The Dragon

Rosetta and the other fairies do what they can to soothe Star's rough coughing and hacking as they hear a flurry of fairies zip past to deal with the aftermath of his return, asking, "So what all have I missed out on?"

Star is about to respond as he spots Tink and Fawn racing their way, opening his mouth to say something when another bout of coughing and hacking stop him as he hears Rosetta say, "OOF, I'm happy to be back, but will you ease up on hugging me, I feel like a grape."

Tink releases her hold on Rosetta as tears fall from her eyes when Fawn wraps her arms around her newly returned friend and spins around in the air, saying, "Sorry about that Ro, but when you were captured...we all assumed you were eaten."

Getting slightly dizzy from all the spinning, Rosetta says, "I assumed that too, but we were locked up and asked endless questions about our magic." Once her stomach threatens to empty itself, she pushes on Fawn's shoulders, saying, "I'm happy to see you too Fawn, but can you please set me down now, you're upsetting my stomach with all the spinning."

Giggling happily, she lands and lets her friend go, saying, "Sorry, I'm just so glad to see that you are back safe and sound."

The newly returned fairy turns to look at who hugged her before, but her eyes bug out of her head as she says, "HUH!? How did you get so big and change so much, Tink?!"

Smiling while chuckling softly, she twists in place, saying, "Well...where do I begin?"

Once the fires are extinguished and the ash is gathered up, the other fairies gather around and welcome the captured fairies back with open arms. The commotion draws the attention of Queen Clarion, who drifts down from the tree with tears glistening in her eyes.

Wiping her tears away with a finger, she says, "It makes me so happy to see that everyone is back safely, with the unfortunate exceptions of your wings. Do not fret, for you all know that they can be repaired." Shifting her gaze to the dragon as he coughs and hacks up more fluid, she asks with a concerned expression on her face, "Are you going to be alright, Star?"

Trying to be polite to the queen, he turns his head to spit out the ash and places his claw over the puddle, saying, "Apologies, Your Majesty, but I will be fine. My body just inhaled volcanic ash is all and this is its way of getting it out, the coughing will only last for a week or two." Noticing the elves hiding between his legs, he says, "There are some new guests to your beautiful lands, Your Majesty. The captured fairies couldn't leave them to suffer in a world being remade, so they offered to give them a chance in your world." Turning his gaze to the hiding elves, he says, "Come on out and say hello to the queen of the fairies, Queen Clarion."

Queen Clarion gasps at seeing not just one, but seven elves come out from their hiding spot with their heads bowed and wearing tattered rags. As her mind tries to order its thoughts, she says, "They've returned..."

Coughing again, Star gets her attention, saying, "There are only these seven here, and I have told them how they should behave in the forests of your world. The only thing I don't know about them is their dietary needs, would you be willing to help them get settled in? They've been through quite a fright after what I did to the settlement where I found the captured fairies." Remembering the orb and staff, he grabs them and sets them before her, saying, "I also brought these items back at Nyx's suggestion, perhaps you could have some fairies look into how to undo what's been done to the pixie dust?"

Finally getting her thoughts organized, she folds her hands before her and looks at the still bowing elves, saying, "I shall see to it that their needs are met." Turning her gaze back to Star, she asks, "Though I would like to hear a full account of what happened."

As he tells her everything that transpired over there, suffering through a few coughing fits until he finishes his story and looks at the queen, fully expecting her to banish him, saying, "Whatever punishment you issue me, I shall wholly accept."

Queen Clarion looks between the elves and the dragon, realizing from his statement that he assumes she is angry with him for what he's done. Playing along with his false assumption, she lets out a slow sigh, saying, "I won't hide it from you as your attack was indeed quite ruthless, but you also managed to save a few lives while granting these elves a second chance to return to living a life of harmony with the forest. I will not punish you too harshly, though as the past should remain the past. So I shall see to it that the elves are given shelter near your den."

It takes a few weeks for things to settle back down after the return of the fairies presumed to be eaten as Star is shrunk back down to a more manageable size. Spending his time in his cave working on finishing the order for the cages, he completes half the order by the time summer gives way to fall. Looking over how much work remains to be done, Star sighs and says to himself, "I wish I could stay here forever, but there are others waiting to speak to me."

