Well, there is not much that could lure me from the huge, comfortable stone in my garden, which at midday was bathed in the warm sunlight from an opening in the ceiling . But when I caught sight of the nearby prey that had presented itself, I was more than willing to leave.

I am referring to Fluffy of course; what other than her sexy flank could promise a ‘get up worthy’ hunt at the laziest hour of day? Thankfully, she still thought I was sleeping on my rock, instead of sneaking through the garden towards the vegetable patch. Fluffy was so focused on using all her strength to rip some unruly carrots out of the ground, that she was no longer checking on me.

Purrfect.

And I have to say, her flank was giving me a very attractive view, shaking left and right as she tried to pull the carrot.

Anyway, I drew closer, rushing from tree to tree and bush to bush. On the one claw, I was proud that my mate felt absolutely safe in our lair, but at the same time, I was somewhat unsure if it was wise to allow her to become so careless. Mhh, I pushed that thought aside for the time being, there was a treasure just waiting to be taken!

It was only when I had drawn rather close to her that she suddenly perked up and turned around. I dropped to the ground, laying down flat, and froze. I knew that it wasn’t the best course of action, but my size and Fluffy’s sensitive pony ears greatly limited what actions I could take. Fortunately, I wasn’t the reason she had done this, it was a small bird that had taken a seat on her vegetable basket.

I released a relieved breath, but my celebration had come too early. Although Fluffy hadn’t seen me yet, that didn’t mean that I had nothing to worry about. The little bird suddenly frew up and landed on her hoof before chirping happily. This proved to be something Fluffy thought she should show me, as she turned to the stone I was supposed to be laying on!

The look of confusion that spread across her face at not seeing me there was easily visible from my position, and it wouldn’t take her long to figure out what this meant. Well, here goes nothing! I hastily crawled forward. Speed was more important than stealth now!

“Big Softy?” Fluffy shouted, watching the stone more closely. She even rose up onto her hind legs after a few seconds to get a better view.

Her shouting, to her misfortune, gave me the cover I needed, I was already in pouncing distance when she dropped back down onto her hooves with the bird still perched on her foreleg.

A smile formed on my muzzle before I began to release a loud purring in preparation for leaping forward. Fluffy was caught by surprise and hecticly spun around to face me, causing the bird to fly off in the process.

Our gaze met, and we both knew what this meant! This wasn’t the first time I had ‘chased’ her.

Oh, but today, Fluffy was not in the mood to play the prey, instead of pretending to run away and let me catch her, she lowered her head too, snorting forcefully in my direction. She also scratched the ground with her right hind hoof while spreading her wings and returning my smile.

My purring became louder and I slowly moved forward, ready to pounce on her at a moments notice.

Fluffy did the same, very much to my surprise. It was obvious that it was I who was hunting her, not the other way around.

“Mine!” I purred. Whatever Fluffy was doing, I doubted she would be able to escape!

And it seemed she didn’t want to, since the next moment she bounced at me! Growling and hissing as she did so!

This strange behaviour caught me completely off guard, so her attack had an actual effect instead of just bouncing off of me. What I had intended to be a bit of pleasant foreplay had turned out to be an actual fight!

While I was still reeling, Fluffy used her wings to build up the momentum for a second attack. I was so confused I was almost unable to put up a defense in time. So with me being taken by surprise, and my hesitation to fight my mate, Fluffy had the advantage.

I was confounded! I mean, Fluffy had been acting a bit strange lately; talking to Fortuna a lot more, writing letters to my mother, as well as inviting her family over more often, like today. That was actually the reason we were alone in the lair at the moment, as Fiery was with the rest of the family on a walk. Though, the fact she would fight me was most confusing!

Well, I am a dragon after all, so even with the element of surprise on her side, I was able to turn the tide real quick. Or better said, I thought I would be. I received a few more kicks from her before I was able to grab her legs and prepared to pull her down. I just had not noticed the collar of fire around her neck.

The next moment I heard her say the magic words, and before I even had realised it, I had let go of her and continued to sail through the air.

Tricky little pegasus!

Good thing we were in the garden, having plenty of room around us for which to fly, so I was able to collect myself mid air and stop my flight before I collided with the wall.

What had gotten into my mate? I did not understand this at all! While I was still hoovering in the air, unsure of what to do, Fluffy had already made her next move.

Quickly, she flew over to my stone and landed atop it, roaring at me from her new position. It was more impressive in her kirin form than what she would have been able to manage as a pony.

Anyway, she had finally done something I could understand. She rightfully claimed the reward for fighting me, in this case, my favorite napping spot.

Not that I would let her get away with it so easily!

I flew straight at her and growled a warning. Mate or not, if she was to take what is mine, she would have to cuddle or fight with me over it. From how she was behaving, you could guess what she would do.

She jumped into the air just a moment before I landed, and tried to use her speed as a pegasus to fly circles around me. But this was a mistake on her part, thinking she could do that after we’d been a pair for several years now! Not even her kirin tricks would be of help to her, in fact, it made it more easy for me.

I faked a slap at her chest, and when she evaded, I grabbed her tail, forcefully pulling her closer to me.

“Come here you!” I growled.

Just for her to quickly open the collar and for her now shortened tail to slip from my claw. She showed me her tongue before flying backwards once more, turning around and heading for the exit to the lair.

Whatever was going on in her mind, I dared not to guess. I did quickly follow after her though.

“Catch me if you can!” Fluffy yelled back at me when she reached the tunnel to the surface. It was still the same old tunnel I chased her through four years ago when we had our first date. So I had to actually run through it while she flew. I lost sight of her after a moment because of this, but I would not let her escape!

I increased my effort to catch up and ran as fast as I could towards the surface. But when I arrived at the exit to our lair, Fluffy was nowhere to be seen. Instead, I heard her laughing from within the tunnel.

