The Dragon Princess

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Chapter 1

Rainbow Dash felt the sun shining brightly down over wings as she soared over Ponyville, carried by a light breeze. It was all she could do not to simply close her eyes and let the wind carry her around all morning, but she had a job to do.

Queen Celestia had written to Rainbow asking her to investigate a series of intermittent clouds of black smoke rising from one of the mountains west of Ponyville. Naturally, Rainbow wasn’t about to refuse her teacher anything.

Well, anything that didn’t involve fancy dinner parties.

She circled around the general area, not seeing any signs of anything unusual. After a few hours of fruitless searching, Rainbow let out a groan as her stomach lodged a loud protest about its neglect. “That’s it, break time.” Spotting a particularly soft-looking cloud, Rainbow set down so she could start rifling through her saddlebags for lunch. She had packed everything: a nice sandwich, a fresh muffin from Sugarcube Corner (the rare one she’d managed to snag before Derpy could), Sweet Apple cider, and the most recent Daring Do book. If she was going to be out here for a while, why not make it fun?

She’d just settled in and was about to take a bite out of her sandwich when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye: a trickle of black smoke leaking upwards from the top of a nearby mountain. She sighed. “Of course, right as I was about to start eating.” Setting her food down, Rainbow dove off the cloud and headed for the source of the smoke. Hopefully this wouldn’t take long to sort out.

The smoke was coming from the peak of a tall mountain. She frowned. Rainbow was no rockologist, but she was pretty sure there wasn’t a random volcano located smack dab in the middle of Equestria. It was one of those things that likely would’ve come up at some point in conversation,somewhere in between “It’s a lovely smokey morning” and “Oh it looks like it’s going to be a fiery evening, better pack my flame-proof umbrella.”

Since she didn’t fancy flying straight down through the smoke, Rainbow opted to check out any other potential openings to get inside the mountain for a better look. It didn’t take her long to spot a large cave near the peak. Bingo.

She flew inside, slowing her pace slightly—both to give her eyes a chance to adjust to the darkness and to make sure her face didn’t have a personal encounter with a stalactite. The smell of smoke was immediate, but she couldn’t feel any heat or see light further in, so she doubted she was dealing with somepony who flunked their fire-safety classes or a very lost buffalo trying to smoke-signal for directions.

Something glittered in the darkness, catching the rays of sunlight outside. Rainbow hovered closer, spotting a shiny gold bit. Nor was it alone: just beyond it lay an impressive mound of coins and jewels easily the size of one of Applejack’s hay piles.

The smoke was rising up from out of the mound.

That about clinched it for Rainbow. Let’s see, smoke plus cave plus pile of treasure? Yeah, gee, big mystery what this is all about … I mean, it could be anything! Yeah, if there isn’t a dragon under all that, then I’m a seapony.

The question was: what now? On one hoof, Rainbow had her answer: she could leave, write to Celestia to tell her it was a dragon causing the smoke, and let her sort it out while she went back to her lunch. No down off her feathers.

Of course, on the other hoof, finding out what the problem was only to leave it for others to fix really wasn’t Rainbow’s way. But then on the third hoof, that begged the question of what to actually do. Even somepony as famously direct as Rainbow had read enough tales about waking up dragons to remember the crucial takeaway from all of them: don’t.

But then on the fourth hoof, what was left for her to do? Just stand around all day and do nothing while waiting for the dragon to wake up on its own? That wasn’t exactly her speed. Nor was paralyzing herself by deliberating endlessly. She needed to pick something to do and then do it.

Before she was even fully aware she was doing it, Rainbow reached down and picked up a stray coin that had gotten separated from the pile. She was about to flick it back onto it when a loud voice boomed from behind her, making her leap up into the air. “Dragon Lord! I’m here to challenge you!”

Whirling in midair, Rainbow Dash saw a short dragon standing at the mouth of the cave. He had reared up and spread his wings, conveying a sense of being an imposing challenger–or at least of trying to be one. Frankly, Rainbow found little imposing about a pudgy, doughy-looking dragon the color of snot. Especially when he was trying his best not to wheeze, clearly having taxed himself just to get himself up here.

Before either of them could react to the other’s presence, an annoyed snarl filled the cave in a growing crescendo. Stray bits of stone and dust shook loose from the ceiling and the treasure pile began to shake and move. Rainbow stood, transfixed as a shape rose out of the pile, coins and jewels spilling off. It was a dragon, one as tall and lithe as the other was squat and ungainly. Her scales were vibrant shades of blue and teal, not too far off from Rainbow’s own coat. Curled horns bracketed her face and she was also growling, trickles of black smoke leaking from her nostrils and wearing an expression that made clear she was fresh out of bucks to give. “I could not have made it any more clear, Sludge. I would only accept further challenges back in the Dragon Lands.”

“Yeah, but you’re really only the Dragon Lord in the Dragon Lands, know what I’m saying?” Sludge snorted, pounding his stomach. “So since we aren’t there…”

The other dragon narrowed her eyes. “You want to fight me? Fine! I’m going to kick your tail a little extra hard for waking me up. I accept your challenge!” The echoes in the cave turned an already impressive roar into a deafening bellow. Sludge roared back, but it felt more like the groan of somepony trying to lift themselves from off a couch after a nap.

Rainbow instinctively pressed her hooves against her ears. She didn’t know what was going on, but knew enough that she did not want to be in between two dragons looking to throw down with each other. Normally, she would’ve been offended at being ignored for so long, but given the circumstances…

The Dragon Lord surged out of the pile, lunging at Sludge with her claws outstretched. Sludge could move surprisingly fast for his physique, at least when properly motivated. He hopped back, using his wings to give him some more distance while he breathed a gout of fire right at her. With the litheness of a snake, the other coiled herself around the flame. Her claws lashed out when she was in range, one raking at Sludge’s wing and the other curling around his neck. Her claws weren’t long enough–or else his neck was too fat–for her to completely cut off his breathing, so she settled for a different tactic: the dragoness planted her feet on the ground and braced herself, using her leverage to pick Sludge up and bodily toss him against a wall.

Even as he was groaning and picking himself up, the Dragon Lord was stomping over, snarling. “Do you have any idea how many challengers I’ve waded through?! Did you really think I’d be beaten by a dragon like you?!”

Groaning, Sludge picked himself up and leaned against the wall. “Yeah, I know. They got you all nice and softened up for me.”

“Keep dreaming.” She rushed at him again, Sludge scrambling away and desperately trying to keep his distance. From her place next to the treasure pile, Rainbow Dash watched with twitching wings. As much as she wanted to leap into the fray, she didn’t know on whose side to take, or even if there was a side she should be on.

With all the fire breath being tossed around, the cave was starting to get smoky. She wafted it away with her wings, trying to keep an eye on the developing fight. Luckily, most of the smoke seemed to be rising through an aperture at the top. Now she at least knew what was causing the smoke sightings.

How to stop it was another matter.

The she-dragon grunted and staggered back after being swatted by Sludge’s beefy tail. He tried to hit her again, but she instead grabbed his tail, digging her claws in. With straining and a roar of frustration, she twisted herself around and slammed Sludge’s body into the ground by his tail. Then she heaved and did it again. And again.

“Urg…” Sludge wheezed. “No more…”

The Dragon Lord, panting herself, grabbed the tenderized bag of scales and dragged him out of the cave. “Now. Get OUT!” Applying her clawed foot to his backside, she kicked him off the ledge. Sludge let out a panicked, elongated shriek as he fell. Then it abruptly ended.

Rainbow Dash winced.

With the fight over, the victorious dragon stalked back to the treasure pile. Her eyes flickered over to Rainbow, but she didn’t even seem to think it worth turning her head. “Get lost, pony. Be grateful I took my anger out on him or else I’d show you what I do to would-be thieves.”

“I’m no thief!” Rainbow bristled, darting in front of her. “My name’s Rainbow Dash and I came here to see what was causing all the smoke that’s hanging over my town!”

“Now you know. Congratulations. Beat it.”

Rainbow could almost admire how much ‘I don’t give a buck’ energy she could imbue in so few words. She tried thinking how Queen Celestia would want her to handle this. This was a dragon—hay, not just any dragon, the Dragon Lord stewing right outside Ponyville. This called for diplomacy.

Rainbow suddenly wished she hadn’t napped through all those lessons. “Look, we’re just trying to–”

The Dragon Lord whirled around to face her. “Get OUT!” she roared, looming over her with fangs and claws exposed. She clearly expected that any pony confronted with an angry, bellowing dragon would whinny and flee on pure instinct.

