Chapter 30
The herd was gathered in a small canyon that led to the main “square” of the clan, giving all of us time to prepare ourselves for what was surely going to be an interesting mate presentation. Like, “it’s never happened before” kind of interesting. Needless to say, each one of the herd (myself included) had their own brand of anxiety at the moment, and some of us were having a harder time coping than others. Obviously, Ember was one of the latter, being that the entire clan was going to be judging her. Sure, to a lesser extent, I was going to be judged as well, but if the absolute worst outcome happened, I had Equestria to go back to; Ember didn’t have that luxury. No matter how bad things got, she was tied to the dragon lands.
“Breathe, Ember. Breathe,” I repeated, acting out the order and coaxing her to follow along. “C’mon, like this. In, out.”
After another moment or two of hyperventilating, Ember’s breathing slowed down as she followed my command, and as her breathing slowed, the glassiness of her eyes receded and it was clear she was back with us. She still appeared to be on the verge of a panic attack (something I had never thought I’d see the proud dragoness experience), but at least she was calm enough to act in the real world instead of just in her own panicking mind.
All of us were sitting around a small rock outcropping in a tiny alcove leading to the main square, doing our best to reassure the dragoness that was about to break several dragon social norms, all at once, in front of the whole clan. Ember had told me that, strangely enough, not being the alpha of the herd was a more egregious “sin” than being in a herd itself, and the clan was definitely going to comment on that. This, along with everything else, was causing no end of grief to the dragoness, and it was all we could do to hold her together.
“I-I thought I was ready for this, but I’m so not ready!” Ember groaned out, wrapping her wings around her head as she trembled anxiously. Only my ironclad will kept me from laughing, because she was doing a rather accurate impression of Twilight, and the alicorn herself had an expression that told me she was ashamedly wondering if that’s what she looked like when she was in “panic mode."
Deciding to take control of the situation, Applejack sat down next to Ember and pulled her into a strong hug, doing her best to convey security and support in the embrace. It took a few moments before the dragoness stopped trembling, but when she did, Applejack finally spoke in quiet, soothing words.
“Ah ain’t gonna act like this ain’t a big deal, b’cause it is,” Applejack soothed, tracing her fingers over the skin close to Ember’s exposed horns. “But b’fore ya go ‘n lose yer head, remember: we’re all here with ya. You ain’t alone, and we ain’t gonna abandon ya, no matter how ugly it gets out there.”
Ember stilled and tentatively poked her head out of her wing cocoon. “R-really?”
“It’s what you agreed to when you accepted being in a herd,” Fluttershy explained, smiling in that maternal way she did that could calm any raging beast, and make you feel like no matter what, everything would be okay. “The herd pools resources, skills, knowledge, and strength. When you’re afraid, we’ll stand by your side. All you can do is make it clear to those dragons out there that they don’t need to understand, only accept. They have to accept that your private life is yours to live, and they have no right to dictate how you have to live your own life. Being a dragonlord is just one part of who Ember is,” Fluttershy reached up and pressed a finger to the clan mark on Ember’s forehead, “but it’s not everything. There’s a person inside that deserves to live her own life.”
Nodding to the dragoness, I said my piece next. “All of us knew from the beginning that this would be difficult, but we also made it clear we would fully support you. We’re not going anywhere; you belong to us now, and we’re never letting you go.”
I had used a bit of a cheat to loosen up the atmosphere, playing off of a certain quirk I had discovered about Ember: she liked it when I got possessive. Like, really liked it. Maybe it was an innate draconic instinct or something, but all I knew was that she would smile like a lovestruck fool and giggle like a schoolfilly when I did so, and so while this situation wasn’t exactly appropriate, I knew my action would work well to dispel some, if not all, of her anxiety.
My plan worked, and Ember went from cowering to blushing in less than a second, and though she tried to hide it, I saw a smile creep on her face as she looked away from me. Twilight’s wink and nod to me said she knew exactly what I had done and approved, while Rarity’s rolling eyes said I was a dork, but she still loved me.
A minute of silence draped over us, after which Ember sat up straighter and retracted her wings as Applejack removed her arms. The dragoness puffed a few short breaths before standing and nodding firmly. “Okay, let’s do this. All of you follow me, and don’t speak unless I say so. The less they try to target all of you, the better.”
With that final word, Ember began walking toward the opening out to the main square, with all of us filing in behind her. As we walked across the open area, I knew I wasn’t the only one trying to ignore the stares sent our way. A subtle growl from Lyla told me of her feelings, and it wasn’t hard to imagine the others felt similarly.
Being an area designed for the large bulk of dragons, the main square was huge, and it took the better part of almost ten minutes just to get to the center. When we finally arrived however, Ember unceremoniously hopped up onto the center, turned and winked at me, then immediately grew to a massive size in less than two seconds, dwarfing the rest of the herd. Breathing bright flames onto her hand, she quickly wrote the characters for “loud” and “voice” before palming them and pressing the mark to her throat.
Clearing her throat, Ember addressed the gathered dragons with a deeper voice than I was used to. “Narrowscales! Today I greet you with visitors from Equestria!” When no dragon was brave enough to say anything, she continued by holding out a hand to me, gesturing me forward. “First, I would like to introduce my destined mate, whom most of you will recognize. This is Spike, a dragon raised in Equestria, who helped me become the dragonlord of our clan.”
As I took my place in front of Ember, I was fully aware of the dozens of eyes watching me, but after a few moments of silence, a very noticeable snarky criticism about my size could be heard, causing Ember to bristle a bit. She looked down at me with a silent request, and I nodded back at her as I began removing my clothes. After disrobing and handing my clothes to Rarity, I took only a moment to focus before growing to the same size as Ember with fairly little effort. Once again, I marveled at how easy the transformation was now, and how I wasn’t losing myself to primal instincts within, even as my body changed from tiny to giant, and bipedal to quadrupedal.
Opening my eyes, I was immediately met with Ember’s shining ruby orbs, and her smile. “You look very handsome like this. If not for the rest of the herd, I would ask you to be like this more often.” I returned the smile, silently pressing my face against hers to show my affection before pulling away as she once again addressed the crowd. “As you can see by the marks on our throats, we are bonded in the old ways. Spike is my mate, and I present him to the clan.”
Ember had given all of us a brief primer on how this would go, and I could already see how things were different from Equestria. In Equestria, if such a thing were to happen, it was considered rude to directly approach the mate (husband or wife) in question and inspect them like an overprotective parent. In dragon culture, however, seven or eight of the gathered dragons immediately stepped forward to see me up close, and I had to remind myself that not only was this normal, but it was a good thing. If I wasn’t approached by anyone, that would look really bad.
Even so, as a bunch of strangers walked up and started running critical eyes over me (including a poke here or there by a claw or two), I had to clamp down on my initial impulse to tell them to back the buck off.
“Not as shrimpy as I remember you,” commented a familiar voice, and I looked up to find a far less awkward looking drake, having grown into his body.
Raising a brow and offering a polite nod, I greeted, “Hey, Garble. I have Ember to thank for that. She put me through the wringer.”
“Glad someone did,” he snarked, poking at my back, which caused my wings to reflexively spread. While the others were doing their own inspections, I somehow felt this was more personal than the rest, but that might just be because Garble was one of the dragons that had made fun of me for being “just a pony with scales” when I was younger. After apparently finishing looking me over, he got in my face and looked at me before snorting softly. “Well, guess Ember could do worse.”
Rolling my eyes, I shot back, “Gee, thanks. That was almost a compliment.”
“I don’t give compliments; get over it,” he gruffly shot back, stepping away and allowing the rest to continue looking me over. I glanced over to Ember and raised a brow, but when she just smiled at me, I mentally shrugged and stood still as the others continued their work.
After a few more minutes, the others stepped away as well and went back to their places in the crowd, at which point Ember cleared her throat to address the crowd again. “As an Equestrian citizen, the bond with my new mate will change some things about our culture. First, we will likely have Equestrians requesting access to our lands for many different things, mostly for trading, which I will handle on a case-by-case basis. The School of Friendship has shown that dragons and ponies can peacefully coexist and even become friends, so don’t be so quick to judge.”
“And what are the rest of those ponies doing here?” shouted a voice from the crowd, one that I couldn’t pinpoint or recognize.
Lyla snorted loudly. “So I’m just a pony now?”
I shrugged and idly commented, “Well, dragons refer to your kind as ‘bug-ponies,’ so…kinda?” Turning my attention back to Ember, I could see the anxiety was flaring up again, so I stepped closer and pressed against her side in an attempt to help calm her down. She took a deep breath, then another, before looking my way and smiling gratefully.
Seemingly deciding to just bite the bit and get it over with, Ember plainly answered, “They’re here because they’re also my mates.”
While the subtle sound of bubbling lava and geysers could still be heard in the distance, every dragon present was completely silent, and seemed to be frozen in shock. In a single master stroke, Ember had proudly and assertively stated the facts with no beating around the bush or hinting at things. Doing so could have impressed upon the clan that Ember was unsure or uncomfortable talking about it, but in just stating the facts calmly, as if she were talking about the weather, there was nothing anyone could say about it, and nothing they could do but absorb the information.
After nearly a full minute of pregnant silence, a large aquamarine dragoness in the front asked, “And what does Torch think about this?”
“Torch is not the dragonlord: I am. What my father thinks about my personal life is not my concern, and I will not tolerate anyone using the whims or desires of the past dragonlord to try and steer public opinion.” Ember assertively answered, narrowing her eyes at the other dragoness and daring her to say more. “If you have questions regarding this arrangement or anything having to do with our current or possible future endeavors with Equestria, you will speak to me about it. Is that clear?” When neither the dragoness nor anyone else spoke up, Ember continued. “Now, I imagine with a bombshell like that being dropped, most of you probably have many questions. As long as you are respectful, I will answer what I can. Who’s first?”
A much larger form of Smolder pressed her way to the front of the crowd, having transformed into her larger body to better shoulder her way past giant dragons. The orange dragoness growled back at a male that tried to passively use his bulk to stop her, but once she made her way to the front, Smolder calmed down and nodded up at us with a faint smile. “Hey guys. So I guess I’ll ask the question on most everyone’s mind: how the hell did this happen?”
I appreciated Smolder’s candor on the matter, and also that she was helping us by getting the ball rolling as far as conversation was concerned. After all: we couldn’t give answers to questions that weren’t asked, and if no one spoke, nothing could be addressed. With a subtle, thankful nod to Smolder, Ember began the long process of explaining exactly what a herd was, how it worked, and how Ember became part of a herd. Then came the fun of explaining that, technically speaking, half of the herd outranked her within the herd itself, and that the “soft, prissy pony” was the alpha instead of her. That moniker was “helpfully” suggested by one of the crowd, and I had a feeling that only my tail wrapped around hers was all that kept Ember from smashing a fist into the snout of the dragon who’d said it.
That being said, Ember couldn’t keep the growl out of her voice as she warned, “I said at the beginning that all of you would be respectful. That wasn’t a request. Show disrespect again and I will personally show you the error of your ways. AM I UNDERSTOOD?”
While the volume of Ember’s voice didn’t change, I still felt my bones rattle, and the ground shook. There was a clear threat of force behind her warning, and though she was young, I had a feeling everyone gathered knew it would be stupid to test her. The bristling alicorn at her side who was literally crackling with magical energy likely also had something to do with it.
“Dragons are supposed to be revered, powerful beings that are respected across the world,” Ember lectured, frowning in disapproval. “Have we really fallen so far as to make snarky comments and look down our snouts at any creature that’s not a dragon? Have we become a race of cowards?” This jab started an uproar, but another shout for silence from Ember quieted any and all of the dragons voicing their disapproval. Not for the first time, I was in awe of Ember easily and readily stepping into the role of dragonlord, even chastising her clan if needed. “Remind me again: who defeated Tirek the first time? Who rallied the many races to stand against Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow? Who pushed back and eventually defeated the Storm King and his armada? Who has proven, time and time again, that they are not to be underestimated?”
Now, the clan was looking amongst themselves, seeming a bit less confident in their stance, and looking ashamed at the mention of the Storm King, since they did little else but hide and hope the armada -- and by extension, Fizzlepop -- wouldn’t turn its attention their way. They were wrong, and they all knew it.