There, behind a blanket in the colour of the wall, I spotted her, peeking out with her head. In my haste, I had failed to notice her and had instead ran straight past her. She must have planned this a while ago, placing the blanket there! Oh, I would have some words with her as soon as I had her in my claws again!

I roared, less naughty or playful this time, instead making it exceptionally dominant.

She did the same before heading back into the lair, with me right on her hooves.

This time she stayed in my sight the whole time as we ran through the tunnel, but at the very end, right when the tunnel flared out into the cave contiangin my garden, she stopped mid air and threw something back at me. I was too angry to notice what it was at first, but after a second, the knowledge seeped into my mind.

It was a leash.

For a second I wondered about this, but the mockingly laughter of Fluffy ahead of me stole my focus. She was looking in my direction and blowing a kiss at me, only then to turn around, wave her tail at me, and fly into the inner lair.

You bet I was after her twice as fast as before!

When I passed the door, yes we had a door in addition to the lattice now, I saw her tail vanishing in the bedroom.

I growled. She could not escape anymore!

Slowly I approached the bedroom myself, watching out for any traps or funny tricks Fluffy might have planned still.

When I entered the chamber though, I only found my mate sitting, or rather half laying, on the bed, giving me seductive eyes all of the sudden. She even rubbed over the free spot at her side with a wing.

I growled more forcefully, I did not trust the scene at all. I was also a bit angry with her at the moment.

She, however, cuddled deeper into the blankets and pillows, suddenly purring most alluringly.

“What does this mean?” I asked sceptically. “First you fight me, now you want to cuddle and have fun?”

“Mhh-mh,” she nodded happily.

“Is this some kind of trick?” I asked while approaching the bed.

“A trick to seduce my dragonfriend,” Fluffy nodded again and pulled out a bottle of wine from under the bed, along with a bowl full of emeralds and awful diamonds.

I stared at the bowl in confusion.

Fluffy noticed it too and her expression became slightly accusatory. “Don’t tell me you don’t get the reference.”

“What reference?” I asked growlingly.

“A bit of fighting, a chase through the tunnels, a leash,” her voice got a bit louder, “emerald and diamond salad, wine…” she let the last word linger in the air.

I didn’t get it. And Fluffy noticed it too.

“Maybe if I let the horn gramophone play some country music you would get it?”

“Country music, gramophone?” I wondered, just a few seconds before it hit me. It was like our first date! “Ohh.” When I said this, Fluffy happily nodded.

“Finally you get it!” she cheered and sunk back into the bed, spreading her wings most welcomingly out for me.

My anger vanished instantly and I purred. “Yes,” I said while I approached her and rubbed my nose against her belly,” now I get it. Some fun while we have the lair for our own!”

“Could be some time till we have an empty lair again,” Fluffy said. “We should make use of it!”

I couldn't agree more. “I am sure we could find a babysitter for Fiery more often, especially since your brother has a kid of his own.”

“That very well could be,” Fluffy purred, fondling over my snout, ”though, in eight or nine months, I don't think that will be all too feasible.”

“Mhh?” I wondered.

“You know, a pregnancy takes some time,” she explained.

I stopped dead in the tracks of rubbing her belly. “You mean…”

“Mhh-mh,” Fluffy confirmed with an even more happy tone than before. “You’re going to be a daddy again!”

Well, that explained her long talks with Fortuna for sure!

Fluffy grabbed my snout and placed a kiss on my lips while she embraced my head with her wings. “Oh look at you!” she purred. “My big dangerous dragon friend, all astonished and silent all of the sudden.

Slowly, I came to my senses and started to purr. Louder and louder till it began to echo off the walls.

“Much better,” Fluffy decided with a smile as wide as mine. She paused and raised her eyebrows. “We should still make use of the empty lair, right?”

I pressed her back into the pillows and began nibbling on her throat and placing little kisses along the way.

She giggled. “I thought so.”

***

Softly, I let my snout slide along Fluffies side, only for her to cuddle closer against me. We had had great fun, but now my little pegasus surely needed a rest. Actually, she was half asleep, but somehow clinging to me, with her left wing and legs resting lazely on my body.

We had made ourselves comfortable on my resting stone in the meantime. A few blankets, a few pillows, you know, the stuff you need to build a nest for a dragon and a pegasus. I was more than welcome to curl around her, sharing my warmth and play with her wings and fluff while doing so.

A purrfect situation I would say.

Well, sometimes she tried to change her position in her sleep, but a quick, urgent purr would cause her to shift back into a more desirable position for cuddling.

Yes, I am a sneaky dragon sometimes.

Though, with more and more time passing, even though it was a wonderful, most enjoyable time, I started to wonder when Fiery would come back. The walk they were taking was supposed to go for some time, but it was already evening. Every now and then I lifted my head to look towards the cave entrance, a thing Fluffy quickly noticed whenever she woke up from her slumber.

“They’ll be fine,” she half yawned, rubbing her snout against my chest. “They’ll be back any minute.”

Her words didn’t help to alleviate my concern, but her little growl when she noticed my head was not caressing her did catch my attention. A demanding pegasus she was. Of course, that would only increase the longer she was pregnant if the first time was anything to go by.

I smiled and made sure Fluffy was well cuddled and wrapped under my wing. I was rewarded with her fluffing up and purring happily.

“We’re back!” Suddenly echoed through the outer lair.

“See? I told you they’d be here any minute.” Fluffy teased me, rolling to the other side so I could stand up.

“Hey!” I protested as she was already sinking into the pile of pillows nearby.

“You go greet them,” she said, “I’ll be right behind you… in a few minutes.”

“Lazy pegasus,” I giggled, nibbling at her neck, causing her to hiss lustfully and slap me with her tail.

