The Dragonsblood Elixir

Ponyville General Hospital was no stranger to magical accidents and oddities. It came with the territory of being close to the Everfree Forest, so the procedures and infrastructure for handling such cases had long been put in place. The craziness surrounding the Elements of Harmony (and actual craziness of a spirit of chaos) had jacked things up to eleven in recent years, but government funding for both better equipment and more specialists solved that problem, as well. It was for this reason there weren’t many better places Night and Velvet could’ve gone to seek care… but it also meant answering some pretty awkward questions.

Twilight and Spike came as soon as they heard. The head doctor received them, explaining the situation and the potential factors at play. Twilight and the doctor immediately started ‘talking shop’ while they walked to the Magical Mishap wing.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” Spike said from Twilight’s back. “Because it sounded like you said Mom and Dad got turned into DRAGONS!”

The head doctor paused. “I’m… afraid Miss Zecora will have to tell you more. All we know is what your parents have told us. Your father has had side effects ever since he changed back, and your mother... hasn’t changed back at all.”

Spike felt dizzy. “Why would they…?”

Twilight facehooved. “I knew I should’ve gone with them. It’s Mom and Dad for pony’s sake; of course something like this was going to happen! What was I thinking?!”

The words echoed in Spike’s mind. He glared at the back of Twilight’s head with an edge creeping into his voice. “I don’t know, Twilight. Care to fill me in?”

...

Twilight sighed. “That secret didn’t last long.”

She’d explained everything to him by the time they got to their parent’s room. The head doctor talked with them a bit longer in the hallway, then left saying Zecora would arrive soon. Twilight and Spike were then left to ‘assess the damage’, as it were.

They braced themselves and walked in.

The hospital room was unremarkable save for the hum of powerful magical wards. Velvet, still a silvery dragon, was reading a magazine at Night’s beside. She smiled on their entry. "Hi, sweeties!"

Her voice was what Twilight and Spike identified most. A little raspier, definitely younger, but still resonating with memory and instinct alike. Her coloration and mannerisms were enough to take it from there.

“Looks like the surprise is out, eh?” Night’s youthful, muscular physique was more akin to a soldier’s than a middle-aged pencil pusher, but his voice was largely unchanged. His horn was long and intimidating, and his magical aura pressed down on them like a giant’s hand. “Hope we didn’t pull you away from anything important.”

Twilight had seen enough in her adventures to take it all in stride. “Never mind that.” She came and gave them both a hug. “Are you alright? Why’d you take the elixir?”

A nervous laugh escaped Night. “I guess we got a little overexcited. We were already down here, so we decided to spend a day in the foothills and test it out.”

Twilight was tempted to also ask if they knew anything about a certain forest fire, but some questions are best left unanswered. “Okay, well… maybe wait next time until you have a third party around. What about your symptoms? You’re not hurting at all, are you?”

Night patted her shoulder. “It’s alright, Twily. Now that the shock’s died down, these ‘symptoms’ seem to be more a blessing than a curse. Apparently this de-aging isn’t from a spell, but they’re not sure if it’s permanent or not. My magic’s the other main thing that’s been affected, and… well, take a look at that clipboard on the tray.”

Twilight did. She’d already guessed it from his aura, but the hard numbers put it that much more perspective. “Wow, Dad… you could keep up with Shining with these numbers!”

Night snorted. “If I had any control. I’ve already broken two of the hospital’s inhibitors, and they don’t have anything stronger. I was hoping you could show me those magic exercises Princess Celestia taught you?”

“No problem.” Twilight produced a quill and parchment. “Shining uses them too, so they should be fine for you. On that note, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if these symptoms aren’t limited to just you. Mom will probably want… to...”

She realized Velvet wasn’t listening. Not for lack of interest, but a more pressing matter. Spike, who hadn’t moved from the door, was fixated on Velvet without so much as blinking. His mouth was half-open, eyes wide and pupils huge, the world a million miles away.

Velvet cleared her throat. “I… understand this must be quite a surprise. I do have an explanation; I’d just planned to build up to it over a few discussions with you. I think I can sum it up though, if you’ll hear me.”

