Lockheart

“Oh, boy,” giggled the Griffin excitedly as she flew over a forest a long way away from Ponyville. Ahead of her was the large tree that housed the once great Kingdom of Griffinstone. Ever since King Grover lost the Idol of Boreas the Griffins had been without their symbol of unity and pride. As a result, the land had degraded into one full of selfishness and apathy. Even so, the female bird-cat stared ahead at her home with starry-eyed enthusiasm as she clutched her mysterious package in her claws. “Almost home! Almost home! Then I will finally get to see what I got from whoever sent me this. It’s an unknown, wrapped inside a mystery, and housed inside a cardboard box. What could be better?”

“Are we there yet?” groaned Spike quietly from inside the box as he cracked his eyes open after a short snooze. It had been hours since she had departed from Ponyville and her tiny stowaway didn’t know how much longer he could stand being cooped up in there. Already, he had eaten and dozed off at least twice. If he had done either more he had been in too much of a daze to recall. “I don’t know how much longer I can stand being stuck in here.”

“Almost home! Almost home!” the giddy Griffin cheered again as if to answer Spike’s question. “I’m so excited to be almost home!”

“Oh, thank Celestia,” breathed Spike, upon hearing that. “Or, uh, whatever deity-like figures dragons worship. I’ll be free of this box soon and be able to figure out my next move. Hopefully by then this shrink potion and Twilight’s magic will wear off of me. If I can at least get back to my regular size I should be able to move about much easier and carry my backpack, but getting back to Tamati or even sending him letters will be impossible without wings or my fire breath. At least I’m far away from Twilight and any ponies that would recognize me. If I can just get what I need from Griffinstone without being seen and then hideout till I’m back to normal that’ll be the best case scenario.”

“Ooh, an apricot tree!” she exclaimed as she abruptly stopped in midair, causing Spike to tumble forward in the box. “They look so ripe and juicy. Time for a pitstop!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” groaned Spike, louder enough for his transportation to hear.

“What was that?” she wondered, looking around for who had spoken, but there was nobody in sight. Inside the box, Spike covered his mouth, sweating as he feared he might have blown his cover. “Maybe it was just my stomach,” she decided after a minute. She gave it a rub as he gurgled and ached for sustenance. “You are quite the chatterbox when you need to be fed.” Giggling, the Griffin swooped to the ground and carefully placed her package on a soft patch of grass before approaching the large, fruit-filled tree to climb it and partake in the fruit growing from its branches.

Carefully digging his way through the cotton candy, Spike used one of his air holes to spy into the outside world. He couldn’t see the Griffin, but as he saw an apricot fall to the ground, followed by some familiar giggling, “Oopsies. Butter claws,” he had a general idea of her location from his own.

“Even if I could sneak away, I can’t just leave my backpack behind,” he contemplated. “And it’d probably be a bad choice to venture out into a forest while I’m so small and vulnerable. Just about anything in here might see me as a tasty little horderve. I’ll just have to wait for her to finish her snack and-”

Spike suddenly paused as he felt a strange feeling course throughout his body. After that, he felt himself suddenly pulse as his body regained a tiny bit of size. Another pulse soon followed and he grew a smidge bigger again. It kept on repeating, soon totalling a return of almost half an inch of size before it stopped. Along with his size, his weight also started to return, causing him to start flattening the cotton candy he was sitting upon.

“I’m regaining my size now?” he panicked barely able to even see his own claws in front of his face in the dark of the box. A few seconds later, he felt that sensation again, adding a tiny bit more of his original mass back to him before stopping till his next growth spurt. “So much for being able to wait till I get to Griffinstone. I’m going to have to get ready to make my move now. I’ll just have to wait till I get big enough to carry my backpack and make a break for it as fast as I can.”

As Spike’s size continued to return to him, he kept a lookout to monitor the Griffin. She suddenly went quiet, worrying Spike as to what she was doing or if she had gone somewhere. That wonder didn’t last long, however, as she suddenly dropped to the ground, the force of her impact like a small tremor to Spike, at his current size. She reached down to pick up the apricot that she had dropped.

“Got you,” she smiled at it. “Now to give you a new home in my belly.”

Spike watched the bird-cat hybrid blissfully chomp on the fruit and lick some of the juice off her beak. Staring at her, Spike couldn’t help but blush at her beauty. Just from how she sounded, Spike already knew she had to look adorable and now that he was finally able to see her, she was even cuter than he had imagined. Looking closer, he saw that she was also very attractive.

In terms of her age, she was close to the ages of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, though, more likely a year or two older than them. She was covered in bluish gray feathers with her wings and the tuft of fluff at the end of her at her tail a few shades darker. She had gorgeous, turquoise eyes that glistened like gemstones. Compared to what Spike had seen in the grouchy gaze of other Griffins that were typically cold, uncaring, and stern, somehow all at once, hers were bright, cheery, warm, and kind. Her feathers were neatly preened and she even had a few made into a ponytail on the back of her head with the aid of a light blue scrunchie.

As Spike figured, of a postal worker, out delivering mail, she had a leather satchel around her neck that was stuffed with a few dozen letters and packages. Rather than a mail uniform on, however, she was dressed in a loose-fitting, blue track suit with a yellow smiley face where one would expect a number to be emblazoned on the chest and back. The pants were held up by a drawstring that was tightly drawn, allowing the curves of her hips and flank to be visible. The jacket was half zipped, revealing a light pink shirt underneath and a pair of b-cup breasts snuggly nested upon her chest. She had on a pair of blue, velcro running shoes upon her lion paw feet and a couple woven bracelets around her wrists. Lastly, clipped upon her jacket was a nametag with, “Gabby,” written on it and bordered with hearts, stars, and smiley faces that she drew on herself.

“So, her name’s Gabby,” figured Spike as he gazed at the Griffin, fawning over her the more he watched her rest on the grassy forest floor. “I knew she wasn’t like most Griffins, just from how she sounded, but I didn’t think anypony could have as much of an excitable and bubbly personality as Pinkie, especially if it’s anygriffin.”

Gabby opened her beak wide as she unleashed a long and weary yawn. She stretched her arms out and even her wings extended out as far as they could before folding up again. “Just a quick nap and then off to Griffinstone,” she decided to herself and removed her jacket to lay it across her like a blanket while she rested her head against her satchel. Staring up at the clouds in the sky, she let out a few more yawns as she started to gently drift off to sleep.

“She’s so carefree,” whispered Spike, blushing at how angelic she was in her sleep, at least till she started to snore very audibly. “And really nice and sweet and… and… and I wonder if she’s seeing anypony.”

As Spike continued to marvel at the enticing taloned cat, he couldn’t help feeling a stirring in his loins that lured his claws to rub at his crotch. All the while he yearned for that fine, feathered female. All the while, more of his size continued to return to him in one little spurt after another till his green spikes started to press up against the lid of the box. Looking up and then at himself, Spike said to himself, “So far so good in growing. If my guesstimation is correction, I should be about a third of my original size before I met Tamati and finally escaped being Twilight’s ‘baby dragon.’”

When his growing paused again, Spike spied out of the box once more to check on Gabby’s current state. “Good. She’s asleep,” he thought. “And I’m finally at a decent size to break out of this box and be able to protect myself till I’ve fully returned to normal.”

Making his way to the side of the box facing away from Gabby, the small, purple dragon dug his claws into the cardboard. With ease, he was able to puncture six holes in it and slide his nails downward to make several narrow strips in the box. Spike did this a couple more times till he weakened the cardboard wall in front of him enough to force his way through and escape its confines.

“Okay,” he figured as he started to scurry away, dragging his still larger-than-him backpack behind him. “I still have no idea how long Twilight’s magic will last, but, at least, I can still do something for Tamati.”

Just as Spike was about to slip away into the forest, another snore from Gabby caught his attention and he turned to look. Gabby continued to rest peacefully. She was still completely unaware of the stowaway dragon that she had carried with her clear across Equestria. “I could just sneak off,” he told himself. However, in spite of what he was saying, the shrunken scaley had turned around and began walking back towards Gabby, letting go of his backpack on the way as his focus narrowed to the female Griffin.

“She wouldn’t even know that she was carrying me,” he continued, passing by the box as a few squirrels had started to poke around it curiously as they sniffed and tasted the confections inside of it. Spike paid them little mind and kept on approaching Gabby. She’ll probably just assume some rodent made a hole her package and ate up some of the sweets inside.”

“Meanwhile, I’ll go about my way, sneaking around to do what I have to till I’d be able to meet up with Tamati again,” he finished as he stood a few feet from the resting Griffin, her size still towering over his, but just looking at her, he couldn’t feel at all intimidated. Taking in a breath through his nose, Spike could smell a sweet fragrance coming from her that only served to keep his mind at ease even more. “Yeah, that’s what I should do.”

Moving even closer to Gabby, he found his yearning for her far too much to resist. Curling up against her chest, Spike soaked in her warmth and comfort as he rested beside her. Closing his eyes, he was eager for when she would awaken and he could work his magic on her, just as he had done so with Pinkie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Tamati would understand,” he yawned and snuggled against her chest. “My harem is still so small and this is one treasure that no dragon would dare pass up.”

Unable to find Spike, no matter how thoroughly she searched Ponyville, Twilight was left with no choice but to head off to Canterlot and report to Princess Celestia of Spike’s unexpected escape. The whole ride over, the purple Alicorn was doing her best to restrain the greatest freakout of her life, managing well for the most part, but the closer she got to her destination, the more anxious she felt. By the time she had arrived in her castle and awaited the Princess of the Sun, Twilight was just a bundle of nerves on the verge of falling apart.

