“Hah! Five skips!” Smolder crowed. Ripples slowly spread from where her stone had skimmed across the water, the only disturbance to the placid lake surface near the pebble-strewn stretch of beach she’d led them to earlier.
She turned to face Yona and the others, claws on hips. “It’s way easier on water than on lava! Who’s next?”
Yona eyed the lake, the beach, and her hooves dubiously. “Yona not think yak good at this game. Yaks only make pebbles bounce with stomping.”
“Maybe if I transform into a stone?” Ocellus suggested. “With wings! I don’t have a lot of practice going that small, but I think it’d work–”
“That would be so awesome!” Silverstream clapped her claws together. “Do it, do it!”
“Hey girls, how’s it going?” Sandbar slid down the small hill above their gathering place. “Skipping stones? Rad, can I try? I haven’t done that in ages.”
“Ugh,” Smolder said.
Sandbar blinked. “Oh, am I crashing a girls-only party? Sorry, I can –”
“No, it’s fine. It’s just. Oh never mind, I’m done here, someone shout if you break my record.” With a growl of frustration, Smolder launched herself airborne, leaving easy earshot before the rest of them could do more than blink.
Sandbar scratched his head. “Was it something I said?”
“... Yona not sure,” Yona said, thoughtfully. “Yona not think so, but Yona will ask.”
“Yona would like … if Smolder’s hiding spots … were easier to get to,” Yona said, huffing slightly as she pulled herself up onto a platform near the top of one of the school’s more remote towers. Farther up still, Smolder perched on the roof, her back turned to Yona as she stared out towards the Dragonlands. Though from the way her wings twitched and her shoulders hunched, Yona knew she’d heard her.
“Wouldn’t be a very good hiding spot if everycreature could get to it,” Smolder muttered.
“But if friends cannot get to hiding spot, friends cannot ask what’s wrong. Yona not think Smolder suddenly decided she hates Sandbar’s face.”
“It’s nothing. And it’s stupid.”
Yona waited.
Finally, Smolder unfolded like an avalanche, whirling to glare down at her. “I just hate being called a girl, okay?”
Yona blinked. Had Sandbar–? “Is Smolder … not a girl then? Yona sorry for being wrong all this time.”
“No! Yes! I don’t know! It’s complicated!” Smolder threw up her claws. “Look, it’s like–you know, right? About …” she looked away and muttered very quickly, “howIlikecutethingsanddressingupsometimes.”
“Yona knows,” she nodded.
“So I don’t think I’m a guy either. … Though it’s pretty funny when ponies think I am, just because my voice isn’t all girly and I can kick their asses.” Smolder grinned.
“Yona not think Smolder should be kicking asses at friendship school,” Yona said, straightfaced. Waited a beat, then admitted, “Yona also think it funny though.”
She looked out over the school grounds, and thought. (And tried to avoid thinking about just how far it was to fall, and how she wasn’t sure if Smolder alone would be able to save her.)
“Smolder could be guy who likes cute things?” she offered tentatively. “Yona not really know dragon genders, or pony genders, but Yona know some boy yaks who like flowers and weaving, and even some who wear yak’s hair braided.”
“Ughhh maybe?” Smolder flopped on her back. “My brother’s like that a bit. Not cute things, I mean, but poetry. And Spike does embroidery. Though for the record? Embroidery is still a no.” She sat back up just as suddenly, and pointed a claw at Yona. “Try it out! Call me a guy!”
Yona froze. What should she–? What would Sandbar do?
She cleared her throat. “Heyyyyyyy … dude?”
She and Smolder both shuddered simultaneously.
“Okay, (a) never do that again, and (b) ugh, being called a guy feels even worse,” Smolder groaned.
“Yona promise,” Yona said hastily. She tapped her hoof thoughtfully, carefully avoiding properly stomping. Pony architecture sometimes chose the worst times to not be very sturdy. Though thinking of stomping and Sandbar made her wonder …
“Yona is girl,” she said slowly. “So maybe Yona is wrong about this. But Smolder remembers the Friendship Ball?”
“Of course,” Smolder said. She looked like she was about to say something more, but settled on, “Why?”
“Yona was … wrong kind of girl, then,” she said slowly, trying to remember how she’d felt. “Even before Yona caused disaster and ran away … Yona thought yak wanted to be like pony girl, Yona tried, and some things like pony dance were very fun, but Yona wasn’t Yona.”
“Yeah, it was disturbing. Uh. Sorry.”
Yona grinned. “Smolder right.” She paused. “Anyway, Yona think, maybe Smolder is girl who not like being called girl? Or maybe Smolder is not girl, not boy, but.” She waved a hoof. “Yona not know, but maybe Smolder is just ‘dragon’? Or ‘dragon who likes cute things sometimes?’”
“‘Dragon who likes cute things sometimes’ …” Smolder said thoughtfully. “Yeah, I don’t know if that’s a dragon gender either. But maybe it should be.”
“Heyyyyyyyyy, Smolder, Yona! Ocellus totally did it! She skipped eighteen times!” Yona turned to see Silverstream flying swiftly towards them. “We’re doing a cannonball contest next! I think she’s planning to turn into one of those giant bee things again? Wanna join?”
Yona looked at Smolder. “Yona not think yak will beat Ocellus. But cannonball is like stomping in water. Yona think yak can beat you.”
Smolder slowly grinned. “My years of practice lava-diving say you’re on.” She turned and waved to Silverstream. “We’ll be right down!” She took flight, gliding from the tower to the roof below as Yona laboriously climbed down the ladder. “Race ya there?”
“Yona is on!” Yona agreed. “... And Yona think Smolder should tell Sandbar. About not wanting to be called ‘girl’.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Smolder rolled her eyes. “... Hey. Thanks. For listening.”
“Yona is happy to,” Yona said. She drew even with, then casually hip-checked Smolder. “And now, Yona is happy to win race!”
She ran towards the door, and Smolder, laughing, followed.
