High Moon Ch. 47:

A Drake’s Code

A new sun shined brightly over the High Moon valley, allowing the pack that lived within it to begin its day. During breakfast, Wolf informed everyone that they were free to do as they pleased for the next few days, unless something within the pack came up, or someone had another idea for a project.

Since nobody had any new ideas just yet, there were no objections from the younger members of the pack. After they had finished breakfast, the pack began splitting off, each group already having an idea about what they wanted to do. Wolf and Veil both escorted Blaze and Isis back to the greenhouse with a few seeds and the plant-growth potion to finish what they hadn’t gotten around to yesterday. Lily headed off into the Everfree to pick up a few things for herself, telling everyone that she’d be back either before sunset, or early the next morning.

This left the dragons to do as they pleased, and after yesterday, all of them knew that training was in order. So Quill led the group towards a field that Wolf took her to when she wanted to train, and began sparring with Spike. Keeping her promise, Frost took Cyclone over to a small pool of water to see how well she could control her water-magic.

Meanwhile, the twins continued to push each other’s bodies further. It was rough for Spike at first, especially since Quill wanted the drake to learn the same way she had - through first-hand experience. However, Spike began getting the hang of fighting with Quill faster than she’d thought he would.

He already knew that Quill wouldn’t be easy to go up against, since she rarely allowed her opponent much respite in between attacks. She preferred to keep the pressure up during a fight. However, Spike was able to use what he remembered from seeing Dusk fight her. It was only after attempting Dusk’s method of fighting that Spike realized how hard it was for Dusk to do the things he did.

The way he remembered it, Dusk was able to use Quill’s momentum and lack of control to throw her around without having to use much of his own energy. Which was kind of tough for Spike to do. One reason was that Quill was a bit more skilled than she was when she’d fought Dusk. Another was because the limiters on his wrists had been making his entire body feel like there was a massive weight on it, in addition to cutting off access to his magic. And finally, if he was being entirely honest with himself, he really didn’t know what he was doing.

Quill, on the other hand, knew exactly was she was doing, and what she was doing was keeping Spike off his game so he wouldn’t have time to think things through. She had learned from fighting with Frost, that if you allowed your opponent to think of a few moves ahead of you, then you were doomed from the start.

Spike was a smart and fast thinker, much faster than she was. However, Spike was horrible when it came to thinking under pressure. So that was her plan, put enough pressure on Spike until he realized one simple thing: he’d never be able to overcome anything if he wasn’t able to think on his feet.

“Come on Spikey-Wikey,” Quill taunted, her hands held out in front of her, baring her claws. It was easy for Quill to fight like this, especially with all the hunting she’d done with Wolf over the past two months. Leg muscles ready to spring into action, hands opened up to attack and defend, and pupils focused right on her prey. Her twin brother.

“Please tell me that’s not all you got,” she mocked while Spike was trying to wipe the dirt off his white shirt, failing miserably. So instead the drake decided to take it off, especially since Quill enjoyed using it as a means to grab him. After he’d tossed it to the side, Quill chuckled at the sight of Spike’s body being somewhat muscular now, knowing that it was going to have an effect on a certain dragoness.

However, she tossed that line of thought aside, as she had bigger priorities to deal with first. “Dude, you wouldn’t last long against Wolf if blocking is all you can do. So why don’t you mix it up a little, huh?”

“Hey! I’m doing my best okay?” Spike groaned in frustration from trying to find his own way of fighting. He couldn’t do the same thing as Quill, Dusk’s way was too challenging for him, and Wolf’s savage strength was far from his reach at this point.

He needed something he could do, something that he had against Quill… something like his meditation. Spike eyes widened at the thought, a wide grin finding its way onto his face. He had her, finally Spike had something over Quill that she couldn’t do. Now he just had to put all of his own training into practice.

“And don’t go getting cocky, Quill,” Spike retorted, slipping into a stance that closely resembled one he used when meditating. Open-handed with one arm extended outwards while the other one was held close to his body, his legs set shoulder-distance apart from each other. The only difference this time was that he had his tail at the ready. “You’re just as inexperienced as I am. So either of us could win this fight.”

Quill couldn’t help but laugh for a bit as she began to slowly circle around Spike, thrilled that it seemed like Spike was finally taking things seriously. “Am I really Spike? I’ve been hunting for two months now, and I sparring with Wolf just as long. I trained all day long with Frost the other day, as well.”

“So? That doesn’t compare to what I’ve been through,” Spike confidently said as he matched Quill’s circling so she couldn’t get behind him. “But you know what they say, actions speak louder than words, sis.”

“Then let’s talk, bro.”

At virtually the same time, Spike and Quill charged at each other, fully intent on beating the other. As they got closer, Spike readied himself for anything that Quill would try, knowing that he was already at a disadvantage against her. However, he was still barely ready for Quill to come to a sudden halt, delivering a round-house kick towards Spike’s open midsection. He stopped her by taking the blow with his hands, getting a solid grip on her leg.

Taking a chance, Quill used the strength in her right leg and a flap of her wings to hop off the ground, sending Spike reeling back from the sudden shifting of weight on top of him. While he was trying to foolishly support both of their weight, Quill slightly bent her left leg, allowing her to stomp her right foot down onto his shoulder, and forcing her left leg free from the drake.

Quill then used Spike as a living launch pad as she pushed off with her legs, forcing Spike to tumble backwards from the sudden momentum. As the drake recovered from his sister’s move, Quill landed back on the ground to begin her next attack by rushing at him before he got up.

Spike was again able to block her downward strike, catching her attacking arm with his left forearm, then striking her in the midsection with his open right hand. The sudden block and push sent Quill back a few steps, allowing Spike the time to get up from the ground as he dealt two more opened handed strikes to Quill’s midsection.

However, Spike over dedicated himself on the second strike, allowing Quill to grab his arm so she could return the favor. Stepping to Spike’s right side, Quill struck his lower abdomen with her knee, forcing Spike to bend over from the shock running rampant throughout his body.

Not taking chances, Quill followed up by using Spike’s own arm to wrap around his neck before she forced Spike’s right leg to give out with her foot, and pulling his arm out from his body. Spike grunted from having his body being forced to bend to Quill’s headstrong will. He knew Quill was a good fighter, but this was something different.

“Go on and tap-out, Spike,” Quill said through her teeth as she strained to keep Spike in this unwanted position so the fight would be over with. Every time the drake tried forcing his arm to move, Quill gave his body a push away from it to remind him that he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

However, Spike refused to give up, moving his tail to wrap around Quill’s leg, forcing it to bend on itself, and getting Quill to fall forwards along with him. Not wanting to let Quill get her hands on him again, Spike quickly moved away from his sister as he got up off the ground. As he was doing so, Spike saw Quill laughing while still on the ground.

