Spike's Ember

Contains spoilers for S6 EP5 of the official show. Don't read unless you have seen it or don't care about spoilers.

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Spike awoke in the middle of the night, a horrid feeling in his whole body and his scales itching intently, a faint glow emitting from his body.

"Oh Celestia...is it something I ate...?" Spike asked himself quietly, grabbing his rumbling stomach with both claws, stumbling to the bathroom. As he looked in the mirror, he saw himself glowing like the previous time that the Dragon Lord Torch had called him and all other dragons to compete to become the new Dragon Lord in the Gauntlet of Fire. Needing to win to keep Equestria safe from the dragons' malicious plans for the ponies upon them gaining the position, Spike had taken part to protect his kind. With the then-Princess Ember and Twilight and Rarity helping him, Spike claimed the Scepter of Bloodstone and the right to be Dragon Lord, only to surrender it to Ember and allow her to claim the title instead. He knew she would keep the ponies safe, knowing even from his short time with her that she wasn't the ruthless type that many dragons were. Knowing that she was something else entirely.

As Spike groaned again, he went into the restroom and did his business, finding that urinating felt especially tingly today as he did. As the tingling only intensified when he'd finished, Spike moaned, grabbing onto the counter as he doubled over as another cramp struck him.

Spike had just had his nineteenth hatch-day two weeks, and with that had come a number of changes. First and foremost, he'd finally sprouted a pair of wings. Everypony had been very impressed when Spike had grown his wings, the large membranous wings having formed as small nubs on his back soon before him hitting eighteen. A week after the celebration of his nineteenth, they'd somewhat painfully pushed their way out of his back, leaving him with two large wings at long last.

The process had been worth it though, leaving Spike now able to fly like his brethren, to be free to go where he pleased all on his own. However, those wings came at the cost of what seemed to be a dragon's mating instincts coming in as well. The urges were usually minor, with him just taking a healthy interest in the mares around town now, but now it seemed to be something more serious.

"Spike, what's the matter?" Twilight asked groggily but concerned, clearly having heard his moans of pain and walking into the bathroom. She was drowsy-looking, her mane a mess and her wings' feathers awry, clearly having been awoken from a deep sleep. Spike was nearly doubled over now, gripping the counter for support with one claw while the other scratched wherever it could reach, his whole body tingling with the glowing magic that accompanied a summons from the Dragon Lord.

"Oh Celestia, it's time. Spike, we need to talk."

Twilight had sent a letter questioning what was happening with Spike as his behaviour was changing to Ember, with the response being what she was expecting, to an extent. Containing something she now needed to discuss with Spike, no matter how embarrassing it may be.

"Spike, I've noticed how since you turned eighteen and your started to wings grow in, that you've been taking an interest in mares quite a bit more." Twilight said, noticing Spike now looking at her curiously, "Well, after observing that, I sent Ember a letter questioning it." Twilight paused, bracing herself for this. "Spike, Ember sent back a letter that explained to me that around their eighteenth birthday, most dragons would start to feel an urge to...mate...during the late Spring to late Summer, the dragons' natural breeding season.

Spike's eyes widened a bit as the subject og mating was brought up, with this a bit of a sensitive subject for them. Still, he listened carefully; after all, if Twilight of all ponies was telling him this, it was for a good reason.

"Ember explained that for drakes it would be a burning sensation in their...crotch...accompanied by sensitivity to the touch and muscular aches as a side effect from the hormones they produce to increase their production of... reproductive cells. The urges to breed would grow until they had mated and relieved their...burden, or until the breeding season had ended."

Spike moaned out, his voice having lost a few octaves as he'd grown older, leaving it a rich baritone. This combination of sensations made him feel like like he was slowly dying, the urge to rub his genital slit almost overwhelming, but not more than the one to scratch every inch of his body, his state clearly leaving his body very sensitive to stimulation. "T-Twilight, are you saying this is all...because I can make babies now?" Spike asked, another surge of pain and nausea going through him.

Twilight cleared her throat, a blush burning on her face as she discussed the dragon facts of life with her son. She'd previously taught him about pony reproduction when he'd grown old enough to wonder why mares and stallions kept away from each other for a couple of weeks at a time during Spring through Autumn, as well as why she always gave off a funky musky scent during those times, with her teaching him all about estruses and where foals came from. It would seem this was a repeat of that, but with the breeding habits of his own kind now.

