Gassy Scales

“Uh…Ember? Why are we standing on top of this cliff?” Spike asked as he loved over the jagged Rocks to the rushing rapids far below.

“You're the one who said you wanted to help me dodge the Slingtails. Now I'm just gonna fly down there and you're gonna jump from here onto my back. Got it?” Ember explained.

“Can't I just climb onto your back?” Spike asked

“Yeah, right. Like I'd let a runt like you climb up on me.” Ember rolled her eyes before getting into a flight stance. “Now get ready. We need to catch up to the other dragons and get that Bloodstone Scepter for my father.”

With that, Ember dove off of the cliff before spreading her wings and began gliding around the cliff. Spike stood there mesmerized, since this is the first time he'd ever seen a female dragon take flight. It was surprisingly graceful. However, his awestruck gaze turned to one of fear As his eyes wandered to the dangerous waters before. He gulped nervously. He was so nervous that his tummy began to get agitated. However, he couldn't worry about that right Now. He needed to jump on Ember's back or else some unruly dragon would harm Ponyville. He could do this! He just needed to take a Leap of Faith…

Too bad he tripped over a pebble and ended up falling off of the cliff. The good news? Ember was able to catch the wingless dragon. The bad news? Spike ended up landing on her backwards, with his body facing the opposite direction of where Ember was heading. It was then that Spike realized how much of a bad idea this was. He wanted to turn around so That he was facing the right way, but he'd never flown a flying creature before. Sure, he rode Twilight sometimes, But what was before she got her wings, and even with her wings Spike never rode her while she was flying. He was too scared to move just in case he ended up falling into the dangerous waters below. Sure, he had strong scales, but there were giant serpents down there that would surely eat him. All this worrying made Spike's tummy gurgle louder than before, as he held onto Ember for dear life. Unfortunately, the ride didn't get much better as Spike saw a big boulder heading right for the 2 dragons.

“Ember, look out!” Spike screamed. Ember jerked hard to the side so she could avoid one boulder and then did a barrel roll to avoid another one.

Spike wasn't doing so hot with all this moment. His tummy was doing somersaults as it tried to catch up with the rest of his body. He felt like he was going to throw up for a second, until he swallowed it back down. However, that turned out to be a bad idea since his tummy sounded angrier than ever. Spike suddenly felt a twitch in his tail as his butt began vibrating. He knew what was about to happen, but tried to hold it in as he realized how close Ember's face was to the danger zone.

“E-Ember, can you land real quick?” Spike stammered out.

“What? Why?” Ember asked in confusion as she dodged another boulder.

“I just….I don't feel so good.” Spike admitted. He was too embarrassed to say what he was really feeling, but he wasn't entirely lying to his new dragon friend.

“Well, can you hold on until we get to the top? I still need you to help me avoid these boulders.” Ember said, trying to hide the concern in her voice.

“Uh…I don't know.” Spike said. His tummy was feeling worse and worse as they flew. He would normally cross his legs or rub his tummy to soothe the pressure, but that wasn't possible since he was still holding onto Ember.

Still, the female dragon did give Spike something to focus on other than the storm brewing in his tummy and he began calling out whenever a boulder was headed their way. This distraction worked for a little, but soon Spike's need became too difficult to ignore.

“Ugh! Are we almost there, Ember?” Spike asked through gritted teeth.

“Almost, just hold on a little longer.” Ember said. She could see the top of the mountain And tried to fly there as fast as she could.

“Ooooh, I can't!” Spike warned.

“Fine. Just don't throw up on me, okay?” Ember said. She figured that would give Spike the clearance he needed to do what he needed to.

“Ngh! That's not where it's gonna come out.” Spike said. He was at The point of no return.

“What?” Ember said as realization smacked her right in the face. She heard Spike grunt helplessly and felt his right leg flex. It was the only warning she got seconds before the inevitable happened.

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“Awww, Spike are you serious!?” Ember couldn't help but gag as she was hit with one of the longest and most powerful farts she's ever heard a dragon rip in her life.

How could this pint-sized, little drake who was raised by ponies possibly make a stink this big? Granted she was never usually this close to another dragon whoever they farted, so maybe this was normal for them. Her eyes Started watering from the fumes and she was more determined than ever to find a place to land. Luckily, she could see a flatter surface below before she passed out, making for a quick, if rough, landing.

“Woah!” Spike screamed as he was launched from Embers back to the surface on the side of the mountain. Good thing his scales were tough, so he didn't get that hurt from the rough terrain. When he got back to a standing position, he saw Ember passed out on the ground. “Sweet, Celestia! Are you okay, Ember? I'm so sorry, I just couldn't hold it on anymore.”

Ember was motionless for a second, which really worried Spike until she suddenly coughed and opened her eyes. “Jeez, what are those ponies feeding you?”

“Gems mostly.” Spike chuckled nervously. He was happy that Ember was able to joke about the incident.

“Well you might wanna fix that, because wow…” Ember said as she got to her feet and started marching forward. “For now though, I think it’d be better if I stayed upwind of you.”

“Hehe, good idea.” Spike said as he followed behind. If the two were still friends after this, they'd have quite the story to tell later.