Unfortunately for her, Rainbow’s instincts ran along a different path. She immediately spun on her front hooves and lashed out, bucking the dragon square in the gut with both hindlegs as hard as she could. The roar became a choked-off grunt.

So much for diplomacy.

Yeah, probably not what Celestia would’ve wanted me to do, Rainbow recognized a half-second too late.

“Uh, sorry?” The burst of fire that nearly scorched her ears off showed what her apology was worth. “Okay then, less sorry now!” Before Rainbow could gain any altitude, the dragon was already on her. Her wiry-looking limbs wrapped around Rainbow’s barrel with the strength of steel.

Rainbow struggled, wincing as she felt the air being pressed out of her lungs. She drove her head back sharply, smacking into the dragon’s snout. She heard an angry grunt and was worried she’d get a chunk of her head bitten off for her troubles. But she jerked her head back once, twice more. She was about to brace her increasingly sore noggin for another blow when she felt the dragon’s grip slacken. Not a lot, but it was enough. She squirmed free and put some distance between herself and the dragon. “Can we get a do-over here?” Rainbow rubbed her head. “I didn’t come here for a fight–”

“But that’s what you’ll get!” The dragon’s eyes blazed with a fire hotter than any flame. “I just wanted a day—one lousy day—to rest between challenges, but nooo, I couldn’t get that! I’ve been fighting my way through challengers for weeks and then you went and led that fool right to me!”

She swung at Rainbow, a clumsy move that only underscored just how tired she sounded. Rainbow easily avoided it. “I mean, all the smoke you were puffing out was probably a bit more of a clue than–”

“Shut up!” The dragoness slammed her fists down where Rainbow had been a split-second before.

Celestia makes diplomacy look so easy…

“Look, we’re gonna talk this out—” Rainbow gritted her teeth. “Even if I have to tie you down and beat some sense into your thick skull first!” She bolted up, bracing herself against a stalactite and propelling herself forward. Her hoof connected solidly with the dragon’s forehead. Rainbow winced. Turned out she was pretty thick-skulled. That hurt her hoof something fierce.

The dragon didn’t seem to appreciate that, snarling and raking her claws at Rainbow Dash. A stinging pain caused Rainbow to leap back. Her left eye was forced shut, sweat dripping down from her forehead. She brought up a hoof to wipe it away only to find it stained red afterwards. Terrific.

She took another look around the cave, trying to weigh her options. A prolonged fight with a dragon, especially in the confines of its own cave, was definitely not in her favor. She needed more space and her opponent knew it. That’s why she’d planted herself right at the entrance of the cave. The only way out was through her.

If that’s how she wanted to play it, then who was Rainbow to disappoint her? Her hoof nudged a stray chunk of rock. Deciding not to waste it, she picked it up and tossed it between her hooves. It had a good heft to it, perfect for a projectile. Just as she was preparing her next course of attack, Rainbow spotted movement behind the Dragon Lord. She narrowed her eyes. It was Sludge, the other dragon! What was he doing?

Sludge picked up a broken-off stalactite, hefting it like a club. He slowly crept up behind Rainbow’s opponent, her focus still on Rainbow herself. All she had to do was keep her attention on her for another moment and then Sludge would get the drop on her and she could get away.

But something about that didn’t sit right. The Dragon Lord was violent, loud, abrasive … so why should Rainbow care if she got taken down?

Because she didn’t skulk around and attack from behind, Rainbow’s mind answered. Because she fought him, then you, one-on-one. This guy’s just using you as a distraction. Plus, you threw the first buck that started this fight, idiot.

Hey, who’re you calling an idiot?!

The pony who kicked a dragon, first thing. How did you expect that to go?

Oh whatever.

Still, that was something that nagged at her. If this other dragon was the Dragon Lord, and Sludge came to challenge her in some kinda honorable combat thing, then what did that say about him creeping up on her while she was busy fighting Rainbow? Was that the kind of dragon she wanted to see end up in charge of all the other dragons? Did she want to be partly responsible for letting him win?

The enemy of my enemy, some other part of mind reminded her. He didn’t come here to fight you. All he’s here for is the Dragon Lord and she’s the one who threatened you, not him. She’s the one whose smoke is causing all the problems. Just let him take care of her, he goes back to the Dragon Lands, problem solved.

Be smart, she heard her brain yell at her. You know what to do here!

She did. Rainbow narrowed her eyes and threw the rock with all her might.

It sailed right past the Dragon Lord’s head, so close that she instinctively turned to watch it–just in time to see it firmly clock Sludge right between the eyes. He swayed on his feet, his eyes rolling up as he fell flat on his back.

Rainbow tensed, waiting to see what her remaining opponent would do. The she-dragon turned to her, blinking in confusion. “You—you did that on purpose?”

“Uh, yeah? Duh?” Rainbow flapped her wings, lifting herself up. “It’s not like I could miss him. In any sense of the word.”

She was startled by the dragon laughing. “Sludge has that effect. Interesting to know that even ponies can see it.”

Rainbow Dash was willing to let that ‘even ponies’ comment pass since it seems like they were having a potential breakthrough. And all it required was her beaning a dragon with a rock. Go diplomacy. “Heh, right? Can’t see him beating you in a fight. Not unless they found a way to base it around a pie-eating contest or something. Uh, by the way, I don’t think I caught your name.”

A dangerous-looking gleam entered the dragon’s eye. “I am Ember!” She drew herself up to her full height, spreading her wings. “Wielder of the Bloodstone Scepter, winner of the Gauntlet of Fire, and Lord of all the Dragon Lands!” She roared and exhaled a pillar of fire at the roof.

So she wanted to do it like that? Alright then, Rainbow rolled her shoulders. “Oh yeah? I’m Rainbow Dash! Ace flier extraordinaire, performer of sonic rainbooms, protege of Queen Celestia, and kicker of flanks!”

Ember actually looked thoughtful, as if seeing Rainbow Dash for the first time. “Not bad as far as titles go. I wouldn’t have thought a pony would recognize their importance.”

“You only get one shot at an introduction,” Rainbow reasoned. “So you might as well make it an awesome one.”

She was rewarded for her insight with a deep chuckle. “Well said,” Ember absently patted the spot where Rainbow had kicked her. “You made more of an impression than most. Tell me,” she flicked her tail at the dazed Sludge. “Why’d you attack him instead?”

Good question, why had she? “Because–” Rainbow thought about it. “He was supposed to face you, one-on-one, right? But sneaking up on you while you were fighting me—that’s being scummy and cheating. I don’t know much about either of you, but I don’t think a dragon who got the top job that way would be a good one. And I didn’t want to help someone like that, even accidentally.” She shrugged. “Plus, y’know, he probably wouldn’t want me going around telling anypony that he couldn’t beat you on his own and stuff. Which probably meant he’d need to get rid of me after he was finished with you.”

Ember simply nodded.

Clearing her throat, Rainbow broached the reason that brought her out here in the first place. “So, look, I don’t know a lot about Dragon Lords or anything except that your retirement options seem to suck. But camping out here is smoking up our town and attracting trouble like him,” she jerked her head at Sludge. “Can’t you just settle this in the Dragon Lands?”

That earned her a sour look. Ember trudged off, grabbing Sludge by the tail and dragging him out of the cave, muttering to herself. Rainbow hurried after her, arriving in time to see her chucking Sludge off the side of the mountain. Again.

Note to self: try not to tick her off.

Again.

Her mood only somewhat improved by throwing her rivals off cliffs, Ember grunted as she came back inside. “Dragons should know to keep dragon business in our lands. But apparently some of us have thicker heads than most.”

Given the height of the fall, Rainbow thought Sludge would be grateful for a thick skull right about now. “Sooo,” she said slowly. “What brings you out here anyway?”

Ember looked around the cave. “Good rock formation, decent-sized mountain, nice location. It seemed like a good spot for a vacation cave. So I claimed it.”

Great.

Rainbow coughed. “Um, you know this is the middle of Equestria, right?”

“And I should be concerned, because?” Ember arched her brow. “Last time I checked, ponies didn’t live in caves.”

“Well, no,” Rainbow admitted, “but the smoke is kind of an issue.”

Ember stopped short, her tone getting low and dangerous. “Are you accusing the Dragon Lord of snoring?”

Horseapples. She looked at Ember, trying to judge her expression. How should she play this? When Rainbow Dash answered she kept her own tone light, even a touch dry. “I never said anything about you snoring smoke.”

There was a dead silence that seemed to stretch out for several long heartbeats. Just as Rainbow was beginning to think she’d really stepped in it, Ember threw back her head and laughed loudly. “Haha! I like you, you’re trouble.”