Pacing back and forth in Princess Celestia and Princess Luna’s throne room, she had played through a dozen conversations she could have with the Princess of the Sun, in her mind. She tried all sorts of ways to break the bad news to her, hoping one approach would soften the blow of her failings to both her teacher and ruler. However, no matter what she tried, it always ended the same way, with Princess Celestia horribly disappointed in her and a terrible punishment awaiting her for her failure that only got more ludicrously overblown with every retake she attempted.

“And she won’t just banish me to the moon for my incompetence,” she muttered to herself as she wiped her sweaty forehead. “She’ll even revoke my library card and hang it on the wall of shame for everyone to jeer at. I know there isn’t a wall of shame in the library, but what I’ve done is so bad she’ll make one just so she can put my library card on it! She’ll even dedicate the wall to me and as one of Equestria’s greatest disappointments of all time.”

“Excuse me, your highness,” one of the castle guards called to Twilight from the doorway.

“Y-Y-Yes,” she stuttered, turning to him. All her worrying had left her a disheveled mess with her mane terribly frazzled and her right eye twitching. She tried to hide her tension with a smile, but that mile wide grin just made her look downright psychotic.

“Uh,” he replied, distracted by her unhinged look, but a tap on his shoulder from someone behind him returned his focus. “Oh, right. Ahem, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, the Princess of the Sun, Celesti has arrived.”

“G-G-Great,” she answered, still smiling big that, but a slap to her own face helped her snap back to a better mindset and appear far less crazed from anxiety. Pressing a hand to her chest, she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled to calm herself as much as possible. After that, she spoke far more clearly. “I mean, thank you. I am ready to meet with her.”

“Thank you for announcing me,” Celestia spoke to the guard.

“The pleasure is all mine,” he bowed to her as he stood aside to let her enter the throne room.

Celestia was dressed in a long flowing white dress with a golden trim. She had on open toe high heels and wore golden bracelets on her arms with her sun symbol engraved onto them. She had on earrings to match them and wrapped around her forehead was a shining tiara that was encrusted with a number of precious jewels.

Celestia’s mane and tail were a mix of pinks, greens, and blues that were long enough to reach halfway down her body, but floated and danced upon the air despite the lack of an actual breeze. Celestia’s eyes were pink and her Cutie Mark was of a sun, as one would expect of the princess to that big star in the sky. Like Twilight, she was an Alicorn and, as such, had both wings and a horn. Compared to Twilight’s own set, Princess Celestia’s were much larger than hers or anypony else’s in Equestria. Her height was also staggering, with only a few Ponies able to look at her without being forced to stand back several feet or crane their neck way back to make eye contact with her.

Princess Celestia walked through the large doors to her throne room, elegant and unflappably regal as always. In Twilight’s eyes, Celestia’s flawless appearance was far more akin to the perfection of a God, rather than a simple princess. Compared to her own flaw-filled presence, Celestia’s greatness seemed to shine even brighter against her drab and messy backdrop.

“Please ensure that, for the time being, nobody comes to disturb us,” she instructed the guard before he closed the doors to the throne room. “This is a very personal matter and we wish for the utmost discretion.”

“I understand,” he bowed before her and then shut the door behind him. With a spear in hand, he guarded the door while Celestia approached Twilight to speak with her.

“Twilight Sparkle, my most faithful student,” spoke the ruler of all of Equestria to her fellow princess. Her warm and friendly tone did a lot to ease Twilight’s stress, but to be greeted in such a welcoming manner gave Twilight a feeling of guilt that she didn’t deserve such understanding and kindness after her blunder. “It is so good to see you.”

“It is great to see you too,” the small, purple Alicorn replied to the regal white one that towered over her and all other ponies by quite a large margin. “I just wish it could have been under far different circumstances.”

“As do I,” she nodded, placing her arm around Twilight to hug her. “It grieves me greatly that Spike has chosen to deviate from the path we had attempted to set for him. He could have been the bridge that would have connected dragons and ponies together in unity one day.”

“That wasn’t the way he saw it,” sighed Twilight, slumping onto the ground in depression. “He just saw himself as an experiment, a test to see if Dragons raised from birth could be tamed and controlled so that they could be used as servants for ponies. Now he probably resents all Ponykind and me especially. Not that I can blame him. Looking back, I can’t help but wonder, how much did I stifle his growth and take advantage of him. I called him my, ‘Number One Assistant,’ but was that nothing more than a flashy title for a servant. I thought I gave him what he wanted and what he needed to be happy, like love, care, and a home, but, in the end, I left him with chains and a cage. Just what kind of Pony am I to do that to the one who had been like family to me for as long as I can remember?”

“Twilight, we were not in the wrong for what you have done,” Celestia told her. “You gave him love, care, a home, and most importantly a purpose in life. Spike was brought up in a civilized world with the hope that it would be enough to suppress his primitive and savage instincts. For a while, yes, it did work, but it seems that deep down dragons, no matter how you try to dress them up will always be selfish and greedy monsters at the end of the day.”

“I still wish I knew what caused this change in Spike,” Twilight replied to the Princess of the Sun. “Even though this was an experiment to integrate Dragons into Pony society, I still became very close to him. I raised him practically since birth and tried to take care of him like a parent would. I’ll admit, raising a newborn at my age while possessing no former experience at childcare with Ponies, let alone a dragon, was one of the most difficult undertakings I’ve ever been given. I know I made a ton of mistakes, but, even so, we managed to make it work. I can still, very clearly recall when Spike spoke his first words and read his first book. I was so proud of him I didn’t think my tears of joy would ever stop flowing. Until just recently, I hadn’t even thought about how it was an experiment. The two of us were just living our lives happy as can be. Perhaps it was because I failed to take into account that, eventually, he would go through changes as he matured. Instead of being there for him in this stage of his life, I only got in his way. If anyone is to blame for this failure, it rests solely with me.”

“You did the best with what you had to work with,” Celestia assured her, magicking a handkerchief to Twilight so that she could dry her face. “For all your efforts, you should feel proud. Not many would have been so willing to care for such a creature and even fewer would have made it as far as you have. For now, you should just take some time to relax and clear your head. Go home to your castle and get get some sleep. Read a few of your favorite books too, if you are up for it.”

“You want me to… just go home? But what about Spike?” worried Twilight. “He’s still out there somewhere. I have to find him and make things right between us. Now is not the time to be burying my nose into a book.”

“Just leave finding Spike to me,” Celestia assured her fellow princess with a warm smile. “I will send word across Equestria to keep an eye out for him. We’ll cast a net across all of Equestria, if we have to. Then, as soon as we locate him, we’ll deploy some soldiers to capture him.”

“Capture,” repeated Twilight. “I don’t want him hurt and I don’t want to put Spike in a position where he could end up hurting others either. I can only imagine how scared he must be and, with the bod he’s now sporting, capturing him might not be as easy as you might think.”

“You have nothing to fear,” Celestia added, doing all she could to squash Twilight’s concerns. “I will do all I can to end this conflict without the need for violence. We will explain to Spike that so long as he cooperates with us, no harm will befall him and that he will not be punished for his disobedience. So, as you can see, there really is nothing to be concerned about.”

“But Princess,” Twilight retorted once more. “There is another problem. After restraining him, I told Spike the truth about what was to become of him.”

“You told him what?” questioned Celestia, her tone shifting. The warmth and comfort her voice normally offered those who listened to her was swapped out with one filled with concern. Celestia knelt down beside her student and looked directly into her eyes. “Twilight, tell me what you told him.”

“I told him about the gem caves and about the dragons being forced to work down there,” she said, starting to cry anew. “He knows about all that and how he was going to spend the rest of his life mining for gems as a slave. For all we know he could be out there telling the whole world about this terrible conspiracy. Even if he hasn’t, there’s no way he’ll trust us ever again, not when he knows where he could end up.”

There was a moment of silence between the two of them before Celestia stood back up and started to heartily laugh. “Ohohoh!” she chuckled like she had just heard the funniest joke of her life. “You told him that, did you?”

“Yes,” she admitted. “As much as I didn’t want to, I couldn’t fool him. I convinced myself that I was somehow protecting him if I didn’t tell him what cruel fate awaited him, but now I think I was just trying to protect myself. That if I convinced him he would simply be returned to the Dragon Lands to live amongst his own kind then I could convince myself that that was the truth. But that isn’t the truth. Spike won’t be somewhere happy and safe. He’ll be stuck toiling away in an old cave for the rest of a very long lifetime. That I would try to look away from such a fate and act like it isn’t real would be the most selfish and cowardly thing I’ve ever done. Also, no offense, princess, but it’s in bad taste to laugh at such a thing too.”

“I’m only laughing because it’s been years since I’ve last heard of that old bluff of mine,” she explained.

“Bluff?” questioned Twilight in confusion. “What do you mean it’s a bluff?”

“Well, it all started long ago when rare and valuable gemstones were discovered in the grounds beneath Canterlot,” she explained. “With such precious stones, we knew that Canterlot would be a thriving and prosperous city because of it. We also knew that dragons would be drawn to the stones too so we needed a means to keep them at bay. So, I came up with a simple manipulation, knowing that even the most savage of creatures possess a sense of self preservation. So, we made up a rumor to discourage any dragons foolish enough to trespass in Canterlot into thinking they would be captured and forced to work in our mines for the rest of their days. It proved very effective.”

“But wouldn’t such a story anger them to attack Canterlot and free their fellow Dragons?” questioned Twilight.

