Author's Notes:

So, heh, been a while huh? Well guess who is back? Sorry for the disappearance everyone and let me humbly apologize for disappearing like that. Let me say this that I feel like I owe all of you for all the comments, love, and feedback on the story. No I hadn't lost interest in it at all life has just been in the way as of late. New job, school, yad yadyadyad. My point is, I'm happy to be back with you all and to say that my goal is to finish this story before my 21st birthday on the 30th of Nov. If I can do that, then I'll consider myself back in the groove of the fandom. If not then I got some work to do eh? Heh, well anyway, glad to be back, happy to see anyone still into the story, and as all ways; see you guys next time.

High Moon Ch. 58:

Plans for the End pt. 2

The trip back to High Moon was a long and quiet one as Spike led his two mates back through the Everfree. Snow blanketed the entire forest and softly fell from the tree canopy above their heads. As the snow-covered structure of the temple came into view, Spike sighed as he braced himself for the unavoidable. He waved his glove in front of the rune-door, stepping aside for Cyclone and Veil to walk down the stairs into the temple before following down into the dimly lit stairway.

Cyclone seemed to have an extra kick to her step as she hurried down the stairs, carrying the scrapbook and the bag of treats they had gotten from the Sugar Cube Corner. Spike smiled at the dragoness, but he still wished he knew what to say about Sweetie Belle and her music. It felt like so long ago since the camping trip and the fallout that happened the last night before they returned to Ponyville.

‘What in the world am I going to say? Not just to them, but to Sweetie too,’ Spike questioned himself as Cyclone excitedly skipped into Blaze’s work area and made her way over to the mare and sphinx.

“Clan-Mothers, we’re back, and Spike bought snacks for everyone,” the dragoness said, showing Blaze the large gray plastic bag.

Blaze turned from her book with a raised eyebrow and smiled towards the three. “Well welcome back you three. Wolf said you had something to take care of, but I wasn’t expecting this. Thank you, dear.” Blaze sparked her horn and took the bag out of Cyclone’s hands and placed it on a vacant spot on her table. That’s when she noticed a thick book in the dragoness’ other arm, half-hidden by her cloak. “Now what do you have there, Cyclone?”

“Oh, right! This is a scrapbook filled with pictures of Spike and Quill while they were growing up. You wanna see? There’s this cute one where Spike and Quill are sucking on their own tails,” Cyclone quickly said. Blaze’s response was to levitate a chair around the table for Cyclone to sit and show her everything.

While the two females giggled and gushed over the twins old hatchling pictures, Spike groaned and noticed a snow-covered cloak covering Rydder’s body. He tilted his head at this and turned towards Isis, who was only sparing the scrapbook a glance or two. “Hey, what’s Rydder doing here? I thought he’d be with the others gathering things up for the battles.”

“Ah, yes. The dates have been set then?” Isis asked the drake. Spike nodded his head, while Cyclone looked up from the book with a worried expression on her face. Blaze however, had a more calm look in her eyes as she looked up from the book, which was surprising from the minor mood swings the mare had been having as of late. “I see. Well, this was unavoidable. Mast - ahem - Wolf has taken Spirit and the others off to a hidden tomb inside of a cave on the outskirts of the city ruins. Rydder remained behind after Mis - mm - Blaze suggested giving him some rest, given how active he is over most of the other sentinels. I will take you there and assist in the gathering.”

“Whoa, wait, what do you mean this was unavoidable?” Spike questioned the sphinx, watching as she carefully got up from her seat.

Isis chuckled softly as she walked past Veil and towards the drake, smiling. “As I’ve said before Spike, while Celestia and Luna are celestial goddesses, I myself am something a bit… more.” Spike blankly stared at the sphinx while Veil tilted her head in confusion. Their reactions only got more soft chuckles out of Isis as she shook her head. “Perhaps this is not the time, then. Ah well. Spike do you remember the ‘vision’ that the filly you saved showed you?”

“Amethyst? Of course, how could I forget?” he answered, shuddering at the memory of dying.

“Foresight, the ability I told you she possessed, I have it as well. It takes many hours of meditation, but I am able to see how certain events may play out.” Spike opened his mouth to ask a question, but was cut off my Isis raising her hand. “No, this doesn’t mean I know how everything is going to go. I can merely see how the event may play out, and the different branches of time that lead off from there. Nothing more than that.”

“So even if you told us the outcome, it wouldn’t change anything?” Spike asked, getting a nod from Isis. He sighed but still accepted the answer; one thing he had learned through his time at High Moon was that life wasn’t meant to be easy or simple. “Tsk, well, that’s fine. Things would be boring that way, right?”

Isis nodded her head and laughed, before turning around to Blaze. “Mis-” she paused, clearing her throat before she continued, “Blaze, I’ll be taking Spike to the tomb. Hopefully the others have already started picking out materials for Night and I to work on.”

Blaze giggled as she waved Isis off, happy to see that the sphinx was trying to curb the habit of calling Wolf and herself ‘Master and Mistress.’ Hearing that let her know that Isis was becoming more accustomed to being pack-sisters with her. She smiled at the sphinx before speaking. “Alright you two, I’m sure Cyclone and Veil don’t mind keeping me company. Do you girls?” Cyclone shook her head, mouth full of pastries. Veil and Spike laughed at the squirrel-cheeked dragoness as Veil walked towards Spike, placing a hand on his chest and softly nipping the side of his neck. As Veil turned around to take a seat at Blaze’s work table, she saw and heard Blaze giggling. A small blush found its way to the Veil’s cheeks as the mare spoke. “Be careful out there you two.”

“Bye Spikey,” Cyclone said after she swallowed her treat, waving her hand.

Spike waved back as Isis walked behind him. He turned just in time to see her ebony wings expanding outwards as a red halo formed at their feet. Looking down, Spike made out what looked like a stone cave floor and a few sentinels wandering about. Before he could finish looking at the image, Isis flapped her wings, causing the both of them to be lifted off the ground before submerging into the image.

Once the red ring faded, Veil turned to Cyclone, who was sharing a chocolate-chip cookie with Blaze, both females munching away happily. She chuckled a bit, smiling warmly. “Hey, Cy?” Her response came back as a muffled, ‘mhmm?’ from Cyclone, the dragoness savouring the fluffy texture of her current treat. Veil rolled her eyes and laughed before she asked, “Spike give you that… special gift from the half-blood?”

“Oh, yeah. Did you want to listen to it now?” Cyclone asked, chewing on the inside of her bottom lip. “Don’t you think we should wait?”

Veil dismissively waved her head and licked her lips, eyeing the treats. “Nah, I don’t. Hey Alpha-Mother, you in the mood for a little music?”

Blaze arched an eyebrow at Veil, briefly glancing back at Cyclone to see her nervously looking at the bag on the table. She had heard a bit of Equestrian music from the twins, and while she enjoyed some of it, liking the energy or the message, others she found to be… too loud. However, she was more curious to know why Cyclone and Veil were acting odd. She nodded her head towards the beta hound, getting a grin back before Veil left towards the entrance and dashed up the stairs to Quill’s room.

Cyclone sighed as she reached into the plastic bag and pulled out the CD album. She held the case in her hands, examining the exterior until she got to the song list on the back. There were only twelve songs listed, and while Cyclone didn’t know much about the music business, she guessed that this was pretty short for an album. Most notably, all the songs - especially the debut, “My Shining Dark Knight in Green Scales!” - seemed like they were about dragons, or at least one in particular… and Spike fit the bill.

‘Spike… just who is this mare to you?’ she asked herself as the door slid open, Veil walking in holding Quill’s old blue CD player.

“Alright, let’s see what the big deal about this CD is,” Veil said, placing the player on the table and carefully opening it the way Quill had showed her. She held out a hand to Cyclone and gestured for her to hand over the CD. However, Cyclone hesitated and pulled the CD to her chest. Veil cocked her head as she looked at the dragoness. “Cy, the disk please?”

Cyclone bit her bottom lip, her eyes shifting back and forth from Veil to the CD. “A-are you sure Quill would be okay with us using her stuff? Wh-what if we break it?”