Even after nearly losing to her so early, Spike was honestly having the time of his life. To think that he thought he hated fighting. “Hehe, you know something Spike?” Quill muttered to herself as she rolled onto all fours.

It was slightly unnerving knowing that Quill was able to force his body to experience that much discomfort without even causing it any real damage. It was just as unnerving seeing Quill snake around on all fours. The sight gave Quill a more feral appearance with her flexing her wings slightly outward.

“You hit harder than I thought you could, now if only you move as fast as I do,” Quill said with a small hiss leaving her lips as she, thankfully, stood up from the ground. Going against Spike was more enjoyable than she thought it was going to be. “And you’re a really quick thinker, but I knew that already. So let’s see how well you adapt.”

“And what that’s supposed to mea-” Spike didn’t even get to finish his question before Quill answered it by opening her wings to take flight into the sky, before hovering a few yards off the ground, well out of Spike’s reach. Spike dropped his shoulders when he realized that Quill was going to use her aerial advantage over him. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Quill.”

Quill smirked at Spike as she crossed her arms over her chest while she still hovered above the ground. Spike easily could tell what the look in her eyes meant, and knew that she was one-hundred percent serious about it. “Crap, you aren’t kidding.”

“Gee, what gave that away?” Quill mocked with a small laugh as she watched Spike get ready for her to strike. She was happy to see that Spike had gotten rid of his old habit of giving up on a challenge when he thought it was impossible. He’d need that, if things continued the way they seemed to be going. “Get ready, Spike,” Quill called out, moving her hands to her sides in the same claw-baring way she did on the ground. “Cuz, here I come!”

Spike braced himself as Quill began diving down at him, knowing that it was only going to get tougher from here on out. Just the way he wanted it.

As her lover continued to spar with Spike, Frost stood against a shady tree while Cyclone stood in front of the small pool of water. As the twins began to fight, Frost began giving Cyclone a few basic instructions on her water-magic, mainly to see what she was already capable of.

The mare had been surprised that Cyclone already had an adequate ability to control her water-magic, bending small threads of water. After noting that the dragoness was not as weak as Frost thought she was, the mare moved to show Cyclone a few techniques that she thought would best suit her.

Soon after Cyclone had shown that she was capable of continuing the fluid motions on her own, Frost returned to her spot underneath the tree to mull over the thoughts she had about Cyclone. It was clearly evident that Cyclone at least knew how to use her magic, just not the techniques that came with it.

This wasn’t very surprising to Frost, as water-magic was so rare that finding, and mastering, coherent techniques for it was difficult, to say the least. However, Cyclone, or rather, all of the dragons in High Moon were fortunate to have the archives, and Blaze as well held knowledge of their particular brand of magic. Lily and Isis also had knowledge of various kinds of magic that would prove to be useful for the training the dragons would all likely undergo.

Frost couldn’t say much about Spike or Cyclone, but Quill and herself needed to train so they could one day face her mother. They needed power to correct the wrongs done to those that didn’t warrant them. And finally, to try to fix the mistakes of this kingdom’s past.

If Quill really wanted to show Celestia the wrongs of her burning and not learning the lessons from her past, then Frost was behind her lover. Nothing got underneath Frost’s fur and skin more than two equally foolish choices; becoming complacent, and forgetting your past.

No matter the reason, one should never act as though they’ve never done anything wrong. Even one such as the sun goddess had to face the ghosts of her past choices and mistakes. If Quill and Frost had to unearth them one by one, then so be it.

Yet, that goal wasn’t in sight for now. Frost’s mother was of a higher priority since she could one day prove to be Equestria’s greatest threat. ‘One task at a time, that’s how it has to be. As hard as it is to choose.’

Moving her mind back to the present, Frost observed Cyclone slowly moving her opened hands in a circling motion around a still growing sphere of water. Disregarding the uneven shape of the sphere, Cyclone was doing a fantastic job of maintaining control over it. Considering how new she was to attempting to fully control the magic, she was doing a fairly good job at it. If the dragoness continued to go through her paces, it wouldn’t be long before she would be able to move on to more advanced techniques.

Though again, that would only be after some time.

“Cyclone, that’s it. Keep that up, you’re doing great,” Frost encouraged the dragoness, which seemed to help Cyclone by giving her the courage to push herself. Thinking about it, Frost soon understood that this was the same energy that Wolf was able to give everyone. This was the power of leadership.

“Alright Cyclone,” Frost started, slowly walking towards Cyclone, stopping a few feet away. “Now, try making the sphere smaller, we are going to move on to something else.”

Cyclone took in a slow breath, moving her hands closer towards the sphere before letting the breath go. Just as Frost predicted, Cyclone did have some natural talent lying dormant inside of her. Not the same talent as the twins or herself, but talents of a mending sort.

“Like this, Frost?” Cyclone asked once the sphere was nearly half the size it had been a few moments ago. Yet even still, Cyclone wasn’t even looking at it. Her eyes remained gently closed as she had been using a helpful tip from Spike before she started to try and meditate as she worked with her magic.

He’d said that it helped him, and that he was sure it would help her. So if Spike said that it’d help, Cyclone was willing to try it out, and it turned out that he was right. “It feels like it will burst if I try and force it to go any smaller.”

Frost nodded her head as the sphere was just the right size for what she wanted Cyclone to try. “That’s okay Cyclone, now just move your hands into the sphere. Let them enter it,” she slowly continued to keep Cyclone as calm as she could with the sound of the twins fighting in the background. “And remember to keep your breathing slow.”

Following the mare’s instructions, Cyclone slowed her hands’ motions to a stop on either side of the sphere, and began moving her hands towards it. As she got closer to the slightly misshapen sphere, Cyclone felt a…‘force’ trying to push her back, and it felt like the sphere would suddenly rupture if she kept going.

Cyclone was worried for a moment that the sphere would do just that, also that she’d meet the face of failure again. The dragoness’ worry was so great that Frost was able to sense it before Cyclone had to say anything.

“Easy now, Cyclone,” Frost softly said as she began using her own water-magic, sending a few more threads of water into Cyclone’s sphere to reinforce it. The sphere itself grew just a little, closing the small distance in the space between Cyclone’s hands. “Just keep breathing slowly and move your hands inside of the sphere.”

“But what if I mess it up, Frost?” Cyclone asked in a worried and low tone of voice. She didn’t want to mess up again, not after making so much progress. “I would’ve-”

“Cyclone,” Frost said reassuringly, placing a hand on Cyclone’s shoulder to let her know that everything was fine. “You are not going to mess it up, believe in yourself. Can you do that for me?” Cyclone nodded her head before resuming moving her hands into the sphere, keeping to what Frost said about breathing slowly.