Rainbow positively beamed at that. “Thank you! I hear that a lot—both parts, really, but usually not in the same sentence.”

Chuckling a bit more, Ember shrugged. “Yes, I’m fully aware that dragons snore smoke, that isn’t something that managed to escape my notice. But I’m hardly looking to settle in for a century-long nap, so you ponies can relax.” While her words were hardly hostile, her tone suggested that pones had better relax about it.

Before Rainbow could object, Ember casually tossed out another little bombshell. “Yeah, sure, challengers are supposed to wait until I’m back in the Dragon Lands but if any more come back I’ll kick their tails too. Probably won’t cause anything worse than a few rockslides.”

Rainbow was drawn up short. “More challengers? How many are we talking about here?”

Ember made a face, but quickly tried to pretend like she hadn’t. She shrugged. “I’ve already had twenty, thirty since I became Dragon Lord last week. You know how it is,” she added, despite Rainbow clearly not. “When you become the new Dragon Lord, every overly ambitious dragon wants to test to see if it wasn’t a fluke that I got the Bloodstone Scepter. After the first three or four months, the number of challenges tends to drop significantly. Maybe sooner depending on how many bodies I drop in that time.” Ember walked back to her treasure pile, flicking her tail towards the exit. “You can go.”

Again, it didn’t sound like a suggestion.

Feeling like she’d more than tapped out her reservoir of luck for the day, Rainbow decided not to press her further right now. She was puzzled enough as it was. Something wasn’t adding up. If Ember was tough enough to beat the old Dragon Lord, a monstrous giant of a dragon from what Rainbow remembered, then how could a coward like Sludge think he ever stood a chance of beating her, regardless of how tired she was? But if she was vulnerable enough to be challenged, how many more dragons would show up in Equestria looking for her?

Either way, Rainbow realized she had to get a letter to Celestia, fast. She had to let her know she found out what was causing all the smoke–and that they had an even bigger problem.

But first, she had to swing by that cloud and grab her book and lunch. She had worked up one hay of an appetite!

Author's Note

Notes on the cover:

Background vector by RisingMoonDragon on DeviantArt.
Rainbow Dash vector by Remul-Lemlem on DeviantArt.
Ember vector by SketchMCreations on DeviantArt.

Chapter 2

It was already late afternoon by the time Rainbow Dash parted company from Dragon Lord Ember. After scarfing down her lunch and racing back to town, Rainbow dashed off a letter to Queen Celestia about her findings. By the time she was done with that it was already evening. The next step was delivering it to Canterlot right away. For that, she needed a certain purple nerd. Luckily, this was the perfect time for it.

She pounded on the library door. “Twilight, open up! It’s me, Rainbow!”

The solid wooden door did nothing to hinder the sheer amount of frustrated sarcasm that seeped through from the other side. “Yes Rainbow Dash, I know it’s you, you don’t have to tell me.” Somehow Rainbow could feel Twilight’s eyes burning into her from behind the closed door. “Not only do I know what your voice sounds like, you’re the only pony who knocks on my door like it did something to personally offend you. Plus it’s after library hours which means it’s time for my private studies, which everypony else knows and is able to remember except for you.”

Okay, so maybe this wasn’t the best time for it.

“Alright, alright, I get the picture,” Rainbow sighed. “Sorry, but it’s an emergency!”

Twilight hesitated. “An emergency as in you’re waiting for the newest Daring Do book to come in or an actual emergency?”

“That was an actual–” Rainbow cut herself off. “Just open the door before I fly in through the window and call it a night!”

“Okay, okay…” The door was suddenly gripped by shimmering purple magic and pulled open. “Come on in.”

Rainbow entered, looking for the unicorn in question. “Thanks Twilight.” She found Twilight sitting at her desk, staring intently at an unfurled scroll. “Celestia just sent it?”

“Maybe an hour ago,” Twilight confirmed as she looked up. Judging by the cups of coffee Rainbow saw scattered around, Twilight was going to be at this for a while. She wasn’t surprised. Once she’d gotten Celestia to start sending Twilight magical lessons through the mail, usually once or twice a month, Twilight naturally leaped at the opportunity. She was so grateful and so eager that Twilight would set aside the entire evening to work on them whenever one arrived. Rainbow couldn’t help but notice the contrast between her studying methods and Twilight’s.

Then again, Twilight got to study cool stuff like magic, rather than the lame, boring things Celestia kept tossing Rainbow’s way. Like diplomacy. She shook her head, getting back on track. Rainbow dug the letter out of her saddle bag and placed it on the table. “Can you spell-send this to Celestia?”

Twilight nodded. “Of course. I take it you found out what was causing the smoke the Queen asked you to investigate?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah, sure did. Turns out we got a dragon camped out in that mountain.” She took a second to let Twilight’s eyes widen at that before adding, “and not just any dragon! We’re talking the Dragon Lord, basically the Queen of all dragons.”

“Oh. Wow.” Twilight’s voice was shaky. “That’s–a lot to take in.”

“It was an afternoon,” Rainbow commented wryly. “Would’ve been here sooner but you know how I am about writing. It always takes more time than you think.”

Twilight shook her head, trying to refocus. “I’m surprised nopony saw her arrival.”

“It’s not like she’s one of those jumbo-sized dragons,” Rainbow explained, “which—yeah, was a bit of a surprise to me too. Her name’s Ember, and she’s not that much bigger than we are. I mean, I was able to keep her on her toes when we fought–” She bit her lip when she saw Twilight’s face. “That probably could’ve used some context, couldn’t it? And maybe more of a lead-in?”

“Did you just start a war with the Dragon Lands?!” Twilight whinnied with horror, leaping to all fours. “That isn’t–I can’t–we need to start fireproofing Ponyville! You start gathering up the foals, I’ll get all the library books and–”

“Whoa whoa whoa!” Rainbow shot up from the couch and flew in front of Twilight, trying to head off a panicked stampede through the middle of town. “It’s not like that! I mean, okay I did get into a fight with her but that actually kinda-sorta helped? It was a whole thing. I wrote it all up so Celestia can decide what to do now. But I promise, it’s fine. Ember’s not going to come burninate Ponyville or anything.”

Twilight’s eyes flickered over to the letter, as if she wanted to open the letter to read for herself–and probably proofread while she was at it. “I–okay. I believe you.” She exhaled and sank back into her seat, running a hoof through her mane. “What do you think the Queen’s response will be?”

“No idea. It’s probably gonna be out of my hooves anyway.”

“What makes you say that?”

Rainbow shrugged, heading over to a nearby couch and flopping back onto it. “I mean, this is the Dragon Lord and she’s in Equestria. That makes it a diplomatic something-or-other and that’s not really my thing.”

She thought that was an obvious enough answer on its own, but Twilight didn’t let it rest there. “Maybe, but you are Queen Celestia’s student, and she can’t be everywhere.”

“Twi, the first thing I did when I met her was buck her in the gut. Trust me, you could get anypony else here and they’d be a better fit for all this talky stuff than me.”

Twilight pursed her lips and blew an exhausted nicker. “I’m not so sure, but in any case I better send this now if it’s that important.” She turned and trotted back to the table, closing her eyes and concentrating as she cast the spell. Rainbow’s letter to the Queen began to glow and lift up into the air before dissolving in a swirl of magic that carried itself out the window and towards Canterlot.

Rainbow sat back, folding her hooves behind her head. There was no telling how long a response would take; sometimes Celestia wrote back right away, other times it took her a bit. No point in getting all worked up while waiting.

She closed her eyes and took a little nap.

In what felt like no time at all, Twilight was shaking her awake. “Rainbow! The Queen wrote back!” A scroll gripped in her magic floated above her while Twilight’s hooves danced up and down on the floor.

“Okay, okay, let me see it,” Rainbow reached out and grabbed it with one wing, pulling it open to read. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Twilight’s wide-eyed expression and look of unabashed eagerness. Rainbow suppressed the urge to smile as she made a show of looking over the contents. “Hmmm, let me see–oh that IS interesting. Very interesting. That’s certainly a unique approach to how to handle things…”

Twilight looked like a pot about to bubble over with excitement. Rainbow couldn’t resist pushing it a little further.

“...I mean, building a library for dragons? Huh, would not have called that. Do I know anyone who’d be interested in putting together a list of books for dragons? Ooof, not a clue. Hey Twilight do you WHOA!” Rainbow yelped as Twilight dove at her like she was delivering muffins to Derpy at the end of her shift.

Temporarily flattened into the sofa by an excitable purple nerd, Rainbow’s commentary heard only by the cushions as Twilight read the letter for herself. “Rainbow!” She felt as much as heard Twilight’s indignation, prompting her to snicker even as Twilight stood back to let her up. The wounded look she was giving her only made it even funnier. “That’s not funny!” she protested, despite all evidence to the contrary.