"Yes Spike, you can successfully mate now it would seem. The reproductive cycles of dragons are similar yet different from ponies from what I've been told. According to the letter and the very vivid and...descriptive...scrolls about their mating rituals Ember sent me, the dragoness and drake both go into a breeding period similar to a mare's estrus, leaving both desperate to find a mate and end it. Said breeding period, like with ponies, will only end for a drake when they breed successfully and for the dragoness when her eggs are fertilized, or when Autumn comes and her eggs are reabsorbed naturally."

Twilight frowned. "Unlike ponies, however, there is no 'cooling-off' period after a few days of heat and no way to 'relieve' oneself outside of actual mating, not even for a little bit. External masturbation will never let a dragon of either sex 'get off', and will by contrast only make their urges more intense for a while. Once those urges start, it's a full four months until they end fully if not satisfied properly." Twilight said, nearly wishing she'd brought a bed to crawl under after saying all that so frankly.

Spike moaned unhappily at the bad news, another pulse of pain mixed with an itching-burning need originating in his crotch, then radiating through his whole body. Added on to that was the magnified itching from the Dragon Lord's calling, leaving Spike in great discomfort. "...it seems that Ember is calling me too, and it itches. Celestia help me, this is Tartarus...I've died and been sent to Tartarus..."

The glow around Spike perked Twilight's interest. The last time the Dragon Lord had called out like that, back when Torch was still in that position, it had been something very important – namely the passing of his title to a worthy heir – so surely this time was something equally as important. "Spike, you should answer the summons," Twilight said flatly, wincing as she heard another pained moan from him, hearing his claws raking against his scales as he fruitlessly tried to scratch the itch. She knew what she was implying, with Spike, a young, virile young drake being among fellow dragons during his first breeding season, but she couldn't see him suffering like this, let alone for another four months! Plus he had a reason to go, as he was being Called. "I'm sure Lady Ember has a reason for calling you."

Continuing to scratch his itches and holding his lower belly, Spike nodded. He knew how dangerous the Dragonlands were, having visited Ember a few times as he'd grown – and nearly having lost his tail once or twice there – but knew he couldn't endure months of this agony. "I...I think you're right Twilight..." Spike muttered, forcing himself to stand upright, with him towering over Twilight now by a head in height, "Are you going to come this time?"

Twilight shook her head. "No Spike, I think this is one journey your should take alone." Twilight knew that Spike was no longer the baby dragon she'd hatched, indeed growing into a large, strong young drake, his body now thickly-scaled and his frame heavy. He also had a pair of powerful wings which could let his escape any threat or his sharp claws and teeth with which to defend himself if escape wasn't an option. She also knew what this trip would likely involve, and wanted no part of that act.

Spike sighed and nodded, knowing such to be true. Every time he went to visit Ember, he'd found himself growing closer and closer to her, quickly finding himself liking her the same way he used to Rarity when he was still a young dragon; feeling his heart throbbing every time she was near him, his breathing increasing, and when she hugged him....he melted into it every time. They'd kept in contact with letters when they couldn't be physically together, with each updating the other every couple of weeks with what was going on.

Spike liked Twilight coming along with him to see Ember, but something deep inside of him told him that this time would be different, involving more than just a friendly chat and snuggle.

"I think you're right Twilight...I'll go alone," Spike said, feeling another unpleasant tingle rolling through him but getting more used to it as time went on. "I love you Mom."

"I love you too Spike," Twilight said as she watched Spike leave the bathroom, smiling softly. "be careful..."

After preparing a few things for his journey, Spike stepped out on the balcony and spread his huge wings out to their full wingspan of a full ten feet. As he looked back to Twilight, with her seeing him off, he smiled at her and she smiled back. With that, Spike beat his wings and took off, waving behind him to Twilight as he flew south to the Dragonlands.

"Go ahead Spike, you go fulfill your Calling..." Twilight whispered and smiled, having neglected to mention the second letter Ember had sent her regarding the traditions of a Dragon Lord during breeding season. "...go make me a grandmother."