Lifting the bar into place, Tink says, "You plan on leaving us sometime soon?"

Using his breath to heat the ends to mold them together, he mixes the metal around before letting it cool, saying, "I'm having a hard time deciding. I want to stay and be around for our children, but I also want to see what I am missing in the world I helped create."

When he moves to the spot below and starts to heat it up, she looks away and says, "I know that must be a difficult choice for you to make, but as much as Peri and I would love to go with you...we can't because we still rely on pixie dust to fly."

Finishing with the bottom, Star sighs and looks at the completed cage, saying, "I know." then turns towards her and starts caressing her cheek affectionately, saying, "I understand that, which is why that I will be sure to visit as often as I can. So why don't we make the most of the time we have remaining."

Tink's tail sways side to side excitedly as she hopes his affection leads to what she is thinking, moving in to kiss her mate passionately, saying, "Love me tenderly."

By the time the order is finished, the fairies whose wings had to be regrown with his blood have undergone the same metamorphosis that Tink and Peri went through. After Rosetta had developed quite the egg belly, she waddles her way in the shallow side of the pool of water as a few rays of sunlight glint through the vines to illuminate her amber scales with black claws and a set of matching horns with an upward bend to them, saying, "Hoo-eeh darlin' these poor dogs of mine are barkin' sore with all this walking."

Chuckling as he looks at the Dragon Fairy whose belly seems ready to burst, Star says, "You could have just spoken to me over our mental link instead of walking all this way..."

Rosetta puts her clawed hands on her hips as her tail swings agitatedly, saying with a pout, "Oh hush up you! I could have, but then I would miss out on whatever time I can get with you before you leave us."

Walking up to her, he stands on his back legs to be the same height, saying, "I am glad you came to visit me, do you know how much longer it will take before you deliver?"

Wrapping her arms around him with a huff, she nuzzles his neck, saying, "Honey, if I knew that I'd tell you, but I sure hope it ain't too much longer. If this belly of mine gets any bigger, the nurses are gonna confine me to a hospital bed! If I didn't have this tail to help counter balance my belly, I would just topple right over and roll down the hill!"

Unable to hold back a snicker at the image that conjures, Star says, "If you don't deliver by the time I leave, be sure to send Tink to hunt me down when your time comes, alright?"

Trailing her claws along his back affectionately, Rosetta basks in her mate's scent, saying with half-lidded eyes, "Alright sugar, I will. In the meantime though...give me some sugar." and pulls her head away to kiss him deeply.

The time comes for Star to leave two weeks later as Star gathers his gold and silver at the back of his cave, turning to face the gathered fairies and elves with the exception of Rosetta due to her belly getting even bigger, saying, "I will just be a world away, everyone, but I shall see you again soon." Turning to Tink, he says, "Make sure that you come find me when Rosetta decides to stop hiding her eggs from me, Tink."

Cutting in at hearing that, Rosetta huffs angrily, saying through their link, 'If I could push them out right now, I would! Sometimes you must let nature run her course, so don't rush me. Oh, and could someone bring me some more dragonfruit, I'm starving! By the way, I love you honey.'

Tinkerbell giggles at hearing that and lays a hand on her own belly, saying, "If I can still fly by the time she decides to deliver, I will, but if not...I'll send Vidia or Nyx after you." while hearing an annoyed rumble coming from the mentioned bedridden garden fairy in her mind.

Standing on the edge of the cave's temporarily frozen pool, Peri caresses her growing belly as she says, "Winter will be coming by in about a month, so perhaps the girls and I can drop by to see you then."

Making his way over to her standing on his back legs, he lays his hands on her shoulders and rubs his nose against hers before giving her a gentle kiss on the lips, saying, "I look forward to it, hopefully I will find a nice mountain top cave to call home by then." Wanting the rest of his mates to get a kiss, he moves to Tink next, thinking, 'Here's a kiss for you as well dear.'

Feeling the sensation cross over the link makes her toes curl, causing her to moan lightly, saying, 'Why thank you sugar, with a kiss like that, I do expect to become laden with eggs as soon as these ones are born...'

Leaving Tink half-lidded while biting her lip, he chuckles as she trails her claws over her chest, saying through their link, 'Well I have no issue with that as long as you're up for it.'