After a moment of breathing calmly, Cyclone continued moving her hands into the orb of water. A chill entered her hands, spreading all throughout the rest of her body, but she continued on until Frost told her to stop. As she pushed further into the sphere of cooling liquid, the force that was pushing her away was now pulling her in. Almost as if it wanted her to continue.

“Frost, wh-what’s going on?” Cyclone asked, still keeping her eyes closed so she wouldn’t be distracted. “Wh-why are my hands being pulled in?”

“It’s okay Cyclone,” Frost said as she took her hand off of Cyclone’s shoulder, ceasing her magic so the dragoness could finish the technique herself. “Allow it to be, water has its own natural course to take. Follow it, guide it. Become one with it.”

Feeling a wave of calmness within the mare’s words, Cyclone took in a deep breath of air as her hands met in the center of the still water sphere. Gradually, the sphere of water began circulating around Cyclone’s hands in a small vortex before calming back down.

This time however, the water did not return to its spherical shape. Instead, the water took the shape of an aura-like substance around Cyclone’s hands, freely rippling as if now alive. Frost smiled at the sight, Cyclone was truly a hidden prodigy of healing magic. For her to grasp hold of the concept in a single session was something to behold.

The fact that she did it with a fractured dragon’s soul was far more awe-inspiring.

“You did it Cyclone,” Frost said with a soft smile on her face as she closed her eyes to think about something herself. The thought, private and something she’d be keeping to herself for awhile, forced a small sigh to come from her lips. “Congratulations Cyclone, you’ve started your journey to becoming a healer.”

Desperately wanting to know what Frost was talking about, Cyclone slowly opened her eyes to the sight of the field of water surrounding her hands. “In-incredible...m-my magic is doing that?” Cyclone whispered to herself, in pure shock and awe. She’d done a few things with her magic, but none of them ever compared to what she was seeing now. Most of what she could do was just minor things with her magic that she used to use help cook for Veil and herself.

“This is amazing, Frost!” Cyclone cheered as she carefully moved her hands apart, awed by the trail of streaming water that flowed just behind the direction in which she moved her hands, almost like an after-image. Wanting to see what else she could do with it, Cyclone began whirling her hands around every which way, creating more streams of water to flow around her.

Frost happily allowed the dragoness this time to dance to her own rhythm after completing a task such as this. There was no harm in doing so, and Frost hadn’t planned on showing Cyclone anything else today at least. That said, allowing her this time to see what she could do with her abilities was not only a way to boost her confidence, but also build upon her dragon’s soul just a little.

So while Cyclone played, Frost took a seat down on a fallen log, continuing with the thought that found its way back into her head. It was something she didn’t see happening anytime soon, yet something she couldn’t wait for. Something that she thought every mare, every female, dreamed of experiencing at least once in their lives. An experience that changed everything in their life, showing who they really were, without actually changing them.

‘Giving birth...such a wonderful dream.’ Frost faintly started to laugh at herself, not from the thought she was having, but for the reason she was having it; Cyclone. Without knowing it, Cyclone was the sole reason for Frost having these thoughts in her head.

From the moment she’d gotten up this morning, Frost had been having thoughts related to raising a child of her very own with the one she loved. Of course, due to biology, they’d have to find a way around certain issues, but that’s what mating magic was for. It was also something for the future, after they’d taken the throne from Frost’s mother.

Until then, it would just have to be dream. One which she began to long for now.

While the changeling was lost in her thoughts, Cyclone had gotten used to the aura of water around her hands, to the point where she could control the length of the water stream. However, Cyclone knew that she couldn’t take all of the credit for herself. “Thank you Frost, this is so amazing! I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“...”

Cyclone tilted her head toward Frost as she wondered what the mare was thinking on so hard that stopped her from hearing Cyclone. What made it odder was the look on Frost’s face; carefully neutral. It was like she was happy about something, yet scared of it as well.

Taking a deep breath, Cyclone got ready for her first test as the mediator for the pack. Throwing all hesitation out of the way, Cyclone walked over to the wooden log, and placed her hand on Frost’s shoulder. Initially, the mare jumped a bit, which startled Cyclone as well, but the dragoness held strong.

“Hey Frost,” Cyclone said slowly, taking a seat next to the scorpio mare to look her in the eyes. “Is everything alright? You seem… distant and... bothered too, I guess.”

Frost sighed for a bit, dropping her head as she shook it. She couldn’t believe that she’d allowed her thoughts to cloud her to the point she was unresponsive to Cyclone’s voice. “Yes Cyclone, I’m fine. Just thinking about a few things is all. So, how is using your magic? It’s enjoyable, I take it?”

“Uh, yes it is,” Cyclone said, looking down towards her hands while the aura of water still rippled around them. For her, it was the pure definition of magical. Cyclone would never had gotten this kind of control of her magic if it hadn’t been for Frost and everyone else in the pack. “It finally feels like I’m learning more about myself, you know? I know it isn’t a lot, but it has to be better than nothing, right?”

Frost began laughing softly at the dragoness and the whirlwind of energetic emotions that was pouring from her. It was a pleasant change from the heavy feelings that Frost had been forced to stomach much of yesterday. Granted that it had all ended well, overall it had still been quite tiresome.

“Cyclone, let me tell you this,” Frost chuckled, taking Cyclone’s hand to lift it off the log up to at eye level. A soft smile formed on Frost’s lips when she caught a small sense of admiration from Cyclone. “You stay here in High Moon, and continue your training, you will find that there’s a lot about you.”

The moment Frost finished those words, she sparked her horn to life, adding her magic to Cyclone’s, and causing the field of water to grow in size. Cyclone’s eyes widened at the sight of Frost’s blue magical aura flowing within the field, enchanted by the shine.

“We are all here for you, Cyclone,” Frost said, gripping Cyclone’s hand some more, getting another sense of admiration from the dragoness. “We will all grow and support each other, Nutrix.”

Cyclone giggled a little at the nickname Frost just gave her. ‘Nurturer, huh? Hehe, I guess it does fit. And she does want to be a queen, so maybe...’ Frost let Cyclone’s hand go after setting it back down on the long, laughing to herself at the feeling of peace in her heart. Cyclone let her magic go, the water slipping onto the log from her hands. For a moment, Cyclone joined the changeling in the quiet peace, but soon caught the sound of the twins still going at it behind them.

