Stories of True Love

The Pony and the Dragon

Part One

In the marketplace of Ponyville, two identical young ponies, twins about 10 years old, were walking around, seeing what could be good to buy. But, they did look different from most other ponies. They are the youngest kids of Applejack and Spike.

One was a colt that had a wild green mane with tiny green spines going down a scaly dragon tail, a tangerine orange coat, and his draconic eyes were a light teal. He also had freckles on his cheeks, paws in the front, and hooves in the back. His cutie mark was an apple having the same light green and yellow coloring as a pear.

The other beside him was a filly that had her green and purple striped mane tied back with her tail the same colors, a purple coat, and she also had the same draconic light teal eyes. Like the colt, she also had paws in the front and hooves in the back. Her cutie mark was a topaz in the shape of a pear.

The two eventually saw something that seemed interesting. There was a cloaked figure heading out of the marketplace. It seemed a little too big to be a pony, and it was bipedal. They decided to follow with a simple shared nod.

Once they saw the figure leave the market, it headed to the outskirts of Ponyville. The two little ones watched with anticipation as the figure removed the hood covering its face. They quieted a gasp of surprise when they saw that the figure was a dragon.

The dragon seemed feminine and stood a few inches taller than another dragon they knew. Her scales were cyan blue, she stood on her two feet, she had curved horns on her head, and her eyes were an amber color.

The filly decided to make herself known. "Hi, there." She said, making the dragoness spin around in surprise and the colt tried to pull the filly back.

The dragoness looked at them like she was seeing a ghost. They were ponies, but the colt had a dragon tail, they both had draconic eyes and paws in the front, and the filly's coat color is a purple that is eerily similar to the purple of the scales of the only dragon she knew who lived in Ponyville.

The filly smiled at the dragoness. "I'm Pear Gem, and this is my twin brother, Apple Pear." She introduced.

The colt, now known as Apple Pear, grinned nervously at the dragoness, showing tiny fangs in his mouth.

The dragoness seemed to calm down her nerves. "I'm Ember." She said.

Pear Gem smiled widely. "Welcome to Ponyville."

Ember chuckled. "Well, it has been a while since I have been here in Ponyville."

Apple Pear raised a curious eyebrow. "You mean, you have been here before?" He asked.

Ember nodded. "It's been a few years since I last visited."

Apple Pear then eyed a satchel Ember had over her shoulder. "What do you have in there?" He asked, pointing to it with his paw.

Ember opened the satchel, showing many different gemstones, all sparkling and glittering. The twins' eyes widened, seeing the yummy jewels inside. They both smiled widely, showing dragon fangs. "I was looking for someone to give these gems to. If he would even want to see me again after all this time."

The twins looked at each other in a sideways glance. If she was really talking about who they have an idea is, then he isn't here in Ponyville. He's in the Crystal Empire, along with their mother, and some of their favorite aunts and uncles.

Ember saw the hungry looks in the twins' eyes as they looked at the emeralds, sapphires, and rubies in her satchel. If she was right about who they are, then it couldn't hurt. She grabbed two of the gems and handed them over.

"Go ahead." She said.

AP and Gem looked at the large emerald and the pink diamond in her claw with surprise. "Thank you, Miss Ember." Apple Pear said, taking the emerald and putting it in his saddle bag, while Pear Gem put the diamond in her own.

"It was nice meeting you." Gem said as she and her brother left the dragoness to head back home. Ember smiled fondly at the two as they ran off and away from the market. They really were a lot like him.

A few minutes, Apple Pear and Pear Gem arrived at Sweet Apple Acres and into the kitchen. There, they saw their two older siblings preparing dinner. The eldest, Apple Jewel, was pulling out an apple pie out from the oven, while the second eldest, Apple Shield, was preparing two tables.

Apple Jewel was 14, and had an orange coat with little freckles on her cheeks, a straw blonde mane, and green eyes; but they weren't draconic. Out of the four of them, she was the one that looked the most like a pony, but when she smiled, she had fangs. Unlike her youngest siblings, she had all hooves. Her cutie mark was a ruby in the shape of an apple.

Apple Shield was 12, and he also had an orange coat, but his mane had a purple cut, looking like spines, a dragon tail with the same spines, and his green eyes were draconic. Just like Jewel, he had all hooves as well. His cutie mark was a red apple on a golden shield.