Ember sighed loudly and shook her head. “You all questioned what my plan was for our people, and I haven’t had a definite answer until now. Here it is: we need to become better. Physical strength is not everything, and these ‘weak ponies’ have proven that repeatedly. We could stand to learn from them, and in doing so, we will strengthen our society and its people. This isolationist attitude we’ve kept for the past few centuries hasn’t done us any favors, so I believe it’s time for a change. I don’t expect any of the rest of you to suddenly shack up with ponies, or get a herd of your own, but I do expect all of you to respect my privacy, and maybe learn a little while you’re at it. Now, does anyone else have any further questions of a respectful nature?”
From there, the questions were far more tame and less provocative, which suited me just fine. After all: I was the one that had to share a bed with Ember, and as cute as she could be, an angry dragoness was still not something I wanted to be sleeping next to if I could avoid it. There were also a few times when one or more of the rest of the herd was called forth to answer questions and the like, including Fluttershy. The shy pegasus became the target of quite a few disbelieving expressions when it was discovered she had driven away a mature dragon from the mountain near Ponyville with nothing more than disapproval and scolding words. But, when I thought of that particular event from the past through the eyes of a dragon, yes, it did sound ridiculous. It only took Fluttershy briefly displaying her strange, innate skill on a volunteer for the rest of them to realize that she may have been underestimating her own power.
Twilight, too, was a popular topic. Alicorns were creatures dragons were naturally wary of due to the (frighteningly accurate) historical accounts regarding their power, but it was difficult for many of the younger dragons (younger being up to a few centuries old) to reconcile this nerdy, friendly little pony with the horror stories of the past. Nonetheless, everyone present could feel the raw magic she constantly radiated, and so while she may not have actively been using it, the power was clearly there. The wariness, however, was almost universally overcome by her open, friendly demeanor and willingness to share knowledge with anyone willing to listen.
Rarity, by comparison, kept a polite smile and refined bearing, but I could tell through her subtle fidgeting that she was a little bored. Dragons, after all, weren’t particularly interested in clothing, so a master seamstress wasn’t going to be the type of pony they would have all that much in common with. Ember and I had decided the day before that we would not mention Rarity’s special skill to locate gem caches, since it would make the unicorn a target for all the wrong reasons. Granted, Ember had assured us that, as far as dragons went, the Narrowscale clan was pretty benign, but word of mouth would spread of such a skill, and it would only be a matter of time before an unscrupulous dragon from another clan would want such a valuable asset for themselves. We were already dealing with one instance of attempted kidnapping, and we didn’t need another so soon.
As for Lyla, the changeling queen was doing her best to keep a smile, even as she was shown quite a few frowns and even snarls from the older dragons. Ember had told all of us about the stories dragons told about changelings (also known as ‘scalechangers’), and how it was generally the older generations that still held on to those prejudices. I knew there wasn’t going to be much any of us could do about it, but that also didn’t mean I was happy about it. Lyla remained next to me, and I kept a wing wrapped around her shoulders for support, but I could tell she was disappointed.
Eventually though, the questions began to taper off as the novelty of Equestrians and Ember’s new mate(s) wore off. Sure, a lot of dragons still had questions to ask, but the most important ones had been answered, and it was nearing lunch time. And so, even without a conversation about it, the clan began to disperse to go find food and chill out now that they had seen the “cool new thing” that came to the dragon lands. Twilight had prepared for the meeting to take a long time, and so had thought ahead and packed some food to bring with us. The fare was fairly boring by our normal standards, consisting of mostly snacks and dried foods, but it was enough to feed everyone for the few days we might be in Ember’s home. As for Ember and I, we were treated to a delectable spread of seared and/or smoked meats that she had gathered a few days ago, which was fine with me since the transformations had left me ravenous.
…
“So what now?” Applejack asked in between bites.
Ember used her strong jaw muscles and sharp teeth to tear a chunk out of the tomahawk steak in her hand, chewing a few times before swallowing with a hum. “Hmmm…I'm not really sure. I have no doubt we’ll get more questions here and there, but that was pretty much all I had planned for today. If I’m being honest, it went a heck of a lot better than I thought it would.”
Rarity clearly had the innate reflex to shy away from a predator eating meat, but other than a glance at the dragoness, and an odd stare, she said nothing about it. “Well, you handled the crowd marvelously, and it appears they were mostly just curious. We can deal with curiosity just fine, dear.”
“Answering questions is actually probably the best thing we can do right now,” Twilight added, taking a modest drink of the bottled juice she had to wash down the sandwich she was eating. “Most of the wariness the races have of one another is dependent on ignorance, so the more we understand each other, the better relations will be.”
Ember bobbed her head from side to side before shrugging. “I guess that’s true. I’m sure it’s no secret that I didn’t exactly have a great opinion of ponies or Equestria as a whole before I got to know Spike and the rest of you. That’s part of the reason I’m working to change that line of thinking that’s become a part of dragon culture. I saw how that could hurt our society, and I want our people to be better able to weather the hardships that will no doubt happen in the future. Isolating ourselves and sticking to this idea that we are the greatest, strongest creatures out there is going to get all of us in a tight spot someday, and I want to do what I can to lead us away from that. We can do better, and I want to help get us there.”
Bumping my shoulder into Ember, I complimented, “That’s why I handed off the scepter to you in the first place, all those years ago. You’re a better leader than I am, and you have a vision for what’s best for your people. You’ll do great things, and I’ll help however I can.”
Ember turned and placed a kiss at the base of one of my horns, smiling warmly. “Thank you, beloved. I’m certainly going to try.”
We all finished our quick lunch before heading off again as Ember decided to finally give us a formal, detailed tour of the clan’s lands. True, we were not going to be visiting any of the homes of the other dragons for obvious reasons, but we would be able to explore the public areas and a few of the notable landmarks and resources. For example: the Narrowscales had their own gem mine, where two leylines met to create a special place in which magic naturally condensed to form the gems dragons needed. Of all the things the Narrowscales called theirs, this was the one resource in particular that no one dragon claimed, and all members of the clan were welcome to take what they needed. Ember also showed us the old site of the Gauntlet of Fire, and the memories of that day came rushing back to me. She and I shared a fond look, and the others warm smiles, before we moved on with the tour.
Since dragons didn’t exactly have statues with plaques, Ember got to tell us stories about seemingly random places in the clan lands. Twilight took notes, and all the rest of us were enthralled by the many stories Ember knew by heart that had been passed down through the generations, sometimes over a thousand years. Applejack, being a farm pony that was raised on word-of-mouth stories from her grandmother, was particularly pleased with the storytelling.
Unfortunately, the peace couldn’t last.
“Spike, we’ve got incoming,” Lyla suddenly alerted, catching the attention of our entire group. Following her gaze, I spotted three dragons approaching from behind us. It was unclear what the intention was, so for the time being, the safe response was to be on guard.
“Ugh, these three,” Ember groaned, slapping a palm to her face. Removing her hand a moment later, she glanced at me and said, “Remember when we were talking about my potential suitors? Here’s a few of them.”
As with nearly all the of-age dragons around the dragon lands, these dragons weren’t in a “compact” form like me and Ember. These were three giant, imposing dragons that were sure to look down on me for choosing to stay in a smaller form. At Lyla’s announcement, we had all stopped walking, and were now waiting for the three male dragons to land, which they did a few moments later.
These were not the stereotypical young bully dragons like I had known as a whelp. These were all adult drakes, and judging by the lack of many scales and the old, faded scars that dotted their hides, it was a safe bet that all of them were older than me. So not only was I going to be judged for my small body, but also because I was likely younger than they were.
It took everything in me not to say something when they waited until the very last second to flare their wings, blasting all of us with dust in a passive-aggressive, less than subtle way of establishing dominance. While I wanted nothing more than to call them out for their, frankly, foalish behavior so far, I didn’t want to start a fight with clan members if I didn’t need to. The other Equestrians seemed to have the same idea, but Rarity’s scowl was sour enough to curdle milk.
Ember had no such inhibitions.
“If you can’t fly properly, maybe you shouldn’t have wings. If you do that again, I’ll get rid of them for you,” Ember warned with a calm, measured voice that still sent a chill through me. It was calm in the way a volcano was just before an eruption, and if the worried looks the gathered herd was giving her was any indication, I wasn’t the only one that noticed it.
The one in front, a large blue dragon with no horns, but small spiky protrusions coming out of his head and face, snorted and rolled his eyes. “It was an accident, Dragonlord Ember. Calm down.”
Ember was not convinced, or amused. “So now not only did you use your wings to buffet our guests, but you’re lying to me. Not a great start to this interaction.”
The same drake snorted in annoyance. “They aren’t made of glass, and no one was hurt. You’re overreacting.”
The lashing of Ember’s tail and her flared wings told me she was having trouble keeping herself under control, and I had to remind myself that Ember was a guide, not a ruler, and so the clan was going to relate to her very differently compared to how Equestrians treated their princesses. Also, there was the fact that Ember had told me that many of the younger, “fiery” (for lack of a better term) dragons of the clan had questioned her legitimacy due to the fact I had helped her win the Gauntlet of Fire. This meant that, as Ember had told me, she was constantly being criticized for everything she did, and the younger dragons especially often tested her boundaries to see what she would allow. This appeared to be one such instance of the latter, and Ember wasn’t having it.
The dragoness pointed back to us. “They might not recognize the disrespect, but I do. So, to reiterate: do it again, and I’m going to remove something that I promise you will miss.”
One of the others, a pale green with what looked like a ram’s horns, finally spoke up. “There’s no need for all that. We were just coming over to see you and your…guests. You basically didn’t leave your hoard for a week, so we wanted to make sure our dragonlord didn’t catch some kind of cold from ponyland.” He then mumbled something else under his breath, and while I wasn’t close enough to hear, Ember immediately bristled at whatever was said.
“You wanna say that a little louder for the class, Dart?” Ember challenged, using the drake’s name for the first time. “I’m not sure I heard you right, and I’m sure the Equestrians are just dying to hear your wisdom.”
The drake had the good grace to realize he’d stepped on a landmine, if his suddenly-nervous expression was anything to go by, but whether it be because of pride or arrogance, he decided to speak regardless. “...I said you’d have to be sick to invite these soft ponies here.”
Ember closed her eyes and blindly held out the bottle of juice she had been carrying, which I took from her. She then let out a long breath, opened her eyes, cracked her neck, launched herself at the larger dragon as she instantly grew in size to match him, and began pummeling the now squealing drake into the ground.
All of us were frozen in shock for a second before I, too, grew, and rushed over to try and pry my dragoness away from the now-terrified drake that had been disrespecting us only a moment before. Ember was frightfully strong though, and even with my larger size, it took a few moments to wrench her away from the grounded drake, even as she growled and clawed at the air to try and get back to him. However, just when I thought I had her restrained, Ember released a loud roar and broke free, shoving me away and stomping back over to the three male dragons, her victim cowering on the ground in the face of an oncoming onslaught.
Contrary to what we expected though, Ember did not attack him again.
“Now, do I have your attention, Dart?” Ember coldly asked the green drake. “Let me make this perfectly clear: you will not disrespect my friends -- no, my mates -- again in my presence. And if you want to flap your gums in private, you better pray I don’t find out about it. If they disrespect you, that’s different, but they have been nothing but accommodating of all of us, and respectful of our culture and traditions.”
Recognizing he wasn’t going to be attacked again, Dart shook his head to clear the fuzz in it before crawling to his feet and snarling at the slightly smaller dragoness. “Merely having them here is disrespectful. That’s to say nothing of calling them your mates.”
“And why is that?” Ember asked, her tone blatantly warning him against saying anything that might set her off again.
Reaching up and massaging his jaw, Dart winced before spitting out a bloody tooth. “Because just by allowing that, you are disrespecting our traditions. This is a land for our kind, not theirs.”
Ember nodded. “And it is, which is why ponies don’t live here. Besides being a pretty hostile environment on its own, there’s not much here that a pony would need to live. But what is the problem with having a few here to visit?” She theatrically hummed and brought a claw up to tap her chin. “Unless you believe these creatures are categorically inferior to dragons, and we should not sully our claws with their mere presence. Is that it?”
“Secure a hoard, grow the hoard, protect the hoard,” Dart recited, glaring at Ember as he did so. “That is what it means to be a dragon. Ponies will never understand that because they don’t need to, so we have nothing in common.”