“Looks like they’re really going at it,” Cyclone observed as she looked over her shoulder to see both Quill and Spike trading blows. Frost herself briefly turned her head to see her lover holding Spike’s head in her arm, laughing at the proud look on her face. “You think we should step in, Regina? They may hurt each other if they keep that up.”

Right as Spike slammed his elbow into Quill’s gut, followed by flipping her over, Frost turned her head back around with another small laugh. “No, I don’t believe that will be necessary,” she laughed, pushing off the wooden long to stand up. “Come Cyclone, let us continue your lesson while the twins burn their energy up. And if we’re lucky, I may be able to get Quill to show you something with your fire-magic before we head back.”

“Okay Frost, but can I ask you a question first?” Cyclone asked as she stood from the log, standing in front of the mare with a small blush shining on her scales while she rubbed her knees together. Frost waited for Cyclone to ask what she needed to ask, silently watching Cyclone’s flustered motions. “S-so, um...it’s safe to say that you and Quill are, you know, together. Right?”

Having a slight idea where this conversation is going, Frost merely smiled at the dragoness and nodded her head. “Yes, we are ‘together’ as you put it. It may have just been a little under a week as of now, but I don’t regret a single moment of giving my trust to her,” Frost said as she turned her head over towards the twins again, more importantly Quill as she kept darting around in the air. “Quill has been quite the curious dragoness, I’ve never met anyone quite like her.”

“H-heh, yeah that’s for sure,” Cyclone said, unable to exactly understand Quill and her habits. “But then again, what could you expect from a Queen Dragoness? As rare as they are, they’re one of a kind.” In all honesty, Cyclone had hoped to never meet another of the rare and fabled "ruler" breed of dragons, especially not a dragoness. However, her life had been full of surprises. Good and bad. Her eyes wandered back to Spike for a moment, thinking of how different the twins were. “And then Spike is a Salamander Drake, a big...loyal...nice piece of...hmm.”

Frost giggled a bit at Cyclone, knowing exactly why Cyclone was acting in such a way. “Hm, maybe we should call it for the training for today,” she said, Cyclone snapping out of her thoughts as Frost walked closer to her. “I have a feeling that there is something else that you want to do, correct?”

“Well, maybe,” Cyclone said as the pushed her index fingers together with a sheepish blush on her face. “I-I guess you already know what it is too, huh?” Frost, still smiling at the dragoness, nodded her head as she walked out of the cove that housed the pool of water. Cyclone snapped out of her flustered daze to follow the mare out into the training field. “Hey Frost wait, there’s something I really have to ask of you.”

“Oh yes, your question, my bad Cyclone. Go right ahead,” Frost said, trying to ignore the twins near-deadlock sparring match so she could listen to Cyclone’s question. From the fluctuation of Cyclone’s emotions, and her slightly nervous actions, Frost was able to guess what Cyclone’s question would be.

“D-do you, you know, have any tips?” Cyclone asked with a slight smile and a growing blush on her face. It was a little embarrassing for her to ask Frost this, but Cyclone didn’t want to mess this up. And since Frost was close to her age, Cyclone figured that it’d be easier to ask the mare. “L-like…”

“Cyclone,” Frost cut in, walking towards Cyclone to place her hands on the dragoness’ shoulders. When Cyclone looked up from the ground and into Frost’s eyes, the mare smiled back at her. “Just be yourself, and the rest will follow. Okay?”

Slowly, Cyclone nodded her head with a nervous blush on her face, still worried about the outcome of what she had planned. However, when she looked at Frost, Cyclone didn’t see any worry. Frost was sure that Cyclone would be able to do what she needed to do, so Cyclone needed to have faith in herself.

Cyclone’s eyes widened for a moment, an obvious realization hitting her. Frost was part changeling. “Frost, you can sense what we feel, right?” Cyclone’s blush came back full force, before she quickly continued, “D-do you think he-”

“Cyclone,” Frost said sharply. Cyclone flinched back a bit, surprised at the mare’s suddenly serious tone. “Yes, I can sense emotions. However, I’ve made a promise to myself to not betray anyone by sharing them.” Cyclone looked back down to the ground, regretful she’d even brought it up. She was about to apologize to Frost, when the mare cut her off with a, “Now, with that said… go get him.” Frost chuckled to herself, learning to like imitating the way that Quill spoke.

Cyclone looked up from the ground, meeting the mare’s eyes as she received a conspiratorial wink. “You mean-?!... Oh Frost, thank you!” Cyclone exclaimed, surprising Frost by embracing her in a crushing hug that lasted for no more than a few moments. After Cyclone let go, the two again started out of the cove to find that the twins were locked arm and tail with each other.

Both Frost and Cyclone began laughing at the twins as Quill continued to push Spike’s head down into the ground, while Spike’s tail kept being an annoyance to her. “J-just fucking tapout already!” Quill growled through her teeth, sick of her brother’s endurance and resilience.

“W-why don’t y-you do it first, huh?! Barb!” Spike shouted back as he pulled one of his hands free from Quill’s, pushing it up against Quill’s stomach, and rolling over to push Quill off of him. The moment he could, Spike got up off the ground, only to be met by his sister tackling him to his back again.

Spike quickly went on the defensive as he locked his hands with Quill’s to keep her claws away away from his face. However, going against Quill was tougher than he would’ve liked, as most of his energy was next to gone by this point.

“Okay, that’s enough you two,” Frost spoke, making her presence known to the twins, and - eventually - getting them to cease fighting against each other. With a slight sigh, Quill got off of Spike, reaching down for his hand to help him up off his feet. “I hope you two got your fill of fighting for today.”

“Yeah we did,” Quill said with a small grunt as she hoisted Spike up from the ground, and from the soreness she was feeling all over her body. That said, no amount of soreness could distract her from the fact that Spike called her that nickname. “Didn’t we, Spikey-Wikey?” Quill hissed as she patted Spike on the back hard, emphasizing both parts of his nickname, right on top of a spot where she knew he’d be sore at.

Spike reflexively winced from the sudden slaps, but didn’t say anything about it since he knew that Quill hated the nickname. She most likely hated it even more now because of the memories behind it. “Yeah, we sure did, sis. So what’s planned next? We still got a few more hours before sundown,” Spike noticed, glancing over at the sun behind him.

Quill turned around to get a better look at the sun’s position in the sky, trying to roughly guess how much time was left, as well as thinking of anything that might need to be done. However when she opened her mouth to voice her opinion, she was stopped by Frost wrapping her arms around Quill’s body.

“F-Frost, what are you doing?” Quill asked as Frost began moving her hands along Quill’s slightly bruised scales, channeling a bit of magic into her hands. The blush on Quill’s face only got brighter when she felt Frost’s fangs on her ear-frills, forcing a small sigh out of her lips. “Frost come on, I don’t have the energy for that right now.”