Spike was speechless. The auras of adult dragons were nothing new, but his mother’s was familiar yet foreign, intimidating yet intimate, overwhelming yet alluring. The tremendous magic burning within her made her seem larger than life, her meager body straining to keep it all in.
“Your father and I often struggle with… perspective.” Velvet thought back to Zecora’s words. “Our own view of you versus the public’s view, things like that. We can’t always tell how love blinds us, but while we can’t see some things, there are others that are crystal clear.”

Spike stayed quiet. He was searching for something, but he didn’t know what or why. He walked towards Velvet with his brow furrowed and head tilted.

“You’re unique, dear.” Velvet managed a smile. “There’s never been a creature with the body of a dragon and the heart of a pony; you’re the only one. You’ve struggled with being between worlds all your life, and… I-I’ve seen how lonely it’s made you. It’s not like I can just create scores upon scores of friendly and caring dragons out of nowhere, but… I pushed for this idea because I wanted to take that burden off your shoulders for a while.”

It was starting to dawn on Spike. Velvet’s muzzle, her fangs and slitted eyes, her long tail and sinuous frame... it was all so akin to his own. She even exuded the same spicy scent of magical flame he did. The resemblance may have been coincidence—perhaps even imaginary—but it filled that void all the same.

Spike stopped in front of her. He held out his palm, fingers spread wide. Velvet smiled, pressing her palm to his and letting their digits intertwine.

“I-I...” Spike squeezed her hand tight. “I don’t know... wh-what to say...”

Velvet pulled Spike in for a hug. “You don’t have to say anything,” she whispered to him. “Seeing you happy is enough.”

A quiet moment passed. None of them paid attention to the muffled sniffles or soft sobs, nor did they make much in the way of noise themselves. Spike’s eyes were wet by the time he and Velvet broke, but the smile on his face was one none of them would ever forget.

“Want to know something funny?” Velvet booped his nose. “We needed a few drops of dragon blood for the elixir, but you were out with your friends when we came by. We were about to head home when we learned of another dragon that was in a meeting with Twilight—a friend of yours, actually.”

Spike wiped his eyes, giggling. “Y-Yeah, Twilight told me. I’m glad you were able to talk Ember—”

THUD

Everyone jumped. The sound had come from the hallway, where a supply-laden Zecora had been listening. A lumpy bag had just fallen from her mouth.

“Ember...” Zecora’s eyes were even wider than Spike’s had been. “DRAGON LORD Ember?! She who wields the Bloodstone Scepter?!”

Silence. The only sound was the ticking clock on the wall.

“Uh…” Spike rubbed the back of his head. “Yes?”

Zecora went pale. She rushed into the room and started rummaging through her saddlebags. “The blood’s strength was suspect, but I did not expect....” She gaped at Velvet and Night. “Why did you not clue me in?! The powers you’ve dabbled know no equal or twin! You could have exploded from within!”

Night and Velvet gulped. They stayed quiet as Zecora snatched two cups from the sink and gave them out to Velvet and Night. She told them to spit in them while she pulled out poultices, powders, tools, and vials in a flurry.

“Wait...” Twilight repeated Zecora’s words in her head. “You’re saying you didn’t know who gave the blood?”

Zecora grit her teeth. “Your parents did not provide the name, but I assumed t’was Spike from whence it came!” She snatched the spit cups and poured in the vials of colorless fluid she’d just pulled out of her bags. She watched with bated breath as the mixtures changed color.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Spike held up his claws. “Okay, I get why Zecora would think that, but if Ember’s blood is somehow different than mine, then that’s news to me! What about everyone else?”

The rest of the family’s faces were blank.

“We weren’t sure what to expect with any of this,” Night said. “I don’t think the book had any warnings about blood type.”

Velvet winced at Twilight’s scowl. “No, but… it’s true we never corrected Zecora on which dragon donated the blood. That… wasn’t smart.”

“Dumb,” Twilight snapped, her eyes still fiery. “The word you’re looking for is DUMB.”

Velvet sighed and hung her head. “...Yes. It was dumb.”

Zecora groaned. “It seems all around we share some blame.” She paused to examine the contents of the saliva cups… then relaxed like a weight had just lifted from her shoulders. “But thankfully, the consequences are tame.”

There was a collective sigh of relief.

Curious, Night peered into the cups. He saw that both his and Velvet’s saliva had turned... jet black? “What did you pour in?”