“That sounds like a sad, empty life,” Lyla commented aloud, rolling her eyes in disinterest as all three drakes were now focused on her. “No wonder so many dragons are so grumpy. I would be too, if that was what my entire life revolved around.”
Dart narrowed his eyes further, glaring harder at the comparatively diminutive changeling queen. “You could never understand, bug-pony. A dragon does not need more.”
“And a pony doesn’t need more than food, water, and shelter to survive,” Twilight countered, finally adding her own two bits of wisdom, “but to flourish…there’s so much more to see and experience.”
The green drake went to snap at Twilight, but a warning growl from Ember made him think better of it. Instead, he sneered at her. “You couldn’t understand, pony. We’re not the same.”
Twilight only sighed and smiled helplessly. “Maybe you should entertain the possibility that perhaps you don’t understand. We certainly don’t have all the answers, but I do think there’s a better way.”
Dart shot his eyes briefly to Ember, and snorted angrily. “Yes, and I can see those ideals have infected our dragonlord.”
I finally spoke up, unable to stop my mouth before snarking, “I didn’t have you pinned as a racist, but you surprised me.”
“What was that?” he challenged.
Whether it be because of my instinct to stand with my mate, or Ember’s commanding presence, I felt completely unbothered by his attempt to intimidate me. “You heard me. Isolationist, prejudice against other races based on their race, and ignorance. Sounds like a picture-perfect definition of racism to me. Then again, if you’re part of a race that has a problem with fancying themselves as the greatest creatures to walk the planet, racism would probably be a pretty common problem. You might want to travel a little more. It’s a big world out there, after all, and dragons are just one of dozens of races.”
He snorted again, snarling at me. “I wouldn’t expect an Equestrian-raised dragon to understand. Now I know how this corruption spread to our dragonlord.”
“And yet I’m the one that gets to lay with this beautiful dragoness, and explore her body to my heart’s content,” I shot back, getting a gasp from all the Equestrians, a strangled squeak from Ember, and a dropped jaw from the three drakes. I punctuated my claim by leaning my head close to Ember’s brand and sensually running my tongue over it, drawing a shiver from the dragoness. Smirking at Dart, I taunted, “Does it bother you to know that I have claimed this amazing, gorgeous dragoness? Does it anger you to know that I am her destined mate, and not you? Does it enrage you to know that in her eyes, you could never compare to me?”
“You-”
I continued on, silencing the drake as I kept talking. “So as soft and corrupt as you may think I am, I still somehow drew the attention of a strong, amazing female who adores me. Maybe I am not as tough or mean as you, but being who I am -- who we are -- garnered the attention of one of the most amazing creatures I’ve ever met.”
The next thing I knew, I felt an impact on my cheek, and the fire within me immediately roared into an inferno. That was the last thing I remembered before everything became…hazy.
“C’mon Spike, come back to us.”
For the second time in memory, I could hear Ember’s voice beckoning me back to the land of the living, and I was aching all over. My eyes were difficult to open, as if there were weights tied to my eyelids, and I was laying down on the ground with my head slightly inclined.
I finally won the battle and pried my eyes open, the bright afternoon sun stabbing my pupils before I was able to adjust and see around me. The whole herd was hovering around and over me, sporting looks of equal parts concern and relief, as Ember cradled my head on her outstretched arms. Her and I were still in our larger bodies, so I was careful as I shifted myself to stand on my own four feet again. I shook out my wings and my head, trying to clear the cobwebs.
“W-what…” I croaked dryly, clearing my throat before trying again, “what happened?”
Ember glanced away with a little bit of a blush, which looked strangely adorable on such a large dragoness. “Well, after your rather detailed telling of our relationship, and your possessive taunting of three drakes, you kinda…lost it when Dart hit you.”
As if the mention of what happened reminded my body of it, my jaw started hurting and I became acutely aware of the soreness on one side of my face. This was complicated further by the fact that my left eye was hard to open all the way, which told me I was swollen from a forceful strike to the face.
“Wait, what do you mean I lost it?” I asked, now a bit concerned due to what happened the last time I lost control. I looked around and carefully asked, “Is everyone okay? I didn’t hurt any of you, did I?”
Fluttershy darted over and hugged my head in her arms, petting one of my eyeridges with her fingertips as she soothed, “Oh no no no, we’re fine. You didn’t hurt any of us. I-in fact, it seemed like even while you were, um, raging, you still took great care not to hurt any of us.”
“A dragon always protects the hoard,” Ember explained, smiling as she moved away to give me some room.
I blinked a few times as I let the words register, then sighed heavily and flopped down on the ground again. “Well…so much for my self control. The point of training with you, Ember, was so that I could stay coherent enough during the heights of emotion. Guess that all went out the window.”
Ember shrugged. “You’re not perfect, Spike. No one is. And, you had three rival drakes marking themselves as a threat to your hoard, and one of them struck you. I’m not sure what anyone could rightfully expect of you in that situation. They hightailed it out of here once it became clear you weren’t going to be an easy mark, and we all kept you company until you calmed down.”
With a little help from Ember, I stood and shook myself out, wincing and bringing my palm to my face again as it throbbed. Grunting a bit, I said, “Well, I guess that’s one fight out of the way. Probably dozens more to go now, right?”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Ember answered, pressing up against me as we walked over to a collection of stone outcroppings that we could sit on. “It would be commonplace for younger drakes, in the heat of adolescence, to want to test their mettle against you, but we don’t currently have any drakes around here at that age. Not for a few more years anyway. What may happen is that Dart and his posse might spread the word about how he got trounced by the ‘soft Equestrian whelp,’ which could actually make you less of a target. Dart isn’t stupid, and nor is he weak by any means, so getting him to flee is no easy feat.”
“It was actually kinda hot,” a certain changeling purred with a cute giggle.
I rolled my shoulders a bit and again winced as I felt a pop in my left shoulder. “Yeah, well don’t get used to it. I’m not exactly going to be looking for fights to get into. I prefer not to constantly be sore and achy, thank you.” I glanced at Ember and noticed her teasing smirk, and I somehow knew she was thinking dirty thoughts. Clearing my throat, I amended, “What I mean is I don’t like to be sore and achy due to fighting.”
A loud sigh was heard from behind me just before Rarity theatrically exclaimed, “You two are insatiable!” This drew a round of giggles from the group, and I just smiled as Ember grinned at me.
But then a thought occurred to me. “I mean, when we get married, you’ll get to find out what you’re missing.” I glanced back at Rarity, noticing a light blush was dusting her white cheeks. “Lyla telling you stories doesn’t get the full experience across, I would think.”
Of course, with Lyla lacking any sort of shame, she looked quite pleased with herself as Rarity blushed even deeper. But then, Rarity smiled right back at me and raised a brow in my direction. “Actually, if you recall, I said I would never lay with one who was not to become my husband. I never said anything about actually being bound in matrimony. I merely alluded to the fact that, if a relationship were merely a fling or something I did not have faith would last, I would not participate in any physical affections other than perhaps kissing. That being said, before you ask, I am still ‘pure,’ as it were.”
A knot had formed in my gut, but at Rarity’s assertion that she had not been “tainted” by another, it uncoiled and I relaxed. At that moment, I had a rather uncomfortable realization: though Rarity and I had not been together for very long at all, it seemed I had emotionally “claimed” her as mine a very long time ago. I recognized it as a dragon instinct, but my Equestrian upbringing still made me feel a little scummy for it.
The back of Ember’s claws slapped against my chest as she grunted, “Stop that.” At my questioning gaze, she explained, “Even without our bond, I know what you look like when you’re blaming yourself for something. So, stop it.”
“If I may be so bold, what were you thinking about, darling?” Rarity asked politely.
And, even though I knew I could say I would rather not talk about it, they all knew as well as I did that I was going to talk about it if they asked. “Just…realizing that I was already possessive of you basically from the first moment we met. I didn’t even know you way back then. And then, for the following five or six years, I basically followed you around like a lost puppy, eager to do whatever I could to please you, because I wanted you to be happy. Because I wanted my mare to be happy. I didn’t recognize that feeling until just now.”
“Adolescent dragons often get fixated on one thing for a while,” Ember explained as we finally sat down again on some scattered stones, with the rest of the herd doing the same. “It just so happens that with you, it was a mare. It happens more often than you might think, especially for males. And by that, I mean they get fixated on a female, not mares specifically. As far as I know, you might be the first drake in recorded history to fall in love with a pony.”
“And you would be far from the first creature to desire something you do not possess,” Rarity added with a loving smile. “Luckily for both of us, our feelings are reciprocated completely, so you have no need to feel guilty.”
Unfortunately, my tendency to spiral into negative thoughts surfaced, and I found myself questioning our entire relationship that led to this point. I remembered all the times I had been jealous or possessive of her, and the times that possessiveness had led me to be callous or even aggressive toward the coltfriends she had here and there. I remembered all the times my infatuation had caused problems, or even hurt her…
Did I lead her to this point? Did she choose me only because I drove away all her other choices? Was it even a choice if there was no other choice?
“Spike?”
I shot back to reality at the call of my name, seeing everyone gathered and looking concerned at the fact I had essentially frozen. My eyes darted around to every face, seeing nothing but love, care, and affection. I had to get away for a moment. I had to think.
“...I need to think.”
And with no other explanation, I shot into the sky, the force of my wings knocking everyone to the ground (even Ember) as I escaped as fast as I could. I felt momentarily bad about doing that, and wanted to apologize, but the thoughts began to swirl in my head again, and I bolted away before I could think about it.
I had flown far and fast, ensuring no one could follow even if they wanted to. After dipping above the cloud layer and doubling back and forth a few times to ensure I wasn’t followed, I found something no dragon would normally desire, but that suited my needs perfectly for the moment: nullstone. There was a slab of it at least the size of a house, yet it didn’t look any different from any other rock in the area. What made it easy to find was the fact it felt…off. Off in a way that nothing else in the world did, because it was the one object on the planet that was completely devoid of magic, and actively countered it. This would make it impossible for scanning spells to find it, and emotions from anyone inside could not be detected by any changelings outside. Sure, one could search for the “void” to find it, but unless you were close to it, there was too much “noise” from everything nearby.
And so, I lay hidden under the small shelter of nullstone, and thought about how I might have directly influenced the lives of not just Rarity, but everyone else around me. I found myself wondering if I had done so to such a great extent that they basically had no choice but to choose me, because I ran off everyone else. I mean, might Twilight have dated Flash if I hadn’t been around? Would Applejack have maybe found herself someone more like her, a farmer for example? Would Fluttershy have maybe fallen in love with someone quieter, maybe even a fellow nature enthusiast? And what’s to say I hadn’t influenced the love lives of the mares I wasn’t even involved with? So many questions, and I had no answers. I was praying for something to make sense besides the fact that it was my fault.
And the worst thing, the thing that made me hate myself, was that I knew I wouldn’t just leave for their own good. Oh sure, I could try, but I knew myself well enough that I could say I would eventually find my way back because my instincts were too strong, and my will too weak, to stay away forever. And so, even if I convinced myself it would be for the best if I removed myself from the lives of the girls I loved, I wouldn’t be able to actually do it.
And so instead, I hated myself, hated my weakness, and hated that I was even thinking about this at all. Why couldn’t I just be happy?
“Are you finished feeling sorry for yourself?”
Had I been less morose and more alert, I might have jumped in fright and cursed. As it was, my eyes briefly shot to the large mauve dragoness before lowering once more to the rocky ground beneath me. “How did you find me?”
Purple Spinel lumbered over and lay beside me, not quite touching, but close enough that her wings brushed against me with each breath. She glanced around and shrugged once. “You learn a great many things living as long as I have. Experience begets wisdom, if we are smart enough to learn from those experiences. And so, when my beloved daughter came to me in a state, fretting about where you could have gone and why she couldn’t feel you, I thought to myself, ‘If I wanted to be somewhere I could not be found, where I could think in solitude, where would I go’?” She looked over at me and reached out, tracing her claw under my eye and removing a rather sizable drop of moisture, which she let drop to the ground with an understanding look. “I’ve spent quite a lot of time in places like this.”
“How much is a lot?” I muttered, blowing out a jet of breath that dusted the ground in front of me.
