A Change in Scale

Chapter 4: Burning Bright

A Few Days Later-

Dragons don’t really build things like towns. They don’t build much of anything at all, really—their size, strength, resilience, and connection to the elements don’t translate well. Not to mention most dragons don’t require shelter beyond a place to store their hoard, and their reclusive nature discourages them from socializing in general.

Many things had changed with Ember’s rule, but in regards to dragon communities, there was still only one place that could be considered as such: Shearwind, the Wings of the World, highest peak of the Concordant Mountains. Here lay the capital of the Dragonlands, and also within lay the ancient lairs of the Dragon Lords.

Ember paced in her throne chamber near the stormy mountain summit. It was decorated in a theme of ice and fire, the weathered stone emblazoned with hot reds and frosty blues. Flaming ice crystals were set about in braziers for light, and a stream of boiling-hot water poured into a hot spring behind a gargantuan throne of blue granite. The re-sized Bloodstone Scepter rested upon the throne amidst etchings of frozen flame, it’s crimson light pulsing like a living heart.

Ember glided along the stone floor like a sapphire shadow. The ground was steady and unshaken in her wake, her several hundred-ton weight quieted by the usual spells. The only sound was the faint tap of her greatsword-length claws that set a tempo to her thoughts, her battering ram of a tail swaying like an oversized pendulum.

She was groomed and pampered to the letter. An acid bath to make her scales shine, a filing and polish of her claws and spines, a wing ‘preening’ and membrane softening with scented Saddle Arabian oils, a fang whitening with enchanted Dromardian pumice. She’d been snacking on those minty Crystal Empire gems for the last hour, and she kept glancing at the curling pathway on the cavern’s far side, straining for any sound like hooves.

“Rgggh…” Ember tore her eyes away and resumed pacing. She munched on a few more minty gems, her thoughts turning to the other thing Cadance had—no. Princess of Love or not, dragons and makeup didn’t mesh. Perhaps when things were more… developed, but right now—

“Dragon Lord!”

Ember turned. It was her head advisor and mentor, a little drake named Preelix. He was a tiny thing for a dragon, about the size of a stallion but nowhere near as bulky. His mottled bronze scales were covered with runic tattoos that glimmered in the light, and he moved with a nimbleness of a salamander. He bowed low before Ember while Snarl and Sear gave him wary looks.

“Preelix.” Ember waved a claw, and Snarl and Sear exited without a word. Once they were gone, Preelix teleported to hover before Ember’s gigantic face.

“The shapesssshifter king and prince have been received on the northern platform,” he said in a slithery tenor. “They’re on their way here.”

Ember nodded. She gestured to a large glowing platform before the throne, where a small pile of mana emeralds waited.

Preelix’s eyes gleamed. He teleported to the platform—

“No more than two!” Ember called after him. “I know how you get with those.”

Preelix grumbled something under his breath. Nonetheless, he snatched one two succulent gems and stuffed them in his maw, his eyes rolling back at the sweet, sugary taste.

Ember snickered. “Were all so easy to please.”

There was a pause while she let him eat. She came over and sat beside him, filling Preelix’s peripheral with a wall of blue. The platform glowed and rose up until it was eye level with her, and she took a second to make sure the private conversation spell was still in place before speaking.

“So, is it true?” Ember said. “Is Thorax really…?”

Preelix wiped the emerald flecks off his muzzle. “Yessss, and no. The king is quite large, to be sure, but not the sssssize his letter claimed. I’m thinking the Heart’s magic didn’t fully take.”

Ember’s face fell. “Well, you did warn me that might happen. Absorbing that much love at once in the first place was crazy to begin with. He’s lucky he didn’t burst.”

Preelix’s laugh was like shifting gravel. “Like an over-bloated tick. But ssssscaled to your size or not, I sense that noisy rock did more to him than meets the eye. You’ll be quite pleassssed, methinks.”

Ember raised an eyeridge. “Care to elaborate?”

Preelix chuckled. “And spoil the ssssurprise?”