“Perhaps if they were Ponies or any creature that has some sense of camaraderie with one another, but Dragons are not one of them. They are greedy and selfish beasts. Should one of their own go missing their only concern would be to find their valuables to take for their own before another Dragon beats them to it. None of them would think twice about attempting a rescue, not that one would be needed since it was not true in the first place. We’d merely stop those that still attempted to raid our home, wipe their memory of the whole day and return them to the Dragonlands with as little worse for wear as possible, depending on how much of a fight they put up themselves.”

“That’s a relief, but then why did you tell me such a lie too?” asked Twilight, looking quite upset at that. “I was really worried about that happening to Spike and now he’s undoubtedly scared to death about being caught and having that happen to him too.”

“I can’t say I recall the reason why I told you that,” admitted Celestia. “Perhaps I simply said that out of habit since that was always my go to when dealing with Dragons in the past. All we will do is erase his memory of his time among Ponies so that he can better adjust to living as a Dragon. I promise you that no harm will befall him.”

“That is a relief,” sighed Twilight, looking a lot better as she spoke. “I’m glad Spike will be okay, but, if at all possible, could we try to give him another chance? He’s had his little rebellious phases in the past, but we always got through them. This one is just a bit bigger than those since, well, he’s a lot bigger now. So, when you find him, please don’t do anything till I can see him again. Maybe if I talk to him like I should have in the first place then he can come back as both the Spike I know he is and the Spike he wants to be. Any trouble he may cause, I’ll accept full responsibility.”

“I will see what I can do,” she promised Twilight, her kind, caring tone back in full force at this point, helping ease away all of the fear and worries in Twilight’s expression. “If he can be convinced to come along peacefully then I will give him that second chance. However, if he proves to be a danger then we will have no other choice but to do as I had originally intended, but if he truly still is your ‘Number One Assistant,’ then you should have no worries in that regard. I hope after hearing that all your worries have been put to rest.”

“They certainly have,” the Princess of Friendship nodded with a bright and cheerful smile as she got up to hug Celestia. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she let all her sorrow leak out of her body and allow this new hope to take its place. “I knew I shouldn’t have doubted how kind and caring a Pony you truly are, not even for a moment. Can you ever forgive me?”

“There is nothing to forgive,” the Princess of the Sun assured her, gently stroking Twilight’s hair. Now, I’ve got some meetings I have to attend to so we’ll have to end things here. A princess’s work is never done, after all. You just leave Spike to me and he’ll be properly taken care of.”

“Okay, I leave his well-being to you,” smiled Twilight. “And, if I don’t get another chance to see him, can you at least tell him how sorry I am and that even if he should forget me that I’ll always remember him.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, Twilight,” promised Celestia. “I will pass your message on to him.”

With another bow, Twilight thanked Celestia for her time and then quickly left to return to Canterlot. Celestia remained in her throne room, smiling and waving to Twilight till she left and was out of sight. When she was gone, the kind and caring look on Celestia’s face vanished and one of agitation and displeasure replaced it. Rubbing her temple, she tried to soothe a pounding headache that had emerged partway through their talk. A few minutes later, she took a deep breath and then made her way out of her throne room too.

As she walked by the guard standing by the door, she stopped and turned to him, the divine and sunny face she typically had on restored to it. “Would you be a dear and have Raven move all my meetings for today and find a way to squeeze them into the rest of the week?” she asked him. “Oh, and if anyone comes looking for me today, tell them that I’m in the middle of a meeting and can’t be disturbed?”

“But you’re moving your meetings so why-” he started to say, but she quickly cut him off.

“Unfortunately, too many urgent matters have popped up today and they will require my full attention,” she informed him. “And it would be too much of a hassle to go into details with the nobles, dignitaries, and anypony else I’m supposed to meet why I cannot see them today.”

“Something else has happened now?” he asked her with concern in his voice. “Something on top of the Crystal Express arriving full of children from the Crystal Empire? What is the world coming too?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted, making her way down the castle corridors and towards the armory. “And I don’t like it. Not one little bit.”

Inside the armory, soldiers were scrambling to get armored up and prepared for battle. Luna was there too, garbed in armor of black silver with a rapier holstered at her side. Her long, flowing hair sparkled like stars against the night sky hung down to her waist. Printed on her right shoulder was a crescent moon against a black blotch of the night, the same as the Cutie Mark hidden beneath her covered up flank.

“Everyone,” announced Luna as she called out to everyone in her Royal Canterlot voice, the volume loud enough to fill the room and extend halfway across the castle as well. “Remember, we are on full alert as of now. We need every inch of the kingdom secured as quickly as possible. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill.”

“Your royal voice is sounding a little monotone,” commented Celestia with a chuckle as she greeted her sister.

“I’ve been telling the soldiers this same message every half an hour for the last three hours,” she signed. “It’s just a relief that this is the last unit we need to deploy around the city’s perimeter. After that, I can finally get out of this silly armor.” Reaching the breast plate, she gave it a tug. “I think I’ve gone up at least half a size since I last put this on. I’ll have to see to it that I get fitted for a new one soon.”

“At this rate you might catch up to me,” Celestia teased her sibling. Looking around, she could see a number of the soldiers had paused and stared blushingly at the royal siblings, unable to help but become invested at a conversation regarding Luna’s cleavage. “But, let’s leave such a conversation for when we aren’t on high alert. For now, I need to speak with you in regards to this matter and another. Can you come speak with me in private?”

“Once these last few finish up,” she nodded before seeing a few of the stallion soldiers hadn’t returned their focus to getting ready. Her horn glowed a bluish purple as she worked her magic, though there didn’t appear to be a matching aura anywhere in the room corresponding to what her magic was affecting. However, it was very apparent to the stallions, who had been slacking, what was the target of her mystical might. Their bodies trembled as their eyes bugged out. They looked terrified, as if they were in, or, at the very least, on the verge of feeling, intense agony. Immediately, they hurried to finish getting themselves prepared, pale-faced and sweating as their hearts pounded rapidly. None of them dared even risk a second glance at Luna after that. The soldiers that avoided that fate didn’t snicker at what just happened, but shuddered and gave their crotches a comforting pat before finishing up too, all the while keeping their gaze as far from Luna as possible. “Shouldn’t take more than a moment.”

“And ponies wonder why you’re still single,” snickered Celestia.

“You know that’s not the reason,” she retorted. “And I wouldn’t be talking. You’re the older of us and there was that whole thousand moons I was banished for. What progress have you made in finding your special somepony?”

“I said we can discuss such things later,” Celestia scoffed. “Now, hurry up. I’m serious about all this.”

A few minutes passed as the Princess of the Moon assigned the remaining soldiers to where they were to be stationed. Keeping their eyes focused solely on hers when she stood before them, they were quick to listen and even quicker to salute her and hurry out of the armory and get out of range of her magic. Once they had all finished fleeing to where they were assigned, only Luna remained along with Celestia who had been sitting and patiently waiting for some privacy with her sister.

“That’s the last of them,” Luna informed Celestia. “Now, we can finally talk. So, tell me, sister, besides this trouble with the Crystal Empire what else in Equestria is going on?”

“You remember how I tasked Twilight with caring for a baby dragon?” she asked.

“Yes,” nodded Luna, taking a seat across from her as they conversed. “That was Spike. You did it to see if being raised by Ponies would domesticate them and remove their fangs and claws, so to speak.”

Precisely,” she nodded. “Raising creatures to grow into big, strong beasts of burden, loyal and even protective of the Ponies around them has been my ultimate goal for the brutes.”

“So, that was your intention in letting Twilight care for Spike?” Luna figured.

“That was mainly a test to see how well a Dragon would adjust to being raised as a Pony in a Pony environment,” she explained. “If things had gone differently then we would have found more proper caretakers to train and teach the Dragons only what we would need from them.”

“I thought your view on Dragons might have changed during my banishment,” Luna commented. “That, perhaps Spike may have been the first step in atoning for what you have done to Dragonkind, but, in truth, you were attempting something even more depraved than the Dragon Mine under Canterlot.” Luna beamed angrily at Celestia as if her stare was daggers that would pierce through the Alicorn’s pure white coat.

“Call it depraved if you want,” Celestia responded, not even flinching at her sister’s stare of disapproval. “I did what I believed was best for our kind, the Ponies, and I did so by taking advantage of the Dragons own greedy nature. They came to rob and steal from us, not caring what they had to do to or who they had to kill just to satisfy their lust for gemstones. I felt it was only right that they be given a fitting punishment for their cruelty, a lifetime sentence of mining for the gems they spilled so much blood for. Now, are you going to tell me that I was wrong to do that?”

“I can’t say if that is right or wrong,” Luna admitted, trying to remain objective to this whole matter. “But have all the Dragons truly done as many wrongs as you claim or has it just become such a fruitful endeavor to help line the pockets of the nobles and yourself that you snatch up more and more residents of the Dragonlands to work their claws to the bone, out of a greed that could easily put their own to shame?”

Celestia paused with a heavy sigh before asking her sister. “Do you intend to get in my way? I’m sure you know just what I’m capable of, if you intend to interfere with your elder sister’s affairs.”

“Banishment, of course,” replied Luna. “And no, I’d rather avoid going through that again.” There was silence as Luna considered where to take the conversation from there. Leaning forward, she decided to pull things back to an earlier point of interest to inquire about. “You said, ‘If things had gone differently.’ Does that mean that something has happened lately with Spike that hasn’t worked out?”

“Yes,” admitted Celestia. “It seems that Twilight lost all control of him once his body started to mature into adulthood. From what Twilight told me, Spike has grown both in size and strength and became too difficult for her to handle. Even so, it is not so much a setback as it is a learning experience for when we attempt the project again.”

“And what of Spike?” asked Luna. “Has he been taken to the Dragon Mines now, too?”