“She’ll be ok with it, and we won’t,” Veil simply answered before gesturing for Cyclone to hand her the CD again. “Now come on, give it here. Besides, if Spike didn’t want us to listen to it without him then he would have said something, right?” She raised an eyebrow with grin on her face as she held out her hand closer to Cyclone. The dragoness sighed in defeat and reluctantly handed Veil the CD case. Veil took the case and comfortingly scratched the scales on Cyclone’s head before she turned back to the player, opening the CD case and taking the disk in between her claws. She placed it inside the player, closed the top, and hit play.

A soft guitar melody and a light drum beat began. This went on for a few moments, and was enough to draw out the tension in the room, allowing Blaze to go back to reading her book. But as the melody faded, the lyrics began to kick in.

The temple was silent except for the female singing, as the three in Blaze’s laboratory listened to Sweetie Belle’s song. Her voice was almost saccharine, but there were hints of anger and frustration that had Blaze arching an eyebrow. Meanwhile, Cyclone and Veil both were somewhat speechless - both from Sweetie’s voice and the passion held in each of her words. Each stanza painted a story that all of them could tell Sweetie pulled from her own personal experiences.

All and all, it was something normally expected from a pop-culture song, only it sounded… bitter. At the end, all three females were left with the impression that Sweetie knew what she wanted and also knew she couldn’t have it; what she wanted was obviously a ‘knight’. There was a short pause before the second song on the album, however it was cut off by Cyclone hitting the pause button.

“Hey, whatcha do that for?” Veil asked, miffed as she looked over at Cyclone. “And just when it was actually getting good.”

“I-I... “ Cyclone bit her lip and looked past Veil’s intense gaze to Blaze, getting a small nod from the mare. She took in a deep breath to calm herself before continuing. “I think we should wait for Spike before listening to any more, Veil. Dusk did give it to him.”

“So?” Veil snorted, arching an eyebrow.

“So, I say we wait until he gets here,” Cyclone replied, laying a hand down on the CD player and looking up into Veil’s eyes. “I’m sure there was a reason why Dusk gave the CD to him and I don’t think we should nose into his business. So we save it for later, okay?”

Veil frowned before she ran her fingers through her scruffy hair, making a mental note to brush it as she looked at Cyclone for another moment. The dragoness held her firm expression, her eyes carrying an air of authority that she didn’t usually take with the hound. “Ugh, fine. Guess I’ll just go get food to start dinner then. I’ll be right back,” she said before walking around the table and to the slab leading towards the city ruins. As the door opened up, she looked back to Cyclone, seeing the dragoness still had a protective hand on the CD player, and a hard look in her eyes. Veil huffed before she walked out the door.

Meanwhile, Cyclone kept her eyes on the hound until Veil was gone. She sighed and took her hand off the CD player, looking down towards the ground. She hated having to be like that with Veil, but sometimes Cyclone knew the beta hound could be too possessive. If she knew that Sweetie Belle was related to Rarity... ‘Even if she has the same last name as Rarity, that doesn’t mean they’re the same… right?’ Cyclone asked herself as she got up from her seat to get everything ready for cooking dinner in the temple.

However, as she got up, Cyclone felt a tug on her tail. She looked down to see the tip encased in a red hue and looked at Blaze, who was still reading her book. Before she could ask, Blaze spoke first. “Dear, is everything alright between the two of you? I hate to see close friends fighting, especially when they are pack-sisters.”

Cyclone meekly nodded her head and looked away before Blaze’s piercing red eyes could meet hers. Each day those crimson eyes seemed to carry more and more power. “Y-yes, I just want to sort this out with Spike. It doesn’t feel fair to poke into something that might be about his past without hearing his story. That’s all, Veil just need to learn that.”

“Mhmm, alright then,” Blaze said after a moment, letting Cyclone’s tail go and continuing her reading.

Time passed quickly as everyone began to file back into Blaze’s lab, save for Night, Kirin, and Isis, who were already getting to work on smithing weapons and other tools for the upcoming battles. Thanks to the large heads up they’d had, a few months worth, Night Blade already had a few ideas sketched out for the dogs, Frost, and even some of the sentinels. While both the male beta dogs were too tired to notice, Spike could tell that there was something going on between Cyclone and Veil. Normally the two always sat together but now they were on opposite sides of the table and were talking around each other, something they both of them hated. He wanted to ask Blaze if something had happened while he was away, but seeing the mare snuggled against Wolf while they ate, he decided to ask them later. It took a lot for Wolf to leave High Moon for a long period of time with Blaze carrying their child, and Spike didn’t want to disturb them.

As the alphas decided to call it for the evening, everyone else followed suit. Fang had already left earlier to take some food to Night and the other two members of the pack that had missed dinner. Bidding Spirit a good night, Spike closed the door to his bedroom, leaving him alone with Cyclone and Veil. Both were sitting on separate sides of the bed, not facing one another, undressing. Spike noticed the scrapbook sitting on the nightstand near Cyclone and Quill’s CD player sitting next to Veil.

He inwardly sighed and realized that they must have listened to Sweetie’s music and weren’t happy about it. “Alright, you two. How much of it did you listen to?” he asked, walking into the room.

“Just the first song,” Cyclone answered.

“Shoulda been more than that,” Veil added, throwing her shirt to the floor with a huff. “But someone thought it wouldn’t be fair.” She whipped her head around and added with a growl, “Whatever that’s supposed to mean!”

Cyclone’s shoulders tensed up as her tail whipped around behind her threateningly. She took a short breath before she turned her head to look over her shoulder at Veil. “It means it wouldn’t be fair to Spike, Veilstone,” she hissed back, a thin line of smoke trailing from her nose.

“What in Cadjo’s twin heads does that even mean?!”

“It means -”

“Okay stop it you two,” Spike snapped at the two. They flinched from his deep voice thundering through the room, and both looked away from each other while Spike closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He hated to yell at them, but he hated seeing them argue even more. Sighing, Spike walked towards the foot of the bed and sat down with a heavy groan. “What’s gotten into you two?” Neither Cyclone nor Veil said anything. They didn’t move a muscle as they looked down at the ground, remorse on their faces. Spike looked between the two and sighed again before he flopped down onto his back, putting his hands over his face and chuckling. “Why are you two even arguing?”

A few moments passed with the three quietly sitting on the bed; Cyclone had her hands pressed against her legs as she stared down at her knees, while Veil was busy studying the cracks and crevasses on the wall as Spike rubbed his hands over his eyes. He heard as his two mates draw in an equally shaky breath, adding to the tension to the room, until at last Cyclone spoke.

“Spike… who is she to you? This Sweetie Belle. I know she’s related to Rarity but -” She was cut off when she heard Spike laughing, and turned to see him shaking his head. “What? Am I wrong?”

Spike shook his head again, still laughing. “Oh no, you’re right.”

“Then what’s so funny?” Veil asked, turning around and crawling towards Spike on all fours. Cyclone did the same, both stopping when they were hovering above Spike’s face.

The drake took his hands off his face and opened his eyes to find his vision blocked by his mates’ faces. He reached a hand up to their cheeks and gently cupped them. “Ugh, you two are just so troublesome and adorable at the same time. It’s just so… ugh.” Spike laughed and pressed their faces together, making their cheeks rub against each other. He smiled while Veil whined and Cyclone giggled, adding more vigor to his playing.

Veil was quick to break free, sitting up on her knees, blushing while Cyclone kept

giggling. “What in Cadjo’s fangs gotten into you, Spike?” she asked, trying her best to hide her blush.

“I should ask you two the same thing,” Spike answered back, sitting up on the bed. He quickly pulled Cyclone into his lap and stroking her cheek while she blushed and looked up at him. “Boy, I feel like a jerk. I don’t deserve the two of you being jealous.”

“Je-jealous?!” the two babbled at the same time, making Spike laugh.

“Yeah, I said it. Jelly-jealous, the both of you.” He sighed as his hand trailed down and traced the curves of Cyclone’s shoulder and breasts before stopping at her flat stomach, gently rubbing his fingers into the contours of her sapphire belly-scales. “She’s a friend, to answer your question, Cyclone. She’s a friend that had to watch me flirt with Rarity everyday. I ignored her and opted to go for her elder sister for years.”

“And she never told you how she felt?” Cyclone asked, sitting up and wrapping an arm around Spike’s back. She snuggled against him while taking his hand in her own. Veil moved to Spike’s other side - from the look on her face, she had the same question as Cyclone did.

Spike rubbed his nose with his free hand, thinking how to explain what happened during the camping trip. He thought that whole situation was over and done with, but it seemed to have found its way to stick its unwelcome head back into his life.

