Who's the Toughest Dragon?by StarkyShyChaptersDragons Don't Do NiceTickle TrainingRematch and RevengeDragons Don't Do Nice“I’unno,” Gallus shrugged as he walked with Silverstream down the halls of Twilight’s Friendship school. “Like, if I had to pick one, I guess Applejack, but-” “Shhhhhh!” Silverstream wrapped her hand around Gallus’s beak, clamping it shut. “Do you hear that?” Both of them listened out, picking up the faint sound of two voices, though it was impossible to tell who was talking or what they were saying, but the tones of the voices didn’t sound pleasant. They snuck down the halls, trying to follow the source. As they got closer, the words were easier to make out, “...can’t believe you’re trying to compare the two!” “You have no idea how much stronger I’ve gotten!” Now able to better hone in on the argument, Gallus and Silverstream peeked their heads around the corner to find their friend Smolder literally butting heads with Dragon Lord Ember. “You don’t know what it’s like having to be the leader of all of dragonkind!” “Oh yeah? You never had to go through midterms!” “What do you think they’re arguing about?” Silverstream whispered. “No idea, you wanna find out?” After a second to breathe and gain some quick bravery, Silverstream stepped out into the hallway with Gallus following behind. “Heeey...What are you two doing?” Ember and Smolder shifted their glares over to the sudden walk-ins, their expressions slightly lightening up. “Oh hey you two!” Smolder walked up to her friends, grinning wide. “You wanna tell Ember over here that I’m a tougher dragon than her?” Ember’s jaw dropped in shock and disgust. “What?! The dragons back home are in awe of my strength and leadership! I’m definitely the tougher dragon!” The dragons quickly returned to locking horns. Gallus slid between them, trying to keep the two apart. “Woah woah woah! Before you burn the school down, there’s gotta be some way you two can settle this!” Silverstream gasped in excitement. “Ooh, Gallus! You know what we could do?” She beckoned him closer, whispering in his ear. “...Yeah, that’d work.” A sly grin showed up on his beak as he nodded along. “How would we set something like that up, though?” Silverstream thought for a moment, before inspiration struck. “I know just the thing!” The others followed Silverstream through the school, their destination unknown. They eventually found themselves going through the library and into one of the rooms near the back. The room had loose papers and books scattered on the floor. On one side of the room was a chalkboard covered with indecipherable symbols surrounded by portable chalkboards with complicated formulas and equations. But the most eye-catching feature of the room was the wall on the opposite side of the room. The wooden wall had two golden vertical bars that divided it into thirds, with one bar running horizontally. Bronze plaques were placed on each divider, with one in the middle above. What was most peculiar was the hexagon-shaped holes. Two large ones were on the dividers, each with two smaller ones on both sides. On the border of each hexagon were the same symbols they saw on the chalkboard. After staring in awe and confusion, Smolder looked over at the hippogriff. “Uh, Silverstream? What is all this?” “This is something I was helping Counselor Starlight and Headmare Twilight with! They’re portal thingies that you can put your body through!” Gallus raised a claw. “Wait, why do we even have something like this in the school?” “For cool magic stuff, duh!” “So...what exactly do we need all this for?” Ember asked. “What’s the challenge you’re gonna put us through?” “Oh right! We’re gonna be tickling you two!” “Tickling!?” Both dragons looked at her with shock. “Yep! Toughest dragon is gonna be the one who can withstand the most tickling!” “A-Are you serious?” “What’s the matter? Surely the toughest dragon would be able to take on a little tickling, right?” Gallus smirked, egging them on. Almost instantly, their egos got in the way of their better judgement. Ember puffed out her chest. “If it’s only tickling, bring it on! I bet Smolder’s way more ticklish, too!” “Tch, whatever, I’m sure I can take more tickling than she can!” Silverstream grinned and shared a fistbump with Gallus. “Well, since you’re both in agreement, just give us some time to prepare things!” The birds flew off to set up the competition. As Gallus ran off to the dorms, Silverstream sprinted towards Starlight’s office, bursting through the doors. “STARLIGHT WE NEED TO USE THE PORTAL STUFF!” “...What.” Back in the room, Gallus waited with his backpack full of supplies. Silverstream eventually returned with a still-confused Starlight. After Gallus better explained the situation, Starlight agreed to help out. She took a deep breath as her horn started to glow. “Alright, stand still, you two…” she instructed, enveloping the two dragons with her magic aura. A flash of light forced Ember’s eyes shut. When she opened her eyes, she found her head sticking out of the wooden wall, with her feet now right next to her cheeks. Despite being able to get an up-close view of her own soles, her position didn’t cause any sort of discomfort. Looking to her right, she could see Smolder in the same position. “There, the portal spell is set up. Only your head and feet are exposed bv sticking out of the portals in the wall.” Starlight explained, pointing at the hexagon holes, the runes written on the borders now glowed yellow. “Don’t worry, the rest of your body is safe, it’ll just be in a magical pocket dimension until I undo the spell.” Smolder wiggled around. She could still freely move her body, but only being able to see her feet right next to her made it a little disorientating. The rest of her body felt like it was washed in a soothing aura. “Huh, weird, but it feels kinda nice too…” “Now, one more thing...” Starlight’s horn lit up again. The plaques on the wall started to transform, growing draconic heads, wings, and tails on the border. The eyes of the dragons began to glow yellow, and words started to inscribe themselves on the plaques. First were the names of Smolder and Ember underneath the respective dragons, then “Who is the toughest dragon?” on the plaque above. “Ooooh! That’s so cool!” To finish it off, steel chains appeared above the heads of the two dragons. A cuff wrapped around their middle toes and pulled them back, forcing their soles to be more exposed. “Alright, you guys should be ready for the competition!” “Perfect…” Gallus grinned, walking over to Smolder’s feet. Silverstream took her place in front of Ember. “Okay, if you wanna give up at any time, just say that the other dragon is tougher! Got it?” Both dragons nodded in agreement. “Bring it on!” “Do your worst!” Gallus reached into his backpack. After a bit of searching, he pulled out two hairbrushes and two scrubbing brushes, giving one of each to Silverstream. Seeing the brushes get pulled out made Smolder start sweating. “W-Wait, where’d you get those?” “Don’t worry about it.” The two didn’t waste any more time. With one brush scrubbing down one foot and a claw raking down the other, they were determined to hold nothing back to break their dragon as fast as possible. The initial results seemed promising, as Smolder and Ember instantly exploded with laughter. “Wow, dragons are waaaay more ticklish than I thought they’d be!” Gallus looked at Smolder with an evil grin. “Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun…” Silverstream used the hairbrush first, she pushed back Ember’s toes, allowing the bristles complete freedom to scrub her arch. Ember’s eyes widened in shock, quickly trying to push back against Silverstream’s grip. The harsh scrubbing left her instantly squealing as her toes twitched against her hand. For his first weapon of choice, Gallus picked the scrubbing brush. The wide brush made it easy to cover Smolder’s entire sole at once with each stroke. Smolder threw her head back as much as she could, her horns clanking against the chains as she howled with laughter. The wiggling of her toes was much more lively than Ember’s. “Ooh, this is gonna be easy!” Silverstream kept holding her toes back, having the hairbrush go all over her taut foot. She moved the brush in all directions, scribbling against her sole with reckless abandon. “IS THAHAHAT THE BEST YOU’VE GOHOHOT?” Ember cackled, trying to glare at the hippogryph. “No, not yet, but if you really want me to tickle you even mooore…” Silverstream said with an almost sinister chuckle. “I can always start tickling your toes!” She dropped the brush in order to have all her talons scratch against her huge toes. A distinct blush started to show on Ember’s cheeks as her toes splayed out. “AAAIIIEEEHAHAHAHA! G-GET AWAY FROM MY TOHOHOES!” Instead of restraining Smolder’s feet like Silverstream, Gallus used the brush on one foot, and scribbled his claws down the other, following her feet as they wiggled around. “BWAHAHAHA NOHOHOHO! IT TIHIHIHICKLES SOHOHO MUHUHUCH!” Smolder tried to get away from either the brush of Gallus’s fingers, but the chains around her toes made that task impossible. Gallus smirked. “Gonna give up, then?” “NEHEHEHEVER!” “Suit yourself, more fun for us.” Silverstream briefly glanced over to look at how Gallus was doing with Smolder, seeing how much Gallus was making her thrash made her more determined to go harder. After equipping herself with both hairbrush and scrubbing brush, she resumed her attack on Ember’s feet. “GAHAHAAAAA! Q-QUIT IHIHIHIT!” Ember’s feet froze up when the bristles from both brushes made contact, but soon they were back to wriggling about. Silverstream leaned in closer to the dragon’s face. “Hey Ember, why don’t you tell me which brush tickles more? I’ll go easier on you if ya say