“No,” Celestia shook her head. “This is the matter I needed to address with you. Shortly before he was to be branded and transported here he managed to somehow escape. Not only that, but Twilight blabbed to him that he’d be joining his fellow Dragons in digging out gemstones. Now he’s not only on the loose and who knows where, but he’s also armed with the unspoken truth about the source of Canterlot’s wealth. If he divulges such confidential information to the right Ponies then we will be stuck dealing with the country-splintering fallout such a scandal would bring about. Every equal rights protester will come out of the woodwork and surround the castle. Plenty of other Ponies will likely come, wanting us to share our hoarded wealth with the rest of Equestria. And, if word leaks out to the other creatures, they’ll see this discord as the perfect opportunity to jump in and add more fuel to the fire.”

“And all of Equestria could be engulfed in a world war as a result of this,” concluded Luna, the tension in her tone showing she was well aware of how serious a danger this was. “And what of Twilight? With her history with Spike, I can’t imagine she’d be able to remain quiet about the mines if she knew Spike was to be taken there, even if it meant putting your head on the chopping block as a result.”

“Fortunately,” Celestia added. “I was able to convince Twilight that the Dragon Mines were merely a bluff to discourage Dragon invasions, so she should remain quiet about them, but, she isn’t the one we need to be concerned with right now. It’s Spike and, currently I have no idea where he might be or how he plans to use such info, if at all.”

“This is quite the problem,” agreed Luna, sensing the distress Celestia was feeling as she confessed all this. “Spike could be going around revealing this secret to every city in Equestria even as we speak. The scandal alone would be a disaster to our image and it could very well be a trigger to divide our country apart.”

“I am well aware of that scenario,” sighed Celestia, lowering her head for a moment before an even more stern expression appeared on her face. “Then, there is the possibility that Spike could choose to defect to the Dragon Lands and attempt to unite them against us. Dragons may seldom work together, but with enough riches to satisfy an army of them and all the knowledge he has at his disposal of our land, he could very well lead an invasion right through our defenses. And, considering this matter with the Crystal Empire, we have neither the time nor the resources to deal with two simultaneous threats.”

“Then rather than raising a Dragon for the benefits of Ponykind,” remarked Luna. “Spike has actually been a time bomb just waiting to blow. Who knows how much time is left till he goes off. He may very well have done so already.”

“I do not believe that to be the case, just yet,” Celestia explained. “Though Twilight failed to place a tracking spell on him, she did nullify his flight and flames. Thanks to that, he should be laying low till those spells wear off. For now, we should focus on recapturing him before then.”

“And how do you plan to find him?”
wondered Luna. “Equestria is a big place. Even if you order a high alert for his capture you can’t guarantee he will be found.”

“Which is why I need your help to find him,” Celestia answered. “He may be difficult to find in the real world, but that is hardly the case within dreams.”

“Just because I can visit creatures in their sleep does not mean I can locate their slumbering body in the real world,” Luna explained. “He could be hiding out in a shabby motel while he dreams of sailing the high seas as a pirate or something of the sort.”

“You act like I’m not already aware of that,” stated Celestia. “It doesn’t matter what he’s dreaming, you just need to pry the information from his psyche. From there, cornering him will be a simple matter.”

“Invading one’s privacy to obtain information,” listed Luna in a displeased tone. “Turning my back on my vow to only use my powers to ensure all Ponies can sleep peacefully, and to dirty my hands by helping to cover up this conspiracy of yours. It disgusts me just to have you ask such things of me.”

“You are mistaken in believing I am asking this of you,” Celestia remarked. “You have no choice if you wish to ensure the security of Equestria. If the price for that is one Dragon and to dirty your hands with said Dragon then I’d say it is quite a cheap one. However, the longer we wait then the cost could be raised dramatically to the point it becomes far more than we can hope to afford.”

“I suppose your integrity must be dirt cheap then if you can so easily do this to one who formerly saw you as much a dear friend as he did Twilight,” stated Luna. “Not to mention pull me into the situation so that I can be dragged down along with you should things escalate.”

Hearing such comments from her sister, Celestia let out a very unladylike snort. She then rose up and glared down at her sister as she continued. “Look at it however you want,” she stated bluntly. “I don’t have the will and we don’t have the time to bicker about this. Now, will you agree to help me sweep this problem under the rug as swiftly and discreetly as possible or will I have to handle it myself and risk the situation getting far worse than either of us can bear? Can you sleep well at night knowing what a delay in capturing that Dragon could do to our beloved kingdom? You put it perfectly by calling him a time bomb. Will I be able to defuse him before his timer reaches zero without your help, sister?”

“Fine!” snapped Luna. “You’ve made your point! I… I will find him in his dreams.”

“I knew you would listen to reason,” smiled the Princess of the Sun. “How long do you think it’ll take to locate him?”

“It depends when he goes to sleep,” the Princess of the Moon answered. “It’s late noon now, so I doubt I’ll be able to do much until night time.”

“Then, for now, we’ll consider this matter settled,” said Celestia. “Are there any new updates regarding the Crystal Empire?”

“Not much, I’m afraid,” replied Luna, using her horn to display a simple diagram of the Crystal Empire and the magical barrier surrounding it. She also created images of Ponies attempting to pass through the barrier, only for them to bounce off. “We sent scouts to investigate as soon as we learned about the invasion in the Crystal Empire, but they have not been able to pass through the protective barrier of the Crystal Heart. As of right now, nopony can enter.”

“And the Unicorns in our magical R&D department have yet to come up with any solutions on how we can get in?” the white Alicorn asked.

“Nothing beyond that they are still working on it,” the midnight blue Alicorn responded. “As we were already well aware, the Crystal Heart is a relic of tremendous power. It has been infused with power for so many countless moons that overcoming it with sheer force is virtually impossible. It is even more difficult for us to do anything, especially if we are unable to do anything with it directly. On top of that, the barrier spell that was used upon the heart was very well made. It doesn’t appear to possess any weaknesses we can exploit meaning our only options are either to develop a new spell that can penetrate the barrier or hope that somepony on the inside can do something to let us in. Sadly, we have yet to make contact with anyone inside and, from what the children have reported, it sounds like all the adults are too preoccupied to offer any support on their end.”

“We will have to handle this situation as swiftly and quietly as possible,” stated Celestia. “We were able to gather up the children before their sudden arrival caused too much commotion, but if word of the Crystal Empire’s fall was to get out, Ponies would start to panic.”

“Unfortunately, swiftly might not be possible,” admitted Luna. “Even with our best Unicorns on the job, fast probably won’t be an option. From what I heard while speaking with them, the magical energy needed to have a significant impact on the Crystal Empire will take, at most, a week to gather. On top of that, devising the right spell will likely take even longer than that. If we had Sunburst helping us, his expertise on the heart could have potentially saved us days of time, but, unfortunately, he was also in the Crystal Empire when it was conquered and we have been unable to contact him.”

“That is a problem,” agreed Celestia. “But even if we cannot rescue the Crystal Empire, at the present, we can, instead, turn Equestria’s focus on those responsible for conquering it. What have you been able to learn from the children in regards to that?”

“From the description they provided us,” answered Luna, using her magic to now display an image of a Dragling based on what the colts and fillies had described them to be like. “They look like this, covered in black and insect-like.”

“Then the Crystal Empire was assaulted by the Changelings,” figured Celestia, barely needing more than a moment to consider this. “It makes sense. They feed on love and few places have it as abundantly as over there. Chrysalis has also vowed revenge on a lot of Ponies and Shining Armor and Cadence are high on her list.”

“I can’t argue with you there,” agreed Luna. “But what worries me is that while at first these creatures appear to be Changelings, they have been described as having a number of features more commonly associated with Dragons.”

“Dragons again?” groaned Celestia as she rolled her eyes. “We’ve had little to no trouble with those overgrown lizards for quite some time and now we’ve got two huge incidents involving them.” She took a moment to take a deep breath. “Whatever the case, let’s just focus on the Changelings for now. If they have chosen to attack us, then we shall return the favor in kind and with interest.”

“Interest?” asked Luna, not liking the look in Celestia’s eye as she said that.

“We have been far too lenient with those monsters for far too long,” explained Celestia. “Treating them like pests to only swat away when they provoke us, but now we see where that leniency has led us. Well, no more. We will take the fight to them and exterminate them, every last one.”

“Even if they are the most likely suspects behind this attack, we don’t have anything concrete that ties them to the attack,” pointed out Luna. “These new creatures could have something to do with the Changelings, but then again, it could be some new species that have migrated to Equestria as of late. We could be attacking the Changelings under false pretenses for all we know.”

“And besides the Changelings, who would really care if we did?” remarked Celestia. “They are nothing but a blight to Ponykind and the same is true for Hippogriffs. The Griffin territories are like a barren desert when it comes to love so they rarely have to deal with Changelings. They don’t do any sort of business with them either so they won’t care about them from an economic standpoint either. If there are Dragons involved with this then we will take them out too. Just as with the Changelings, no other creature will care if they are gone. Even their fellow Dragons will not even bat an eye. And, as for Yaks, their first reaction to everything is to smash it, so I’m quite confident they’d even support us in the effort if we needed it.”

“Then you’re dead set on doing this?” asked Luna. “You plan to wipe out the Changelings, just like that?”

“They serve no purpose other than to bring the rest of the world down,” countered Celestia. “We are better off without such parasites. Our only fault is in waiting this long to actually do something about them. Well, no more dragging our feet around. In a week’s time we will ready our troops and wipe out their entire hive till not a single one remains. I trust you have no problems with that, do you?”