Ember studied her tiny friend in silence, his familiar magic dancing around her like a summer breeze. “Alright, alright. I suppose he deserves a little fun after all he’s done. I just hope enough of the magic was permanent that—”

A blazing hot warmth flickered in the back of her mind. Her body rumbled from within, the warmth spreading through her to make her muscles twitch, her scales crawl, and her joints shift and pop. A giddy rush bubbled up in her that flowed to her limbs like water, and she hummed and stretched out as far as she could, her hum getting louder… stronger...

Preelix feigned surprise. “Oh, that reminds me. While out and about, I received a message from Mount Aris. Her Majessssty Queen Novo has agreed to your proposal for trade: their coral and deep sea pearlssss, for coal.”

Ecstasy shot through Ember like an orgasm. She could feel her fire breath burning hotter by the second, her legs, wings, and tail feeling pinched before stretching out and expanding. Her features lengthened, her muzzle swelled, and the rest of her followed an instant later. She grew inch after delectable inch, every part of her becoming larger… better... greater!

But alas, the rush left far too soon for Ember’s liking. She couldn’t sulk with the endorphins racing through her, but the desire for more lingered. She adjusted her stance and rose to her new height, grinning wide at how much higher she now loomed over Preelix’s platform.

“If you would, Preelix,” she said.

Preelix bowed. He teleported off, then returned with a metal rod etched in spidery white runes. He pointed it at Ember and spoke a command word...

“One hundred twelve feet, eight inchessss.” The measurement popped up in Preelix’s mind like an epiphany. “At the sssshoulder, mind you. Wingspan is—”

Ember’s horns glowed, and two more mana emeralds bounced off Preelix’s chest. She left him to his snack and swept down the corridor to her right, said corridor guarded by dozens of invisible wards, traps, and other defenses. They remained silent as she passed and entered the cavern, humming at the golden light that greeted her.

It was like the vault of King Midas. Coins, gems, paintings, sculptures, and magical items from around the globe, all gathered over the course of millennia by Dragon Lords past. A ring capable of summoning lightning, a belt that increased the wearer’s strength, gems that created endless water, diamond-carved busts of ancient leaders, brooches of purest platinum, thread woven from the night sky. Coins from empires long gone, scrolls of forbidden knowledge, trinkets from other dimensions, preserved herbs thought extinct, keys that could open any lock, tomes of apocalyptic power, glass balls that let you see other worlds, potions that could restore youth. Rare minerals and ingredients of all kinds, water walking footwear, bits of fallen meteorite, paintings of the Sun and the moon from up close… and so, so, SO much more.

“I could double this collection with the money we’ve made these last weeks.” A fierce, hungry look spread on Ember’s face. “Who’d have thought trading was so much more lucrative than raiding?”

Preelix appeared by the item racks with a FLASH. He put the metal measuring rod where he’d found it, then teleported back to Ember. “There’sssss been no word from Griffinstone yet. We won’t hear from Yakyakistan until next week, and we’re still in talks with Zebrica. However, according to my calculationssss, if all three agree to a deal...”

The thought sent a thrill up Ember’s spine. “I’m going to need a bigger throne room.”

Preelix fluttered to her shoulder. He watched the vast riches with distant eyes, faded memories flitting about the room like ghosts. “You’ve done well, Skysssscale. T’would seem your decision to embrace the ponies’ harmony was correct, after all.”

With the speed of a snail, Ember swivelled her neck to stare like he’d grown a second head. “Did… you just admit you were wrong about something?”

Preelix ignored that. “Consider this: A month of trade hassss amassed you more wealth than all your predecessors combined. That has many more implicationssss beyond the most obvious… How many have you considered?”

Ember snorted. Her pristine fangs were larger than Preelix’s entire body, and every time she spoke, her husky words washed over him like a wet, minty tide. “I’m going to be bigger than Father by week’s end. Forgive me for getting a little swept up in all this.”

Preelix held up a paw. “Yessss, your size and strength has increassssed alongside your subjects’ prosperity. You’ve grown nicely since your ssssnap… BUT, l don’t think you realize how badly the world wants these dirty, smoky rocks. I believe they’d have begun ssssearching the world for them within the decade, and sooner or later, they’d have learned of our ssssupply.”

