Author's Note

Yesterday's tooth-pulling plot slowness was mercifully not present in this fic. I finished this thing in less than a day, and the plot was intensely strong on this one. I had so much fun with it! I attempted to write Ember as in character as I could but since she hasn't been in many episodes, it was hard. I did my best.

Special thanks to Pip for all of his assistance. You are awesome and you rock! Thanks for being my go-to guy for plot assistance!

I had so much fun with it and I hope you all enjoy the ride!

Homefront

Smolder didn’t have a word for how she felt right now.

Professor and Headmare Twilight might have one in her various dictionaries, but for now, she just had a jumbled mishmash of feelings. Conflicted, confused, anxious, afraid, overwhelmed, and downright terrible. There were other emotions, naturally, but they were so faint in comparison with all of those that were overshadowing everything else. She was lying in her dorm room on her bed, trying to deal with the tumultuous feelings inside of her. In moments like these she just wanted to stop feeling things and shut it all off. Dragons were used to just being angry or proud and pretty much not feeling anything else. It was a standard, and a fair one, as most dragons tended to behave that way, barring the ones who had learned friendship like herself.

Her heritage was a large part of the issue here. The events of today had stirred up a great deal of musings on that. Today she had met Silverstream’s cousin, Skystar, and they had played together. It had been wonderful. Silverstream and Skystar had played with her and treated her like she was The Dragon Lord with just how much she was lavished with attention. After a time of playing, Smolder had gone back into her bigger headspace, so Silverstream and Skystar had gone to meet Queen Novo. They had asked Smolder if she wanted to come along, but she had passed on it. A lot of thoughts had been brought up for her, and so she mulled over them now.

She had met Silverstream’s family. Not her direct family like her parents or her brother, but still, it was her family. This had brought up a lot of feelings for Smolder about her own family. Skystar had been so accepting of this side of her, and that had relieved her a great deal. To know that she was accepted, it was important. But with her own family… they would never accept this side of her. Her parents, on her infrequent visits home, were stuck in the old dragon ways- thinking that dragons didn’t do friendship, that ponies couldn’t be trusted, and that toughness was the most important thing for a dragon to have. They were deeply embedded in the ways that Torch had instructed of all of them before Dragon Lord Ember had taken the title. Her brother wasn’t much better. The only reason Smolder had been allowed to go to The School Of Friendship was because of Ember’s orders. Her parents hadn’t wanted it in the slightest, despite them having kicked her out a while ago. Still, a young dragon leaving their land for extended periods that did not have to do with migration was tended to be seen as something a dragon should notify their parents of.

Ember had gone to her first to see what she thought of it, and she had been resistant at first, of course. Her parents’ ways were ingrained in her, and looking back, she wasn’t sure why Ember had picked her. Her age? Her exhaustion with her own family? She liked to think that maybe Ember had seen something in her that she could not see in herself. In the end though, she had been glad she had been the one picked, or else she wouldn’t have had any of this. In all reality, Ember was probably the closest thing to a family like Silverstream’s that Smolder would get in The Dragonlands. It was somewhat saddening to her, after seeing what parent and child relationships could be, both by her own experiences and by the ones she had seen in foals here in Ponyville.

What bothered her the most in all of this was that she would never be able to release this part of herself back in The Dragonlands. She would be confined to dragon rules once again, and this would be smothered. And what about Silverstream? She might be able to visit her, but Silverstream wouldn’t be able to see her there. It weighed heavily on her mind, like a set of dumbbells sitting on her brain. It had swiftly brought down her mood.

Much as she liked to think she had been subtle about all of this changing her emotions, Silverstream was perceptive enough to see through it. She knew something was wrong, and so she decided to make the most of her time with Auntie Novo and Cousin Skystar. She had of course seen them and spoken with them while Princess Celestia was there, but she had asked the Princess of Equestria if she might have an audience with Princess Luna. The Princess of the sun had been surprised by the question, but had acquiesced nonetheless. And so Silverstream had followed the ruler of Equestria to the throne room, where Luna had been, and asked to speak to her privately. The moon princess had smiled at her, and agreed.