“Insatiable dragon,” Fluffy purred, not judgmental, more approving.

“Keep that mood in mind, we will have use for it later,” I replied and looked up to the entrance again. Any second now, a little kirin should burst in and run or fly down to us, demanding cuddling.

When a minute or so had passed, I tilted my head, normally Fiery would already be here. I rose from my spot next to Fluffy.

“Hmm?”

“It shouldn’t take Fiery so long to reach us when Never’s already in shouting distance.”

Her ears perked up at that before she rolled over so she was on her belly, watching the entrance too.

Where was our daughter? My father sense kicked in and I roared out for her, no not an aggressive roar, instead a father’s worried roar for his hatchling.

Fluffy got on her hooves.

A few seconds later, Fiery’s reply came, though it was quiet and farther away than I liked it to be.

I was in the air and on the way to the tunnel before I was able to really process how worried I was. Fluffy was on my tail instantly, nothing wakes a mother more effectively then worry about her children.

“Fiery,” Fluffy shouted, “are you alright sweety?”

Another little roar from our daughter echoed through the tunnel.

“She’s alright!” Never’s nervous voice yelled when I had roared again. He was very well aware that a dragon who was nervous could be a problem.

His assessment of her well being did not stop Fluffy and I from sprinting into the tunnel though. It didn’t take long for us to reach them. Fiery was walking in front of the group, with Never and Holly following behind with a stroller containing their own foal.

The first thing I noticed was that Fiery had raised her wings and was holding them almost straight up.

Something was not right it seems!

A growl built up in my throat, if Never had let my daughter get hurt while he was supposed to watch over her…

Then I saw it, his own leg, the one he was using to hold back Holly so Fiery could walk ahead, was in a bandage!

I roared in anger and increased my speed, very much to the surprise of Fiery, who stopped in her tracks and asked unsure, “Daddy?”

She looked back at her uncle and then to me and her mom. She had no clue what the fuss was about.

A moment later, I stopped abruptly when I reached her and dropped my nose to her level, checking her for any injuries. She, however, licked over my snout, expecting to be cuddled. I was not in the mood though, sniffing at her wings a second later, looking for what was wrong with them. It was not an easy task since Fluffy tried to do the same thing at that moment. I hadn’t noticed how fast she had caught up with me, but when she was worried about her child, she was as fast as lightning.

Though, you would never believe what we found to be the reason for her wings being in that position.

It was an egg! An egg in different shades of green and with a few brown sprinkles laying on her back, safe and sound protected by her wings.

“I found egg!” Fiery said proudly when she noticed us examining her discovery. She also raised her head higher after saying this, obviously expecting some praise and purring.

That had to wait a moment though, since now that I knew she was alright, I cared to investigate Never’s leg a bit further.

“What happened?” I asked shortly, keeping the side of my snout on Fiery’s level, looking up to Never.

“Uhm, well, she found an egg.” he explained nervously.

“And?” my gaze demonstratively wandered to his leg.

“Well, I tried to lay it back to where she found it, but she didn’t want me to take it from her, so she bursted into flames and bit me.”

“A reasonable reaction by her,” I decided and lowered my head again to purr and rub it against my daughter. I knew it was normal for ponies to not think too much about eggs, but his reaction to return it was reasonable too. Though, Fiery’s reaction as a half dragon to keep and protect the lonely egg was just as logical. I could not see either of them being in the wrong, that much I had learned at least from my life with Fluffy.

Fluffy, however, was not so calm. After she had made sure Fiery was alright, she’d listened to Never’s explanation as well.

“Fiery!” she addressed our daughter sharply, “You shall not bite your uncle!”

“He stole egg!” she replied accusingly, pointing at him.

“That is no reason to bite him!” Fluffy went on.

“I would very well say it is,” I supported Fiery. “Though, he couldn’t have known better.”

“How can you say that?” Fluffy asked as her chest fluffed up in annoyance. “Don’t tell our daughter it is okay to bite her uncle!”

“He tried to steal her egg,” I repeated for her. “He is lucky that she let go of him at all.” I turned to Never for a second. “Don’t worry though, I understand why you did so and forgive you.”

He ruffled his nose. “How generous…”

“Big Softy,” Fluffy sighed, “I know how sensitive you dragons are when it comes to eggs, but this is not some little baby, it’s some random egg that our daughter found somewhere.”

“Hatchling!” Fiery threw in happely.

“Sweety that is…” Fluffy started but I interrupted her.

“You can’t know, the hatchling could very well still be alive.”

“You can not be serious!”

“Well, we will find out.”

“We will not brood this egg!” Fluffy insisted energetically. “We will put it back to where it belongs!”

“You want to take the egg from her?” I asked while pointing my snout at our little daughter. Fiery looked up to her mom with this sunshine in her eyes like what other little half pony bornlings have, totally unaware of what her mother’s intentions were.

“You really think you can take the egg from her and not break her little heart?” I asked once more. “Go try it, she will never trust mommy again.”

“It is just an egg!” Fluffy looked down at Fiery and stretched out her hoof for said item. “Sweety,” she took the egg, ”you can’t keep it, it belongs outside,” she explained nicely.

“Egg!” Fiery replied seriously and rose onto her hind hooves, placing her claws on her mother’s hooves, watching it closely. “Mommy, put in fluff!” she added a bit later with joy while her tail had started to wave behind her.

“Fiery, look,” Fluffy started, lowering herself and stroking over our daughters head with a hoof. “It is just a random egg, we can’t hatch it. Mommy will take it back outside.”

And she very well tried to, she even went a few steps in that direction, but our daughter quickly started to realise what her mom wanted to do, and she did not approve!

“Mommy?” Fiery asked worriedly, and when Fluffy took a few steps further, she chased after her and bit onto her tail, trying to pull her back.