Ember tilted her head. “And?”

Preelix folded his arms. “If we were still sssstuck in our old ways, what do you think might’ve happened?”

The implication was like a slap in the face. Ember looked up at the uneven ceiling, its red, swirling patterns like spidery veins. “I’m… not sure I want to think about that.”

“You musssst,” Preelix said in a soft voice. “A dragon keeps their hoard safe, young Skyscale. What’s chief among a Dragon Lord’s hoard?”

Ember clenched her fists. “...Their subjects.”

“And what was my first and mosssst important counsel to you?”

“Never try to fight the world,” she droned.

“Never, ever, ever.” Preelix waved a claw, magically patting Ember’s huge shoulder. “It’s a Dragon Lord’s duty to keep us safe... even from themselves. We are mighty and proud, but the weapons of this war—for it is indeed a war—are wordssss and wit. Learning the rules isn’t enough to carve a place in this changing world. We musssst also be self-aware.”

Ember looked past him a moment, her claw tapping his chin. “I was thinking of reaching out to our allies to decide who to approach next. Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“Yes,” said Preelix. “The good word of others will go a long way in opening the door, esssspecially with those unwilling to talk with us.”

Ember bowed her head. “Have I mentioned I don’t know what I’d do without you?”

Preelix murred. He waved his claw, and a small image of Ember’s head appeared before him, which he pressed his forehead to with a click. “You’ve your father’s brains, and your mother’s heart. Use them as you always have, and I promise, the riches in this cave will be a sliver of what awaitssss.”

Just then, a sigil on the wall lit up.

“Your shapeshifter ssssuitor,” Preelix said, dismissing the image. “Shall I go and deliver him from the Dunderhead Duo?”

Ember rolled her eyes. “Get out of here.”

Preelix left, and Ember took a moment to collect herself before returning to the main chamber. She retrieved the Bloodstone Scepter and settled upon her now-smaller throne with a deep breath, flexing her jaws in prep of speaking the ‘common’ tongue. She checked her scales for pebbles, examined her claws, ate a few more minty gems—

Shadows appeared in the far corridor. There was no sound on their approach, no clacking, no rumbling, no nothing. She heard only silence as the trio rounded the bend. Preelix appeared first on the wing, and behind him were Thorax and Pharynx, the brothers looking around the room with wide eyes...

It was easy for Ember to lose her sense of scale when alone in this room. She couldn’t get an good gauge on Thorax and Pharynx’s size, but near as she could tell, Thorax looked like he came up to her chest, while Pharynx came up to her… barrel? Wait, what?

Ember compared Pharynx to Preelix. No, her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her, he had to be at least four times bigger than he was in Griffinstone! He looked the same otherwise—same flat expression, same subtle movements, same calm eyes, just… bigger. He’d barely come up to her shins the last time she saw him, and that’d been when she was forty feet smaller—

Thorax’s coy smirk drew Ember in and brushed her questions aside like dust bunnies. He wasn’t walking, he was advancing on her, his wing coverings straining and his ruby-red tongue licking his lips. His physique was a sight to behold, his defined muscles gliding, his sculpted legs and chest bulging. She could actually see the individual muscles flexing around his neck and shoulders! Preelix had been right about him not being quite the size as her, but an improvement was still an improvement...

The trio stopped just before the throne. Preelix flew to Ember and whispered to her in Draconic. “Sssshall I skip the rigmarole?”

“Io above, yes.”

Preelix laughed. He flew over to his perch by Ember’s throne, he cleared his throat, then spoke with a spell that made him sound like he was right next to each of them.“Dragon Lord, I present to you King Thorax and Prince Pharynx, rulerssss of the Changeling Realms.”

Ember shifted in her seat. “Welcome to Shearwind, Your Majesties. It looks like you’ve some stories to tell.”

Thorax ogled Ember's pampered form. She was longer, curvier, more beautiful than ever… and much, much bigger. “Looks like you do, too.”