When a small room was emptied of all occupants but the two of them, Silverstream asked her a question.

“Princess Luna, can you go into the dreams of any creature?”

Luna had blinked, but nodded. “I have the ability to go into any dream, no matter what the species, Silverstream. My duty is mainly to the dreams of Equestria’s citizens, but I am able to go into the dreams of others.”

“I have a request of you then, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“I will see what I can do, but ask away.”

“Can you visit Smolder in her dreams tonight? She’s worrying about something, and I get the feeling that she isn’t comfortable talking about it.”

Luna nodded. “I will do my best.”

Silverstream smiled at her. “Thank you, Princess.”

“You’re welcome.”

And Silverstream had gone on her way shortly after.

When night time had encroached on Equestria, Smolder had done something unusual and diapered herself before bed. Normally Silverstream did that for her, and only on nights when they hadn’t seen each other before then or when Smolder desperately needed a break. The one thing that all of those things had in common was that Smolder always had a deep sleep when she was wearing a diaper. She hadn’t indulged in any other part of her little self that night. Just the diaper, for security reasons. She knew she would have trouble sleeping tonight and wanted to use every trick in her arsenal to try and stop that problem. Mercifully, it had worked, and she had fallen asleep.

Sometimes on particularly difficult days, Smolder’s mind gifted her with a nice dream. That was the case tonight. She was in a nursery, with Silverstream looking over her maternally, cooing at her, and cuddling her close. It was wonderful, and very happy.

In the dream realm, Princess Luna called forth Smolder’s dream orb, and was surprised by what she found. It was a bizarre sight, but not because of the content. More because it was a dragon dreaming of this and not a pony as she was used to. Still, it did not disturb her in the least, as she entered the orb, and the room.

Smolder had been on the floor of a playpen, stacking blocks, when Princess Luna came over to her. Her jaw had dropped at seeing the Princess of the night.

“P-Princess Luna? What are y-you doing here?”

“Fear not, Smolder. I have seen many dreams like yours and have never told a soul. Not even my sister. Your dream is safe with me. The reason why I am here, however, is because Silverstream was worried for you. She seemed to think something was troubling you.”

Smolder was quiet for a time. Then, “It has to do with this, sort of. I know she didn’t tell you anything. Silverstream, I mean. There’s a reason she’s in the dream, but you already know that I’m guessing.”

Luna nodded. “Indeed.”

Smolder continued on. “We’ve had this between us for a long time now, and I met Princess Skystar today when I was like this and it got me thinking about my family and the Dragonlands and how when I go back, I won’t be able to have this. No one there would understand.”

“Not even your family?”

Smolder snorted. “If they knew about this they’d exile me. They still think dragons are supposed to be tough and unemotional and brash. The only reason I even got to come here was because Ember ordered it.”

Luna thought for a moment, maybe two, then spoke. “If you could not tell your family, perhaps you could speak to Ember. Were she to grant you free passage between lands at all times, you could indulge in this, and see your family without sacrificing this part of yourself.”

Smolder’s eyes bugged out. “Are you NUTS?! She’d banish me for this! She may not be completely like her father, but she’s no pansy. She’d never understand this.”

“She has learned much of Equestrian culture through her communications with Spike and your Headmare Princess Twilight Sparkle. If she did not understand now, perhaps you could help her to in the time before you return home. And I would be glad to assist you with this.”

“Huh? How?”

“I have the power to manipulate and change dreams. Were I to show Ember your dream, I could speak with her about this and if her reaction were unpleasant, could erase it from her memory. I could also ask Princess Twilight to share knowledge of this with her in the daytime to help her understand whether you choose for her to remember this or not.”

Smolder turned over those words a while. “I would choose if she remembered?”

Luna nodded. “Yes. You would. This is something only you can share. It is not my choice. I am only here to assist you in dealing with this issue. Whatever you decide, the choice is yours alone.”

Smolder contemplated that a long time. Finally, though, she nodded. “Okay. You can show her. As long as she won’t remember if I say so.”

“You have my word as princess that it will be so.”

“But, uh, can you do one thing for me?”

“What?”

