My eyes are slow to open, seeing the sun rising into my windows with a bright yellow glow. It must be pretty early in the morning, as I hear the doves cooing in the distance. They bring back fond memories of when I was in the treehouse, Owlowiscious would glide back in from one of his nightly flights, Twilight would always leave the window open for him. And since our place was a literal tree, combined with that of the windows being open for air, I remember how annoyed I was then. Hearing them would often be our alarm clock. Plus they'd wake us up as early as five in the morning. And if I was bullheaded, trying to stay asleep, Twilight would wake me up anyways to get breakfast started.

Never thought that hearing them from a distance would ever make me feel so nostalgic. But their calls give me a new reminder, namely the very reminder of the one laying next to me in my bed. She's managed to dominate most of the pillows again, but I'm just glad it isn't my head she's got wrapped in that vice grip of hers.

My tail seems to be the only unfortunate casualty in that regard, as it got bundled with one of the pillows, and now that's tugged firmly between her legs. I wiggle it free after a minute or two of lightly nudging it out of her grip. All of that gives cue to the sessions of yesterday, her almost insatiable drive, her ever present arousal, and the many releases we've had together. My sheets seem to be an unfortunate victim with the smell, but they prove to be quite the certificate of our seemingly unending deeds.

Goddamn... She really is a monster in her own right.

As soon as I rise to my seat, her eyes flutter open and she yanks me back down to see her. She's far stronger than she looks. "Good morning."

"Morning to you. How you feeling?"

She chuckles as she flicks her tail. "Sore."

I smirk back at her. "Sorry for that."

"It's a good kind of sore." She says with a grin, kissing me on my lips.

"I don't know. I think being sore isn't a good thing, no matter the circumstance."

Her legs wrap around my body once more, gripping me firmly in place. "To me, being sore means that you're working out some muscles for improvement. So just think of it as us getting in a good workout." She nudges into me, almost giving the indication that she's willing for yet another round. "Plus when was the last time I had a workout like that? I like a good challenge, especially one pertaining to your size."

"In speaking of size, I do know that some of the toys you had left me thinking if you could take them." I jest.

"I took you, so what does that tell you?" She whispers fiendishly.

"You're either brave enough to follow through, or foolish enough to force the issue."

She scoffs at my retort. "Are you really that upset?"

"No, I'm just hoping what we're doing doesn't hurt you too much."

The griffon rolls her eyes back at me. "Spike, I've been hurt before. You don't hurt me in a way I would call painful."

"Well as long as we're on the same page." I mutter before giving her a return on her morning investment, trading a kiss with her.

Before we get too far into our morning, a loud banging is heard from the door as yet another voice calls out to the both of us. "Hey, I know you didn't forget what day it is!"

"Uh oh, that's Smolder." Gabby says with disappointment evidenced in her tone.

While I am also disappointed that I don't get to sink my teeth into her for the immediate moment, I at least realize that it's an opportunity to sink my fangs into a much tougher selection. "Guess we've got a schedule to keep."

"I suppose." She uncoils from around me, getting out of the bed as Smolder hovers into the room.

"Well I know you had fun trying to figure out how you were going to make sense of things."

Gabby cuts her eyes back at me with a jewel-like gleam. "Eh, we ended up math-ing the math anyways. We're good. You have fun."

As Gabby darts out of the room, Smolder takes her moment to leap onto me. "Spike!"

I barely catch her, the momentum of her approach causing me to spin her around a few times before stabilizing. "You're awfully huggy today." I note.

"You know why I'm like this." She points out. "But in all seriousness, did you ever try to talk to Twilight over this?"

"No dice, made the call yesterday. She's caught up with everything else, from the hippogriffs to the arimaspi."

The dragoness sighs with defeat. "Okay, I get that she's taking more of these meetings for you, as she should being the high ruler of the realm. But she seriously can't postpone this trip for a better date for her?"

"Knowing her, she wants this to be done as quickly as possible." She want's Amor gone so that she doesn't have to deal with his romantic intentions.

"Okay then, why not let you deal with the arimaspi instead?"

She does bring up a good point. The only issue is that she feels it just as much of a safety risk to me because I don't have her enhanced longevity and physical endurance. "Guess she wants to make sure that they deal with someone they won't be able to take down as easily."

"And you don't think that she should be able to put that assignment to you instead while she takes the arguably more dangerous assignment?"

Again, her point is pretty damn solid. "I thought about it. She probably did too."

"And?"

"I can't deny that the arimaspi happens to be the more immediate risk, being in our boarders and whatnot. At least Ponyland will still have some significant traveling to do before they reach our shores. Probably a good eight to ten hours from their realm to our shores."

Smolder is not impressed. "Travel works both ways. You getting there is going to take just as long, and getting back may be even longer."

"I know."

"What time do you head out on tomorrow?" She questions.

"No clue. I just know it's early."

She tightens her hug on me. "Well I know that I'm not letting you go without some mode of security."

"I do have a security detail." I inform her.

"She means something for you to go on by." We both turn to see Ocellus standing idle in the doorway, just casually observing our conversation. "You know, like an egg."

My jaw falls ajar as I turn back to the dragoness holding me. "Smolder─"

This time, she grabs me by my shoulders and angrily reinforces her point. "You know I'm not gonna listen to a damn word you've got to say at this point. You're giving me an egg, and it's gonna hatch in the Dragon Lands, and I'll be sure that it comes up being the well-integrated creature we happen to be as of now."

While I am frozen in thought, the look in Smolder's eyes definitely tells me that's what she's looking to go for whenever she gets back from work. Me personally, I don't think it's fair to have a egg and not be there for it. It's a conversation we've already had. "That's a pretty tall order to be demanding. What if I come back safe and sound?"