Ember grinned like a wolf. She was stretched out on her side, her powerful legs curled so she could fit upon her throne. “‘Something's different about you two... aside from the obvious, I mean.”

Thorax put a hoof behind his head. “Ah, yeah. I didn't mean for it to happen, least of all affect Pharynx, too—“

Pharynx turned to the side, inhaled, and breathed out a humongous blast of scorching magical flame.

Ember's and Preelix's jaws dropped.

…

…

…

“...Notttttttt how I was hoping to show them,” Thorax murmured.

Pharynx shrugged. “I sneezed.”

Ember now noticed what was different about the brothers. Their chitin had developed intricate scale-like patterns, and their natural scents were like the hot, spicy smell of healthy and potent male dragons... very, very, VERY healthy and potent...

“The Crystal Heart miiiiiiiiiiiight have us altered us a bit.” Thorax exhaled a puff of his own flame to show them. “It all worked out in the end, but I wish we’d had a little more warning… or choice in the matter, heh. I don't think we’ll be messing with the Crystal Heart again any time soon.”

Preelix laughed. “Manipulative little shit, issssn’t it?”

Ember felt like she'd just been flipped on her back. She tried to keep up a good front, but considering she was aware they could sense the lust rolling off her... “I-Is... is it true you grew to the size of a castle, Thorax?”

Thorax hid his grin. “I did at first, but when the mental link with Shining Armor and Cadance fell apart, a lot of the energy flowed back into them. We decided not to push our luck after that—”

“To say they were playing with fire is an understatement,” Pharynx grumbled. “The damage they caused was catastrophic—if Shining Armor and Cadance hadn’t known spells from Starswirl the Bearded himself—”

“Don't mind Phary.” Thorax put a tremendous hoof on his brother’s back. “He's just frustrated some of the excess love seeped into him by proxy... plus the whole 'getting permanent dragon features without consent' thing.”

Pharynx snorted. He opened his mouth, revealing that not only were his fangs more pronounced, he’d developed bulky molars… gem-crunching molars.

Ember was starting to feel flushed. Her claws were flexing and scraping pony-sized gouges in her throne. Her tail was draped over her groin, but it was getting harder to keep there. “I've n-never... erm, heard o-of such a thing happening before. This isn’t normal for changelings... is it?”

Thorax chewed on his lip. “We haven’t really known what’s ‘normal’ since we broke free of Mother's rule. We shouldn't have even been able to absorb this love much at once to begin with, but here we are, huge and hungry as ever.”

“And with no end in sight,” Pharynx grumbled. “I’m going to have to become a master at size-shifting to do any wetwork. Not there's much of that on the border patrols, mind you.”

Thorax frowned. “Why would you want to sneak up on a malwurf now? Wouldn’t it be easier to chase them down and stomp them?”

Pharynx ground his hoof on the floor. “Oh, there’ll be plenty of that... but I like a little variety.”

They both laughed.

Ember wasn’t sure why, but she suddenly had a thought of Thorax smashing his way through a horde of savage monsters. He let out a flame-tinged roar, his sides heaving and legs drenched with gore, claiming to all that this land was HIS. A shiver ran through Ember from just imagining his fierce eyes meeting hers, his lust burning like—

Preelix coughed.

Ember snapped to. “S-Say, uh… Pharynx? My advisor Preelix is quite talented at stealth and subtlety magic. He might be able to teach you some things.”

Pharynx’s eyes widened. He looked to Preelix, his lips slowly parting. “Wait… Preelix? I know that name...”

Preelix’s quiet laugh echoed in everyone’s ears.

“I was wondering if Amore’s sssssuccessor had included my part in their history.” Preelix’s lighthearted tenor now held the weight of millennia. “She pardoned me, you know. Kind soul, that one...”

Pharynx went white as a sheet. “You… You stole, ages ago… the Empire almost…”

“Sssshall I introduce myself proper?” Preelix stood up straight and bowed. “Preelix the Spell-Eater, and your sssservice. Sting of the East, the Sorcerer with Scales, the Sidewinder... and other names I’m less fond of. In ages past, my hubris prompted me to steal the Crystal Heart and claim it for my own. The Sun and Moon pursued me, but in my foolishness, I sprung a great trap that wounded the Moon, thinking it’d discourage them from their chasssse.”