it!” Each brush stroke was done in sync, giving her a fair chance of assessment. “Better yet, I’ll stop completely if you give up now!” “AHAHAHAHAAAA! Y-YOU WON’T BREAK MEHEEHEE!” The blush on Ember’s face intensified, brightly shining on her blue cheeks, though her willpower still held strong through the intense brushing. As lively as Smolder’s feet were, they were still held back by the chains, giving Gallus the perfect opportunity to run the brush underneath her toes. “You know it’s only gonna get worse, Smolder...” “NAAAAHAAAAAHA!” Smolder’s squeal was loud enough to get her voice to crack. “B-BRING IHIHIHIT! EEHAHAHAHA!” she roared in defiance. “Hmm…Any progress yet?” Gallus asked, turning to Silverstream. “Nope, but I think I have an idea.” Silverstream reached over from Ember’s right foot and over to Smolder, dragging the hairbrush down her left foot. “Ohhh, I getcha.” Gallus started scratching against the ball of Ember’s right foot. The two looked at each other and chuckled as they got a chance to torture both ticklish dragons. Whatever one of them did to Smolder, the same treatment was given to Ember, and vice-versa. The scratching from Gallus’s claws made Ember throw her head back and cackle, yet instead of crying for mercy, she defiantly challenged them. “BAHAHAHAHA! IHIHIS THAT ALL YOU GOHOHOT?!” “GWAHAHAHA! I WOHOHON’T LOSE!” Smolder started to tear up, still trying to wiggle her feet away from the claws and brushes. All the tickling was exhausting, but her stubborn pride kept her from giving in. Despite all of their efforts, neither dragon seemed even remotely close to admitting defeat, Eventually, Gallus and Silverstream needed to stop for a break, both of them actually fatigued from tickling so much. “Sheesh, this is harder than I thought…” Silverstream thought aloud, rubbing her arms. “No kidding…” Gallus muttered, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “We’ve been going at it for a while, and neither of them are even close to breaking.” Silverstream turned to Gallus as she idly scribbled her talons across Ember’s soles. “You know, it’s kinda cute how their toes wiggle like that…” Ember suddenly let out a loud, high-pitched squeal. “NOHOHO! S-stahahahahap!” Both birds flinched at the severe reaction from the dragon lord. “Wait, what’d you do?” Gallus asked. “N-Nothing! I was just going light like this…” Silverstream demonstrated by skittering her fingers against Ember’s feet again. “Gyaaaahahahaha! D-Dohohohon’t do thahahat!” “If that’s the case, then I wonder…” Gallus went back to Smolder’s feet, gently dancing his clawtips over her toes. “HAHAHAAAA! No more no more no mohohohore!” Smolder squealed, shaking her head harder than ever before. Gallus and Silverstream looked at each other in stunned silence. The looks of surprise on their faces gradually grew into a grin of revelation. They put the brushes away, now playfully wiggling their fingers closer to the pairs of dragon feet. The confident and defiant looks on Smolder and Ember quickly became panicked in the brief seconds before the tickling resumed. “NAAAHAHAHA! G-Gallus staaahahahahaaaa!” Smolder pleaded, his gentle touch now driving her crazy. “Heh, not so tough now, huh?” Gallus taunted, skittering his fingers across her feet. “No getting away from the tickles...” Silverstream started giggling as she played with Ember’s toes, scribbling her fingers against them to watch them wiggle back and forth. “Aww...you’re so cute!” The teasing made Ember’s cheeks get redder almost instantly. “GWAAAAHAHA! I-I’M NOHOHOT CUUUUTE!” “Hey Silverstream, I got an idea.” Gallus fluffed up his wing and popped it out, having the feathers brush up and down Smolder’s foot. “EEEEHEEHEE! NOOOOOHOHO!” The soft feathers of Gallus’s wing made Smolder’s feet curl as much as they were allowed to. “Oooh, great idea!” Silverstream mimicked Gallus’s movements, flapping her wing against Ember’s feet. Ember started sweating in a panic, her feet tried to retract back into the portals to escape. “Wait! No! Don’t you DAAAHAHAHA! EEHEEHEEHEE!” Once the feathers hit her feet, she let out a girly squeal. "D'naww! So cute!” Silverstream cooed as she slid her fingers down her arch. Her wing brushed against the sole of her other foot, adding more feathers over time. “Who's a lovely dwagon? I think it's youuu!" “KYAHAHAHA! NOT SO GENTLE! I-I CAN’T TAKE IT!” Ember leaned her head back as she roared with laughter, each little mention of how cute she was made her more and more flustered. “Geez, Smolder, your feet are softer than silk! It’s like you WANT to be tickle tortured…” Gallus teased, wiggling his fingers and feathers over her feet. “EEEHEEHEEK! G-GALLUS NOHOHO! P-PLEHEHEASE!” Tears started streaming down Smolder’s face as she tried to curl her toes. Gallus’s talons lightly scribbled against Smolder’s feet. “Such cute soles, too...Hey, now that we know how ticklish your feet are, I wonder what Ocellus, Sandbar, and Yona are gonna say when I tell them…” “SHUHUHUHUT UP!” “I’m serious. What do you think they’re gonna say when I tell them that they only need to gently tickle your cute feet to make you a blushing mess?” Silverstream popped open her other wing, having both sets of feathers eagerly flapping against her feet. “How badly do my wings tickle, Ember?” ‘SOHOHO MUHUHUHUCH! THEY TIHIHIHICKLE SOHOHOHOHO MUUUUCH AAHAHAHAHAHA!” All of the wiggling from Smolder’s feet enticed Gallus. As he slid his wing up and down one foot, he leaned in closer to the other foot, pressing his beak against her sole and giving it a kiss. “OKAYOKAYOKAAAY! EEHEEHAHAHA! E-EMBER’S TOUGHER! EMBER’S TOUGHER JUST STAHAHAHAP!” Smolder squealed. The combination of gentle feathers and the sudden kiss made her break. Gallus and Silverstream looked over to Smolder, folding their wings back in as the tickling finally came to a stop. “Aww, I was gonna get her toes next...” Silverstream muttered to herself as she went off to get Starlight. Even after the dragons were released, they laid there on the floor, still catching their breath. “Gaaah...That...was torture...but at least I won...Toughest Dragon...” Ember said between panting, smiling in satisfaction. “Yeah yeah, whatever...lousy cheatin’...” Smolder grumbled, rubbing her feet. Tickle TrainingA few days later, Smolder walked down the halls, pouting and grumbling to herself as her eyes scanned around her, trying to find something. Sandbar noticed the grumpy look on her face as she stomped by. “Uhhh, hey Smolder! You alright?” “Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” Smolder nodded, trying not to look so upset. “Hey, have you seen Gallus around? I need to talk to him about something...” Sandbar pointed back towards the dorms. “Yeah, he should still be in our room…” “Perfect, thanks!” Smolder gave Sandbar a quick hug before rushing off with a renewed vigor in her step. Back in the dorms, Gallus sighed in boredom as he laid down in bed. With no tests to study for, there was nothing left to do for the day. As he closed his eyes and relaxed his body for a quick nap, he heard a knocking at his door. “Yeah yeah, I’m comin’...” he grumbled as he rolled out of bed to the door. “Wait, Smolder?” “Hey Gallus,” Smolder said, casually walking into the room. “I wanted to see you for something, you busy?” “Nah, not really.” Gallus shrugged. “Whatcha need?” Smolder closed the door and locked it behind her. “Oh nothing much...just revenge.” “Wait, what?” As Gallus turned, he was suddenly tackled. Smolder lifted him up and threw him back onto his bed. As he tried to get his bearings, she leapt up and landed on top of him, nearly knocking the air out of him. “GAH! What the-What is WITH you?!” Smolder sat down on his chest, leaning forward to pin him down by the shoulders. “I told you, this is revenge!” “For what!? What did I do to you?” Gallus tried to throw Smolder off, but lacked the leverage. Smolder started growling. “You know what you did! You made me lose that toughness contest! “Wha-me?” “Yeah, you made me lose when you kissed my foot and stuff. That’s like, totally cheating!” Smolder explained, her orange cheeks showing a new shade of red. “Oh for the love of-” Gallus muttered to himself. “Are you really that upset over this?” “Uh, YEAH? Dragons are supposed to be tough and strong and awesome and stuff!” Smolder leaned closer, pushing Gallus’s hands away with her feet. “Alright listen, Smolder, I’m sorry that you lost or whatever, but that’s not really my fault, is it?” Smolder sat up straight, crossed her arms and huffed. Her knees pinning Gallus’s shoulders to the bed. “Yeah? Well I’m still tougher than you, so how about that?” Gallus sighed as he tried to wriggle out, but Smolder still had him pinned. After a few moments of laying there in awkward silence, Gallus looked up at her. “Is that it? Are you gonna do anything else?” “Nuh-uh. I can sit here all day if I want!” Smolder toes started to curl and uncurl, gradually shifting closer to Gallus’s talons. “...Smolder, get off of me.” he said, starting to get annoyed. Smolder seemed to hesitate before speaking. “...Make me.” Gallus silently looked back and forth between Smolder defiantly crossing her arms and her feet practically rubbing up against his hands. “...Alright.” With such easy access, Gallus’s fingers started skittering over her soles. “Eeeehahahahaaa! Oh no!” Smolder burst out into a giggling fit. Her toes started to curl, but she didn’t seem to leave her spot. Gallus started smirking as his fingers slid down her arches, watching her squirm on top of him. “Oh yes!” More and more squeals came out of Smolder as she tried to move her feet away. Her attempt to defend her feet while still staying on top of Gallus led to her losing her balance and falling backwards. Now that the weight was off of him, Gallus sat back