“She did,” he answered, rubbing his hand on his cheek. With a heavy sigh, he continued. “It was during a camping trip, when Quill and I met Dusk, Jinx, and Sketchy. We all were having a good time and Quill and I were learning a lot about dragons from Dusk. Y’know, what we expected from a camping trip. Though Quill did have one rule; no talking about going to back to Ponyville. She warned both me and the others about that.”

He sighed lightly as the memories of the last night of the camping trip came back to him and the horrible way he had handled the situation. If he had the chance to go back and change something, anything, he would. ’Then again,’ Spike thought to himself, ‘If I did change anything, would I still have these two amazing girls with me?’ Shaking away the thought, he continued. “The last night of the trip is what made things go south fast. It started off with Sweetie confessing that she loved me... and then she kissed me.” He bit his lip and awaited the expected outburst from Veil and Cyclone, but found himself holding his breath for a few moments for nothing. He let his breath go with a sigh and relaxed his shoulders as he felt Cyclone rubbing a hand on his back. “But like the weak twist in a typical soap opera, one of Sweetie’s friends, Scootaloo, also had a crush on me. She saw Sweetie kiss me and she wasn’t happy about it. Neither was Quill.”

“You told her?” Cyclone asked.

Spike shook his head while he was weakly smiling. “No, she saw it all play out. Scootaloo said Sweetie was only crushing on me now because she wanted to guilt-trip me into going back to Ponyville. I know Sweetie wouldn’t do that, but at the time it was a really touchy thing for Quill and me. So you two can imagine that things wouldn’t work out.”

“That would explain her saying, ‘I stand aside, I stand alone’ over and over,” Veil said as she shifted herself around to hang her legs off the bed before laying her head down on Spike’s shoulder, sighing. “So that’s what happened, huh? Didn’t get the older sister and had to let the younger one go. Man, did you fuck up.”

“Veilstone!” Cyclone hissed with a disapproving look on her face.

Veil shrugged her dismissively shoulders. “What?”

“No, she’s right,” Spike cut in as he placed a hand on both of their thighs and squeezed. “I tried for four years to get Rarity only to have to pass up on a relationship that would probably have worked out much better. What’s worse, there was a moment that I’d convinced myself to like her back because of what I did to her.”

“But you didn’t do anything to her,” Spike looked down at Cyclone before she continued to ask, “right?”

“Objectively, I did the same thing that Rarity did to me. So yes, I did.” He sighed, gently rubbing his mates’ legs. “It must have been torture for Sweetie to watch me flirting with her sister everyday. And it was dumb of me to hope that the whole situation would go away on it’s own. I’m sorry girls.”

Veil and Cyclone’s eyes met before Cyclone trailed a hand up Spike’s chest and moving to place a kiss on his neck. Veil poked Spike sharply in the stomach before asking, “And what are you apologizing for, doofus? You didn’t do anything wrong… for the most part.”

“Excuse me?”

Veil chuckled throatily before she moved up and started biting the side of Spike’s neck with her canines. Cyclone giggled and moved back from Spike’s neck. “I think what Veily means is that there was no way for you to know about Sweetie’s feelings for you. So it wouldn’t be fair for you blame yourself for what happened.”

“Yeah, what Cy said. I’m not saying that what happened wasn’t bad for the both of you, but she needs to get over it,” Veil said, making her way to straddle Spike’s leg as one of her hands slipped in under his shirt to scratch at the scales on his stomach. She pressed her muzzle close against his, grinning. “Besides, why are you getting worked up about this anyways? You belong to us, remember?”

“Oh? I must have missed that meeting,” Spike joked as he wrapped his arms around both females’ backs, grinning as widely as Veil was. However, the pack-sisters shared a quick glance between each other, a mischievous grin on both of their faces that sent a chill down Spike’s spine. With their combined force, they knocked Spike down to his back and both of their fangs were on the sides of his neck. They pinned his shoulders down to the bed to keep him from wiggling free while they kissed and nipped around his shoulders and neck. The drake helplessly - though more playfully - struggled against the two’s relentless onslaught.

It wasn’t long before they managed to get Spike’s shirt over his head and move him to the head of the bed. They cleaned it of the scrapbook and CD player, leaving them on the nightstand while the two snuggled against Spike. Veil’s thick winter coat and the blanket on top of them gave them all the warmth they needed. When added to the warmth from both Spike and Cyclone’s dragon’s souls, Veil felt like she was falling asleep in front of a warm fireplace. Cyclone placed a kiss on Spike’s cheek while Veil kissed his neck.

“I love you girls,” Spike said as he squeezed his mates in his arms, eyes closing. He heard murmured responses, but the pair in his arms were already starting to doze off, settling themselves more comfortably against him. Spike went over the day’s events in his head, in spite of how tired he felt. It had been good to see the Elements again, and even though Applejack had been so untrusting of Frost, he was glad that he’d brought Cyclone and Veil.

Spike’s eyes popped wide open as he remembered something he’d meant to ask Veil, before he’d been distracted by the photo album and the CD. Turning to look down at the hound, Spike smiled when he saw she was using his shoulder as a pillow. Spike was reluctant to wake her, but he knew he had to ask.

Lightly shaking the hound with one arm, Spike spoke softly, to avoid waking the dragoness sleeping on his other side. “Veil, hey Veily?” The hound shifted and murmured something, burrowing herself deeper into Spike’s side, but didn’t seem to wake up. Spike shook her a bit harder, repeating her name.

“Rrgh… Drake, what? Sleeping…” the hound finally responded, voice already thick with sleep. She shifted against him, dragging her nails along his stomach as she nipped his shoulder, eyes still closed. “What do you want?”

Spike was silent for a moment, trying to think of how to phrase his question. When Veil eventually cracked an eye open to look at him, Spike gave her a soft smile. “Today when we were at the meeting, when they wanted to just talk to those of us that are going to the battles, you… Veil?” As he mentioned the battles, Veil shut her eyes and pressed her muzzle firmly into Spike’s shoulder, not looking at him. He could feel her trembling now, and her grip had tightened on him. “Hey, beautiful, don’t worry, I’ll come back safe.”

She opened her eyes and glared at him, in spite of still trembling. In a low voice meant to avoid waking up Cyclone, she said, “You think that’s why I’m upset, Spike?” She snorted, her eyes softening. “You really are a doofus.”

Brow furrowing in confusion, Spike asked, “Well, then what’s wrong, Veil?” He trailed the hand he had on her back up and down through her thick fur, which seemed to help calm her down a little. She was still trembling, but it was less than before.

Sighing, she nipped his shoulder again, reluctant to talk. She enjoyed feeling his claws along her back, and returned the gesture by scratching her nails along his stomach and lower chest. After a few moments, she buried her face against his shoulder again, inhaling his scent deeply. In a soft, vulnerable tone, she whispered, “I’m sorry Spike, I’m not strong enough to go with you.”

Spike was quiet as he watched Veil, bringing his hand up to her shoulder and pulling her in tight against him. He craned his neck down and kissed her forehead softly, before asking, “And why do you think you aren’t strong enough to come with me? You’ve beat Fang and Spirit one on one, I’d say that’s fairly strong, my little puppy.” Spike smiled at the hound, moving his hand from her shoulder up to her hair.

When she felt Spike’s claws in her hair, she stopped trembling and pressed her head against them, enjoying the soothing feeling of him scratching her head. She thought it was funny that Spike seemed to have a strange fixation on her hair, and she made a mental note to take better care of it. “But Spike, I don’t have magic like they do. Whenever they use that, I always lose. I can’t…” Her voice hitched for a moment before she could continue. “I can’t help you in this fight.”

Spike chuckled softly before he slowly slid his arm out from around Cyclone, and turned to fully pull Veil into his arms. He tilted her chin up to place a kiss on her lips, and felt Veil slide her arms around his neck, pulling herself against him tight. “Veily, I think you can help if you want to. You are strong enough, with or without magic. So -”

A fervent voice behind him interrupted Spike. “No!”

Both Spike and Veil were surprised at how passionate Cyclone sounded. They’d thought she was asleep. Spike half-rolled back around to see her up on one elbow, her overly-large night shirt having slipped down one shoulder. “No, the both of you. Veil isn’t going. She can’t go.”