She shrugged once more, wiggling a bit to get more comfortable. “More than I would like, less than I probably needed. The life of a dragon is difficult for those with a soft heart, such as you, my daughter, and myself. And so, sometimes we just need to get away, to be alone with our emotions.”
A beat of silence.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Did I want to? Not really. Did I need to? Kinda, yeah.
“What if me being the choice for my hoard is my fault? What if the only reason I’m their choice for a mate is because there’s no one else to choose from?” I asked bluntly. “What if I’m just the only choice left after I got rid of all the other ones?”
She raised a brow at me. “Do you believe your mates are so shallow that they only chose you because they just didn’t want to be alone?”
“Maybe not consciously, but…” I mumbled, feeling ashamed at myself for even thinking such a thing.
Purple Spinel sighed loudly. “Ember told me about this particular weakness of yours.” At my own raised brow, and frown, she held my gaze and poked me in the nose with the tip of her claw. “You seem only all too ready to blame yourself for everything, and choose to make assumptions rather than just asking for clarification. I would call it arrogance if it weren’t for the fact that you actually do have a great deal of influence on those around you. However, consider this: why do you feel bad in the first place? Why does the notion that you might have directly influenced the decision, whether consciously or unconsciously, bother you so much?”
I huffed hard, causing a small flame to fly out in front of me as I lay my head down on the ground. “Because I’m an idiot who overthinks things.”
“It’s because you care, Spike,” she corrected, though by her tone, she knew I already knew that. “It’s one of the things Ember loves the most about you: you care about everyone in your life, whether they’re just an acquaintance, a friend, a lover, or otherwise. You care about everyone you meet. That is why, rather than just live in the moment and be happy that you have a hoard of females that adore you, you instead punish yourself by assuming you stole better choices from them by eliminating all other competition. Why do you assume you are not the best choice?”
I didn’t look at her. “I don’t know if I am, but that’s kind of pointless if I’m the only choice. There is no best choice if there’s only one choice to be made.”
“Are you really so arrogant to believe that none of your mates had other suitors you don't know about?” Purple Spinel asked incredulously. “Unless you spent every second of every day with each of them -- which, as I’m sure you know, is impossible -- they did things and met others that you don’t know about. I’m sure there’s things you’re still discovering about them. In fact, you should ask all of them if there were other relationships they might have had that you are unaware of.”
Yes, in the back of my mind, I knew I wasn’t privy to every aspect of their lives, but Purple Spinel saying it out loud made it real. Now that I actually thought about it, it does seem pretty silly that I thought I knew every person they might have met, and every mare or stallion they might have had a dalliance with. Maybe Fluttershy, but not the others. Though…now that I thought about it, even Fluttershy seemed likely to have had at least a crush or two, even if nothing came of it.
“...I’m being silly again, aren’t I?”
When I looked up to the elder dragoness, she was smiling at me like any good mother would. “A little, but you’re entitled to it. The dragons around here may like to pretend otherwise, but every creature, no matter their history, has bouts of silliness. Even when they’re adults. You are still very young, so you’re certainly entitled to be silly from time to time.”
As my spiraling thoughts finally began to settle, and my self-degradation quieted, I thought of what I had done. “...how worried is everyone?”
“Very,” she immediately answered, nudging me with a wing. “You should return as soon as possible, and be ready to receive several earfuls from your mates. You worried them greatly, so it is now your responsibility to explain why you left with such haste, and be honest about it. Problems like this don’t go away by ignoring them, as I’m sure your own mother has told you before.”
Pushing myself up to stand with a grunt, I nodded with a guilty look. “Yeah, she has. It’s a weakness of mine that I’m still working to fix.”
“Some weaknesses are battled for all of our lives,” Purple Spinel commented, again nudging me with a wing. “My mate, for example, has always had a temper, and hates being wrong. Everyone has character flaws, Spike. If we were all perfect, there would be no ideal to build toward.”
As we stepped out from under the nullstone, I shook out my wings with a sigh. Quirking a brow, I asked, “Why are you helping me?”
Purple Spinel raised her wings, displaying her impressive wingspan, and smiled. “Because you make my little sapphire happier than I’ve ever seen. That alone is reason enough for me to help you through some trials. Just don’t make a habit of it. Ember deserves a strong mate, and I know you can be that for her. Talk to your mates instead of trying to deal with everything on your own. While I am willing to help when I can, your hoard cannot grow as a unit if you flee from them when things become difficult. Do you understand?”
Nodding with a small smile, I answered, “Yeah, I get it.”
“I really wish you’d just talk to us about this stuff instead of flying away,” Ember grumped, even as she lay on top of me, unwilling to release me from her arms, legs, or tail.
I reached up and ran my hands over her back, and the back of her head. “I know, and I’m sorry. I’m pretty stupid sometimes when it comes to negative thoughts.”
While Ember was currently the one laying in my grasp, we were surrounded by the other five, all of whom were in contact with us in some way. While they had expressed they weren’t actually scared, my hasty departure had worried them for my own sake, and physical contact was one of the ways ponies reassured the herd. Sometimes words were simply not enough, and so just being there, with your presence, could do wonders.
The silence was broken when Rarity suddenly said, “Twelve.”
I raised my brow and turned my head to look at the white unicorn, who was sitting right next to my head. “Twelve what?”
“Twelve relationships you don’t know about,” she said calmly, though clearly. “I am not sure about the rest gathered here, but I deliberately kept them from you because I didn’t want to hurt you.” She looked down at me and smiled as she reached out and poked me on the nose. “So if you ever fear there was no other choice, and you are simply ‘the fallback,’ worry no more. I had plenty of choices, and I chose the best one.”
“Four,” Twilight continued, smiling sheepishly at me. “Most were in Canterlot, when I was spending more time up there to get properly trained for my duties. The only one in Ponyville, whom you might know, was Cream Heart.”
I’m so glad I wasn’t the only one who thought Cream Heart was a MILB.
A soft clearing of a throat preceded Fluttershy tentatively adding, “U-um…one.”
Now I was surprised.
At my questioning gaze, Fluttershy blushed and mumbled, “...B-Big Mac, for about a week.”
“And Ah knew ‘bout it,” Applejack offered, tipping her hat up to look at me as she sat up. “Jus’ didn’t pan out. Was b’fore Mac opened up a bit more, so gettin’ them t’ even speak t’ one another was a miracle. They parted as friends, but that’s ‘bout it. They both moved on, ‘n now Shy’s here with us.”
The thought of Fluttershy with such a good-looking, virile stallion caused me to blurt out a question before I could think about it. “Did you and he ever…y’know?”
Applejack snorted a laugh, but smacked me on the leg. “Now Spike, t’aint proper t’ ask a gal that.”
“Oh, n-no, it’s okay Applejack,” Fluttershy said, interrupting her herdmate. Looking at me, her face still lit up in a blush, she said, “No, Big Mac and I never did any of that. The closest we ever got was when I kissed him on the cheek, when we separated.” She squirmed a bit as she wrung her hands, but continued. “T-to be honest, the thought of doing that really…scares me. With me being an animal caretaker, I know logically it’s a natural, normal thing, but the thought of doing that…I-I mean, I’ve heard it hurts a lot the first time, a-and that sometimes a mare can tear d-down there, and…” She went silent after trailing off, voicing concerns that many mares had, since I’d heard them myself.
Being a mare that tended to worry about things a lot, it made sense she would be concerned about the possible ways things could go very wrong, and frankly, a male like me just saying “everything will be fine” would just sound like I was trying to coerce her into sex. Now was a time for a mare to come to the rescue: somepony who had experience in sex, knew the logistics behind it, and wasn’t particularly shy about it.
“All right Shy, lemme explain,” Lyla began, scooting over to sit next to the yellow pegasus. “Unless you’ve been ‘training’ yourself, which I doubt, your body’s never had something up there quite that size. It’s going to be uncomfortable for a little bit until you adjust, but as long as you have a gentle, attentive lover that ensures you’re enjoying it as much as he is,” she glanced over and winked at me, “then the discomfort goes away pretty quick, and then it’s incredible. You should certainly wait until you’re ready to take such a big step, but don’t be afraid of a little discomfort. It’s temporary, and leads to something far more enjoyable.”
“I understand how much this helps, but it’s still weird for people to just be so openly talking about this stuff,” Ember whispered as she continued to drape herself over me.
“Agreed,” I answered, holding her firmly against me. “It took quite a few years for me to get used to it, even when I was little. I think it’s an instinct for dragons to naturally be less inclined to talk about such topics, because I had it too. But…as I watched each one of my friends talk about the stuff, and saw how many problems could be solved simply by talking about them, I began to see the value in it. I mean, don’t get me wrong: we don’t openly talk about sex and the like around strangers, but with friends it’s perfectly normal.”
Ember lifted herself up on her forearms so that she could look at me properly, and after a moment, lowered her lips to mine in a slow, affectionate kiss. We mutually enjoyed the kiss for a few moments before she pulled away, and lay her forehead against mine. “Well, whatever odd things Equestria might have passed on to you can’t be that bad, because they made you the drake you are today. And if you weren’t who you are, we may never have met. Seven hells, we might not even be destined mates.”
For the next few minutes, Ember and I just lay there, on the edge of dozing, enjoying the moment surrounded by our herd in the safety of her hoard.
“Is that acceptable to you, Spike?” Rarity’s voice chimed in, breaking me out of the quiet moment with Ember.
I jolted at the question, and craned my neck to glance over Ember’s shoulder at the unicorn currently staring questioningly at me. “Um…what? I wasn’t listening. I’m sorry.”
Rarity’s eyes briefly darted to Ember before she smiled. “I completely understand, darling. However, we were conversing with Fluttershy and have decided on a plan of action.”
I raised a brow. “A plan of action for what, exactly?”
Just before Rarity could continue, Fluttershy placed a hand on the shoulder of the unicorn, and smiled gratefully at her even as she shook her head. The pegasus then looked directly at me, blushed a bit more, and quietly said, “...um…I-I’d like to take you on a date when we return home. Just the two of us.”
Tilting my head in confusion, I asked, “Why? I mean, not that I’m against going out somewhere with you, but what is this a ‘plan of action’ for, exactly?”
After a moment, she could no longer hold my gaze, and her eyes darted away as she began wringing her hands together. “W-well, the rest of the girls think it might help me get over my fear if we spend some more time together in a ‘courting’ setting, a-and maybe get a little more physically affectionate.”
Seeing where this was going, I tapped Ember on the shoulder and gestured to let me up. She unwrapped her wings from my back and shimmied off of me, allowing me to sit up and address Fluttershy properly.
I slowly and gently reached out and took her hand in mine, running my thumb over the soft fur along the back of her hand as I waited for her to look me in the eye. When she finally did, I reached over with my other hand and gently cupped her cheek, smiling at her. “I don’t ever want you to feel pressured to ‘keep up’ with any of the others, Fluttershy. But, if this is something you actually want, I’m certainly open to going on a date with you, and seeing how far you want to push your boundaries. I’ll not lie and say I haven’t thought about you in that way, so if you’re sure, I’m happy to go at whatever pace you’re comfortable with.”
She gave a small smile at me and closed her eyes, rubbing her cheek against her palm for a moment before looking at me once again. “W-well, what’s comfortable isn’t always what’s good for me. Being alone, and closing myself off from others was comfortable, too. But it was also very lonely, and sometimes I would cry myself to sleep because I wanted someone there with me, but was too afraid to seek that someone out.”
The thought of Fluttershy crying brought with it a deep ache in my own heart, but for now, I let her talk.
“A-and then, I finally worked up the courage to join your herd, and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier,” she gushed, smiling brightly as her wings fluttered. “Confronting my fear brought something wonderful into my life, so it would be silly to avoid everything else that comes with a relationship just because they’re new and a little scary.”
Recognizing that if we were going to do this, I would need a good starting point, a plan began to form in my mind. I was a guy dealing with the prospect of more intimate encounters with a beautiful girl, so the plan may not have been the best plan in the world, but it was something.
“How about we start small?” I suggested, pulling my hands back and smiling reassuringly at my herd mate. “I say we begin by getting you used to me touching you in ways I haven’t yet. Nothing crazy, but certainly not the kind of thing I’d do to just a friend or an acquaintance.”
She didn’t seem reluctant, merely curious. That was a good sign.