up and sprang into action to retaliate. He wrapped one arm around her ankles to trap them, then started sliding his fingers down her feet. “Nooohahaha! G-Gallus stahahahap!” Smolder started pounding on Gallus’s back as she tried to yank her feet away. Now that Smolder’s feet were now at his mercy, Gallus continued to make her squeal. He fought through all the punches as his claws lightly scritched against her heel. “C’mon, Smolder, I’m barely touching you!” Smolder tried swinging harder at Gallus, but the light touch of his claws made her fall on her back again. “Naaahahahaha! I cahahan’t taaake it!” Gallus chuckled, even if she was gonna hurt him later, it was still worth it to hear her giggle like that. “I could keep tickling you like this all day...” “Hehehehehe...C-Can you?” Gallus was about to walk his fingers up to her toes when he paused. “What’d you say?” The shock of hearing Smolder ask that made him drop his grip on her ankles entirely. “That’s...that’s the real reason I came to you…” Smolder grumbled, looking away as her cheeks started to redden. “Cause I...need your help.” “With what?” “I...I want a rematch against Ember, but I need to get tougher first.” She slowly turned back to Gallus. “And, you know, since you’re the only one that’s tickled me like that…” “Mmhm?” Gallus smirked. He knew what Smolder wanted to ask, but he wanted to hear it out loud. “So...can you...keep tickling me like that?” Smolder quickly crossed her arms again in a huff. “F-For training, of course!” As ridiculous as it all sounded, there was no way Gallus was going to pass up an opportunity like this, especially if Smolder was straight-up asking him to tickle her. “Well, since you’re asking so nicely, I guess I’ll help you with your ‘training’.” Smolder sighed in relief. “Oh thank goodness! So, uh...how do you wanna do this?” “Well, let’s start with this.” Gallus said as he put Smolder’s feet on his lap. “All you gotta do is keep your feet still. If you don’t...well, I’m gonna be a whole lot meaner.” “Pff, that’s it? That’s easy!” Smolder scoffed, flexing her feet in feigned confidence. With a display of his wiggling talons, Gallus smirked. “We’ll see about that…” He started his fingers off at her heels, slowly sliding up towards her toes. “Eeeep!” Almost immediately, Smolder bent her knees to try and pull her feet back. She quickly realized her mistake and tried putting her feet back in hopes that she wouldn’t be penalized. Gallus smirked, it was barely a second before she pulled away. “Easy, huh?” “S-Shut up…” Smolder grumbled as she felt the burning in her cheeks intensify. “That just...caught me by surprise, is all…” “Let’s just call that strike one, then...” Gallus picked up where he left off, expecting Smolder to retreat again. Smolder let out a squeal through clenched teeth. Her fists pounded on her own legs, trying not to pull them away this time. Continuing his trek upwards, Gallus made a stop at her arches, making his talons walk from side to side. “C’mon, you gotta be tougher than that if you wanna beat Ember.” “Gaaaah I knooooow!” Smolder let out an anguished growl. In order to distract from the growing urge to pull her feet away, her arms started swinging wildly, hitting whatever was nearby: her legs, the bed, the pillows, the bedpost, even the wall. Gallus’s talons honed in on the balls of Smolder’s feet next. Each finger took turns giving it a light scritch to get another giggle out of her. “You know, Silverstream was right. It’s really cute seeing your toes wiggle.” Gallus’s little comment seemed to make Smolder’s toes start wiggling faster. “Eeeheehee...S-Shut uhuhuhuhup!” Smolder’s fists pounded on the bed harder. Her legs kept trembling, her knees bent ever so slightly, trying not to pull back. With all the attention her toes were begging for, how could Gallus resist? He happily had his fingers dance against her curling toes. “NAHAHAHAHAAA!” Without even thinking, Smolder yanked her feet away. “Ahahahaha...ah dangit.” Her toes curled up against the sheets once she stopped giggling. “Strike two…” Gallus said in a half-playful, half-menacing tone. “Better not pull them away again.” Smolder reluctantly put her feet back onto Gallus’s lap, all the possible punishments Gallus could give made her shiver. Gallus’s wings popped out from behind his back. With a wicked grin on his face, they slid down the center of both her soles. The sight of the gryphon’s wingspan made Smolder gulp. Gallus took his sweet time having his feathers approach, each agonizing second was spent trying to mentally prepare. Once they made contact, Smolder started flailing again. Even her tail was now slamming against the mattress. “HAHAAAHAAAAAAAA! “Woah, haven’t heard you squeal like that before…” Gallus chuckled. Once his wings reached her heel, they slid back up her feet. Once they reached her toes is where Gallus really planned to drive her crazy. The tips of his wings flicked against her toes, trying to get under and in-between at every opportunity they could. Smolder could feel the feathers moving upwards. She grabbed a nearby pillow in preparation. Once they got to her toes, she buried her face in the fluffy pillow, muffling her screams of laughter. Eventually, her toes stayed curled up, trying to lock the feathers out. Gallus’s easy solution was to just skitter against her arches until her toes exposed themselves again. Still muffling herself, Smolder fell onto her back again. The pillow also served to hide the blush on her cheeks. “Coochie coochie coo, Smolder…” Gallus taunted as his wings swiped under her toes. “Your soft feet are just perfect for tickling...” Another squeal was suppressed by the pillow as Smolder finally pulled her feet back for a third time, curling herself up in a ball. Gallus shook his head, “Uh-uh, that’s strike three. You know what that means.” He grabbed onto her ankles, bringing them closer to his chest to plant a kiss on her sole. The familiar feeling of Gallus’s beak on her foot made Smolder throw the pillow at him. Her laughter was now at full volume. “AAAAAHAHA NOOO! NAHAHAT AGAAAIN!” “Ahhh, your feet are so soft…” Gallus rubbed his cheek against her heel, feeling the toes curl against his head. “Cute, too!” Smolder tried to sit up to pry Gallus’s talons off, but each attempt quickly ended up with her helpless on her back again. “GAAAHAAHAA SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUHUHUHUP!” “Oh, and your toes, too! Can’t forget about them! Especially with how ticklish they are, how much they wiggle against my wings, making me want to tickle them more…” Gallus gave each of her toes a peck as he spoke. Tears began to form in the dragon’s eyes. She slammed her fists against the bedsheets, trying to yank her feet free. “NOHOHOHO! NOHOHO MOOORE!” Gallus nuzzled up against her soles, fingers idly wiggling against her toes. “How did such a tough dragon get such cute ticklish feet?” “AAAHAHA I CAHAHAHAHAN’T! GALLUS PLEHEHEHEAASE!” Smolder begged, her voice starting to crack. “Alright, I think that’s enough ‘training’ for today.” Gallus gave her soles one more quick peck before setting them back down on the bed. Smolder was still giggling on the bed long after Gallus had stopped tickling. “Eeeheehee...it still tingles…” “Well, I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” “So...can we do this again tomorrow?” She cleared her throat, trying to act cool again. “Just so I can keep up with the training, of course!” With a playful roll of his eyes, Gallus nodded. “Yeah, I can train you again tomorrow.” Smolder sat back up and tackled Gallus again, but this time she laid down on top of him, nuzzling her head against his fluffy chest. “...Thanks…” “Aheh, no problem, but do you mind getting off me?” Gallus nudged her a few times to get her attention. “...Smolder?” All Gallus got was a tired murmur in response. Smolder had fallen asleep on top of her in a startling amount of time. With a reluctant sigh, Gallus pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her as he closed his eyes. An hour later, Sandbar returned to his room, ready to relax in his own bed and read some comics. “Hey Gallus, are y-” Upon seeing Smolder asleep on top of Gallus hugging her, Sandbar quietly closed the door. He shook his head and sighed as he headed towards Yona’s room. “...I gotta stop walking in on these things…” Rematch and RevengeFor the next couple of weeks, the “training sessions” continued. Smolder would go into Gallus and Sandbar’s room and allow the gryphon to gently tickle her feet with his talons and drive her crazy by complimenting her soft soles and wiggling toes. All in the name of gaining resistance, of course. The little kisses on her feet were also essential to building her endurance. Smolder challenged Ember to a rematch for the title of “Toughest Dragon”, with the same challenge as before. Despite not wanting to go through that ticklish hell again, Ember’s dragon pride meant that she couldn’t decline the challenge. In the library, Starlight assisted with the same process as last time. The spell was cast to put the dragons back in the wall with their feet exposed. Even though she dreaded the upcoming tickling, the feeling of her body back in the pocket dimension still felt soothing to Ember. As the chains pulled back their middle toes, the plaques transformed again, still labeling the dragon above it. The middle plaque now read “Who is the toughest dragon? (Rematch)” “Ooooh! That’s so cool!” “You said that last time.” “Yeah, because it’s still cool!” Gallus and Silverstream sat down in front of Smolder and Ember’s feet respectively. “Same rules as last time, if the tickling’s too much for you, just admit that the other dragon is tougher.” “Let’s do it! No way I’m losing twice!” Smolder said, confident that she’s built up a