High Moon Ch. 55:

Path to Winter part one; A Gamble

Two weeks had passed since the battle in Canterlot, and everyone that had been involved began to move on in their lives. After returning home to his two mares, Dusk and his sisters decided that it was time for them to get fully involved in the matter after having taken down some of the unicorns. Jinx and Sketchy told Dusk to be careful, so he began training with his sisters again, learning a few moves and strategies that they had picked up on during their time in the Republic Guard.

Of course it was dangerous for them to use their magic inside Ponyville, especially Verdite’s earth-magic. So instead they thought it best to keep with more physically-focused training at the local gym. Naturally, both Jinx and Sketchy were worried about their lover getting hurt during a battle. But Dusk was able to put their fears to rest when he said that he knew that he wasn’t alone in the fight and that he wasn’t going to let anything happen.

Meanwhile, in Canterlot, Obsidian began his own kind of training to better tackle the threat for the next time it decided to appear. It was hard to predict the enemy’s next move since they had been pushed into a more defensive position, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him from ensuring the safety of his home.

Princess Twilight had the filly, they knew the location of the enemy’s hideout in the Swayback Mountains, and they could get even more information out of the three unicorns they had captured. Applications for the Guard had nearly doubled since the attack on Canterlot. Ponies, griffons, and even other canines had started to join the Guard. A drive for new technology and tactical practices had been put forth by Celestia, increasing the workforce exponentially in the last two weeks.

Obsidian hated to say it, but the attack on Canterlot could be seen as a good thing - with the victory of Canterlot, a spark had been ignited in the kingdom, causing a fast-moving boom of growth. However, as good as all of this was, there was now a strain on the higher class of unicorns - and in some places, unicorns in general.

Civil disputes, false accusations, and other discriminating reports had begun coming in from all around Equestria. This had caused some unrest until Celestia had made it publicly known that there were only five remaining criminals, all of which were possibly high-class individuals. All this did was place a suspicious target on the backs of the noble unicorns.

However, everything had calmed down after the initial flares of suspicion, allowing everyone to refocus on preparing to either defend or go on the attack. On this matter though, it was difficult for everyone to pick a side. On the one side, taking the unicorns out quickly would prove better in the long run, but could also prove to be deadlier without knowing everything first. One the other side of the argument, going on the defense could help better ready Equestria for this, and future, threats. Though doing this would give the enemy time to devise another plan that might be even more fatal than the one they originally had.

Confirming whether or not they had a second plan was hard to prove given that Angel was quickly becoming more tight-lipped every day. Whether or not they had a second plan though, everyone could agree that Equestria needed to prepare for the inevitable battle.

Even the Elements of Harmony had been preparing for battle, with special training Celestia had been giving them. The training involved tapping further into the power of their Elements. This was done by combining the powers of their Elements together in a way they hadn’t before.

In a sense, this was a type of ‘fusion,’ as Twilight called it. Not a fusion of their physical bodies, but mentally through the raw magic of the Elements. However, this seemed to be a difficult thing for all of the Elements to do. Largely because not only were their good qualities fused together, but their negative ones as well.

Whether it was Fluttershy’s shyness, Rainbow’s brashness, Applejack’s stubbornness, Pinkie’s inability to take things seriously, Rarity’s high-class and ofttimes haughty attitude, or even Twilight’s hesitation, all the Elements had something negative they brought to the fusion that they were unable to work past. Something would go wrong and the fusion would be thrown off. And with each failure, another strain was placed upon their friendship.

Twilight was able to see that this was just like the type of magic that Jinx and Sketchy were telling her about during their visits to the library. Though, instead of conventional magic, the Elements were using the Elements of Harmony themselves to achieve the task. So she figured that their best way of achieving the fusion was by learning as much as she could from Dusk’s two mares.

During said visits by the mares, they were always more than happy to give Twilight a little help with Amethyst, who, according to some medical testing, had been proven to be eight years of age. In fact, any chance the other Elements had, they found some excuse to check up on Twilight and her adoptive daughter.

Twilight was still having some problems getting used to the idea, but everyone had been giving her nothing but votes of confidence that she could do it. That she could keep Amethyst safe.

