I leaned against the old, broken wall of what was once a huge guard tower, letting my gaze wander over the planes below. Once, centuries ago, these planes were filled with Kirins from near and far, gathering together to celebrate and enjoy themselves. Now though, with what was happening before my eyes, such notions of peace and friendship happening here seemed even more ancient, or maybe less so... Maybe the day would come when it will be that way again, but for now… for now, the battle raged on.

With pride, I watched my loyal subjects fight for my right to claim the throne of Shakirin-La, to become empress of the new Kirin Empire. Fiery Leadership, Empress of all the kirins. Doesn’t sound that bad, does it? Though, even at this moment of peace above the battlefield, there was this little voice in the back of my mind, telling me there had to be another way, a peaceful way.

I had a feeling that the voice was something I had inherited from my mother, nagging on me. The dragon in me, of course, purred in anticipation for the inevitable victory, my pony side, however... Before it could do any harm though by causing me to hesitate in the middle of claiming the throne, the sound of hoofsteps to my rear brought me back to the current situation.

“Fiery,” the mare, another azure kirin, said. It was clear that she was amazed to see me here, and a smile appeared on her face. “I knew you would make it.” She gave me a respectful nod, one leader to another. “I was hoping to have the opportunity to challenge you to a duel.”

“Blizzard Silence,” I turned around and returned the nod. “You know, as a friend,” I passed my guards and stepped down the few stone steps, raising my spear and pointing it at her nose, “I do not insist on killing you, I would accept your surrender and allow you to become one of my minions.”

Blizzard laughed, waving away her own guards with a hoof before leveling her spear back at me. “We both know that is not going to happen.”

She is a friend, we can’t fight her!

Suddenly, there was that nagging voice again. The thought was just enough to make me hesitate. Blizzard was indeed a friend, was it right to fight her?

“What? Don’t tell me you’re suddenly afraid!” Blizzard teased me. “You know, I would accept your surrender too if you wish.” Her last words were accompanied by a giggle.

I smirked slightly, glad that she had mocked me. I stepped forward again, the little voice in my head? Forgotten.

*

The fight had been quick, like all real fights are. I watched Blizzard's dead body for a second.

We killed our friend! The voice in my head was furious, while at the same time unspeakably sad. How could we do that! I ignored it once more and shifted to Blizzard’s former subjects.

“The victory in the Samandva is mine, so you belong to me now!” I laid my claw on my dead friend's head and let my azure aura flow through her, and from there, to her former subjects. Making them mine by Kirin tradition.

All of them at once bowed and took the oath. “We will to our lady be true and faithful, we will serve our lady faithfully. Let her enemies be our enemies too!”

I nodded in satisfaction. “Then rise my loyal subjects!” I gestured to them to stand up. “You shall…”

The impact of another kirin landing next to me interrupted my speech. My own guards and new subjects quickly tried to attack this newcomer, but with a barely noticeable move of his hoof, he blew them away.

“Who are you?” I asked, removing my spear from Blizzard and pointing it at this new guy. It was obvious that he was not an azure kirin, yet despite this, I couldn’t feel the claim of another on him.

“Bow before me!” I roared, but it had no effect. Instead he laughed.

“Thy expression of dominance is quite a lovely thing, I doth sayeth.” He then sniffed the air, still maintaining a smile. “Thee hath't most certes garnered mine affection.”

I was confused. How could he withstand my command? The answer was made obvious a second later, when his eyes changed from a light purple to a pair of stars set within dark voids.

This guy was one of the gods!

“Ye art quite the clever issue,” he said and licked over his lips. “'t is quite the pleasure to meeteth thee.” When I raised my spear and aimed it at him, he smirked back at me before calmly continuing. “Oh, there beest no need for violence, I hardly see a needeth to resort to such indulgences. While I begrudge not a valorous square, mine goal hither is pertaining to an objective of a wholly different sort.”

My spear stayed where it was in case this was a trick. Just because he was one of the gods didn’t mean I had to trust him. There was more than one troublemaker among the gods. “And what would that be?” I asked.

“Thou,” he purred, though, it sounded more like a threat.

“Me?”

“Verily.” He moved slightly to present me a better view of his body. “Thee shouldst feeleth honored I did find thee worthy of mine attention, and to beest mine future jointress.”

To say that his response took me by surprise would be an understatement. I was so taken aback that I even lowered my spear for a second. Here I was in the middle of taking the throne of Shakirin La, and this guy, whoever he was, just showed up to propose!