"Then you'll just have a little dragon with your genes roaming around the Dragon Lands. I'm sure Ember won't question it too much." Ocellus answers.

"I'm sure Ember might question it some." I respond.

Smolder grabs my head, pointing my chin to me as Ocellus walks away. "Believe me, she won't."

Having already gone down the hall, the changeling hails back to her coworker and partner. "SMOLDER! WE'RE RUNNING LATE!"

"Dammit." She grumbles to herself. Instead of running off to travel with Ocellus, she takes the time to chastise me and point her finger at me. "I'm coming home immediately after the dismissal bell. You better be expecting me."

I kiss her on the cheek, allowing her to dismiss herself. "Have a good day."

"Nah, run that one back." She snarls as she grabs my tail, yanks me in by force, press me against my own door, and wrestles her tongue deep past my jaw. She keeps her eyes locked on me as she forces the issue.

She doesn't even pay any mind to the fact that Ocellus just flew back into the hallway, screaming her name. "SMOLDER!"

Her tongue doesn't even leave my mouth as she hollers back in retaliation. "THIRTHY THECONDTHS, THIT!" She immediately jumps back into the fray with me, grabbing my neck and holding my head into her. I pull back to breathe, she seems to take offense and pin me down to take her tribute, as though I owed her a blood debt that only my lips could repay.

The moment she breaks off of me, I see the steam coming from her nostrils, the measure in which she bites her own lip, the sensation of her tail entrapping mine. She's ready to give me more than a farewell kiss at this juncture. "You better go." I warn her.

She warns me in kind. "Don't you fucking move from this house until I get a hold of you, you understand?"

Ocellus slowly creeps back into the room as I try my best to coax her into going to work. "Yeah, now go." She pinches my cheeks and gives me a quick peck before darting out before the changeling could think to punish us both.

A few minutes passes by and I go downstairs, taking notice of Gabby wearing her work uniform and shouldering her satchel. She flies past me at a gingerly pace. "I guess I'll respect the fact that it's supposed to be Smolder's day today."

"I'll see you this evening when you get off of your shift." I respond looking to give her a hug goodbye.

Instead, she takes the initiative and takes her claim over Smolder dominating my tongue, almost as though to remind me who came first in my life. She snickers before darting out the door. "Bye."

She disappears and I'm left to an empty house once more. "...What did I get myself into?"

Some time has passed since the girls all went out for their respective jobs. The house is quiet, and the only thing I can hear for the better part of my time packing seems to be my own thoughts, many of which are rather intrusive. My thoughts soon get an interruption, thankfully to take care of some much-needed business.

It doesn't take long for my papers and wills to get filed up and given the stamp. If anything, this expedited process is all thanks to the fact that my connections are so damn close to me, or rather Twilight. Ms. Royal takes a deep breath as she takes her copy of my will and teleport it off to whatever office. "Thanks for the help, I didn't think I needed to do something like this already. Like seriously, I just moved here."

"It's no issue on your end." She responds. "The only issue I really have is that you're having to go on this trip. I swear it's like what happened seven years ago is playing out in a weirdly different way."

"Yeah, no kidding. It's almost like Twilight doesn't learn from situations like that." I say it with a lot of sarcasm, but it's hard to see where I'm wrong.

"Can you say 'butterfly effect?' Because I'm seeing something similar to it." Thankfully, I'm not the only one.

"Think there's a 'Hooves-for-Dragons' march in the near future?" I joke a little lightly.

"Sadly no, your species isn't as rare, nor is there so few resources to support your species living in Equestria from day to day. It'll likely be a minor civil rights dispute more than something like that."

"Wasn't 'Hooves-for-Humans' a civil rights association?" I inquire, asking about her own charity.

"Of course it is, and it's still active with there being so few humans in Equestria currently residing. But you have to remember that it serves more than just advocating for humans to retain creature rights to life, liberty, friendship, and the pursuit of jubilance."

"You don't have to remind me. Twilight made it a mandatory assignment for me to undergo an internship in that organization back when she started her tenure as high princess."

"Sometimes we all need some reminding." She says.

"Yeah, but some things are better left in the past." I add while I quietly place the manila envelope into one of my kitchen drawers for miscellaneous items.

"You mean how you helped my father in sending Nondis to Arimaspi Mountain?"

Of course she reminds me of that. "Ugh, okay, I'm sorry for that bit. You see I'm paying for that in spades now."

"I mean I do understand the frustration." She says as she goes through her phone, likely confirming some other meetings she has in the day.

"I just feel like something's going to go wrong."

"Usually that happens." She doesn't even skip a beat.

Our conversation grows dormant for a little while as she goes through her phone, checking off what meetings to take and which to reassign to different dates. I see she's pretty much emptying her entire calendar for the next week. "So... are you the specialist that's going to be assigned to me for this trip?"

She closes out her calendar app and shakes her head. "I wasn't briefed, so no. But I do know that Kali is the likely candidate, considering that she's being sent off to join you for what was titled as 'diplomatic internship'."

Diplomatic internship... "Is that another way of saying that she's there to kick ass if things go wrong?"

The blue mare shrugs at me. "Think of it as a secondary life insurance policy. As long as you got her, nothing possible can go wrong that you guys won't be able to handle."

"If you say so." I say with some skepticism.

"You'll be fine." She reassures. "Trust me, she's been through a lot worse than what's coming up next."

It feels like the more I don't want to do something, the slower time goes for me. I know the effect is highly relativistic, but that doesn't change it any more or less. I don't want to go on this assignment, so the hours churning past goes all the slower. I've already packed my stuff, finalized my will, and stared at the news of what's taking place in the human world for the better part of a few hours. The noon hour comes to a crawl, I start to misidentify the very definition of a 'minute'. And so I lay my head in my bed, hoping that time will speed by as I close my eyes for a nap.