Once he finishes kissing each of his mates and children, he heads to the back of the cave and thinks of where to open the portal at. An image of the Crystal Empire where he fell coming to his mind, he chuckles as he channels a spell to open a portal wondering to himself, 'I wonder if I should go in my compact, travel everywhere size...or in my somewhat inconvenient, gigantic size?' Thinking it over, he decides it best to go with his full size and adjusts the spell to nullify the effects of the Poison Joke dust affecting him. When the spell completes, he turns and looks back to the others, singing, "Farewell and adieu, to you Fairish ladies. Farewell and adieu, to you ladies of Fae. I have treasured this visit, though it is time to journey onward. I shall visit again in the near future, so look forward to seeing me again."

Heading to the back of his cave where the portal is against the wall, he starts grabbing and tossing his gold and silver bars through. Reducing his stacks to about half of what they were, he stops and walks toward the portal, saying, "That should be enough for a mountain I think, if not, I can fly back to get more..."

When he reaches the other side, he sees several guards standing a fair distance away, surrounding the portal, his pile of gold and silver bars, and him, saying, "Uhm...hello, I mean you no harm."

The soldiers look the dragon over, watching as the portal winks out of existence while he slowly starts to get bigger in size. Surprised, they step back until he stops growing as Shining Armor steps forth, saying, "You've returned, Star Reaper, I thought that we might come under attack from Sombra again. I didn't know that dragons could use magic like unicorns and Alicorns, no wonder that portal you came through looked a bit odd with runes I couldn't read." Looking at the pile of gold to the right, he then cocks his head curiously and asks, "So what's with the gold and silver bars, are you planning on doing a lot of trading?"

Nodding his head in understanding, he says, "It is wise to be ready to respond to any potential threat at any given time. As for dragons other than me using magic, I can't be sure until I study them. The runes are in the written dragon knowledge I know, I wouldn't mind helping teach it to you if you have the time. I am planning on doing some trading...of a sort, though what I have in mind is doing some property hunting. Would you know of anyone that would be able to assist with my inquiry?"

Thinking it over for a moment, Shining Armor smiles, saying, "I appreciate the offer, but I doubt that I might have much use for knowing your written language, though I am sure that my sister would love to learn it. With your desire to buy some land, I think my wife might know a pony that can help you with your search. For clarity, what kind of property are you seeking to purchase?"

With a smile, Star says, "It might be a little unusual, but I am looking to buy a mountain to build my dwelling in."

Running that through his head again, he smiles and rubs the back of his head with a hoof, saying, "On second thought, perhaps my wife might handle that herself as mountains are considered outside city limits. Let me report back to her so I can relay your request, please wait here a moment."

Once he watches the pony teleport away, he makes himself comfortable on the ground to wait for his return as the guards around him watch him warily. Minutes later, he does return with his wife in tow with a smile on her face, greeting her with a nod of his head, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty, it is good to see you again. How does the Crystal Empire fare now that Sombra is gone?"

Cadance looks up at Star's massive form, saying, "It fares well now, though it was challenging for the first year until Rainbow Dash helped us get chosen to host the Equestrian Games this spring. Since we've been chosen to host the Equestrian Games in three years, we've become quite the attraction for visitors, so we are doing much better now." With a smile coming to her face, she says, "My husband tells me you are looking to purchase land outside the city, shall we go for a flight to see what area is to your liking?"

Star nods his head and says, "Yes, that would be very helpful, though, to be clear, I am looking to purchase a mountain and carve myself a dwelling into it." Then asks, "Would you still consider doing business with me?"

Cocking her head at what he said, she smiles and says, "Of course I will do business with you, but you helped fight against Sombra, and also crafted the Crystal Heart the crystal ponies hold so dear. I do believe my subjects would be unhappy with me for selling a anything to you for full price, so in response to that...how about I gift you a mountain of your choosing?"

Smiling down at the princess, he says, "If that is what you are willing to do, how about we compromise and I pay a lower price of your choosing?"

With her head still angled curiously, Cadance says, "Alright then." She then looks down to think over an offer that reflects how her subjects think of him, lifting her eyes back up to him and smiles, asking, "What do you think about ten percent of the going price?"