Rainbow stretched, dusting herself off. “Your fault for making it too easy.”

Huffing, Twilight held the letter out to her. “I just hope that isn’t an example of your best diplomatic behavior, Ms. Ambassador.”

“Heh, what’re you talking about?” Rainbow blinked before letting out a bark of laughter. “Oh, hey, nice recovery! Good effort at a payback prank, you almost had me for a second but you made it too obvious and ridiculous.”

Twilight looked at her as if she’d grown a second head. “But I’m not joking,” she stated. “Didn’t you read the letter?”

“Not exactly…”

Rainbow didn’t like the grimace Twilight made. “I think you’d better. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to look up some books about dragons. You’re going to need them.” She trotted over to the shelves and started searching.

“Nice try, but I’m not falling for it!” Rainbow called after her as she picked the letter back up to read for herself.

Rainbow Dash, My Dearest Student:

The encounter you described is most troubling. This is the first I’ve heard that Torch is no longer Dragon Lord. That his successor is currently taking up residence in Equestria and attracting dragons to challenge her is even more worrisome.

I am impressed at how you were able to establish a common ground with Ember and used that to get her to open up to you. Your approach was … shall we say direct, but nevertheless quite fruitful. Given the importance of the situation and the strides you’ve already made in establishing a rapport with the new Dragon Lord, I would like you to continue to manage this encounter as Equestria’s official ambassador.

I have every confidence in you and your abilities to rise to this challenge the way you do to all others.

Sincerely yours,
Queen Celestia

P.S.

Do tell Twilight that her homework doesn’t need to be completed the night I assign it. Staying up to all hours is a task best left to Luna. After all, you needn’t tell her this part, but even a queen needs her beauty sleep!

-Celestia

Rainbow looked at the letter and read it over twice before registering her reactions with the universe: “The BUCK?!”

“Language!” Twilight sing-songed from the shelves.

“Seriously? Celestia just assigned me to be Equestria’s ambassador to the Dragon Lord I got into a fight with and that’s what you’re worried about? Weren’t you panicking about me starting a war like five minutes ago?”

Twilight sighed. “Alright, so I might have overreacted a little…”

“‘Save the books! Save the foals! We’re all doomed!’” Rainbow flailed her limbs while affecting a, in her opinion, very accurate and hilarious impression of Twilight. “Won’t somepony think of my noooooootes?!”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Twilight huffed. “I was concerned, certainly, but if Queen Celestia thinks you’re the right pony to handle this then I think it’ll all work out.”

Grumbling to herself, Rainbow went over to Twilight’s desk. Grabbing a blank scroll and a quill, she began composing her completely measured response to Celestia’s letter.

Is your tiara on too tight or something?! What in Equestria could possibly make you think this is a good idea? You want an ambassador? Get someone capable of ambassadoring! The last time I heard an idea this bad it was when somepony thought Pinkie Pie could use some coffee. Is that what’s going on here with you? Switch to decaf and go to bed, you clearly need the sleep.

-RD

She rolled it up and tapped her hoof, waiting for Twilight to send it. Twilight sighed but whisked it to Canterlot. The response came less than a minute later this time.

Rainbow Dash,

I realize that I’m asking you to step out of your comfort zone by taking up this responsibility, but I would not have done so if I didn’t truly believe you were the best pony for the task at hoof.

At the end of the day, once you remove all the pomp and circumstance that you’re letting yourself react to, diplomacy is the art of forging connections and making friends. In that regard, there’s nopony I’d trust more to handle this than you.

Yours,
Celestia

Rainbow fired off another reply so quickly ink splatters dotted the page.

Looking over her shoulder, Twilight tried speaking up. “I think the Queen has a good point. Besides, won’t being direct and … not-fancy help you? She is a dragon, after all. It seems like you two have a lot in common.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that was the kind of thinking that had me go to a reception for the Prince of Yakistan. You wanna guess how well that went?”

Twilight winced. “Is that why there was that trade embargo about two years back?”

Since that really didn’t require an answer, Rainbow went back to her letter.

Yeah, diplomacy might be about making friends or whatever but it’s not just me and Ember, it’s me and the Lord of all Dragons. Plus, you might not have noticed, but there aren’t exactly a ton of dragons around Equestria. I don’t know what they like or don’t like, or what would offend them or any of that stuff! I’m all for trial and error when it comes to working out a new flight routine—not so much when I tick some creature off so much that an entire country ends up blaming you and Equestria for it.

Going off her exchange with Twilight, she couldn’t help adding:

How are relations with Yakistan nowadays?

-Rainbow Dash

She thought that pointed little reminder would make her case for her. But Celestia was as stubborn as she was, and had a lot more patience.

Rainbow,

I have not forgotten the reception. However, Prince Rutherford is not Dragon Lord Ember, nor are you quite the same pony that you were back then. You’ve had time to grow, reflect, and learn from your experiences with the yaks and can now use them to help you with the dragons—and this time you won’t have to worry about excess shedding or a lack of regard for your personal space.

Since you asked, the return of the Crystal City (nee Empire) and the vanquishing of Sombra has actually helped greatly improve relations with Yakistan. I understand you now have some minor celebrity status there (minor only inasmuch as yaks prefer to extoll yaks as celebrities) for your roll in those events, as well as for your ability to keep up with Prince Rutherford’s impromptu smashing contest when he was in Canterlot.

Even those experiences you consider failures have proven beneficial and I think it would be wise of you to look at this task in a similar light. We cannot always measure our successes from our own vantage point at the time, but need the input of others and the benefit of hindsight to gain their true measure.

If you remain concerned about a lack of familiarity with dragon history and culture—which I commend you for taking into consideration—I can send a specialist to Ponyville to assist you. I would also suggest enrolling whichever of your friends happen to be available. I know many of them are preoccupied with other things, but I hope you’d coordinate with Twilight at least. I will send her some books on dragons in advance of the specialist’s arrival for her to peruse.

I would not ask you to undertake this entirely on your own. You will always have the support of your friends and myself in all your endeavors. You are held up by more than your own two wings.

Forever yours,
Queen Celestia

Rainbow sighed. She knew that whenever Celestia started getting smultzy it was a sign that she wasn’t about to change her mind. Instead she settled for showing the letter to Twilight. “You in?”

“You have to ask?” Twilight smiled. “Of course I am! I know the others would be too, if Fluttershy and Rarity hadn’t gone to Manehattan for the week, and Applejack wasn’t in the middle of harvesting. And Pinkie Pie is…”

“So random,” Rainbow tossed in. “Also still sleeping off her sugar-and-caffeine rush. How long has it been so far?”

“About a day and a half, last time I checked,” Twilight shook her head. “Looks like it’s just the two of us then. Come on, we can get started on reading the books I have about dragons while we wait for the others to show up.”

Rainbow gritted her teeth and smiled. “Oh. Goody…”

“So, who do you think Celestia sent?” Rainbow Dash asked. It was two days later. Celestia had sent over the books as promised, prompting a very long and drawn-out study night that she still hadn’t recovered from. She and Twilight were currently waiting at the train station for the specialist to arrive from Canterlot.

“Somepony who has experience with dragons, I would think,” Twilight answered, thinking it over. “Fancy Pants?”

Rainbow shrugged. “The guy’s been around, according to the stories, but I don’t really see him hoofwrestling Ember into respecting him.”

“Not everypony makes friends by attacking them first,” Twilight wryly pointed out. “Though I guess given how thick your head is, you are uniquely qualified to get knocked around as a first impression.”

Rainbow gently whapped Twilight with a wing, taking the opportunity to muss up her mane. “I dunno, yours seems pretty sturdy. It must be all that reading you do.”

From underneath her half-ruined hair, Twilight glared at Rainbow, making her snicker. The train whistle blew, announcing the upcoming arrival of the express train from Canterlot. As Twilight frantically tried fixing her mane, Rainbow tried to get a better look at the luxury car. Whoever Celestia had sent would be riding in there, but she couldn’t spot anypony through the windows.

The car in question pulled up to a halt right in front of Rainbow and Twilight. There was a final whuff as the train stopped and the doors opened.

Standing there wasn’t anypony Rainbow or Twilight had expected. In fact, it wasn’t a pony at all.

A small, stubby-looking dragon with purple scales and green head spines waved to them. “Hi there! I’m Spike!”

Chapter 3

“Hi there! I’m Spike!”