Normally I would instantly roar at her, since it was not allowed to bite mommy’s tail, but today she had every right to do so.

“No, Fiery,” Fluffy said, “you can’t keep it.” And she continued on her way back to the surface, dragging the little kirin along with her.

When her attempts to stop mommy didn’t give the desired result, Fiery switched to a stronger weapon. She started to cry! Thick tears rolled down her face, and she made it very audibel how sad the was with her mom’s decision.

This got Fluffy to stop. She may be able to resist Fiery’s pleading to keep the egg, but not her crying.

She turned around and opened her wing to embrace our daughter, trying to calm her down. “Fiery,” she whispered, “it is just an egg, no need to cry.”

Fiery cried anyway.

A second wing found its way onto our daughter’s back as Fluffy tried to explain it to her. Though, when she let her guard down, Fiery snatched the egg out of Fluffy’s hoof and escaped her wings before making her way over to me as fast as she could.

“Fiery!” Fluffy shouted after her, but she didn’t listen. Instead, she sought shelter under my belly, squeaking loudly for daddies protection.

So when Fluffy approached, I did something I very, very rarely did, I lowered my stance and hissed at my mate. Not the diplomatic hiss, a threatening one. I doubt Never or Holly were able to tell the difference, and given that they saw us growling and hissing at each other several times before as part of a bargain, they did not interfere. Though, Fluffy could very well tell the difference.

“Big Softy?” she asked disbelieving, stopping in her tracks.

I hissed again and stepped forward, like I would do with an actual threat. Only difference was that I would not bounce towards her since it was Fluffy after all. My movement also allowed Fiery to climb up my tail, getting between my wings and curling up around the egg there.

Fluffy, however, was totally unsure of what to do, she had raised a hoof and tried to find the right words to say, but I didn’t wait for her to find them, instead, with her keeping her distance, I turned around and headed back into the lair. “Come, Fiery,” I said, “mommy is out of her mind today.”

“What was that?” I heard Holly ask behind us after a moment. “I thought you guys hiss and growl at each other regularly just to cuddle directly afterwards?”

“Me too…” Fluffy replied quietly.

*

Back at the lair, I made my way over to my and Fluffy’s bedroom, and stopping when I reached the bed. “We need a warm nest for the egg,” I told Fiery, but she wasn’t listening, her thoughts were still on her little treasure. “Alright,” I said, “daddy will build it.”

And so that was what I did. I may not be as good at it as Fluffy, but as a dragon, I knew the basics. I placed Fiery carefully on the one side of the bed, the egg tightly wrapped in her hooves and wings, and started to pile up blankets and pillows. “This is harder than it seems,” I mumbled to my daughter when I created ‘something’. My first try was just a mess, too big for Fiery, no little hollow for the egg, in short, not suitable at all.

“I’ll try again,” I said when Fiery looked at it with disapproval. “I know it is not good, stop judging me.”

Okay, it couldn’t be that hard I thought. I took a blanket as the base and pressed it down in the center a bit to create the needed hollow. Then, I added the pillows as outer walls and covered them with blankets to fluff things up.

“Yeah, that looks better.” I nodded at what I’d done and looked over to Fiery.

Obviously it was not as good as I thought it was. She just glanced at it and snorted disapprovingly. “Not good.” she judged.

“You are a nitpicky little kirin, you know?”

“Papa, make better nest!” she ordered.

“I am trying.”

“Try more.”

“Alright,” I shook my head a bit amused about her, but she was right, for an egg, the nest must be perfect. Maybe if I gathered a bit of hay from the kitchen? Or some feathers from Fiery’s bed?

While I was still in thought, the echo of hoofsteps resonated through the room, and a moment later, an orcher mare stuck her head into the room.

Fluffy looked very sad and miserable. Still, she slowly trotted into the room. I just watched her, as did our daughter, but when she came closer to the bed, Fiery started to hiss. Normally this would be unthinkable! I would not allow her to hiss at her mom, but today her mom had screwed up really badly.

Fluffy quickly looked at me for help, but I was on the side of our daughter in this matter, she had tried to steal an egg from her.

“Fiery,” Fluffy said quietly, with a pleading undertone. “It’s me, mommy.”

Our daughter was well aware of that. She crouched down on the egg to protect it from the threat of her mother, showing her fangs to her.

“Sweety…”

Fiery hissed louder as well as raising her tail.

For a moment, Fluffy wasn’t able to stand her gaze and looked on the ground, before looking back up. “Mommy wants to help.”

That statement didn’t land for Fiery since she didn’t feel she could trust mommy on that, but I watched Fluffy closely, to see if that was really her intention. I know, ponies are not exactly deceptive in the first place, and she is my mate, but when it comes to eggs, ponies are very careless and dangerous. They even eat them!

Though, Fluffy seemed to be being honest about her intentions.

So when Fiery hissed at her once more after she stepped closer, I rubbed my head against our daughters back. “Daddy will handle this,” I explained, calming my daughter with that.

“I told you she would never trust you again if you tried to steal the egg from her.”

Fluffy rubbed over her leg ashamed and looked to the side. “I know, it is just, I wanted to protect her from the pain she will feel when it isn’t going to hatch. Also she will be overstrained by the responsibility of brooding it anyway.”

“A good thing she has a fluffy pegasus mom who can help with that.”

“You expect me to sit on it for the next few weeks?” Fluffy asked disbelievingly. “I can’t just sit on the egg all day doing nothing for the next few weeks!”

“Then mommy will not be welcome around the egg in the coming weeks either,” I stated while rubbing my head above Fiery’s back once more. “Mommy screwed up really badly.”

I could see how this statement hurt her. Her head drooped as well as her wings. I could barely stand it. Whatever she had done, she was my mate, and seeing her this way made me sad. More so with the good news she had told me earlier today.