“My, thy tongue seemeth to hath't gone missing, hm?” His gaze changed to one of superiority. “Mayhaps 't hath been enraptured by mine form and words.” He proceeded to then use his wing to suggestively stroke his side and flank. “I knoweth well were this not true, its master wouldn't beest just as immobile.”

Well, he was not wrong. He was very attractive, though… My spear returned to a ready position with a growl. “How about no?”

For some reason, this seemed to please him. He laughed in this deep, happy voice. “I love a valorous conquest!” He stepped close enough that his hoof could touch the tip of my spear. “We shalt meeteth again, Fiery Leadership, godchild of Fortuna, and thee wilt beest mine.”

I pecked at him with my spear, but he simply took it without any harm done.

“I await yond day with restless delight …” With these words he just disappeared.

***

I awoke in my room with a small suppressed scream, just as I had every other time I’d had that dream. I placed a claw on my chest before slowly and deeply inhaling a few times to calm my nerves. My cold bloodedness in the dream always frightens me.

“Fiery?” the quiet and tired voice of my batfriend arose next to me. “Are you alright my little flame?” His hoof found its way to the top of my head before starting to gently stroke my mane.

I leaned into his caresses, enjoying the comfort it provided. “It… it was just the dream again.”

He sat himself a bit more upright. “Killing Blizzard again?”

I just nodded and he pulled me into a hug, his warm fur embracing me. Normally it was me who was the dominant one in our relationship, being the source of warmth and comfort, but at moments like this, I loved his caring nature.

“I don’t know why it always comes back,” I turned my head and nuzzled into his fluff.

“Me neither,” his hug got a bit tighter, “but we both know you would never harm Blizzard, so no need to worry or feel bad.”

I sighed. We’d had conversations like this a few times already. He was obviously right, but still…

I rubbed my head against him once more before breaking away. “I know…” I shook my head. “I just… I just need to move around a bit.” I turned around and slipped out of bed.

“Should I come with you?” He was already halfway out of bed when I turned around.

“No,” I caressed him with my fluffy tail for a moment. “Better not provoke mom by roaming around the lair together.”

He still made an attempt to stand up though. “Your mom’s not that frightening, you know? She’s actually a nice pony.”

I pushed him back. “She is. I mean a nice pony.” I removed my claws from him as soon as he was back under the blanket. “Still, she is my mom. It’d be better if you stayed here, just for a few minutes till I am back.”

“You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, I will be in a bit. Just a little walk through the lair to gather my nerves, okay?”

He gave me a closer look. Then he snuggled back, deeper into the blankets. “Okay, but I’m staying awake until you come back.”

I smiled and turned to the door. If the dream keeps coming back though, at some point I’ll have to tell him about the proposal part.

*

As I walked out of my room, I couldn’t help but think about the conversation I’d just had. My mom’s a very nice pony, but, she’s also a Do. It kind of runs in the family to try to behead your female relative’s first lover. I’m still taken aback that aunty Daring tried to rip my dad’s head off after she found out mom and dad had sex. He’s a black dragon! No, I’d better not risk anything here!

That being said though, I wasn’t playing things entirely safe. I am a Do after all. Illu, my pet name for my batfriend Illuminated Cavern, was currently in my bed. Well, it was kind of a grey area if him being there was bad or not. My eighteen birthday was around the corner, and I kind of asked my dad for permission as a gift. He was the only one who could overrule mom’s word in the lair after all. Though even then, we had to be rather liberal in our interpretation of what was allowed. Illu was technically only allowed to sleep in the lair, not exactly my chamber, and we didn’t tell mom about certain activities for Illu’s safety. She may’ve had a suspicion, she’s not dumb, but she never explicit said we shouldn’t have sex, so…

Be it as it may, in contrast to the dragons of the family, my brother and dad, she can’t smell it on me, so we should be fine. Still, it was better for Illu to stay in bed.

Speaking of my brother, when I entered the kitchen, I found him with his head in the fridge.

“You want something too, sis?” he asked, roaming around the fridge, probably looking for any sweet fruits. He always knew when I was around for some strange reason. I’d stopped wondering about it years ago.

“Any Kunzite left in there?”

A few seconds later, a small pink gem flew over in my direction.

“Thank you,” I said and took a bite. The hazelnut taste really did me good.

“Since you’re asking for sweets, I assume you had the dream again?”

“Yeah…”

Something in my voice must have alerted him, he stopped his rummaging and peaked over to me. He then closed the fridge and came closer, rubbing his head against my chest, purring calmly.

Obviously, I must’ve looked as bad as I fell.

I purred back and stroked over his scales, causing him to start licking over my throat. Having a little dragon brother can be a wonderful thing...