A small smile appeared on Frost’s lips as she was able to tell that Quill wasn’t being entirely truthful. “Mm, you say that, but you don’t really mean it sweetie,” Frost quietly cooed in Quill’s ear as her hands reached down to Quill’s legs while she used her magic to double the size of her wings. “How about we go somewhere more quiet for us to... talk?”

Quill’s flusterness only grew when she heard Frost giggling at her squirming around the way she was. Quill didn’t understand why she felt like this, but it honestly felt good acting like this. She just wished that it wasn’t in front of her brother and Cyclone. “Fine Frost, c-come on, I’ll find a-”

“Oh no you don’t,” Frost cut in with a soft nibble on Quill’s neck, getting her dragoness’ voice to catch inside of her mouth. “I will find a spot for us to rest on. I trust we will meet you two back at the temple?” Frost asked the two dragons behind her as she got ready to lift Quill off the ground.

Cyclone, blushing from the sight in front of her, nodded her head, taking the not-so-small hint that Frost was giving her. “S-sure Frost, we won’t be out much longer,” Cyclone said as she wrapped her arms around Spike’s left arm. “You two do the same, okay? I’m not sure if Clan-Father would be too happy with us staying out for too much longer.”

“But of course, Cyclone,” Frost started, turning her head over her shoulder to look towards both Spike and Cyclone, and returned Cyclone’s smile. “See you at dinner.” Cyclone again nodded her head as she waved off the changeling mare.

Frost giggled a bit at the dragoness before moving her attention back to her lover that was trapped in her arms. “Come, love,” Frost licked Quill’s cheek with her tongue, forcing Quill to shiver a bit. “Let’s leave these two to themselves,” she whispered into Quill’s ear before taking off from the ground with her dragoness in her arms.

Spike watched the mare fly off carrying his sister, wondering what Frost and Cyclone had talked about all day. He also wanted to talk to Cyclone about what had happened yesterday. “Hey Cyclone, what we-”

“Come on Spike,” Cyclone spoke, pulling Spike over towards the cove with the small pool of water, and sitting him down on the ground in front of the pool. Still not giving the drake time to question what was happening, Cyclone stepped over towards the pool so she could dip her hands in the chilling water.

Taking a slow breath, Cyclone repeated the same steps she had when she began her lesson earlier this morning. Slowly, an orb of water began to form as Cyclone pulled her hands out. She then moved her hands inside of the orb, meeting in the center before pulling them back out with a small sigh.

Spike quickly recognize the motions as the steps for the healing-water technique. He was blown away that Cyclone was able to learn it in such a short amount of time, guessing that she was a natural when it comes to the healing aspect of her magic.

“Alright Spike,” Cyclone said as she walked back towards Spike with her hands encased in their own fields of water. “Turn around so I can start, okay?”

Chuckling, Spike nodded his head before turning around, resting his hands on his knees as he waited for Cyclone to start treating the bumps and bruises that he’d gotten from sparring with Quill. Scales be damned, they had nothing on Quill’s legs and forearms.

“So Frost taught you the healing-water technique, Cyclone?” Spike asked, turning his head back a little to see Cyclone getting on her knees behind him before she placed her hands on his back. Spike took in a sharp breath as his body tensed the moment Cyclone’s hands touched the scales on his back, but he was able to quickly relax so Cyclone’s job would be easier. “It’s amazing that you’ve learned it so fast.”

“Heh, th-thanks Spike,” Cyclone said as she continued to move her hands down the smooth scales on Spike’s back. Each time she felt Spike tense up from her messing up the process, Cyclone mentally scolded herself for it. “Sorry if I’m messing up, Spike,” she murmured as one of her hands moved up to the side of Spike’s neck while the other one was on his lower back. “It’s still just a basic type though. So, I’m sorry if it isn’t as easing as you’d hoped for.”

“It’s fine Cyclone,” Spike laughed, remembering back to when his healing-magic wasn’t up to par just like Cyclone’s now. “Water-magic takes a while, I can tell you that from experience.” When Spike heard Cyclone sigh a bit, he quickly thought of some way to salvage the situation. “B-but that doesn’t mean that it’s not amazing, Cyclone. Heh, it took me a while to get it, but you were able to get it down in just a day.”

A small smile formed on Cyclone’s lips at Spike’s slightly flustered yet flattering words. “Thank you Spike. Really, thank you,” she said as she moved her hands over his shoulders and to his chest, pressing her body close to him. Resting her chin on Spike’s shoulder, Cyclone continued to gently ease out the aches on Spike’s body. “That means a lot to hear from you.”

Spike began blushing as Cyclone’s soft hands moved around his upper body, along with her large chest pressing against his back. He could feel his heartbeat rapidly pick up, and hoped that Cyclone wouldn’t notice. He felt a fire starting to burn in his chest, and he didn’t want it to go away. “Y-you’re welcome Cyclone. If you ever need anything, just let me know, I’ll be glad to help you in anyway I can.”

“Actually Spike,” Cyclone started, slowly moving her right hand down Spike’s chest while the left one softly caressed a bruised scale on his cheek. There was a short pause as Cyclone continued to think about what she wanted to say. “You remember what I asked you a few days ago? When we were going back to the temple?”

For a brief moment, Spike’s body twitched when he remembered what Cyclone was talking about, mostly thinking back to the confrontation with Rarity. However, he was able to relax his body again so Cyclone wouldn’t be worried too much.

“Ye-yeah I do,” Spike said with a slightly nervous laugh, knowing where this conversation was going, and mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do. “Actually Cyclone, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. Especially after yesterday.”

“O-oh, yeah, yesterday…” Cyclone sighed, still a little embarrassed about confessing her dream like that with Spike in the same room. Even with everyone saying that it was a great dream, it was nothing compared to the twins and Frost’s dreams, at least in her eyes. “A-about that Spike -”

Spike interrupted Cyclone by taking hold of her wrists, and spinning himself around to one knee. He took one quick look at her surprised face before darting forward and planting his lips on hers, sliding his hands up along her arms to cup her face. Both dragons were surprised, though for different reasons.

She… she tastes like sapphires, Spike thought to himself, running a thumb along her cheek.

He’s… he’s kissing me! Cyclone thought excitedly. She hadn’t noticed the water falling off her hands as she’d lost the needed concentration to hold the spell. She closed her eyes and pressed back against the drake, pushing him down to his back in the process. Her hands found places against Spike’s body, softly caressing the muscles underneath his scales, straddling his waist. She was somewhat surprised to find a slightly twitching bulge pressing against Spike’s gray jeans.

