I raced down the hallways with all my might, drifting and swerving around tight corners to make it to the destination I sought after. The shrilling shrieks of undeniable terror rung reverbated against the crystal walls, acting like the midnight horn the Dragons blow every day.
My legs quacked under my weight, tired from the endless running to a destination, a destination I remained ignorant to and found not after half an hour of searching. This castle was so impossibly large, throwing me for loops with every corner I turned. The echoes made it no better, the heart breaking crying seemingly seeping out of every crevice the castle had, leaving me trapped in a maze of identical hallways and doors. But I kept on running. Kept on running in hopes of finding the source of the hollering.
It took me another 5 minutes of aimless travel to deduce that I couldn’t keep it up like this. At the rate I was running, reaching my destination would be harder than spotting a firefly in a blizzard. I had to calm down. I had to halt my progress-less scouting and tackle this issue from another angle. But every angle I came from, I came back empty handed and without so much as a possible lead.
That was until I harkened back to what Twilight had told me.
“This place is pretty big, so I marked each section with a special symbol to remind me where is a room I’m looking for.”
I remembered that she taught me the various symbols she engraved into the castle to act as a sort of map, burning them into my memory so I would not forget. And if I remembered correctly, Spike’s room was in a hallway marked with an abnormally large cicada. And the hallway I was in was marked with a scepter. Which meant… AHA! I got it now. With renewed invigoration, I sprinted down the halls in the direction I knew without a shadow of a doubt would lead me to my destination.
And low and behold, I arrived at the door within minutes. The screams were the strongest in this spot. Crawling under the door and slipping through the cracks to infect the castle with its poison, the door acting as the final threshold between the rest of this palace and room.
I had to knock harder than normal in small hopes that for the briefest of moments, their sound would temporarily overpower Spike’s incessant wailing. At first, it didn’t seem to work, so I tried again, this time catching favorable results.
“Come in.” I cringed inwardly and outwardly, unprepared to hear his voice laced with pain in his throat as if he swallowed a bucket of nails. Every syllable came out strained, bringing immeasurable amounts of pain.
Gingerly opening the door, I took a deep breath as I walked in, briefly blocking out the light that seeped in before my claws swam around the wall in search of the light switch. Flicking it on, the meager fluorescent bulb purged the darkness from the room, if only a for a limited time window before I would be forced to turn the light off.
“Trouble sleeping?” The urge to slap myself across my face was almost overwhelming. Why, just why in the white mane of Ignis did I have to ask the most insipid question in the world.
Luckily, that’s all he needed to get going. “Yeah, been having these night terrors ever since I got my wings.” He flapped them for emphasis. “Haven’t gotten a wink of slip all week.”
I cringed inwardly when he revealed that he had endured his nighttime horrors for a week, remembering my own experiences with them. “I know how you feel, every night is a risk. Either you get a peaceful sleep or you wake up wailing to whatever poked you in the night.” I sighed as I approached the bed. “But I’d be the first one to tell you that they’re only temporary.” I soothed, caressing his shoulders.
Sniffling, he looks at me with the most adorable pleading eyes I’ve ever seen, reminding me back to how I was when I was his age. “Really?” The need for more closure dripped from every syllable.
I nodded. “Yeah.” I assured. “I remember when I first had my night terrors. I remember the way my dad rushed down the hall like thunder in an emptied cave.” I harkened.
(Flashback, 16 Years Earlier)
I remember how my dad made the ground shake, every stomp he took felt like an earthquake threatening to tear the universe in half. I remember how he scooped me up in his arms and cradled me like I was his little girl. I remember how he split the night with a sigh and said.
“Close your eyes my hatchling. I’ll turn on a light.”
I remember how he lit the lantern in my cave, banishing the darkness and saving me from my overactive imagination and allowing me to perceive my waking moments in the reality that they were.
I remember how he seemed content with his handiwork and was about to return to his side of the cave and sleep, but I stopped him in the nick of time with a pathetic whimper.
“Dad, I’m scared. You think you can stay with me?”
I remember the smile he beamed my way as he turned his head to me. I remember the understanding in his eyes shine brighter than the stars at night. I remember how he returned to my side and cuddled up to me.
But I couldn’t shut my eyes. Even with my dad next to me and this lantern burning, I still felt the cold world around us, the monsters hidden in the shadows, crouching down and waiting for me to fall asleep to leap and tear my guts out.
“What’s happening to me dad?” I asked. I was a tough girl from the moment I was born, and the fact that something so silly as my imagination was keeping me up at night.
His smiles falters not, only growing in warmth and width. “Nothing wrong with you Ember, everything’s just fine.” He assures me.
I remember asking him did he ever feel like this, and he told me yes. I remember he told me it was because as Dragons, our senses skyrocket when we hit puberty. Able to sense everything to the most intricate of details. The unfortunate part of it is that we are still so young when we hit puberty, so our mind perceives everything around us as a threat to us when we’re asleep.
I remember I asked him why this happened, and he just shrugged. He knew not why we developed the way we did. I remember telling him that I was scared, that I didn’t want to go back to sleep.
And then he spoke some of the most wise words I will always cherish with me.
“It’s alright Ember, no matter what comes to poke at you at night, Daddy will always be here to protect his little girl.”
(Present)
I wiped a solitary tear that threatened to run down my face as I remembered that memory. One of the greatest times of my life, serving as a reminder as to why I loved my dad so much.