The words echoed in Rainbow Dash’s mind for a moment, seeking proper context. She remembered seeing the little dragon scampering around at Queen Celestia’s school, delivering missives, fetching papers, and doing other little odd jobs around campus.

But there was something else she was trying to remember...

She looked to Twilight and was taken aback by the stunned look on her face before it clicked. Oh, there it is.

When she did her first sonic rainboom, the aftereffect had triggered Twilight’s magic right as she was in the middle of her entrance exam to get into Celestia’s school. Her test had been to hatch a dragon egg.

This dragon’s egg.

No wonder she looked like a thunderhead had just rolled in. For a long time, Twilight had seen her entrance test as a shameful moment where she lost control, something she never wanted to do again. She’d been trying to reevaluate how she looked at it, but coming face to face with the dragon she hatched, without warning?

Yeah, this wasn’t awkward at all.

Rainbow coughed. “So, ah, welcome to Ponyville! I’m Rainbow Dash—Celestia must’ve told you all about me, am I right?”

“Sure did!” Spike beamed. “Not that she needed to, I remember you from Canterlot! I loved watching you fly around, doing all those cool tricks.” He held his claws up, making vroom and zoom noises as he moved them around in the air. “I can’t wait for my own wings to come in!”

“Heh, always great to meet a fan.” Rainbow drew herself up and smirked, tossing her hair back. She knew it was a fan-pleaser–and gave her a way to check up on Twilight, who still looked poleaxed. She nudged her with a wing, murmuring. “Twi, you okay?”

Twilight jolted straight up, her legs flailing before she landed back down on the station platform. “I’m FINE!” Her volume shifted mid-sentence, one eye noticeable twitching and her smile a terrifying rictus approximation of an actual one.

Rainbow rated this about a 8.5 on the Awkwardometer.

Spike looked over at Twilight as if noticing her for the first time. “Oh. Hi Twilight!” He waved. “Funny running into you here, right? All the way out here in Ponyville.”

“Yep! All the way out here! Hahahaha!” Twilight’s staccato laughter sounded so unnatural Pinkie Pie would’ve keeled over had she been present. “It’s not like I was trying to get away from Canterlot or anything! Certainly wasn’t that!”

“Oh … good?” Spike tilted his head. “It’s great to see you, maybe we can catch up while we’re working together on this Dragon Lord stuff?”

Rainbow looked down at Spike. “Uh, I have to ask. Have you been to the Dragon Lands since–” her eyes flickered, spotting Twilight suddenly tensing “–you were hatched?”

“Well, no, there aren’t a lot of trains between Equestria and the Dragon Lands, you know? And I can’t exactly fly out there since…” He rolled his shoulders, emphasizing his lack of wings. “But I read everything ponies have ever written about dragons and Queen Celestia told me everything she knew about Dragon Lord Torch!”

“But he’s not in charge anymore,” Rainbow pointed out. “Ember is.”

“Yeah, well, I’m sure I can play catch-up fast enough.”

She didn’t have any better ideas so she settled for shrugging and letting it go. He was the expert here and she had other things to worry about.

And on both those notes, she looked over at Twilight, her face seemingly paralyzed in her nightmare smile. “Uh, you mind giving us a minute, Spike?” Rainbow barely waited for his answer before grabbing Twilight by the tail and pulling her off the platform.

Once she judged they were a far enough distance, she let go and looked Twilight in the face. “You okay?” She held up a hoof, answering her own question before Twilight could. “Scratch that, let me rephrase: you’re not okay.”

“You think?” Twilight demanded with a searing sarcasm that could’ve scraped paint off walls. “Of course I’m not!” She started pacing in place, her tail flicking anxiously. “I mean, it’s not that I was trying to avoid Spike, it’s more that I was trying to … do things that would cause me to not have to see him.” She stopped, covering her face with a hoof. “Yes, you don’t need to say anything, I heard it.”

Rainbow wasn’t sure if she’d be even capable of getting a word in edgewise. When Twilight got frantic it was hard to cut through. “So, uh, wanna talk about it? I mean, I know you hatched his egg for your entrance test and all, but that’s about it.”

Twilight sighed, planting her haunches on the ground. “Okay.” She waited for Rainbow to join her before going on, or perhaps just marshaling her resolve. “I guess I should start at the beginning.”

“Makes sense, but try not to go so far back that we’re in the pre-Celestia era.” Rainbow was joking but Twilight shuffled about.

“Not that far, but pretty far,” Twilight admitted as Rainbow’s face fell. “A long time ago, we’re talking centuries here, ponies knew very little about dragons and the only interactions with them tended to be … violent.”

“The more things change,” Rainbow rued as she rubbed a hoof over her eye where Ember had cut her.

“Well, anyway, back then ponies thought dragons were basically animals, little different than the kind Fluttershy would look after. So it wasn’t–” Twilight shifted, looking very uncomfortable. “It wasn’t seen as wrong when pony explorers and scientists would sneak into the Dragon Lands to try to learn more about them. Watch them, record their habits, take samples of dragon scales, claws, teeth, and…”

“Eggs.” Rainbow felt numb as the realization sank in. “They took dragon eggs, didn’t they?”

Twilight nodded but felt obliged to remind her, “This was centuries ago. As soon as ponies realized dragons were intelligent, sapient creatures, that sort of thing was banned immediately.”

“So what about Spike’s egg?”

From the look on Twilight’s face, Rainbow could tell this wasn’t going to be fun. “Queen Celestia ordered all the eggs be returned to the Dragon Lands and it appears that they were … for the most part. From what we could piece together later, the pony who took Spike’s passed away before he could. All his possessions had been locked away in a chest and none of his descendants took the time to go through it. It got shoved into an attic and … left there.”

Rainbow rubbed her face. “So his egg was just stuck in somepony’s attic for, what, years? Decades?” At Twilight’s reluctant nod, she buried her face in her hooves. “I can’t even … gah that really stinks, Twi.”

“I know,” Twilight huffed. “At some point the family finally decided to clean out their attic and had an appraiser come by to see if any of the old trinkets or artifacts there were worth anything. They found the egg and contacted Queen Celestia’s School, which took possession of it.”

“But, why not give it back?”

Here Twilight hunched her shoulders, looking even more upset. “Because from what we know about dragon eggs–they have to be hatched in a warm nesting area within a certain amount of time of being laid. Otherwise they won’t ever hatch. And Spike’s egg had been taken so long ago…”

She trailed off, but Rainbow had gotten the picture. She grimaced.

Reluctantly, Twilight went on. “After that, the School held onto it. I guess they thought it’d be easier than explaining to the dragons that not all the eggs had been returned; no sense reopening old wounds and all. It’s not like even if they gave it back that the egg could be hatched anyway.” She sighed. “Since dragons are naturally magic-resistant, even their eggs, the School decided to make it part of the entrance exam. Magic has so little lasting effect on dragons so the test was to see what the students would think of trying, or how long whatever impact their magic did have would last.”

In spite of everything, Rainbow felt the corner of her mouth twitch upwards. “Then you came along and did the impossible by actually hatching Spike’s egg. Heh, you went and beat what was supposed to be a no-win scenario.”

Twilight blushed. “Well, technically yes. But the School didn’t know what to do with him after he hatched. They went to Queen Celestia and she asked the Dragon Lord–er, the last one they had, not Ember.”

“Yeah, I remember.” Rainbow shook out her wings in recollection. “I saw him once when Celestia had to meet with him about something. The guy was bigger than a feathering house! I still can’t see how Ember could overthrow him–or why any dragon would want to try her luck with her if she could do that.”

Twilight merely shrugged and returned to her point. “I don’t know what happened exactly, but I take it the dragons didn’t exactly demand Spike’s return. I guess since he was hatched such a long time ago that no one knew who his parents were or if they even—you know,” she coughed. “I heard later that they tried to get my parents to take him in, called it my responsibility since I hatched him, but–”

“Okay, seriously?” Rainbow cut in, her feathers ruffling. “What is wrong with the EEA?”

“Do you want the short list or the long?” Twilight snorted. Apparently the topic was one that could bring Twilight Snarkle to the fore. “You don’t have to tell me that the Equestrian Education Association has made some pretty poor decisions.”

Rainbow dug in her hooves. “Yeah, I know but–still, come on! First they use the egg of an intelligent creature as a high-pressure, impossible test for foals, then when one actually hatches it, they try dumping the responsibility of raising him on you and your family? What the hay, I mean, what the actual hay?!”

“Calm down, Rainbow.” Twilight nudged her. “I appreciate the defense, but in this case it isn’t really needed. Yes, some ponies in the EEA and the School wanted to wash their hooves of the matter by giving Spike to my family–but most seemed to think that if they thought my magic was too dangerous for me to attend school in-pony, then they couldn’t very well sign off on putting a baby in my house.”