Apple Jewel then noticed that the twins had entered the kitchen, and placed the pie on the second table. "Great, you're back." She said.

Apple Shield finished putting the last fork on the first table. One of the tables was for the adults; seating eight, and the second table was for the kids; seating eight as well. AS then noticed that there was something in the twins' saddle bags.

"Hey. What do you two have there?" He asked, pointing to the saddle bags.

Apple Pear and Pear Gem saw where their older brother was gesturing to. They reached into their bags and pulled out the gemstones. Jewel and AS had their eyes widening in delight at the delectable gems.

"Where did you guys get them?" Jewel asked. "You didn't get any of the gems from Dad's collection or from Aunt Twilight's castle?"

AP shook his head. "No, we got them from the market, from this dragoness."

Their elder siblings' eyes widened again, this time in shock. "A dragoness?" Apple Shield asked.

"Yeah." Pear Gem said, tilting her head curiously.

The two elder siblings looked at each other, but then both jumped up when they heard hoofsteps coming down the stairs.

"Hide them." Apple Jewel hissed to the twins', and they both quickly did so with Apple Pear asking, "Why?"

"For some reason, Granny and Grand Pear don't like talking about something that happened to Mom and Dad concerning a dragoness before we were born." AS explained. "We know they're hiding something, but every time one of us asks, they both get so upset, they won't talk."

"But, that dragoness AP and I met earlier seemed really nice." Gem said. "I wonder what happened."

"Me, too." Jewel agreed. "But, we'll talk about it, later."

Granny Smith and Grand Pear (it was a miracle to see that these two were still alive) took their spots at the table.

Next, it was their Uncle Big Macintosh and Aunt Sugar Belle. Their two children, Apple Bright, who was strong like his father, and Sweet Pear, who was a unicorn like her mother, sat down with the four other Apple kids.

Finally, there was their Aunt Apple Bloom and Uncle Pipsqueak, or Uncle Pip. Their young daughter, Apple Butter, took her spot, while her parents sat at theirs; Pip helping his heavily pregnant wife sit down.

After supper and heading over to their beds, the four Apple Dragon siblings thought that if they can't ask their great-grandparents about what happened with Applejack, Spike, and Ember, then maybe they can ask their other relatives. Big Mac doesn't talk much, anyway. The others, Sugar Belle, Apple Bloom, and Pip, they might know, since Sugar Belle had Apple Bright when their parents were wed. Then that is who they need to talk with first.

The next morning, Granny Smith and Grand Pear had left for the market, so now, it was time to act. The Apple Dragon siblings went to their Aunt Sugar Belle, who was cooking breakfast.

"Aunt Sugar Belle?" Apple Jewel asked. The unicorn magically put down the whisk and turned to her nieces and nephews.

"What's up, you four?" She asked.

Apple Shield took a deep breath. "We want to know what exactly happened with our parents. You know, with Ember."

Sugar Belle froze. "Now, you know that Granny and Grand Pear don't like us talking about it."

"We know." Apple Pear said.

"But, we met Ember yesterday, and she was really nice." Pear Gem explained.

Their aunt sighed. Well, it seems that history is repeating. She thought. "I suppose you have the right to know." She magically moved some chairs over to the four Apple Dragon siblings. "You best take a seat." Once they did, she began to explain.

"You remember how your parents first met, right?"

"Yeah." Jewel said. "When Dad and Aunt Twilight first moved to Ponyville." Sugar Belle nodded. "And that they both started to develop feelings for each other after the Timberwolf incident."

"Yes, but there were a few complications before they began to act on their feelings." Sugar Belle said.

Applejack kicked hard at the base of the tree, and apples came tumbling down into the baskets down below them. She wiped some sweat off her brow while some trailed down her orange coat. Her blonde mane was sticking over her shoulder with the perspiration. But her green eyes were glowing with satisfaction as her work would soon end.

"Psst!" A whispered voice caught her attention. "Applejack!"

The mare in question turned to where the voice came out. From behind one of the trees, there was a very familiar dragon who towered a couple of inches above her, with purple scales, edgy green spines, and matching draconic eyes.

AJ came over to him. "Spike! What are you doing here?" She asked. It sometimes still amazed her that only a few years ago, he was only up to her shoulders. Spike have had quite the growth spurt in those recent years.