“No,” Luna shook her head. “None at all.”

“Then inform the magical R & D department to put all of their efforts into readying us for our battle against the Changelings. I want us ready within a week’s time.”

“But what about finding a way into the Crystal Empire?” she asked.

“As you said, it will take some time to find a way in, so I think it can wait a little longer,” stated Celestia. “And if the Changelings are behind all this then all the better for us to kill them all. It might even be the solution we need. This will also serve as a perfect warning to all other creatures as to what they can expect if they foolishly think they can stand against Ponykind.” With one final deep breath, Celestia started her way out of the armory. “Now, if there is nothing else, I am in desperate need of some cake. All of this plotting has left a terribly bitter taste in my mouth. I need something sweet to fix that.”

“I think that is all for now,” replied Luna. “You go on ahead and eat your cake.” Luna watched Celestia take her leave. When she was certain she could speak freely, she added, “When things are supposed to taste bitter, I prefer not to sugarcoat them.”

“Home sweet home,” sighed Media as she, Sting, Nat, and Zircon finally finished the long flight from Canterlot all the way back to the Changeling Hive. “Finally, we can unwind with all the others.”

“I can’t wait to tell my mother how well my mission went,” smirked the daughter of Chrysalis. “How I posed as a pony to infiltrate the castle and manipulate Sunburst. Now the Crystal Empire is ours and all that overflowing love from it too.”

“She’s probably well aware of all that by now,” commented Nat, carefully carrying Flurryheart in his arms as he flew. “And knowing our old man and his harem, they’ll probably be busy in their quarters for a while, making us some more siblings.”

“Thanks a lot for putting that image in my head,” shuddered Zircon.

“But you just had sex yourself, a few hours ago,” Media pointed out.

“Not that,” she replied, grimacing as she continued. “Getting more siblings. Don’t get me wrong, but even as the eldest of my brood, I still have to share time with my mother with my siblings. That time is already limited since she is often busy with our father, filling her with his baby-making goo. If she has any more offspring there won’t be enough hours in the day to spend any time with her at all.”

“If you want,” offered Media. “You can join my mom and I in some cooking. My full siblings have never been into cooking as much as I have and it’d be nice to have my half-sister there too. She even said she was going to teach me her recipe for Devil’s Dark Chocolate Cake.”

“You had me at chocolate,” smirked Zircon, looking eager for more of that sweet stuff.

“If food’s involved then you can count me in, as a taste tester,” Nat chimed in. “I just have to find someone to take Princess Grabbyhands off my claws. Ow!” Flurryheart giggled as she tugged at his ear. “Hey, little missy. You better cut that out or no cakey for you.”

“Sounds like you’re starting to like her, mommy,” snickered Zircon.

“It just goes to show what a good mommy he is,” joked Media.

“I am not a mommy!” snapped Nat, his outburst upsetting Flurryheart, causing her to burst into tears and wail. “Oh, now look what you’ve made me do.”

“Waaah!” sobbed the baby Alicorn, her voice so loud that Media and Zircon had to cover their ears to tolerate it. Even Sting was forced to defend his hearing holes against such an attack.

“It’s going to be alright,” cooed Nat as he made silly faces like he had on the train, using a few he recalled she liked seeing and tried out a few new ones too. In no time at all, she was having a fit of giggles rather than one of tears.

“Wow, you really are a good mommy,” marveled Zircon, more genuinely, as Nat continued with some baby talk and nuzzled her with a smile too blissful to be a false one.

“Well, good or not,” he said with a heavy sigh. “I could do with a little rest from parenthood.” With a smile on her face, Flurryheart planted a kiss on Nat’s cheek. His face quivered after receiving that peck of affection and he looked ready to tear up.

“You were saying?” asked Media. “You wanted some time away from parenthood?”

Hugging Flurryheart closer to his body, he told them, “Shut up,” and looked away.

“You’ve been pretty quiet this whole flight back,” commented Media to Sting once they had their fun teasing Nat. “What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing,” he replied. “I’m just enjoying the peace of the moment. After a battle as intense as the one we just endured, everything else just feels so tranquil.”

“Now that you mention it, it is rather nice,” noted Media. “The coolness of the gentle wind blowing, the warmth of the sun shining down on us from above, and the sound of the birds chirping.”

“I guess it’s alright,” remarked Zircon. “My mother said she preferred the cries of anguish of her victims to soothe her soul after a conquest, but since we don’t really have any I’ll just make do with all this, for the time being.”

“Looks like not for that much longer,” stated Media as she observed the forest they were flying over had begun to thin out and the badlands surrounding the towering Changeling hive took their place. “We’re back in our territory again.”

“And home is in sight,” added Zircon as they saw the tall structure come into view and they flew towards the top. On the summit, they spotted a number of their fellow Draglings curled up and fast asleep. From how they were positioned they had started to make their way inside only to drop from exhaustion and began their rest right there. A few of the Changeling soon emerged to lift a few of them up and carry them inside. “Looks like all the others needed a rest just as bad as we did.”

“How many does this make so far?” groaned Wedge as he and Biggs carefully lifted up another Dragling together and started to walk him into the building.

“Fifteen… maybe twenty,” Biggs answered. “I wasn’t really keeping track. Not that it matters. We’ve got to get them all inside to look them over and put them to bed.”

“This wouldn’t be so bad if they weren’t so heavy,” groaned Wedge. “A few more and I think I’m gonna need someone to carry me as well.”

“If you want to complain then take it up with Tamati,” Cid told Wedge. “But he’s in the middle of some weird role playing thing and while I don’t really understand exactly what they’re doing, he’s got most of his harem swarmed around his cock and balls, the damn, lucky bastard. I severely doubt he’d be happy getting disturbed, right now.”

“If I had my harem all over me like that,” commented Wedge with a horny smile on his face. “I sure wouldn’t want to be disturbed either.”

“You don’t have a harem,” Biggs reminded him.

“It doesn’t mean I won’t get one,” he argued as they started to carry the Dragling they were holding into the hive.

“Never gonna happen,” stated Biggs, causing his chubby Changeling friend to pout. “I’m just saying, having a harem is a lofty goal, especially when you haven’t even been in a relationship before.” Wedge just pouted more.

“I have no idea what I’m going to do with those two,” sighed Cid.

“Pit them against one another in a battle to the death,” suggested Zircon as she and the others landed. They all looked at her, not certain how serious she was. “What? Knowing those two it probably wouldn’t go beyond a lot of slapstick comedy.”

“If that’s all then I’d sure love to see that,” snickered Nat.

“Seems like you bunch aren’t much worse for wear,” noticed Cid as he watched them land and move around with ease. “Nearly everyone else couldn’t even make it inside before they fainted. Was the battle really that rough?”

“Intensely,” stated Sting. “We were outnumbered more than ten times over and the Pony forces were a lot tougher than we imagined. That they made it all the way back here before collapsing, after such a brutal fight, is nothing short of a miracle. We were exhausted, but at least we were able to rest while on the train. Still, we’ll all need a day or two to recover before any of us can even think of resuming our training or launching an attack anywhere else.”

“I could go for more than a couple days,” yawned Media, feeling some fatigue kick in now that they were safely home.

“At least a week for me,” Zircon said next, catching Media’s yawn.

“Think I’ll start with a moon and see how I’m feeling from there,” Nat stated, rubbing his eye with the arm that wasn’t carrying his little bundle of joy. “Come on, Flurflur, let’s go find a place to have a nappy.”

“Well, go catch your Z’s,” Cid smiled, watching the brave warriors retreat for their well-earned reprieve. “You’ve all more than earned it.”

“At least the beds aren’t too far from here,” Media yawned again. “I’m not sure if I’ll even be able to pull the blanket over me before I pass out.”

“That makes two of us,” nodded Zircon as they went from the central stairwell to the sleeping quarters of the hive. They all made their way in and towards the nearest available beds, all save for Sting who proceeded further down the stairs. “Sting, where are you going? The beds are right here.”

“I’ll join you soon,” the red Dragling breathed heavily and shook his head to keep himself up. “There’s some place I want to stop by first.”

“You want to stop by and see Pincer, don’t you?” figured Media.

“I want to let him know how our first battle went,” he explained. “And to thank him for everything he’s done for us.”

“Do what you’ve gotta do and then get some rest,” yawned Nat as he tucked Flurryheart into a bed. He then pushed the bed beside it next to her bed and climbed in. “As for me I’m- Zzzzzz…”

“That didn’t take long,” commented Media as she curled up in her blanket. “He fell asleep.. in two… seconds flat. Zzzzzz…”

“That’s one thing… even Sting couldn’t beat him at,” joked Zircon. “Zzzzzz…”

All three Draglings had fallen asleep. Flurryheart, still plenty awake, wiggled free of her covers and cuddled with Nat. Sting watched his fellow Draglings slumber while they snored loudly. With a slight smile, he turned to continue his way downward to visit Pincer’s grave, eager to get some much desired rest once he was done.

Yawning and stretch, Gabby started to awaken from her light snooze. “Mmm,” she hummed and gazed skyward, seeing the leaves in the trees and some fluffy clouds in the sky. “I just meant to rest my eyes, but I guess I must’ve dozed off.”

“It was just a little beauty sleep,” Spike told her, cuddling up against her chest, a bit more of his size regained in the time he waited for her to awaken. Now Spike was about the size of a squirrel, still smaller than he had been just prior to meeting Tamati for the first time and a far cry from his matured size before being shrunk, but he was content that his growth was picking up speed as more time went by. “Not that you need any, gorgeous.”

“Oh, thank you,” blushed Gabby as she craned her neck down to see the purple lizard cuddling with her. “You seem like a nice, purple, uh, gecko?”

