Ember flapped, feeling the rush of the air over her wings. That sensation never failed to soothe the worries and stress of running a kingdom, but the tight knot in her stomach was too stubborn even for the beauty of flying. Her tail twitched restlessly as she ran her mind once more over the familiar tracks.
She hadn't seen Thorax since she'd almost declared war on him. She could still see his face. Hurt. Betrayed. She'd been angry, and worried for Smolder's safety, and she'd lashed out.
But that was why they were meeting, wasn't it? To spend some time together as friends. To move past that.
She saw Ponyville on the horizon and angled downwards, changing the tilt of her wings to slow her momentum. Her legs hit the ground with a heavy, satisfying thump. Her claws dug into the dirt to bring herself to a stop. She left long ruts in the grass.
A perfect landing.
She glanced around the park she'd landed in. Aha! There was Thorax. He spotted her, waved, and trotted towards her. "Hello!" she called. Did he want a hug? She hoped he didn't want a hug.
He probably wanted a hug.
With a sigh, she resigned herself, and when he reached her, she scooped him into a hug. He hugged her back, then stepped back, smiling. "Well, that was unexpected."
"What do you mean?" Ouch, too harsh. Too defensive. Thorax stepped back uncertainly.
"Well, you've never been one for the... touchy-feely stuff?" he offered awkwardly.
She sighed. "Yeah, I know. I did it because I figured you'd want to."
He smiled, relief creeping in. "Well, that's very thoughtful of you!"
Ember didn't know how to respond to that, so she didn't. He seemed to realize she wasn't going to reply, so he moved on. "Anyway, I thought maybe... we could play a game together? It's an old changeling game. You'll love it."
A game? A game she could do. Much simpler than friendship, trying to figure out the right things to say, or what somecreature else wanted. All you had to do was win, and she was great at winning. "Sure! Sounds great!" She offered him the most genuine smile she'd had yet.
"Great! It's called Infiltration. It's kind of like hide-and-seek, have you ever played that?"
"No," she admitted.
"Oh." There was an awkward pause. "Well, scratch that metaphor, then! It's a simple enough game. One changeling is the Target. His job is to spot everyling else. If he spots you, you're disqualified. The other changelings try to get close enough to touch the Target without him spotting them. With large groups, you can work in teams, and then this strategy part comes into play, where you form alliances, but they're always tentative, and the others can always betray you!"
No. That did not sound like a fun time. That sounded like the opposite of a fun time.
"But I figure, since it's just the two of us, we can work together and not worry about changing alliances or betraying each other."
That sounded much better. "But who's the Target?"
"Spike." Thorax pointed across the park to the purple dragon, sitting on a park bench.
"Does he know he's the Target?"
Thorax looked hurt. "Of course! I explained the rules and everything to him before you arrived. I thought it would be more fun if we could work together, instead of one of us hunting the other, and he was willing to play."
Ember smiled and cracked her knuckles. "Then let's do this." She spread her wings-
"No, flying's not a good idea. It's too noisy. That's why the Target isn't allowed to fly, or we might have to fly to catch them."
She sighed and folded her wings again. "I guess that makes sense."
Thorax smiled. "Great! Okay, I think if we sneak around through those bushes, we might be close enough to touch his tail..."
They were not close enough to touch his tail. Just as they approached, he got up and moved. And this set a frequent pattern. They'd start approaching Spike. He'd move somewhere else. Thorax would point out a new route, they'd start in that direction, and Spike would move again. Begrudgingly, Ember admitted that keeping moving was a great strategy, but that didn't make it any less infuriating every time he did it.
Thorax laid a hoof on her shoulder. "Hey, be patient. This game takes time, but we'll get there."
She shrugged it off. "This is so boring! I don't need to creep around in the bushes! If we were trying to infiltrate, I could just attack him right now!"
"Yes, but that's not the point-"
"Why NOT?" she demanded, leaping out of the bush they were concealed in with a roar of her wings like thunder.
Thorax popped out of the top of the shrub. "Ember, wait!" he shouted.
Spike whirled around. "Spotted you! And you!"
Ember braked abruptly, about to tackle him. Had she just... lost?
Spike shrugged. "Better luck next time, you two." Whistling cheerfully, he waddled off back towards the castle.
Ember sank to the ground. Thorax's hoofsteps approached behind her. "Sorry," she whispered. "I ruined it for both of us."
"I should've known you wouldn't like such a long game. It's my fault."
A sly smirk grew across Ember's face. "You know... you could make it up to me."
"How?"
"Play a dragon game."
Hesitation entered his voice. "Uh... I guess... If you want."
"I do, as a matter of fact." She whirled around, grinning broadly now. "Thorax, I challenge you... to a tail wrestle!"
"Tail.. wrestle?" He looked nervously down at his tail. "I'm not sure mine is quite suited for that..."
"What, you're not chickening out on me now, are you?" she asked, with a cocky wink.
"N-no!"
"Good." She turned around, extending her tail to him. Behind her, she heard the sound of shuffling hooves, and felt his thin, wing-like tail placed in her own. "Three... two... one... go!" Her tail wrapped around his, and she yanked, flinging forward. He flew through the air and landed with a thud in front of her. Haha! The great Dragonlord Ember, triumphant once more!
"Ouch!"
All thoughts of victory vanished from her head as suddenly as a volcano erupting. "Thorax? Are you okay?"
He got gingerly to his hooves, swished his tail from side to side, and winced. "I'm not sure."
She leaned forward, inspecting his tail. A line ran across it, and the lower quarter or third was bent off to the side. "Oh, no. I think I hurt it! I'm so sorry!"
He examined it himself. "Yikes, that's pretty badly broken. But it's nothing that won't heal."
"Really? That's an almost total break!"
He shrugged. "Changelings like to roughhouse. You think we haven't broken a tail before? Those things are more delicate than glass. They heal up in a week, or even less."
She sighed with relief, then started to chuckle nervously. "Your games bore me, and mine hurt you. What are we supposed to do now?"
"W-well, I'm sure we can be friends, even if there's nothing we both enjoy!"
She snorted. "What kind of nonsense pony idea is that? There has to be something we can do together. How are we supposed to be friends if we can't spend time with each other?"
His eyes lit up with a sudden idea. "I never said there was nothing we can do together, just that we don't enjoy the same things. But I think... we might be able to make something work."
Ember's ear-spines twitched at the sound of bushes rustling behind her. Her tail curled and uncurled, the only sign in her otherwise relaxed body that she was ready for action. She had to time this just right.
The bushes gave a slightly louder rustle, the type they might give if, just for instance, a very sneaky changeling was leaping out of them. She gave it just a fraction of a second, then swung out her tail, catching a large mass in midair. Pressing her advantage, she turned, jumping on top of Thorax and pinning him to the ground. "Gotcha!"
He laughed. "You sure did. That was quite the tail-swipe. But I'll get you next time!"
Her lips pulled into a confident smirk. "You're welcome to try."
Author's Note
This is a present for KillRoy231, as well as an exercise in writing character voice and in writing what could be work as an episode. The throwing of shade at certain episodes wasn't planned as a part of it.
