Author's Note

Thanks to my wonderful editor Tide Hunter for the edit and all! I know it is a bit of a bland chapter but this was just mostly to get out the rough dialogue before the main events.
Now, something to note as I am getting bombarded with the Deadpoolish thing over in comments... Death being female is been around through most religions, especially since I am Hispanic and death is depicted as female. To worship death is not an evil or bad ideal but to worship that life and death are beautiful in their own ways and should be respected.

As a person whom has brushed with death so often, I respect her, in everyway. You never curse death, but accept it. You never hate it, but understand its purpose. You never seek to stop death, but embrace her gift. She to us, is our savior. She helps us sleep when our bodies have lived and she guides to the after life. Peacefully and without hesitation.
Never fear her, instead understand that she is without end, she is without rest. Until time finishes, she must do the work that no one will ever understand.

Death's Lesson

Death Likes Me Rough
Death’s Lesson

Ember, Spike and Peewee all reached the dragon lands before nightfall. The various dragons out and about were either just turning in for the night or finishing up their daily activities. Ember flew past them all without a second glance, not even when a few dragons called to her.

Spike saw that they were approaching a large pointed mountain where a small cave opening was located on the top. He thought that this might be her private quarters and that it may have belonged to dragon lords prior to her. They flew in the cave, with a big enough of an entrance to allow her wingspan and a bigger inside, where it lead towards the center.

Here, Spike stared in awe as the cave was large, with the center point being the peak of the hollowed mountain. Landing, Ember created a heavy gust as she hovered on the ground and gently landed. She then slowly lowered Spike onto his legs. He shakenly stood on his two legs, with Ember supporting him. Peewee landed right beside them and looked towards his master.

Spike stabilized himself on his two feet before looking around in awe at the cave. It was as big as the room where the map of Equestria and the seats are in the Castle of Friendship. Off to the wall were collected relics of various items including pony, gryphon, dragon and other species relics. Next to them was a large hill of gems, gold coins and other various treasures. The middle held a giant pillow, easily big enough to hold three or four ponies, or two dragons like him and Ember. At the back, a large bowl or tub that was carved of rock, which held rainwater, was under a hole to the outside. At the very center of the ceiling, a hole the size of himself was from where the starry night sky was viewed.

“Wow,” was all he said. Ember gave him a smile.

“Not bad for a dragon lord, huh?”

He looked at her and gave a small chuckle.

“Not bad at all, though maybe I shouldn’t have given you the Scepter if I had known I would be getting this cool set up here.”

Ember snorted and gave a grin.

“Sorry, no giving back what was recieved. At least, not until the next Gauntlet of Fire.”
“And when is the next one?”
“Hmmm… in about 1000 years from now.”
Spike faked gasp and mocked out loud.
“But that’s forever from now! I can’t wait that long!”
Ember tsked and before approaching and place her head near his. “Well, we are everlasting, so maybe while we wait we can… enjoy each other’s company.”
Spike’s face grew red and Ember began to brush her muzzle to his, her eyes becoming a seductive half-lid. As she began to press her body against his, a loud ‘caw!’ disrupted them.
Both turned to looked down at the phoenix who seemed irritated by their display in front of him. Spike gave a snort this time.

“What? You don’t even know what we were about to do!”
The phoenix covered his face with his wings, telling them they were about to do something he didn’t want to see. Spike rolled his eyes.
“And like you would understand it.”
Peewee ‘cawed’ in anger once more, hoping on his feet.
Spike gave a cocked eyebrow.
“Since when have you seen dragons going at it?”
“Caw, aroo.” Peewee said.
“Really? That close?”
Peewee nodded.
Ember, who was just next to them, looked peeved at the interruption but also seemed confused as the two conversed.
“You… understand him?”
Spike gave a small nod.

“Uh, a few things come through, and something that mother taught me with Philomena is that they are more intelligent than you know. They can be extremely smart but their vocabulary is limited to roughly 500 words,” He paused. “Any new words have to be burned into their psyche after several ‘rebirths’. Peewee lived with me for three seasons before I had to send him back to the wild.”

He then turned to his little friend. “Thanks for your help again Peewee! I wouldn’t be alive without you.” The phoenix gave a happy ‘caw’ of love, rubbing his head against his master’s leg. Ruffling his head feathers, he slowly made his way past him towards the pillows.

“I think that… after a day like today, I would like to rest now.” Ember walked by his side with Peewee doing small hops next to him. She allowed his weight to rest on her and guided him to the pillow pile. Once there, she eased him onto the pillows, a grunt of discomfort left him as he settled onto the pillows where the cushions compressed around him.

Once his full weight was on the pillows, a sigh left him. He then looked at his wrists and legs where the holes were once gaping open. What was there now was skin with small tiny scales beginning to form around the patched wound and a numb itching that had taken over ever since Peewee saved him.

“I didn’t know these fire birds could heal wounds,” Ember said, easing herself next to him. He shifted and allowed her to come close. Peewee also came though when he felt himself sinking in, he settled on Spike’s knee and stood there perched.

