Rehatching

by Wynd_Dragon

Chapter two- Options

“Ember!” Twilight shouted as her friend started to wake up.

“What happened?” The dragoness enquired massaging her forehead with one claw as she used the other to help her stand up from off a strange sofa.

“You fainted, darling,” Rarity chimed in, “Right after you saw Spike.”

“I don’t faint.” Ember asserted a slight edge to her voice.

Applejack countered, “Then you sure picked an odd time to take a nap.”

Ember glared in response to the statement.

“Now, now” piped in Fluttershy who had found some courage after seeing Ember so vulnerable while resting. “I think we all want to know what Miss Ember knows of Spikes condition.”

Ember slumped back onto the sofa an annoyed smile forming on her mouth as she addressed Twilight, “You shouldn’t scare me like that, Twilight.”

“Huh,” came the reply of multiple ponies

“I flew here from the dragon lands at my top speed,” Ember answered, “I’m exhausted.”

Twilight was having some difficulty masking her annoyance, “Alright, but what about Spike?”

“He’s molting,” Ember responded flatly, “could I get some gems, I’m starving from the long flight.”

“Well,” Rainbow budded in, “how long is he going to be like this?”

“Depends on the hatching method,” Ember offered in a matter of fact tone, before her eyes caught sight of a bowel of gems on the counter, “would it be alright if I had some of those?”

Starlight levitated the bowel toward her, “Alright Ember, please try to stay focused.”

Ember paused before reaching for the bowel’s contents.

“Sorry,” she offered, “I guess you must all still be worried since you don’t seem to know anything about a dragon’s molting.”

“It’s alright darling,” consoled Rarity, “we just want to know what we can do for him.”

“Okay,” Ember set the bowel down and began, “There are three main methods to helping a young dragon finish molting.”

Raising her index claw, “One, fire-bath.”

She noted the confused looks before explaining, “Usually, for a dragon’s first molting, one or both parents will envelope the crystalized whelp in their fire-breath until the young dragon is ready to break free of its shell.

“It’s perfectly safe for dragons,” added Ember feeling a little nervous when she saw the horrified reactions of a few members of her audience, and then covered her own arm in flame to demonstrate her point.

After a minute, the ponies in the group that had shown fear seemed to calm down and Ember felt she could continue.

“The second method is burial,” the faces of all the ponies present contorted in shock at what they just heard.

Reading the change in atmosphere, Ember quickly added, “It sounds worse than it is.” Then she explained, “the molting dragon is put in a hole or cave with some gems then is sealed inside,

“That came out wrong,” she defended, seeing some of the ponies’ expressions, “you see, the entrance is sealed for the dragon’s protection, and when they’re finished molting they should be able to easily dig their way out.”

Accepting the explanation, the group was able to relax.

“And the third?” Twilight asked.

“Oh,” Ember remembered, “That would be the hatching alter. Some of the wealthier dragons will pay a lot to ensure a speedy molting on the alter. The special crystals in the alter’s cavern quickly transfer the necessary energy to the paying dragon’s molting form.”

“Wow,” responded Twilight, “that one sounds pretty good. How much would that cost?”

Ember thought for a moment, studying the walls of the castle.

“I guess if you chipped this whole place down you might have enough.”

The ponies waited for some kind of punchline.

Rarity was the one to break the silence, “Why would that be so expensive?!” She demanded.

“It takes a lot time and labor to keep an alter like that functioning.” Ember replied with a shrug.

Applejack turned to Twilight, “I know the other methods don’t sound all that appealin’, but I don’t think the alter is an option.”

Twilight nodded, a little disappointed. She then asked, “How long will burial take?”

“Hmm,” Ember scratched under her chin as she calculated, “Well, since this is his first molting, if we can get enough high-quality gems, it should only take about fifty years or so.”

Everyponies jaw dropped, with the exception Pinkie who had done a spit take.

“Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash confronted, “When did you even start drinking that?”

“Well,” defended Pinkie, “our reactions were getting kind of repetitive so I thought I’d mix it up a bit.”

Eyes rolled, at Pinkie’s explanation, before everypony shrugged it off.

However, not being accustomed to the party pony’s antics, Ember still wore a bewildered expression. Hearing a throat clearing noise her attention returned to Twilight.

“Is there any way to speed up the process?” Twilight pleaded, “I don’t want Spike to wake up only to find everything’s changed. On top of that, we’d all miss him.”

The rest of the ponies nodded their agreement.

All Ember could do was shake head.

Everypony became crestfallen, Pinkies hair even deflated a little.

“So,” admitted Twilight with a defeated sigh, “that only leaves the fire-bath option.”

Ember spoke with encouragement, “Don’t worry. Granted having the dragons who hatch him would be ideal, but it should be okay. Even if we can’t find Spike’s parents there are dragon’s that can do the fire-bath for a pretty modest fee.”

“Well,” Twilight hesitated, “Finding the one who hatched him isn’t the problem.”

Author's Note:

Sorry. I know this is mostly dialog. Hope you still enjoyed this chapter.
Please let me know what you liked, and how I can improve my writing style.

Comments

[SideWinder]

The problem would for Rainbow Dash to perform a sonic rainboom at the same I'm casting magic......
Or we have the soul crushing, ever lasting, full fledge power of the sun
Who needs burning

[SideWinder]

Twilight turns into a dragon doen't she

[Wynd_Dragon]

8631168
That's an interesting thought.

[ToffeeL]

Hmm.I thought it would be a bit more interesting story with Spike problem,like an epic adventure for his friends...I can't say anything until the next chapter.I hope it would be better.

[kudamon]

and.....ember learns that twilight is the one who hatched spike...........lol.

but i don't think they should ask celestia for help.

as that is so common in the tv series and in plenty of the fanfics here.

[Mrof]

Interesting idea on dragon life and t g e prospect of it being altered do to spike interesting hatching should be interesting. We already so her magic have an effect on him.

[ShadowXper]

Plz continue

[DGJabberwocky]

Please tell me this story is continuing

[Wynd_Dragon]

9471607
It is. I'm just stuck part way through the current chapter with writers block.

[Chrome Masquerade]

I want to know what happens next!