With a cute tilt of her head, Fluttershy asked, “Like what?”
“Remember what happened when we were watching the movie, just after you joined the herd?”
Fluttershy’s blush returned, and she nodded. “Y-yes. That was…um…very nice.”
“Ya mean t’ tell me you were feelin’ up a mare in tha dark? Ya naughty drake,” Applejack jokingly chastised.
I rolled my eyes at the comment. “Nah, it wasn’t bad. I just slipped my hand in her waistband and rested my palm on her cutie mark. That seemed to be enough for the moment.”
Applejack raised a brow in surprise, looking over at the flustered pegasus. Fluttershy could only smile bashfully and nod in response, prompting the farmer to let out a low whistle. “Well now, guess ya are serious about this then, ‘Shy. Ah’m proud of ya.”
Fluttershy squirmed in embarrassment, whispering, “...i-it was very nice. No one has ever touched me like that before. A-and in the same way that you can’t tickle yourself, it feels so much better when someone else is doing the touching.”
I nodded in agreement. “Correct. However, just so we don’t misunderstand each other, I think we should lay out exactly what we expect from this relationship. I think Rarity already gave you a detailed run-down, but I’d like to restate that all in my own words.” Fluttershy nodded, listening intently, so I continued. “While unexpected things do happen, and sometimes herds drift apart, I am going to work toward this herd being my only herd. In other words, I’m going into this with the plan that we will one day marry and have children together. I plan to be your mate for your whole life, and that means everything that comes with that title. I want to hug and kiss you, and I plan to one day, when you’re comfortable enough, share the carnal side of this relationship with you. Do you understand and accept all that?”
Fluttershy was blushing harder by the time I finished, but she nodded firmly. “Y-yes, I do. Just because I’m not ready now doesn’t mean I’ll never be ready, and I do want that. I-it’s just…scary. New things are always scary for me.” Fluttershy looked down at her lap, wringing her hands together as she whispered, “J-just because I’ve never done it before doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about it o-or, um…’entertained’ myself.”
Raising my brow, I stared at her. “Really?”
Fluttershy nodded jerkily. “...y-yes. I-I know it doesn’t really suit me, b-but I actually think about it a lot. Ever since puberty. Pegasi are known for being ‘active’ in all ways, b-but even though we’ve never exactly measured it or anything, I think m-my, um, sex drive might actually be very high, even compared to other pegasi.” She cleared her throat and looked up at me finally. “T-that’s actually part of the reason why I find it so hard to talk to a lot of other ponies. I-if I find them even a little attractive, my mind starts conjuring up dirty scenarios and daydreams. So, to um, stop myself from saying something bad, I just…stay quiet.”
This was a big surprise for me. Likely the same as the rest of our friends, I had wrongly assumed that such a quiet, dainty, reserved pony like Fluttershy was mortified at the very thought of sexual things. Instead, it turned out she had such thoughts all the time, and just was very good at hiding it behind the commonly-held assumption that she was just very shy. True, she was shy around strangers, but it apparently wasn’t just because they were strangers. With those words, Fluttershy had completely overthrown the idea of the pony we had in our heads. It wasn’t like we suddenly felt like we didn’t know her or anything, merely that she had added some significant context to who she was, which put a lot of things in perspective.
But, like usual, my mouth acted before my brain could think about it.
“Have you ever thought about us that way?” I asked, slapping a hand over my mouth and shaking my head hard. “Sorry, that was rude. And that’s private. Forget I said anything.”
Fluttershy breathed hard and sat up straight, quietly admitting, “...yes. All of you.” She looked to the dragoness who was watching the exchange silently. “Even you, Ember.”
Though she was sitting, Ember nearly fell over as she made an odd squeak noise. Even as a blush began to rush to her head, she stammered out, "M-me? B-but I…and you…"
Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, but when she opened her eyes again, they were a familiar gold with a slit pupil, and I caught sight of fangs as she smiled briefly. Noticing that we were all staring at her, she explained, “I learned to control the change, for the most part. I can call on the confidence and assertiveness without losing all my feathers, which is nice.” She turned back to the dragoness, who was still blushing. “Anyway, yes, I've had thoughts about you, Ember. I know Twilight and Spike explained that attraction and even intimacy between herd members is fairly normal for ponies, so I just thought you should know where we stand, so to speak. I will never touch you in a way you don't want, but I do find you very pleasing to look at and think about.”
Ember just stared, jaw-dropped, for a long while. The rest of us just allowed her to absorb the information, though I’m sure she wasn’t the only one surprised by the revelation.
Eventually, Ember closed her mouth, swallowed hard, and spoke. “I…I hope you don’t take it the wrong way when I say I don’t know how to feel about that.”
Fluttershy just tilted her head and smiled. “I don’t expect anyone in your position would know what to say. I’m not expecting anything from you; I just thought you should know how I felt. Honesty is always the best practice within a herd.”
“Seconded,” Applejack added, smiling supportively to the dragoness. “Might be ain’t nothin’ ever gonna happen ‘tween you ‘n Shy, but it’s better she just told ya instead of you findin’ out in some really awkward situation.”
Ember thought for a moment before reluctantly nodding. “I…suppose there’s wisdom in that.” Now looking at the pegasus again, Ember added, “I thank you for being honest with me, Fluttershy. I don’t see myself reciprocating those feelings, but a lot has changed in the short time I’ve been in Spike’s life. The future is unknown to me, and so maybe one day, that could change. For now though, I appreciate you being forthcoming.”
While she didn’t say anything aloud, I saw as Twilight’s ears pricked, and her face colored with a blush she immediately hid by subtly turning her head away. Rarity’s sharp eyes swiveled to the alicorn though, so I knew I wasn’t the only one that noticed.
My thoughts were interrupted when Fluttershy moved to my side and snuggled up, and I reflexively wrapped an arm around her. I nosed her temple and whispered, “Feel better?”
She nodded with a happy hum. “Uh huh. It feels good to just…get that out in the open.”
“We’ll never be angry with you for how you feel, darling,” Rarity added, with gentle admonishment.
Fluttershy sighed and dipped her head. “In my mind I know that, but I still worry.”
Deciding to add her own two bits, Twilight said, “Then we’ll reassure you every day in small ways until you completely believe it. Believe me, I know what it’s like to worry about all sorts of things.”
Before we could speak further, a loud shout came from outside, followed by a rumbling through the cavern. Seconds later, Smolder rounded the corner with an urgent expression. “Ember, we got trouble!”
Groaning and standing up, Ember asked, “What’s wrong?”
While still anxious, Smolder shot a deadpan look at the older dragoness. “You didn’t seriously think the troublemakers of the clan were just going to blindly accept your presentation earlier, did you?”
Ember’s eyes widened. “What happened?”
“A horde of drakes tried to force their way inside, Dart among them,” she explained. “Seems they’re not too happy about you being off the market, because of an outsider, no less. Couple that with the fact you brought ponies here, and they’re getting more fired up than usual.”
I stood as well, taking my place next to Ember. “Are we in danger?”
Smolder hung her head in defeat. “I don’t know. Nothing like this has happened before, but a mate presentation like this has also never happened before. Pretty sure we can’t depend on what’s supposed to happen anymore.”
The rest of the herd started to stand as well, but Ember raised her hand. “No, you all stay here. I am touched that you all want to stand with me out there, but I don’t know what’s going to happen, and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to any of you.” She shot a look at Lyla and Twilight. “Protect the rest of them, you two. If worse comes to worst, forcing them into a bottleneck will make it easier to fight them. I’d like to say I don’t think it’ll come to that, but we're in uncharted waters.”
“Forcing your way into a dragon’s den, and their horde, is a serious no-no,” Smolder explained helpfully. “Something like this only happens when one dragon is actively trying to kill another.”
That explanation immediately brought the severity of what was happening into complete clarity. This wasn’t some angry group that just wanted to throw their weight around, it was a horde of dragons that were actively trying to hurt or kill us. If the deathly silence of the rest of the room was any indication, the rest of the herd realized that as well.
With that horrifying realization, Ember and I started moving toward the long winding path that would lead to the entrance of the cave. Though just before we left sight, Rarity shouted out, “Darling, your armor! Now is the perfect time to-”
Ember shook her head, looking back at the worried herd with a severe look. “There’s no time, and I’m not wearing it now because something like this was completely unexpected.” She sighed heavily, shaking her head again. “Guess I’ll need to start being armored at all times in the future, but right now, we need to get outside. C’mon Spike.”
With those last words, Ember started off into the tunnel, and I followed obediently. Every step was a struggle, and I had to force myself to just keep walking instead of thinking, because if I started thinking about what was happening, I knew I would freeze up.
“This isn’t a brawl, Spike,” Ember suddenly muttered, though she continued the trek forward. “These guys are apparently trying to hurt or kill your hoard.”
The fire within me roared to life, and I found myself growling in anticipation of what was to come. Still though, my mind was worried, and as much as my instincts were screaming at me, I wasn’t just an animal.
“Do you think we’ll have to…” I left the sentence unfinished, but it was clear what I was suggesting.
Ember stopped briefly, turning around and cupping my cheek in her palm. Her eyes were resolute, yet sad. “Maybe. Do everything you can to incapacitate, including removing a limb if you have to. But I won’t lie to you: they might fight to the death. I did my best to prepare you for this, but there’s really no way to fully prepare someone for having to kill another.” With that, she released me and continued the walk, with me following behind her.
We walked in silence for a long few moments.
“Listen to your instincts, Spike. Don’t push them aside.”
I had been watching the floor as we walked, but her words brought my head up and my attention to her.
She glanced over her shoulder briefly. “Your instincts are driving you to protect your hoard, no matter the cost. Use that to motivate you to do what needs to be done. Break down if you need to after this is over. But at the moment, you have to protect your loved ones.” She then sighed as she turned her gaze forward again. “I can feel your fear Spike, but underneath that, I can also feel your burning desire to keep the ones you love safe. Use that.”
As light from the outside began to reach us, I readied myself for whatever was to come. Moments later, we stepped outside to see a barrier of bright cyan flames all around us, reaching into the sky. But even as we approached, the flames were beginning to sputter and die.
“Seems Smolder gave us some time to get out here. I’m gonna have to thank her for that later,” Ember commented idly as she closed her eyes and began to grow larger than I had ever seen her before. After only a few seconds, she looked down at me and nodded. “Your turn. Dig deep, and latch onto your need to protect your hoard that is actively in danger. You’ll find all the power you’ll ever need.”
Doing as she said, I focused on the simmering need to protect that was within me. As soon as I turned my attention directly to that instinct, my fire almost seemed to explode, but instead of expelling it like I normally would, I let it fill me up and willed myself to grow. While I hadn’t opened my eyes to look, I was growing so large and so fast that I could feel the wind across my face as my head shot into the sky. I fell forward onto all fours as I continued to grow, and the mighty crash I heard told me that I was significantly heavier than I ever had been before. Eventually, the growth slowed, and then stopped, so I opened my eyes to have a look around.
Save for some mountains in the distance I saw nothing around me anymore. It took looking down to realize that the large hill that was Ember’s den was now at ankle-level, and Ember herself was only half my size. This was all overshadowed by the slew of emotions and screaming instincts that came with the size increase, and I grunted as I held my head in my hand to try and keep my mind in control. I felt a gentle hand stroke my face as Ember’s voice cut through all the noise in my head.
“Beloved, it’s okay. I’m here with you,” she soothed, her tone soft and loving.
Her beautiful voice and the words calmed me, and soon I was able to assert control over my own instincts and open my eyes once again. Taking a deep breath, I mentally steadied myself.
“I-I’m okay. I’ll be okay,” I assured, hoping I wasn’t lying about it.
With a final smile, Ember turned and stood beside me. “Good, because we don’t have any more time.”
Looking ahead, I noticed that the wall of blue fire was lowering more and more, until finally, the land around us was visible once again. At least a dozen large dragons were gathered in front of the fire, and without warning, all of them immediately shot forward with a mighty flap of their wings toward the largest target, which was me.
Claws and teeth embedded themselves in my hide, and though my skin had thickened with my increase in size, it wasn’t enough to completely protect against the attack. I was reminded of a certain tiny wyrm pup that had bitten me, specifically the feeling of what could only be described as hot knives. Only now, the pain was coming from multiple locations, and already I could feel blood flowing down my body.