Zecora pulled out a device like a miniature bellows from her bags. “A tincture known as Meadowbrook’s Toil. Expensive and rare, but worth the spoils.” She stopped to have Velvet breathe into the device. “Mixed with spit it forms a gel; the color reveals the creature’s health. Black is best, strange as that seems… though this shade is by far the darkest I’ve seen.”

Night and Velvet blinked like owls. They waited for Zecora to continue, but she ignored them and worked in silence. She took a lock of Night’s hair, a scale from Velvet, a hoof shaving, a claw clipping, a bit more saliva, and finally some blood. They learned the bellows device had gathered some of Velvet’s fire, which Zecora demonstrated with a small puff.

“Zecora,” Night said after speaking quietly with Velvet. “We—”

“Hold.” Zecora directed Twilight to move everything in the room to the very edges. “Before you intone, let this be known. Spike’s plight, for me, hits very close to home. Omission is something I do not condone, but a parents’ devotion to their own... it dwells within our very bones. Your remorse has been shown—there’s no need to atone. Let us move on instead of bemoan.”

It took a few seconds for Night to digest all of that. “Did you just come up with all of that on the spot?”

Zecora snorted. She now guided Velvet to stand in the center of the now-open room, then pulled out a jar of strange putty and some flint and steel from her bags. She bade Velvet stay still while she smeared the gunk between her wings.

“We should at least apologize for leading you on,” Velvet said. “That’s not something that should be excused, especially if these side effects are from Ember’s blood. We need to take responsibility.”

A slow smirk formed on Zecora’s face. “‘Responsibility’, you say... That might just be a factor at play.”

Velvet blinked several times. “Eh?”

“We shall see.” Zecora readied the flint and steel.“Relax for me, if you please.”

She struck a spark onto the putty.

BANG!

The others flinched as the putty exploded in a subdued flash. A great jolt lanced through Velvet’s spine, her tinted wings snapping out in a blink.

“YEOW!” Velvet’s claws gouged the floor. “What happened to ‘no need to atone’?!”

Zecora burst out laughing. “Your new reflexes are swell!” She waved away the smoke and started inspecting the arteries and veins in each wing. “That you are thriving is clear as a bell.”

Twilight, who’d about jumped out of her skin, wasn’t really sure she wanted to know what that putty was. “Please tell me that noise was a one-off. The hospital staff’s going to come running at this rate!”

“A one-off it should be, I deduce.” Zecora had Velvet open her mouth so she could peer inside. “Though on that note, perhaps you could be of use? While my tests proceed, you can bring me up to speed. Context right now is the thing I most need.”

Nopony had any issue with that, so that’s what they did. The majority of the details came from Velvet and Night, but Twilight chimed in about the meeting with Ember, as well as what the doctor’s had found on Night’s symptoms. Spike stayed quiet while transcribing everything, but he did mention Velvet’s incredible aura. Zecora examined Velvet and Night’s oddities as they were mentioned, trying things like poultices, powders, and even having them breathe strange vapors. Nothing she did caused a change.

“I think that’s about everything.” Night watched Zecora grind up a sour-smelling plant with a mortar and pestle. “It seemed sensible to come here, but the doctors have been grasping at straws. Their best guess is whatever’s wrong with is either too powerful for them to detect, or the magic’s already become… ah, ‘part of us’.”

Zecora dumped the smelly substance into a bottle. “The magic of dragons is like nature itself: Primal, eternal, and oft overwhelms. A dragon lord’s magic is all that and more, procreative and vast with an infinite store. This power has marked you, that much is clear… but I think there’s a little more happening here.”

Night frowned. “Meaning?”

“One moment—there’s something I’d like to see.” Zecora started walking towards the bathroom with the bottle. “Twilight Velvet, if you’d please come with me…”

It was fortunate the bathroom was large enough for both of them. Granted, Velvet’s sinuous form could easily slink into cramped quarters, but six limbs and a dexterous tail still took up a fair bit of space. She followed after Zecora, the door closing and locking behind them with a soft click.

Whatever they did took quite a while. Night and the others heard bits of conversation and laughter from inside, but couldn’t tell much else. It wound up taking so long, Night started going over the magic exercises with Twilight. Finally, the dull splash of the sink running heralded the door opening once more.