Cyclone giggled to herself at this as she began gyrating her hips into his to tease the drake about his apparent attraction. As Spike began to let out a few grunts and groans in the kiss, Cyclone increased her motions.

Trying to take the initiative, Spike moved his hands from her face, and gently placed one on Cyclone’s lower back, the other moving up to caress her head fins before finding a place on the back of her neck, pressing her closer to deepen the kiss. Spike soon found himself on the submissive side of the kiss as Cyclone started to look for a way in his mouth with her tongue. Going on instinct, Spike opened his mouth a little, letting Cyclone’s tongue slip in, but also moving his tongue into Cyclone’s mouth.

Spike continued to lose himself in the sapphire-tasting kiss as Cyclone began to add more force into her motions, prompting him to move his hand on her neck down her back. He noticed some odd ridges as his fingers trailed down, but in his excitement he paid it no mind. All the small pecks he’d gotten, even the first ‘real’ kiss he got from Sweetie were all nothing compared to this. And this...this felt wonderful.

After a few moments that seemed to last a blissful forever, Cyclone finally pulled back from Spike, both panting heavily due to the extending kissing. “Th-thank you Spike, thank you,” Cyclone breathed into Spike’s neck as she planted more kisses along his neck and jaw, glad to be in the drake’s arms. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

While Cyclone continued kiss his neck, Spike took that moment to soak in what had just happened and what it meant for him. He’d just agreed to protect and be there for Cyclone, for at least as long as she’d have him. He’d have to step up his training again.

He wasn’t fighting just for himself anymore.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, Spike,” Cyclone said as she made her way back up Spike’s jaw line. Once she finally got back up to Spike’s face, Cyclone gazed down into Spike’s bright emerald-green eyes, sure that he would be the one to make her dream come true. “B-but I’ll m-make you...” Cyclone trailed off, as her head began lowering to the crook of his neck, eyes closing.

“Cyclone are you-” Spike’s words were cut off by Cyclone going limp on top of him, already asleep by the time her head found a spot aside his. Carefully sitting up, Spike held Cyclone against his chest as she continued to sleep peacefully.

‘She must’ve used up all of her energy with her training. Heh, just like I did.’ Spike couldn’t help but laugh a bit, thinking back to when he first started training like Cyclone.

“Alright, come on you,” Spike said as he began to move Cyclone to sit sideways in his lap.He moved his right arm underneath her legs and the other one at the top of her back. Taking in one good breath, Spike got up from the ground with Cyclone cradled in his arms. “Let’s get you home before we worry anyone.”

With a small laugh, Spike began to walk out of the cove, still holding Cyclone in his arms as he made the way back to the temple. He stopped for a moment, nearly having forgotten his shirt. He went back over to it and set Cyclone down nearby. Putting it on, somewhat miffed at the stains, he leaned back down to pick Cyclone up before resuming his walk back. Of all the days he’d had out here in High Moon, including the day with that hydra, this was one of the more eventful ones for him. And judging by the sun, this day was coming to a slow end. Spike was excited to see what the next few days held for him.

“Welp, Spike ol’ shell,” Spike spoke to himself, walking down the dirt path Quill had originally led him, Cyclone, and Frost along this morning. “This is your life now. No more of this knight nonsense, gotta start thinking with a more open mind. You’ve got to take care of Cyclone.” Spike bit his bottom lip, feeling a small sense of discontent. Though, after everything he’d done, Spike thought he’d never have the right to call himself as such. Not that it mattered any-

“Mm...my handsome knight, Spike.”

Spike slowly came to a stop when his head finally processed Cyclone’s words. Looking down, he saw the dragoness nuzzling into his chest with a happy smile on her face, still asleep. He wanted believe in the dream, especially if Cyclone believed in it for him. However…

‘Sorry Cy, only in your dreams. You’re all I need now, forget all that knight stuff.’ Shaking his head, Spike continued down the path to the temple with his dragoness in his arms, letting her continue her dream about her knight. ‘Wonder what we’re going to have for dinner tonight. Hope it’s-’

“Hey Spike!” Turning back to the ever-so-familiar sound of his sister’s voice, Spike saw Quill gilding back down to the ground with Frost on her back. “So, how did it go?” Quill asked after landing back on the ground beside Spike. When she saw Cyclone sleeping in Spike’s arms, Quill raised an eyebrow with a slight smirk on her face. “From here it looks like it went more than perfect.”

“Oh shut up Quill,” Spike said as he resumed walking back to High Moon with Quill in tow, a light blush appearing on his cheeks. “I know what you’re talking about, and no, that didn’t happen.” For the first time that day, the twins shared a laugh together after all of the sparring against each other. “But what about you sis? Frost seems, uh, satisfied.”

Quill opened her mouth to retort when a soft murmur came from the changeling on Quill’s back. “Mm...satisfied isn’t the word I would use,” Frost said as she pulled herself up on Quill’s back, moving her hands around to Quill’s cheeks. “Little miss hottie here thought it would be funny to tease me to no end. I’ve must’ve fallen asleep because of the pent-up emotions.”

“Quill, you bored Frost to sleep? That’s pretty lame,” Spike joked with a laugh that was returned by the changeling. “And here I thought you were the ‘grand master’ of fun. Guess I was wrong though. That title still belongs to none other than Pinkie.”

“Oh just be quiet, Spike,” Quill huffed, puffing out a shot of smoke at the two’s joking, only adding to her brother and lover’s laughter. “Geez, I would have at least thought my marefriend would be on my side.”

Giggling and rolling her eyes, Frost nuzzled her cheek into Quill’s before trailing her forked-tongue all the way to Quill’s ear-fill where she took a small nibble. “Aw don’t be like that sweetie, I promise to treat you tonight with some…‘frozen’ desert.”

Both twins shared the same red-colored blush from Frost’s words, Quill’s a little brighter from her mare’s affectionate licking and nibbles. “Th-that sounds great Frost, I’m holding you to it, too,” Quill said before she turned her head to surprise Frost with a kiss on the lips. Frost’s eyes snapped open for a moment before slowly lowering her lids and leaning into the kiss.

Once the two finally released each other’s faces, Frost let out a content sigh as she rested her head on Quill’s shoulder. “Mm...then I can’t wait sweetie,” she whispered into Quill’s ear as she moved her hands along Quill’s collar-bone.

“Hey, that’s what I’ve been meaning to ask,” Spike suddenly spoke, breaking both of the lovers out of their love-struck dazes. “Er, I mean, if you’ve got dragon-magic, then why do you need emotions to power it?” Frost raised an eyebrow at Spike from his question, causing the drake to worry that he’d stepped over a line. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. I’m just curious is all.”