“Can you make it so that I don’t remember this conversation until after she leaves? If she’s going to see this, I want her to see the whole thing without it being interrupted by my fear or my worries, or anything else.”

Luna nodded. “Of course. I will be back shortly.” The princess’ horn glowed a light blue, and Smolder’s memory of her visit was blocked. Instantly, she was stacking blocks again, Silverstream keeping a watchful eye nearby.

Luna exited Smolder’s dream and pulled Ember’s dream orb to her, before entering. When she looked around, she found herself in a cave with a large pile of gemstones in it, Ember at the top of it, holding her scepter. A line of dragons were in front of her, all holding gems to add to her pile. Luna flew up to the current Dragon Lord with a smile on her face.

“Dragon Lord Ember, greetings.” She said, and bowed respectfully.

Ember blinked. “Aren’t you one of the other princesses in Equestria?”

“Indeed. Princess Luna. I have come to your dream on behalf of Smolder.”

Ember straightened. “Smolder? Is there a problem?”

“Fear not. Smolder is well on all counts. This is an issue that only you may solve for her, and I caution you that what you see may surprise you.”

Ember got up from her pile of gems and the dragons in the line all bowed to her. “Well, alright. There’s only so much I can take of being around these kiss-ups anyways. Might as well see something different.”

“Smolder will not be able to hear you in this dream. I will show you and explain it, and we will come to your dream afterward should you have further questions for me.”

Ember raised a brow for a moment before rolling her eyes. “Alright, whatever.”

Luna nodded, then pulled up Smolder’s dream once more, before leading Ember into her door.

Luna did not look at what had happened in the short period of leaving Smolder’s dream. She did not need to look to know what to expect to be there. Instead she kept her gaze fixated on The Dragon Lord beside her. The look on Ember’s face at the moment was somewhere between dumbstruck and incredulous. Luna had anticipated that much at least. What she could not predict would be what would follow that look.

Ember was at a loss. Literally. She couldn’t find any words to speak, nor could she even form a coherent thought. Her mind was as blank as a desert as she watched the scene before her. Smolder was in a playpen, striking down block towers with a claw, while Silverstream clapped for her. When the tower was destroyed, Smolder was giggling and looked up at Silverstream, appealing for her approval.

“What a strong little hatchling I have!” Silverstream cooed.

Smolder giggled and reached for her. “Mama.”

Silverstream picked her up and gave her a hug, and Smolder nuzzled into her with a yawn.

“I think it’s sleepy time for my favorite little hatchling!”

“No… No sleepy.” Smolder murmured.

“Yes sleepy. I have a very tired girl here. You can play later.” Silverstream promised as she flew Smolder to the crib and tucked her in. She handed her her doll, and Smolder snuggled it, stuck a claw in her mouth and fell asleep.

Luna kept an eye on Ember. Her expression seemed to be changing. Into what was the question at hoof. The expression was inscrutable. But finally, the dragon managed to form a sentence, or rather several sentences condensed into one word: “What?” It sounded angry.

It encompassed several questions: What is this, what did Smolder need her help with involving this, what happened to the dragon to cause this, and what was Ember supposed to do with this information?

“Please, allow me to explain, as I have seen this before. I understand you have not spent much time in Equestria, but has Spike, Princess Twilight, or any pony you have come in contact with spoken to you about where foals are raised here?”

“I- What?”

“Our foals are raised in places like these and taken care of here. That is why this room is here. As for Smolder herself, she enjoys acting like a hatchling. Why that is is a harder question to answer. I do not know very much about the culture of dragons, but I expect that it’s not very affectionate, even as hatchlings.”

Ember nodded, still half-stunned into quiet.

“I cannot give you an exact cause as to why this happened, but I can likely show you the incident that began her interest in this.” Luna said. She lit her horn, and combed through Smolder’s memories. She had done this a few times in dreams, because being inside of the mind made it easier to find memories, and important memories emitted a sort of glow. The glow of the day sparking all of this emitted a sort of yellow light, and the first day with Silverstream a bright gold. She brought them both to the forefront of the dream, and let them play out for Ember.