One day in particular, Twilight noticed how Jinx was being more motherly towards Amethyst than usual. She was wondering what had gotten into the mare when Sketchy whispered to Twilight that Jinx had recently found out that she was pregnant. They had yet to tell Dusk, for fear of discouraging him from doing what he believed was right and helping with the occultists.

The news of the mare being pregnant brightened Twilight’s day, and she promptly wished the best for the two mares. Later that night, when Amethyst had been put to bed and the Elements came to hang out for a little while, everyone began taking turns admitting that they themselves had been eying someone special.

Ironically, the only one who had any experience with this was Fluttershy, as she said everything was going well with Arctic. The mare had been an amazing help with Fluttershy’s animal friends, who were all getting ready for the winter. Not to mention that Arctic had been treating Fluttershy amazingly, as she had been taking her out on dates anytime she could. Arctic was even able to talk Fluttershy into going on an adventure retreat this spring.

All of the girls were happy for Fluttershy, seeing that the shy mare could do so well on her own. The other girls were starting to believe that starting and maintaining a relationship in spite of all their duties wasn’t as hard as they all thought it would be.

Deep inside of Everfree, the twins, Frost, and the newcomers had all had doubled their training they had been going through. After hearing Quill’s plan two weeks ago, they had all began working towards getting strong enough for it to work.

They had all been training with each other, Rydder, or Wolf. They had ran throughout the valley, worked on their individual skills, and even created fun competitions between each other. Already, the plan was in motion, and there were only a few events that could mess everything up.

One of these events was something that’d been hanging at the back of Frost’s head. Something that she’d been worried about for quite some time. Her sister. Granted it would take quite some time for the mare to recover after what their mother had done to her, but… Chrysalis wasn’t the kind to give up without a fight.

Frost tried not to worry about it, but the thought of her sister forging another plan like she had definitely lingered in Frost’s thoughts at times. The biggest worry was that Chrysalis would attempt another grab at power, but that wasn’t likely, as she no longer had the aid of an entire hive.

Another thing that could go wrong was if the enemy, or even Celestia made a move that was unforeseeable. Quill, and the others in fact, were all fine with Celestia dealing with the unicorns so as long as the battle didn’t spill over into the valley.

That, above everything, came first. The safety of the valley and the pack. In the end that was their goal, making sure that the unicorns couldn’t one day do the pack any harm. Quill’s plan was mostly circumstantial, and that was another one of it’s flaws. Perhaps the biggest was the way things could turn south real quick.

However, Quill’s plan was so loose and based on others’ moves that the only way for it to fail was for them to act instead of react. That’s how they were going to tackle this battle. Prepare, strategize, wait, and react; the hunter’s way.

Yet, that didn’t mean that they devoted all of their time solely to training for a battle that didn’t have a date. Additionally, Spike had sent a letter in response to Twilight, which read:

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

Thank you for keeping the pack and I posted with what’s going on with the sentinels. And really, take your time with them, we still have to fix up a home to keep them all at. Anyway, we need a little favor. As you might have guessed, Quill and I are planning on getting involved in this battle with you guys. So we would like to be kept up to date every time something happens. Quill says she has a plan, but it will only work if we share information.

Stay strong, we’re gonna need you when this is all over.

P.S. Tell Amethyst I said ‘Hi’ - looking forward to visiting and seeing how she’s doing. We’re focusing on training right now, but odds are after our growth-spurts hit Quill and I can drop by, and I’ll make sure to bring Cyclone so she can meet you guys. Amethyst is gonna love her.

P.P.S. Quill didn’t really want to talk about why she hid Frost’s changeling nature. My best guess is that she’s worried someone will try to take out their mistrust against the changelings on her. Not to mention how some ponies feel about dragons.

The twins sent the letter off to Twilight the day after they’d gotten hers, and two days later Quill decided to finally take off the bandage on her face. When she came out to the main area for breakfast that morning, a sulking Frost by her side, the pack was shocked to see Quill’s new scar. The scar was still slightly pink, and cut a groove through her scales on the left side of her face. It started near the center of her forehead and cut down over her eye, nearly to the center of her cheek. Quill was more than happy to show it off. Spike shook his head at his sister, knowing that his twin had the time of her life during that fight, but he still found it hard to believe she had chose to keep the wound. Blaze and Isis mothered the dragoness for a few minutes, checking to make sure that nothing was infected, though Frost’s own healing talents had been more than sufficient to make sure the wound was clean. Still though, the mare had started an argument with her younger lover over it every day since the battle.