“Yeah, they have magical tears that can heal all wounds. Open wounds, burns, poisons, broken bones though take a bit longer, and even life threatening wounds can still be healed. Though they can’t heal you if your heart is destroyed or your brain is gone. That’s impossible.”

“Yet their magic worked on a dragon?”

“I didn’t even know it would work,” he answered, reaching a claw and rubbing the underside of Peewee’s neck. The phoenix happily ‘purred,’ which was a soft growl in the back of his throat. “Dragon magic is unaffected by pony magic, yet I hatched from it. I saved Equestria from an evil tyrant king, made of crystals and magic that varied from that of regular ponies, and got transformed by it. Twilight used magic that allowed us to travel through time, which allowed me to see different versions of Equestria and I came unharmed from that. I saved and raised Peewee from an egg, he imprinted on me and after he grew, I set him back to the wild. Now, years later he returns to rescue me.” He then looked towards her with a smile. “I don’t think you and I fully know how magic works but we can acknowledge that it works in mysterious ways.”

“It sounds like something to come out of a stupid pony book,” snarked Ember.

Spike gave an ‘oooooh’ sound.

“Your lucky Twilight didn’t hear you say that.”

Ember snorted.

“What would she do if I said to her, huh? Pony magic don’t work on dragons, remember?” she playfully mocked.

“True, but she wouldn’t need magic to make you regret your words.” He then smugly crossed his arms. “Take it from a dragon whose lived with that mare for 16 years, if you diss her, you better hope the dragons will protect you until the bitter end.”

Ember rolled her eyes at his remark. She however saw his eyes drop, and his mood seemed to drop as well. An inevitable question was about to be popped up and she felt his eyes lock onto hers.

“Please don’t,” she almost whispered.

“If not now, when Ember?” Still in pain, he grunted as he tried to sit up right. Peewee ‘cawed’ at him in worry. He pushed his arms, hissing in pain, to hold himself before turning to Ember. “I want to talk about it.”

Ember growled internally before sighing, smog leaving her nostrils. With an angry grunt, she jumped to her feet. She walked away from him, beginning her rant. “There is nothing to talk about. Those ponies deserved to die. They tried to kill you, they nearly took you away from me… from us. Your family, your ponies, dragons and all others who depend on you.” She then snapped her attention back towards him. “They needed to understand that no one messes with dragons.”

“B-But to slaughter them like that? To kill them so… violently.”

Ember held in the worst of her anger towards him.

“It was a message! A message that should be spread! We are only doing to them, what they did to you!”

“Then will it always be like that?” he half mumbled, looking down. “Will ponies and dragons always be at each other’s throats if it means that if one messes with the other, we should always turn to violence?”

Ember didn’t respond, and instead she huffed, allowing more smoke to leave her nostrils. “I can’t believe you would think that ponies like that deserve to live for what they did to you, for what they planned to do to…”

“So should I tell Twilight to get revenge on Garble for attempting to attack them and nearly getting them killed? Should I allow Garble to suffer for that?”

Ember snorted. “He probably deserves it. Especially after the Gauntlet of Fire.”

Spike sighed in annoyance. “You’re not listening.”

“Doesn’t matter. What’s done is done, Spike. They are gone now, your friends are going to look for the pony who planned this, and if he steps a single hoof in dragon lands, he will suffer more than those ponies ever did.”

Silence followed soon after. Spike tried to look at Ember but her back was turned to him in defiance. Meanwhile, despite not fully knowing the full situation, Peewee felt awful for his once-master’s predicament. Spike was now emotionally in pain, with his physical still lingering on him, making him look half dead. Which in truth, was not far off from where he was earlier.

Spike knew that this was not going to go anywhere. Ember was dead set on hurting or killing anyone or anypony that was going to go after him. More so, he knew that despite his love for her, and her love for him, they would always be worlds apart on certain views.

When he confessed his love some time ago, she hadn’t fully returned it but held him close. Then, as time would go on, their letters to each other became more personal. His growth with wings and body helped improve his stature and image. She began to slowly realize that it was his pony side that made him a wonderful dragon. One whom was strong but caring to those around him. Assertive but protective if need be. Putting others above before his needs, essentially making him less greedy than most dragons. The fact that he gave her an amber gemstone, the size of her head, which sparkled when in the light of the sun or fire, made her realize that he was truly special.

“It matches your eyes and it’s bigger than anything I have ever given to anyone.” He told her that, when he finally built the courage to finally ask her out. It wasn’t a traditional way of doing things, but it certainly got her attention and her love. Soon, they officially hit it off with Ember proclaiming her love for him… only between the two of them and his friends.

“And what happens a day where someone else causes me pain or kills me? Will you burn Equestria to get them?”

“In a heartbeat,” she growled. Her anger lingered a bit more before she sighed heavily and shook her head. Turning away, she brushed her right arm with her left. “You mean more to me than any other dragon or pony in the world. You’ve shown me kindness I never knew existed. I can’t afford to lose you if you d…”

“And that is not something you can control,” he stated in a harsh tone. “Death will always surround me and I will always be around her. In truth, the amount of times me and my family have encountered death, are probably in the double digits.” There was no lie there, yet he also knew he was treading on dangerous territory with his words, letting slip that death was female, but he felt that this was the only way to get Ember to listen. “Me personally, I have been at Death’s door so many times, we are practically best friends.” Again, really stepping into dangerous waters. “But you shouldn’t allow that to turn you into some… monster who goes around killing ponies because they tried to kill me.”