Fiery was not so easily bothered though, and pointed at her while looking up to me. “Bad, bad mommy!”

“Indeed,” I agreed, though my heart was not so much into it anymore thinking about Fluffy’s pregnancy. So when Fluffy deflated even more under this accusation, I went on, “but mommy can make up for it.”

Fluffy’s ears perked up and she looked up to me.

“Mommy is best at making nests, Fiery, and she has chest fluff to keep the egg warm.”

“Mommy bad!” Fiery replied.

“Mommy can nest best!”

My daughter just looked at her with suspicion, not trusting her.

I could agree with Fiery on this matter, that Fluffy had betrayed her, but I knew Fluffy wanted to make up for it. So I took a position between the egg and her, but made sure she could reach the bed and the ‘nest’ I had built. “Mommy will help with the nest,” I decided, looking at Fluffy to let her know this was an opportunity she better not pass on.

And indeed, quickly, she trotted over, under the close eye of Fiery, and worked her pegasus magic on the ‘nest’. In a matter of seconds, she threw pillows aside, punched the blankets into the proper shape, and finally pushed and pulled here and there until the whole thing was a cozy, inventing nest, worthy for an egg to lay in. All in under half a minute!

The result was so impressive that even Fiery perked up and gave it a closer look. She searched so hard, but didn’t find anything to complain about.

“See, mommy is a great help.”

Her gaze wandered up to me unsure.

“We place the egg under mommy’s fluff, it is the best place for it.”

Fiery’s reaction was only to lay down again and grab the egg tighter.

That only made her mom feel sadder of course.

“Fiery,” I said insistently and poked her with my nose. “Mommy wants to help.”

“No!” she replied stubbornly.

“Look how soft mommy’s chest fluff is,” I said, and when Fluffy had laid down, stroked over it with my snout, purring all the while, praising the feeling it gave me. “Nothing is as good as mommy’s chest fluff!”

Her resistance crumbled a bit at hearing this. Hesitantly, she threw a glance over to me. I of course increased my cuddling of her mom, showing how much I enjoyed it with my purring and little sounds of pleasure.

The good thing was, Fiery knew how soft her mom was, she had slept under this wonderful fluff many times herself. So slowly, she came closer. Only one step at first, then another. And when she was a wingspan away, at least for her, she stopped and hesitantly held the egg in her claws while watching her mother.

“The egg would fit perfectly here,” I mentioned and lifted a bit of Fluffy’s fluff up near her chest, revealing the hollow in the blanket beneath. “Safe and warm,” I added with even louder purring.

“Mommy bad?” Fiery more asked than stated now.

“No, mommy will behave,” I assured her.

“Yes, sweety, mommy will not steal the egg,” Fluffy confirmed and tried to fluff up as best as she could.

It took her a while to decide though, and a lot of affirmation that mommy would neither steal nor harm the egg, but, in the end, she came carefully closer and placed the egg below her mom.

When it was in place, Fluffy sunk down on it and started to brood it. Very much to the approval of our daughter. The good thing about a bornlings mind is that they forgive as fast as they get angry, if you make up for what you did.

So a little while later, Fiery was peacefully leaning against her mother, enjoying the warmth she was spending while I lay curled up around them.

Relieved that this incident had no further consequences, Fluffy rubbed her head against my neck. “Thank you,” she said, placing a kiss on my neck before she leaned back.

“You are not off the hook yet, you still have to brood the egg. Fiery is going to watch you closely these coming days.”

“I know,” she smiled, turning her gaze to our daughter. “I know. But what will we do when the egg does hatch? I mean, I don’t think it will, but what if it does? I don’t know how to feed a baby bird.”

“Me neither,” I confessed. “That could indeed be a problem.”

Now Fluffy looked at me concerned. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought that far when you allowed Fiery to keep the egg!”

“Uhm,” I rubbed over my neck, “actually…”

Fluffy facehoofed.

*

“Uhm, yes, I do know a bit about birds. I raised Blue Ember after all,” Holly said when I asked her while we sat in the kitchen with cups of tea. Her husband, Never, had started preparing their daughter, Soundy Do, for bed just a few minutes ago, and so we had a moment to talk. And for those who don’t know, Blue Ember was her pet, a noctnix, or what ponies often called a night phoenix.

“Also I’ve had a lot of opportunities to watch birds raise their children while working as a forester in the White Tail Woods,” Holly went on, “though, are you really sure you want to raise a bird in your lair? Wouldn’t it be better to just give it to an animal shelter? From my personal experience, it’s not an easy task at all.”

“I am sure Fiery would not approve of that.”

“Shouldn’t you decide that,” she gestured to both me and Fluffy who was in our bedroom. “I mean, as her parents, it’s your duty to judge what is good for her.”

“Yes, but as a dragon, I am not willing to take the egg from her, and seeing as she is half pony, I am sure she will not be willing to abandon the hatchling after it breaks out of its egg.”

“Wait, you would do that?” Holly seemed to be a bit surprised. “After how much of a fuss you made about keeping the egg, you don’t care about the little babybird inside?”

“It’s not my hatchling,” I explained the obvious. “I protect the egg of course, but what the hatchling does afterwards is their business.”

Holly stared at me for a moment before turning her gaze down and inhaling deeply with a strange look on her face. “Dragons…”

“What?”

“Nothing,” she waved me off and took a sip of her tea. “Anyway, what you need to raise the babybird is food, water and some kind of nest.” She smiled. “Well, it depends a bit on the bird’s species, for a phenix for example you need a lot more heat than for a sparrow for example.

“Warmth shouldn’t be a problem, we have two fluffy creatures in this lair all the time. Water is also available. Only thing is, what does a bird hatchling eat?”

“Highly dependent on the species. If it is a normal bird, it could require worms, seeds, even insects of some kind. You know,” she spun her hoof in a circle, “flies, bees, mosquitoes, stuff like that.”