“Actually, I’m a Dragon and I’m having a bit of a size issue at the moment, but I’m recovering. Then I’ll be back to my big, hunky self. But, for now, I think I can work with what I’ve currently got available.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” she asked him.

“First, let me introduce myself,” Spike continued to say as he got up and took a few steps away from Gabby so he could extend his claws to her. “The Dragon, Spike the Dragon. I’m sure it’ll be a pleasure getting to know you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Spike,” Gabby smiled brightly as she brought a single talon to his hand to shake it. “My name is Gabby Griffin, official mail carrier of Griffinstone.”

“I know,” he admitted. “I was actually in that package you were taking back home with you.”

“You were?” she questioned him as she approached the package to inspect it and discovered the hole in the side of it. “Why would someone mail me a geck- uh, Dragon? Or, did you mail yourself to me? Is that even legal?”

“It’s actually a long story,” Spike explained. “But, the short version is that I need to get to Griffinstone to find something important for a friend and I could really use your help.”

“Sure thing, Spike,” she answered him in a chipper tone.

“Please,” he begged her, getting down on his knees. “I have nobody else to turn to now and I- uh, did you just say you’d do it?”

“I sure did,” Gabby assured him.

“I could tell you were a lot different than most Griffins, but to agree to help me just like that, without asking any questions or wanting anything in return, I’m surprised,” he admitted.

“That’s probably because I’m not like most Griffins,” she explained. “Griffins can be rude, selfish, and only care to do anything if there are Bits involved and they wouldn’t even try to deny it, but that’s never been me. I’ve already been cheerful, kind, and always eager to lend a claw to those who need it. I don’t know how I got this way, but it’s who I am.”

“That reminds me a lot of myself,” commented Spike. “I’ve always been different from other Dragons, though that’s probably because I was raised by Ponies my whole life. So while Dragons are commonly known for being huge, vicious, greedy monsters, I’ve always just been seen as an adorable, little, kid eager to do anything for the approval of others.” Upon saying that, Spike felt his insides get twisted up, remembering how all of that was gone now.

“Oh, wow! It sounds like we’ve got a lot in common then,” gasped Gabby, excited to find a kindred spirit in Spike.

“Maybe, but I was born into a culture that was never mine to begin with,” the purple Dragon added with a sigh. “I have no idea how my life might have turned out if I had been brought up in the Dragon Lands and, now, I can never go back to the only home I’ve ever known.”

“You can’t go back home?” cried Gabby as she picked Spike up to smother him with affection.

“T-Too tight!” he managed to wheeze out before his body became too constricted to speak.

“Oh, sorry,” she apologized and loosened her hold on him. “But, why can’t you go back home?”

“Because I’m maturing,” he answered. “And Twilight is worried that I’m turning into something she can’t control. I don’t know if that means I’m becoming more draconic, but I also know I’m not the same baby Dragon clinging to her because I’d have nothing without her. I’m just me and while I’m on this journey to help a friend out, this might also be my chance to learn just who I am and who I want to be.”

“Wow, that sounds so amazing!” exclaimed Gabby excitedly. “Like something out of an adventure novel. If it actually was one I’d definitely read it cause I’d really love to know how things turn out for you.”

“Well, it’s still far from over,” Spike said, delighted to see Gabby so invested in him after such a brief conversation. “But, if you really want to find out how it ends, you could always join my harem.”

“I’d love to!” she answered immediately.

“I know that’s a very unexpected thing for me to offer to you out of the blue, but-” Spike went on saying, but stopped in his tracks when Gabby yet again surpassed his expectations. “Did you just agree to join my harem… just like that?”

“Uh huh,” she nodded. “Why shouldn’t I want to join? You seem like a really great guy. Also,” she added, gazing seductively at him. “I have a pretty strong hunch that when you return to your full size you’ll be as sexy as you are currently cute.”

“Well, even at this size I’d say I’m still plenty sexy,” he bragged, running his claws over the spikes on his head. “If the rest of my harem was around I’m sure they’d vouch for me, but seeing as I had to make a quick exit from Ponyville, I wasn’t able to take them with me.” Pausing for a moment, Spike gave the female Griffin’s body another lookover, admiring the curves on her chest and waist. Bringing his gaze higher, he was able to spot the twinkle of lust in her eyes that he learned to spot after seeing it so often in swooning looks of Sweetie Belle and all the other members of his harem. “But, I’m sure you’d much rather experience it for yourself. Besides, a one-on-one session is how I like to initiate new members into my entourage.”

“If that’s what we gotta do then okay,” she giggled and blushed, never expecting that a mysterious gift would lead her to a situation like this, but she wasn’t against it in the least. A few low murrs actually indicated she was eager for it and those sounds of lust were turning on Spike to the kittyhawk even more than he already was. “But, will you be able to? I mean, can we really do it while you’re so shrunken?”

“It’s just my size that’s been reduced,” he explained. “Nothing more. And while it might mean I’m not as big as I normally am down there, my cock and balls are every bit as functional. I’ll just jot this time as both a challenge and an experience to see what it’s like to be with a partner much larger than myself for a change. Later on, when I’m the one towering over you, I’ll be certain to put the horseshoe on the other hoof and given you a full serving of Dragon cock.”

“Oh, that sounds like a real good time,” she smiled before she got up to undress, slipping out of her shirt first to expose her breast-stuffed bra. After that she undid her pants, wiggling her hips to let them slide down to her ankles. Stepping out of them, she strutted around the pint-sized Dragon feeling very naughty to be doing a strip tease out in the middle of the forest, making this all the more exciting for her too. “I just hope I can measure up to the other members of your harem.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about,” Spike told her, already liking what he was seeing, his dragonhood throbbing and dripping with approval too. “I treat all the members of my harem equally. Plus, from where I’m standing, all I can see is one big, beautiful woman.”

“Awe, you’re so sweet,” she blushed upon hearing such praise. Reaching behind her back, Gabby attempted to undo the clip keeping it tied to her chest. However, when she succeeded, the elastic unstretch quickly and slipped free or her claw. Gabby’s bra flung a short distant forward and landed right on top of Spike’s face, covering over his eyes and half his body. “Oopsies,” she apologized, cupping her chest that she could barely grasp in her claws. “Sorry, Spike. I’ve been going through a bit of a growth spurt in my chest and I haven’t had a chance to get any better-fitting bras.”

“That’s quite alright. More than alright, actually,” he assured her, his face red after that sexy wardrobe malfunction. “Like I said before, ‘you’ve got nothing to worry about.’” Taking the bra off his face, the first thing Spike saw with them off was Gabby now squatting down as she was slipping herself out of her panties. This gave Spike a close up view of both her huge breasts and her pussy all at once and he felt he could have lost a load prematurely if he had remained as ignorant and inexperienced to the pleasures of the flesh like he once had. “Nothing at all.”

“Oh, that’s a relief,” she replied as she carefully dropped onto her rump and lifted her legs to remove her pants from both her feet at the same time. “Now, how should we go about this?”

“Just lay back and let me do the work,” he instructed her. With a nod, she reclined onto her back, bending her legs before spreading them to allow her pussy to be fully exposed for whatever he had in mind. Smirking at such willingness, Spike couldn’t help but drool with anticipation like he was staring at a table full of sweets from one of his outings to Pinkie Pie’s underground confectionary.

Gabby giggled, eager for Spike to get to work on her. Her lion’s tail twitched and curled about as it slid to and fro on the ground. Slowly approaching Gabby, Spike got swatted by the griffin’s swaying appendage a few times, but even in his shrunken state it did nothing to slow him down as he walked in between her arched legs. “This is going to be really sweet,” thought Spike as he gripped at Gabby’s inner thighs and leaned forward to plant his snout against her vagina. Taking in a big breath, he inhaled her lust, finding the it both familiar to the scent given off by the mares had made love with, but at the same time unique for the species it belonged to. Either way, the aroma only made him that much more eager to begin.

Opening his maw, he brought his tongue down upon the Griffin’s pussy, licking it up then down and then all around before repeating. “Oh… Ah… OHHH!!!” she murred with bliss as his tongue work showed no hesitation and his pace and roughness showed his desire to enjoy the journey rather than rush his way to the finish line.

“Y-You’re r-really good at this,” Gabby moaned, blissfully, as she squeezed her chest to add to the bliss she was experiencing. “A-Are all Dragons this g-good?”

“I’ve only really known one other Dragon,” he admitted as he stopped his licking to gaze down at her crotch, soaked mostly with saliva, but some of her lust had begun to leak out too. “And, in a way, he was my sex ed teacher. So, while I can’t say we’re all great at this kinda thing, with long, dextrous tongs, slender and delicate claws, and tails that put dildos to shame, it sure feels like we were built for it.”

Taking a deep breath, Spike exhaled the warmest breath he could muster while his flames were still disabled. To his delight, he could feel the fires inside of him had started to return, allowing him to blow some heated air against Gabby’s pussy and further stimulate her arousal as he readied her for the main event. “Looks like my pilot light is lit again, but still not quite able to make flames yet,” he observed. While the idea of Twilight’s magic was starting to fade, he also attempted to open his wingspan up, managing to manipulate them, but their sluggish response proved their recovery wasn’t complete either. “Twilight’s magic is wearing off, but looks like I’ll need to wait a little while longer before I’m completely back to normal.”

“You weren’t kidding,” panted Gabby, feeling that heat stoke her desire to fuck even more. Her feline toes stretched and curled as she struggled to simply enjoy the pleasure and not leap up to take control. “Dragons really are- OH!!!”