Velvet pranced out of the bathroom, beaming. She pounced on Night and caught him in a flurry of fierce kisses.

“Buh?” Night couldn’t get a word edgewise. Velvet giggled and hugged him, her smooth scales and inner heat surrounding him. He remained clueless even as Zecora sauntered out of the bathroom with freshly-dried hooves.

“The cause for Velvet’s state is now apparent.” She gave the couple a knowing look. “Though I think I’ll let her inform you all that…”

Velvet paused with a giggle to declare two simple words. “...I’m pregnant.”

Twilight went rigid. “WHAT?!”

“Cool!” said Spike. “Hey, do you think they’ll be a dragon? That would be awesome!”

Zecora chuckled. “They could well be. We’ll have to see.”

Night’s heart skipped a beat. The two words swirled in his mind like they’d been spoken in a dream. He expected to wake up, but when Velvet’s bright, sparkling eyes met his…

“You’re serious...” He held her claw in his hooves. “You really are…?”

Velvet giggled again. “Dragon. Heat.”

Night’s cheer echoed throughout the room.He couldn’t explain why he was so happy, but at that moment he didn’t care. He pulled Velvet into his own kiss, her soft lips meeting his as she purred into his mouth.. Velvet’s tail slid under the sheets to curl around him, and things might’ve escalated had Zecora not cleared her throat.

“Heed my words, friends, you’ll soon understand. I do not know all, but I’ll explain what I can.” She ran a hoof through her striped mane. “Velvet and Night, to be quite direct; my comment on exploding from within was no jest. The danger has passed, no lives are at stake... but this is an incident we should NOT recreate.”

Velvet and Night held each other a little tighter.

“This outcome is more fortunate than you likely know,” Zecora went on. “It seems that the dragon lord’s magic has merged with your souls. Such a miracle is uncanny—it’s beyond my ken! It should be impossible for such forces to blend! Perhaps your multiple passionate transformed accords, allowed this great magic to combine and absorb? But that is conjecture, nothing more.”

Twilight shut her eyes tight. The last thing she wanted to think about was her parents having ‘multiple passionate accords’. “This is a lot to take in…”

Spike didn’t look up from his parchment. “Try writing it all down.”

“The full effects have yet to show, but you both have already begun to grow.” Zecora gestured to Night. “Not only have you returned to your prime, the power within you now endlessly climbs. Velvet is not far behind, and soon you both will surpass the divine. Your health and vigor in kind will increase, until not only will your aging have ceased, but no force or otherwise will make you deceased.”

It was a strange thing. The connotations of that should have floored Velvet and Night, but instead they were rather… nonchalant. It was like they’d already known on some level what was happening, and were only listening to Zecora because she was showing them how to put it into words.

Night examined his foreleg, noticing that an ugly scar he’d had since a teenager was gone. “Let’s play draconequus’ advocate for a minute. Let’s say we didn’t want to go down this road and would prefer to live out our lives as normal without any of this business. Could we do that?”

Zecora’s ears drooped. “The wheels of fate now turn for you both. I think for a time you’ll remain normal folk, but what slumbered within has now awoke.”

Night’s eyes fell to his blankets. “...I see.”

Zecora stopped to rub her temples before turning to Velvet. “As for you, my dragon friend, there’s an additional matter we must attend. Whether it's wyrmling or foal within your belly, these blessings will have been passed on already. You need not worry about their well-being, your experience with past pregnancies should be all you’ll be needing.”

Velvet chuckled, resting a claw on her abdomen. “And here I was looking forward to seeing the look on my ob-gyn’s face.”

Twilight facehooved. “Mother…”

“You have to admit it’d be funny!” said Velvet.

Zecora coughed to hide her smile. “Regardless, if your body decides this new form is true, then this is the new you. Your form might revert once gestation completes, but that’s not a promise I can keep. Either option is not a giant leap.”

She started to make for the door, but then paused and looked back. “Oh, while this pregnancy will be easier than your others, I presume, the creation of life doesn’t happen in a vacuum. If it’s children you wish to accrue, then there’s one thing you must continue to do.”

Velvet blinked. “Which is?”

Zecora clicked her teeth in a wide smile. “Consume.”