I wonder if this will be the last time I'll get to experience peace, or if I'll get to merely exist.

Before way too long, my phone gives me a notification. There's someone at my front door hailing for me. So I check the camera feed, seeing it's Smolder standing in the view. "Well here we go." I mutter to myself, knowing from here on that my time is going to be spent getting clutched. At least I know I'll enjoy it.

From the moment I open the door, Smolder jumps on me and hugs me tightly. "Hey, big guy!"

"Well hello there to you." I say as she and I share a quick peck.

I lean in for a little more, but she holds me off with eyes jumping to a crucial realization. "Quick, let me in."

I do as she requests, but ask her for the matter of her urgency. "Why, what's up?"

"A certain dragon just got spotted in town, and I just got through chatting it up with her."

Well... now I know why I have to be quick about shutting my door. "You don't mean who I think you mean, right?"

"Blue scales, bad temper, and a bitter resentment on the fact that she hasn't seen or heard from you since her last visit."

I shake my head at the thought. "Seriously, it's been only been like a little over two weeks."

"I'd be upset with you too if I was crushing that hard over you and you don't talk to me." She argues.

"Yeah, but you know why I can't see her." I point out.

"No shit, I'm not gonna let Ember just lay sole claim to you, especially not after we've already had a few goes."

"I can already image the shit she's gonna lose when she finds that out." I mumble.

"And the bloody brawl that's gonna happen right after." She sighs.

"You can say that again." As Smolder walks up the stairs, I take notice of something that slung from her shoulder, it looks like a small travel bag. "What's in there?"

"You'll find out in a minute." She says with a snarky smile. "Stay right there, I'll get situated."

A knock on the door sounds shortly after Smolder wanders upstairs. Considering the timing, I can safely come to the conclusion of who it is. "Guess that must be Ocellus then."

I mosey over to the door and open it, only to be surprised and disappointed by who's not standing there. "Good afternoon, Sir Spike."

I look down to see a few royal guards donning their armor, saluting me as they stand idly by. "Uh, hey. What's going on?"

They plainly give their reason. "We're here to escort you to Canterlot, post haste."

"Wait, what?" I squint and blink, trying to come to a reason of why I have to leave at this very minute. "It's only four in the afternoon. Why do I need to go to Canterlot right now?"

"The princess has advised that you leave early to be at the castle by five. Your airship is to leave to it's layover in Manehattan by three in the morning. Then your airship from there will leave at approximately one in the afternoon for a ten-hour nonstop to the capital city of Midnight Castle. Your arrival is scheduled to be at eleven in our evening. By their time zone difference, it will be six in their morning. You'll arrive in time for the Ponyland dawn hours."

Wow... to think Twilight would go so far to get Amor out of her hair that she'd send him out during sleeping hours. But in the process of that, she'd fuck me over even worse! Like what in the everlasting hell is this travel schedule? "The fuck is that layover about?"

"The princess insists that the airship be quadruple checked for quality and safety, as to ensure that there is no sabotage. Also, the crew is being personally hoof-picked by her royal majesty. It will consist of some of the best known maintenance workers, chefs, pilots, and security specialists known throughout Equestria. They'll need time to gather from all corners of the realm to join you in your journey."

And she couldn't think to have that organized like, I don't know, TODAY!? "If my layover is going to be that long, then surely I can take another hour and some change to get my affairs in order, you know, say my goodbyes."

"I understand your strife, sir. But it's to be understood that you'll need the time to rest before your trip."

"I've dealt on little rest before. I can manage to stay up a little late and catch some Z's during the seven-hour layover period." I snarl at the guard before restraining myself. I can't be too mad at him, he's just doing his job. "...I got a small amount of time to do stuff before I leave, can I do that much?

The guard in charge looks back to a few others, they all understandably nod. "We will stand by until you are ready to leave, sir."

Before I turn around, just the thought of Ember coming by and seeing the small gathering outside of my place would easily draw her attention. "I understand it's your job to do that, but can you like... not today?"

"Sorry, sir. Protocol to prevent flight risk." There's no turning off for the sagely nod on that one.

"This is some bullshit." I complain, begrudgingly accepting the circumstances... as well as the high risk associated with the situation. "Okay, but try not to be too obvious about it."

I slam the door after I walk back inside, quickly getting the attention of Smolder. "Spike? What was that?"

As she runs out to the second story flight of stairs, I take notice the blue streaks on her eyelids. "Are you wearing makeup?"

"I mean... I just..." She's bashful about what she's trying to pull off, but whiplashes back to the current situation, namely my reason for slamming the door. "Hold on, I think I just heard what you said. You called something 'bullshit'."

I purse my lips with disappointment, knowing I'm going to have to tell her anyways. "So... The escorts are here, they want me to leave like in the next fifteen minutes. I told them to hold off for like an hour and some change."

The pitiful expression that falls on her face makes me sour, especially the heartbreak in her eyes. She's halfway done up and just getting the news that I'm scheduled for the big leave in only a matter of minutes. "You have to leave now?"

I know there's no way of making her feel any better, especially trying to get her to keep that same energy she walked in with. But I do offer her just the smallest reprieve. "I just said I told them to hold off for like an hour. We got time, probably not as much as I thought we'd have, but there's time."

I see the anger on her face, the sadness of her body language. She doesn't want this to happen any sooner than what we had planned. "Spike... just... no!"

I'm moreso upset that Twilight never told me my complete travel plans. Had I known sooner, I would've planned for it, she would've planned for it, everyone would be satisfied with the departure as it rightfully should be. But instead, we're just left with a broken day, a conflicting schedule, and now what's going to be more than just one broken heart. "Yeah, like I said, total bullshit."

Smolder chokes back her emotions, she's already pretty good at it. "Can you give me like fifteen more minutes? Not exactly where I want to be with this." She motions to her face.