Frost was mostly frightened that Quill would want to collect scars like grotesque trophies, but Quill had finally convinced her that wasn’t the case. She had gotten that scar during her first real battle, and she didn’t want to just get rid of it because it would have been convenient - she wanted something to remind her that she wasn’t unhurtable. That she would have to keep training and improving constantly.

Frost had also gone off on Quill about how she’d nearly lost the eye - and Frost didn’t think her healing was up to a level where she could have fixed it. Quill didn’t have much of a reply about that beyond that her eye was fine. Frost was just worried for her lover, and Quill knew that, so she took all the lectures and worrying with a smile. It had helped that sex with the angry mare was especially vigorous.

Once the pack got over her new scar, Quill began exploring every option of battle that she could. She already knew about her own abilities, as well as Frost and Spike’s. The questions she wanted answers for were about the newcomers, more specifically the kinetic gems on Spirit’s wrists. Spirit decided to tell Quill and the others the tale of how he found the gems.

It happened when he was a little cub wandering through the forest alone with Fang. The two came across the small hoard of gems that were being guarded by an odd-looking fox. Fang hadn’t liked the look of the fox and had wanted to leave, while Spirit hadn’t been able to take his eyes off the glowings gems.

So he made a break for it. Luck would have it that Spirit was able to snag the gems and get away with two handfuls of them. Years later, they ran into the same fox again, only this time it was accompanied by a bat-pony, who had turned out to be Night Blade. Quill laughed at the odd way the three met up with each other, finding it somewhat ironic.

As the two half-listened to the story, Night Blade and Quill were both planning out the spaces that they wanted to use within the city ruins. Both plans were relatively simple, especially since all they had to do was fix the places up. Quill was already dead-set on using the cathedral as the home for the sentinels, while Night Blade was able to find a place alongside the river near the city thanks to Spike’s help.

With the spaces picked out, both females began working together to draw out plans that would satisfy Wolf. It was a short three hours later before the both of them had their plans made out, and ready to start as soon as they could.

Since Quill’s plan was the larger one, the dragoness agreed to help Night Blade out with her blacksmithing shop. The plans were simple, just a fix-up job at most thanks to there already being an old blacksmithing shop along with river. After a little sweeping, roof and support beam repair, adding a few things, and within two days the shop was mostly back up. At least, it was up to a point where Night could start reinforcing the tools that the pack already had in use.

With that done, the entire pack began working on the cathedral since it was a much larger project. Thankfully though, just like with the shop, the cathedral mostly only needed a fixing up, and with over eleven pairs of hands on the job at some point or another, it went by surprisingly fast.

However, the time did come were everyone in the pack needed to take a small breather from all the hard work. Quill and Frost had gotten up quite early this late fall morning to go spend the day flying together. Spike and Cyclone also had gotten up early to spend some time alone together, just like much of the rest of the pack had.

To her sorrow, Veil found herself alone, only adding to the bad mood she was in right now. And she knew why, as painful as it was to accept the answer. Veil was afraid. And she hated admitting to that. So she went to the one of the few people she knew she could trust to help her; Alpha-Mother.

Sliding out of the bed, grumbling to herself, Veil quickly made her way out of the mansion, up the hill and into the tunnel to the temple. All while thinking about the relationship Cyclone had with Drake. And how she wanted to be together with the two. At this point in her life, Veil couldn’t imagine going without Cyclone anymore. The two had helped each other in a vulnerable time of their lives, and even if things had been… very rocky, the important thing was that they’d been there for each other. From what she had seen, and from what Cyclone had been telling her, Drake was treating Cyclone more than nicely, and was willing to give her a chance too.

So why was she so afraid of the idea? Drake was a perfectly nice guy like everyone said, but after seeing him, Fang, and even Spirit get thrown into each other the other day by Wolf, it made Veil wonder if Spike was really strong enough or had the conviction to care for both her and the dragoness.

Then again, the two females were practically more sisters than they were friends. It felt wrong not to ensure Cyclone’s happiness - and Veil knew she wouldn’t compromise on her own. At least, not so long as she could make Cyclone happy.