“I am quite sure I can dig out a few worms from the garden, maybe even find a beehive somewhere, but flies and mosquitoes are a bit too small for me to hunt.”

“You can buy them in a pet food store, if there is one around that is?”

“I don’t know,” I thought about it. “I never needed to use one before, so I didn’t pay attention to if there is one around here.”

“Well, every big town should have one,” she assured me. “Many creatures love to have pets at home, so it makes sense to have a shop around.”

I giggled at this.

“Hmm? What’s so funny?”

“I just remembered that I considered having some ponies as pets when I first met Fluffy. If there was a pet shop around for your species, that would be quite the sight! You could get your hay there, and even pet the little ponies in the showcases. That would be an awesome pet shop!”

She gave me that kind of look.

“I know,” I said amused, “it was just a thought back then.”

After a moment, Holly joined my giggling. “You know, having a dragon in the family tree makes things a bit more interesting.”

“Same goes for ponies,” I replied.

“Indeed,” a new voice entered our conversation. It was Never with Soundy Do on his foreleg. The little one was wrapped up in a pyjama near completely.

“Soundy wanted to say good night to mommy and uncle Big Softy,” Never explained and held her up.

Just to let you know, I was quite happy with how Never and Holly’s foal had turned out. I had been wrong when I said that it would take Holly a few times to produce fluffy little foals, instead, on their first try, she had given birth to a lovely little pegasus girl, complete with fluff and feathers. Fluffy of course had told me I was wrong repeatedly whenever they came to visit or we ran into them in general.

Anyway, I lowered my head and touched the baby with my nose after Holly had taken her time to cuddle her. “Good night Soundy,” I whispered.

“Good night uncle Big Softy,” Never said and took one of his daughter’s hoofs in his own and waving it. “Sleep well.”

I smiled and waved back.

“Well, time for me to go to bed too then,” Holly said. “I hope you can find one of those shops nearby. The one for actual animals,” she added with a blink.

“I hope so too,” I grinned.

“Good night,” she said and took her daughter from Never, leaving with both of them in the direction of the guest chamber.

That been said, I like them, Holly, Never and their daughter too, but, I am very glad that my daughter had turned out to be a kirin. All Soundy was able to do was cry, sleep, and then cry more. Maybe eat too sometimes, or fill her diaper. A pony foal is a lot, and I mean a lot harder to raise than a kirin.

That brought me back to the topic that Fluffy was pregnant again, it had been buried under the actual events a bit so we hadn’t told Never and Holly yet. Though, I think it was Fluffy’s decision when we would tell them.

***

Well, the little egg surely took its time, much to the displeasure of Fluffy, who had to care for it. She wasn’t bound to the nest all the time though, since we were able to build some kind of mobile nest. A mix of fabric, wool, and a lot of strings that hung in front of her chest, allowing her to move around while the egg was safely buried in half of her fluff.

Though, it was not helping Fluffy’s mood that Fiery stopped her every now and then to check on the egg, quite often actually. Though, remembering how deeply Fiery cared for the egg and how she’d screwed up by wanting to throw it away, well, she endured it. At least our daughter had forgiven her completely after she had taken on the task of watching over the egg.

Be it as it may, day after day passed by and Never and Holly left a few days later, that was after a little celebration when Fluffy told them she was in good hope again, which Holly responded too by telling her she was too. Never obviously knew nothing about it till that moment, given his reaction to it. It was great fun to see him that way, though, it was even more when all the ponies started to sing a strange song about having a second baby soon. I couldn’t join, but I could enjoy it. I was looking forward to the moment they would tell grandma and grandpa Do, sure it would cause even more singing and cuddling.

Though, when they were gone, and Fluffy was busy with watching Fiery and the egg, I was not idle either. I started to extend the lair once more, we would have another bornling towards the end of the year, so it was better that we were prepared. I also had to extend Fiery’s room soon, after all, the little bird needed a place to stay too.

It was maybe two and a half weeks later when the egg finally started to make noises. We were in the kitchen when it happened.

“Hmm?” Fluffy said suddenly while looking at the mobile nest. Then she placed a hoof on my snout, pushing me a bit away from her. “Shhh,” she said, “I’m listening!”

“What is it?” I asked anyway.

“I thought I heard something, like a scratch or so.”

“The egg?”

“I said shh! I can’t hear anything when you’re speaking.”

Now we both focused our attention on the egg, waiting for something to happen. And indeed, a few seconds later, there was the hint of movement coming from within it, like the hatchling turning in the egg.

I exchanged a look with Fluffy. She had heard it too.

“I told you it will hatch!” I poked her hoof with my nose happily. “When it starts to move it will break the shell soon.”

“How soon?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t brooded an egg before.”

“But you’re a dragon! I assumed you were an expert with eggs given how much you insist on protecting and caring for them.”

“Just because I hatched from an egg doesn’t mean I know how long it takes for it to hatch. And protecting them is something natural, like you would protect a foal.”

“So what are we gonna do now?”

“I would say we place it back into the nest and tell Fiery. She surely wants to know that the egg is about to hatch.”

“Alright, sounds like a good idea,” Fluffy approved and started to move towards the living room. “Take the chick food,” she requested as her gaze wandered back to the nest she was carrying.

I took the box and smiled when I watched her on her way. It was a bit funny to see how careful she suddenly was. The mobile nest was made precisely for the purpose of her being able to walk around and do stuff without risking the eggs safety. And she had trotted around the past weeks like she always did. But now with the egg about to hatch, she was careful as a dragoness with her own egg, walking slowly, holding the nest with a hoof and a wing spread ready to rush under it if the egg may fall off.

Pegasy…

Anyway, I followed her, entering the living room behind her. And while she moved over to the little padded box to place the egg there, I addressed our daughter who was laying on the ground coloring in a coloring book.