Confused, Spike looked at her, moving to wrap an arm around the dragoness’ waist. She stopped him, however, when she climbed over the drake and wedged herself in between Veil and Spike. Pressing her front against the hound, she wrapped her arms around Veil’s waist and pushed herself into a passionate kiss with the hound.

Veil and Spike were both caught off guard by Cyclone’s sudden actions. Veil eventually pressed into the kiss once she’d gotten over her initial surprise. After a moment, Spike settled himself more comfortably against Cyclone’s back, moving her tail up and around his waist. He scratched his claws against the base of her tail, smirking when he felt her shiver in the kiss with Veil. He slid his hand up into her shirt to settle on her bare hip, just above the line of her panties, and waited.

Cyclone eventually pulled out of the kiss with Veil, and had a hard look in her eyes. “Veily, I do not want you to go and risk yourself over this. Spike I understand, this is something he started in Canterlot. But I will not risk the both of you in this.”

Both Spike and Veil began to talk at the same time. “Cyclone…” “But Cy…”

Cyclone put a finger against Veil’s lips even as the tip of her tail moved to cover Spike’s mouth, effectively silencing both of her lovers. “Veilstone, I do not want to risk the both of you at the same time. I can risk Spike because this is something he has to do. If this was something you had to do, then I’d make one of you stay. But since it’s not, I won’t risk the both of you for this. Spike and the others can handle it, Veil. Stay with me, please.” Cyclone tucked her head in against Veil’s neck, burrowing in to hide her face, and the tears that she knew were threatening to come.

Spike and Veil shared a look over the dragoness, Veil comfortingly scratching the scales on the back of her head. Spike took his hand from Cyclone’s hip and brought his knuckles up and down along her shirt-covered back, following her spines on one side. Spike moved his head to remove Cyclone’s tail over his mouth and mouthed to Veil, ‘I’ll be fine,’ figuring she’d understand.

She did, but she still wanted to accompany Spike. “Cy, I can help make sure Spike stays safe, so -”

Cyclone cut her off as the dragoness squeezed the hound’s waist, before speaking. “Veil, Spike will be fine. He’s a strong drake, he wouldn’t get in over his head and do something stupid. I know you just want to protect us, but that’s Spike’s responsibility now…”

Veil sighed, placing a kiss on Cyclone’s shoulder. She looked up at Spike, eye still sad at the thought of not being able to help him. She mouthed, ‘I’m sorry,’ before turning back to the dragoness in her arms. “Ok Cy, if it means that much to you, I’ll stay. So long as Spike promises me that he won’t do something stupid and let his dumb honor get him killed.” She returned to looking at Spike, eyes hard.

Spike chuckled at her. He took his hand from Cyclone’s back and brought it up to cup Veil’s cheek, saying, “I promise I won’t do anything stupid enough to get myself killed, Veil.” Spike leaned in and kissed her over Cyclone, the hound slipping a hand from Cyclone’s back to cup Spike’s hand on her cheek.

Eventually the two parted, and Spike slipped his hand onto Cyclone’s hip once more. He leaned down close to her ear-frill, and whispered, “She’ll stay here with you, my sapphire. And I’ll come back to the both of you, ok?” He finished with a soft nibble on her ear-frill, earning a shiver and a soft laugh from the dragoness.

Veil snorted above her lovers. “You are so cheesy, Spike. Sapphire? She’s white, doofus.”

Spike grinned, leaning to lick Cyclone’s exposed shoulder. “Because she tastes just like ‘em. And…” Spike trailed off, slipping a hand up under Cyclone’s shirt to trail his claws up her blue underbelly scales, before he caressed one of her large breasts and squeezed it softly. Cyclone gasped in between the two, her body stiffening. One hand tightened on Veil’s waist as the other went around Spike’s neck behind her, pulling the drake’s body to press against her back. “... all of her sensitive parts are blue.” Spike winked at Veilstone.

Veil grinned back at Spike before looking at Cyclone. “You know what Spike? You’re right, they are all blue… and tasty…” Veil trailed off as she sealed Cyclone’s lips in a kiss, slipping a hand under the dragoness’ shirt to grasp her other breast.

Cyclone could only gasp and moan into Veil’s kiss, surprised at how playful her mates were being. When she finally pulled back from Veil’s kiss, she was gasping for breath. “Two on one isn’t fair you-eep!” Spike and Veil had both taken a side of the dragoness’ neck and had began biting and kissing as one, surprising Cyclone. Her hands tightened where they were on her lovers, and her hips bucked up against Veil, her tail inadvertently brushing against Spike’s groin, eliciting a soft growl from him.

Veil pulled away from Cyclone’s neck, eyeing Spike with a sly grin on her face. “Aw, does the big guy want something?” She teasingly asked as she continued to knead Cyclone’s breast, her other hand trailing down to the dragoness’ waist, tickling along the top of her panties before slipping inside.

Hearing another gasp from Cyclone, and feeling her writhe in his arms, Spike pressed himself against Cyclone’s smaller body in front of him, simultaneously pulling her against him tightly. He kissed her neck again before looking up and meeting Veil’s eyes, seeing the beginnings of the lust he felt himself in her eyes. “What I want, Veilstone… is the both of you.” He shifted to put his free hand on Veil’s waist, slowly sliding it up her side until he reached her breast.

Veil half-stifled a moan of her own before she grabbed Spike’s hand on her breast and squeezed it. Meeting his eyes, she licked her lips before she chuckled. She removed her hand that was between Cyclone’s legs and brought it up to Spike’s lips. Spike inhaled deeply, getting a heady feeling from the scent that was pure Cyclone. He leaned forward and captured Veil’s digits in his mouth, licking her fingers for the taste they held.

With Veil’s fingers no longer distracting her, Cyclone thought that it was time for her to repay the hound. She leaned forward and pressed her mouth to Veil’s neck, kissing it softly before she began nipping up and down it, making the hound whine and wrap one of her pajama-covered legs across Cyclone’s uncovered one.

After a few more moments, Cyclone finally relented and leaned back from Veil, letting her hand trail down to the hound’s ass as she groped it. She looked at the hound as Veil panted, a smirk on her own face. “How does it feel to have two against you?”

If Veil was going to reply, she didn’t get a chance to. Spike took his hand from Veil’s breast and slipped it down into Cyclone’s panties, earning a loud gasp from the dragoness. Cyclone’s hand shot from Veil’s ass to Spike’s hand, cupping his hand as her thighs rubbed together, trapping him there. He could still move his fingers, and did so, enjoying the noises Cyclone made as he groped her breast and vagina.

Veil took her fingers from Spike’s mouth and stroked his chin before turning her attention back to the gasping dragoness in between them. Dragging her nails up along Cyclone’s sides, she placed her lips next to her pale lover’s. In a husky tone, she asked, “And what do you want, Gusty?”

Cyclone let out another gasp from Spike’s ministrations before she pressed her lips against Veil’s. Her hand on Spike behind her started to slide down to his waist, fingers hooking in his pants as she tried to tug them down. Breaking the kiss, she finally managed to gasp out, “S-Spike… in!”

Spike chuckled behind her as he kissed the back of her head, whispering, “Anything you want, Cy.” He began sliding her panties down her legs, tossing them off the edge of the bed. One of his hands then went back to the base of her tail, teasing along the upper edge of it with the tips of his claws on one hand, enjoying feeling her quake and quiver against him. His other hand joined hers at his jeans, unfastening them and sliding them off.

Spike inhaled through his teeth sharply when he felt Cyclone’s hand encircle his girth, the dragoness’ fingers gliding over the barbs before tugging his length toward her thighs. Spike felt her tail wrap around his waist, and in return he wrapped both of his arms around hers, pressing his lips down against the back of her scarred shoulder.

Cyclone spread her thighs enough for Spike’s member to move in between them, then trapped him against her soft scales, the top of his cock brushing against her soaked flower. She heard him growl against her shoulder, his arms tightening momentarily before loosening his grip. She smirked, giving Veil a knowing gaze, and Veil returned it. The hound drew a hand down the dragoness’ body before moving Cyclone’s shirt up above her breasts, the fabric held there by how close the two were pressing together. Veil then took her hand and slipped it between Cyclone’s legs, her nails teasing along the sides and tip of their drake’s cock.