“Oh no, no, it’s quite alright Spike,” Frost said, waving off Spike’s worries with a friendly smile. “I suppose that it isn’t very clear on how my magic draws its power.” Frost sat up on Quill’s back as she moved her arms around her lover’s neck to have a better grip. “You see, I may only be a half-dragon, but my magic works the same way because of dragon blood being dominant.”

Spike nodded his head as he thought about what Frost was saying. He could only guess that Frost’s changeling magic must make up for whatever dragon’s soul she didn’t get when she was born. Maybe. “Okay, so do you even need to feed on emotions, or is it more of a want?” Spike asked, growing more curious about Frost’s magic and bloodline. “Cause from what I remember during the invasion, Chrysalis was saying that everyone’s emotions would feed her hive and make them grow.”

“Oh did she now?” Frost questioned, sounding like she was scoffing at the idea more than she was her own sister. “That poor misguided mare, no. That wouldn’t be the exact result of what would’ve happened if Chrissy had won. Though… it would’ve helped greatly.”

Both twins had the same reaction as the other, seeming to be surprised and confused as to what Frost was saying. “Let me explain,” Frost said, sensing their confusion. “Chrysalis is a half-breed just like myself, yet she...she isn’t proud of that fact.” Frost laid her head back down on Quill’s shoulder, hiding behind a veil of her blue mane. “She has always been a stubborn mare. Chrysalis believes that the fact we’re half-breeds is why our mother hates us.”

“That’s not right. How can your own mother hate you two. You’re her daughters right?” Spike asked in a concerned, and slightly angry tone of voice. Never having known his own parents, Spike was adamant about subjects like this. Even more so now that it tied into the future of his sister’s life. “A mother shouldn’t hate or fear her children. That’s...that’s just-”

“I know it’s wrong, but it is unfortunately what it is, Spike.” Frost moved her head down to the crook of Quill’s neck, closing her eyes to remember her youth. “Our mother feared that one day either Chrysalis or I would rise up against her. That’s the one thing all of the Swarm Queens have in common; they fear of one day losing their power. Be it to their own offspring, or some other changeling foe.”

“Wait,” Spike started, “‘Swarm Queens,’ as in there’re more than just one?”

“Yes, there are in fact several. Some small and hidden away, others big and thriving right underneath the feet of Equestria’s citizens, but none are as large as my mother’s,” Frost answered, her finger trailing a small circle on Quill’s shoulder. “And yes, they do know what happened with my sister’s invasion. Most of them didn’t particularly care, others however…”

“However?” Quill prompted, not liking the sound of how the other queens reacted to the invasion.

Frost took in a small breath as she shook her head. “I’m not sure to be honest. Most, if not all, of the Swarm Queens keep to themselves and don’t ever allow their thoughts to be fully known to others. I just assumed that they didn’t care about my sister’s failed invasion because they haven’t done anything yet.”

“Oh, I see.” Spike looked down to the ground, thinking. “But I gotta know something, Frost.”

“Yes?”

Spike took in a steady breath. What he was about to ask might come off as too personal, but with his sister involved with the mare’s vendetta against her mother, he had to know. “Is it all worth it Frost? Taking the throne away from your mother just to prove a point, risking not only your life, but the life of my sister?”

“You’re acting like I can’t take care of myself,” Quill half-snapped, feeling a bit hurt that her brother didn’t seem to have faith in her.

“Quill, fighting me is one thing, but from the sound of things, you two are going up against world. I mean, do you even have a starting point?”

Quill opened her mouth in retort, but closed it when she realized that they didn’t have a starting point just yet. Or they did, but that was just training for now. So instead, Quill huffed a little, turning her head back down the dirt path.

Spike sighed, having a feeling Quill was more worried about the whole thing than she was letting on. “I’m only worried about the two of you, that’s all.”

“We know Spike, it just that…” Frost paused for a moment, her eyes being covered over by her mane and her grip on around Quill tightening. She quickly calmed herself down with a deep breath, looking up at the setting sun. “My mother is a very dangerous mare, Spike. I fear one day she may plunge this kingdom, and all that call it home, into war. A war with themselves. The only thing stopping her from doing so is the fact that she has grown content with herself. However, one thing could set her off. I have to stop this from happening.”

Spike eyed the mare carefully, the only time he had ever seen anyone talk the same way she was with Twilight, and that was usually over something about learning or friendship. This was something entirely different, though. This was about protecting a kingdom, without thinking about being recognized for it. True ambition at its finest.

“Ah-ah, you mean we have to stop this,” Quill said, squeezing on the back of Frost’s thighs to get a small squeal out of her. “I’ve said this before Icy, I’m not letting you go fight your mother by yourself. We’re in this together.”

A soft smile formed on Frost’s face at Quill’s words, knowing that she should never try to leave Quill out of it. “Of course Quill, we have to stop her,” Frost said with a giggle as she moved to seal Quill’s lips in another kiss that showed more affection than the last one.

Spike turned his head back down to the dirt path to give the two lovers some kind of privacy and to think about what they had said. According to Frost, her mother was a very dangerous mare, and the only way for them to beat her was to have Frost take the throne.

He knew Quill had a sense of devotion and loyalty, but for her to dive into battle along with Frost...it was probably how Quill thought best to prove her love to Frost. “Then I hope you guys don’t think you’ll be doing it by yourselves,” Spike proclaimed, getting both Quill and Frost to look his way as they approached the temple. “Quill, you’re my sister, any mess you get in, I’m with you. And Frost, I’m kinda hoping that you’ll become my sister-in-law, so I’m helping you.”

“Sister-in-law?” Frost mused with a raised eyebrow while Quill’s face became redder than any apple Spike ever seen. Naturally, Frost had never heard of such a term before, what with living out in the Everfree, and in an entirely different society than the ponies Spike and Quill had lived with. So all she had to go by were the emotions she was sensing from Quill, which were flustered. “Quill, what’s a sister-in-law? Is that some sort of dating ritual?”

Quill bit her lip as beads of sweat flowed down the side of her head, and she had Spike to thank for it. “I could kill you right now, Spike,” she hissed at her laughing brother, glaring at him with fire trapped inside of her purple eyes. “I’m gonna get you for that, bro. I’ll tell you about it later Frost, let’s just get home.”

“Okay?” Frost half-asked, still trying to figure out why Quill and Spike were acting the way they were, but waving it off since Quill promised to tell her. Soon, the four made it to the temple, allowing Spike to open it with the fire-stone in his gloves. Once the door was out of the way, Spike let Quill carry Frost down the steps before following with Cyclone in his arms.