He sniffed at me. “It obviously wasn’t your Batfriends fault. I can tell you two really enjoyed your alone time.”

...and occasionally a curse.

“Yes, he did great,” I confessed. “Just don’t tell mom about it.”

“I’m not crazy,” he agreed, “mom would kill him on the spot. I don’t think she’d even ask dad to do it. If she finds out,” he paused to rub his head against me once more, “Illu is toast.”

“Yeah, I have to make sure she doesn’t.” I sighed. “Just one more thing to worry about.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t have to worry as much if you just told dad about the dream, maybe he can help.” He thought for a second. “Or aunt Fortuna, she should be able to tell you who that god is who wants to lay you. Maybe she can even help you seduce them in real life. Wouldn’t be the worst mate, being a god and all definitely comes with some advantages.”

While it was some comfort that I could talk to my brother about my problems since I’d told him about the whole dream, as you can tell, he has a very draconic point of view about it.

“I told you already, I don’t want to marry a god. I’m very happy with Illu.”

“Illu is nice,” my brother nodded. “But he’s still just a mortal batpony. I’m sure a godmate would be better for your reputation, Not to mention he probably has a huge hoard.”

I let my head hang. “It’s not only about fame and gold, you know?”

“You are too emotional about this, sis,” he retorted and licked over my head in a calming way.

“I…” I started before realising what my brother was doing. I hissed loudly and smacked him with my claw, barring my fangs in the process.

He jumped a step back and lowered his stance, returning the hiss.

Well, I couldn’t judge him too harshly for his actions, he didn’t do it on purpose. It’s just that since his puberty started, his draconic senses get in the way sometimes.

I spread my wings and raised my tail, showing that I was the more dominant one and was ready to fight to prove it. Normally that does the trick. He may be a bit taller than me already, but I’m his big sister.

He lowered his body in response, getting ready to bounce. Seems today was one of those days.

I was quicker though and stormed forward before he was fully ready, so we collided halfway in the air when he reacted. I felt his claws scratching above my back while I aimed for his neck, trying to bite him.

Having fewer scales than him worked to my advantage. Mom would kill us if we visibly hurt each other, so he had to be careful where he hit me, while I could hit and bite him nearly everywhere.

We rolled over the floor, hissing and scratching each other. That was until we hit something solid, stopping us. I was so deep into this fight that I needed a moment to realise that, whatever we had hit, was moving.

“If you wake your mom, you’re both in trouble,” Dad said and stepped over us, continuing on his way to the fridge.

My brother shuddered for a second at the thought, and I took the opportunity to bite into his neck and push him down with my claws. Of course, he instantly began struggling to get free and tried to punch me with his wings, but I placed all my weight into holding him down, hissing a warning at him while doing so.

With a growl, he admitted his defeat, and I licked over his head, the dominant sibling caring for the weaker one.

I must say, it’s been getting harder and harder to stay on top. In not too long, I may find myself a step down in the hierarchy.

Dad, however, was unaffected by our little fight. Contrary to mom, he accepts it as part of our dragon heritage. Though, if we accidently hurt mom or Kindling, our pony brother, the fun would be over!

“We just had a little dominance dispute,” I explained quitely. “We wouldn’t wake mom.”

“Fiery had a bad dream,” Nightflame added and rose from the ground. “But Illu isn’t to blame, they had some fun not too long ago.”

At the mention of me not doing too well, Dad turned around and rubbed his head against me, sniffing.

“Daaaad,” I said, blushed all the while, not only for the fact he could smell my batfriend on me, but because I could also very clearly smell what he and mom had been doing. It was pointless of course, as soon as dad noticed I was indeed mildly shaken and uneasy, he bit into my mane and lifted me up. A second later, I found myself on his back and him already purring calmly while rubbing his head against me.

“I’m fine,” I tried to explain, but the only thing I achieved was convincing my brother to hop onto my dad as well and start purring and rubbing against me.

I have to admit, even though it was a bit embarrassing, it was also very comforting. It didn’t take long for me to start feeling a lot better. Laying between dad's wings always has this effect on me.

That was till Illu suddenly showed up, probably alerted due to my fight with Nightflame. He had very sensitive ears after all.

“Are you alright, Fiery?” he asked, looking at the situation suspiciously before stepping closer.

My dad's wings sprung open slightly before he lowered his stance.

It should go without saying I was not alright with him doing this! A spark of panic seized my heart, causing me to jump off my dad as fast as lightning. With dad being a dragon, his natural instinct was to protect his child who he knew needed care. And for him, protect tended mean handling any perceived treat in a rather permanent manner. It wasn’t reasonable, but an approaching batpony, my batfriend or not, counted as such a threat to his dragon mind.