"Take your time." I answer sweetly, but also knowing that some part of that may be a lie I've just sprinkled to her.

Smolder is slow to walk away, glancing back at me a few times before going back to her makeup. As she leaves, I furiously dial up Twilight's phone. For the seconds the tone indicates a ring, I pace back and forth, seething and hoping with every ounce of breath that she answers me. "Hi, you've reached Twilight, leave me a message after the tone." But my effort comes to no avail.

"Dammit, straight to voicemail!"

I bash on the door, it being the only thing I can safely drive my fist into without risking any significant damage. Still dealing with the frustration, I lean my head against the door and quietly think to myself over what I could do. What sense is there for me to do anything other than run away? Hell, I can't even do that without the guards getting involved, that's what they're here for.

"Hey there, pony guards!"

...And somehow this day only continues to get even shittier. "Seriously, how much worse can this possibly get!?" A question I assign to fate, but soon get an answer for. The hard, incessant banging that follows my question is the only answer I seem to need. "Shit."

And wouldn't you guess it, it's Ember's fist sending vibrations through my door and into my forehead at a nauseating pace. "Spike, open up! I know you're in there! The guard just told me you live here!"

Of fucking course they would tell her! Might as well say something before she gets in the habit of trying to force the conversation. I know how destructive she gets when she wants something as simple as a casual conversation. I slowly crack the door open and greet the dragon lord. "Hey, Ember."

"Wow, so you're just gonna move to someplace else in town, and don't even think to tell me after my coming by and finding out you're gone from the castle who's walls are quite literally a meal? Why the downgrade?"

"It's not a downgrade." As soon as I say it, she forces herself inside, already looking to swipe her claws at my walls. I quickly intervene. "Please don't. Drywall don't taste like crackers."

"See!? Downgrade! What did I tell you!?" She says with a mocking tone.

"Look, I know it's been some time, but right now I'm getting ready to leave to a diplomatic assignment." I inform her, trying to get her to leave as quick as possible.

"Well that sucks. I was just thinking to come by and we can hang out. You got some time before you leave today?"

"Literally leaving in the next hour." I stress once more.

"Ugh, lame!"

On that we can agree. "Yeah I know."

On the other hand... "Guess that means we got time for one thing."

"I'm not sparring with you today." I sternly warn. "I don't have the time to deal with the pain, the recovery period, much less the time it takes for me to wake up after I get knocked out again. I can't deal! I have to get a bunch of stuff ready for my trip."

"What's this stupid trip you gotta go on anyways!? It can't be anymore important than making sure Equestria's relations to dragons stay harmonious. Like what's the deal?" If there's one thing I cannot stand out of Ember is that sometimes she can use our association as a means to dangle bait to get me to spend time with her. She doesn't do it too often, but it's deeply infuriating.

Still, for the sake of that very association, I can't disclose where I'm being shipped off to. Doing so is certain to start an external conflict between Equestria and the Dragon Lands. "I'm visiting a country in the east. It's a pretty important appointment. Sorry, but I gotta get ready."

"Five minutes, Spike." She says, forcefully grabbing me by my arm. "All I want is five minutes."

"Five minutes. Go." I quickly quip back to her.

"Can we sit down and talk? It's a bunch of stuff I don't like talking about while still being shown the door. So give me my five minutes, because I know I deserve it."

"Fine." I shake my head at the dragoness, pointing our way towards the dining room. As we get situated and seated, I begin my attempt to speed-run our discussion. "Okay, so let's─"

Ember quickly makes comment of the appearance of my home. "Huh, for the walls not being made of gems, I guess it doesn't look too... I don't know what to call this."

"It's modern human architecture." I quickly respond/.

"Huh, humans live like this? I don't know if it's stagnant or flat. It's like there's no dimension to the place outside of a few rooms, and even the walls are flat."

"Ember, focus, please." I stress. "You got five minutes."

"Alright. Okay." She grumbles.

A period of silence ensues, mostly on the account of Ember just drumming her fingers on the table. She looks at me, expecting me to somehow strike up the topic of what she wants to discuss. So I amuse her by doing so in my own way. "I guess we're down thirty seconds now."

She snaps back at me. "Can you let me get my thoughts together? I didn't exactly rehearse any of this shit, you know."

"Just say what you feel already." Because honestly I might just start with some of the harshest words she'll ever have to hear from me.

"Easy for you to say! I don't know if I want to feel the way I do right now!"

"And what's that?" I ask aggressively. "What's the feel?"

"I feel like I think you should... you know..." She's motioning with her claws as though she wants me to fill in the blanks.

"...What?"

She lightly shakes her head with incredulity. "Get stronger."

My eyes shift to either direction, unamused with her response. "...Okay?"

"Seriously, don't you think you've been playing it safe for the longest?" She rises from her seat. "You literally have the scepter's essence running through your veins. You've only accessed it once, and I had to fight like hell to stop you from... you know... that incident."

Great, now she's trying to avoid saying what happened between us. It's like she doesn't learn. "I don't know, maybe it seems like that's what you wanted to happen from the offset."

"But not like that, Spike!" She argues.

"So like how?" I question, slamming my palm on the desk. "Give me an example."

"Like... you being aware of it."

I roll my eyes and facepalm at her answer. "What if I said that I was fully aware, but a little entranced because of the whole 'dragon lust' thing?"

She scoffs at me. "Spike, you were not aware of yourself."

I throw my hands up, already giving up on the conversation. "You know what, this is starting to feel like a waste of time."

"A waste of your time!?" She shrieks. "Motherfucker, I come from the Dragon Lands, flying across the ocean and halfway across a continent to fucking see you because my feelings don't let me not check in on you! I know you're recovering from dragon lust, I know you haven't mated a dragon yet, and I know that you can't just mate with some other creature and call it a dead issue either! You're either a pain in the ass to get a hold of, or you're so busy that you don't take into account the fact that other creatures just may want to hang out!"