fair amount of resistance. Ember scoffed as she tried to put on a cocky grin. “I didn’t give up last time, I’m not gonna give up this time!” “I can’t wait to get started!” Silverstream grinned, already wiggling her fingers menacingly. Gallus put his bag between him and Silverstream. Now that he knew the secret to making a dragon beg for mercy, he was better prepared for the rematch. He opened up the bag, pulling out some paintbrushes and makeup brushes to hand to Silverstream. “Hey wait, those are Professor Rarity’s! How did you even-” “That’s the LEAST of your concerns right now…” Gallus grinned. Silverstream looked at the brushes with glee. She ran her hand across the bristles of the paintbrush, getting a feel for it before sliding it down Ember’s sole. A sense of impending dread struck Ember as she saw Silverstream’s sadistic grin while she approached with the brush. The regret of agreeing to a rematch was almost immediate as the bristles made contact. “No...Nononono...NOOOAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!” Ember’s reaction made Silverstream start squealing in delight. “Oh my gosh, this is gonna be sooooo fun!” Seeing the softer brushes made Smolder instinctively curl up her toes. During their training, Gallus only tickled her with his claws, wings, and occasionally his beak. Not once did he break out any sort of tool. She wanted to call him out, but revealing to Ember that she was secretly training for a rematch might not be the best idea. “W-Wait! Gallus, g-go easy on meeheeheehee!” “Psssh, heck no!” Gallus scoffed, nuzzling up to her sole, giving her a knowing smug grin. “I play to win.” Silverstream did wide brush strokes all over Ember’s feet. “Ooh I wish we had some paint, I’d be painting happy faces aaaallll over your cute toes!” she giggled, pretending to paint a masterpiece on her big blue soles. “STAHAHAHAP! THEY’RE NOT CUHUHUHUTE!” Ember started blushing once again, her toes twitched with each swipe across them. “Awww, yes they are! They’re the cutest dwagon toes I’ve ever seeeen!” Silverstream cooed, drawing big circles on her toes. Ember’s feet started thrashing around, making the paintbrush tickle even more. “EEEEAAAHAHAHAAA! GET OHOHOHOFF!” With Smolder’s left foot, Gallus went up and down her arch with the paintbrush. The makeup brush pressed and powdered the ball of her right foot. Smolder gasped and squealed. No matter how much she could feel her legs kicking, her feet stayed in the same place. “AAAHAHA! GALLUS NOOOOOHOHO! M-MERCIIEHEEHEEHEE!” “Such soft bristles against even softer soles,” Gallus teased, having the makeup brush tease her toes just for a split second. “Just the way I like it.” After making a few more invisible drawings on Ember’s feet, Silverstream decided to see how she’d react to the makeup brush. She pressed it against the center of her foot and made little wiggling motions against her sole. “BWAHAHAHAHA NAHAHAHAT THAHAHAHAHAAAT! WHYHYHYHY?!” Ember’s eyes widened as she exploded with laughter. The soft bristles made her squeal harder than any hairbrush or scrubbing brush could. Gallus decides to up the teasy tickle talk to get underneath Smolder’s scales. He got up closer, speaking in a hushed voice. “I bet these brushes tickle like crazy, huh, Smolder? All those bristles going up and down your feet…” Smolder cheeks started to burn red, the gentle way Gallus was speaking gave her the chills. “EEEEEEEHEEHEE! HAHAHAHA NONONOHOHOHOHO!” “Yeah, that’s right, gimmie more of that adorable laugh of yours!” With one type of each brush in hand, Silverstream got up in Ember’s face. “Sooo Ember, since we know these brushes tickle like crazy, which one of them tickles more, paintbrush or makeup brush?” She started with her toes, making the soft bristles glide all over, under, and in between. “GYAAAHAHAHA! THAT ONE! THE MAKEUP BRUSH TIHIHIHAHAHAHAAA!” Each little stroke from the makeup brush made Ember’s foot tremble, violently rattling the chain around her toe. Silverstream tossed the paintbrush over her shoulder, grabbing another makeup brush from the bag. “Perfect!” She pressed both brushes against her arches just to hear Ember scream some more. Gallus alternated between stroking up and down Smolder’s arches with the brush, and peppering Smolder’s toes with kisses. Once he pulled back from the kiss, he wiggled the brush, then leaned back in to kiss another toe. With each gentle peck on her toes, Smolder jolted with a squeak. “AAAACK! NAHAHAHAT AGAIIIIN! GAHAHAHALLUS PLEHEHEHEASE!” The brushes kept her laughing, but the kisses were what made her feel tingly all over. Silverstream went wild with the makeup brushes, her hands moved in whatever direction they felt like. The softness of the bristles meant that she could go as fast as she liked and still be gentle. “Hey Ember, can we do this again sometime? Hearing you laugh is like the best thing ever!” Ember’s laughter reached a brand-new high. As the brushes stroked against her soles, she threw her head back and squealed. Her feet temporarily froze up in shock, unable to even try to move away from Silverstream’s evil brushes. The shock eventually wore off, and her feet started thrashing around again, much to the delight of Silverstream. The makeup brushes danced all over Ember’s feet, dusting every inch of her blushing soles. All the while, Silverstream continued to gush over her. “Awww! Lookit how much your toes are wiggling! And the toughest dragon ever’s got such an adorable laugh! Tickle tickle tickle! Oooh, I’m gonna loooove playing with your feet all day long!” Tears flowed down Ember’s cheeks, Silverstream’s verbal teasing and the soft makeup brushes made her entire body shiver. Each little stroke against her soles became too much to handle. “GAAAAAHAHAHAA! SMOLDER’S TOUGHER! SHE CAN BE TOUGHEST DRAGON! JUST NOHOHOHO MOHOHOHOHOHORE!” Silverstream pumped her fists in the air. “WOOHOO! That’s victory, baby!” “Well well,” Gallus smirked at Smolder. “Now you’re the toughest dragon around,” he said with a wink. Smolder was still giggly and lightheaded, but she sighed in relief. “Whew…Can’t believe...I did it…!” Ember growled to herself as Silverstream went off to fetch Starlight. “Gah, stupid tickling…” Before Starlight could cast the spell to release them, Smolder spoke up. “Wait! Since I won...could you only let just me out?” Ember froze up in shock. “What?! Are you kidding me?” “I mean, I gotta get my reward, don’t I?” With a reluctant shrug, Starlight only released Smolder, who grinned with delight as she approached Ember. ”Hah, so this is what it looks like on the other side…” she grinned, wiggling her claws. “W-wait! Smolder, this isn’t funny!” Ember started to panic, her toes curling up in defense. “You’re gonna get it once I get out of this! D-Don’t you DARE tickle my feet!” “Well, as the newly-titled toughest dragon, I think we need to help toughen you up!” Smolder let out an evil cackle as her fingers skittered across her feet. “Eeeheeheehee! Nohohoho nahahat agaiiiin!” Ember’s squealing started all over again, though the humiliation was far greater. Smolder’s fingers slid up and down her soles. Making her dragon lord squeal felt so satisfying. “Oh, this is fun! Not so tough now, are you, Ember?” “Quit ihihihit! I...I ohohohorder you to stahahahahap!” Ember tried to look stern and commanding, but Smolder’s constantly skittering fingers made it impossible. “C’mon guys, join in!” Smolder motioned Gallus and Silverstream tfo gather around Ember’s feet. Gallus and Silverstream were more than happy to help out. The two got on opposite sides of Smolder with wide grins on their faces, and together, the trio struck. Three different pairs of hands wiggling and scritching all over Ember’s feet, occasionally shoving each other just to tickle a certain spot. Ember was left screaming. Her head and feet thrashed around as much as they could, but no matter how hard she struggled, those six hands were always on her feet, tickling every bit of her soles and toes, even the tops of her feet weren’t safe. Silverstream squealed with delight. “Coochie coochie coo! You’re such a ticklish dwaggy! Yes you are!” “Wow, these feet are soft too! Might even be softer than yours, Smolder!” Gallus joked, lightly ribbing Smolder with his elbows. “C’mon, Ember! This is gonna help you get tougher!” Smolder said with a sinister chuckle, focusing her gentle tickles on her heels. “GYAAAHAHA! NOMORENOMORENOMOHOHOHORE! TOOHOOHOO MUHUHUHCH!” Ember felt completely overwhelmed by the triple tickle attack. The teasy talk made Ember feel tingly all over, and it made all the little strokes against her feet feel extra tickly. “Aww, look at how hard she’s blushing!” Silverstream giggled, pointing at the growing pink spots on Ember’s cheeks. “She must really like this!”” “NOHOHOHO! I DOHOHOHON’T!” Ember’s entire body tensed up at the accusation, the blood rushed to her cheeks faster. Gallus started peppering the makeup brushes against her arches. “You sure? I don’t think you’d be blushing that hard if you didn’t like it.” “Yeah, we won’t tell anyone, promise!” Smolder grabbed one of Gallus’s feathers, sliding it between Ember’s toes. “BWAAAAAAHAAHAHA ALRIIIGHT! I-! I KINDAHAHAHA LIKE IT OKAY!? I LIHIHIHIKE THE TIHIHIHIHICKLING!” Ember felt weird saying it out loud, but all the attention at her feet quickly washed that unease away. Silverstream turned to brush her wing down her sole. “Yay! Does that mean we can tickle you more once we get you out?” “AIIIEEEHEEHAHAHAHA!” As Smolder played with Ember’s toes, she leaned over to Gallus, whispering to him. “Uh...hey Gallus?” “Mmhm?” “Since I won this time, Ember miiiight wanna go best two out of three later…So...” Gallus stifled a chuckle. “Lemmie guess, you wanna do more ‘training’ to prepare?” With a wide grin on her face, Smolder eagerly nodded. “Yeah! Y-You know, just in case...”