“Heheh,” snickered Spike as he plunged his tongue deep into her pussy to taste around her insides and really start to show her the perks of lovemaking with a Dragon. “What did you say? I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Oh, fuck me~” she begged, fully convinced to leave the pleasuring to the harem master she was more overjoyed than ever to be a part of.

“With pleasure,” he smirked, plunging his tongue further inside her, exploring her innards much to Gabby’s delight. Instinctively, her tail maneuvered, curling around his body one as if to hug him and never let him go. The soft, furry appendage tickled him as he continued to work on his new mate and he took it as more evidence of what an amazing sex master he had become. Finally, when Gabby’s loins exuded an even stronger lust while her crotch was soaked in equal parts dragon spit and her own sweet nectar, Spike reeled his tongue back into his maw to bring on the best part yet.

Hefting his body up onto her waist, Spike adjusted himself to aim his cock at Gabby’s prepped pussy. Though it was diminished like the rest of his scaley hide, Spike’s hardon still retained enough of its length and thickness to satisfy anyone he wielded it on. The Griffin watched Spike as he got ready to plunge down into her. Gazing at his plump, and gentle, yet also sexy visage, Gabby found herself completely smitten with this dragon who had taken her in as one of the treasures in his hoard. Spike gazed his emerald greens into the griffin’s baby blues as he ran his tongue across his lips, the flavor of her pussy still stuck on it. Grinning lustfully, he had become equally infatuated with her too.

Plunging down, Spike penetrated Gabby, feeling the familiar warm and moist sensation of a pussy housing his peg. Moaning with ecstasy, Gabby reflexively clenched around Spike’s cock, wanting more… needing more. Being the generous reptile he was, Spike gave her all she wanted, slowly pulling out of her save for his tip before ramming back in. Gabby gripped the ground with her talons, bracing for each thrust of pleasure so that she could embrace it as his dragon balls slapped against her crotch.

It was all so wonderful. Too much in fact. Gabby soon found herself resisting the bliss of it all just as much as she wanted to chug it all down, now wanting to be pushed over the edge too soon and lose the high such lust filled her with. It was a task that only grew more difficult as Spike picked up speed and refused to relent, his own lust already tempered to take in far more pleasure before he even came close to a climax of his own.

“More! More! More!” begged Gabby in her head as she reveled in all this pleasure. She wanted to verbally say so too, but she could barely utter anything without moans filling her muzzle. “Keep going!”

As she could feel the powerful pulsing from Spike’s penis, she knew he was on the verge of his own climax as well. Gabby readied herself to feel that final, greatest hit of euphoria once he blew his draconic load right into her and filled her with his hot seed. However, before she could tighten around his cock as she reached her climax, Spike pulled himself out of her pussy. Aiming his cock towards the grass, he let his eruptions of spunk shoot away from them.

With their climaxes complete, fatigue then set in and both took in some much needed air their moans of bliss prevented. Carefully, Spike rested back upon the grass beside his new mate, locking claws with talons as they reflected on their first time making love to one another.

“Sorry,” Spike apologized. “I got a little too into it and almost forgot to pull out in time. I’m not sure if you’re ready for kids or not, but till I can truly settle down, I want to hold off, for the time being.”

“It’s fine,” panted Gabby. “I think I’m too young for children too, but when I am, I really hope they’ll be ours.”

“I do too,” smiled Spike. “Lots and lots of children so we’ll be one big happy… family.” As Spike said all that, he started to sniffle and a few tears ran down his face and his heart started to ache.

“Spike?” asked Gabby, seeing as his tears run down the sides of his face. “You’re crying.”

“I am?” he replied, rubbing his face to see that he was. “Oh, I guess thinking about family got me recalling the one I had in Ponyville. In spite of what happened, I do miss them, including Twilight, even after all she put me through. It might be wishful thinking right now, but I hope that, some day, I’ll be able to return there. For now, however, I won’t and can’t let sentimentality keep me from looking forward.” Wiping his tears away with his arm, he turned to Gabby with a bold smile and a determined look upon his face. She smiled back at him, as they tightened the grip on their claws before she hefted his body on top of hers to hug him tight. Relishing the warmth of her soft-furred body, Spike nuzzled against his chest. He then maneuvered his pointed tail back to Gabby’s still moist pussy, merely prodding the hole teasingly at first.

“Oh, what are you up to now?” blushed Gabby, getting excited for what fun he had in mind next.
“I don’t recall either of us saying we had enough yet,” he explained resting his chin on her boobs. He had the spade-shaped tip of his tail sliding in and out of her body, slowly rekindling her horniness anew. “So, how about I give you a good tailfucking this time around? It’s much longer and thicker than my cock currently is and I wonder how many spikes you can take.”

“How many spikes?” she started to say, not sure what he meant, but soon realized as she felt the first green point at the end of his tail slip inside her. Slowly, Spike pushed more of his tail in till the next spike reached her hole. He paused for a moment, listening to see if Gabby had any discomfort before pushing that spike in too, along with more of his tail that was getting thicker with each of Spike’s spikes she took in. Gabby was quickly back to murring as she reveled in the sensation of his tail sliding deeper into her one spike after another, the pleasure only growing with each one and making her yearn to take in every wonderful scale on it. “Oh, I don’t know,” she murred with delight that didn’t sound like she had reached a climax mere minutes ago. “But I’ll take in as many as I can.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from a member of my harem,” he smirked as he kept pushing in deeper, fully intending to fill her pussy up to the thick base of his tail.

“Oh, this is the life,” sighed Tamati as he reclined on his throne with his harem all around his body snuggling him. Save for a few lapping up seed upon his length from one of his many climaxes, the rest were either asleep or dozing off after another wonderful sex session. Even the big Dragon stud himself was low on stamina after their role play combined with his attack on the Crystal Empire. Opening his maw as wide as it could go, he unleashed a mighty exhale.

“What is?” yawned Chrysalis, nuzzling against her beloved’s chest in between Shiny and Cadence who were out cold from the busy day they had as well.

“All that I have,” he told her. “Having this great, big family. I’ve got my harem that adores every inch of me. Heheh, some parts more than others. I’ve got the greatest kids in the world too and plenty of invaluable followers too from the male Changelings in this hive to Spike and I’m sure I’ll get more of all of the above as we continue our conquest of Equestria. But, for right now, I just want to relax and appreciate all the hard work everyone has done to get us as far as we have gotten. We have acquired three of the elements so far and only a few more remain. Once we have collected them all then Equestria will finally be under my control.”

“Zzzzz,” snoozed Chrysalis, sound asleep partway through that monologue of Tamati’s. The large dragon just chuckled a little before letting out another big yawn and felt himself fading from the waking world due to the Sandman’s restful embrace.

“It would be nice if we could just stay like this for a while longer,” yawned Tamati as his eyes grew heavy and he drifted off to sleep.

Celestia entered the barracks where her soldiers were training hard, preparing for the battle that was drawing ever closer with every passing minute. She was no longer dressed in her formal princess attire, but clad in her own custom made suit that was designed for her tall, slender physique and busty figure. It was gold plated and emblazoned with the symbol of the sun on the breastplate. Her flowing mane and tail were restrained with a set of ponytails to keep them from getting in her way.

With spears, swords, and axes in hands, the Canterlot soldiers hacked and slashed at stuffed mannequins designed to look like Changelings, but were really crudely made to begin with and only looked worse from the wear and tear they received from being hacked apart and sewn back together dozens of times over. The ponys clad in gold and silver fiercely hacked, slashed, and stabbed at the stand ins, helping mentally ready themselves for when they would have to do the same to the real mccoy.

A number of the unicorn soldiers were busy training their magic, aiming at the bull's eyes in a target range. As they expelled beams of magic from their horns, it blasted apart any pieces of the targets they hit with explosive force. After several seconds, the targets magically repaired themselves to allow them to take shots over and over again to perfect their aim and work to increase the power of their magic-based artillery.

“Someone sure is itching for a fight,” commented Luna as she entered the barracks to see Celestia already suited up for battle. “You do know we aren’t going to be ready for this attack for a little while longer. There’s no need for you to be suited up yourself.”

“I know,” admitted Celestia as she turned to her sister. “But it’s been some time since I wore this and I wanted to try it on to make certain it still fits. Honestly, it feels a bit snug around my chest. I’ll have to see if I can have it loosened some before the battle.”

“Probably from too much cake,” Luna jabbed at her. “You might wanna get it loosened up around that flank of yours as well.”

“Are you implying something?” questioned Celestia, a far less than amused expression on her face. “Something that might be banishment worthy.”

“I’m just saying you might have grown an inch or two since you last tried it on,” explained Luna casually. “But, certainly it isn’t all those late night kitchen raids of cake putting a dent in that perfect figure of yours.”

“Of course not,” agreed Celestia, the tension growing thick between the two, enough to get all the soldiers to stop what they were doing and silently watch the royal siblings passive aggressively chatter with one another. The two then stopped conversing and gave the soldiers a stern glare, telling them not to pry on their sisterly spat. In response to this, the soldiers cleared the room to give them privacy to speak, thankful they only had to face an army of Changelings and not the royal Pony sisters in battle. “But, how exactly do you know I sneak down to the kitchen, at night? Aren’t you supposed to be monitoring the dream world, rather than me?”

“I do,” nodded Luna. “And what kind of a sister would I be if I didn’t keep an eye on you to make certain you sleep soundly? Of course, there are times when you go to sleep unusually late and when you are asleep and dreaming… well, it is very telling what’s on your mind at the time.”

“Is that so?” replied Celestia, narrowing her eyes a little. “Can I assume you’ll show the same dedication when searching for Spike’s whereabouts?”