Spike seemed nervous as he looked around the area. "Not here." He said, and beckoned her to follow him.

Applejack raised a confused eyebrow, but followed him anyway.

Soon, they found a spot near the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, where the breeze was cool and soft. Applejack noticed that just nearby, the symbol of the love between her parents stood. Once they stopped walking, AJ placed a hoof on Spike's shoulder.

"All right now, Spike. Now what is all about?" She asked.

Spike took a deep breath. "You know that I'm the ambassador of peace to the Dragon Lands." Applejack nodded, gesturing him to go on. "Well, even though Ember is my friend, and she has visited a few times before, but I still get nervous, since dragons are still adjusting to friendship."

"Come on now, Spike." Applejack said. "You're doing a mighty fine job, teaching the dragons about friendship."

"Well, Ember will be coming here again in a couple of days." Spike explained. "She told me that things have been improving, but I'm not sure what else I can do."

AJ only smiled. "Hey, you have learned a lot since you first came to Ponyville, right?" When he nodded, she continued. "Then, you have what it takes to help your kind understand the things that you do since you have lived with ponies your whole life, right?"

After another nod, she placed her hoof on his claw, both of them feeling a spark when they made contact. They looked up into each other's eyes, green meeting green. Not breaking the eye contact, Applejack spoke again. "Besides, ya know that I'll always be here if ya need me."

Applejack didn't understand then, but recently, she had been getting a warm fuzzy feeling when around Spike. She knew that she developed a soft spot for the dragon ever since the Timberwolf incident a few years back. But now, she feels on air whenever he's around her. But what is it exactly?

Spike was going through the same thing as he gazed into AJ's emerald green eyes. Ever since he first met her, he knew that there was a certain appeal about her. And ever since the episode with the Timberwolves, he get the same feeling about her like he did with Rarity. However, recently he noticed that the heart-thumping sensation he'd get around the sophisticated unicorn had greatly faded. And now, when it comes to the country mare, that emotion had turned to her and was increased tenfold.

But, to both of their disappointment, Applejack removed her hoof and turned her gaze away. "Remember that, okay?" She said.

Wanting to feel that spark again, Spike touched her hoof and secretly relished in the feeling as if the warmth of Celestia's sun was in her gentle touch. He took in the appearance of the friend he always knew he could count on. The sweat that had beaded her forehead was gone as the coolness of the breeze cooled her down. At that precise moment, the sun shone its beams on her, making her blonde mane gleam like gold and her orange coat shine in the sunset, despite some dirt splotches.

"You know I will." He whispered.

AJ felt her cheeks slightly flush as she looked into Spike's draconic eyes. She hoped that the red color wasn't showing. But, despite the embarrassing heat she was feeling in her face, she smiled softly at him. When he returned it, they both felt heat course through themselves. The good kind of heat.

"Wait a minute!" Apple Shield said, who was on the edge of his seat with the rest of his siblings. "Dad was an ambassador to the dragons?"

Sugar Belle magically put down her whisk again, as she was still preparing the batter while she told the story. "Well, he still is." She corrected. "But, it has been a while since he had helped the dragons understand friendship."

"And you had mentioned Ember." Apple Jewel added, but then froze as the realization hit her, Apple Shield, Apple Pear, and Pear Gem. "Are you saying that Dad and Ember were old friends?" When their aunt nodded, the four Apple Dragon siblings were in shock.

Author's Note

A/N: I got this idea when I would re-watch The Perfect Pear and by rereading CartoonNerd12's fanfic story, It Runs in the Family. So basically, these are all love stories featuring the Mane 6 pairings in starcrossed positions, kind of like Romeo and Juliet. Geez, I really am a sucker for this mushy stuff. But, I am a girl. I guess it's natural for girls to think about romance at least once in their life. And what better way than to start these love stories than to let history repeat?

These are in alternate universes; just a heads-up for those who might get confused. Some stories might also include spoilers as time goes on, so I'll let y'all know before that happens.

Also, some familiar OCs will appear in these. I don't know what some of them look like exactly, but in either case, they all belong to their respective owners, except my own.

I will divide each love story in three parts. I only own Apple Pear and Pear Gem. I hope I'll see you guys soon, with Part Two. Please let me know what you think.

Got to fly! ;)