Illu was unaware of this, obviously. But even my brother, encouraged by dad’s behaviour, had shifted into a protective stance as soon as Illu entered the room. I knew that if Illu wasn’t careful, they would tear him to shreds!

“Hold on!” I half yelled as I turned around to calm my family, all the while stepping backward towards Illu. “No one is threatening your bornlings, dad!”

He lowered his head and growled. A bad sign!

“Fiery…” Illu started, but I hushed and pushed him back with my tail almost as soon as that one word passed his lips.

“Not now, Illu,” I said, keeping my gaze on dad as I pushed my batfriend out of the room. “I told you to not come near me or my brothers when we are on dads back. Dragons are very protective!”

“I was just worried about you,” he replied, thankfully while moving further back.

“That’s nice of you,” I stroked over his chin with my tail, “but right now it’s me who’s worried about you.” As soon as we were in the main hall again, I turned around and continued to push him in the direction of my room. I watched the entrance of the kitchen on our way, but no one followed. With one last push, I sent Illu through the door, entered myself, and closed it behind me before leaning against it and exhaling deeply.

“Fiery,” Illu said while placing a hoof on my chest, rubbing up and down slowly. “Aren’t you overreacting a bit? You act like your family’s dangerous.”

“Because they are!” I grabbed his hoof and pulled him closer. “They are dangerous if you’re not careful! Dad would’ve attacked you if you’d’ve gotten only a few steps closer!”

“Your dad knows me, Fiery, he wouldn’t do that.” It was clear from his tone of voice that he doubted what I’d just said. I couldn’t blame him though for initially assuming what he’d said was true since dad had been really nice to him so far.

“He would,” I grabbed his snout, looking him straight in the eyes. “He would shred you to tiny, little pieces! It’s not a rational decision on his part, you can’t rely on him recognizing you! All dad is noticing at that moment is that his bornling, me, was struggling, and that drives him completely into protection mode. And every creature besides my family will be considered a threat! And you know how dragons react to threats!”

Illu shook his head and freed himself from my grip. “Okay, okay I get it. I’ll be careful, but you need to understand -” He laid a hoof on my cheek. “- I care for you, Fiery, as much as your family does. It feels wrong to stay on the sidelines when you need me.”

I grabbed him with my wings so we could hug. “I prefer to have you stand aside and in one piece than laying right in front of me in one hundred.”

He smiled and rubbed against my chest. “That does sound unpleasant to be honest, so I’ll try to avoid that.”

“You better!”

For a moment we fell silent and just calmed down while enjoying each other’s company.

“So you feeling better now?” Illu asked as he wrapped his own wing around my side and looked up at me.

“I… “ I needed a moment to realise that I really did feel better. “I do.” I replied a bit astonished. “Seems like this little fuss was exactly what I needed!”

“That’s good to hear,” Illu replied and leaned in to kiss me. “Then can we return to bed now and get some sleep?” He not too subtly tried to softly pull me with his wing.

“Sleep?” I asked innocently. “Sounds good to me.” I took a few steps with him, but let my tail slide by happenstance between his legs while doing so.

With a loud ‘Eeeeek!’ he jumped up in the air.

I simply love it when he acts so shy! I started to purr and rub my head against his side as soon as he was on the ground again. “Maybe something more than just sleep?” I inquired with a smirk.

He blushed, and was soon as red as a tomato! So cute!

“Uhm, hmm…” he babbled. “I may… “

I sealed his lips with a kiss and teased him with my tail. “Poor Illu, it seems you are trapped here. There are dangerous dragons outside,” I grinned, “but there is an even more dangerous kirin inside”

He giggled nervously and tried to take a step back. “Are you sure you don’t need your sleep?”

His sweet, shy behaviour is one of the reasons I love him so much!

I stopped his retreat with my tail by winding it around his leg. “You do want your marefriend to feel better, right? I purred seductively while nibbling and playing with his ear a bit.

“Sure do,” he admitted hesitantly, “just…”

I used my special weapon and fluffed my mane up while making my tail as bushy as I could. “Just what?” I whispered and fluttered my eyes.

He stood there a moment, breathing in my shameless attempt to seduce him. I could see that it worked.

“Maybe I have an idea how to make you feel better actually…”

“Great,” I grinned eagerly, “I’ll help you with that!”

Author's Note

Well, took me a while to get this all sorted out and write a solid basis for this story, especially with the new main character which not only has a female POV, but also is a Kirin instead of a Dragon.
I hope you enjoy!

And for those who are interested, I have a discord Server for my Stories:
https://discord.gg/w2g8bzx