With the adrenaline being pumped into my bloodstream and a significant force of will, I was able to ignore the pain and twist my massive body in a wide arc, throwing off all but one attacker that was still attached to my left shoulder. Since my current form lacked the dexterity to reach around with my hand, I whipped my neck to lunge my open mouth toward him, sinking my teeth in and closing the trap on him. A loud, pained screech answered me, but I ignored it as I whipped my head the other way, throwing the drake to the ground far enough away as to not be an immediate threat.
I only had a moment to breathe before the other dragons resumed their assault, and I once again roared in pain. I again thrashed my body, trying to keep them from ganging up on me, as I tried my best to come up with something, anything, to level the field. One of the attackers was ripped from my back, taking a layer of skin with it, and I glanced back to see Ember had tackled him to the ground and was raining blow after blow on him. She then arched her longer neck and breathed her ruby flames on him, and the drake screamed in pain.
I was momentarily confused before I remembered something very important: most species of dragons were all but immune to fire and heat, but a dragon’s breath was not normal fire. It was a magical flame, and dragons were still vulnerable to magic.
Even as a plan began to form in my mind, my attackers were on me again, whittling down my strength and much larger size through repeated attacks including bites and claws from at least nine of them. Again grabbing the most painful attacker with my mouth and throwing him far away, I shouted to the dragoness, “Ember, shield yourself!”
I didn’t wait to see if she heard me or complied with my order before breathing fire on my claws and quickly forming the characters of “inside,” “fire,” and “burn.” I struggled to twirl my hand to prepare the spell as one of the drakes jumped on my face and shot his open mouth at my eye. I had just enough time to rear my head away and shut the eye, but my cheek began to burn as he shook his head like a dog, trying to rip the flesh away. With an agonized roar, I pressed the prepared spell in my palm against my chest, and felt as the warmth seeped into me.
Then, much to the surprise of the drake trying to tear apart my face, my body caught fire with green flames. I tried not to focus on the screams of terrified agony, nor the smell of cooking flesh as my internal fire roared to life, and blazed like an inferno in the outside world. Contrary to how this normally went, I didn’t try and just wait out the burn, and instead used my temporary state in the fight. And so, I reached out and grabbed two of my attackers in my hands. After all: they were an immediate threat to my herd, and the herd came first.
As much as my instincts were screaming at me to burn them to dust, so that they could never threaten my herd again, I only let them feel the flames for a few seconds -- just enough to get my point across and leave them with scarred reminders of this moment -- before throwing them to the ground with the other two drakes I had incapacitated with my bites. None of them were moving very much, and my more peaceful personality was horrified at the possibility that they might be dying, but I shook the thought away and turned to meet the rest of them. I could cry and freak out later: right now, I had to protect my herd.
This time, I was the attacker as I lunged at five of them, catching three and subjecting them to the same pain as the last two. My fire was burning even hotter now, and for the two I missed, they flew away to avoid being burned just by being near me. I was just about to fly after them before a terrifying roar of pain came from behind me, and I turned as my blood ran cold.
Dart himself had Ember pinned to the ground, his larger form keeping her grounded, as his right claw was embedded in her chest. A maniacal, sadistic smile was on his face as he twisted his claws, seemingly delighted as Ember’s defiant roars changed to pained screams. For the first time since my innate instincts began to surface, I felt a desire I’d never felt before, and had no preparation to control.
KILL.
But, just before I could commit to the desire and do something I couldn’t take back, the ground shook as the wind began to blow in a gale. A magenta aura surrounded Dart, locking him in place, and his only movement was his eyes looking to the side. I followed his gaze, and was both afraid and relieved at what I saw.
Twilight, the princess of friendship, the alicorn of magic, was hovering without her wings, suspended by her own power, as her horn blazed like a miniature star. The rest of the herd was gathered behind her, including Lyla in her battle form, as they all slowly advanced forward.
“THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH,” Twilight rumbled, her reverberating voice filling the open area the same as the wind that now ripped and tore at the land itself. She was channeling so much magic that her body was glowing, and the energy inside of her could be seen through her skin. It was a sight to behold, and had the situation been different, I would have commented on how awe-inspiringly beautiful she looked at that moment.
The appearance of the angry alicorn had effectively stopped the fight, as the few drakes that hadn’t fled or been rendered unconscious were staring cautiously as the tiny pony that was radiating ridiculous amounts of magic floated almost casually over to the drake that was on top of Ember. Realizing that the danger was at least momentarily neutralized, I canceled my spell and reverted to my flesh-and-blood form, twisting my mouth into a grimace at the pain and bleeding that returned with it. I limped my way over to Dart and Ember, and waited for Twilight to get there.
When Twilight finally arrived, still in her “ascended” state, she looked with glowing white eyes at the point of injury on Ember’s chest. A tear that had apparently formed in the corner of Twilight’s eye boiled away into steam as she continued to look at the wound that Dart’s claw was still embedded within.
“THE INJURY IS TOO DEEP,” Twilight said, her voice noticeably softer, but still powerful and sounding like six people were speaking through her. “I CAN’T REMOVE THE CLAW WITHOUT CAUSING HER TO BLEED OUT.” While her pupils were currently unable to be seen, all of us could tell when she looked at Dart with a grim expression. “THAT’S TOO BAD FOR YOU.”
A ring of magic appeared around Dart’s wrist, and without warning, it closed tightly against his skin. With only a moment for us to wonder what was happening, what sounded like a click issued forth, at which point Twilight’s aura levitated Dart off to the side…while leaving his hand behind, still in Ember’s chest. The drake himself looked very confused, even frozen as he was, since it seemed there was no pain or blood. I ignored him though, and now that he was out of the way, I moved closer to Ember to see the full extent of the damage.
The rest of Ember was largely unharmed, but I immediately knew the claw in her chest was even deeper than it first appeared, as one of the claws was stuck in something white, covered in blood. It took me a moment to realize I was looking at Ember’s sternum, and the fact that bone was in the way was likely the only reason she was still alive. The other claws had closed around the bone and surrounding ribs like a vice as the wound gushed blood, and it didn’t take a genius to realize he had been intentionally aiming for her heart. If I’d had any delusions about these dragons just wanting to scare me away or something, the extent of Ember’s injury confirmed what she had already warned me about: these drakes had been trying to kill us.
Retching off to the side brought my attention to Rarity, who had quite literally lost her lunch at the sight of the grisly injury, but I turned my attention back to Ember a moment later. The dragoness was still awake, barely, but I could see her breathing was slowing, and I swear I could feel her heart weakening to match.
“How far away is the closest hospital?” I asked, knowing that if Ember didn’t get specialized treatment, we were going to lose her. Only Ember’s training to remain calm in high-stress situations was keeping me from freaking out, but internally, I was a mess. However, I knew we had to get Ember taken care of before I could afford to break down, and right now, we were running out of time.
“TOO FAR,” Twilight said, causing what little composure I still had to begin cracking. “A TELEPORT WOULD PUT TOO MUCH STRAIN ON HER BODY, AND THERE’S NO WAY IT IS SAFE TO CARRY HER LIKE THIS.”
“W-well, we have to do something!” I yelled, the panic beginning to set in as an option was eliminated. “We can’t just let her die!”
Twilight’s glowing form slowly faded away, and her hooves touched the ground once again. Whatever calm came with her powerful trance-like state left her as well, and her face twisted into a grief-stricken grimace as tears began to run down her cheeks. “I-I don’t know what to do, Spike. I-I never practiced healing spells very often, and losing control could kill her.”
“She’ll die if we don’t do something,” I reminded the alicorn, my mind furiously working through what options we had. “M-maybe…blood magic. If I can-”
“Spike, feel your magic right now and tell me, honestly, that you have enough left to spare for a blood magic spell,” Twilight pleaded, catching on to what I was suggesting.
Having become far more familiar with my own core over the past few months, it was easy to feel it and gauge how much energy I had to spare. What I found wasn’t promising: I was basically running on fumes, and even a minor blood magic spell might kill me.
“I…” I trailed off, tears beginning to fall from my own eyes as I shook my head.
At my admission, the rest of the group gathered round. Rarity took charge, having composed herself, asking, “What if we could donate some blood, darling? We have plenty of magic to spare.” The rest of the herd nodded in agreement and stepped forward, ready to sacrifice for one of our family.
Twilight smiled softly, wiping her tears away. “That…that could work. Okay everyone, gather around me. This is going to be draining, both physically and magically.”
While Twilight prepared the ritual, I knelt toward Ember, taking her hand in mine and holding it tightly. Giving a firm squeeze caused Ember’s half-lidded eyes to focus on me, prompting me to assure, “Hey, you’re gonna be fine. Just hold on for a second, and Twilight will take care of you.” The dragoness smiled softly before breaking into a coughing fit, spraying blood over my face. Her breathing became ragged, and it sounded like she was choking on her own blood. This caused my heart to jump into my throat as I shouted, “T-Twilight, hurry up! She’s not going to last much longer!” Leaning closer, I nuzzled the side of Ember’s face and soothed her the best I could. “J-just hang on, Ember. You have to stay awake.” Ember’s labored breaths sounded to my ears like they were getting weaker and weaker, until I pulled away and saw her eyes drift shut.
Ember breathed once more…
…and then nothing.
I was now positive that it wasn’t my heart I felt stop, but Ember’s. I knew this because I could hear the sound of my own blood rushing in my ears, pumping madly as the terror set in. I held my own breath as I watched for another from Ember, feeling the rising panic as her body remained still.
But just before I could fall to grief, Twilight finally stepped over without warning, holding a massive glowing red ball above her head. With no words said or explanation, she slammed the orb of power into the still body of the dragoness, and reached down toward Ember’s chest as she did so. Even as Ember’s body crackled with arcs of power, Twilight unceremoniously ripped the claw out of the chest of our dragoness, and I watched with growing joy as the wound stitched itself shut, and color began to return to the hide of the pale dragoness. After only a few moments, Ember’s eyes shot open with a gasp, and she jerked to one side, retching as she vomited up her own blood with a groan.
And now that I knew what it felt like, I could easily pick out the feeling of Ember’s heart within me, beating strong and steady. Because of the strength of the herd, Ember was alive.
Ember finished clearing her mouth, spitting a glob of thick blood for good measure, before turning back over and staring at Twilight with a wide-eyed expression.
“Twilight…y-you saved me.”
Twilight smiled through the tears, and shrugged. “W-well, it was a group effort, but-”
The alicorn could say no more as the much larger dragoness scooped the pony up and held her close, her long, serpentine neck bending low to nuzzle the alicorn held against her chest. The rest gathered around the dragoness to add to the embrace, and Ember wasted no time in scooping the others up to hug as well, whispering thank-yous to each one. I finally lumbered over and wrapped my much larger bulk around them, completing the group hug and released a final sigh of relief at knowing my herd was safe, and Ember was alive.
But, one problem remained.
Slowly, we loosened up and released each other before looking over to the one that likely started this whole fiasco. Dart was still frozen in place, his eyes wide and fearful. Twilight was released last by Ember, though not before giving the giant dragoness a loving kiss on the nose (a move that instantly brought a blush to said dragoness). Once the alicorn was on her hooves again, Ember shrank back to a smaller size, and we all stepped over to the large drake that lay completely helpless. Though she was no longer radiating enough magic to power an entire city, the calm, sure steps of Twilight seemed somehow far more intimidating.
Twilight stood in front of Dart, frowning down at him, before snapping her fingers. The sheen of magic disappeared from his mouth as she ordered, “You’re going to tell me exactly why you just tried to kill my mate. If I think you might be lying, you’ll lose more than just a hand this day.”
Surprisingly, some of the bravado seemed to return to him, as Dart challenged, “You don’t scare me, pony.”
“Wrong answer,” Twilight growled, her horn lighting up as another ring appeared in the air, a match for the one that had removed his hand a few minutes ago. Dart gave a moan as Twilight’s magic coaxed a certain piece of male dragon anatomy out, and before any of us could comment on just what she was doing, she flicked her finger and the ring of magic settled around the base.
If Dart’s wide, terrified eyes were any indication, he would have been thrashing now, had Twilight not still had him paralyzed. “O-okay! Okay, I’ll talk!”
Twilight smiled in a decidedly sadistic manner. “First I want to know why you decided trying to kill your dragon lord, and my mate, was a good idea.”