Raising a scaly-eyebrow skeptically, he sits down on his rear to be comfortable and chuffs in amusement, saying, "What do you think about eighty-five percent of the purchase price?"

Shining Armor listens to the two haggle back and forth and smirks as both fight tooth and claw or hoof to be fair to the other, chuckling under his breath, thinking, 'This is quite an amusing negotiation, Star's trying to stubbornly pay as much as he can...and my wife is trying to give him the lowest price to keep the crystal ponies from raising a fuss over not treating him fairly.'

The two spend a half-hour haggling back and forth until Star huffs and says, "I'm not going any lower than fifty percent of the price, that is as low as I am willing to go. Please either agree to it or I shall take my hoard and fly elsewhere in search of a home."

Fighting against her desire to stomp her feet and snort in agitation, Cadance lets out a loud sigh instead, saying in a firmer tone than she means, "Fine then, I will begrudgingly agree to that, although I still think it is much too high..."

Rising from his resting place, he smiles and nods, saying, "Thank you so much, now let's go see what peaks your empire has to offer."

Smiling and opening her wings, she smirks and says, "After you, young one."

Turning to the princess's husband, he asks, "Shining Armor, would you so kind as to guard my hoard while we look for a mountain I like?"

Shining Armor nods as Star spreads his wings, saying, "It would be my pleasure to keep it safe, Star Reaper." then watches as he takes off and follows after his wife.

Star catches up to Cadance pretty quickly, saying, "If you want to rest your wings at any time, you can land atop my head and cling to one of my spikes."

Keeping her front legs folded under her, Cadance continues heading northeast, looking back over her shoulder, saying, "Thank you for being thoughtful, but I have been needing the exercise after being stuck in the castle for the past week." She then asks, "Do you spot any mountain peaks that draw your eye?"

Looking around, his eyes land on the tallest one and causes him to ask, "Do you or your subjects have any attachment to the tall mountain to our left?"

She turns her head to look at the mountain in question and says, "Oh, that is Mount Everhoof over there, we once had a few mines at the base of it before Sombra took over. I don't think that my subjects would mind letting you make your home on it, there won't be any danger to the Empire from avalanches due to it being so far away."

Looking back at him over her right shoulder again, she says "However, you will need to be mindful of all the snow if you build anywhere on the mountain." then asks, "Are you wanting to purchase Mount Everhoof, Star?"

With a smile he nods and says, "Only the upper half of it so that your subjects can return to the mines and make them functional again."

With a nod and a happy expression on her face, Cadance adjusts her course a little and heads towards Mount Everhoof, saying, "Very well, let's go take a closer look to see how much snow has built up before searching for where you would like to build your home."

A few minutes later, they arrive at the mountain and circle it for several minutes as Star says, "Let's head to the base and cover the mine entrances first so that you know where they are, and can then uncover them at a time of your choosing."

Smiling at his kindness, she nods once more and heads towards the ground and looks for old mine entrances. It winds up taking them an hour to gather enough material to make heavy slabs to lay over the entrances and secure them in place before she follows star back up into the air, asking, "Now what are you planning on doing?"

Looking at all the built up snow, he says, "I'm going to head towards the top and give all this snow a little whack with my tail so that I know what it looks like underneath, so you might want to keep a fair distance when it gives way and heads down the mountain."

Cadance shakes her head in disbelief then sighs and hovers in place, saying, "Very well, but that is going to create quite an avalanche, you know?"

With a nod, he says, "At least there are no ponies around us to get caught up in it's path." then passes by the peak and comes to a near-hover as he brings his tail around to the right when he starts to turn away from the mountain. Slapping his tail against the eastern side of the peak, he heads to the other side to do the same.

She watches as the upper half of the packed snow breaks away and starts collapsing the layers beneath in a cascading effect, causing the undisturbed snow on top to break apart and slowly be ground down into a fine powder. In only a few seconds, the avalanche is roaring its way down the mountain, producing a billowing snowy mist that follows in the avalanches wake as more layers up above break free and make their way down the mountain. Spotting a few tumbling boulders the size of a house heading down the mountain, Cadance says with wide eyes, "Wow, I didn't realize that avalanches had such power..."