“I hope Alpha-Mother can help,” Veil muttered to herself with her head hanging. She rubbed her arm over a band that she had found from the cave she went back too up on the cliff edge, and had it engraved with a fire-stone. If there was one thing Veil hated to do, it was get others to worry about her and her troubles. She was just a beta hound, and she was happy… mostly. She was just afraid of this new step.

As Veil reached the slab-door to the temple, both of the spiral runes and her fire-stone arm-band began shining a bright red before the slab slowly moved out of the way, allowing Veil to walk into Blaze’s work area.

She quickly saw Blaze and Isis both sitting next to each other as they were reading a book of some sort before they looked up to see who was coming into the temple. “Oh good morning Veil,” Blaze quickly flashed a smile to the beta hound, eliciting a slightly weaker smile back from the younger female. “Have you eaten yet?”

“Morning Alpha-Mother, Isis, and no ma’am I haven’t just yet,” Veil said as she stepped inside the temple, walking over towards the two alpha females, her hair covering one of her eyes. “Is Alpha out or something?” she asked as she tried to fix her hair out of her face, only to fail, causing her to growl in annoyance.

Blaze giggled at Veil’s hair troubles for a bit before she sparked her horn and waved her finger over towards the hound, gesturing for her to come over. “Come here sweetie, I think I can help you with your little hair trouble.”

Sighing, and with a small blush on her cheeks, Veil walked over towards Blaze’s free left side, sitting down on the stone floor when the mare motioned for her to do so. Once she was on the ground, Blaze summoned a comb that Quill had gotten from Ponyville about a month ago, and began to comb through Veil’s matted hair with difficulty.

“My, my Veil, when was the last time you washed your hair?” Blaze asked as she continued to force the comb through Veil’s black and white hair, while the hound was whining from the pain. “Hm, Isis, could you get me some water to perhaps loosen up Veil’s hair?”

Isis had been trying to hide the smile on her face, as it somewhat humorous to see the fully grown hound struggle against Blaze as though Veil was a cub. “Yes mistress, I will go fetch some river water. I suppose that would...help with the situation, hah,” Isis laughed before teleporting off in a burst of black fathers.

Before Veil could question Isis’s laughter, Blaze patted her on the back before she went back to combing through the tall hound’s hair. “So Veil, is there anything you wanted to talk about? You’ve seemed distracted and upset about something for a while now. You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“Yes I do Alpha-Mother, thank you,” Veil said with a slight sigh before she bit down on her lower lip. Blaze said nothing as she went back to moving the comb through Veil’s matted hair. It was comforting to know that Veil could count on Blaze whenever she needed it, and right now she needed it.

“It’s… it’s about Drake and Cy,” Veil answered in a low tone of voice as she was still unsure what to exactly feel. Steeling herself, Veil decided to get it all out in a rush. “I want to be with them. But I’m scared. I don’t think Drake really cares much for me either way. I think he’s just willing to give this a shot for Cyclone’s sake. And he’s weak. He’s doesn’t act like an alpha. I need someone that can protect Cyclone when I can’t.”

“Oh, Veilstone,” Blaze giggled a little. “Veil, you and Cyclone have been here for over a month now, and you still think so little of Spike?” Veil merely grumbled something underneath her breath, only getting Blaze to giggle again. “So what are you going to do, then? You can’t keep avoiding them. That wouldn’t be fair to any of you.”

Veil was quiet for a moment as Blaze continued to move the comb through her hair, which was longer than either realized, thanks to Veil always having it matted down. All the hound could think about right now was what was really bugging her. She knew that Cyclone was happy with him, and that he’d treat them both right, so why couldn’t she get over her fear?

“I...I don’t know. I just, I just don’t know any more, Alpha-Mother,” Veil said with a sad sigh leaving her lips. She leaned her head against Blaze’s knee, making Blaze stop the combing for a moment to let the hound speak her mind. “Cyclone’s right, isn’t she? I’m just being a big puppy about this, aren’t I?”

Blaze watched dejectedly as Veil began visibly shaking, telling the mare that Veil had been struggling with these thoughts for a lot longer than she realized she was. “Shush sweetie, it’s okay.” Blaze slowly wrapped her arms around Veil’s neck to get the hound to stop her shaking. “I’m glad that you’re willing to give Spike a chance, but you know there’s no reason to be worried, right? I know that you and Cyclone only had each other during some of the most important years of your lives, so you should be able to trust her on this. Sometimes those closest to us know things about us that we don’t even realize.”