“Rrgh…. Girls…” Spike growled out, unwrapping his arms to drag his claws up to Cyclone’s breasts, the drake humping between her legs slowly. He hadn’t expected them both to suddenly turn on him, but it seemed that was how the game was going tonight - anyone could turn on the other at any point, apparently.

Veil flicked her eyes past Cyclone to see Spike’s face, his eyes filled with need. “What do you think, Cy, has Spike been good enough for a little treat?” She saw his eyes narrow, and she winked at him, still smirking widely.

Cyclone barely managed to squeak out a nearly-desperate “Yes!” as she rubbed her thighs along Spike’s trapped flesh, her tail flexing and squeezing along Spike’s waist, aiding him in his thrusting.

Hearing another soft growl from their drake, Veil’s other hand trailed down to Cyclone’s thighs, and she spread her pack-sister’s legs. She teased one hand down to Spike’s balls, massaging them for a moment before bringing it back up to his shaft, lining him up for Cyclone. She heard both of her lovers let out soft groans as Spike’s tip met Cyclone’s nether lips. “Well, big guy? Going to give her what she wants?”

Spike gave a deep growl that reverberated through Cyclone as he pushed up into her, and he treasured hearing the dragoness’ moan in response to him filling her.

“Night can’t you rest for a moment and eat?” Fang asked as he watched his mare continuously sketch out designs. She’d been at it all morning. At the moment, everyone was sitting around the temple waiting for lunch to be fixed after an early morning’s work in the tomb. While everyone was well rested and looked like they were ready to continue work, Night Blade notably did not. Her lavender mane was in disarray and there was a heaviness to her eyes, despite her working at such a furious pace.

She seemed to have been on a breakthrough for the last several hours. What it was, no one could tell from the mare’s sketches, and asking her proved to be even more fruitless. She had even changed her sleeping patterns in one night’s work. It had surprised Fang to see her sitting in the temple when they got back from the tomb. This wasn’t the first time Fang had seen Night change her sleeping pattern, but he knew it couldn’t be good with her working as hard as she was.

“Nighty, you need to eat. At least sit and rest for a few moments?” Fang attempted again, taking hold of Night’s slender shoulders and giving her a gentle shake to snap her out of her trance. The bat-mare hissed as her wings flexed against Fang’s chest. She whipped her head back around to the dog, glaring at him with her piercing slitted eyes. Fang snorted before he poked a claw on the bridge of the mare’s muzzle. Just as he predicted, Night’s eyes crossed and became unfocused as she lost her balance. If it hadn’t been for Fang wrapping an arm around Night’s back, she would have fallen out of her chair. As she mare whined, Fang chuckled and took the sketchbook and pencil out of her hands and slid it to the other side of the table. “Now eat mare, before I feed your food to Kirin.”

“Fine, fine, fine. Just get your finger out from my face,” the mare fussed, trying to shake the dog’s finger from her face. However, she only got chuckles from Fang and the other pack members sitting around the table. Night blushed hard and jabbed the dog in the gut with her elbow.

Fang hugged Night tightly, rubbing his cheek against hers and laughing as he removed his finger when she attempted to bite it. While Night attempted to break free of Fang’s overly affectionate hold, Spirit sighed and smiled at the couple. He was always happy to see them get along so well. He felt a pat on his shoulder and looked up to find it was Spike, who was walking back with a plate of sandwiches for the assembled pack members.

Meanwhile, Cyclone had picked up the sketchbook Night was working in. She couldn’t make heads or tails of the strange designs. She tilted her head and turned the book in several angles but the only parts she could really make out were a rope and a dart. “Uh… Night Blade,” the pale dragoness started, gaining the mare’s attention. “If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly is this supposed to be?” Veil and Spike looked over her shoulders to examine the drawings themselves, both equally lost.

“Oh well… I guess I’m done enough to at least tell you all.” Night sat herself in Fang’s lap, wiping away crumbs of bread from the corners of her lips. “To simply put, it’s a trapping device that my old colony used to capture prey.” Spike and his mates looked back at the sketches. “I was just a little filly when I left though, so I don’t remember all the varieties. That one is just the simple kind meant for hunting animals; the rope dart. It’s a simple throw and catch method with a metal tipped dart and some rope. The hardest part of making one is the mechanics behind it.”

“Hmm, you want me to write a letter to Twilight to see if she can send some books on mechanics and stuff?” Spike asked, looking at Night while taking the sketchbook from Cyclone so he could get a better look at the sketches while the two females ate. Spike didn’t have an eye for art, but what Night had on the paper were plans, something that seemed even harder to read. “Heh, I feel like Quill would have an easier time looking through this.”

Night wordlessly nodded her head as she chewed on her sandwich, thinking. Sounds of stone moving drew the attention of everyone in the temple, making them look towards the round slab door as it slid away to reveal Quill walking through, Frost and Nova right behind. “Heyo! We’re back!” the dragoness chimed in a singing tone of voice as if she returned from a grand adventure.

Wolf looked up from Blaze’s lap at the sound of Quill’s voice, spotting the extra sacks on Quill and Nova’s backs. Groaning, he got up from the comforting warmth of Blaze’s body and walked towards the approaching three, his arms crossed over his chest. “Well, good to see that you’re in such an energetic mood, Quill. I hope you can put that into making up for the work you’ve missed the last two days.”

“Aw, come on Wolf. Ya said to come back with something that made up for what we lost and we spent hours hunting for food for the pack. Even brought some berries for Blaze,” she answered, smirking when Blaze put her book down and looked straight up towards them. Wolf must have felt the mare’s gaze as he turned around and met the stare. She eagerly nodded her head, her hunger for sweets causing her to lick her upper lip unconsciously. Wolf sighed and turned around, staring down at Quill for a few more moments before the dragoness continued. “We got other stuff that might help with the battles as well.”

“Like?” Wolf questioned, arching a brow.

Quill gestured for Frost to step forward. The mare walked beside Quill and presented a thick, leatherbound book. Wolf’s eyes narrowed as he took the book from Frost as the mare started to explain. “This is a book filled with plans and designs of a wide array of both magic and mechanical devices created by one of the Swarm Queens.”

Night’s ears perked up upon hearing this, quickly reaching for the sketch book sitting on the table and flapping her wings over towards the alpha dog. She landed next to him and craned her neck up to see the thick book with her own eyes. Seeing the blacksmith’s interest, Wolf handed the book to her. Quickly, she started flipping through the pages and scanning over the different plans. “Sweet Luna’s tits! A lot of this looks familiar. It almost like - It is! Alpha, sir, I can use some of this stuff with the projects I have for the battles and more.”

“Is it now?” Wolf asked skeptically. Night vigorously nodded her head, closing the book and clutching it to her chest tightly. Wolf sighed, nodding his head with his eyes closed. “Alright then, that will do. Good going you three, I knew you’d come back with something.”

Frost and Quill nodded their head before they walked towards the table with Night and Nova following behind, the mare already nose-deep in the book. “Heyo bro, I take it that what Night said means you visited Twilight?” Spike nodded his head, scratching his cheek. “Nice. Knew I could count on you, bro. So what’s the word?”

“That how you come back - straight to business?” Spike stood up straight and placed his hands on his hips, a cheeky smile on his face. “Just who are you and what have you done with my sister?” he joked, laughing when Quill rolled her eyes dramatically.

Sometimes, she really just wanted to punch the drake in the gut. Not hard, just enough to remind him that she could take him. This time however, she choose to shake her head and laugh along with him. “And what happened to my brother that enjoyed baking treats for everyone?” she teased back, wiggling her eyebrows and sticking her tongue out at the drake.

Spike stuck his tongue out back at Quill. “I’ll have you know that we got the Cakes to bake some treats for everyone this time. They were always a ton better at it anyways.”

Everyone at the table either laughed or shook their head at the two. Two days away from each other and they were already back to messing with each other like they’d never been apart. There was never a dull moment with the twins around.

When the laughing ended, Quill asked again, “But seriously, what’s the word on the occultists? Are we a go?”

“Yeah, everything’s been set.” Spike nodded his head. “You, Rydder, and I will be going to Fillydelphia with Dusk. And Frost, you’re going to Las Pegasus with Wolf,” he explained. When the couple looked at each other with worried expressions, he hurried on. “I know you two, but the thing is, Las Pegasus is the best place for Frost to use her ice-magic and Dusk wanted a wingman in the sky with him. Sorry girls, but we had to divide ourselves the best way possible.”