After whacking the other sides to break the layers up and send them down the mountain, Star sees that the mountain is several feet shorter than what it first appeared, saying over the roar of the avalanche racing down the mountainside, "I am surprised to see that the mountain is not as tall as I first thought, but I am glad I knocked the layers of snow free. If I hadn't, I might have started digging a little too high up."

Making his way over to Cadance, who is staring at the avalanche with eyes wide in surprise, he says, "Nature is the greatest force in the land, where many things are in a constant state of motion such as the sky, rivers and oceans, glaciers, and even the land itself moves. However, glaciers and the land move at a speed so slowly, you would have to watch time fly by rapidly to even notice the movement."

Looking over at him, Cadance asks in a soft tone, "If I asked you a question related to how long you've lived, would you be able to answer it?"

Hovering a bit behind her with his head even with her body in the sky, he looks at her and thinks for a few seconds before nodding and saying, "I have spent enough time mourning my past sins, though a new grief has taken its place. What would you like to know?"

Shifting her gaze to his eyes, she asks, "How long have you been on this planet?"

Recalling the memory of when this planet was first created, he smiles and says, "Almost from the very beginning of it, when the atmosphere was breathable. When I first landed on the surface, there was no life forms and it was still cooling down from the constant volcanic eruptions that were happening during the time I was saying my farewells. I have been here for a few dozen millennia, though it is hard for me to put a claw on the exact number."

Hearing him say that causes the goddess to reach out to their minds and say to the two of them, snorting with amusement, saying, "You've been on the planet for roughly a hundred thousand years, give or take a few millennia and a couple centuries, little dragon. Not to mention how I had to suffer through two or three thousand years of sorrow, grief, and despair from the fragments of your soul after it burst apart into four pieces once you were put to rest by Star Swirl."

Huffing in mild amusement at how Cadence looks all around to find who said that, he says, "That was the goddess who just said that into our minds, however, my penance began several seconds after I landed on the ground when my soul was taken from me by the spell that was placed upon me by the high priestess of my race when I was cast away from my home planet many, many millennia ago." Looking towards the sky, he says, "I was wondering why I had trouble recalling what happened once the chiming started and my body drifted into slumber." Just then, a dull ache makes itself known deep in is heart as he is reminded of how many he has killed, along with how he caused the war between the bipeds that led to his whole species being wiped out.

Able to sense the complicated state of his heart, Cadance detects that even though he has others partnered to him. Though he is mated to a few others, he feels deep down that, they are still not actual dragons...not like him. Sighing at how his heart secretly longs to be with one he knew long ago, she realizes that her powers of love can't do anything to help him out. Not letting herself get too upset in being unable to use her powers to ease his suffering, she says, "Even though the ones we love may move on, they live on in our memories and will always be a part of us. If they truly loved us, they would want us to move on with our lives and find love with another so that we are never alone. If you ever feel alone and need to talk to somepony about what bothers you, feel free to come talk to me."

Smiling at her kindness, Star says, "I said something of that sort to a dragoness I loved long ago when I was being cast away from my home planet of Drovura." Thinking of what other meanings her words could have, he says with a smirk, "You might want to think your responses over more carefully or someone might think that you are showing interest in them. I do find you very pretty for a pony, but I do believe that your husband would either be angry or very upset if you showed interest in me or another pony."

Her mind reels at hearing that as she blushes fiercely and loses some altitude due to her wings halting their flapping for a few moments, saying, "You know very well that I am not trying to flirt with you, but I appreciate your advice. Be sure to be more cautious with how you tease others, or it might cause you some unforeseen troubles in the future."

Chuckling in amusement at getting under her skin a little, he says, "I will keep that in mind, Cadance. Shall we head back so that I can pay you for the upper half of Mount Everhoof so that I can begin working on my home?"

Nodding her head in agreement, Cadance says, "We probably should, for we have been gone for about an hour. While you work on building your home, I can move your treasure to an empty storage vault in the castle so that no one takes what isn't theirs if you would like that, that is."

Flying back while thinking it over, he lands and says, "I have thought your offer over, princess, and I would like it very much if you would do that for me. Thank you very much, now how much would I owe you for the upper half of the mountain?"

When the princess answers and thinks over how much the normal price would be for a mountain, a female crystal guard clears her throat and says, "If I might be permitted to speak, Your Majesty, I could inform you about what the cost would be."