“Great,” Rainbow snorted derisively. “They didn’t double down on dumb decisions because the second dumb decision would’ve interfered with the first dumb decision they had already made about you. Woohoo. My heroes.”

Twilight patted her withers. “If Applejack were here she’d tell you to ‘simmer-down sally’–whatever a sally is,” she mused as an aside. “At that point the school didn’t really know what to do, so the Queen stepped in. She made Spike a ward of the crown, having him be raised by servants and staff at the castle and school.” She withdrew her hoof and looked away briefly. “I–they organized a few times for the two of us to interact but I could never … I mean, it was just too–” she looked up, practically begging for Rainbow to understand.

“It’s okay.” Rainbow draped her wing across Twilight’s back. “I get it.”

She felt as much as she saw Twilight’s hindlegs practically give out on her, sitting down heavily on the ground. “He probably hates me. Or–or thinks I hate him.”

Rainbow’s eyebrow went half way up her head at that remark. “Um, we were talking to the same dragon back there? Because I got none of that from him.”

“Maybe.” Twilight sighed heavily.

“Look, if this is too weird for you, I get it. You don’t have to–”

Twilight pursed her lips and gave her a skeptical nicker. “Really? I’m the only pony here who knows Spike–and I’m the only one who’s done any real research into dragons, unless you’ve finally started taking my advice and checked out every book on dragons from the library last night without telling me–”

“Yeah, sorry, I already hit my weekly limit of confronting a dangerous beast in its lair and disturbing its hoard, thanks,” Rainbow snorted. “Okay, point made. But if it ever gets to be too much, let me know, alright?”

“Thank you.” Twilight put on a brave face. “But I can manage it. Um, maybe you and Spike should try visiting Ember first, try to gather anything you can about why she’s here?”

Rainbow nodded. “Sounds good to me, we can meet back up for lunch. I’ll go heading back up a mountain to confront a cranky dragon in her lair while you … go back to your home in the library.” She paused. “You know, nopony ever told stories about the adventure of researching. Hi ho, Twilight! Read, read like the wind!”

“I’ll somehow have to live without featuring in any epic tales,” Twilight demurred. “I’d tell you to have fun, but you probably would.”

“Heh, I appreciate the vote of confidence, Twi, but even a pony as awesome as I am can’t make diplomacy interesting.” She stuck out her tongue.

After Twilight left to continue her studies, Rainbow Dash flew back to collect Spike from the train station. As she flew him up to the mountain, she recounted her previous meeting with Ember, and Spike had been already briefed by Celestia before arriving. Then she casually worked into the conversation, “So, how do you feel about taking point on this?”

“Me?” Spike sounded surprised, nervous, and excited all at once. “I thought I was going to just be there to help you out. I mean, you’re Rainbow Dash! And I’m—well, they always have me helping ponies out in Canterlot. I don’t really do all that much on my own.”

That didn’t sound great to her. “Come on, who here knows dragons better than you?” Rainbow replied. “Yeah, I’m me and all—but you’re you! You’ve been around Celestia’s castle and school all the time, right? You’ve seen how ponies react when they get fancy visitors or whatever. Don’t you think you’re ready to strike out and be the one to do things? Nopony would think of you as just a helper if you pulled this off!”

She could practically hear him grinning. “Yeah, you’re right! Leave it to me, I’ll handle everything!”

“Awesome! Anything else you want to know?” She called over the sound of the racing wind as they approached.

“I think I should be good!” Spike shouted back. “I consulted all the Canterlot archives and spoke with Celestia herself about all her previous meetings with Dragon Lords. I know exactly what to do!”

That sounded good to Rainbow. Let the professional handle this–and she was willing to designate anypony–or dragon–besides her as a professional if it meant she didn’t have to play diplomat. It reminded her too much of her attempts to act nice to the stuck-up brats of Canterlot and never react to them being utter plots. No thanks.

“Dragon Lord Ember?” Rainbow shouted into the cave when they arrived. “I’ve got somepo–someone to meet with you! It’s important!”

Rainbow had never heard a sigh and growl combined until just then. “Fine,” came the sound of a very sulky Dragon Lord. “But this better be important or else there’s going to be a contagious case of catching fire in the near future!”

Spike and Rainbow traded looks. “You first?” he asked hopefully, shooting her a too-wide smile to be authentic. “She already knows you!”

“Lucky me.” Rainbow straightened her shoulders. “Just wait until I call you, then you can do your …ambassadoring, or whatever.”

He nodded. “Right, got it.” He briefly hesitated then tentatively asked, “Any advice?”

“Yeah, try not to give away Canterlot.” With that, Rainbow trotted in. The cave was a little different from her last visit. There were some fallen stalactites littering the ground in pieces and there were burn marks on the wall. Either Ember had fended off some more challengers or she was the worst redecorator ever. “Hey Ember? So, I brought someone for you to meet.”

From underneath her treasure pile, Rainbow heard, “You said that already. If it’s some super-friendly pony friend of yours, that’s going to turn into ‘someone for you to eat.’”

Charming. Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Actually, he’s a dragon.”

“Oh good, ‘someone for you to beat,’ then. Eh, might as well get started.” Ember’s wings emerged from the pile first, the rest of her soon following suit. “I could use the extra exercise.”

“No no!” Rainbow held up her hooves and waved them about. “He is definitely, absolutely, 100% not here to challenge you! His name is Spike and he’s not from the Dragon Lands!”

Ember looked at her as if she’d announced that her muzzle was made of fish and her mane smelled of music. “...What?”

Rainbow half-turned and waved Spike in. “Dragon Lord Ember, meet Spike. Queen Celestia sent him as her envoy.” Not technically true, but details.

“What does that mean?” Ember demanded.

Good question, Rainbow wasn’t totally sure of that herself.

Luckily, Spike chose to step in. Unluckily, his first actions were … not encouraging. “Hel-LO!” His voice audibly cracked mid-word. He cleared his throat. “I mean, I bring you greetings from the Sun-mover, Queen of all Fire!” He then made a big show of sniffing the cave. “Your scent is strong and your fire is clean. May your egg-clutch be large!”

Ember blinked owlishly at him. One eye began twitching and her face started turning red.

Rainbow Dash wanted to sit down so she could facehoof. With all four of her hooves.

Spike seemed to realize his practiced bit wasn’t going over as well as he’d hoped. “Um, what I mean is–” he coughed, rubbing his neck. “Queen Celestia hopes for as close and fruitful a relationship as she enjoyed with your vanquished predecessor, Dragon Lord Torch, may his bones adorn your throne–”

“Torch isn’t dead.” Ember cut in curtly.

That brought both Rainbow and Spike up short. It was Spike who asked the million bit question first. “Uh, he’s not?” He made a face Rainbow recognized enough times from Twilight to put a name to: critical research failure. “Sorry, aheh, I guess when you saw how easily you beat him you thought it wasn’t worth the trouble, good for you! I bet the old lizard just slunk away like–”

“He’s also my dad.” Ember folded her arms over her chest.

“--the proudest father any dragon ever had!” Spike finished with barely a hitch.

Ember snorted. “Enough tail-kissing, why are you here?”

Spike coughed, shooting a pleading look towards Rainbow Dash. All she could do was shrug, she wasn’t the diplomat here. With a barely suppressed sigh, Spike looked back to Ember. “Queen Celestia wanted to give you her greetings and–and hopes for a close, fruitful–”

“You said that already. Get to the point!” Ember bared her teeth.

“W-well,” Spike swallowed. “It’s just that you’re the Dragon Lord a-and you’re here. In Equestria. Ah heh, I mean, you know this is Equestria, obviously but when the new Dragon Lord stops by unannounced it kinda sends some, y’know, signals.”

Looking over, Rainbow saw Ember put her balled hands on her hips, an indignant look on her face. “Are you accusing me of sneaking around, trying to send some sort of underhanded message instead of coming right out and saying what I want?”

“N-no no, not at all!” Spike waved his claws frantically. “We totally know that dragons are as blunt and unsubtle as you can get!”

“So now I’m not subtle?!”

Reacting instinctively to seeing a wingmate crashing and burning, Rainbow leapt in. “Look, you’re hanging out in our place and bringing your challenges here with you. We aren’t looking to get involved in your business, but right now your business is all over the place like a fast food chain nopony asked for.”

Now Ember was scowling at her. “Whatever. I’ll be staying here until I’m good and ready to leave. The only challengers slinking my way are small fries too dumb or too weak to be worth getting upset about. You don’t have to worry about any full-sized dragons swooping down on your weak little pony towns, so you can officially take a hike.”