Dragons Don't Do Nice“I’unno,” Gallus shrugged as he walked with Silverstream down the halls of Twilight’s Friendship school. “Like, if I had to pick one, I guess Applejack, but-” “Shhhhhh!” Silverstream wrapped her hand around Gallus’s beak, clamping it shut. “Do you hear that?” Both of them listened out, picking up the faint sound of two voices, though it was impossible to tell who was talking or what they were saying, but the tones of the voices didn’t sound pleasant. They snuck down the halls, trying to follow the source. As they got closer, the words were easier to make out, “...can’t believe you’re trying to compare the two!” “You have no idea how much stronger I’ve gotten!” Now able to better hone in on the argument, Gallus and Silverstream peeked their heads around the corner to find their friend Smolder literally butting heads with Dragon Lord Ember. “You don’t know what it’s like having to be the leader of all of dragonkind!” “Oh yeah? You never had to go through midterms!” “What do you think they’re arguing about?” Silverstream whispered. “No idea, you wanna find out?” After a second to breathe and gain some quick bravery, Silverstream stepped out into the hallway with Gallus following behind. “Heeey...What are you two doing?” Ember and Smolder shifted their glares over to the sudden walk-ins, their expressions slightly lightening up. “Oh hey you two!” Smolder walked up to her friends, grinning wide. “You wanna tell Ember over here that I’m a tougher dragon than her?” Ember’s jaw dropped in shock and disgust. “What?! The dragons back home are in awe of my strength and leadership! I’m definitely the tougher dragon!” The dragons quickly returned to locking horns. Gallus slid between them, trying to keep the two apart. “Woah woah woah! Before you burn the school down, there’s gotta be some way you two can settle this!” Silverstream gasped in excitement. “Ooh, Gallus! You know what we could do?” She beckoned him closer, whispering in his ear. “...Yeah, that’d work.” A sly grin showed up on his beak as he nodded along. “How would we set something like that up, though?” Silverstream thought for a moment, before inspiration struck. “I know just the thing!” The others followed Silverstream through the school, their destination unknown. They eventually found themselves going through the library and into one of the rooms near the back. The room had loose papers and books scattered on the floor. On one side of the room was a chalkboard covered with indecipherable symbols surrounded by portable chalkboards with complicated formulas and equations. But the most eye-catching feature of the room was the wall on the opposite side of the room. The wooden wall had two golden vertical bars that divided it into thirds, with one bar running horizontally. Bronze plaques were placed on each divider, with one in the middle above. What was most peculiar was the hexagon-shaped holes. Two large ones were on the dividers, each with two smaller ones on both sides. On the border of each hexagon were the same symbols they saw on the chalkboard. After staring in awe and confusion, Smolder looked over at the hippogriff. “Uh, Silverstream? What is all this?” “This is something I was helping Counselor Starlight and Headmare Twilight with! They’re portal thingies that you can put your body through!” Gallus raised a claw. “Wait, why do we even have something like this in the school?” “For cool magic stuff, duh!” “So...what exactly do we need all this for?” Ember asked. “What’s the challenge you’re gonna put us through?” “Oh right! We’re gonna be tickling you two!” “Tickling!?” Both dragons looked at her with shock. “Yep! Toughest dragon is gonna be the one who can withstand the most tickling!” “A-Are you serious?” “What’s the matter? Surely the toughest dragon would be able to take on a little tickling, right?” Gallus smirked, egging them on. Almost instantly, their egos got in the way of their better judgement. Ember puffed out her chest. “If it’s only tickling, bring it on! I bet Smolder’s way more ticklish, too!” “Tch, whatever, I’m sure I can take more tickling than she can!” Silverstream grinned and shared a fistbump with Gallus. “Well, since you’re both in agreement, just give us some time to prepare things!” The birds flew off to set up the competition. As Gallus ran off to the dorms, Silverstream sprinted towards Starlight’s office, bursting through the doors. “STARLIGHT WE NEED TO USE THE PORTAL STUFF!” “...What.” Back in the room, Gallus waited with his backpack full of supplies. Silverstream eventually returned with a still-confused Starlight. After Gallus better explained the situation, Starlight agreed to help out. She took a deep breath as her horn started to glow. “Alright, stand still, you two…” she instructed, enveloping the two dragons with her magic aura. A flash of light forced Ember’s eyes shut. When she opened her eyes, she found her head sticking out of the wooden wall, with her feet now right next to her cheeks. Despite being able to get an up-close view of her own soles, her position didn’t cause any sort of discomfort. Looking to her right, she could see Smolder in the same position. “There, the portal spell is set up. Only your head and feet are exposed bv sticking out of the portals in the wall.” Starlight explained, pointing at the hexagon holes, the runes written on the borders now glowed yellow. “Don’t worry, the rest of your body is safe, it’ll just be in a magical pocket dimension until I undo the spell.” Smolder wiggled around. She could still freely move her body, but only being able to see her feet right next to her made it a little disorientating. The rest of her body felt like it was washed in a soothing aura. “Huh, weird, but it feels kinda nice too…” “Now, one more thing...” Starlight’s horn lit up again. The plaques on the wall started to transform, growing draconic heads, wings, and tails on the border. The eyes of the dragons began to glow yellow, and words started to inscribe themselves on the plaques. First were the names of Smolder and Ember underneath the respective dragons, then “Who is the toughest dragon?” on the plaque above. “Ooooh! That’s so cool!” To finish it off, steel chains appeared above the heads of the two dragons. A cuff wrapped around their middle toes and pulled them back, forcing their soles to be more exposed. “Alright, you guys should be ready for the competition!” “Perfect…” Gallus grinned, walking over to Smolder’s feet. Silverstream took her place in front of Ember. “Okay, if you wanna give up at any time, just say that the other dragon is tougher! Got it?” Both dragons nodded in agreement. “Bring it on!” “Do your worst!” Gallus reached into his backpack. After a bit of searching, he pulled out two hairbrushes and two scrubbing brushes, giving one of each to Silverstream. Seeing the brushes get pulled out made Smolder start sweating. “W-Wait, where’d you get those?” “Don’t worry about it.” The two didn’t waste any more time. With one brush scrubbing down one foot and a claw raking down the other, they were determined to hold nothing back to break their dragon as fast as possible. The initial results seemed promising, as Smolder and Ember instantly exploded with laughter. “Wow, dragons are waaaay more ticklish than I thought they’d be!” Gallus looked at Smolder with an evil grin. “Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun…” Silverstream used the hairbrush first, she pushed back Ember’s toes, allowing the bristles complete freedom to scrub her arch. Ember’s eyes widened in shock, quickly trying to push back against Silverstream’s grip. The harsh scrubbing left her instantly squealing as her toes twitched against her hand. For his first weapon of choice, Gallus picked the scrubbing brush. The wide brush made it easy to cover Smolder’s entire sole at once with each stroke. Smolder threw her head back as much as she could, her horns clanking against the chains as she howled with laughter. The wiggling of her toes was much more lively than Ember’s. “Ooh, this is gonna be easy!” Silverstream kept holding her toes back, having the hairbrush go all over her taut foot. She moved the brush in all directions, scribbling against her sole with reckless abandon. “IS THAHAHAT THE BEST YOU’VE GOHOHOT?” Ember cackled, trying to glare at the hippogryph. “No, not yet, but if you really want me to tickle you even mooore…” Silverstream said with an almost sinister chuckle. “I can always start tickling your toes!” She dropped the brush in order to have all her talons scratch against her huge toes. A distinct blush started to show on Ember’s cheeks as her toes splayed out. “AAAIIIEEEHAHAHAHA! G-GET AWAY FROM MY TOHOHOES!” Instead of restraining Smolder’s feet like Silverstream, Gallus used the brush on one foot, and scribbled his claws down the other, following her feet as they wiggled around. “BWAHAHAHA NOHOHOHO! IT TIHIHIHICKLES SOHOHO MUHUHUCH!” Smolder tried to get away from either the brush of Gallus’s fingers, but the chains around her toes made that task impossible. Gallus smirked. “Gonna give up, then?” “NEHEHEHEVER!” “Suit yourself, more fun for us.” Silverstream briefly glanced over to look at how Gallus was doing with Smolder, seeing how much Gallus was making her thrash made her more determined to go harder. After equipping herself with both hairbrush and scrubbing brush, she resumed her attack on Ember’s feet. “GAHAHAAAAA! Q-QUIT IHIHIHIT!” Ember’s feet froze up when the bristles from both brushes made contact, but soon they were back to wriggling about. Silverstream leaned in closer to the dragon’s face. “Hey Ember, why don’t you tell me which brush tickles more? I’ll go easier on you if ya say it!” Each brush stroke was done in sync, giving her