“Alpha-Mother...I guess. I took care of Cyclone for six years, we’ve depended on each other for so long that usually we don’t even question the other’s decisions.” Blaze nuzzled against Veil’s cheek to get the hound to calm down, and began to gently hum as Veil continued. “I just...Cy always wanted us to be pack-sisters for Cadjo knows how long, and I’m starting to think that she was right. But this is such a huge change...”

“Veil, I think it’s time that you stop running from your fear,” Blaze said, moving her hands to Veil’s shoulders to turn her around a little so Blaze could look into Veil’s gray eyes. “Dear, you care deeply for Cyclone. You trust her more than anybody else here. So don’t you owe her a chance to help you with Spike?”

“That’s the thing Alpha-Mother! I don’t know what to do about him!” Veil whined, turning her head down to the ground in frustration, feeling helpless. “I’m worried that I’ll make things weird or something. And what if Dra...Spike doesn’t like me back? What if I end up not being able to accept him as my mate?”

“Dear,” Blaze started, reaching for Veil’s chin to raise her head slightly as Isis finally reappeared with a bucket of water from the river. “Love takes a while to grow, Veil. I didn’t fully love Wolf when we first met. In fact, it took me a long while before I finally realized that my heart belonged to Wolf.”

Isis brought the bucket of water over them, sitting it down on the table next to Blaze before taking her seat. Blaze went back to combing through Veil’s hair, looking over her shoulders to Isis. “Thank you Isis,” the mare said before she turned her attention back to the hound. “Now Veil, I know that it may be hard for you, but you have to at least try. You can’t keep running from how you feel.”

Blaze, after removing the clumps of hair out of the comb, dipped the plastic grooming tool into the tin bucket to wet it. After she tapped the comb to shake off the extra water, Blaze went through Veil’s hair again, now easier with the water. “You have to give it a try, Veil. Think for a moment how Cyclone feels. She’s doing her best to ensure that you are happy too, including being willing to share Spike. Could you hope for more?”

“No,” Veil sighed, “No I can’t, but Cy wouldn’t let me be unhappy if I tried. After the life we lived, I can’t complain, either.” Blaze kept quiet to let the hound continue while she continued to finish combing Veil’s hair. “We usually got into arguments all the time when we first met. Usually it was her trying to cheer me up when I didn’t want it, more rarely it was me trying to get to the bottom of her past. I mean, Cyclone couldn’t even sleep in a bed by herself for months without freaking out, and then it got to the point where we just kept sleeping together. Now, though…”

“Now she’s sleeping with Spike and not you. Is that it, sweetie?” Blaze asked, connecting two and two together easily. “You miss the connection that you and Cyclone had before she started hanging out with Spike more. And now you’re worried that you might not be able to regain that connection.”

“I guess, Alpha-Mother,” Veil sighed again, but knowing that Blaze was right about what she was saying. “But what am I supposed to do? I have no idea what to say to him. It’s already bad enough that I make Dra- Spike think that I don’t like him, and that’s all on top of me not even being half as pretty as Cyclone. I mean, she’s all curves and I’m just tall and all angles. Ugh, I’m even taller than Spike. That’s going to be so weird..”

“No Veil, you know Spike’s not that kind of dragon,” Blaze said after tapping the top of Veil’s head with the comb in a playful manner. Veil let out a weak chuckle, though easily able to be identified as half-hearted. “He won’t care what you look like, and it’s not fair for you to compare yourself with Cyclone. You are a very pretty hound, Veilstone, you just have a different body type than Cyclone. Yes, she’s curvy, but you’re all muscle under that fur. Lean, sexy muscle. You’ll drive the poor dragon wild, sweetie. As much as Cyclone does.”

Veil groaned in embarrassment from what Blaze was telling her. Veil didn’t think she was right, but there was no point in arguing with the blue mare. If Blaze thought she was right, she wasn’t going to let it go until Veil did what she wanted. That wouldn’t stop Veil from trying, though.