Happy at having a pony willing to offer information, the princess nods her head gratefully, saying, "I would greatly appreciate that, guardspony, thank you very much. Please speak your mind and share what you know."

Nodding, she then starts telling her about how she has a talent for measuring gold and how she uses her talent to determine the true value of the Equestrian bit. When she finishes, she looks at the dragon and asks, "Might you allow me to check the weight of one of your gold ingots, mister dragon?"

Star nods and grabs one of the ingots between his claws and sets it before her, saying, "Go ahead, little one, I just made them this size so that it wouldn't be such a hassle carrying them in my claws."

The guardspony steps forth after a nod from Shining Armor and touches her hoof to the bar while using her talent to get a read on the bar, humming to herself as she sorts through the information coming to her mind. Finished examining the gold bar's purity and weight, she steps it off carefully and says with a confident gleam in her eye, "This bar is beyond a doubt, one hundred percent pure and weighs about 800 pounds...give or take a few. My friend keeps a close eye on property values who has another friend that works in land sales, so enough information gets back to me that enables me to give a rough estimate about what the upper half of Mount Everhoof would be worth. With the land in question being the upper portion of a mountain, the economical value of the area is half of the going price of land of equivalent size. With that all in mind, to get approximately half of the value, it would still amount to requiring five hundred of these big bars."

Cadance's eyes widen at hearing that as she says with a slightly raised voice, "F-Five...hundred? Isn't that a little bit high just for a mountain?"

Shaking her head, she says, "With tourism at an all-time high and our growing economy over the past year, not to mention the widespread news that we are hosting the next Equestria Games getting us even more visitors, I might even be on the low side of the estimate for the Crystal Empire's favorite world-famous mountain landmark."

Star chuckles and turns to the princess, saying, "I don't have a problem with that price."

Looking up at him with narrowed eyes, Cadance huffs in annoyance, saying, "Easy for you to say, you don't have to ship it all off to be melted down in Canterlot. Very well then, I can agree to that price."

Cocking his head a little, he asks, "Why not melt it down yourselves, surely the Crystal Empire must have a way to melt metals down?"

Curious at what he said, she turns to the guards and asks, "Do either of you know if the city has the capabilities to melt gold at all?"

The female guard from before nods her head, saying, "We do, though nowhere near capable of melting something of this size."

Thinking it over, Star asks, "Perhaps we could make a new container out of crystal, since it has a much higher melting point than gold, and make adjustments to what you are capable of handling?"

The guard looks up in thought, searching her memories for what she recalls of their equipment's abilities and says, "That would be possible, though we only have six molds able to make three bars each with one bar weighing about 25 pounds."

Recalling the crystal boulders that tumbled down the mountain, he says, "I know where to find a decent-sized crystal boulder I can carve out to hold a few ingots."

She looks up at him as he prepares to fly towards the mountain, saying, "Make sure to also make a base for it to tilt on so it pours properly."

Nodding his head, he heads off to fetch a pair of large boulders to carve up with his claws and magic. Seeing a couple the size of his claws, he grabs them both with his front and back claws and returns to the group. Setting them both beside his hoard and landing behind them, he gets started as he watches a few guards hurry back towards the city.

By the time the guards get back, he has the large cauldron ready along with a stand it can swivel on and asks, "I haven't carved the spout yet, so how does this look so far?"

One of the ponies that came back with her trots forward, saying, "The shape is fine, can you tilt it ahead so that I can see how thick you made the walls?"

When he uses a claw to tilt the cauldron up by pushing the handle up with no effort, he watches the elder pony scrutinize the thickness with a few gentle nods of his head, saying, "Very nice, sonny, very nice indeed."

Hearing the dragon chuckle, he looks at the front of the cauldron and says, "You can take it out of the cradle now and lay it down just like this, we'll make the spout with our crystal shaping tools."

It takes the craftsponies only an hour to make the spout and a brief pouring chute for the liquid gold to trickle down to the waiting mold. Another group arrives as they finish setting up some tables with some stamps and other tools on them, then begin setting up their equipment to make ingots.

A half hour passes as Cadance watches curiously as the elderly pony tells the dragon to put a couple ingots into the pot and start heating it up as a fire is lit under the mold with a pony on the far end of the cart whose head is facing the mold in a strange harness attached to a scraper of some kind.

