//------------------------------// // Dragon-Pony Relations // Story: Pony Tails // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// At Twilight's castle, the inhabitants were expecting a very special guest: Dragon Lord Ember. Twilight, who had been in correspondence with Ember ever since the Gauntlet of Fire incident, had requested that Ember join her for something of a diplomatic get-together, which could help strengthen dragon-pony relations (but also because Twilight knew Spike would enjoy seeing Ember again). Twilight and Spike stood outside the castle, keeping an eye on the skies for their guest's arrival. "Is that her?" Spike asked, pointing upwards. "That's Rainbow Dash." Twilight pointed out. "Hey, guys!" Rainbow waved, as she flew over them. "Oh, right." Spike said sheepishly. "She'll be here, Spike." Twilight smiled. "Just relax." "Guess I am a little nervous." Spike sighed. "I just can't wait to see Ember again." "Me too." Twilight chuckled. Moments later, Rarity walked by. "Good morning, Twilight." She smiled. "Spikey." "Morning, Rarity." Twilight smiled back. "Hi." Spike smiled more widely. "Standing outside, eh?" Rarity noted. "Interesting pastime. I wonder why Starlight isn't in on this." "Oh, Fluttershy invited her on a picnic." Twilight declared. "Right after Pinkie Pie asked her to help bake cupcakes this afternoon." "My, sounds like a full day for Ms. Glimmer." Rarity noted. "But what about the two of you? I know it's a beautiful day, but still..." "We're waiting for Ember to arrive." Spike told Rarity. "She's coming to visit." "Oh, really?" Rarity smiled. "Yep." Spike nodded. "It's gonna be great!" "The lady Ember seems to have made quite an impression on you, doesn't she?" Rarity grinned. "Well, yeah." Spike shrugged. "But considering she's the only nice dragon I've ever met, she'd have to, wouldn't she?" "Indeed." Rarity nodded. "I'm just glad there are more nice dragons out there, and that they're not all bullying brutes like that awful Garble." "And I'm happy you made a friend among your own kind, Spike." Twilight smiled. "Me too." Spike grinned, as he turned back to look at the sky. "...Hey, I think that's her!" As the ponies followed his gaze, they saw a cobalt blue dot growing closer and closer. "It's her, alright." Twilight nodded. "Good eye, Spike." As they watched, the dot became a young dragoness. Ember touched down right in front of them, holding the Bloodstone Sceptre in one hand. "Greetings, Dragon Lord Ember." Spike bowed in an exaggerated way, throwing his arms out as he dropped to his knees. "Okay, that's enough of that." Ember chuckled. "My subjects call me 'Dragon Lord', but you can call me Ember. And no bowing, either." "Just making sure." Spike grinned. "Great to see you again, Ember." "You too, Spike." Ember grinned. "Hey, did you get taller since last time?" "You really think so?" Spike asked, standing up straight. "I'm so glad you accepted my invitation." Twilight smiled at Ember. "Honestly, I was glad for the excuse to take a day away from the Dragon Lands." Ember shrugged. "Being the Dragon Lord isn't all that glamorous. Most of the time, I'm just settling disputes over territory, or one dragon stealing from another's horde, that sort of thing." "I can relate." Twilight nodded. "Being the Princess of Friendship carries a lot more responsibility than you'd think. Being royalty is a lot of work, but worth it in the end." "My thoughts exactly." Ember grinned. "Anyway, it's good to see you all again." "Why thank you, darling." Rarity smiled. Some passers-by took notice of Ember. One or two were apprehensive, but others were surprised that a dragon who wasn't Spike was speaking to the Princess of Friendship. "You ponies really don't see a lot of dragons, huh?" Ember asked. "Not up close." Twilight shrugged. "Unless you count Spike, of course. To everypony here, he's just another member of the community." "Community." Ember mused. "Not a concept dragons believe in. We do kinda bunch together on migrations, and younger dragons like me hang out together every once in a while, but we're not really what you'd call a community." "That's too bad." Spike frowned. "No wonder most dragons don't believe in friendship." "Most, but not all." Ember lightly jabbed Spike on the shoulder. "Would you like to join us inside, Ember?" Twilight offered. "Sure." Ember nodded. She gazed upon Twilight's crystal castle. "Wow. That is amazing. Like one big gem..." She turned to Spike. "How do you keep yourself from trying to eat it? If it were me, I'd have eaten this thing down to pebbles within a month." "If I ate it, I'd have nowhere to live." Spike pointed out. "Guess that's a good enough incentive." Ember smiled. "You coming, Rarity?" Twilight asked. "Alas, no." Rarity sighed. "I have important business to attend to back at the