“But Alpha-Mother…”

“No buts, young lady,” Blaze interrupted, crossing her arms underneath her chest with a stern look on her face. “I don’t want you to run from your fear any longer. It isn’t fair to you, and it isn’t fair to Spike and Cyclone.” Blaze motioned for Veil to stand up, getting the hound to do just that without question. “Now you march out there right now, they should be at the fishing river. And if you can’t find them there, I want you to come right back here until they come in. Understand me?”

With a worried frown, Veil nodded her head as she moved her hand through her now straightened, and slightly wet, hair. “Yes Alpha-Mother, I’ll try, but I don’t-” Veil stopped with a yelp when Blaze flicked the plastic black comb against Veil’s rear-end. She turned to question the mare about why she spanked her like that, but the stern look on Blaze’s face told Veil everything she needed to know. “I-I’ll be going.”

“Be safe dear, and do your best,” Blaze said as she sat back against her chair, sparking her horn to envelope the comb in her magic and teleport it back where it came from.

With a final nod towards the mare, Veil left out of the temple in search of her friend and Drake. Hopefully, this wouldn’t be as bad or awkward as Veil was thinking it would be. Maybe.

Veilstone watched the two from the brush, still debating with herself whether or not she wanted to confront them here and now about how she was feeling. Trying to find the courage to end the fear she'd been forcing herself through. It was just getting to be too much, though. However, with the talk she had with Alpha-Mother, Veil couldn’t just turn away any more. It would be more simple to just leave things the way they were, and bury her feelings like she always had.

But not today, apparently.

She knew that Cyclone would help her however she could, but this was still a huge step. Sure, taking in Cyclone had been one too, but she’d had no time to worry about it when the dragoness had showed up in her life. Much like when their home had burned down and the two had moved to High Moon. Then they’d had no other real option. But now that Veil had time to consider what she was about to go through with...

Now Cyclone didn't need Veil to protect her, or even take care of her. Much less keep her company at night. That was all Drake, now. But Cyclone was giving Veil a chance to get that back, and more. Veil was certainly attracted to Spike - he was cute enough, and he seemed to always put others ahead of himself. With Cyclone’s help, this was a shot at her finding someone special too - and keeping Cyclone, the one constant in her life that she couldn’t imagine being without.

She turned her attention back to the two in the river. The two certainly seemed to be having fun - mock-fighting each other using only water-magic, completely drenched in the small river they were standing in. Veil was reluctant to intrude on them, but figured this would be her best chance. She had to talk to Spike, and she knew Cyclone would help her. She could do this.

Taking in a deep breath to calm herself, Veilstone walked out of the bushes, a half-forced, half-

genuine smile on her face. “You two seem to be having fun,” Veil raised her eyebrows at the two soaking dragons, shaking her head lightly.

Spike laughed awkwardly. He couldn’t remember having this much fun in... well, quite some time. His time spent with Cyclone was the best time of his life so far, even surpassing when he'd first learned he could use magic. Seeing Veil here though, Spike remembered the talk Cyclone had had with him about her two weeks ago. He still didn’t really believe Cyclone, but she had told him that Veil would approach them on her own, when she was ready.

Shaking himself and putting it out of his mind, he sent another swipe of water at Cyclone, before replying to the hound. “Yeah, it's nice to be able to relax finally. We've got the greenhouse set up, Blaze doesn't need us to collect any ingredients, and everyone is taking a break from being thrown around by Wolf all the time. Not to mention having setup the cathedral for the sentinels. Glad to get some off time.”

“To be fair Spike, you're not getting thrown around as much anymore,” Cyclone retorted, having avoided the small blast of water. She turned to Veil, eyeing her carefully before asking, “So did you want to join us for a swim?”

Veil shook her head, taking a seat on the edge of the bank. “Just came by to talk, that's all. You two seemed to be having fun, though, and besides, I can't use magic like you.”

“Well, if you're sure, Veil…” Cyclone trailed off, managing to catch Spike off-guard with a

well-timed undercurrent against the backs of his knees.

He fell over backwards, coming back up a few seconds later, sputtering, “Ok, now it's on!”

The two quickly fell back into their game, splashing and tripping each other up. They almost

seemed to have forgotten about Veil sitting on the bank, watching them. She smiled though, glad that Cyclone was happy again. Drake seemed to be good for her. That was the only reason she hadn't ripped his head off when he'd began returning the interest Cyclone showed--he made her happy. Veil flexed her hands lightly, thinking that if he ever hurt her...