“We understand, Spike,” Frost said with a small sigh. She wasn’t unfamiliar with battle strategies, as her old hive had been involved in several small scuffles, which had left her in bad standings with some of the other Hive Princesses. She could only hope that the plan she had in mind would end the battle quickly. “Here Nova, take this to my room?” Frost ask, removing the bulbous sack attached to her belt and handing it to Nova, along with her fire-stone pendant. Taking the items, Nova nodded her head and excused herself from the table.

“Hey Frost, Quill, either of you want this seat?” Spirit asked, getting and offering up his seat to the female.

Frost smiled at the chivalrous dog and nodded her head. “Thank you Spirit. So what else did we miss while we were away?” she asked, noticing a large brown book sitting on the table next to Cyclone and Veil.

The former of them gasped, a hand covering her mouth as she beamed. Cyclone quickly took the book and moved her chair around over to Frost, giggling. Meanwhile, Spike buried his face in his hands. Veil merely chuckled as she reached out to scratch the drake’s back comfortingly.

As Cyclone settled herself down, Frost arched an eyebrow at her peculiar behavior and the heavy sense of dread coming from Spike. Before she could question it however, Cyclone opened the book to a page filled with pictures of the twins as hatchlings. Frost’s hands flew like lightning to cover her mouth, barely containing her girlish squeal of delight. Her smile stretched cheek to cheek, her wings fluttering while her leathery scorpion tail wiggled behind her.

Her mare’s sudden squeal piqued Quill’s curiosity as she peered over Frost’s shoulder. She fell back a few steps away before her body froze in horror. Quill’s purple scales paled as she saw Frost giggling at an old picture of her wearing a frilly dress. That one photo - taken by Twilight’s mother - caused vivid flashes of memories to bombard her mind. Her mouth hung agape while the room around her began to swirl.

“Oh Quill, you and Spike look so cute together,” Frost breamed as she turned around, only to find her lover absent-mindedly staring. The twitch and curling of her hands was more than enough to cause her to worry, and the tempest of warring emotions just added to that. “Quill? Sweetie are you alright?”

Crazed chuckles came from Quill, her right eye twitching violently while her wings flexed. Spike sighed, having seen Quill in this state before. He hadn’t really expected Quill to react like this to the photos. “Oh horsefeathers, Quill.” Spike walked around the table and placed a hand on Quill’s shoulder. “They’re just pictures from a long time ago. Snap out of it already.” As Quill started to chuckle madly, it seemed like his words hadn’t gotten through. Her face was frozen in a wide-eyed grin, sweat pouring down her forehead. Spike rolled his eyes before he glanced at the scrapbook. Almost immediately he found the picture that had undoubtedly set Quill off. He snorted slightly before regaining control over himself. “O-oh, I… I-I forgot about that picture.”

He turned his attention back to Quill, noticing her tail whipping about like a serpent. ‘She looks worse than Twilight did that one time she had a late report.’ Carefully and quickly, Spike turned Quill around so she was facing him and held on to her shoulders. “Um, sis, you gonna be - guh!” His voice was trapped in his throat when Quill’s tail suddenly twitched, lashing out around his neck. Spike found himself hoisted up a few inches off the ground.

Before anyone could react to the dragoness’ sudden move, Quill grabbed onto the collar of Spike’s shirt, shaking him and demanding, “Why, why, why, why, why… why Spike?! Why is that here?!” Grunting and holding onto Quill’s tail, Spike tried to explain but it was difficult to speak with Quill shaking him. The dragoness growled when no answer came. She stopped shaking her brother, snorting out wisps of purple flames from her nose.

Gasping, Spike quickly tried to calm Quill down. “Quill, ugh, wait a second you short-fused psycho! Twilight made a copy of the scrapbook after Amethyst -”

“Twilight…” Quill animalistically growled, her piercing gaze falling to the ground before she snapped her head back up to Spike. “You let this happen on purpose didn’t you? You did this just for shits and giggles, I bet!”

“Wait, Quill. I didn’t - nugah, make her stop, make her stop!” Spike croaked while Quill resuming shaking him again.

Wolf started to move to put an end to the twins’ roughhousing, but Frost beat him to it as she got up and moved behind Quill. She brought herself close to Quill and wrapped her arms around her dragoness lover. “Alright, love, that’s enough for one day,” she whispered into Quill’s ear before baring her fangs down on Quill’s exposed neck, injecting a small dose of her toxin into the dragoness. Quill tensed up as she felt Frost’s needle-like fangs pierce her neck. Her cheeks turned a dark shade of red as she used her anger to fight off moaning in front of everyone. However, Frost’s venom slowly melted her defenses and she began losing her grip on Spike. Her arms dropped the drake back onto his feet while her tail uncoiled from his neck, falling limply to the ground as she groaned softly.

Spike rubbed at his neck, glad that his scales had hardened after his growth-spurt. He looked up to find Frost still embracing Quill, her arms wrapped around his sister’s shoulders and chest. “Thanks for the save there, uh, Frost,” he breathed out slowly, immediately regretting speaking as Quill let out a throaty, menacing growl and her once-unfocused eyes fell upon him again. However, Frost squeezed Quill tighter, gripping at her jacket until she went limp against her.

Slowly, Frost retracted her fangs from Quill’s neck but kept her arms tightly locked around the limp dragoness. “There, now do you think we can talk about your feelings in a more calm and reasonable manner?” she asked, arching an eyebrow at Quill. Her only answer came as a groan from Quill, her tail trying to snake towards Spike’s foot. The drake jumped away from the slithering tail, he almost mistook it for a real snake. Sighing, Frost sparked her horn, encasing the scrapbook in her icy-blue magical grip and lifted it from Cyclone’s hands. “You don’t mind me borrowing this for the rest of the evening, do you Cyclone?”

Cyclone shook her head, lightly blushing. “N-no. It looks like Quill’s got a lot on her chest, actually.”

Nodding in thanks, Frost shifted Quill around and put her arm around Frost’s shoulder, so she could carry her easier. She made her way towards the door, Quill’s feet dragging as she still struggled to get her hands back on Spike. Frost used the dragoness’ Element to open the door and take her back to their room. Right before the door closed, Nova slipped through and stood at the doorway until the door slid back into place. She turned to face the pack, pointing behind her and asking, “Uh… someone want to explain why the Princess was dragging her Courtess back to their room?”

Eyes fell upon Spike as the half-breed approached the table. Spike looked around to find that everyone was expecting him to answer. He looked back up at Nova, who arched a brow and placed her hands on her hips, before he slid down onto his knees and layed his head and arms on the table with a heavy sigh. “Blah! I’ll tell you about it later, just let me eat, please.” Cyclone got a concerned look in her eyes and moved her chair over next to where Spike was kneeling by the table, laying her tail on top of his and scratching the back of his head gently. Spike leaned his head into Cyclone’s fingers, silently thanking the pale dragoness.

Nova shrugged her shoulders before she went over to the bags that had been left behind by the couple. “Alpha, where should I put the game we caught?”

Before Wolf could answer, Veil got up from her seat and said, “Here half-breed, I’ll show ya where. They’re just rabbits right?”

“Rabbits and fruit,” Nova answered, following Veil over to the smoke chamber on the other side of the room.

With the matter resolved by itself, Wolf laid his head back down in Blaze’s lap, closing his eyes again with a sigh. His mare’s hand came down on his head again, scratching the back of his head gently. Wolf growled softly in appreciation. However, for a third time, his relaxing nap was cut short by a gasp coming from the table. “What is it now?” Wolf growled under his breath, laying still for a few moments.

“What is it Night?” Fang asked the mare in his lap, trying to look over her shoulder at the book she was dutifully studying.

A few seconds later, she snapped her head up towards Spirit and flew out of Fang’s lap to the other beta dog. Grabbing his wrist, she glanced back and forth between to the diagram in the book and the bracer on Spirit’s wrist. “It is… hmm. Spirit, follow me to the workshop? I need to run some tests. I think I got something for you.” Spirit raised an eyebrow at the mare but nodded his head and followed her to the slab door.