“W-we were promised payment!” he shouted, nearly hyperventilating as he struggled to keep himself in control.
Twilight raised her brow, the gesture mirrored by Rarity. “By whom and with what?” Dart grimaced, and it was clear he was trying to struggle against his bonds, but Twilight’s spell was ironclad, and he wouldn’t be escaping unless she wanted him to. The alicorn frowned harder and raised her hand in the air once again. “I’m losing my patience, Dart.”
The dragon in question growled faintly before answering. “Gems…lots of gems. More than I’ve ever seen before. Wagons full of the most pristine gemstones that could possibly exist.”
“Who?” Twilight pressed again.
“Some mare with white fur. She didn’t say who she was,” he answered with a grunt.
“We’re gonna need more than that, Dart,” I growled out, now beginning to lose my own patience. “What color were her eyes? Her mane? Did you see her cutie mark? Did she have an accent? Scars? Anything?”
Dart grimaced and went silent again before her magic lashed out silently, and one of Dart’s eyes suddenly became a milky white. It took a moment before I realized just what Twilight had done, as she warned, “Keep trying my patience if you want to be completely blind.”
“Blonde mane with silver streaks, orange eyes, some kinda uppity accent, and her mark was of a feather! T-that's all I know!” he squealed out, sounding to be on the verge of a panic attack.
With a gathering of energy and a flash, a truthteller crystal appeared in the air in front of Dart’s face, and Twilight asked, “Did you lie to me or withhold information regarding my questions?”
My eyes widened as Dart struggled, his face contorting as he fought to hold back, only for him to blurt, “...the mare promised she would make Ember forget she ever met any of you.”
Twilight’s eyes widened briefly before she snorted and shook her head. A whip of her magic lashed again, and Dart’s eye returned to normal. The ring of magic then disappeared and his “little dragon” retreated before the sheen of aura disappeared from his body, and he dropped to the ground in a heap. Then, without warning, the discarded claw Twilight had thrown aside flew back to the stump of his arm, and reattached with a flash of light. Dart glanced down at his returned hand, flexing the digits as his mouth dropped open in shock.
The alicorn shook out her mane and fluffed her wings before saying, “This was a warning, Dart. You now know just a fraction of what I’m capable of. If you cross me or my loved ones again, I will lock you in a reality of eternal torment until you lose your mind and become nothing more than a gibbering fool. I’ll then make you my own personal pet, and I might take you for walks on a leash if I’m feeling in a giving mood. Your legacy will be forever tarnished, and everyone will know it was because you sold your soul for a few cartloads of gems.”
“They will know regardless,” the familiar booming voice of a giant dragon said, just before his massive maw closed over the dragon Twilight was going to spare, and the trap snapped shut. Most disturbing, there was no screaming, no blood, and no indication Dart had been there in the first place. One moment, he was there, and the next, Torch’s massive head was pulling away as he chewed with a closed mouth, and swallowed.
We were all frozen in shock as we grasped the fact that Torch had just killed one of his own clan right in front of us. No charge or trial, just immediate, silent death.
It was then we noticed that the massive dragon was covered in blood, nearly all of it his own, as it was seeping from innumerable wounds across his body. The giant once more moved his head down to the ground as he explained, “This was a coordinated attack, daughter. After the whelp…” Torch paused briefly, glancing at me, “Spike dominated Dart and his posse, they began sowing dissent within the clan. This eventually led to a riot that was used to keep the rest of the clan busy, myself included, while Dart and a few others came after you directly.” He glanced at all of us, frowning briefly. “I still don’t approve of your ‘arrangement,’ but I won’t sit by while a member of our own clan tries to harm you.”
The shock of it all was still wearing off, but Twilight elbowed me as she hissed, “Spike, that mare! I know who she is!”
“She’s that one that worked for Rosy Glow. Said she was a sen-something,” Ember answered.
My jaw dropped as I now recognized the mare. “Gilded Quill!”
Rarity loudly gasped and shouted, “Why didn’t you tell me you three met Gilded Quill?!”
Ember now looked at Rarity in confusion. “Why does it matter?”
Rarity stomped over to Ember and got right in her face as she seethed, “Everyone that has gotten in the way of House Gem in the last fifty years has ended up missing or dead, and that one mare is always somehow involved. No charges have ever stuck, due to the fact she is very good at her job, but make no mistake: Gilded Quill is not just the seneschal, she is House Gem’s primary enforcer and assassin. She never meets with or speaks to anyone unless she is targeting them, so the fact that she was one of the attendees when you three were in Canterlot is very bad news!”
Twilight chewed on her lip before looking up at Torch. She lit her horn and began charging a spell, waving her hands around to form a floating spell diagram. Once fully formed, the diagram burst to life and she pushed it toward Torch. Multiple tendrils of her mulberry aura leapt out and began swarming around Torch, sealing up his wounds and washing away the blood. After only a few seconds, Torch looked like new, and Twilight nearly collapsed as her diagram did, only Ember’s supportive arm keeping the alicorn from falling.
Twilight breathed heavily, groaning as she raised a hand to her forehead, likely to try and rub away a headache that was forming. After a few quiet seconds, Twilight once more looked up at the giant dragon and frowned. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry we brought trouble to your clan, Torch. I guess you were right about us after all.”
Torch himself looked impressed at both Twilight’s spellwork, and her apology. Regardless, he snorted and shook his head as he once again rose to his full height. “No. As much as I would like to pin the blame on you Equestrians, the fact that members of our clan were willing to sell their honor for a few gems speaks of a much bigger problem that has been growing within, it seems. This kind of behavior would be unthinkable only a hundred years ago, and yet here we are. And, as Ember has pointed out, we have isolated ourselves from the rest of the world, so we have no one to blame but ourselves.” His eyes once more looked down at us as he snarled. “And don’t look so smug, bug-pony. I still don’t trust you Equestrians…but I can admit you are not at fault for this failing. As much as I am loath to admit it, we will need to depend on each other to clean up this mess.” The changeling in question was definitely smirking, but said nothing.
Ember stepped closer to her father as she held the alicorn against her. “How is the rest of the clan faring, father?”
“I have already taken care of the troublemakers, Ember,” Torch answered with finality. “Don’t ask how unless you truly want to know.”
Seeing what he had done to Dart without a moment’s hesitation, I personally didn’t need to hear it. Ember seemed to think the same, if her silence was any indication.
“And mother?” Ember asked cautiously.
Torch tossed his head behind him. “Protecting the whelps. Like you, she is unharmed.”
With that statement, the reality of what just happened crashed down on me, and I stomped over to the only slightly larger dragon, snorting in protective anger. “Torch, Dart nearly killed Ember. I felt her heart stop. She was clinically dead for five seconds.” I pointed a claw at Twilight, who was still breathing heavily as she recovered. “Twilight saved your daughter, and used a spell powered by the blood of the other four here to heal her mortal wound. If it hadn’t been for her, Ember’s body would be growing cold as we speak.”
For the first time, I was able to see obvious fear on Torch’s face as he looked over the group gathered in front of him.
Torch swallowed hard before softly asking, “Is this true, Ember?”
Ember hugged her alicorn herdmate close as she looked up at her father. “Yes, it is. I felt it, dad: I felt my heart slowing, even as my fire fought to keep me alive, but it wasn’t enough. I tried to say my goodbyes, but all that came out was my own blood as the world got darker and darker.” The dragoness shivered as she shook her head hard. “And then…there was nothing. I wish I didn’t know what dying feels like.” Her voice trailed off, and she looked down at the ground, frowning hard for a few quiet moments. But then, she smiled and raised her head, looking at Twilight. “But then…I felt her. Twilight’s magic was reaching out, bringing me back. The next thing I knew, all of them were standing over me, and I could feel Twilight’s magic surging through me…just before I yakked up a bunch of blood.” All of us grimaced at the last part, and Rarity was once again looking a little green, but Ember just leaned over and nuzzled Twilight affectionately and said, “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to repay you for this.”
Twilight, still winded, smiled and shook her head. “I did it for me, too. I…I don’t want to have to live without you. You’re important to me, to all of us, so I couldn’t just do nothing when you needed me most.”
Ember continued smiling at Twilight, leaning in for another nuzzle before turning her eyes back to her father. “Twilight saved my life, dad. I’m here because of her.”
Torch took in what he had been told, and what he was seeing, and sighed heavily. He lay down gently, being careful not to drop to the ground too heavily. Once he did so, he moved his face over so that he was as close to eye level with the ponies and changeling as he could be. He looked over each one, his giant horns nearly preventing him from getting close enough to them.
Finally, the giant dragon closed his eyes and let out a long breath. Once he opened them, he softly said, “Twilight Sparkle of Equestria…you have my thanks.” He again looked at those gathered and added, “All of you do. You have saved Ember, and you have my gratitude for that. But now I have to ask all of you to be brave once again, and stand by my daughter.” Torch looked at his daughter and sighed heavily. “You need to address the clan. Tell them what happened, and what you are going to do about it. I dealt with the ones that brought this chaos, but as dragon lord, it’s your duty to soothe the worries of our clan.”
Ember nodded firmly to her father, and glanced at all of us. “Well, it looks like we’re not done just yet.”
It took some doing, but with some clever words and the looming support of her father now, Ember was able to calm down the clan, for the most part. Many of them were still anxious about what was happening, and were rightfully skeptical about how all of this seemed to happen when a group of Equestrians arrived in their home, but Ember was able to address most of their concerns, and there were thankfully far more clan members in support of Ember than against her. Twilight projecting my memory of Dart trying to rip Ember’s heart out of her chest probably earned us some understanding too, but I’d like to think Ember was just that well-liked.
Following that, we all retreated to Ember’s cave, and Twilight spent almost an hour putting every charm and ward she could think of on the place, or at least the ones she could manage after exhausting herself earlier. And, true to her words, Ember was now wearing her armor even though we were in her cave. I hated that she felt it was necessary, and even more that I agreed with her. After all: it happened once, so it can happen again.
Fluttershy had spent the better part of an hour tending to each and every injury I had, even though most of them had already scabbed over. For once, I didn’t question it, and just let the pegasus dote on me as we all tried to remain calm in the face of the fact that apparently Rosy Glow’s reach extended all the way to the dragon lands, and was not above causing chaos in another nation if it meant getting what she wanted. Much as I knew Ember was comfortable in her home, I knew I would feel much better when the waygates were up and running and Ember could spend much of her time in Ponyville, in the most well-defended structure in the entire nation.
I also tried my best to keep myself calm in the face of Ember’s haunted expression, having been one of only a few individuals alive that knew what it was like to die.
Said dragoness was sitting on a bench-like portion of the stone wall, staring at the opening that led to the tunnel toward the entrance, as if waiting once again for Smolder to come running through a second time. Smolder had left some time ago, realizing there wasn’t much more she could do than promise to check on us every now and then, but I could tell she didn’t like leaving Ember in the state she was in. Even amongst us, her herd, who she admitted she cared deeply about, Ember was a shadow of herself.
“Okay Spike, those butterfly strips should keep the gash on your cheek closed until it seals on its own, but don’t mess with it,” Fluttershy advised, her voice equal parts loving and caring as she finished her work. She took the damp gauze she had with her and wiped the remaining blood from my cheek, smiling at me. “There. And in a week, you’ll be as good as new.”
Smiling back, I leaned forward and kissed her nose. “Thanks Nurse Fluttershy. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”
The currently-transformed pegasus smiled at me, her fangs glinting in the light of the cave. “Well, you wouldn’t be able to stitch your wounds closed properly, that’s for sure. And Rarity couldn’t do it without losing her lunch.” After packing up the remainder of her supplies and closing the satchel, she then frowned briefly before looking back at me. “But please try and keep this to a minimum, Spike. You know I’ll always do whatever I have to in order to help, but I don’t like seeing my herd hurt.”
I glanced at Ember. “Yeah…that makes two of us.”
Fluttershy sat next to me, leaning her head against me as she sighed heavily. “What can we do, Spike?”
I glanced down at Fluttershy, frowning a bit. “I don’t think there’s much we can do. I mean, what could we say that would make it easier for someone to deal with their own mortality?” I looked back at the dragoness and grimaced. “Unfortunately, it’s just going to take time. We will do whatever we have to in order to support her, and in time, she’ll come around.”