Preelix shuddered and looked away. “That’s when I learned of her. Theskafar... ‘Ash Queen’, the dark sssside of the Sun.”

Thorax felt a chill. “The dark side of…? Hold on, you can’t mean—”

Ember shushed him. “Respect your elders, my lovebug.”

Preelix stared Pharynx down like a hawk. “The Heavenly Sisters have inner demons, young prince. You want to talk about rissssks and playing with fire? Be grateful your fool mother’s campaign caused so few Equestrian casualties. Theskafar is fury and vengeance incarnate, wielding flames so hot even dragons burn. Theskathur is mad and cruel beyond reckoning, obliterating her foes with ice and starlight. The defeats you ssssuffered are nothing compared to what could’ve been.”

Pharynx gulped.

“Master Preelix has lived a more colorful life than most,” said Ember, tossing Preelix a few more mana emeralds. “He also knows a thing or two about wetwork—long retired, of course, but still applicable. You could learn a lot from him.”

Pharynx’s legs felt like jelly. “I’d b-be honored.”

Preelix studied Pharynx for something only he could see. “We’ll need a sparring partner. Someone around your ssssize, preferably. My daughter, Smolder, sssshould suffice...”

“Smolder...?” Thorax did a double-take, then looked to Ember. “Smolder?!”

Ember got a saucy grin. “Let’s just say power and wealth are like the fountain of youth for dragons. Preelix’s line is… quite robust.”

Thorax's world spun. “Around Phary’s size…”

Ember yawned, showing off her collection of humongous white teeth. “It’s settled, then. Pharynx and Preelix will go collect Smolder and head to the south sparring grounds. Oh, and feel free to take your time with the lessons, Preelix—King Thorax and I are going to be busy with a different kind of wetwork...”

She lifted her tail at this, revealing her hot, glistening slit dripping honey down her thigh.

“Annnnnnd that's my cue.” Pharynx turned and flew towards the door.

Preelix flew off as well without a word. Their wingbeats faded off into silence, and a few seconds later, Thorax and Ember were alone in the great throne chamber.

Thorax’s wings snapped open. Her cloying, rainy scent washed over him, his legs turning into jelly. “E-Ember, you—ohstarsyes… the coal trading’s making you g-grow, isn’t it?”

“Later, my lovebug.” Ember beckoned him forth with a claw. “Right now, I just want to know one thing. These changes of yours, are you fireproof now, like us?”

Thorax fluttered to her in a daze. “We... w-we stopped for a l-lava soak on the way here...”

That was all Ember needed to hear. She pulled him into her arms and kissed him, a dual moan escaping them that never truly faded out. Their thin tongues danced and mingled, one hungry kiss becoming two, then three, each new exchange sending fresh heat to their cheeks. The sound of their smacking lips was all they could hear in the quiet, and in that moment they could've been anywhere in the world, so long as they were together.

A glistening thread still connected them when they broke. They nuzzled and explored all along each other's necks and chests, humming and touching, murring and nibbling. Ember noted the firmer, tougher feel of Thorax's body, and Thorax noted the blooming color of Ember's scales. She was brimming with vim and vigor, every inch of her even more alluring than it’d been weeks prior, her eyes brighter, her curves more pronounced, her face more sultry and shapely. Her emotions had already been unlike any other, but now there was an even greater power to them...

“You crazy drake,” Ember whispered. “I can’t believe you went this far, all so we could have a little time together.”

Thorax looked up at her. “A 'little'? What, you didn't really think I shrank this much after outgrowing the whole Crystal Palace, did you?”

Ember paused. “...Come again?”

Thorax laughed a second time. She felt his muscles ripple, and then his whole body began to swell in her arms, his limbs stretching, thickening, expanding before her very eyes! His solid weight pressed her deeper and deeper into her throne, his dry, spicy scent getting stronger as his package filled both their laps.