Fang watched the two leave with a snort and looked down at Night’s unfinished sandwich - she had only taken a few bites out of it. ‘As usual, she gets herself worked up and forgets to eat.’ He picked up the sandwich and looked down at Kirin, who was the only one at the table that was actually taking the time to relax. “Hey girl, wanna finish this off?” he offered, holding the sandwich down to the demon vixen. She howled at him, getting up from her spot and walking over towards the pack’s alphas, jumping into Isis’ lap and curling up to resume her nap. While the sphinx gently petted Kirin, Fang shrugged his shoulders and started to eat the sandwich himself.

“Guess she isn’t hungry?” Cyclone suggested, to which Fang merely shrugged his shoulders. Movement to her left got her attention as Spike started to get up and roll his head. “Feeling better Spike?”

“If I had remembered about that picture yesterday, yeah I would,” he said with a groan, taking the empty seat next to Cyclone and resting his head in his palm. “Sometimes I just ask for stuff like that to happen.”

“What was all that anyways?” Veil asked, walking back over towards the table with Nova in tow. She took a seat in Spike’s lap, wrapping an arm around his neck, gently scratching his back while Nova grabbed the empty seat next to Fang. “I know it isn’t rare for your sister to lose it, but dang, never seen her go crazy like that before.”

Spike rubbed his head-spines and sighed while nodding his head. “Heh, yeah, Quill pretty much lost it. But she isn’t completely to be at fault,” he said, his hand trailing down Veil’s side as he laughed. “It’s nothing guys. Just some things Quill wanted to forget from when we were living in Canterlot. She had a bad experience with dresses and it haunted her for a long, long time.”

“How long?” Cyclone asked.

Meanwhile in the young couple’s room, Frost had asked a similar question as she continued to rub her hands along the curves of Quill’s wings, slowly coaxing an answer from the dragoness under her. “Nine years… nine whole years of not having to think about that stupid dress!” Quill answered with a groan, burying her head further into her pillow. She had gotten over Frost’s initial dose of venom and was glad that she had stepped in when she did - Quill made a note to apologize profusely to Spike for overreacting. “I thought I was over it. I really did, but I guess some things are hard to forget.”

Frost smiled as she leaned down, grazing her nails all the way up Quill’s thin shirt to her shoulder where she gently blew a cold breath of air on Quill’s ear-frill, causing the dragoness to shiver. “That’s true with a lot of things, love. But why do I get the feeling it isn’t just the dress that is the sore memory?”

“I would be lying if I said you weren’t completely wrong…”

“Yes, I thought so.” Frost’s horn sparked to life, bringing the scrapbook in front of them, and opened it to the page that was filled with pictures of Quill in the elegant white and gold dress. Quill groaned at the sight and looked away while Frost giggled and traced a finger along her lover’s cheek. “I say this is a wonderful dress that any dragoness would love to be in.”

Quill decided to look up at the book again, regretting it immediately when she saw the pictures. She tried to hide even further in her pillow but the mare on top of her wouldn’t let up with her coaxing. “Frost, please…”

“Love, bottling up your emotions is what caused you to mistreat your brother just now.” Quill fell silent as she pulled her wings tightly against her body. “There’s no shame in it Quill. No one will thinks less of you for talking about how you feel,” Frost said, as though she was reading Quill’s mind. Yet the dragoness only blushed and turned away, biting her lip. ‘She must have deep-seated fears that are making her self-conscious,’ Frost noted, leaning further down on Quill and placing a kiss on the side of her neck. Quill shivered in pleasure from the light, chilling touch, gripping the bed sheets. “At least talk to me. You trust me right?”

“Of course I do!” Quill quickly said, the indignation muffled slightly by her pillow. She sighed to calm herself while Frost continued to place spine-chilling kisses all along her neck. Whimpering moans came from the prone dragoness, her back arching slightly as her wings flexed out. “You’re right… it’s more than just the dress. It’s what happened while I was being put in that cursed thing.” Frost said nothing, merely continuing to place soft kisses along her neck to encourage Quill to continue. “There was a ball that was happening in Cadance’s honor for her graduating college. Everything had to be perfect; everything was perfect... except for me.”

Quill’s voice trailed off into a long sigh as her tail wrapped around Frost’s leg, squeezing her eyes shut against her pillow. Sensing an uncharacteristic reluctance from Quill, Frost slid her hands down Quill’s side, reaching underneath her shirt and dragged her nails down the scales, eliciting a whimper from the dragoness. Giggling, Frost got off of Quill’s back and sat with her back against the head of their bed. She giggled and patted her lap when Quill looked up at her in confusion.

Quill blushed and took the hint, getting up from the bed and sitting in Frost’s lap, her back pressed against the mare’s round mounds. In moments, Quill found herself trapped as Frost wrapped her arms and legs around her shoulders and waist. She resigned herself to the mare’s embrace, knowing Frost was probably a little hungry due to all her negative emotions. She let out a small purr as Frost brushed her fangs against her neck.

“H-hey, do you want the story or not?” she asked, blushing hotly when she felt Frost’s hands slip into her shirt to cup her breasts.

Frost stopped her teasing but kept her hands underneath Quill’s shirt, stroking the dragoness’ toned stomach. “Sorry, you weren’t acting like yourself. But what do you mean that you were the only thing not perfect?”

“Right… well… while I was getting ready for the party, one of the maids took me off to the side to get me dressed. I was just a hatchling, so the dress itself didn’t bother me. It’s what they said while I was in the dress. They gushed over how cute I looked, how proper I looked, and lucky I was. Felt good, y’know?” Quill shrugged her shoulders, and nervously laughed in embarrassment. “Finally for once I wasn’t treated like some monster or Twilight’s pet. So when the party finally came around, I naturally flaunted myself in front of everyone attending, which was anyone and everyone that had a golden bit to their name. An old noble found me interesting and asked me to dance. Trouble was… I couldn’t.”

Quill laughed at herself, rubbing her forearm and looking down. Feeling Frost’s hands moving upwards, Quill quickly continued. “I stepped all over him and then caused him to trip into the punch bowl. He, I, and several other partygoers got drenched in punch - including Cadance. Top that off, I spooked some exotic animal Cadance had brought from her abroad studies. It broke free from it’s cage and started running rampage before some guards chased it out the door. But Cadance, her dress, her party, her night... I ruined it. The silence in the ballroom tore at me. It felt let a worm was eating the inside of my head.” She lurched forward and placed her hands on her ears, clawing at the sides of her head.

She stopped when she felt Frost’s lips press against her cheek, the mare gently rocking her. Sighing shakily, Quill righted herself. She leaned back to place a thankful kiss on Frost’s cheek before continuing. “I was so embarrassed, I ran out the ballroom, bawling and in tears. The whole thing was a big deal in Canterlot for a long time and I locked myself in my room until it all blew over.”

“So that is what really happened?” Frost asked, squeezing Quill’s side. Her horn flashed briefly, followed by a sense worry from the dragoness. “But that isn’t all of it, is it Quill?”

“Sometimes I wonder if you really do have mind-reading powers,” Quill joked, sighing. “It isn’t… Not only did I embarrassed myself, I embarrassed that noble, Twilight, and especially Cadance. I couldn’t even -”

“That’s not what I mean Quill,” Frost cut in. She took her hand from Quill’s body and cupped the underside of the dragoness’ chin. “You said this happened nine years ago, yet you’re still the boisterous, flaunting dragoness I know today. There’s something you’re not telling me.”

Quill’s shoulders dropped as she sighed, laying her head against Frost’s cheek. “You really do have mind-reading powers,” she laughed, rubbing her hands along Frost’s thick thighs while the mare nibbled on her ear-frill. “Again, you’re not completely wrong. I still feel ashamed that whole thing… but I really didn’t want you knowing about it.”

Frost stopped all motion as she looked at Quill, shame written all over her face. “Quill, what are you talking about?”

“I don’t want you thinking I’m a massive dork or some girly princess, alright?” Quill’s wings flared out slightly before they fell limp at her sides. Frost wrapped her wings around Quill, causing the dragoness to shiver at the odd mix of cold and warm sensations running along her spine. She sighed, dropping the rest of her remaining defenses. “I want to be strong Frost. I want to be able to handle everything myself but every time I try to do something right I just mess up and get angry. I want to change that about myself but it just… nugh!” Quill shut her eyes tight. She bit down hard on her slightly quivering bottom lip, hands balling into fists on Frost’s legs.