Once Star watches the gold become liquid and fill the pot half-full, he looks up to the elder standing on a podium looking into the pot and give a subtle nod of his head, hearing him say, "Remember to go very slowly sonny, our molds only handle 75 pounds of gold tops. Make sure that you keep a close eye on the hash marks to avoid pouring too much, I will say when to stop pouring but you keep an eye on the last ingot's level as well."

The elder pony turns to Cadance and asks, "Your Majesty, if you wouldn't mind, could you keep an eye on the smaller overflow pot at the end there and return the excess back into the big pot with your magic?"

Nodding her head with a smile, she trots over to the end to watch how everything functions, saying, "I'm ready for whenever you choose to start pouring."

Starting to push up on the handle, taking a little effort due to the weight of the molten gold inside, Star goes slowly at first and watches how the mold begins to fill up. Watching closely to how swiftly the last ingot fills up, he slows his pour to not go over too much when he hears the elder pony tell him to lower the pot down.

The pony harnessed to the scraper mounted to the mold pulls it forward and across the holes slowly until it reaches the end with a distinct clunk, then begins to detach from it so that the next pony can pull it ahead to the next station.

Using her magic to lift the small amount in her pot, Cadance moves it over and gently releases it back into the larger pot and watches the next mold begin to fill up, saying, "This is really an interesting process."

Chuckling at hearing that, the elder pony says, "Yeah, it might seem that way to you now, but just wait until you've been doing this for a few hours on end without taking a break to go get something to eat or drink. We will be here for six hours...at least."

It takes them eight hours to get almost all five hundred ingots melted down and poured into bullion molds as a clerk watches from her desk with a tally sheet as another ingot is placed into the pot, calling out, "Last one everypony, we're finally in the home stretch!"

After filling all the molds a few times over, the elder pony sees the pot dwindling down to the bottom, saying, "Alright, you can continue on pouring, I'm gonna stand around for when the pot gets down to the last drops and finish off the last mold's level myself."

When the last ingot is finally poured, the large pot is completely empty and begins to cool down when the last mold is rolled over to the next station as Shining Armor trots up to his wife and hands her a report with a smirk on his face, saying, "We're set for a good long while, darling."

Cadance tiredly looks over the report, which causes her eyes to rise up, asking, "Every inch of it is completely full, where's the rest being stored?"

Chuckling, he says, "Inside a secondary vault beside the primary one, though there is not much room left in it either with the precious relics, mementos, and bits that are stacked or packed into a corner." Turning his head to the last mold as Star sets the huge cauldron aside, he asks, "You all are finally done melting all five hundred of the ingots down?"

Nodding her head, she says, "Yes we are, at last. That mold there is the last one poured, now could you assign a group of rotating guards to watch over Star's hoard for him?"

Looking over at the setting sun, Star stretches out his body tiredly, saying, "I don't feel like digging into the mountainside tonight, so I shall rest right here until dawn."

Hearing Star yawn causes Cadance to yawn sleepily as well, saying, "Sleep sounds very enticing right now..." turning her head to her husband and kissing him lightly on the cheek, saying, "Shiny, dear, why don't you find a few guards to stand watch around our friend and his hoard here, then hurry on over to our chambers for some cuddling?"

Seeing the affection in her eyes brings a smile to his face as he nods eagerly, saying, "At once, my dear." then gallops off as she wishes the dragon goodnight and flies away to their private chambers, skidding to a stop and looking back over his shoulder, calling out, "Goodnight, Star Reaper! Glad to have you as a new resident of the Crystal Empire!"

Chuckling at the young stallion's eagerness, he says, "Goodnight, young stallion, go chase your love while I chase mine in my dreams." Curling himself around his smaller hoard, he lays his head down on the ground and takes a deep breath before letting it out. Closing both sets of eyelids, he drifts off to a peaceful slumber where he finds Sky Wing waiting for him and tapping her front claw in annoyance, asking, "Hey Cosmo, I'm so glad that you made it back, our kids are running me ragged with how they've been flapping and gliding from treetop to treetop taunting the bears with waterballs. I've had to go down and kill one or two so they realize that their mother is watching, I sure hope you're hungry, the two I brought up here are really big."