Boutique. It was good to see you though, Ember." "You too." Ember nodded. As Rarity departed, Twilight, Spike and Ember entered the castle. "It's a big, fancy cave..." Ember looked around in awe. "You guys really know how to live." "Yeah, it's a great place." Spike chuckled. "How about a little tour?" "Sure, why not?" Ember shrugged. The tour was a short one, taking in such as the map room, and even a quick peek into Spike's bedroom. "This is where you sleep, huh?" Ember took note of the basket and it's soft blankets. "Real cushy." "You better believe it." Spike grinned. "Makes my dirty cave look like... well, dirt." Ember admitted. She then noticed the Rarity plush doll Spike had made himself. "Hey, what's that?" "Uh... nothing!" Spike said awkwardly. For some reason, the thought of Ember finding out about his crush on Rarity seemed like a bad thing. "It kind of looks like Rarity..." Ember noted. "Oh, that's, uh..." Spike blushed. "It's a pony tradition." Twilight stepped in. "Having a little replica of somepony we're friends with close by helps some of us to sleep." "...I see." Ember mused. "So, where's your next stop?" "Right this way." Twilight pointed. "Thanks for covering for me, Twi." Spike whispered. "Any time, Spike." Twilight winked. Their next stop was the library. "Whoa, you ponies really like your books, huh?" Ember noted. "Actually, that's just Twilight." Spike told her. "She's read pretty much every book here." "I'm surprised ponies have written so many books." Ember noted. "We dragons barely ever write anything... except for 'keep out' signs and the like." "Well, we ponies have a lot of use for written words." Twilight noted. "I've noticed from the length of your letters." Ember smirked. "That horn of yours must be working overtime..." "You have no idea..." Spike chuckled. "Sometimes, I'm surprised it doesn't just fall off from overuse!" The two dragons shared a good chuckle. Twilight was less amused, however. "Ha-ha, very funny." She rolled her eyes. "Now, I'm sure Ember must be hungry after all this walking." "I could eat." Ember shrugged, her stomach growling. Twilight and Spike led Ember to the dining room, the table already set out with food. "Here we are." She smiled. "What is this place for?" Ember asked. "It's the dining room." Spike told her. "Seriously?" Ember frowned. "You have a room, just for eating in? Weird. Dragons just... eat from their hordes." "Well, we ponies do things a little differently." Twilight shrugged. "Please, take a seat." They all sat down at the table together, Ember propping the Bloodstone Sceptre against her chair. "What are these?" Ember frowned at the confectioneries sitting before her. "They're called cupcakes." Spike smiled. "They're good, trust me." "If you don't want to try one, that's okay." Twilight declared. "Eh, I guess one wouldn't hurt." Ember shrugged, picking one up and placing it in her mouth. She started to chew, then swallowed. "Well?" Spike asked. "Are they supposed to be all... squishy?" Ember asked. "I'm used to eating gems. Never really eaten anything so soft before." "Did you at least like the taste?" Spike asked. "I guess." Ember said non-committally. "Kinda reminds me of these gems I had once. Sugar sapphires, I think they were called." "Well... would you like some tea?" Twilight offered. "What's that?" Ember asked. "It's... hot water that has bags full of leaves dipped in it." Spike explained. "Okay..." Ember said awkwardly. "It's a lot better than it sounds." Twilight shrugged. "Here, let me get you some." Twilight quickly whipped up a cup for her. "Careful, it's a little hot." Twilight told her. "...I breathe fire, remember?" Ember deadpanned. She took a sip. "How is it?" Spike asked. "Do you need sugar? Or milk?" "Milk?" Ember asked, taking another sip. "To put in the tea." Twilight added. "It enhances the flavor." Ember spat out the tea in horror. "Wait, you mean... pony milk?" She gagged. "What?!" Twilight spluttered. "No! It's cow milk." "Okay, I guess that's a little better." Ember cringed. "But still... you put another animal's milk in this stuff?" "If it helps, the cows don't seem to mind." Spike shrugged. "So... no milk?" Twilight said sheepishly. "No thanks." Ember said flatly. "I'll take some sugar, though." "Allow me." Spike added a couple of spoonfuls. "What service." Ember grinned. "You must be pretty good at this 'assistant' thing, huh?" "Oh, he is." Twilight nodded. "But Spike's more than just an assistant. He's like my little brother." "Good thing Garble didn't know about that." Ember shook her head. "That would've really ticked him off.... So, how did you end up with Twilight, anyway?" "Twilight was the one who hatched me." Spike declared. "Really?" Ember's eyes widened. "You mean, like... she sat on your egg?" "Actually, I used magic." Twilight declared. "From what I've