“Are you...?” Ember grabbed his rear and felt his flanks expanding in her grasp. “You are! How—”

Thorax kissed her nose. “I did shrink some, but I should be able to keep up with you for a while. At least for the time I’m here.”

Words failed Ember. She could only watch as Thorax surged yard after yard, bigger and bigger until he was the same size as her. They were now spooning on the cramped colossal throne, though it wasn't exactly comfortable spooning...

“I figured you'd grown since Griffinstone,” Thorax said as he stood up. “Wasn't sure how much, though, so I figured it was safest—”

“...Bigger,” said Ember.

Thorax wrinkled his brow. “Eh? Bigger?”

“Bigger.” Ember sat up, an odd look on her face. “Can you?”

Thorax hesitated, but slowly, he nodded. He reclaimed ten more feet, his hooves spreading across the stone, the ground falling away in his eyes.

Ember leaned forward. “More...”

Thorax scaled back more of his size-shift, gaining yet another ten feet. He was now almost a full head taller than her, her emotions searing hotter with every inch he rose.

Ember clutched the throne so hard she punched holes in it. “MORE.”

Ten more feet later, and now it was Thorax fighting the urge to pounce. His mammoth hooves pawed the ground with huge BOOMS, for Ember was shoving her sweet, infectious desire down his gullet.

There was the tingle Ember had been looking for. “Thorax, I need you to listen very carefully.”

Thorax took a step forward. “Yeah?”

“Come with me to the hot spring behind us, and take me like the sexy drake you are.”

Thorax’s hips jerked on their own. A beach ball-sized drop of pre fell from his tip to plummet seventy feet to the ground. “Like the sexy drake I am, eh?”

Green flames spilled over his body. His chitin hardened, his maw bulged, his teeth lengthened and sharpened into even fiercer fangs, and his tail became solid and prehensile. His wings gained bones and leathery tissue, his hooves split into terrifying claws, and he sprouted fearsome teal spines all over. Last but not least, the base of his cock swelled with a fat, hefty knot, and his shaft gained rib-like ridges along the sides.

A second later, Thorax's new form was complete. His majestic horns curved up and forward like inverted ram horns, and his violet, cat-like eyes narrowed in on his soon-to-be prey. His scales shifted in hue as the light played off them, with added reds and blues to complete the whole spectrum.

Thorax growled like an earthquake. “How’s this?”

You could've knocked Ember over with a nudge. A prismatic dragon loomed over her, his shifting colors playing across her spellbound face. Her mouth was dry as a bone, and it felt like she was burning up inside, her thick, damp, cloying need so hot and heavy the air shimmered above her crotch.

“Take you...” Thorax THUDDED around her throne slow and smooth, his voice never above a murmur. “Yes, that's the dragon way, isn't it? Dragons take what they want...”

His presence surrounded her. His scent was drowning her. That inner fierceness she tried to keep down while around him was breaking free, clenching the coiled spring that’d been so very tight since their last tryst...

“Eh? What’s this?” Thorax sniffed loud in her ear. “O-ho... so this how it typically goes down for dragons, is it? No wonder you were so new to foreplay…”

Ember swallowed hard. A pot of water was boiling inside her to fill her head with fog. She wanted to explain she couldn’t help this, but all that came out was a growl.

“So, you want me to take you, but you’re going to fight every step of the way.” Thorax’s tongue flicked out to taste the air. “Well I say ‘fight’, but you’re so small and weak! Just how do you plan on beating me?”

Ember couldn’t stop the inner volcano. Her limbs were shaky and tight, her claws digging into her scepter. Smoke was rising from her mouth, her teeth bared in a snarl. Her vision was turning red, a legendary wrath pounding in her ears.