a fair chance of assessment. “Better yet, I’ll stop completely if you give up now!” “AHAHAHAHAAAA! Y-YOU WON’T BREAK MEHEEHEE!” The blush on Ember’s face intensified, brightly shining on her blue cheeks, though her willpower still held strong through the intense brushing. As lively as Smolder’s feet were, they were still held back by the chains, giving Gallus the perfect opportunity to run the brush underneath her toes. “You know it’s only gonna get worse, Smolder...” “NAAAAHAAAAAHA!” Smolder’s squeal was loud enough to get her voice to crack. “B-BRING IHIHIHIT! EEHAHAHAHA!” she roared in defiance. “Hmm…Any progress yet?” Gallus asked, turning to Silverstream. “Nope, but I think I have an idea.” Silverstream reached over from Ember’s right foot and over to Smolder, dragging the hairbrush down her left foot. “Ohhh, I getcha.” Gallus started scratching against the ball of Ember’s right foot. The two looked at each other and chuckled as they got a chance to torture both ticklish dragons. Whatever one of them did to Smolder, the same treatment was given to Ember, and vice-versa. The scratching from Gallus’s claws made Ember throw her head back and cackle, yet instead of crying for mercy, she defiantly challenged them. “BAHAHAHAHA! IHIHIS THAT ALL YOU GOHOHOT?!” “GWAHAHAHA! I WOHOHON’T LOSE!” Smolder started to tear up, still trying to wiggle her feet away from the claws and brushes. All the tickling was exhausting, but her stubborn pride kept her from giving in. Despite all of their efforts, neither dragon seemed even remotely close to admitting defeat, Eventually, Gallus and Silverstream needed to stop for a break, both of them actually fatigued from tickling so much. “Sheesh, this is harder than I thought…” Silverstream thought aloud, rubbing her arms. “No kidding…” Gallus muttered, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “We’ve been going at it for a while, and neither of them are even close to breaking.” Silverstream turned to Gallus as she idly scribbled her talons across Ember’s soles. “You know, it’s kinda cute how their toes wiggle like that…” Ember suddenly let out a loud, high-pitched squeal. “NOHOHO! S-stahahahahap!” Both birds flinched at the severe reaction from the dragon lord. “Wait, what’d you do?” Gallus asked. “N-Nothing! I was just going light like this…” Silverstream demonstrated by skittering her fingers against Ember’s feet again. “Gyaaaahahahaha! D-Dohohohon’t do thahahat!” “If that’s the case, then I wonder…” Gallus went back to Smolder’s feet, gently dancing his clawtips over her toes. “HAHAHAAAA! No more no more no mohohohore!” Smolder squealed, shaking her head harder than ever before. Gallus and Silverstream looked at each other in stunned silence. The looks of surprise on their faces gradually grew into a grin of revelation. They put the brushes away, now playfully wiggling their fingers closer to the pairs of dragon feet. The confident and defiant looks on Smolder and Ember quickly became panicked in the brief seconds before the tickling resumed. “NAAAHAHAHA! G-Gallus staaahahahahaaaa!” Smolder pleaded, his gentle touch now driving her crazy. “Heh, not so tough now, huh?” Gallus taunted, skittering his fingers across her feet. “No getting away from the tickles...” Silverstream started giggling as she played with Ember’s toes, scribbling her fingers against them to watch them wiggle back and forth. “Aww...you’re so cute!” The teasing made Ember’s cheeks get redder almost instantly. “GWAAAAHAHA! I-I’M NOHOHOT CUUUUTE!” “Hey Silverstream, I got an idea.” Gallus fluffed up his wing and popped it out, having the feathers brush up and down Smolder’s foot. “EEEEHEEHEE! NOOOOOHOHO!” The soft feathers of Gallus’s wing made Smolder’s feet curl as much as they were allowed to. “Oooh, great idea!” Silverstream mimicked Gallus’s movements, flapping her wing against Ember’s feet. Ember started sweating in a panic, her feet tried to retract back into the portals to escape. “Wait! No! Don’t you DAAAHAHAHA! EEHEEHEEHEE!” Once the feathers hit her feet, she let out a girly squeal. "D'naww! So cute!” Silverstream cooed as she slid her fingers down her arch. Her wing brushed against the sole of her other foot, adding more feathers over time. “Who's a lovely dwagon? I think it's youuu!" “KYAHAHAHA! NOT SO GENTLE! I-I CAN’T TAKE IT!” Ember leaned her head back as she roared with laughter, each little mention of how cute she was made her more and more flustered. “Geez, Smolder, your feet are softer than silk! It’s like you WANT to be tickle tortured…” Gallus teased, wiggling his fingers and feathers over her feet. “EEEHEEHEEK! G-GALLUS NOHOHO! P-PLEHEHEASE!” Tears started streaming down Smolder’s face as she tried to curl her toes. Gallus’s talons lightly scribbled against Smolder’s feet. “Such cute soles, too...Hey, now that we know how ticklish your feet are, I wonder what Ocellus, Sandbar, and Yona are gonna say when I tell them…” “SHUHUHUHUT UP!” “I’m serious. What do you think they’re gonna say when I tell them that they only need to gently tickle your cute feet to make you a blushing mess?” Silverstream popped open her other wing, having both sets of feathers eagerly flapping against her feet. “How badly do my wings tickle, Ember?” ‘SOHOHO MUHUHUHUCH! THEY TIHIHIHICKLE SOHOHOHOHO MUUUUCH AAHAHAHAHAHA!” All of the wiggling from Smolder’s feet enticed Gallus. As he slid his wing up and down one foot, he leaned in closer to the other foot, pressing his beak against her sole and giving it a kiss. “OKAYOKAYOKAAAY! EEHEEHAHAHA! E-EMBER’S TOUGHER! EMBER’S TOUGHER JUST STAHAHAHAP!” Smolder squealed. The combination of gentle feathers and the sudden kiss made her break. Gallus and Silverstream looked over to Smolder, folding their wings back in as the tickling finally came to a stop. “Aww, I was gonna get her toes next...” Silverstream muttered to herself as she went off to get Starlight. Even after the dragons were released, they laid there on the floor, still catching their breath. “Gaaah...That...was torture...but at least I won...Toughest Dragon...” Ember said between panting, smiling in satisfaction. “Yeah yeah, whatever...lousy cheatin’...” Smolder grumbled, rubbing her feet.
Tickle TrainingA few days later, Smolder walked down the halls, pouting and grumbling to herself as her eyes scanned around her, trying to find something. Sandbar noticed the grumpy look on her face as she stomped by. “Uhhh, hey Smolder! You alright?” “Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” Smolder nodded, trying not to look so upset. “Hey, have you seen Gallus around? I need to talk to him about something...” Sandbar pointed back towards the dorms. “Yeah, he should still be in our room…” “Perfect, thanks!” Smolder gave Sandbar a quick hug before rushing off with a renewed vigor in her step. Back in the dorms, Gallus sighed in boredom as he laid down in bed. With no tests to study for, there was nothing left to do for the day. As he closed his eyes and relaxed his body for a quick nap, he heard a knocking at his door. “Yeah yeah, I’m comin’...” he grumbled as he rolled out of bed to the door. “Wait, Smolder?” “Hey Gallus,” Smolder said, casually walking into the room. “I wanted to see you for something, you busy?” “Nah, not really.” Gallus shrugged. “Whatcha need?” Smolder closed the door and locked it behind her. “Oh nothing much...just revenge.” “Wait, what?” As Gallus turned, he was suddenly tackled. Smolder lifted him up and threw him back onto his bed. As he tried to get his bearings, she leapt up and landed on top of him, nearly knocking the air out of him. “GAH! What the-What is WITH you?!” Smolder sat down on his chest, leaning forward to pin him down by the shoulders. “I told you, this is revenge!” “For what!? What did I do to you?” Gallus tried to throw Smolder off, but lacked the leverage. Smolder started growling. “You know what you did! You made me lose that toughness contest! “Wha-me?” “Yeah, you made me lose when you kissed my foot and stuff. That’s like, totally cheating!” Smolder explained, her orange cheeks showing a new shade of red. “Oh for the love of-” Gallus muttered to himself. “Are you really that upset over this?” “Uh, YEAH? Dragons are supposed to be tough and strong and awesome and stuff!” Smolder leaned closer, pushing Gallus’s hands away with her feet. “Alright listen, Smolder, I’m sorry that you lost or whatever, but that’s not really my fault, is it?” Smolder sat up straight, crossed her arms and huffed. Her knees pinning Gallus’s shoulders to the bed. “Yeah? Well I’m still tougher than you, so how about that?” Gallus sighed as he tried to wriggle out, but Smolder still had him pinned. After a few moments of laying there in awkward silence, Gallus looked up at her. “Is that it? Are you gonna do anything else?” “Nuh-uh. I can sit here all day if I want!” Smolder toes started to curl and uncurl, gradually shifting closer to Gallus’s talons. “...Smolder, get off of me.” he said, starting to get annoyed. Smolder seemed to hesitate before speaking. “...Make me.” Gallus silently looked back and forth between Smolder defiantly crossing her arms and her feet practically rubbing up against his hands. “...Alright.” With such easy access, Gallus’s fingers started skittering over her soles. “Eeeehahahahaaa! Oh no!” Smolder burst out into a giggling fit. Her toes started to curl, but she didn’t seem to leave her spot. Gallus started smirking as his fingers slid down her arches, watching her squirm on top of him. “Oh yes!” More and more squeals came out of Smolder as she tried to move her feet away. Her attempt to defend her feet while still staying on top of Gallus led to her losing her balance and falling backwards. Now that the weight was off of him, Gallus sat back up and sprang into action to retaliate. He wrapped