That only seems to be an issue with you. "Your idea of hanging out is trying to get me to fight you!"

"Why do you think I want to fight you so bad, Spike!?" She stresses for the millionth time.

"I get why, I just don't see the purpose in it."

And yet again, she goes back into the dragon bullshit. "The purpose is for you to win your claim! How many times do I have to explain that!?"

"My intent isn't to 'claim' anything through fighting! How many times do I have to explain that!?"

"You're a dragon, Spike!" Yet again, that point.

And yet again, I have to get it through her thick skull. "I'm not raised around that, Ember!"

She doesn't seem to listen to me at all, moving the chair aside, trying to also do the same for the table. "I need five minutes, Spike. Five minutes to see where you are."

I firmly plant my leg against the table, preventing it from being moved. "Not in this house, you aren't."

"Then take it outside, let's get it done then!" She yells over me.

"How many fucking times do I have to tell you I don't want to fight you!?" I scream back.

"Well it's too fucking bad! I chose you! So you have to uphold your responsibility and fight for that right!"

"You know what..." I walk right out of the dining room, not even looking back for anything, virtually walking out of my own house. "I'm done with this shit. I'm leaving."

Ember seems to be even more infuriated over me leaving her, so she yells at me over my decision. "So what, you're just going to leave!? Not even fight for your own cave!? You're just that easy to roll over, huh!? Really, this is the mate I chose!?"

I step into to foyer, ready to open the door before I see something whiz right by my head. It's a mug that shatters against my door, namely a novelty mug with the picture of me and Rarity helping with a fashion show in Manehattan. I look down with flame-fueled anger in my throat, slowly turning to the dragoness with a conflicting calm in my voice. "What the fuck are you doing?"

She picks up another priceless item, a small glass recreated sculpture of a dragonfire ruby that was gifted to me from Rarity. "Oh, is this yours?" She asks with a careless attitude.

I try to remain calm. "You put that back, please."

She moves it to a few inches right above the shelf she pulled it from, only to purposefully pull her arm upwards, causing the recreation to tumble off the ledge and shatter on the floor. "Oops." She says with a dismissive shrug. "I guess that doesn't matter since you're just walking out. I mean everything in here is practically mine now, so what do you care what I do with this stuff anyways?"

...You know, she has a point. I'm already being sent off to die, so what does it matter what all I personally have left? I should just leave, to hell with it, can't take it with me. "...I've got an assignment to go to. Take care of yourself, and don't worry about seeing me again."

Ember's expression contorts into horrible bewilderment. I walk outside to blow off steam, trying not to explode with righteous indignation in the walls of my home. As I close the door behind me, I feel the steam in my nostrils. The guards on wait impatiently ask. "Sir Spike, are you ready?"

Just them asking me that question right after giving me away to Ember is enough to turn my steam into smoke, a threatening sign that I'm not in any mood to be civil. "You know what I'm ready for at this point? I'm ready for you to get the fuck out of my face right now! You keep asking me if I'm ready to leave, I'm gonna be ready to go off on all of you! So shut the FUCK UP!!!"

Ember swings my door wide open, rushing out to grab at me. "Spike, dammit what the hell's your proble─"

As soon as I feel her claws bear down onto my shoulders in a bid for restraint, I snap. I turn around, grab her wrist, yank her off her balance and knock her down. As she lays on the ground, I snarl with bright green flames spewing from my mouth. "I SAID STOP FUCKING WITH ME!"

The guards call out to me, shocked that I just bore anger towards the dragon lord. "Sir Spike! Please show restra─"

This time, my flame-broiled words are spewed towards the guards. "If you don't want burns, you stay the fuck away from me! This is a dragon affair, you don't get to speak!" My flames die down a bit, now just showing as smoke while I turn to Ember. "And you, I never wanna see your face again!"

A smirk shows on her face as she lunges back for me. "Yeah... too bad!"

She snarls back at me while I dodge her lunge. In my anger, I forget my own limitations and quickly stretch an arm out for her neck out of reflex. She gasps as my claws connect, her eyes widen at the speed which I strike. She tries to break my arm away from her, but I lift her to the air instead. I take a brief flight into the air before resoundingly diving back down and driving the back of her head into the cobblestone street. The shock of the impact stuns her as I forget my senses, repeatedly raising her head and bashing it against the ground. The guards try to intervene but I roar back at them for their attempt.

I stare at them, a low-pitched crackle sounding from deep in my chest. Ember winces from the pain, but looks at me almost as though she's in a trance. Her arms cross over her chest, still maintaining a defensive posture. When my eyes turn to her with the unbridled anger she's wrought, she gazes at me with amazement and inquiry. "Holy fuck, where'd this come from?" A big smile appears on her face as her tail starts to curl it's way around one of my legs. But before it can get a firm grasp, I let her go and take notice of the growing crowd of ponies looking at us.

My senses gradually regain ground in my mind. The whispers around us start to reach my ears, the sharpness of my pupils tones down and I slow my breathing. The warmth in my throat cools at last, the flames and steam subside. My grip loosens, and I stand straight. I grit my teeth at the embarrassment of Ponyville residents seeing me act as the dragon I am once more, for the first time in ten years.

Even the guards around me stir their magic, waiting for my next move. But when they see me ease from my stance, they too quench the spells they've warmed for me. Ember takes notice of my sudden lack of aggression, she's dumbfounded at the drastic change. "Wait, where are you doing?"

Realizing I can't possibly save face from this situation, I resign myself to accept that it's better to just make this quick to avoid further confrontation, not only for me, but for Smolder as well. "...I'm leaving."