“Did that help take them away?”
It broke my heart when I saw Spike’s face fall when I shake my head. “That wasn’t all that I needed to take away my fears.” I sighed. “My dad showed me a little remedy that’s quite common in draconic society.” I admitted, scratching the back of my head. “Although it’s usually done with the mothers of the hatchling, but since my mom left us before I was hatched, my dad did it.”
My heart fluttered when I witnessed the manner in which his eyes light up, now with a possible hope that he could snatch a good night sleep. “What did he do? Can you do it to me?” He requests.
I bit my lip, scratching the back of my head. “I’m not sure…” I trailed off. “It’s pretty unorthodox and y’know, I’m not your mother.” I stated matter-of-factly. “Maybe I could teach Twilight how to do it and she co-”
“Ember, please, I can’t go to sleep.” He cut me off, having enough of my bullshit. “I haven’t slept in a week, I’m so tired I can’t see a centimeter in front of my face.” He explained the direness of his situation. “If there’s anything you can do to help me sleep, I’ll agree to it no matter how unorthodox or strange it is. I’ll comply with whatever is cooking in your head. Please, I just wanted to go to sleep.” He pleaded, gripping my chest with every fiber of his being. His eyes washed me with a sense of need for his slumber to return to him. Even if for a minute moment.
I couldn’t take it much longer and sighed, my iron wall provided only a paper thin and weak defense against his overwhelming desire to sleep. “Alright, but this is the first time I’ve done this, so I need you to be completely cooperative.” I demanded. “If you move out of order even once, I’m cutting this off.”
The light in his eyes seemed to simmer down for a while, only to return brighter than ever seen before. “Okay.” He whispered.
With a nervous heavy breath, I slipped my hands under his arms and hoisted him into the air. He closed his eyes to brace himself for the ordeal that was about to take place. I took this moment to move quick, but gradually, opening my jaws wider than I have ever done before in my life.
It all happened so slow, but eventually his head met my tongue and I could taste the cringe he was experiencing. Out of reflex, my tongue glides across his face and I was greeted with the most delectable taste I have ever experienced and any doubt that lingered in my mind was whisked away. After my first lick, I couldn’t help but keep lapping his delicious face.
In response to my endless slathering, Spike’s legs twitched just the slightest, I heard uncomfortable groans escape Spike’s throat. “C’mon Ember, I’m not a piece of candy.” He pleaded for me to commence.
In compliance with his wishes, I prepared myself for the largest swallow I would ever take before now. I felt his head ram into my throat, pushing my flesh and scales outward and giving the impression of his face. Racing a claw down my throat, I felt every single outline in excruciating detail as if it wasn’t my throat, but a large sack.
It took me a while to get over the surreal sensation of having Spike’s head in my throat before I continued, gradually pulling him in, slathering every inch of his scales in my saliva as I robbed him of every microscopic taste he could offer. His shoulders disappeared into my throat and his stomach and arms were now in my mouth.
I traced my hand across my stomach, feeling the young drake’s head inflate it past anything I ever known. As I continued to drag Spike deeper and deeper into me, the realization of what I was doing hit me square in my face.
I had one of those moments where you just pause and contemplate on what you were doing, what you have done, and what you were going to do. I stopped shy at his legs and just sat there. I started to think deeply, thinking about what the meaning of all this would point to. But I had a job to get done, I could think about this when Spike was in my stomach. With two big gulps, Spike’s legs disappeared into my greedy gullet and settled into my stomach.
Lying down, I caressed my giant midsection, feeling his squirms in response and in an attempt to get into a comfortable position. I began to think about the choices that I made and began to question myself internally: was this the right thing to do?
Almost as if he heard my thoughts, Spike speaks up. “Thanks Ember, I really appreciate it.” He thanked. “I don’t think I can ever repay you.”
I shake my head. “Just don’t tell Twilight, I don’t think she’ll take kindly to me having downed her Number 1 Assistant.” I cringed inwardly as I envisioned Twilight’s reaction to the actions I undertook. The thought of her pulling my guts out with her magic was one that I did not need invading my mind at the moment.
Yawning, I patted my gut. “Good night Spike.” Though the only response I got was a loud snore. He had already fallen victim to sleep. A smile crept up my lips as I felt complete and utter content at this moment. Laying my head down and closing my eyes, I could only be at peace with myself.
The subsequent morning, I found myself, quite embarrassingly, admiring the belly I had obtained from devouring Spike the other day. Revelling in the feeling these ponies dubbed “pregnant”. Which is a feeling that I could get used to.
However, before I could goof off any longer, I heard the front door of the castle open and the one voice I didn’t want to hear split the day.
“Ember! Spike! I’m back! Hope you had fun!”
Oh Dear Flare. I needed to regurgitate Spike now!
Running to the bathtub, I bent over and without a moment’s hesitation, began hacking up Spike in the most disgusting act I have ever put on for the world to see. After a minute of forced hacking, Spike fell into the tub with a loud thud.
“Damn’t, Ember…” He grumbled, rubbing his sore head. “Care to give me a heads up next time.” He grumbled.
I smiled sheepishly, opening my mouth to apologize when an unexpected voice pierced the brief silence.
“Ember, care to explain?”
Oh sweet Scorch, please help me.
Author's Note
Finally here... IT'S FINALLY DONE! Goddamn't this took way too long.