one arm around her ankles to trap them, then started sliding his fingers down her feet. “Nooohahaha! G-Gallus stahahahap!” Smolder started pounding on Gallus’s back as she tried to yank her feet away. Now that Smolder’s feet were now at his mercy, Gallus continued to make her squeal. He fought through all the punches as his claws lightly scritched against her heel. “C’mon, Smolder, I’m barely touching you!” Smolder tried swinging harder at Gallus, but the light touch of his claws made her fall on her back again. “Naaahahahaha! I cahahan’t taaake it!” Gallus chuckled, even if she was gonna hurt him later, it was still worth it to hear her giggle like that. “I could keep tickling you like this all day...” “Hehehehehe...C-Can you?” Gallus was about to walk his fingers up to her toes when he paused. “What’d you say?” The shock of hearing Smolder ask that made him drop his grip on her ankles entirely. “That’s...that’s the real reason I came to you…” Smolder grumbled, looking away as her cheeks started to redden. “Cause I...need your help.” “With what?” “I...I want a rematch against Ember, but I need to get tougher first.” She slowly turned back to Gallus. “And, you know, since you’re the only one that’s tickled me like that…” “Mmhm?” Gallus smirked. He knew what Smolder wanted to ask, but he wanted to hear it out loud. “So...can you...keep tickling me like that?” Smolder quickly crossed her arms again in a huff. “F-For training, of course!” As ridiculous as it all sounded, there was no way Gallus was going to pass up an opportunity like this, especially if Smolder was straight-up asking him to tickle her. “Well, since you’re asking so nicely, I guess I’ll help you with your ‘training’.” Smolder sighed in relief. “Oh thank goodness! So, uh...how do you wanna do this?” “Well, let’s start with this.” Gallus said as he put Smolder’s feet on his lap. “All you gotta do is keep your feet still. If you don’t...well, I’m gonna be a whole lot meaner.” “Pff, that’s it? That’s easy!” Smolder scoffed, flexing her feet in feigned confidence. With a display of his wiggling talons, Gallus smirked. “We’ll see about that…” He started his fingers off at her heels, slowly sliding up towards her toes. “Eeeep!” Almost immediately, Smolder bent her knees to try and pull her feet back. She quickly realized her mistake and tried putting her feet back in hopes that she wouldn’t be penalized. Gallus smirked, it was barely a second before she pulled away. “Easy, huh?” “S-Shut up…” Smolder grumbled as she felt the burning in her cheeks intensify. “That just...caught me by surprise, is all…” “Let’s just call that strike one, then...” Gallus picked up where he left off, expecting Smolder to retreat again. Smolder let out a squeal through clenched teeth. Her fists pounded on her own legs, trying not to pull them away this time. Continuing his trek upwards, Gallus made a stop at her arches, making his talons walk from side to side. “C’mon, you gotta be tougher than that if you wanna beat Ember.” “Gaaaah I knooooow!” Smolder let out an anguished growl. In order to distract from the growing urge to pull her feet away, her arms started swinging wildly, hitting whatever was nearby: her legs, the bed, the pillows, the bedpost, even the wall. Gallus’s talons honed in on the balls of Smolder’s feet next. Each finger took turns giving it a light scritch to get another giggle out of her. “You know, Silverstream was right. It’s really cute seeing your toes wiggle.” Gallus’s little comment seemed to make Smolder’s toes start wiggling faster. “Eeeheehee...S-Shut uhuhuhuhup!” Smolder’s fists pounded on the bed harder. Her legs kept trembling, her knees bent ever so slightly, trying not to pull back. With all the attention her toes were begging for, how could Gallus resist? He happily had his fingers dance against her curling toes. “NAHAHAHAHAAA!” Without even thinking, Smolder yanked her feet away. “Ahahahaha...ah dangit.” Her toes curled up against the sheets once she stopped giggling. “Strike two…” Gallus said in a half-playful, half-menacing tone. “Better not pull them away again.” Smolder reluctantly put her feet back onto Gallus’s lap, all the possible punishments Gallus could give made her shiver. Gallus’s wings popped out from behind his back. With a wicked grin on his face, they slid down the center of both her soles. The sight of the gryphon’s wingspan made Smolder gulp. Gallus took his sweet time having his feathers approach, each agonizing second was spent trying to mentally prepare. Once they made contact, Smolder started flailing again. Even her tail was now slamming against the mattress. “HAHAAAHAAAAAAAA! “Woah, haven’t heard you squeal like that before…” Gallus chuckled. Once his wings reached her heel, they slid back up her feet. Once they reached her toes is where Gallus really planned to drive her crazy. The tips of his wings flicked against her toes, trying to get under and in-between at every opportunity they could. Smolder could feel the feathers moving upwards. She grabbed a nearby pillow in preparation. Once they got to her toes, she buried her face in the fluffy pillow, muffling her screams of laughter. Eventually, her toes stayed curled up, trying to lock the feathers out. Gallus’s easy solution was to just skitter against her arches until her toes exposed themselves again. Still muffling herself, Smolder fell onto her back again. The pillow also served to hide the blush on her cheeks. “Coochie coochie coo, Smolder…” Gallus taunted as his wings swiped under her toes. “Your soft feet are just perfect for tickling...” Another squeal was suppressed by the pillow as Smolder finally pulled her feet back for a third time, curling herself up in a ball. Gallus shook his head, “Uh-uh, that’s strike three. You know what that means.” He grabbed onto her ankles, bringing them closer to his chest to plant a kiss on her sole. The familiar feeling of Gallus’s beak on her foot made Smolder throw the pillow at him. Her laughter was now at full volume. “AAAAAHAHA NOOO! NAHAHAT AGAAAIN!” “Ahhh, your feet are so soft…” Gallus rubbed his cheek against her heel, feeling the toes curl against his head. “Cute, too!” Smolder tried to sit up to pry Gallus’s talons off, but each attempt quickly ended up with her helpless on her back again. “GAAAHAAHAA SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUHUHUHUP!” “Oh, and your toes, too! Can’t forget about them! Especially with how ticklish they are, how much they wiggle against my wings, making me want to tickle them more…” Gallus gave each of her toes a peck as he spoke. Tears began to form in the dragon’s eyes. She slammed her fists against the bedsheets, trying to yank her feet free. “NOHOHOHO! NOHOHO MOOORE!” Gallus nuzzled up against her soles, fingers idly wiggling against her toes. “How did such a tough dragon get such cute ticklish feet?” “AAAHAHA I CAHAHAHAHAN’T! GALLUS PLEHEHEHEAASE!” Smolder begged, her voice starting to crack. “Alright, I think that’s enough ‘training’ for today.” Gallus gave her soles one more quick peck before setting them back down on the bed. Smolder was still giggling on the bed long after Gallus had stopped tickling. “Eeeheehee...it still tingles…” “Well, I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” “So...can we do this again tomorrow?” She cleared her throat, trying to act cool again. “Just so I can keep up with the training, of course!” With a playful roll of his eyes, Gallus nodded. “Yeah, I can train you again tomorrow.” Smolder sat back up and tackled Gallus again, but this time she laid down on top of him, nuzzling her head against his fluffy chest. “...Thanks…” “Aheh, no problem, but do you mind getting off me?” Gallus nudged her a few times to get her attention. “...Smolder?” All Gallus got was a tired murmur in response. Smolder had fallen asleep on top of her in a startling amount of time. With a reluctant sigh, Gallus pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her as he closed his eyes. An hour later, Sandbar returned to his room, ready to relax in his own bed and read some comics. “Hey Gallus, are y-” Upon seeing Smolder asleep on top of Gallus hugging her, Sandbar quietly closed the door. He shook his head and sighed as he headed towards Yona’s room. “...I gotta stop walking in on these things…”
Rematch and RevengeFor the next couple of weeks, the “training sessions” continued. Smolder would go into Gallus and Sandbar’s room and allow the gryphon to gently tickle her feet with his talons and drive her crazy by complimenting her soft soles and wiggling toes. All in the name of gaining resistance, of course. The little kisses on her feet were also essential to building her endurance. Smolder challenged Ember to a rematch for the title of “Toughest Dragon”, with the same challenge as before. Despite not wanting to go through that ticklish hell again, Ember’s dragon pride meant that she couldn’t decline the challenge. In the library, Starlight assisted with the same process as last time. The spell was cast to put the dragons back in the wall with their feet exposed. Even though she dreaded the upcoming tickling, the feeling of her body back in the pocket dimension still felt soothing to Ember. As the chains pulled back their middle toes, the plaques transformed again, still labeling the dragon above it. The middle plaque now read “Who is the toughest dragon? (Rematch)” “Ooooh! That’s so cool!” “You said that last time.” “Yeah, because it’s still cool!” Gallus and Silverstream sat down in front of Smolder and Ember’s feet respectively. “Same rules as last time, if the tickling’s too much for you, just admit that the other dragon is tougher.” “Let’s do it! No way I’m losing twice!” Smolder said, confident that she’s built up a fair amount of resistance. Ember scoffed as she