The dragon lord quickly rises, a bit disorientated from the blows she took. "We're not done yet!" She emphasizes, trying to grab a hold of me. "We're not finished, we just got to the good part!"

"I am. I'm finished." I say before readdressing the guards. "Give me two more minutes."

I walk back into my home, seeing that a few other items were knocked over. It seems that Ember had a little more in store for me to get me upset. But I wade past the mess she made and lower my head upon the idea of Smolder having to clean up this mess. Clearly she doesn't deserve this.

I go up to my room, grab the bag of everything I intend to take with me on the trip, which I decided throughout the day wouldn't be much. And considering what just happened out there, I should take the little dignity I have left and go with that.

This day was already a rough one on my mind, I don't need anything else slowing me down.

"Spike?" Well... I guess slowing down for a quick bit wouldn't hurt.

I turn back around to see Smolder standing at the top of the stairs. She's still holding in her emotions, especially after overhearing what just transpired between me and Ember. She walks down the stairs, already not trying to mess with her makeup. She wears not only the makeup, but an alluring set of underwear that screams for attention. Sadly, the attention it's worth will go unpaid on today. I let her walk towards me, give me a little twirl, and kiss me on the lips. "You're beautiful." I tell her, feeling an unfortunate bitterness in my heart. "I'm sorry my last bit of time will only be spent seeing you as you are now."

"I guess... It can't be helped." It's getting hard for her to hide her emotions. She looks to the ceiling to try to stop herself from shedding tears too much. I'm sure she wouldn't want to do it not just for being strong, but also the fact that it took her a while to do her makeup.

I hug her from behind, swaying a little bit as she clasp my arm to her. "If I can't have you like this right now, I'll take the visual for the time being."

She cranes her neck up to look at me. "Don't leave me like this, big guy. You know how I get when you leave and I find that you don't come back." She warns quietly. "You come back to us, got it?"

I don't know the circumstances of my trip, or what fate may have in store. I can only give her what could either be a promise or a lie. "How about you wear all of this again when I come back."

"Anything you want, big guy." I hope it's not the latter.

Upon my arrival in Canterlot, it feels much like the last time I'll be able to see the halls of the castle. While I know that I could be looking at this with too much of a negative lens, I have to be realistic about my outcomes. And the reality of this is that I may not come back in one piece when it's all said and done. So once more, I'm back to the same room I grew to hate over the years, attempting to sleep with the ever-roaming thoughts across my mind. The hours go slow again, and I'm just left looking at the ceiling, pondering about the things I've done.

Eventually, the hour before our departure crawls upon me. I get the knock at my door, I gather what I have, and head to the hangar. When I arrive, the guards line up and greet us with a salute. As soon as I arrive, I see that there's a quiet Mrs. Kalimba posted against the side of the airship. She seems quieter than usual.

Her younger sister stands next to her, it seems she's offering some encouragement. "It's just a stupid trip overseas, Kali. You'll be fine." The zebracorn glances sidewards with a groan. Gala snickers at her sister's not-so stoic reaction. "Don't tell me you're scared."

"I am not scared." She finally answers.

"Afraid of heights?" She asks the mare.

"No." She says.

"Then what are you scared of?" Gaia inquires, beaming her sister down through her ruby glasses.

"...You are annoying." She says with a thickened accent.

As I watch the pair go back and forth, I feel a tap on my side. I look down to my left to see Solemn Oath holding a silk bag in her magic. "Hey, you know the rules of international travel. In the bag." I grumble as I tap my phone one last time, looking at the screensaver of me and the others huddled together in front of the Austin city skyline. I give a dejected sigh and cut the phone off before gently dropping it into the sack provided. "You know that we can't afford to keep up with a demand for that kind of technology. Plus Ponyland don't need to know what all we've got going on."

"Yeah, I know. Just would've been cool to snap pictures while I'm out and about." I mutter while I watch her pull the drawstring on the sack. As soon as she finishes, she walks away towards Mrs. Kalimba to do the same with her. As they go through the typical procedure, I barely notice the fact that Sir Fencer walks up on me with a narcoleptic prince on his back. "Damn, guy's a heavy sleeper."

The guardian cringes as he looks to the prince. "Not quite sleep. He's sedated, by orders of your princess."

I show some annoyance over how the situation seems to be handled. "I told Twilight not to cage you guys in."

"She did no such thing." He quickly denies. "I abided by the rules your matriarch made plain for our safe stay in her castle. While I wish we would not be issued a return to homeland, I respect the choice she's made in wanting to protect her citizens. So I abided by her decision, and sedated the prince myself."

The slumbering prince gives a snort and a light hum to his dream, mentioning something in relation to Twilight. Guess even in his dreams, he's chasing after her. "I bet he's not gonna like when he wakes up and finds himself in a different city."

He closes his eyes, knowing the sweet music he's bound to be hearing when it happens. "That's for the future me to worry about."

I think back to the time I said something familiar, I think it was when I was much younger. At the time, Twilight received a message from a time traveler, herself. She thought she returned to warn her of a horrific event, but past Twilight went through a bunch of idiotic shenanigans causing her to hurt herself before realizing she overreacted as usual. So she tried to go to the past to correct that mistake, only to be the precursor of her own mischief.

While I can look back at that memory of her and laugh, the version of her now does not allow me the thought. "Royal Friendship Advisor Spike." She hails for me with a regal tone, probably trying to maintain an air of professionalism.

I don't care for her title, nor mine at this point. "Twilight."

Sir Fencer sees the growing scowl on my face and makes a comment towards me. "You two seem at odds."

"Call it an adoptive sibling squabble." I growl under my breath, still looking at the purple princess condemning us to this trip. "The feeling is mutual."

The guardian shakes his head. "If these are your squabbles, then surely Equestria is blessed with an age of peace."