Ember watched the memories play out, and was able to feel what Smolder had felt during them. She felt the intense conflict Smolder had felt before beginning this, and the happiness she had felt when Silverstream had accepted her and taken care of her. When the memories ended, Ember was enlightened to what had began this, but still confused about a lot of this.

“You’ve seen this before?” It wasn’t said as a question like it was supposed to have been. It was more like a statement and was said with no emotion.

Luna nodded to her. “Indeed. In our land it is known as being an Adult Foal. I suppose in your land we would call it being an Adult Hatchling. There has not been much research done into the phenomenon or what causes it. But I have seen it in dreams many times, and I can tell you that it is not as uncommon as you might think. The uncommon portion of this is when somepony enacts on it. Smolder is very brave for doing so, and even braver for sharing it with someone. The fact that she considered speaking to you about it is very telling.”

Ember’s expression grew confused. “What do you mean?”

“Smolder was worried of what would become of this part of her when she returned to The Dragonlands. She wished to ask you for free passage to be able to indulge in this part of herself and still being able to be at home. And truthfully, I believe Smolder sees you as the closest thing she might get to some dragon who grew up in The Dragonlands who would understand this.”

Ember crossed her arms, thinking. This was, frankly, terrifying. On the one claw, she thought that by sending Smolder here she had inadvertently caused a hole inside of her that this had to fill, and made her discontent with her heritage. On the other, though, Smolder seemed to be happy this way. Everything that she had learned about friendship from Spike and Princess Twilight told her that accepting others was an important part of being a friend, and it also could help her as a leader. She was angry at herself because she couldn’t fix this. She couldn’t take it out of Smolder, she couldn’t fix perceptions of weakness in The Dragonlands. Heck, she couldn’t even fix it in herself. She had to admit- she did see this as a weakness.

Much as she didn’t want to admit it, much of her inner dialogue at the moment was about herself. Could she look at Smolder the same way now? Could she really just move past this and keep looking at Smolder as she had before? She knew it was selfish, but how could she just… let this go? She didn’t really care about if Smolder was into this as much as she did how it would affect her. And then she started thinking about how she had wanted to fix this. That had been her thought earlier. But… was this really something that needed to be fixed? Was it just her own views and learned prejudices that made her think that way? Much as she had learned from Spike and Twilight about friendship, they had only been in her life a short while. The ways of the dragons were deeply ingrained in her, as much a part of her as her name, and it would take a lot to uproot that kind of thinking and change it. But perhaps a part of her had been waiting, dormant, for that kind of reason to change.

Waiting, perhaps, for right now.

She realized that changing the way the Dragons believed and carried themselves would have to start with her. If she was going to change their minds and perceptions about friendship and other things, she would have to change first. This would be an incredibly drastic shift in her point of view, even more so than when she had accepted Spike’s friendship. But looking at Smolder, at how content she was… How could she deny her young subject this? A chance to experience happiness, and to have a second chance at a childhood of joy that dragons were never offered? As Smolder’s friend, and not as a Dragon Lord, she should be supportive of this. That’s what Spike and Twilight would tell her to do. She had promised to bring friendship to The Dragonlands, and showing Smolder how she could be supportive of her would be a good way to start that.

She looked to Princess Luna, who was staring at her expectantly. Ember spoke up. “I want to talk to Smolder.”

Princess Luna studied her for a moment, trying to gauge a reaction. Ember did not seem upset, angry, or disgusted. None of the things that might turn this dream into a nightmare for Smolder and possibly damage her psyche. Still, she needed to know why. “May I ask what about?”

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think this was weird, or say that I understood it, because I don’t really. But Smolder is my friend, not just my subject. And if I want to change the way dragons view friendship, I have to be the one to start that change, and I can do it by being supportive.”

Princess Luna smiled at her. “I think that is a wonderful thing. Allow me to wake her for you.”

Princess Luna went over to Smolder and used her magic to remove the memory block. Smolder’s eyes opened and she blinked, eyes focusing on the Princess of the night.

“Princess Luna. Did you talk to her?”

Ember stepped forward, smiling a little. “She did.”

Smolder’s head whipped around at the source of the sound, and she looked nervous. However, Ember was looking calm, and Smolder couldn’t find any sign of anger on her face. That was somewhat comforting. Ember gave her a little smirk, one of playfulness, and it eased some of the tension inside her.