She was interrupted by a large splash that got the fur on her legs wet. “Cyclone!” she berated her friend, continuing, “What the hell! I'm not in this!”

Cyclone seemed to be caught in a giggling fit, finally managing an apology. “Sorry, you just

seemed too caught up in your thoughts. Besides, you missed my question.”

Veil shook her head, thinking that maybe Drake was a bad influence on Cyclone after all.

She dipped a foot in the water and splashed towards Cyclone, figuring she was already wet now anyways. “Well, what'd you ask?”

“So what'd you want to talk about?” Cyclone repeated the missed question, laughing at the childish move from her friend.

Veil went silent, unsure of how to broach the subject now that she'd been called out. She could just blurt it all out, but sneaking a quick glance at Spike, it seemed almost beyond embarrassing. “Well…” she trailed off, looking away from Cyclone.

Cyclone raised an eyebrow, proclaiming, “Well, if you don't want to talk, you must want to get soaked too!” as she sent another splash over her friend.

“Agh! No!” Veil laughed, trying to avoid the water unsuccessfully. Cyclone had managed to get Veil wet up to her stomach, so Veil figured it was pointless to avoid the water now. She jumped in after Cyclone, putting her claws out in a threatening gesture, playfully growling, “You're going to get it now, Gustie!”

“Spike, help!” Cyclone laughed as she tried to splash over to him. She made it halfway there

before Veil caught up to her and started wrestling with her, dunking the white dragoness as she kept laughing.

“Drake knows better than to try and stop me, I'd-”

“You'd what?” Spike interrupted her, one hand held out towards her and Cyclone. He had a cocky grin on his face, like he'd already played his winning card.

Veil rolled her eyes, as Drake didn't worry her. In fact, he worried her as much as she herself would worry Alpha. “We both know Alpha tosses you around like a chewtoy, and if he can do-” she was again interrupted, this time by a veritable waterfall that lasted only a few seconds, soaking her to the bone. Spike quickly began laughing at the shocked expression on Veil’s face, thinking he’d have to remember that trick for any fights he might get into with Fang or Quill.

“Oh. You. Are. Dead.” Veil growled, letting Cyclone--who had also gotten caught in the water, but was laughing--go, and began advancing on Spike.

Spike just laughed at the oncoming hound, knowing that she wouldn’t do anything too drastic - and that he could handle it if she tried anything serious. When Veil got up to him, though, she paused, seeming to think to herself for a moment. Spike watched her visibly calm down, and take a deep breath.

“Dra… Spike. I know Cyclone’s already told you this, but I… I want to be with the two of you. I… think you’re good for her, and… uh, you’ve shown that you’d make a suitable mate, and I... honestly can’t imagine letting Cyclone go entirely. So… er, what I’m asking… do you think we could make this, us, work?” Veil forced herself to get it all out at once, afraid of the answer. She couldn’t figure out why she couldn’t form whole sentences. If he said no, she’d just have to resign herself to watching over Cyclone from the side. ‘Why is it so hard to express myself to him? Come on Veil, just tell him you like him already,’ she thought to herself furiously, fighting off a blush and failing.

Spike’s eyes went wide, and he glanced at Cyclone disbelievingly for a moment. He hadn’t actually thought that Veil liked him that way - half the time, she was ready to snap his nose off. “Well, uh, if Cy’s ok with -” He was cut off with an eager “I am!” by the smiling dragoness, and he stopped himself before starting back up again. “Then… Sure. I mean, I didn’t think you liked me. As often as not, you’re always angry with me. Why?”

Blushing again and shifting her weight from one foot to the other, Veil looked down at the water in between the two of them. ‘Well, now’s as good a time as any.’ “It’s… I’m afraid. Of being alone. Of letting go. Of taking a big step like this. I’ve never... dated anyone, Drake. Never seen the point. Cy’s helped opened my eyes by just being with you - and now I can’t help but want to be with you too. I was always... upset at you because until you came along, I’d never cared. I was content with my life. Then everything changed. I saw you as taking Cyclone from me and I… I’m sorry for how I’ve been.”