Twilight finally speaks up. "If we wait any further, I fear that will last for as long as your flight home." She even goes as far as to step between Sir Fencer and I. "So I do appreciate that you see things from our perspective. At least someone is willing to do that."

He plays himself right out of our squabble with a neutral response. "Your majesty, I thank you on behalf of the imperial prince for the good food, the comfort, and the freedoms you've offered in our stay."

"I only afforded you those things thanks to your efforts in saving Spike. I owed you both that much." She says before glancing to me, seeming with some regret. "But the hour is nigh, and it is time to make peace with our departures."

I simply inform her of how I've made my peace. "My last will and testament's been notarized." I say as Mrs. Kalimba and Gala walk up beside us.

"With much luck, you won't need to use it immediately." She says in a passing word.

Sir Fencer gives the zebracorn a glanceover, humming to himself with an unsubtle satisfaction. "Well if it's a death wish to return, I'd rather spend these last hours looking at something nice."

"Then you may aspire to gaze." She gives herself a spin to amuse the guardian, but offers a cold warning. "But don't find favor in the idea to touch."

"I'm already going to die, madam. I don't intend to do so too early." He replies with a smile.

The zebra scoffs but gives a light smirk in thought. "If only Blue has met you sooner in her life."

"Excuse you, don't play match-maker with me!" The aforementioned mare pops out of her dimensional distortion field, seeming as though to shadow both her and Gala. "I came here to see you off, not to be pushed off on whoever you think is good for me."

"To be fair, your choices are nothing short of controversial." Even Gala makes a note of her relationship options.

"Name one of my pursuits that can be remotely perceived as controversial." The mare demands in argument.

"The dragon you helped with the notary." Mrs. Kalimba points out.

Twilight groans with disgust. "Seriously?"

"What?" Ms. Blue is taken aback by the look of disapproval. "Have you seen how big he is?"

Twilight's ears immediate run red, being very aware of how endowed I am... unfortunately. She lets out a deeply annoyed grunt. She immediately hides her face in one of her wings. I guess the mental image of my online dating misfire is running roughshod at the front of her mind. And just the reminder of it sends a tinge of nausea through my stomach. "I'm just gonna go on the ship now."

"Please do." She grumbles.

Everyone looks at our exchange with confusion, formulating ideas as to what could've possibly caused us to act the way we do over this topic. Gala only giggles while Kalimba pays it no mind. Ms. Blue taps her chin before coming to the quiet solution. "Oh... I wonder if she's seen the video."

"GUARDS! OPEN THE HANGAR DOORS!" Twilight screams while still covering her face with her wings.

Sir Fencer purses his lips in silence before muttering under breath. "Well that's one way to say your goodbyes."

It takes a definite while before we touch down in Manehattan. Our three hour flight comes to a peaceful stop in the dark hours of the early a.m.. As we get off of our ship, I notice a few things taking place around us. Sir Fencer walks out from the ship with a visibly vehement Prince Amor. The young prince is infuriated with the fact that he was not only sedated, but also denied the opportunity to say his personal farewell to Twilight in the process. It seems that 'future' him will have quite the work cut out in calming the tempest currently ongoing. Another thing I've noticed is that Mrs. Kalimba is slow to remove herself from the walkway, she's guided down to the ground of the airfield. Once there, she buckles over and holds herself in wrenching discomfort.

Huh, didn't quite pin her for being airsick.

I walk over to her and pull something out of my personal traveling case. She weakly looks up to my offering. "Cyclizine, helps with air sickness."

She slowly takes the box and stares at the contents before taking them, along with another generous offering of bottled water. "Ough... I have not ever traveled in this manner. To travel by train is one thing, and even I'm not too fond of that. This is a whole other monster."

"First time in the air, huh?" I rub her on her back. "It's okay, you'll get used to it."

"I don't have a choice now." She says with another gulp of water. "We'll be in for another ten hours of that fresh hell."

"If you need another way to deal with it, you should probably catch a nap somewhere in between. It helps pass the time if you can get away with it. And it won't be like you'll have a problem with it, that stuff I gave you will put you out like a light sometimes."

"If it puts me out of commission, then why would you have me take this long before the hour of our travel?" She narrows her eyes at me.

"Oh yeah... oops." I say with an apologetic shrug. "Sorry, I just thought I could help some."

Instead of harboring some resentment, she takes appreciation of the effort. "I suppose it can't be that bad. Thank you for trying."

I turn around to see the airport behind us. Seeing the sprawling assortment of brick buildings and high rises that make up the skyline. At some point when I was younger, this place used to amaze me. But comparing it to the human world, namely Austin, it doesn't even stand close to it. The lights aren't as bright, the buildings aren't as glassy, the towers aren't as tall as I remember them being. To think that my potential final memory of this place would be comparative disappointment. It's a painful thought.

Without warning, I see a security official of the airfield zip right by me. I notice a few others doing the same. What I also take heed on is the young prince staring back at the waterfront as though entranced. I hurry to him to check on him and his sudden silence. "Hey, you okay?"

Mrs. Kalimba also comes to inspect the prince's well-being. "He looks as if he's seen a ghost."

"Not a ghost..." Sir Fencer says as he points to the sky in the distance. As his hoof guides our attention, we see seven large looming shadows in the sky. They seem to have an intimidating presence, one that's obviously grabbed the attention of all the staff of the airfield. One of those very shadows seem to be closing in at an alarming rate. "An air fleet."

As the ship get in closer to the city, the lights of the airfield begin to slowly reveal it's shape and color. A large silver medallion dots the most prominent point of the airship's balloon. The carriage is adorned with an assortment of bevels, doors, and other machinery. The windows appear much like that of a cruise ship. A large flag proudly emblazons the sides of the blimp. The grounds crew tries to wave at the ship, indicating that they haven't made arrangements for a second landing area. "I'd like to imagine that's a peaceful escort." I say, trying to at least be optimistic.