“Fiery, good news!”

She looked up to me.

“The egg will hatch soon.”

Her ears perked up and her tail rose. “Egg will hatch?” She was already half on her way over to mommy before the ending of her sentence.

Fluffy giggled when Fiery placed her claws on the edge of the box and peaked inside, waving her tail like a flag behind her in anticipation.

“Somekirin is very excited, right?” Fluffy asked with a smile while she stroked over Fiery’s head. “Your little friend is surely as impatient as you to meet you.”

“You want to nest on the egg till it hatches?” I asked when I joined them, placing the foodbox next to the nest. “Of course you want to,” I said and lifted Fiery up by her mane and slow and carefully placed her on the egg.

My daughter arranged herself a bit, making sure the egg was covered the best she could while also being able to lay comfortably. Though, after a few seconds, she stood up again and watched the egg.

It had made a noise again.

With a happy purring, Fiery doubled her efforts to nest it and sank back down, sure the egg would hatch any moment.

Though, the little one took its time! It took them a full hour until they eventually tried to break the shell. In the meantime, Fluffy and I had taken a seat on the couch and had placed the box with our daughter and the egg next to us.

The hatchling’s attempts to break the shell was brought to our attention when Fiery suddenly jumped up in surprise. She nearly fell out of the box in her attempt to not harm the egg when she landed.

And now it was clear to see, the egg had a crack!

“Any moment now.” I judged, leaning over the box. Though, Fluffy did the same and with Fiery in the box as well, it got a little cozy.

The egg did not care of course, and while we were still arranging ourselves, the bird poked the shell with his beak once more, causing a piece to fall off.

When the reddish beak was made visible, Fiery crouched down and purred loudly. Encouraging the little one to break free.

Well, it did its best. More and more pieces of the shell landed in the nest, and soon a little greenish head peaked out from the egg, chirping for its parents.

“Aww,” Fluffy said, “look at this little cutie.”

She looked over to me, but was surprised about the concerned gaze on my face. She shifted her gaze between me and the little bird several times, wondering what may be wrong.

“What is it? Why the concerned face?” she asked.

I remained silent, watching the chick. I had a bad feeling that I knew that species.

When it made its way out of the egg, revealing it had two pairs of wings, green feathers, and two legs, my worries were confirmed, and a growl formed in my throat.

“Big Softy!” Fluffy reacted to my growl with surprise. “What's wrong?” She laid a hoof on my chest, switching her gaze hecticly from me to the bird and back.

Fiery also noticed it and looked up to me. “Daddy?” she asked fearfully and moved over the egg to protect it.

“I know that species!” I growled, “that’s a ventalas, a lair parasite! We’re going to get rid of it!”

“We will not!” Fluffy yelled outrage. “It is a baby! A harmless little chick! You will not harm it!”

“Of course not!” I yelled back, “I won’t harm a hatchling, we’re going to bring it out of the lair and place it somewhere in the woods!”

Fluffy was shocked for a moment. “That is not going to happen!”

“Why not? You wanted to get rid of the egg in the first place!”

“And you insisted on keeping it, making me brood it and allowing Fiery to get even more connected to it! Look how much you’re already scaring her by just growling!” She stood up and pointed at her. “You will not take the bird from her! I forbid it!”

“You forbid it?” I half yelled. “You forbid it?” This presumption angered me immensely.

“Yes I do!” Fluffy insisted and got between me and the nest. “It is because of you that we hatched that egg, now it is your responsibility to care for the hatchling that came from it!”

I started to growl, but received a punch to my chest scales by Fluffy instantly. “Don’t you dare!” she growled.

I was going to respond accordingly, but a quick look at my daughter made me think otherwise. She looked up to us with fear and worry, protecting the little hatchling as best as she could with her body. Even in the heat of the argument, it was crystal clear to me that I would not be able to take the hatchling away from her. Fluffy couldn’t do it, and neither could I.

“Fine!” I snorted. “I leave the hatchling in peace, but I will not care for it!” Before Fluffy could respond, I turned around demonstratively and moved off the couch, putting distance between me and the nest with the parasite in it.

I settled down on one of the chairs and watched the scenery from there. By the time I got to the chair though, Fluffy had already started to calm our daughter. She was whispering to her, stroking over her head and back, and together, mother and daughter, they watched the hatchling completely get rid of the remaining shell.

Of course, like newborns, the need to feed it arised. Fluffy took the baby bird food we had prepared and tried to feed the little one, but without success. It refused to eat the seeds or even the worms we had collected in a glass full of earth.

It was no surprise for me, but it was a huge problem for Fluffy and Fiery. A hatchling needs a lot of food real quickly after the hatch.

They tried everything, they plundered the fridge for anything they thought a little bird could eat. They even looted the pantry. It was all for nothing. No fruit, no plant, not even living insects were to the bird’s liking. It drank the water they offered it though.

In the end, they even tried to feed it with a gem. A good idea, but even though it was a tiny gem, it was too big for the bird to swallow it. It tried though, but puked it out shortly after. I knew it needed shards, but for Fluffy, it just looked like it was with every other food, not to its liking.

Hour after hour passed. And while I kept my position of not helping raise a parasite in my own lair, Fluffy’s efforts became more desperate. She even tried to feed the bird with a spoon full of thin soup she had cooked.

In the end, with the day moving on, the little bird got weaker and weaker. Like I said, a hatchling needs to be feed quite quickly or it will perish.

I was looking forward to it. Sure it made me sad that Fiery would be sad about it, and I don’t want her to feel that way at all, but she would get over it in a few days or a few weeks.

In the end, it came different.

In her despair, Fiery came to me. “Daddy help!” she demanded.

“No,” I told her.