"Cute,” Thorax whispered in her ear. “The little dragoness doesn’t realize she’s already lost. Try all you like, but you never had a chance! You've been MINE since the first time I saw you, and there's nothing—”

The chamber quaked with Ember’s roar. She leapt away and whipped to face Thorax, her wings flared and claws bared. Thorax mimicked her and answered with a roar of his own, and as one, they inhaled and blasted each other with a swirling inferno of dragonfire. They were enveloped in a blistering blue cyclone fueled by elemental magic, flames running along their scales and mixing in each other's lungs. The chamber became a sweltering oven, the heat funnelling down the corridors with deadly speed, and the floor quickly melted where their fires met, a bright red pool of lava spreading along the floor.

Ember cut off her stream with a snarl. The flames had given her cover, so she used it to barrel towards Thorax like a silent avalanche. Lava splashed around her as she gathered herself and leapt at his silhouette, the outline of a fool who DARED—

Thorax sensed her a mile away. As soon as she pounced, he bound her wings with magic, then ducked beneath her airborne form. He caught her in his mighty horns and tossed her behind with a bellow, flinging her head over tail into the bubbling, boiling spring.

SPLOOSH!

A hissing cloud of steam blanketed everything in fog. The spring was only knee-deep to Ember, but that was enough to make a wave several stories high. The whole mountain shivered under the force of Ember’s tremendous landing, but it shivered even more when she got up and let loose an ear-splitting scream, her eyes red with—

A hulking shadow swept over her. Thorax forced shut her jaws with monstrous magic, then spun her around to face the wall. Piping-hot rain fell around them as he grabbed hold of her tail and yanked, and try as Ember might, she couldn’t prevent herself from being reeled in like a fish. She made to try and kick Thorax, but right then, he breathed a second gout of fire onto her back that shot a delightful tingle up her spine...

Ember’s girly moan was music to Thorax’s ears. Her emotions were an open book to him—her every desire plain as day. He let go of her tail as it flagged to the side, and he reared and groped every luscious yard of her curves. Ember shrieked at him through closed lips, but said shriek turned lewd even before he settled atop her, doubly so when he grabbed her frills and forced her to crouch.

Thorax freed Ember’s mouth and pulled her in for a desperate kiss. She squealed and returned it without pause, their tongues wrestling and flames mixing, always with him in control. He cocooned them in his multicolored wings and massaged her, his tail seeking out hers and wrapping around tight. His thick cock was like a boiling rod of steel pressed against her scaly belly, their combined musk thicker than the superheated fog, but they wouldn’t be left wanting for long...

Thorax pulled back his hips and thrust at full force. He missed, but he tried a second time, then a third… then at last, he found the mark. Ember wailed and bore down on his throbbing size with all she had, and he answered with a love bite, his razor-sharp fangs stinging her scaly nape. Their joined fluids were as hot at molten glass as he hammered her over and over, Ember’s enraged bliss coursing through them to spur them faster, fiercer, ever more desperate for release. Ember never stopped fighting one way or another, but every failed attempt made the fuse inside her that much shorter.

The fleshy sounds of their union were heard throughout the mountain. Cavern ceilings shook, items fell from shelves, some dragons covered their ears, others cheered and made wolf whistles. The racket only got louder as Thorax bucked hard, harder, then harder still, the boiling steam and churning waters roiling around them like a maelstrom. They were two tireless titans, frenzied and fearless, and ponies were little more than bugs to them!

“Mine…” Thorax’s eyes glittered with eerie light. He could see the twinkling stars in Ember’s womb once more, and just as he’d guessed, there were more than before. Many, MANY more! “MINE!”

Ember both swooned and seethed. She urged Thorax on while trying to throw him off. She wanted to tear his throat out, she wanted to be with him forever. Her claws curled in time with his steady tempo, but she also wiggled her hips to coax him deeper and keep him inside. He was a behemoth that fucked her with feral need, yet he kept angling his hips to hit her best spots. He was a merciless force of nature, yet he kept running his claw along her cheek with soft murrs. Time lost all meaning as they went on and on, not stopping until one of them was conquered, and even then they might not stop...