tried to put on a cocky grin. “I didn’t give up last time, I’m not gonna give up this time!” “I can’t wait to get started!” Silverstream grinned, already wiggling her fingers menacingly. Gallus put his bag between him and Silverstream. Now that he knew the secret to making a dragon beg for mercy, he was better prepared for the rematch. He opened up the bag, pulling out some paintbrushes and makeup brushes to hand to Silverstream. “Hey wait, those are Professor Rarity’s! How did you even-” “That’s the LEAST of your concerns right now…” Gallus grinned. Silverstream looked at the brushes with glee. She ran her hand across the bristles of the paintbrush, getting a feel for it before sliding it down Ember’s sole. A sense of impending dread struck Ember as she saw Silverstream’s sadistic grin while she approached with the brush. The regret of agreeing to a rematch was almost immediate as the bristles made contact. “No...Nononono...NOOOAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!” Ember’s reaction made Silverstream start squealing in delight. “Oh my gosh, this is gonna be sooooo fun!” Seeing the softer brushes made Smolder instinctively curl up her toes. During their training, Gallus only tickled her with his claws, wings, and occasionally his beak. Not once did he break out any sort of tool. She wanted to call him out, but revealing to Ember that she was secretly training for a rematch might not be the best idea. “W-Wait! Gallus, g-go easy on meeheeheehee!” “Psssh, heck no!” Gallus scoffed, nuzzling up to her sole, giving her a knowing smug grin. “I play to win.” Silverstream did wide brush strokes all over Ember’s feet. “Ooh I wish we had some paint, I’d be painting happy faces aaaallll over your cute toes!” she giggled, pretending to paint a masterpiece on her big blue soles. “STAHAHAHAP! THEY’RE NOT CUHUHUHUTE!” Ember started blushing once again, her toes twitched with each swipe across them. “Awww, yes they are! They’re the cutest dwagon toes I’ve ever seeeen!” Silverstream cooed, drawing big circles on her toes. Ember’s feet started thrashing around, making the paintbrush tickle even more. “EEEEAAAHAHAHAAA! GET OHOHOHOFF!” With Smolder’s left foot, Gallus went up and down her arch with the paintbrush. The makeup brush pressed and powdered the ball of her right foot. Smolder gasped and squealed. No matter how much she could feel her legs kicking, her feet stayed in the same place. “AAAHAHA! GALLUS NOOOOOHOHO! M-MERCIIEHEEHEEHEE!” “Such soft bristles against even softer soles,” Gallus teased, having the makeup brush tease her toes just for a split second. “Just the way I like it.” After making a few more invisible drawings on Ember’s feet, Silverstream decided to see how she’d react to the makeup brush. She pressed it against the center of her foot and made little wiggling motions against her sole. “BWAHAHAHAHA NAHAHAHAT THAHAHAHAHAAAT! WHYHYHYHY?!” Ember’s eyes widened as she exploded with laughter. The soft bristles made her squeal harder than any hairbrush or scrubbing brush could. Gallus decides to up the teasy tickle talk to get underneath Smolder’s scales. He got up closer, speaking in a hushed voice. “I bet these brushes tickle like crazy, huh, Smolder? All those bristles going up and down your feet…” Smolder cheeks started to burn red, the gentle way Gallus was speaking gave her the chills. “EEEEEEEHEEHEE! HAHAHAHA NONONOHOHOHOHO!” “Yeah, that’s right, gimmie more of that adorable laugh of yours!” With one type of each brush in hand, Silverstream got up in Ember’s face. “Sooo Ember, since we know these brushes tickle like crazy, which one of them tickles more, paintbrush or makeup brush?” She started with her toes, making the soft bristles glide all over, under, and in between. “GYAAAHAHAHA! THAT ONE! THE MAKEUP BRUSH TIHIHIHAHAHAHAAA!” Each little stroke from the makeup brush made Ember’s foot tremble, violently rattling the chain around her toe. Silverstream tossed the paintbrush over her shoulder, grabbing another makeup brush from the bag. “Perfect!” She pressed both brushes against her arches just to hear Ember scream some more. Gallus alternated between stroking up and down Smolder’s arches with the brush, and peppering Smolder’s toes with kisses. Once he pulled back from the kiss, he wiggled the brush, then leaned back in to kiss another toe. With each gentle peck on her toes, Smolder jolted with a squeak. “AAAACK! NAHAHAHAT AGAIIIIN! GAHAHAHALLUS PLEHEHEHEASE!” The brushes kept her laughing, but the kisses were what made her feel tingly all over. Silverstream went wild with the makeup brushes, her hands moved in whatever direction they felt like. The softness of the bristles meant that she could go as fast as she liked and still be gentle. “Hey Ember, can we do this again sometime? Hearing you laugh is like the best thing ever!” Ember’s laughter reached a brand-new high. As the brushes stroked against her soles, she threw her head back and squealed. Her feet temporarily froze up in shock, unable to even try to move away from Silverstream’s evil brushes. The shock eventually wore off, and her feet started thrashing around again, much to the delight of Silverstream. The makeup brushes danced all over Ember’s feet, dusting every inch of her blushing soles. All the while, Silverstream continued to gush over her. “Awww! Lookit how much your toes are wiggling! And the toughest dragon ever’s got such an adorable laugh! Tickle tickle tickle! Oooh, I’m gonna loooove playing with your feet all day long!” Tears flowed down Ember’s cheeks, Silverstream’s verbal teasing and the soft makeup brushes made her entire body shiver. Each little stroke against her soles became too much to handle. “GAAAAAHAHAHAA! SMOLDER’S TOUGHER! SHE CAN BE TOUGHEST DRAGON! JUST NOHOHOHO MOHOHOHOHOHORE!” Silverstream pumped her fists in the air. “WOOHOO! That’s victory, baby!” “Well well,” Gallus smirked at Smolder. “Now you’re the toughest dragon around,” he said with a wink. Smolder was still giggly and lightheaded, but she sighed in relief. “Whew…Can’t believe...I did it…!” Ember growled to herself as Silverstream went off to fetch Starlight. “Gah, stupid tickling…” Before Starlight could cast the spell to release them, Smolder spoke up. “Wait! Since I won...could you only let just me out?” Ember froze up in shock. “What?! Are you kidding me?” “I mean, I gotta get my reward, don’t I?” With a reluctant shrug, Starlight only released Smolder, who grinned with delight as she approached Ember. ”Hah, so this is what it looks like on the other side…” she grinned, wiggling her claws. “W-wait! Smolder, this isn’t funny!” Ember started to panic, her toes curling up in defense. “You’re gonna get it once I get out of this! D-Don’t you DARE tickle my feet!” “Well, as the newly-titled toughest dragon, I think we need to help toughen you up!” Smolder let out an evil cackle as her fingers skittered across her feet. “Eeeheeheehee! Nohohoho nahahat agaiiiin!” Ember’s squealing started all over again, though the humiliation was far greater. Smolder’s fingers slid up and down her soles. Making her dragon lord squeal felt so satisfying. “Oh, this is fun! Not so tough now, are you, Ember?” “Quit ihihihit! I...I ohohohorder you to stahahahahap!” Ember tried to look stern and commanding, but Smolder’s constantly skittering fingers made it impossible. “C’mon guys, join in!” Smolder motioned Gallus and Silverstream tfo gather around Ember’s feet. Gallus and Silverstream were more than happy to help out. The two got on opposite sides of Smolder with wide grins on their faces, and together, the trio struck. Three different pairs of hands wiggling and scritching all over Ember’s feet, occasionally shoving each other just to tickle a certain spot. Ember was left screaming. Her head and feet thrashed around as much as they could, but no matter how hard she struggled, those six hands were always on her feet, tickling every bit of her soles and toes, even the tops of her feet weren’t safe. Silverstream squealed with delight. “Coochie coochie coo! You’re such a ticklish dwaggy! Yes you are!” “Wow, these feet are soft too! Might even be softer than yours, Smolder!” Gallus joked, lightly ribbing Smolder with his elbows. “C’mon, Ember! This is gonna help you get tougher!” Smolder said with a sinister chuckle, focusing her gentle tickles on her heels. “GYAAAHAHA! NOMORENOMORENOMOHOHOHORE! TOOHOOHOO MUHUHUHCH!” Ember felt completely overwhelmed by the triple tickle attack. The teasy talk made Ember feel tingly all over, and it made all the little strokes against her feet feel extra tickly. “Aww, look at how hard she’s blushing!” Silverstream giggled, pointing at the growing pink spots on Ember’s cheeks. “She must really like this!”” “NOHOHOHO! I DOHOHOHON’T!” Ember’s entire body tensed up at the accusation, the blood rushed to her cheeks faster. Gallus started peppering the makeup brushes against her arches. “You sure? I don’t think you’d be blushing that hard if you didn’t like it.” “Yeah, we won’t tell anyone, promise!” Smolder grabbed one of Gallus’s feathers, sliding it between Ember’s toes. “BWAAAAAAHAAHAHA ALRIIIGHT! I-! I KINDAHAHAHA LIKE IT OKAY!? I LIHIHIHIKE THE TIHIHIHIHICKLING!” Ember felt weird saying it out loud, but all the attention at her feet quickly washed that unease away. Silverstream turned to brush her wing down her sole. “Yay! Does that mean we can tickle you more once we get you out?” “AIIIEEEHEEHAHAHAHA!” As Smolder played with Ember’s toes, she leaned over to Gallus, whispering to him. “Uh...hey Gallus?” “Mmhm?” “Since I won this time, Ember miiiight wanna go best two out of three later…So...” Gallus stifled a chuckle. “Lemmie guess, you wanna do more ‘training’ to prepare?” With a wide grin on her face, Smolder eagerly nodded. “Yeah! Y-You know, just in case...”