Spike thought to himself for a bit. He’d never seen the hound open herself up like this. He wondered if this is how she was with Cyclone. Sighing, and with a weak chuckle, he replied. “Well, Veil, I’m still sorry about your old home. I know neither of you asked for this. As for Cy, well, I’m making this all up as I go. She’s the first girl I’ve been with. So we can explore this together, I guess.” He smiled up at her. This was one of the first times her extra height hadn’t really bothered him - but then again, she wasn’t trying to intimidate him, either.

Smiling weakly back, Veil met his emerald eyes. He looked as worried as she did, which was a small relief. Looking over her shoulder at Cyclone, Veil saw the smaller dragoness making encouraging motions with her hands. Sighing again, and with another blush darkening her fur, Veil tilted her head down to meet Spike’s gaze again. Screwing up as much courage as she could, she shut her eyes and shot herself forward into a kiss with Spike.

Shocked, Spike almost tumbled back, but caught himself and placed his hands on her arms. It wasn’t much of a kiss, in his opinion - she was just pressing her lips against his, and she was keeping her body stiff. Keeping his amusement to himself, he returned the quasi-kiss as best he could. When she pulled away from him, she looked at him with a frown.

“I was hoping you could kiss better than you fight, but I guess not.” Veil turned to look at Cyclone over her shoulder, calling out, “Aren’t you teaching him -” she was cut off abruptly as a clawed hand cupped her cheek, and she was pulled into another kiss by Spike. She barely had time for a surprised squawk before their lips met.

‘Say I can’t kiss? She didn’t know what she was doing!’ Spike thought indignantly as he kissed the taller hound. Going on impulse, Spike slipped his long, thin tongue into her mouth, and nearly jolted in surprise when he met hers. It was so different from his and Cyclone’s. Where theirs’ were long and thin, hers was shorter, but thicker.

Inspiration struck him, and he slithered his tongue all around Veil’s, before squeezing gently with it, and dragged her tongue into his mouth. He heard Veil let out a shuddering moan before her hands moved up his chest to grip at his shirt.

After a few more mind-numbing moments of bliss, Veil realized what Spike was doing, and her eyes shot wide. She broke the kiss, glaring down at the drake indignantly. “You - I… what… Rrrrragh!” With a growl, she picked up Spike by his shirt and hurled him backwards into the water. Huffing slightly - she wouldn’t even consider that it was from the kiss - she turned back to look at Cyclone, silently mouthing a ‘wow’.

Cyclone, who had been keeping in her laughter at Spike’s sudden and forceful kiss, let it all go, and she nearly fell into the water herself. It took her another minute before she could get herself under control, and by then, Spike had stood up and was watching Veil warily again.

Veil brushed a hand through her hair, breathing out through her nose as she regarded Spike. Spike watched her back, still wary of the taller hound. He hadn’t expected her to be that strong - she’d tossed him like he was still a little hatchling.

With a nod to herself and a sudden grin that showed her fangs, Veil finally spoke. “Yeah, this will work. But don’t think I’ll be meek like Cyclone. You’re going to have to fight if you want to be in charge here, Drake.”

Spike cocked an eyebrow. She thought Cyclone was the meek one in their relationship? He was going to enjoy seeing Cyclone disprove that. That said, it still seemed like Veil planned on being as predictable as a twitchy explosive. “Uh, ok, I guess?”

Cyclone finally moved up behind Veil and pinched her rear before wrapping her arms around her taller friend’s waist. “See? I told you he’d say yes. And you were worried.”

Blushing hotly, Veil shot a glare at Cyclone before replying. “I wasn’t worried, Gustie. I knew what he’d say.”

Rolling her eyes, Cyclone giggled. “That’s why you’ve been awkward around him for two weeks and not approaching us.”

Realization hit Spike. “So that’s why you’ve been--”

Veil growled at Spike, face still red. “You want another dunk, Drake?”

Spikes eyes went wide, before a cocky grin found its way to his face. For some reason, Veil made him want to push her. “You think you can? I could just pour the river on you again.”

A feral-looking grin appeared on Veil’s face, and she cracked the knuckles on both of her hands. “Ok Drake, time to show you who’s top do-” she was cut off by Cyclone sweeping her feet out from under her with her tail, the pale dragoness still holding onto her friend as the two of them went down into the water.

Laughter erupted from Spike at the sight. Veil deciding she wanted to be with the two of them might just turn to be amazing.