After making it into the temple, Quill let Frost down on the ground while Spike carried Cyclone over towards the dinner table to sit her down in a chair. Veil saw Cyclone asleep, and raised an eyebrow at Spike. He just nodded his head, and she turned away from him. Spike wasn’t sure what sort of reaction he was expecting from her, but that seemed… broodish? Spike shrugged and turned to start dinner with Frost when someone stopped him by placing their hand on his shoulder. Looking back, Spike saw the curious expression on Wolf’s face.

“What happened with Cyclone? She kinda looks like how you and Quill were a few weeks ago,” Wolf noted, looking over towards the sleeping dragoness with a raised eyebrow. “Frost, you were the one training her today. You know?”

“I believe Spike would be able to answer that question,” Frost said with a sly smile on her face as she sparked her horn to gather everything they needed to fix dinner for everyone, even some of the cooking books that Quill was able to get yesterday. “Isn’t that right, dear sweet Spike?”

‘Did Frost just throw me under the chariot? She’s been spending way too much time with Quill.’ Spike thought to himself as Frost continued to fix dinner with the same sly smile that he knew Quill was fond of. To make it worse, Quill was standing right beside Frost, giving Spike a perfect comparison. ‘Those two are becoming more like each other every day.’

Spike turned away from the two lovers to look straight into the forest-green eyes that belonged to Wolf. “Yeah, I guess Cyclone used up all of her energy after learning the healing-water technique. I’m sure she’ll be fine after she gets something to eat.”

“Hm, so she learned that today...alright,” Wolf said as he took note of the fact, looking away from Spike and towards the sleeping dragoness. “Oh right, you and I will be heading out to that diamond quarry tomorrow, and be sure to bring Peewee. We’re going to be out there for a while.”

“Alright Wolf,” Spike said with a nod of his head, knowing that Wolf was still looking for something to make a collar for both Blaze and his unborn cub, and now likely Isis as well. “Oh right, that reminds me, Blaze,” Spike said, walking over to Blaze and Isis, who were both sitting at Blaze’s work table, nose deep in a book about modern magic.

Spike then showed his wrists so Blaze could see the red shine on the gems. He’d noticed them during the fight with Quill, which had earned him a foot to his face for the distraction. “Whatcha think, I’m finally free of these things, right?”

“Well, it looks like you are. Aren’t you?” Blaze giggled as she patted Spike’s head, putting away the book so she could turn to face him. “And a little under a week too, that’s quite impressive,” she continued as she sparked her horn, reaching out to the wooden chest on the other side of the room to pull out two used-up fire-stones. “But I have to remind you Spike, you can’t let yourself fall back into your old routine.”

Blaze leaned forward in her chair to take hold of Spike’s arms, raising his wrists up to her face as the two murky-gray stones began to move toward the blazing red gems on Spike’s wrists. “Promise me, Spike,” Blaze stopped the stones mere centimeters away from the limiters on Spike’s wrists. “I don’t want you to have to use these again, understand me?”

“I understand Blaze, trust me, the last thing I want to do is have to use these things again,” Spike said with a tone of eagerness and a wide smile, showing that he was serious.

“If you mean it Spike, then congratulations,” Blaze said as she willed the two stones to meet the limiters on Spike’s wrists. There was a quick flash of red light from the limiters, bleeding their red light into the fire-stones before cutting off shortly after. With that finished, Blaze moved the two new fire-stones into her hands as she again sparked her horn to remove the braces off of Spike’s wrists. “And thank you Spike, now Veil and Cyclone have fire-stones for themselves.”

“Oh, uh, happy to help? I guess I should start helping Frost with the cooking,” Spike said, relieved to feel the massive weight over his body just vanish. He was looking forward to using his magic again as well, since he could help teach Cyclone.

Blaze nodded her head as she waved the drake off, already moving the limiters and new fire-stones back into the chest for safe-keeping. With Spike gone to help Frost with the cooking, she went back to the interesting read that she found in the book of modern magic. It was odd to her, the kind of magics that Equestrians deemed worthy of learning, but she hadn’t immediately discarded any of the spells out of hand yet. No, after years of studying ancient texts, Blaze had learned it was best to simply read through the book before deciding if any of the spells were any good.

While her mistress was busy with her reading, Isis had moved her attention over to the twins and Frost, her thoughts returning to a subject that had been on her mind for some time now. “Mistress, they are going to be strong,” she said to Blaze, breaking the mare out of her reading once again.

Blaze glanced up at Spike and Quill, who were showing Frost all of the things that they used to eat and what they could make with what they have in High Moon. Only half a thought was spent on them before she had a response for Isis. “Of course they are, Isis. As long as they have each other, they will continue to grow. And we will be right by their sides, helping them. Because we’re a family.”

“If you wish it to be, then it will be so mistress.”

Later that night, after everyone had eaten dinner, they all left for their rooms to turn in for the night. Cyclone, who had awoken to the smell of cooking food, had been giggly and smiling throughout dinner. That hadn’t changed as she, Spike and Veil were making their way back to the mansion. Not only had she gotten the hang of using her water-magic so quickly, but she also had the drake she had been hoping for.

Right as they reached the inside of the mansion, Spike got ready to say goodnight to the two when Cyclone beat him to it. “Night Veil, I’m sleeping with Spike tonight,” she said, getting both the drake and hound to look at her with surprise look in their eyes.

“What?!” the two shouted at the same time, both obviously misreading what Cyclone had meant by sleeping with Spike.

“What? I want to sleep with my new drakefriend. Frost gets to sleep in the same bed as Quill, so how come I can’t do the same thing?” Cyclone asked in a slight pout, nuzzling into Spike’s arm as a sign of affection towards him. “Come on, it’s not like we’re gonna do anything.”

“Er, right, sorry Cy.” Veil rubbed the back of her head as she cursed her persistent protective instincts for kicking in that moment. Spike, as much as Veil was unsure about him, was Cyclone’s chance at happiness, and she had no right to get in the way. “Go ahead, I’m sure Drake won’t do anything he’d regret. Right, Drake?”

“Uh, yeah, I won’t.” Spike began to nervously laugh as he wasn’t expecting Cyclone to move so quickly with their new relationship. “Well, I guess night, Veil? See you in the morning at breakfast.”

“Goodnight Veil, thanks for understanding. We’ll see you in the morning.” Veil nodded her head as she turned to walk to the left side of the mansion to go to bed alone for the first time in six years. As the hound left to sleep on her own, Cyclone began pulling Spike over towards his room with a happy smile on her face.

Looking down, Spike saw the smile on Cyclone’s face and began smiling himself, as it brought him joy to see the dragoness with a cheery look on her face. He realized this is what it felt like to be next to someone that truly did care about him, and to return the same feelings that she had for him.