Twilight walked into view from across the cave, where the bed was located. She had apparently awakened after her nap to recover from all she’d done that day, and the alicorn immediately headed over to Ember. She sat next to the taller dragoness, not even hesitating to wrap an arm around Ember’s waist and a wing across her back. Twilight leaned her head against the shoulderplate of Ember’s armor, which I knew couldn’t be very comfortable.
Ember didn’t move for a long time, and we watched as she just accepted the embrace of the pony without reciprocating. But then, a choking sound came from her. And then another. Then a barely stifled whimper, until finally, Ember nearly burst into sobs as she reached over and clung to Twilight like she was the only safe port during a hurricane. This brought all of us to immediate attention, and the entire herd wasted no time in quickly crossing the cave from wherever we were and joining the hug to surround Ember and Twilight with our supportive presence.
It seems that whatever horrors Ember had felt from the day had finally hit her full force, with her body’s fight-or-flight now deactivated, and with the support of her herd nearby. And so, we held a dragon lord as the shock of the day finally allowed her to feel everything she hadn’t been able to allow herself to feel until that moment.
After a few minutes, Ember sniffled loudly before looking at the group, grasping the bandaged hands of the four who had donated their blood for the spell to save her. She pressed her nose against each one gently, saying a quiet thank you to each member before letting out a long, shuddering breath and sniffling again.
“I don’t know if the right words exist to say what I want to say, but I’m gonna try,” Ember began, running the back of one gloved hand across her nose before continuing. “You all literally bled to save me, and I’ll never forget that. I’m here because of all of you, and I…” She growled softly and shook her head. “When I say that I owe you my life, I feel like that’s not enough, and it’s silly because you did this to save my life. But I feel like I need to make up for the sacrifice you all made to keep me here.”
Twilight moved so that she could look up at the dragoness. When she caught eyes with Ember, the alicorn just smiled with a soft blush as she said, “We did it because we care about you, not because we were expecting something in return. We care about you, and none of us are ready to let you go. Maybe one day, hundreds or thousands of years from now, I might be ready to let you go off to whatever lies beyond this world, but not now.” Twilight leaned forward, and for the second time that day, kissed the dragoness on her nose, pulling away with a muted giggle. “I love you, and I want you to stay with us for as long as you can. I’m sure the rest here will agree that we want you with us for as long as possible.”
“She’s right, ya know,” Applejack added, giving her own assured smile. “‘Sides, you said ya wanted t’start a fam’ly with Spike. Can’t do that if ya ain’t around no more.”
Rarity flipped her unstyled, yet still beautiful mane, and smiled at her dragoness herdmate. “And what kind of alpha mare would I be if I did not do everything I could to protect and support you when you needed it the most? If that means I need to sacrifice a little blood to do so,” she raised her bandaged hand, “then so be it.”
Ember smiled at the words of encouragement and support from the herd, reaching out to touch each of the six gathered around her. “Well…thank you, all of you. I’ll do the best I can to be worthy of the care and support you give to me.”
“You already are,” I answered, leaning over to give my own kiss to the cheek of the dragoness in front of me, “and that’s why we do it. You’re stuck with us, and we’ll make sure we’re stuck with you.”
We all once again lapsed into silence for a few minutes, just soaking up the presence of each other as we collectively, once again confirmed to ourselves that we had survived another crisis, and Ember was alive and well.
Eventually, the dragoness said, “I still don’t know what I’m going to do, knowing I’m not safe in my own home. I can’t rely on others to protect me all the time; we need to do something to eliminate the threat.”
“Gilded Quill isn’t stupid enough to allow any of this to be legally traced back to her or House Gem,” Twilight glumly replied, blowing a frustrated breath out of her nose. “If she’s been in this business as long as she has, it’s because she’s very good at not getting caught. We’re going to need some help.”
I raised a brow and glanced at Twilight. “Do you have a plan?”
She bobbed her head from side to side. “I have…the beginnings of a plan. When we get back to Ponyville, I’m going to need to make some calls and do some research, but I know what I need to do next.” She looked at Ember as she said, “I should have that portal up and running only a few hours after I get back. I’ll figure out how to get a more efficient model built later, but I won’t leave you alone here without giving you a way to escape if you need to. As much as I hate to agree with you, you’re right: it’s become clear that you’re not even safe here, in the dragon lands. Rosy Glow clearly has it out for us, and we don’t know how far she’s going to be willing to go to make you go away. Because not only did you show her up in Canterlot, but now you’ve foiled her plans twice. She might get desperate, and we can’t rely on the rest of your clan to keep one dragoness safe, even if you are the dragon lord.”
“That sounds like a good plan, because I just barely managed to talk my father down,” Ember advised as she slowly shook her head with a rueful smile. “He was so close to flying all the way to Canterlot and just burning all the lands of House Gem to ashes.”
“Well I’m glad he didn’t, then,” I returned with a grin. “Much as I’m coming around to the idea that maybe that entire house just needs to disappear, it would cause my mom a lot of problems, and I don’t want to be at odds with your father just because he was trying to protect you. Equestria is still my home, after all, and I’ll have to stand with Equestria if something like that happens.”
Standing up, Rarity tossed her head over to the bed in the far corner as she started removing her blouse. “Well, we can worry about that tomorrow. For now, we should sleep so that we can begin the day with clear, healthy minds. Come dears, let’s dress down and prepare for a good rest.”
The herd began to disperse one at a time, until it was just Twilight and I still gathered around the dragoness. Taking my outstretched hand, Ember stood and began walking over to the others before stopping and turning back to the alicorn behind her. She pivoted and stepped forward before embracing Twilight again, the pony wasting not a moment before returning it.
After a brief time, they released each other, but before we broke apart, Ember spoke. “Y’know…when Cadence asked me if I loved you, I wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t know what love really was at that point, other than the love I had for Spike. But now, I understand.” She put both hands on the shoulders of Twilight and smiled at her. “I do love you, Twilight. I mean, you saved my life; how could I not?”
The flush that had retreated from Twilight’s face returned full force, but she returned the smile with one of her best. “Th-thank you, Ember. That means a lot to me.”
I recognized those words meant quite a bit more to Twilight than they did Ember, and in a different way, but I would let Twilight tell Ember in her own time. For now, we had other things to worry about, and Rarity’s recommendation of rest was a good idea. With that in mind, the three of us walked over to get ready for bed, and to prepare for whatever tomorrow would bring us.
Whatever happened, no matter what Rosy Glow or the world threw at us, we would withstand it together, as a family.
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Rosy Glow, huh? Any relation to a certain Cozy Glow?
Very well done. and the bad dragons are going to become a real pile of SH*T! because of it! LOLOLOL
I hope the fight between Luna, and that other dragoness happens soon as well.
12015460
Very much so. There's an entire chapter about it
I am SOOOOOOOOO glad I had finished my coffee by the time Twilight spoke of her own past relationships. That woulda sprayed out my nose when the name of one was mentioned. XD
12015496
Which one?
12015528
Cream Heart. Mostly because of the implications that may mean for Button Mash.
12015553
I'm well aware of the ridiculous amounts of clop one can find of Cream Heart, often including her son. But there is no clop in my story. Instead, you can imagine her as an attractive single mother who many leer at due to her physical beauty, and open, inviting personality. I just thought I'd include her as a little reference, as well as let the readers feel jealous that Twilight got a taste of the mare.
12015584
Oh I was more laughing about the notion of Button being in the royal family if things had gone well enough. Awkward gamer nerd needing to dress fancy every now and again and all that. Or just his reaction when he found out who his mom was sharing a bed with. XD
12015601
True, there is that. Unfortunately, only Cream Heart and Twilight know what happened between them.
Celestia is going to need an entire sub trunk of the Derk Clerks to deal with everything Glows and Gems have got up to.
it being over a year since the last update, maybe i forgot if this was ever addressed. Wheres the dragon lords staff? That staff that the dragon lord wields that allows them to totally control and dominate other dragons. Why didn't she use it here?
I've missed this story; it's so good to see an update!
12016008
In this story at least, the Bloodstone Scepter controls physical fire (not the magical cores of dragons) which would be useless against a dragon. Beyond that, it can track a dragon the owner wants to find. Not very useful as a weapon.
Might have taken you a while, but what a chapter to come back with. I wouldn't have minded the wait anyway, but man... That was a ride and a half. I'm still kinda processing. And you kinda forget how incredible massive Torch is.
12016151
He's ridiculously large.
12016128
Quite the downgrade i see. Makes sense, that OP staff would have trivialized things here greatly.
12016425
Exactly. Much less to write about, and no character building conflict.
Radiant Dawn, you have created a really interesting, well thought out and written story. I am really glad that I picked up and marked this story so I can keep up with it. Even though I would like a tiny bit more sexy fun to happen between Spike and his herdmates, I can see that, at the moment, they are going to have to deal with the stupid nobles in Canterlot for what they did to Ember and Spike. I know you told someone in an earlier comment that there is no clop in this story, I am still holding out hoping that there will possibly be at least some sexy fun sometime near in the future or near the end of the story. Anyway, Radiant Dawn, you are awesome for creating and continuing this great story. I wish you the best of luck for your health and creativity with this story and possibly any other stories you may write in the future. Stay safe and keep up the amazing work.😆👍😆👍
12016462
I certainly have no problem toeing the line, but no clop will be in any of my works. There will be hugs and kisses, minor touching, nudity, and certainly no issue with the characters talking about sex, but there will be no graphic descriptions of sexual acts. Spike is in a healthy relationship with females he has known for a long time, and they aren't teenagers or young adults. I have already confirmed the fact that Spike is sexually active with two members of his herd, with the others to follow, but I won't be specifically describing what they do together, because it's not the focus of the story.
12016733
Ok. Well, either way, you've made a great story anyway. I wish you the best of luck with your current and future work/stories. Stay safe and keep up the amazing work.
Loved the chapter. Wasn't exepting, this great job.
12016754
I appreciate it, and I do hope you stick around for a non-clop romance story, even if it's not normally your cup of tea.
12018886
12018994
I will. This is a good story. I usually stick around for stories with good story telling, descriptions, and the such.
Great chapter. Wasn't excepting flutershy to be the most horny minded, and it went dark fast, nice reminder Twilight can be scary.
Glad to see Ember safe, can't wait for Gem house to fall. I wonder how Celestia and luna will act upon hearing about it.
It was nice to see some Spike action, hope to see him getting stronger.
With this chapter, you juste showed how dangerous dragon and Alicorn could be.
I couldn't believe you have ember die like it even if she was saved after.
Loved seeing mad Twilight againt Dart and threatening him to be her pet. You don't mess with the princesse of frindshiep and her loved one.
Loved that chapter.
12019294
And you also got to see that Twilight's power isn't endless. Sure, she's absurdly powerful and a genius, but her power and intellect are not infinite.
12019430
The lack of true security is going to be an ongoing theme, and though traumatizing for the herd, the experience will bring them closer together as a family.
Your back! And that waiting was worth great chapter. And gem house really push their Luck with missing with the dragon teritory. Can't wait to see wath kind of plan Twilight got for them.
And damn, Spike dragon instinct are really strong, Can't believe it overtak him this easely after his training.
Cat wait for more.
Great chapter.
First a attempted assassination and now this? Hope rozy Glow get waht she deserv later. And me that thought this chapter would be chill.
Nice to see Spike use more dragon Magic, hope to see him use it more in the futur and become stronger.
Loved the chapter.
Great chapter. Loved how you made the dragon so dangerous in how they andle thing. Can't wait for Luna arrive and seeing her réaction.
Great chapter. Can't wait to see Twilight plan againt rosy Glow.
Loved it.
Hopefull now that the bad dragon where deal, no other dragon will try chalenging Spike for Ember.
Nice to see some use of blood Magic, i am surprise pony blood is compatible with dragon or the blood Magic make it work.
I guess now all that is left is to deal with Saphirra. I wonder how the fight will go.
Great chapter.
12037474
Thank you. It's going to be a complete domination, but one meant to humiliate, not kill.
Amazing chapter.
I can't wait for Saphirra and learning a bit about Spike clan hystory as Saphirra was hinting Spike being the last of his clan early.
Loved reading this story.
I wonder if the gem house will be the main antagonist or there will be other.
Any idea when the next chapter will be?