A Meal Fit For The Dragon Lord
"Wow, Princess, this place really is impressive to look at!" Ember craned her head all around as she, Spike, and Cadance walked towards the Crystal Palace. Behind them, Twilight and Shining Armor were catching each other up on the goings on in Canterlot and in the Crystal Empire, respectively... as well as gently ribbing each other over sibling in-jokes.
"Thank you," the pink pony empress beamed, "it's really all thanks to the Crystal Heart, the big, heart-shaped gem that uses the love and happiness of all the crystal ponies to stave off the bitter cold just outside!"
Spike noticed the Dragon Lord drooling as she looked around, and advised, "uh, just like the Ponyville castle, you shouldn't eat the buildings here, either."
"Huh, alright," Ember said, now eyeing the houses and businesses as one would eye a nice, juicy-looking fruit that was revealed to be made of wax, "and that means I also shouldn't try to eat that Crystal Heart thingy, too, right?"
Cadance laughed, fully enjoying the joke her guest had made. After a few seconds, her laugh died down and she glanced over at the dragoness, who still looked at her expectantly. Ember glanced to the side, brows furrowed for a moment in thought. "So, that's a..."
The alicorn's smile fell, replaced by a mildly stunned look. "Um, that's right. Please don't eat the Crystal Heart, it keeps all that snow and winter and darkness out of the Empire."
Ember nodded solemnly. "Got it. Things are much easier in the Dragonlands, where any crystal or gem is edible, and all you have to worry about is if it was from some other dragon's hoard." They made a few steps further before she added, "though, I suppose that would be harder here, where EVERYTHING is a gem. Crystal, whatever."
The group of ponies and dragons finally got to the castle, soon entering a dining hall with a lavish spread of Crystal Empire specialties - crystal berry jam, crystal carrots, and, at Twilight's request, hayburgers with crystal wheat used for the buns. Cadance flapped her wings, landing backwards to gesture to the veritable banquet. "Feel free to help yourself!" she declared.
A crystal pony guard walked up to her and Shining Armor, muttering in their ears. They traded concerned looks, then Shining announced, "sorry, something's come up. Twily, could you come help us with the Heart? It's probably minor, but just in case..."
Twilight smiled and trotted forward. "Sure thing, BBBFF!" she chirped, before following them out.
Spike stuffed his mouth full of crystal berries, then ran after them. "Hey! Surely Spike the Brave and Glorious could be of assistance!"
The Dragon Lord watched them go, thoroughly confused. She took a step forward and reached a hand out towards them, calling, "where are you guys going? Is this normal for a palace visit?"
Cadance turned around. "Oh! Ember, I'm so sorry. We shouldn't be long at all, but this is... it could be important." She motioned at the food-covered table. "In the meantime, feel free to avail yourself of the delicacies from the Crystal Empire!"
"Uh, sure. Heh, I'll start with the chairs!" she joked, then picked up a berry and popped it in her mouth, just in case they couldn't tell she was jokking. It burst between her fangs, flooding her tongue with a rich, juicy flavor. The dragoness only barely noticed the ponies and Spike leaving, preoccupied with the delicious berry she quickly gulped down. "Wow, these ARE good crystals..." she remarked to herself.
Her gaze flicked across the table, taking in the incredible array of crystal food, and silently marking which ones she could probably actually eat. Unfortunately, aside from the berries and other sugary-looking treats, it looked rather sparse for a dragon. She huffed in frustration, a wisp of smoke trailing from her nose. Did they really just think she'd eat Spike's diet of light, sugary stuff, and probably some gems he brought himself? That last thought gave Ember pause, and she considered that maybe it was expected for her to bring her own food... but surely they would have told her, or Spike would have.
And then, her eyes drifted off the table, and onto the lone guard in the room. He wasn't a building, nor was he the crystal heart. The dragoness smiled as she approached him, salivating at the thought of all that delicious crystal.
"Hey," she said, bluntly, "all the food in here is okay for me to eat, right? I won't be breaking some pony rule by taking something meant for Spike?" Curious, she ran a hand through the crest on his helmet. And then again. Brush-a-brush.
The guard looked up at her, professionally stonefaced, as he ignored her manhandling the plume on his helmet. "Yes ma'am; if there is not enough food, Her Highness will most likely request more be made."
