The Shadowbolts Adventures

by DragonShadow

Spike the Dragon Babysitter

Being the Dragon Lord was a big responsibility. The Dragon Lands were massive, as befitting the engines of destruction who inhabited it. Keeping control of such creatures was a task for only the strongest, wisest, and most cunning of those creatures. Rarely was Dragon Lord Ember summoned outside of her lands, and even more rarely would she respond to such a summons. But getting an urgent summons from her first, and currently only, real friend was enough to bring her straight to Ponyville.

Ember set down on the dirt outside the palace of friendship with a heavy thump and marched rapidly up to the large double-doors, flinging them open with a single mighty shove of her claws. Her armor glinted like fire in the orange rays that rained from the sky as she marched into the foyer with her claws tensed and ready at her sides.

"I came as soon as I got your message, Spike!" Ember's sharp eyes cast around the room for any sign of danger. "What did you need..." Ember trailed off when all she saw was Spike sitting in the center of the room with a dazed look on his face. There were 5 tiny dragon whelps flitting back and forth across the room, two of them on wings and three on foot. Perhaps related to this was that the walls and drapery were on fire in numerous places, and there were several shattered pieces of pottery strewn across the floor.

"Spike?" Ember approached her friend with a confused look. "What in the world is going on here?"

"Heeeelp..." Spike muttered meekly. "They're so fast, and they're destroying everything!"

"Well duh, of course they're destroying everything, look how flammable and fragile the stuff in this house is." Ember stamped down on one of the rug-flames, putting it out with her tough, fireproof scales. "Where did these little guys even come from?"

"Two of them are girls..."

"That's not even close to the point." Ember raised one finger. "Are these babies yours? Who's the mother?"

Spike waved his claws in front of himself. "No! They're not mine! Er... technically..."

"Technically." Ember tapped her foot expectantly.

Spike blushed. "They're, uh... from another dimension where it looks like I've started a family with one of my good friends from Fillydelphia?"

"Mmhmm." Ember pursed her lips. "Do you do anything like a normal dragon? At all?"

"I don't even know how normal dragons have babies." Spike protested, then practically disappeared behind his blush. "N-not that I'm asking! Look, I just need help managing these little guys. I promised to take care of them but I have no idea what I'm doing."

"And what makes you think I know how to take care of babies? I'm a Dragon Lord, not a Dragon Babysitter." She added with a grumble, "however much Garble makes me feel like I'm babysitting sometimes."

"But you're the only dragon friend I have."

"I thought you said you had a dragon friend in Fillydelphia."

"You're my best dragon friend!"

Ember smirked wryly. "Right."

"Please, I don't want you to stay long, I just need advice on how to take care of a dragon. That's it..."

Ember winced at the sight of those big, wet puppy dog eyes. It was as embarrassing as it was heart-melting. "Fine, fine! But dragons aren't that complicated." Ember looked up as one of the drapes fluttered down from the window as a pile of ash. "First of all, there's a reason dragons live in caves. All of this flammable cloth has got to go."

"Aw man, all of it?" Spike whimpered. "Rarity's going to be so mad that I took down all of her pretty decorations..."

Ember smirked and crossed her arms over her chest."Would she prefer to see it all turned to ash?"

Spike's eyes followed another piece of drapery as it slowly fluttered to the ground in burning pieces. "Uh... no, not very likely."

"Then let's do this." Ember cracked her claws together and slapped the front door closed with the tip of her tail.

Dragon-proofing the house involved chucking almost anything made of cloth into a barn Applejack generously donated to their cause. It was lucky that this particular tree was, for some reason that escaped Ember, made of crystal that could stand up to the whelps' fiery breath. Once all of the cloth was gone, they began bringing in chunks of stone from the nearby mountain to fashion into serviceable furniture, melting and molding it into shape with white-hot bursts of dragon fire.

Spike ran a claw over the stone sofa as Ember set it down in the main living area. "Wow, these are pretty awesome. I totally feel like a dragon now, at least until... hey, how long does it take dragons to grow into adults?"

Ember shrugged. "I don't know if you've noticed, but no two dragons are identical. Could be a few years, could be a few months."

"Really? So, technically, I could already be an adult?" Spike twiddled his thumbs. "I mean... is it possible I'm never going to get bigger than this? Outside of greed-rampages..."

"Sure, it's possible." Ember raised one claw to give Dogmeat something to perch on, where the tiny dragoness curled up into a ball in the palm of her hand. "It's also possible this is as big as these little guys are gonna get. But if that's how it is, that's just how it is, you know?" Ember pulled the tiny dragon closer and began to stroke her back with one finger. "I've never been one to judge based on size, as you well know."

"Heh, yeah..." Spike smiled.

"Well, I'm glad we got the palace ready for dragon-raising, anyway." Ember wiped at her brow with the back of one hand. "Why didn't you get Twilight to help you, anyway?"

"And prove that I can't keep my promises?" Spike blushed.

"You ponies have some weird hangups." Ember smiled as she watched the babies begin to slow down. Fatigue seemed to finally be catching up with them. "Hey, it's been a long day, why don't we put these guys to bed and relax a little before I head home?"

Spike nodded. "Sure, let's set them down in their room, and then Rainbow Dash set up a chillaxing room near the roof. We can use that."

"Right behind you." Ember followed Spike upwards through the crystalline tree palace. They stopped off in the room next to Spike's to deposit the now-sleeping dragon whelps in their now-stone bed before making their way further up the steps.

Her lips pursed in thought as they neared the roof. When they reached their destination, she finally began to take off her armor piece by piece. "Do you really not know how dragon mating works?"

"Guh? Well... uh..." Spike blushed deeply. "Nobody's ever been able to tell me before... I know there are eggs involved..."

Ember laughed as she dropped her gauntlet to the floor and plopped down in the comfy chair right beside the magical looping water in front of them. "Maybe I'll clue you in some time."

"With... visual aids?"

"Don't push it."

"Right." Spike plopped himself down on the chair beside her, so that they could spend the rest of the day chillaxing and bonding with light small talk. It had been a long time since Ember took some time away from the Dragon Lands. It was definitely nice to spend such time with a good friend.

Comments

[Yami Vizzini]

Well then, we've got some ripple effect already, if only in the decor of the local embassy/seat of government. At any rate this was a nice breather.

It was definitely nice to spend such time with a good friend.

[MythrilMoth]

> You spent a long time with Dragon Lord Ember...

[DeltaXeno1138]

I can't help but wonder if Equestrian Mina will show up.

[Samey90]

"I don't even know how normal dragons have babies."

In many fics, that line would lead to Ember showing him how...

[KnightMysterio]

8288612
With visual aides. :3

[Dustcan]

I've always wondered if Gauntlet of Fire had aired earlier or the Shadowbolt Adventures came later if Dragon Shadow would've used Ember instead of Mina.