“Hey, you can’t just–” Rainbow stepped back only to feel Spike tugging on her tail. He was frantically shaking his head and gesturing to his throat with one claw. She was starting to get the hint. “Fine. But don’t get comfy. We’ll be back.”

“Joy.” Ember deadpanned as she crawled back into her treasure pile. “Don’t let the stalactites fall and impale you on the way out.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head and turned, barely noticing the dejected look on Spike’s face. Apparently no one was thrilled with how that meeting went. She hated feeling like a loser.

This is why Celestia really should’ve gotten off her plot and come down here herself, she thought in an uncharitable moment of frustration. Instead she dumped this on me and a baby dragon? What was she thinking? She could well imagine what, actually. ‘But Rainbow Dash, this is an opportunity for your personal growth!’ Yeah, I’m sure when half of Equestria is on fire thanks to dragons looking to challenge Ember they’ll be glad to know I got to flex my little-used diplomatic muscle. I’m sure THAT will make it all worthwhile for them.

Shaking her head, she started down the mountain. Time for challenge number two: getting Twilight comfortable around Spike. That’s gotta be easier, right?

Chapter 4

After that disaster of a meeting, Rainbow was actually looking forward to chaperoning Twilight’s planned lunch with Spike. She didn’t mind being a buffer for Twilight if it helped her feel better. Plus she was paying for lunch, so win-win.

They met at the outdoor cafe. Rainbow always wondered why (and how) their tables and seats were giant mushrooms, but she felt like she didn’t want to learn the answer while waiting on food. Twilight was waiting for them, probably armed with a set of note cards more extensive than the library’s entire card catalog. Still, if she did she at least had the good sense to put them out of sight.

Rainbow waved to her as they approached. “Hey Twi! You order yet?”

Twilight looked over, waving back a little too energetically and smiling a bit too widely for it to be natural. “No, I only just got here.”

That sounded like a whopping lie that would’ve knocked Applejack’s hat off. Like Twilight hadn’t come thirty minutes early to examine the café to choose the most optimal table or whatever… But she wasn’t going to call her out on it. “Cool. We got back from talking to Ember and we sure built up an appetite.”

“How did it go?”

“We aren’t on fire right now,” Rainbow answered judiciously, wanting to leave it at that. She looked at Spike as he clambered onto his seat opposite to Twilight with Rainbow in the middle. She’d gotten used to being in that place today.

“Yeah, it could’ve gone better.” Spike looked at the menu briefly. “Aww, why is it that no place serves food encrusted with gems?”

“Because most ponies can’t eat gems and you’re the…” Twilight winced and fell silent.

Spike shrugged. “The only dragon in Equestria? Yeah, I know. Doesn’t mean I can’t dream, can I?” He played it off like a joke, but Twilight’s laughter was brittle.

“So, what was it like for you in Canterlot?” Rainbow asked, trying to give Twilight time to recover.

Spike drummed his claws against the table. “It was pretty interesting, I think. I was a bit of a minor celebrity, the dragon who worked at the castle and Queen Celestia’s School. I mean, I wasn’t famous-famous or anything, but ponies knew who I was!” He paused. “I mean, except when ponies from out of town came in and saw me. Sometimes one of them would scream or run the other way. One time I got sprayed with a fire extinguisher.”

Twilight sank lower in her seat. Rainbow grimaced.

Spike must’ve noticed, since he quickly waved his claw dismissively. “It wasn’t a big deal. Sure my feelings sometimes got hurt, or ponies would make assumptions that I’d like things just because ponies do, or do the opposite and not take my needs as a dragon into account–”

Twilight sank lower and lower, her spine having apparently liquified at some point in the last few minutes. Rainbow gestured to Spike, rolling her hoof and urging him to get to the point.

“--but I loved Canterlot! It’s so big and pretty and I had friends there.”

“Really?” Twilight sat up, looking a bit relieved. “That’s wonderful! I wasn’t sure that you even–I mean, I had every confidence that you’d be able to make friends, I just–” she coughed and looked down for a brief moment before looking back up and trying again. “You’re very strong and resilient.”

“Yeah!” Spike nodded. “Have you ever been to Donut Joe’s? I’m practically an icon there!”

“You too?” Rainbow grinned. “I loved going there. Did you ever try his jelly challenge of eating twelve jelly donuts each with a different jelly in under an hour?”

Spike snorted. “Only four times! But some of those jellies are just impossible! Grape jelly and mustard flavor? That’s cheating!”

Twilight shuddered, barely repressing a gag reflex.

“I know right?’ Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Still, for free donuts for a year…”

“Living the dream,” Spike sighed wistfully. “You ever heard of the Tasty Treat? This awesome little restaurant run by some nice ponies from Hayderabay?”

“Uh, duh! It’s the only place to get decent Manipuri food after Zesty Gourmond apparently declared war on good taste.” Rainbow looked to Twilight to see if she’d offer her own two bits. But Twilight seemed content to let the two of them talk about the best food places in Canterlot.

The conversation soon turned to other matters that drew Rainbow’s attention: herself. “That prank was legendary!” Spike kicked his feet under the table. “Students were talking about it for weeks! Nopony could figure out how you made that collage out of Blueblood’s silverware that spelled out ‘Bluebutt!’”

Rainbow shrugged but was grinning wickedly. “What can I say? I have an artistic streak that sometimes comes out. I’m still more proud of how I magnetized an entire platoon’s armor so they kept sticking together. That took a lot of practice and just the right application of lightning—not that Shining Armor really appreciated it, right Twilight?”

Twilight gave a little jolt and Rainbow realized she hadn’t said anything for nearly ten minutes. She frowned, realizing that Twilight was trying to step back and let her carry most of the conversation. Clearing her throat, she decided to switch topics. “Speaking of the school, I saw you carry books around a lot. Was that your thing, Spike?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah!” He pounded a claw against his chest. “I worked in the school library, brought textbooks and things to classes, and generally helped out wherever I could.”

Rainbow nodded. “Cool, cool. Twilight here actually lives in the Golden Oak Library. We ought to get the two of you together to trade notes and see who’s the biggest bookworm of all.” She thought about some more, then nickered. “Heh, bookwyrm.” She was met by two blank faces. “Come on, it’s funny because … ah forget it.” She crossed her hooves in a sulk. If they could see it spelled out instead of being spoken they totally would’ve gotten it.

Despite the utter lack of appreciation for her finely honed wit–that was her story and she was sticking with it–her ploy succeeded. Spike looked over to Twilight and was now talking to her directly. “A library, huh? Sounds like a dream job for you.”

“Um,” Twilight’s eyes flashed downwards quickly. “Yes, I’m very happy with where I am now.”

“I bet it’s not as big as the one in Canterlot though. Oh! Do you have Grand Poobah's Great Publication of Practical Pony Potions and Phylacteries?”

Twilight’s eyes briefly lit up. “I put in a pre-order for that months ago! It just came last week!”

“Nice!” Spike’s eyes widened. “I know the library at the School of Magic is still waiting on theirs. Jealous!”

Shyly tracing a hoof on the table, Twilight ducked her head. “Well, I could always loan it to them. I already read it and it isn’t exactly a title that’s in high demand out here in Ponyville.”

“How about you set up an interlibrary loan arrangement with them? That way ponies in Ponyville could request books from Canterlot that you don’t have here and Canterlot can do the same for any books from Ponyville they don’t have.” Spike beamed, smacking his claws together. “Everypony wins!”

“That’d be a wonderful idea!” Twilight exclaimed. “Do you think the librarian in Canterlot will agree to it? It’s hard to imagine there are all that many books that Canterlot doesn’t get first. Also,” slight warble entered her tone. “I, um, might have gotten a book or two a little dinged up in my time when I was being home-schooled. I hope she didn’t get in trouble on my account.”

Spike shrugged, waving it off. “Come on, no librarian is gonna get fired or hold a grudge because a book gets lost or damaged. That’s just crazy. And anyway, I think you’d be surprised. There’s lots of small publishers whose stuff ends up in local libraries before making their way to Canterlot. I’m sure they’d be glad to set something up with you.”

Rainbow somehow felt more lost during this discussion than she had during the duel between Ember and Sludge. But hey, at least Twilight was finally smiling. Real smiling, not fake smiling. Progress!

They kept talking about book stuff until their waiter came to take their orders and drop off water. The interruption caused a brief lull in conversation. Rainbow was hoping Twilight could fill it on her own, but as the silence began to drag out she leaped in to keep it from becoming awkward. “Sooooo, Spike, you’ve met Twilight’s family, right?”