“Dragon Lord Ember.” Smolder greeted nervously.

“Look Smolder, I can’t say that I understand this because I don’t, but it clearly makes you happy. I still have a lot to learn about friendship, just like you do, but I have learned that being a good friend means being supportive. So I want you to know I support you.”

Smolder was shocked. “What?”

“Smolder, you have my permission as Dragon Lord to leave the Dragonlands as you wish when it comes time for you to leave school, so you can find a place to do… This.” Ember said, gesturing a claw around the room.

Smolder was speechless. Her brain was working in overdrive, trying to formulate a response. Eventually though, one popped out, albeit being only one syllable: “Why?"

“Why am I being supportive or why did I give you permission to leave?”

“Both?” It came out as a question.

“Look Smolder, if I want to change how dragons see friendship, ponies, and anything related to that, then I have to be the one to change first. A good leader is assertive, absolutely- but there’s more to it than that. You have to be able to understand or at least accept what your subjects tell you or bring to you or whatever. I may not understand it, but I can accept it. And since this whole thing is obviously a secret and a private thing, giving you permission to leave lets you be you without any dragon having any say so over it, and you can come and go as you want.”

Smolder didn’t have words for that. She couldn’t explain the mix of emotions she felt at that. The fact that Ember had accepted her had more than exceeded her expectations for this, and the fact that she had permission to travel on her own was a big deal. Her parents couldn’t exercise any authority over her going to see Silverstream, or any of her other friends, over the break. There weren’t words for how much that kind of freedom meant to her. She wanted to find some way to thank her without sounding… well, pitiful.

Inspiration struck immediately, and a pile of gems materialized nearby. Smolder pointed to them. “Have those. It’s the best thanks I can think of- or dream of I guess.”

Ember smiled a little. “You’re welcome.”

“Ember?” Smolder piped up as the Dragon Lord gathered her gems.

“Yeah?”

“You’ll keep this a secret, right?” The words were tremulous.

Ember rolled her eyes but was smiling. “I’m not stupid, Smolder. I know the other dragons would give you hell if they found out. So yeah, this is between us. But I am kind of curious about all this. You should teach me about it sometime.”

Smolder brightened. “Anytime.”

Princess Luna smiled. “I’m afraid the night is coming to a close. I must be going now, but should either of you need anything, I will be around.”

Luna didn’t need to ask if Smolder wanted Ember to remember this. She already knew she would. The dream world began to ripple, as it did when dreams were coming to a close, and Luna was soon back in the Dream Realm while Smolder awoke in bed.

It was very early in the morning now, the sun just beginning to rise. Smolder should have felt tired, but instead she felt refreshed and content. Her alarm wasn’t due to go off for a while for school, and the dorms were quiet. Smolder used her diaper voluntarily, feeling for the first time like she wasn’t shaming her heritage by doing so and then cleaned herself up and took a shower. There was plenty of time left before the day began, and Smolder had an idea. She snuck out of her room, and crept down the hall to Silverstream’s room. She opened the door and found the hippogriff still sleeping. Wordlessly, she climbed up onto the bed, and snuggled into Silverstream.

The hippogriff awoke at the contact, but she already knew it was Smolder. Smolder’s scent was one she knew by heart. Like brimstone and smoke, but also faintly of foal powder, and the scent of cinnamon. It was one hundred percent Smolder, that was for sure. She wrapped her arms around Smolder happily.

“Have a good sleep?” She asked.

Smolder nodded. “Thanks to you.”

“So Princess Luna did help?”

“Yeah, and so did Ember.”

“Ember?” Silverstream questioned. “What was she doing in your dream?”

“Long story short, she gave me free passage to leave The Dragonlands as I please when school is over and I can come see you. I don’t have to hide it there anymore, at least to one dragon. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have had that.”

Silverstream smiled. “I’m glad I could help. I just want you to be happy, Smolder.”

“I am happy. I love you, Mama.” Smolder sighed as her eyes started closing again.

“I love you too.” Silverstream whispered at her before drifting off to sleep.