heard, Princess Celestia found Spike's egg all alone out in the wilderness." "She did?" Ember looked sadly at Spike. "Your parents must have been driven off by another dragon. Or worse..." "Oh." Spike said flatly, downcast at the suggestion. "But things worked out in the end, right?" Twilight smiled. "We found each other, and became like family." "Yeah, we did." Spike gave her a little smile. "You ponies really are something else." Ember admitted. "You wouldn't see a dragon raising some lost foal, that's for sure." "And that's too bad, if you ask me." Spike declared. "A little while ago, I'd disagree." Ember declared. "Now... I'm not so sure." "You'd be surprised what can happen when you open up your heart." Twilight smiled. "This whole world would be so much better if we all did the same." "Well, that was kinda sappy." Ember snorted. "...But true. Now, how about another one of those cupcakes?" After a few minutes of talk and dining, Ember still felt a gnawing in her stomach. "If you're still hungry, I could share some of my gems with you." Spike offered. "Share? Another word dragons don't use often." Ember smirked. "But those cupcakes weren't all that filling, so why not?" "Be right back!" Spike dashed off. "Wow, he can really move with those little legs, can't he?" Ember chuckled. "Especially when food's involved." Twilight joked. Spike returned moments later, carrying a box packed with large, gleaming gems. "Nice pile." Ember smiled, practically salivating at the sight. "Some of the best gems around." Spike said proudly. "I've been saving these for a special occasion. Try the emeralds. They're especially tasty!" Following Spike's advice, Ember took a bite. "Mmm, nice." She smiled, crunching the gem. "I've actually eaten less tasty gems back home." "That's the Equestria-grown flavor for you." Spike chomped into an emerald of his home. "And to think, you ponies use these for money, or decoration for clothes." Ember looked at Twilight. "Well, it's not like we can eat them ourselves." Twilight pointed out. "I'm not complaining." Ember chuckled. "That just means more for us, since you think they're so valuable, and everything." "I'm sure we don't know what we're missing." Twilight nodded. "Mm-hmm!" Spike nodded, biting into a ruby. After Ember and Spike devoured the contents of the gem box, the trio fell into talking more about pony and dragon ways. But before long, it was time for Ember to return home. Twilight and Spike followed her as she stepped outside the castle. "Hope I didn't go overboard with all this." Twilight apologised. "I just wanted to show you some of our pony ways, so you could understand us better. After all, your letters have already given me a new perspective on dragons; I just wanted to return the favor." "Well, it wasn't that bad." Ember shrugged. "I still think a lot of your pony ways are weird, but considering Spike turned out so well from growing up amongst your kind, I guess there must be something to it." "Thanks, Ember." Twilight smiled. "It's still been... an experience, though." Ember admitted. "You ponies are an odd bunch, that's for sure. But at least you don't just sit around all day, exchanging flower necklaces and hugging, like a lot of dragons think you do." "Well, I'd be lying if I said there weren't some ponies who'd like that..." Twilight grinned. "Yikes." Ember smirked. "Remind me never to meet them." "It was really great seeing you again, Ember." Spike declared. "Really." "Let me guess: You want a goodbye hug, right?" Ember rolled her eyes. "If that's okay with you." Spike smiled a deliberately pleading smile. "Sure, why not?" Ember sighed. "Thanks." Spike grinned, as they embraced. "I'm still not sure about this 'hugging' stuff." Ember admitted. "But I think it's starting to grow on me." "Yeah, they'll do that." Spike chuckled. "See you guys soon." Ember grinned. "And have some more of those 'cupcakes' ready next time. Extra gems on mine." "Consider it done." Twilight nodded. Ember spread her wings, and took off into the sky once more. Spike watched as she became a small cobalt dot, then vanished completely. "All in all, I think that went as well as can be expected." Twilight declared. "Not perfect, but definitely a good first attempt at dragon-pony relations." "Yep." Spike nodded. "And a great continuation of dragon-dragon relations." "Of course." Twilight chuckled. "Mustn't forget that." "I just hope we do see her again soon." Spike sighed. "It's really good to have another dragon to talk to. Not that it's not good to talk to you and everypony else, Twi." "I know what you mean, Spike." Twilight smiled. "And you're right. It's way past time you got to be friends with a member of your own kind. And I don't think you could have picked a better dragon." "Me neither." Spike grinned, as they went back inside the castle.