"Good." A quick lick of her scaly muzzle was all the warning the guard got. In one, clean motion, the Dragon Lord pulled the guard's helmet off, brought a hand under his chin to tip it up to her, and spread her jaws wide, clamping them down over his own muzzle. The guard froze, confused at the unexpected turn of events; unfortunately for him, this gave Ember more than enough time to reach behind his head and shove it all the way in, swallowing hard.
Her long, forked tongue ran over the crystal pony, noting with pleasure that he tasted far more like a beryl gem than a pony, though his sudden, terrified thrashing left her with no illusion as to whether she was eating an actual gem or not. Regardless, a gem of this quality was something to savor, and something she would naturally give her stomach the honor of breaking up, rather than relying on her teeth. Trying to get his bearings as Ember steadily worked her jaws down his neck, the guard managed to brace his forehooves against her encroaching lips, and began to push, trying to free himself from the blue-scaled predator.
Unfortunately, Ember simply held his forelegs against his body; when he realized he was trapped, the guard changed to pushing out against her grip, but this let the dragoness stretch her maw over one forehoof, and then the other. A strong swallow and a well-placed shove saw to his legs straightening right down her throat, where a few panicked squirms and wiggles proved utterly useless, if not actively worked him deeper. Ember gulped and gulped again when her tongue found only his bland, metal chestplate, rewarded when his uncovered barrel began to slip into her drooling maw.
With one scaly hand on either side of his crystalline body, the Dragon Lord heaved him upward, swallowing again as he slipped down. The crystal pony's hooves pushed through a tight ring of muscle and into a hot bath deep within the dragon's body, one that would only get more rapidly full with gravity on her side now. The guard tried to fight back again, but all moving his forelegs did was drag him deeper into her stomach. Ember's gut growled in appreciation for the meal as her throat dragged more of him in; the guard began to curl up behind those light blue scales with only his legs and tail left - and those, too, were not long for the outside world.
Ember wrapped her long tongue around the guard's hind legs, savoring the delicious taste of beryl before one last swallow condemned the crystal pony to her belly. Satisfied, she slumped against the wall, hands on her bulging, moving gut. Wherever the guard tried to strike out against, the dragon would simply push back; between her hands, her powerful stomach, and the overbearing heat within the dragoness, Ember's body soon wore down his spirit until, exhausted, he could do little more than curl up and wait for the inevitable.
Once she had gotten her meal under control, Ember walked back over to the table and picked up another crystal berry. She weighed eating it versus savoring the taste of the beryl "gem" she had just eaten, but the memory of the first berry stood strong in her mind. With a grin, she set about eating the berries. If anydragon asked later, she most certainly was not purring as she devoured the local fruit. As she ate, she felt the oddly-shaped lump in her stomach smooth out and soften. Her gut grumbled a warning, so she tipped her head back and let out a proud belch. Pure white flame spouted from between her pointy fangs, lightly singing the ceiling before they dissipated. "Ha!" she remarked to nocreature in particular, "they ARE gems!"
Once the plate was clear, Ember crossed her arms behind her head and rested. A couple minutes later, Spike and the ponies returned. "Oh good, I had gotten worried you might not have anything to eat - Spike usually just eats sweets," Cadance said, taking her place at the head of the table, "but I'm happy to see you enjoyed the crystal berries!"
"Yeah," Ember agreed, "they go great with beryl. Probably emerald, too..." Her thoughts drifted to a green mare the group had passed on their way to the castle.
Cadance nodded. "I'll be sure to get those for you next time you visit. Thanks again for waiting; I really didn't expect it to take so long!"
Twilight chimed in, "well, the important thing is we all learned a valuable lesson about friendship!"
The ponies shared a round of laughter. Ember gave Spike a confused look, shrugged, and muttered to her, "Princess of Friendship. It just sort of happens around her." Ember nodded, only partly understanding.
She had so much yet to learn about the Crystal Empire. And, Ember suspected, so much couldn't be learned by asking Cadance.
Author's Note
Dragons make the best preds.
My favorite thing to do is learn useless facts to include as an aside. Beryllium and silicon, two of the main components of the mineral/gem beryl, both burn white. So, Ember's flame was white, too.
