pressed against his neck while a smaller pike put itself under his armpit. The scales were extremely hot, and he pulled at her tail to free himself. "Ember! What are you doing?!" Draco shouted, his neck starting to burn greatly. She pulled him closer and roared in his face, throwing him across the room. "YOU!" Ember growled. "STAY OUT OF HERE! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Draco rolled out of the way as her tail dug into the floorboards. He couldn't believe that she had tried to attack him. What he also couldn't believe, was the state she was in. The heightened temperature, her rage, the white eyes and hostile attitude. Embed was 'boiling.' She was in a frenzy, as he had learned. "Ember, just calm down!" Draco said, ducking under a stream of flames. He put them out with the torn blankets, then strained a grunt as Ember bashed her arm into his airway and put him against the wall. "I SAID TO GO AWAY!" Ember roared. "Ember! You're boiling! Just relax!" Her tail went to pike his head, but his arm gripped one of the crests and pulled as hard as he could. "Ember… I don't… wanna… hurt you!" "THAT MAKES ONE OF US IF YOU DON'T LEAVE!" She retorted, throwing him through the doorway, pieces of the wall smashing out of place. Draco groggily clutched his head in pain, watching as Ember's maw spilled flames. She fired it at him, and he curled his body up to protect himself as best he could. When the flames hit, he felt several pains in his body.  But not a burning sensation.  He opened his eyes, and he could see that Ember was staring both shocked and angry. He looked at his arm and saw metal replacing partial parts of his arm. The same went for his leg, and parts of his torso. His hair was also metallic instead of its usual soft texture. He marveled at the transformation, but he grunted as Ember bashed him into the wall. "GET OUT, DRACO!" Ember screamed, flames blasting into him. Just like before the fire did nothing to him. Draco rose his arm to block Ember's tail, then kicked her legs out from underneath her. He immediately got on top of her, pinned her legs and tail down then used his elbows to pin the joints of her wings and his hands firmly gripped her forearms. She thrashed wildly to free herself, but Draco kept his hold. "Ember! Ember! Look at me!" Draco shouted, his grip on her arms beggining to slip. "Ember! Please, just stop!" "FUCK YOU!" Ember roared as she funneled fire into his face. The metals didn't cover the front of his head, and so fire seared his face and momentarily blinded him. He fell back in pain as he gripped the burning wounds, and Ember wrapped her tail around his waist before flying out the window with him in tow. Draco felt the wind rushing over his body, before he felt a sensation of falling. Ember watched as the bastard fell from a mountain's peak. But… her mind flickered with images… her pupils returned to normal… and she looked at the falling Draco.  "DRACO!" She dived towards him, doing her best to catch up even with his fast descent. She reached her claw out, trying to get a hold of some of the metal of his arms or legs. At just a floor's level, she got his hand, and she pulled up too late. They crashed into a streetlight, which sent them tumbling through the air until the hit dirt and finally, trees. Draco rubbed his eyes again, barely making out Ember's form as she pushed a large branch off of her. Her scales kept burning, and she did her best to keep herself calm and tame. "Ember?" Draco groaned, still unable to see clearly.  "I… didn't mean to… to… ngh," Ember grunted, trying her best to not 'boil' again. "I'm… I'm sorry…" Draco could make out his immediate surroundings, but anything farther than a few feet in front of him came out blurred. He stood up and went over to Ember, hugging her as she violently spasmed and grunted. The pains of her body boiling over took its toll, and her muscles felt sore and her throat dry. Her body temperature was dropping swiftly, and Draco could remember what the symptoms were.  "Ember, we have to get to the Kingdom now," Draco told her. "Just hang on okay? Please, just hang on Ember. Ember? Ember!" "W-What?" she shivered. Her eyes morphed back into absolute white, and she snarled weakly. "Get… off… of me you… bastard." Draco ignored her words and picked her up. "Ember, just be quiet. Save your heat," he told her, running back to Ponyville. The metals receded long before he got to the town and to the guards. "Your pals are upstairs and unconscious," he told them. "I need one of you to get Twilight Sparkle from the Golden Oaks library. Tell her to bring Spike and to go straight to my home. Alright?" "Yes, sir," Lieutenant Star nodded. Draco ran to his home and bolted to his room, laying Ember down and running through the house until he got every single blanket, dry towel, and cloth. She shivered even under the various warming agents, and she attempted to scratch him again, her claws just running along his exposed skin. "You… lying… bastard," she whispered weakly. "Get… away from me…" Draco held her, even as she tried piercing his skin with her sharp claws. "Please… please just be quiet Ember. Y-You're not thinking right," he told her. "Just… remember when we went to Manehatten. Remember? We went to the griffon place? And then the Statue of the Sun? Ember?" "…I… hate… you… you… flankhole…" She managed to murmur, her eyes beginning to droop. "…Get… away…" … "Ember? Ember, stay with me! Ember! EMBER!"