Ember swore she was melting into the floor. Thorax’s every thrust kissed her clit, his bulbous knot spreading her outer lips more and more. It didn’t matter how hard she clenched around him, he always pulled free. His sixty-five foot cock filled her like nothing else could, her silky tunnel his to shape! She could feel his boulder-sized nuts swelling every time he bottomed out, and the thought of them having children together, of her wonderful Thorax getting her pregnant over and over, each time setting the record for the world’s largest clutch—

“OHHHHH!” Ember squeezed with the force of gods. Her fire breath evaporated what remained of the spring, the temperature climbing and climbing until most of the floor was molten rock. The newfound heat and pressure made Thorax go into high gear, his jerky thrusts flooding her with gallons of slick pre. Ember was still flying high when a surge of strength hit Thorax, and he knotted her with deafening roar, his tip flaring against her innermost barrier...

But when Thorax pumped everything he had into her, Ember felt… hollow.

Granted, it felt warm, and it was definitely good overall, even a little satisfying. But it was like taking a bite of fool’s gold, or eating a chunk of fake diamond. It didn’t take anything from the delicious high, but nor did it add anything. She didn’t reach any new peak, didn’t feel any new sensations.

It didn’t take Thorax long to realize something was wrong. His eyes snapped to the twinkling stars, but even as his peak stretched out long enough to refill the empty pool, there wasn’t a single change...

...blessing shall help, but more you’ll require...

The memory cut through the haze of his peak with a pinched off feeling. He almost lost it entirely, but Ember’s squeezing and sultry moans renewed him. His limbs seized, his tip flaring to pump a renewed surge twice as hefty as the last. It was so much Ember wound up peaking a second time, her womb and tunnel overflowing with thick, hot seed—seed she SO very wished could take...

Thorax’s orgasm lasted a little bit longer before leaving him. He eased his grip on Ember and kissed her forehead, his immense claws running between her scales in a gentle caress. “My dragon.”

Ember made a husky sound from the back of her throat.

Thorax smiled. His knot was still buried inside her, so tight and warm that neither of them moved. “That was quite a lot of love you just gave me. Felt different, too… were you saving up again?”

Ember swallowed hard. “You... know, don’t you? You s-said... last year, empaths don’t need words…”

Thorax kissed her cheek, then her lips, long and slow. “I love you, too.”

Ember hummed. She pressed her forehead to Thorax’s, her minty breath filling his nostrils. “We’re both so busy... running our kingdoms, travelling all over, making this work will be...”

Thorax hugged her tighter. “I’ve gotten some pointers on how to make certain things easier.”

Ember blinked. “What kind of—”

Suddenly, the blazing hot warmth flickered again in the back of Ember’s mind.

“Ooooh...” Ember’s body rumbled and shook. “A-Already? I thought—”

Then, the blazing hot warmth doubled.

“Mmhhh!” Ember’s eyes rolled back. “YESSSSSSS~”

Thorax felt it, as well. He didn’t understand at first, but then he sensed Ember giddy rush, followed by her scales shifting beneath him. Her muscles pulsed larger, her joints cracking like fireworks, her bones groaning and strengthening…

“Whoa…” Thorax could only watch as Ember grew. She was soon supporting his incredible weight with ease, her stance widening, her body lengthening, her power increasing in every way! Her tail snaked out until it was as long as his, and her gait spread until Thorax had to stand half on his claws. Her scales gained deeper color, her claws, fangs, horns, and spines all hardened, and her eyes shone even brighter. Thorax soon caught wind of her renewed arousal, but her scent was changing by the second, more alluring, more fertile…

Ember was beyond words. The last changes were her inner font of magic exploding in size, followed by her fire breath gaining a wider, larger cone. She’d now grown to the same size as Thorax, and she had to guess, she’d say this was the Griffinstone and Zebrica deals going through. But that could be figured out later, for she could feel Thorax twitching inside her, hear him murring and growling like the insatiable love bug he was.

Green flames suddenly erupted above her. Thorax, now in his true form, pulled his knot-less cock out to rut her with renewed strength. She welcomed his re-entry with a victorious shout, and he chittered and kissed all along her neck and chin, the now-denser cluster of stars glimmering in his peripheral.

Perhaps together, they could figure out who next to trade for coal...