“Of course!” Spike nodded. “Shining Armor’s really cool. He used to let me see his comic collection when I came over for visits. We had some guy time. You know just, uh, the two of us…”

Twilight fidgeted in her seat.

Smooth, Rainbow. She rubbed her face. “Yeah, Shiny’s pretty cool. But hey, so’s Twilight! You hear about everything that happened when Nightmare Moon returned?”

Spike scoffed. “Duh! But Twilight’s mom made sure to tell me all about it when I stopped by. They always make me a treat on my birthday.”

Which also happened to be the anniversary of Twilight’s entrance exam, Rainbow rued. Yeah, no wonder Twilight would be a no-show at those. “That’s really great. Maybe the two of you could do something on your own while you’re here.” Her eyes flickered over to Twilight, hoping she’d take the hint. If she was any less subtle she’d have to start cloud writing in the sky over Spike’s head.

“I’d be up for that, once the negotiations with Dragon Lord Ember are settled.” Spike’s eye twitched in a way that reminded Rainbow far too much of Twilight. “I’m … sure that’ll all work itself out.”

Rainbow forced herself to grin. “Why don’t I come with you next time too? I mean, Celestia’s always on me to learn more diplomatic stuff anyway. Might as well take notes from an expert, right?”

She was worried she’d laid it on a bit thick there, but on the other hoof, Spike could use a bit of building up. That was probably the way to go, judging by how he straightened himself up and smiled up at her. “Yeah, no problem! Hey, what do you think about–”

Rainbow was starting to worry she’d monopolize the entire conversation. It’d been known to happen, she was a big deal after all. Still, the point was to get Twilight comfortable with talking and she didn’t want to cut her out. “That’s a great question. What do you think, Twilight?”

Twilight gave a sudden jolt, as if she only just remembered she was still here and supposed to be in this discussion. “Oh, well it’s actually–what was the question?”

Good question. Rainbow looked to Spike.

“I was going to ask if I could get some flying pointers?” Spike asked. “You know, for when I get my wings?”

“Oh.” Rainbow coughed. “Right.”

Spike rubbed his neck. “If Twilight has any ideas, I mean, she doesn’t have wings or anything but I bet she’s read something really interesting about dragon flight, if I know her. Which, I mean, I kinda do…”

“Well, it’s not like we ever sat and had a long conversation!” Twilight blurted out. “Not because I was trying to avoid that or anything, but how well somepony, er, someone says they can know another pony probably does depend on actually talking to them at one point or other like we’re doing right now but–” She paused, eyes shifting around suddenly. “I need to use the little fillies’ room!” With that, her horn twinkled and she vanished in a burst of magic.

Spike sighed and drummed his claws, looking idly at the clock on town hall. “Fifteen minutes. She beat her old time by five minutes.”

“Say what now?”

“Whenever Twilight wants to get out of talking to me or anyone else, she shouts that she needs to use the bathroom and teleports away. She doesn’t come back after that. But hey, she lasted longer than she usually did. Progress?”

Spike offered an awkward smile, one Rainbow just as awkwardly returned. “Er, right. Progress…” She slumped back in her seat right as the waiter came with their order. And the check–that Twilight was supposed to pay.

Rainbow facedhooved. It was shaping up to be one of those days…

After taking her time to eat her meal (she paid for it, she was darn well going to enjoy it), Rainbow set about tracking down Twilight. She readied herself to search high and low to think about all the places Twilight might have sequestered herself in–then decided ‘Screw that’ and checked out the library first.

Sure enough, that’s where she was. Who said the direct approach wasn’t the best one?

She thought about knocking, but as the old saying goes, when life closes a door, it leaves a window open so pegasi can fly through to check up on their friends.

Or something like that.

Entering through the window, she found Twilight laying face down on her own bed. She winced, knowing that was never a good sign. She landed next to the bed, letting her hooves hit the floor with just enough noise to let her know she was here. “Um … hey.”

“Hmm whh.” It was a good thing Rainbow was fluent in pillow talk–and an even better thing Cloud Kicker couldn’t hear that thought and make the obvious comment.

Shoving that awkwardness aside, she sat down on the corner of the bed. “The service there wasn’t half bad. If only the food was half good, know what I’m saying?”

There was a long silence. Rainbow had the unsettling sensation of someone glaring daggers at her while face down in a pillow. That took skill.

“At least the company was good!” Rainbow valiantly held her smile in place. “I mean, compared to some of the spoiled brats I knew from my Canterlot days? You and Spike weren’t the worst conversationalists I’ve had to deal with.”

Twilight mumbled something that Rainbow translated as being in the spirit of ‘Go feather yourself.’

Somepony was sure in a mood. Okay, so it looked like time to cut to the chase. “Look, I get that he’s a reminder of a bad day–”

Twilight abruptly sat up and pinned Rainbow in place with a look. “That’s not it at all!” she exclaimed, stamping her hoof on the bed. “You don’t get it!”

Rainbow felt her own patience fraying. “Then pretend we’re in class and explain it to me!” She flapped her wings in irritation. This wasn’t tornado duty, so she hated flying around in circles.

Twilight let out a martyred groan but pulled herself together with a deep breath. “Okay, listen: that day, at my entrance exam? I lost control of my magic. Except when it was over and the effects of my magic were reversed, I didn’t get control of my life back. Suddenly I’m ‘too dangerous’ to attend school myself and have to be taught at home. But it doesn’t even end there!” She swished her tail, hugging a pillow to herself. “I know my family was just trying to help and retreating into my studying wasn’t healthy. I know that now.”

“I’m hearing a ‘but’ coming, so you might as well pretend one of Pinkie’s songs started up and shake it out.”

“However,” Twilight said, likely just to spite her, “between Shining Armor pushing for me to go out and meet ponies like you and my parents wanting to do right by Spike…” She sighed. “I-I felt like I wasn’t being given any choice in who I interacted with or how. It seemed like I didn’t have control over anything. Not just my magic, but my whole life. Everything was being decided for me: by the school, by Shining Armor, by my parents … I just–I just wanted to have something I could decide for myself. I know it sounds petty and awful, but choosing not to meet with Spike? It felt like the only thing I had a choice about and I didn’t want to give that up. Now I feel bad about it, but at the same time…”

Rainbow picked up what Twilight left unsaid. “It’d be like giving up the one thing you decided for yourself in that whole messed up time of your life. I can get that. Sometimes when Canterlot got to be too much or I didn’t feel like I had enough of a say in what was going on with me, I’d blow off lessons and do my own thing: prank the guards, check out a Wonderbolt show, take a cloud nap—whatever made me feel like I was the one in charge of things.”

Twilight looked up at her gratefully. “Yes, that’s it exactly! I know that isn’t the case anymore and I don’t want to be mean.” She winced. “But I spent so long trying to keep him at hooves’ distance that now it feels really awkward trying to act like that didn’t happen.

“So why do it?” Rainbow asked. “If it’s gonna feel weird because you’re not addressing it, why not just do it and get it over with?”

“How am I supposed to do that and not make it worse?!” Twilight demanded. “How do you think that will go? ‘Sorry we didn’t have lunch sooner Spike, but the day I accidentally hatched you was traumatic for me and you’re a constant reminder of that so I could never look at you without thinking about the power I had inside me and the potential I had for hurting ponies. My bad, oh and could you pass the croutons?’”

“Well…” Rainbow said after a long, strained silence. “You don’t have to get croutons?”

The sound of grinding teeth was not a promising reply. Better try again. “I mean, you don’t have to blurt out everything you’ve ever felt, no need to pull an Applejack here. But you can explain that it was a hard time for you and not that you hated him or anything. There’s got to be something in between ‘Stomping all over his feelings’ and ‘Keep avoiding him forever while also stomping on his feelings,’ you know?”

Twilight hugged her pillow to her a little tighter. “I know that, it’s just … finding a way to do it that’s hard.”

“If it helps … I can be there with you, whenever you’re ready for that chat. Maybe that’d make it easier? I hope it does, anyway.”

“I-I appreciate that Rainbow, I really do. But you saw what just happened.” Twilight sighed. “I’d either hide behind you and avoid addressing it or panic and run. It’s not like I planned to do that I … I just can’t. My brain simply shuts down at the thought of it.”

Rainbow Dash struggled with what to say. “Maybe you should chill for a little bit. If you can’t think about doing it now, then don’t. Take a while to relax, regroup, and we’ll see how you feel later. Sound good?”

Twilight nodded. “I guess so. And thanks, Rainbow. For everything.”

“Heh, it was nothing,” Rainbow said breezily while feeling like that was all she had accomplished so far: nothing.