“Your own mother nearly got you killed Spike!” She half screamed. “Your own mother practically made it so that you could be captured!”

Spike paused at that, before shrugging causing Ember to growl.

“Who hasn’t?” he said evenly.

Ember blinked at that.

“What?”

Spike slowly raised his claws and counted with each claw digit, his arms protesting as he held them up.

“I mean, who hasn’t tried to or just nearly got me killed? I was raised by a scientist with OCD and been subject to many tests. I have been at the end of dangerous sports with pegasi, been at the barrel of a party cannon loaded with solid candy…”

“And those were caused by ponies!”

With his other claw, he counted.

“I was nearly killed by another dragon when I was still a baby,” This caused Ember to hesitate, with Spike continuing on. “Got nearly ripped to shreds by a giant Roc when I molted, nearly died when a draconequus turned Equestria upside down, got captured by Storm Creatures…” He paused and gave her a look. “Should I go on? What about the time during the Gauntlet of Fire, you left me to go after the Scepter? I could of died then and there.”

“You were safe in that area!” she argued.

“Was I?” he countered.

“Ugghh! What would it take for you to understand that there should be a punishment for those who have literally tried to kill you? Yes, those other things happened but these ponies tortured you! They enjoyed doing so and it nearly ended you!”

“Yeah, but…”

“But nothing Spike! Please… just drop this,” she begged. He watched as her face cracked with more emotions. “Every time you bring it up, I want to go back and make sure they are dead, and if not, to do it myself. I made the others do it so you don’t see me do it.” Her claws tighten in her palms, she held back a half sob. “I wish to see the one that hurt you against your will burn to ashes by my flames! I want to eat his heart in front of him because he nearly took mine away!” That was the tipping point and she dropped to her knees. Peewee jumped in surprised with a squawk and Spike’s eyes widen at seeing the strongest dragon he had ever seen break so completely apart. Tears began to fall down her cheeks. “I-I-I can’t lose you to them!” she softly sobbed. “I can’t! Y-You were raised by them! They were supposed to be better than us!” She then made a half crawl towards him. In arms reach, he painfully reached out and grabbed her, pulling her on top of him.

Despite his body protesting in pain, he hugged the weeping dragoness. His arms groaned as he held her tightly, while his body fought to keep him from blacking out as she crushed him with a tight hug. A soft ‘caw’ came from Peewee. Spike saw his friend was feeling uncomfortable in this situation. A small turn of his head to the outside, was all he gave Peewee. Without hesitation, the Phoenix took a silent exit, leaving the two dragons to themselves.

Ember continued to cry over and over again how she ‘couldn’t lose him, when she just got him.’ He felt an inner turmoil as he wanted to assure her that he wouldn’t leave her but at the same time, he wasn’t even sure himself. Nothing was assured and despite him dying and coming back in the amount of times he has, he was sure that even he had a limit. Would there be a day where his head was severed? His heart ripped from his chest? A magical spell that would obliterate him? Death planned for him a life to live, but how long was yet to be said.

At one point, he remembered she said it was a thousand, then his future was altered and maybe his life as well. Who's to say that tomorrow would be his final day. He lived everyday as such, even when he felt that Death would return him; he made sure that those around him saw his joy for life and those he cared for. His friends, his family, and the world around him saw him for it. So he felt that now, he had to enjoy the other aspect of life and that was love.

Ember and he were together but they have never been ‘together’. Maybe this was a change in his future. He was to be with Ember more, the ponies that died, they were his fault for not stopping her and that this was just the small alteration. Regardless Spike made sure that even if he lived to be a thousand, he would make sure that the one he loved would hear him pronounce his love to her, every day.

Once more, he groaned silently in pain, gently removing Ember from him and looking into her amber eyes. Her eyes were still filled with tears, but she finally seemed to settle.

“I can’t promise that I will live tomorrow,” he stated. “No one knows the future, but I will do my best to make sure I spend as much time as I can with you, if you give the chances I want for others. Ponies may have flaws but they are still entitled to live and make their mistakes. The same goes with any creature.”

“Neither can I promise that I won’t take the lives of those who try to kill you, but I am willing to listen before I do,” Ember replied back. She then began to gently rub herself on him. “What happens next, I hope that I will have you to guide me.”

“Until the end.” She continued to grind on him and he grunted when he realized that she was trying to arouse him.

“Uh… Ember?”

“Hmm?”

“I know that… we are having a moment, but uh… if we do go at it, I don’t think I will survive and I really doubt you would get anything out of me with no blood going below.”

She paused.

“Not even a little?”

“… I’m a little low… not size wise, but the blood that may go there might be all that I have left and I need what’s left to go to my heart.”

“… You nearly dying is the best excuse you got. Cherish it, because when you get it all back, you’re going to be in the same position, but I will use you until I am content.”

“Duly noted.”