“Daddy!” she bit into my tail and tried to pull me.

“I said no!”

“Hatchling!” she started to cry, pointing at it. “Daddy!

I looked away.

That did not stop her attempts though. She rushed over to the nest and took the weak hatchling out. Under Fluffy’s concerned gaze of course.

The bird only chirped quietly, too exhausted to do much more.

“Daddy!” Fiery repeated and rushed back to me, holding up her little treasure. “Daddy must help!”

I looked down at her, not willing to.

“Daddy!” Now big tears were rolling down her eyes as she sobbed. “Daddy help!” she repeated over and over again.

My resistance crumbled.

Then the chirping of the bird stopped and it laid flat on Fiery’s claws. Maybe it was already too late. Fiery very well thought so, and her screams of pain echoed throughout the lair, loud and clear. She pressed the chick against her chest and made her suffering be heard wide and far.

Fluffy was quickly on her hooves to comfort her, wrapping her forelegs and wings around her, cradling her back and forth, whispering into her ears.

My will to not help was strong, and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was not right to raise this parasite bird, but my objections were washed away like sand on the beach under my daughter's cries of sadness.

I stood up, earning a gaze of hate from Fluffy, and made my way over to the nest, taking the little gem from it. With it in my claw, I returned to them.

“Give me the bird,” I ordered.

The cries of my daughter only got louder and she was not willing to claw it over to me.

“Daddy will help,” I explained, but she was too deep in her mourning to listen.

So I had to take the bird from her by force, though carefully so as not to harm it. It was a difficult task, more so with how angry Fiery got, she bursted into flames, causing her mother to drop her, and bit into my claw as best as she could.

The fact that daddy had let the little one die was something she was more than furious about.

Well, I was fireproof, as was Fiery, and the little bird, as a dragon's lair parasite, was too. If not, we dragons would have gotten rid of them a long time ago!

So without reacting to my burning daughter, I crushed the gem in my mouth, took the little splinters, and pushing them down into the beak of the bird.

First, nothing happened. “Come on,” I whispered, “don’t let me down now.”

I softly poked its chest with a talon.

“Eat the gem,” I ordered.

Nothing happened.

I roared at it forcefully, even causing Fiery to stop biting me for a second.

The bird moved, slowly, it raised its head, swallowing the sprinkles I had given it.

I placed another one in its beak.

With effort, it also swallowed that one.

“Good,” I commented, giving it time to breath for a moment. “Now more,” I declared, and piece by piece, I feed it the whole gem. It was visible now that its condition was improving with every passing minute and every piece of gem that vanished down its throat.

When I was sure the little one was no longer in danger of starving, I placed it back into the nest. “Daddy has helped,” I told Fiery, who had turned back to her normal kirin form soon after she understood I indeed tried to help and the bird was not dead yet.

She hopped into the nest at once and cuddled her new friend.

I snorted approvingly at them and turned around. Only to see Fluffy standing there, watching me, her expression a mystery.

“What?” I asked after a moment, but she still just stared at me with those brown, unfathomable eyes of hers.

“If you ever make my daughter this sad again, even if you could have prevented it,” she stepped closed, “I will rip off every scale from your body, slow and painfully,” she hissed. “Every. Single. One.” she repeated.

I gulped. At that moment, a hundred azure dragons indeed seemed to be less dangerous than my mate.

I took a step away from her. “I won’t.”

“Good,” she decided before allowing her intimidating aura to vanish as quickly as it had arissen. She trotted over to me and placed a hoof on my chest, rubbing over it. “There is a huge big softy inside there.”

I shook off a shiver which had run down my spine. “I assume so,” I replied and looked over to Fiery. “My daughter, again, has too much of an influence on me.”

“She is a Do after all,” Fluffy said. “We know how to deal with dragons.”

I looked back at her. “Yes,” I nodded, “yes, you do.”

***

I know what you are going to say! I should have dragoned up, roared down my daughter and gotten rid of that bird instantly. It is a little parasite that plunders the gems from dragons hoards, is fireproof, and way too quick to hit it with a claw easely. It deserved to die, get eradicated from the world!

I know all this!

But the truth is, I couldn’t. Yes, I am a black dragon, I am dangerous and deadly! Though, living with my mate and my daughter for years now… I simply could not do it. Yes, I admit, my fluffy mate and my adorable daughter have made me much softer than they should have been able too.

Be it as it is, like back in the days when I spared Fluffy’s life out of a moment of softness, it was to my fortune. After all, this is how Grünchen came into our lives. Yes, it is a more draconic name for him. And yes, it was a male bird we had hatched. Grünchen was something I came up with actually, it is a mix of grün, which means green in old draconic and uses the cute form of the word by adding chen. You may call him Greeny though, some creatures do, mostly the ones who have problems with the draconic letter of ü.

Fluffy was very happy with the name, she loves old draconic as a language. She never learned to speak it properly, but I told her a thing or two over the years. Anyway, Grünchen was a blessing as a pet for Fiery, you know, fireproof and such. They got along very well, Grünchen was luckily not too fragile to be cuddled when he was a bit older, so Fiery’s enthusiastic attempts to do so did not harm him.

I would like to add though, I was sure he would fly off as soon as he was fully fledged, but he didn’t. And so he became Fiery’s companion, her pet, when she grew up. And to be fair, since he was raised by a kirin, a pony and a dragon, he became less of a pest, and a member of the family instead.

Anyway, the last thing to tell you now is the second time my mate gave birth, right? Well, I thought I knew how it would proceed from the last time. But Fluffy had other plans...

Author's Note

Well, this is the pre-last chapter, so if there is anything you want to know or see, vote for it in my blog and I will see if I can write it into the last chapter too!

Many thanks to Schattendrache again for his editing service!
And also to Cyonix for his in-chapter sketch of little Fiery!