Finding your Wings

Dinner was quiet. Not the sort of dinner where nopony talked because the food was just that delicious, and not the soft-spoken closeness of a whispered conversation. It was quiet because most of the creatures sitting there were either scared, angry, or unsure. Perhaps even some combination thereof. Only Twilight seemed to be calm, and even that was going to fade if all of the dragons remained silent.

Ember had not taken her eyes off of Scootaloo throughout the meal. Scootaloo would have been shocked to hear that she blinked. She hadn't been able to meet her gaze, as the fire behind her eyes was far more intense than her own. In a similar set of circumstances, Smolder had been staring at Scootaloo, too, but rather than being angry at her, she seemed almost jealous.

Spike dropped his fork and it clattered to the floor. "I'll be right back," he mumbled, dropping beneath the edge of the table.

"Claws where I can see them!" shouted Garble, standing up and slamming his own claws on the table.

Ember stood up and smacked him, hard. "You're paying for the damage to that table and its cloth!" she growled. "That's coming right out of your horde!"

As Spike returned to his seat, Garble sat down, fuming at him.

"He's not even the one we're here to see," she sighed, turning her attention back toward Scootaloo.

Scootaloo swallowed. There were obvious claw marks left by Garble that she could see from across the table. If picking up a fork was so frowned upon that it meant the destruction of private property, she was terrified to find out what would happen if she asked for another kreplach.

"It's not that expensive," waved Twilight. "Don't worry about it."

"We've already caused quite a bit of upset just by being here," said Ember, sitting down. "And what I have to say may only make things even more problematic. But it must be said, and actions must be taken. And I don't know about you, but I'm seriously pissed off, and I'd like to refrain from adding any more shit to the top of this sundae."

Twilight cleared her throat. "Well, we probably won't be having dessert tonight..."

"It's an expression."

Twilight sighed and put her fork down. "Enough of this, then." She pushed her plate away. "If what you have to say is going to cause problems, I'd rather they be out in the open so we can deal with them."

Ember pushed her plate away, even though there was still some matzah and a few latkes remaining. "I was going to wait for everyone to finish eating. If we began too soon, we'd tuck into the plates when tempers were hot and the kugel was cold."

"It's a shame, I know," said Twilight. "But this silence is unsettling, and it's just delaying the inevitable."

"Then I should begin by reprioritizing the list of things we need to talk about."

Twilight's eyes lit up. "You have a list? Can I see it?"

"Not a tangible list," sighed Ember.

Twilight's smile faded into a mild pout. "A list would have been helpful..."

"It's in my head," said Ember, turning to Garble. "Item one: What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"He is," growled Garble, glaring at Spike.

"What'd I do?" asked Spike.

Garble snarled and narrowed his eyes, but before he could answer, Smolder chimed in.

"He's probably just butthurt because your girlfriend looks very similar to his sister," she scoffed. "Part of me has been wondering the same thing."

"You don't look that similar," smiled Twilight.

Smolder pointed to the wall. "Scootaloo, stand over there."

Scootaloo did as Smolder told her, and Smolder went and stood next to her. Smolder was taller, had blue eyes, longer ears, and a fibrous mane. Scootaloo was shorter, had purple eyes, short ears, and spines on her head and neck like Spike's. They did look very similar from a distance, and if they were in the same crowd, it could be difficult to pinpoint which was which. However, side-by-side, it was pretty clear which was which.

Spike furrowed his brow at Garble. "If that's your problem with me, you have nothing to worry about. The reason I liked Scootaloo, even when she was a pony, was because of her personality. Sure, she's beautiful, but more importantly, she's loyal, caring, tenacious and tough!"

Scootaloo blushed.

Garble growled. "If I catch a single one of your claws on my sister, I--"

"You'll what?" interrupted Smolder. "Beat him up? Go ahead! He's such a pivotal figure in the relations between our species that you'll be branded a threat to both sides. And I'll be given commendations for fighting you off."

Spike swallowed. "R-really?"

"If you're a good lay," chuckled Smolder, not taking her eyes off of her brother.

"Not. A. Claw," Garble growled.

Smolder grabbed Spike's wrist and pressed his claw to her breast. "And what are you going to do about it?"

Garble's fists were shaking. Ember had tented her claws to watch what was going to happen. Twilight had prepared a spell, just in case. Spike was trembling, and Scootaloo was poised to jump to his aid.

Finally, Garble sank back into his chair. He had a sour look on his face, having been bested.

"Pussy," snarked Smolder, dropping Spike's claw. She returned to her side of the table and sat down.

Scootaloo released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Was this the way dragons normally behaved? She knew Spike wasn't a normal dragon, as he had been raised like a pony, but she'd been raised like a pony, too. If this was the way she was expected to behave as a dragon, she would rather just continue to be a pony.

"Is that item one dealt with?" asked Twilight. She was still holding her spell.

"That's the first item on the agenda dealt with," nodded Ember. "You can put away that frost bolt."

Twilight's spell dissipated. "How'd you know that's what I was doing?"

Ember smirked. "I'm working with the Princess of Friendship to establish good relations with Equestria. Why would I not look at some pony literature?" She clapped her claws together. "Now, moving on, it's time to start something that's going to be very uncomfortable. Scootaloo, climb up on the table."

Scootaloo did as Ember commanded. "Why?"

"Item two: we're going to check your health." Ember reached into a small bag she'd brought to dinner with her and pulled out a book, which she gave to Twilight. "This is a gift. It details how to conduct a physical examination of a dragoness. Let's use it now, shall we?"