“I’ll be right on it,” Luna nodded to her sister. “As soon as it gets dark. Since I don’t monitor dragon dreams, I’m fairly familiar with his sleeping pattern. When he’s not out on his own late night snacking he’s in bed around 9:30. Considering he’s on the run, he might be up a bit longer, but he has no reason to believe we’ll be searching for him this way, so when he thinks he’s found a safe place to hunker down for the night, I’ll pry his whereabouts right from his subconscious.”

“And then we can tie up that loose end and concentrate on the issues with the Crystal Empire,” added Celestia as she sighed. “While I do enjoy a bit of chaos to help break up the monotony of ruling, this is more irritating than listening to the constant squabbles and bickering of the nobles in this city. At least we get the chance to see some battle for a change. This could truly even be our chance to rid ourselves of the Changelings one and for all. That is, provided, of course, we make sure none of them escape, especially Chrysalis.”

“Must we really go so far as to wipe out the entire Changeling race?” questioned Luna.

“We’ve already been over this,” sighed Celestia. “Equestria will be a much better place without Changelings to cause us trouble. At best we’d be celebrated by the other creatures and at worse they’d be apathetic to the whole thing. From my perspective, there is no downside in ridding ourselves of them for good.”

“I know, but I’m not sure if I can live with the burden of taking part in genocide,” the Alicorn on the night confessed. “And, they are only truly a threat under Queen Chrysalis’s command. If we were to remove her from power, maybe we could broker a peace treaty with the rest of the swarm so that we can live in harmony.”

“Sure, we could try that,” the Alicorn of the Sun retorted sarcastically. “And we can even send them a few love-filled Ponies every day to ensure they won’t have to worry about where their next meal will be coming from. Oh, wait. We don’t need to do that because they already captured the Crystal Empire and have probably turned it into a love buffet for themselves.”

“I know it will be difficult to create harmony with the Changelings when the love of others is essential to their survival,” she conceded. “But surely there must be something that can be done.”

“There very well could be,” admitted Celestia. “But the Changelings have never made an effort to change their ways, so we have no guarantee that anything we try could make them change either. In the end, they are just another savage race we have been forced to contend with in our daily lives. If we cannot make use of such a nuisance species, then we will be better off without them. That is my last word on the matter and it will be the final word, do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Celestia,” sighed Luna, well aware that as much as she didn’t like what Celestia had said, she also couldn’t deny that her sister made some very strong points against attempting to forge peace with those dark, holey insects. “We will do what needs to be done.”

“I’m pleased to hear that,” Celestia smiled, running her fingers gently through her sister’s hair. “Then there will be no more quarrels between us. We will invade the Changeling hive and wipe out every last one of them. And that will be the end of that.”

“With a tavern bill to pay or a night of dishes ahead of them, Chrissy, Dominazer and the others did what they could in order to pay off their tabs,” spoke Sunburst as he narrated the D&D campaign. “Deciding that each should pay their own way, the group split up to cover their expenses how they best saw fit to do it.”

“But if you would all just listen to me,” pleaded Shiny, attempting to call the rest of the team back to her, however they ignored her to focus on themselves. She then reached into her pocket, pulling out a twenty-sided blue die with white numbers on it. “Shouldn’t I be rolling to see if they will listen to me?”

“It wouldn’t do you any good to bother trying,” explained the cloaked Dungeon Master. Even if your Charisma stat was higher,you wouldn’t succeed, Nat 20 or not. Currently the rest of your party has inflicted itself with the Mule stat. Now they are far too stubborn to listen to what anyone else has to say, including you.”

“Well, I did try,” she sighed, putting away her many-sided game piece. Sitting back down, she waited to see how the rest of the team would deal with paying their tab.

“The first to make their move on this matter was Chrissy,” narrated Sunburst, as he approached the dark witch. Without anything on beneath his robe, parts of Sunburst’s nudity were briefly revealed every time he took a step forward. “How will she handle paying the bill for her meal?”

“Very easily,” she bragged with a smug smirk on her face. “I’m just going to leave without paying and if they have a problem with that then I’ll just use my magic to remind them that life, in particular, their own, is worth far more than a few pieces of silver and gold.”

Laughing heartily, Chrissy swaggered her way to the tavern’s front doors. She didn’t even attempt to subtly sneak out when nobody was looking. In fact, with the greeter standing right at the door, she headed right for him. He was an elderly pony with a ring of gray hair around his otherwise bald head and a pair of thick spectacles covering his wrinkly eyes. His small, shriveled-looking figure was hunched over on a chair by the door. He sat there and with a gentle smile on his face he waved hello and goodbye to the tavern’s customers as they came and went.

“Hello. Hi there. Glad to see you again,” he’d say to those coming in.

“So long. Farewell. Hope you come back soon,” is what he’d say to those making their way back outside.

“Thanks for the free grub, bub,” Chrissy told him, downright admitting she didn’t pay and her cocky attitude emphasized she had no intention to.

“Sorry, young lass,” he apologized as he poked a finger in his ear to clean it. “My hearing ain’t as good as it once was. Did you just say your free meal?”

“That’s right!” she bragged boisterously. “I’m dine and dashing. What are you going to do about it?”

“Well, nothing,” he admitted, taking a handkerchief out to wipe his forehead. “My job is simply to greet our guests. Security handles problems like dine and dashers.”

“Oh, really?” she scoffed. “Well, where is this security?”

“Here he comes right now,” he told Chrissy as she could feel heavy footsteps approaching her. Turning to look, the witch stared in awe, mouth dropping to the floor at the sight of the large, green dragon that towered over her and everyone else there. With all the scars covering his body including one over his right eye, it was very clear that he had been in a number of skirmishes before this one and looked plenty eager to brawl some more.

He had a beer belly on him and the strong scent of booze on his breath, though he didn’t appear the least bit wasted from how swiftly he walked his way over to where Chrissy was. The muscles in his arms bulged, revealing that aside from a semi soft gut he wasn’t someone you wanted to mess with if you could avoid it. Snorting flames out his nostrils, even Chrissy couldn’t help but swallow hard as he approached her location. Everyone else in the tavern became quiet as they watched what was about to go down. “Looks like he heard you.”

“That’s a ton or two more security than I thought this place was going to have around here,” sweated Chrissy as she stared up at the towering dragon, dressed only in a pair of suspenders with one of the straps broken. He stared down at the witch, snorting an intoxicating amount of smoke in her face. Coughing, she fanned it away with her hand.

“Did I hear you say that you were a dine and dasher?” he spoke in a gruff, gravely voice.

“Yes you did, soot for brains,” she taunted him. “And what are you going to do about it?”

“Give you one of three choices,” he told her. “One; give you one last chance to pay. Two; escort you to the kitchen for a couple hours of labor to pay your meal off. Three;” he cracked his knuckles as he said this last one. “Convert your bill to pain.”

“That third option does sound good,” she smirked, hands glowing as she readied to unleash all hell over a poultry food bill. “If I’m the one causing pain to you.”

“Chrissy was poised to attack,” narrated Sunburst, standing in the middle of the scene though he wasn’t actually a part of it. “Unfortunately for her, she didn’t realize until that moment that a special sealing circle had been drawn around the tavern that nullified all uses of dark magic, including hers.”

“What?!?” she cried, looking at her hands to see the magical glow fade and found herself depowered. “What the fuck kind of convoluted, just-made-up nonsense is this? You can’t just add this stuff out of nowhere.”

“Actually,” Sunburst actuallyed her. “That was in the schematic for the tavern when you all first arrived. I gave each of you a chance to read it before going in, but you just wanted to get things started.”

“It’s true,” nodded Tamati, sitting on his throne and flipping through a number of papers. “Oh, here it is. Yeah, you went to Tavern #4 and it says right here that it is protected by a sealing circle to limit damage during bar fights.”

“Let me see that,” Chrissy demanded. Sunburst used his magic to float the paper over and read through it. “Mmhmm… Mmhmm… ugh, damnit!” Gripping the paper she almost crumpled it up, but stopped and sighed. “So, what if I were to still choose to fight him?”

“You’d have to do a dice roll to see if you win,” explained Sunburst.

“Just roll the die to see if I win?” she repeated as she took out her black with green numbers twenty-sided die. “And what do I need to roll?”

“Well,” answered Sunburst as he compared her stats to the dragon security personnel. “It looks like without magic and your physical strength leaving a lot to be desired, a Nat 20.”

“And if I fail to get that?” she asked, looking up at the dragon still snorting smoke in her face. “Can you cut it with the smoke for a bit, Honey?”

“S-Sorry about that,” apologized the Changeling, her voice and mannerisms changing to make her draconic transformation appear far less intimidating. “I was just getting into character.”

“If you fail then you’ll be considered out of commission for a while,” answered Sunburst. “Think full body cast at least till the next town. But whether you take that route is completely up to you. Anyway, back to the larp.”

“Graaaah!” roared Honey right at Chrissy, once more returning to her character. She added a little “Too much? Sorry,” after that before going on. “So, what’s it going to be?”

“Uh,” considered Chrissy for a moment. She then pocketed her die and opted for a less risky option. “So, which way is the kitchen?”

“This way,” the dragon answered, waving her to follow.

“And thus, Chrissy was sentenced to a couple hours of dishwashing duty,” announced Sunburst.

“Just remember,” Chrysalis threatened Sunburst. “When this is done you will feel my wrath for this disgrace and there won’t be any magic sealing circle around to save you.”

“Uh, heh,” he chuckled nervously. “Um, will Elly and Dominzer have better luck dealing with their own debt. Only one way to find out.”