"It's not." Sir Fencer corrects me. "It's a dragon hunter's fleet."

"...Well shit." Damn, guess they're already looking to put me in a box before I even leave to international waters. "They seriously brought all of this for me?"

"Not entirely. But if they see you, they'll make it a reason." The guardian warns.

As the ship disregards the warnings and advisories from the grounds crew, it lands without a hitch, a miraculous hundred feet away from our own airship. The doors slowly open with the use of what appears to be a hydraulic system. The door also serves as a set of stairs. There are two pegasi that fly out with a large red carpet to roll at the foot of the red velvet-laden stairs. The two pegasi also seems to don black and purple uniforms, they hurry to roll the carpet towards the very spot which we stand. Another pair of ponies, unicorns this time, levitate a pair of large rugs. One is laid at the foot of the airship's access. The other is laid where we stand. We back off to allow them to work. A considerable party of earth ponies march off the ship with spears, those being strangely outfitted with some other machinery affixed to them. They line on either side, crossing the weapons high above the red walkway. They work in rigid uniformity, before a quintet of buisine players fly above the doorway, introducing a stern looking alicorn.

Amor shrivels up as he's guided towards the large red rug laid before us by their guards. "Already off to a bitter start, aren't we?" Sir Fencer says as he motions us to walk alongside them.

The alicorn, knowing well enough that he could fly above all of this, proceeds to walk through this overkill of a display, calmly making his way to us and walking up. I give him a bow and an introduction. "Welcome, sir, to the lands of Equestria─" And he curbs the shit out of me, looking instead to Mrs. Kalimba.

He does not so much as bow as he merely tilts his head downward. "Madam, it's an honor to meet with the... *ahem* 'true' representation of Equestria. How may I guide you to our shores on this day?"

While her symptoms of air sickness are showing signs of subsiding, she politely guides his attention to me. "While I appreciate your presentation, sir, our highest representative would be the dragon you've walked past."

He turns to me with a very slow show of disdain. "Is that so? Then... allow me to rectify that mistake."

As he turns around to face me, I extend a handshake of good will, at least without trying to look like I want to punch him in the face for how he just disrespected me. "How ya doin?"

"Yes... truly the representation of..." He pulls his hoof back with bemusement. "Bêtise."

Remember Spike, this is a representative of another nation. Try not to entertain any revenge fantasies in your mind while you speak. "And you are, good sir?"

Crown Prince Rosa Xerxes

2nd in line for the imperial throne, Noble Blood

He proudly lifts his nose to the air, pointing a hoof at himself. "I am Prince Xerxes of the imperial realm. Second in line, high prince of the empire, master tactician, and... bounty hunter." He glints at me on that last comment fellating himself.

Again, I have to play my role as respectfully as possible, even if I want him to fall down a flight of stairs and break both his wings, and crack his horn... and suffer a tendon tear in his leg... with him falling face first into a small pointy rock. "Then your excellency, may I welcome you to the shores of our most beautiful yet humble country. I trust your travel was without turbulence."

He pays my words no kind of mind, instead remarking on my mannerisms. "Shame... you've been trained quite well."

Okay, he's obviously planning out what he wants to do to me, and none of it seems good. "What shame is there in adhering to the decorum, sir prince?"

"None." He says with a walking glance at me. "No shame for me, that is."

You know, since he's here, I might as well try to make this as expedited of a exchange as possible. Might as well see if I can save my own scales if I can avoid getting chased down by that fleet he's brought along. "I trust you will take your brother and his escort back to your own shores? It seems you've beaten us to the punch as it is."

"I believe you are mistaken. My fleet is here to serve as escort. Amor Ambrosia's return to the fatherland will be a glorious occasion. We only want to show you the depths of our gratitude by meeting you here for this purpose." I notice that he's gone back to directing his attention to Mrs. Kalimba, as though to direct those words to her instead of a dragon. "Do tell, when shall your ship be ready to take the skies?"

Since he's not directing his words at me, I offer none to him. Amor sees the growing tension between us and steps in to confront his brother. "I'm afraid our layover is set for another eight hours, brother."

He looks to me at last, finally giving me the direct attention I'm due. Of course, it's not with any respect. "Then I will entertain myself for the time being. Tell me, dragon, have you ever played the game of chess?"

"Often." I reply.

He clops his hooves, summoning a pair of unicorns to quickly bring about some furniture. They bring a pair of chairs and a table for us to play on. "Then Ambrosia shall keep our scores."

As I sit, I notice the disgust on the face of one of the servants for having pulled me a chair. So I speak to the prince with sarcasm abound. "I sure hope you take it easy on me. I'm not the tactician you are."

"I don't expect you to be." He bluntly responds. "I expect you to be winless."

I may not know how he thinks, but I'm at least willing to prove him wrong. It seems to be the only way I'm going to get some sort of karma out of this situation. "Well I'm not great, but don't count me out so easily." I say as the board is laid out before us, the pieces set in place. The stallion looks to the unicorn with a stern glare, who then turns the board around to position him as the white pieces, allowing me to only go after him.

"Watch and mark, my dear lesser blood." He raises a pawn in his magic, a searing red glow as he sets his piece. "Watch, and take note."

Author's Note

Hello to all again. I know it's been two weeks, but I've been wearing two hats this month. Wouldn't you guess it, I've been pretty damn busy with those hats. Glad to say that now that I can release this chapter, I do have a bit of a Halloween surprise for you lot who's been subbed to me for a while.

But as for the current events of this chapter, it seems that Spike finally got a round against Ember, but at what cost? And now that he's soon to depart to the land uncharted for many of his ilk, what will become of him? Stay tuned to find out!