“But Quill, that’s why I love you.” Frost slipped a hand down Quill’s body and laid her hand on top of Quill’s fist. She kissed from Quill’s cheek down to her neck and shoulder, wrapping her hand around the dragoness’ and running a thumb along the back. “You’re always so passionate about improving, it’s inspiring. You’re never satisfied with the norm or with things staying the same.” Frost gently rubbed her hand along Quill’s cheek, and the dragoness turned her head back, kissing Frost’s neck. This prompted Frost to turn her head slightly to give Quill a proper kiss on the lips. They closed their eyes and leaned into each other. The sensual kiss worked in calming the frustrated dragoness down as their tongues worked together, arousing the both of them, cheeks flushing red.

Frost giggled as she felt Quill’s hand rubbing her thigh. She pulled away from Quill’s lips, coyly smiling at the look on the dragoness’ face. “Quill, you may not be perfect and you may not get everything right the first time, but that’s how I like you. I don’t want you to hide anything from your past that you think might make you look like a ‘dork or girly princess.’” She giggled as Quill blushed and meekly nodded her head, scratching her cheek. “Okay Quill? You trust me right?”

“Of course I -”

Quill was silenced when Frost suddenly lunged forward and caught her in a deep kiss. The half-changeling’s hands swiftly went under Quill’s shirt and back up to her breasts, squeezing roughly. Quill let a moan out into Frost’s mouth at the feeling, arching her back to press her breasts further into her lover’s hands. Quill reached a hand back and gripped her marefriend’s ass, digging her claws in to get a reaction out of Frost. Frost responded by tweaking Quill’s nipples between her fingers, and pulling out of the kiss to drag her teeth along Quill’s lower lip. When Frost finally let Quill’s lip go, the pair began giggling.

“So I take it we’re done with the heart-to-heart?” Quill asked, nuzzling into her marefriend’s neck and giving it a slow lick.

“Yes, my love, I think we are. In addition…” Frost went silent for a moment as her horn flared, and she quickly placed the sound-proofing spell over their room. “I think it’s time you gave me a… deep tissue massage.” Frost accentuated her words with a wink and a nibble on Quill’s ear-frill.

Quill let out a shaky, excited breath at feeling the mare’s teeth and hearing her words. “O-oh… is that so? Well, we’d better get rid of these pesky things…” Quill turned around in Frost’s grip, bringing her hands down to the hem of the changeling mare’s shirt. Seeing that Frost wasn’t stopping her, Quill grinned at her and nearly tore the shirt in her hurry to get it off Frost.

Throwing it across the room, the dragoness quickly sat back down in Frost’s lap, placing her knees on either side of Frost’s thick hips, trapping the mare against the headboard of their bed. Pushing her still-covered breasts into her lover’s face, Quill began dragging her claws through the changeling’s hair, enjoying watching the mare’s eyes as Frost’s nose filled with Quill’s smell. Quill watched as those icy-blue, beautiful eyes her marefriend had slowly took on a faraway look, before refocusing and becoming tinged with lust.

Frost gently bit down on one of Quill’s breasts through the dragoness’ shirt, earning a grin from Quill. The dragoness pressed her chest further into the mare’s face, enjoying the contact, indirect as it was. Pulling back, Quill quickly pulled her own shirt off and tossed it away, before capturing Frost’s face in her hands and leaning down to press the changeling in a long, deep kiss. By the time she pulled back, Frost was shivering and trying to pull Quill back into the kiss. The mare had put her hands on Quill’s hips at some point, and was trying to drag the dragoness back into the kiss by tugging on her pants.

Quill laughed and brought one hand back up to stroke through Frost’s hair, directing the mare to Quill’s nipple. She sucked in a deep breath when she felt the mare’s fangs brush over the sensitive scales. Giggling shakily, Quill’s hand trailed down to her own pants, unfastening them and teasing Frost with the sight of the top of the purple dragoness’ underwear.

Pulling back from the delicious breast in her mouth, Frost buried her face in between Quill’s soft mounds. Breathing out slowly, she felt the dragoness shiver from Frost’s hot breath travelling down her navel. Giggling softly, Frost eventually pulled back and met her lover’s eyes. “Quill, no more teasing. If I’m going to get my massage then we need to get these pants off of your gorgeous ass.” As if to emphasize her words, Frost’s hands trailed around to Quill’s rear, squeezing the flesh she found there.

After an exaggerated sigh, Quill laughed at the needy look in Frost’s eyes. “Anything you want, Icy.” Quill backed off from Frost’s body, before unfastening the mare’s pants and dragging them off Frost’s legs as the dragoness stood up at the edge of the bed. Quill hungrily watched as Frost drew her own panties down her legs and tossed them off the bed, before she covered her lap and coyly crooked a finger at the dragoness. Eagerly, Quill pulled off her own pants and underwear before crawling back onto the bed, kissing her way up the mare’s soft legs.

As Quill neared Frost’s flower, still hidden by the mare’s hand, Quill looked up at her lover and licked her lips hungrily. Keeping her eyes on Frost’s, Quill kissed the mare’s hand before slowly nuzzling it out of the way as she continued to edge her kisses closer and closer to the prize that she wanted.

When Frost felt Quill’s lips meet her own lower ones, she couldn’t help the gasp that came from her. The mare wrapped her legs down the dragoness’ back, making sure to place her heels near the joints where Quill’s wings met her back so she could tease the sensitive spots. She brought her hands down to the back of the dragoness’ head, not to guide her, but content to just feel Quill’s wonderful tongue at work. She let the dragoness know how well she was doing by bucking her hips and not bothering to try and stifle any moans her lover brought out.

Eventually, Frost felt her climax approaching, and quickly unwrapped her legs from Quill’s back. “Quill, come here, please please please,” she begged, placing her hands on Quill’s chin and pulling the dragoness up to her. Quill hesitated only a moment before she allowed the mare to pull her up into a kiss. Wrapping her arms around Quill’s shoulders, and in spite of how often they’d been in this situation, Frost still blushed when she tasted herself on the dragoness’ lips and tongue.

Quill rested on her forearms, placing them under Frost’s shoulders. She moaned into the kiss when she felt their breasts rub against one another, her sensitives scales feeling like they were on fire. After a few more intense moments, the two finally parted, breathing hard. Quill chuckled as she rested her forehead against Frost’s cheek, before kissing the mare’s neck. “So, how do you want me to give you this massage, Icy?”

Sparking her horn, Frost didn’t say anything, but grinned as she pressed two fingers down on the dragoness’ sensitive muscle between her wings. Quill groaned and arched her back into the pressure, before meeting Frost’s gaze. Quill felt a familiar magical pressure between her loins, and she looked confusedly at the mare.

“Oh Quill, I did say a deep tissue massage, did I not?” The mare arched an eyebrow at the dragoness as she poured more magic into her horn, and into her lover’s loins. She watched as Quill eyes closed and the dragoness took in a deep, lustful breath.

When Quill at last opened her eyes to meet Frost’s, the dragoness was already beginning to pant in need. “Icy… I want -”

Frost flashed her fangs. She saw Quill’s eyes flick down to them. “I know exactly what you want, my love.” The changeling hybrid pulsed her magic again, loving the beautiful music that was Quill’s gasps.

When Quill could meet Frost’s eyes again, she saw the mare licking her venom-tipped fangs. Quill leaned down and pressed the side of her neck against Frost’s lips, closing her eyes and squeezing the mare against her. “Icy, come on… I know you want to!”

When Frost opened her mouth and pressed her fangs gently against the dragoness’ neck, Quill let out a shuddering moan that quickly turned into a begging plead for the mare to claim her. Frost hesitated a moment longer, whispering, “I love you, my beautiful Quill.”

In a needy tone, Quill replied as best she could. “I know, Icy, I know, now please -” Quill’s body went rigid momentarily as she felt Frost’s fangs sink into her neck, before the dragoness shuddered and nearly collapsed on top of the mare. She felt her mind beginning to cloud with lust, and she hissed out her pleasure. “Yessss…”

Later that night, Spike stealthily slipped out from between his two mates where they all lay in their bed. He put on his boots, jacket and his winter overcoat. He turned around to see Cyclone and Veil holding each other closely, already snuggling together tightly in his absence. Veil had her back to the door, arms wrapped around the smaller dragoness, and Cyclone was snoring softly against Veil’s shoulder. He smiled, wishing he could just watch the two, but he had a surprise that he wanted to set up for them. Reaching under the bed, Spike grabbed a small hidden sack before he turned, quietly attempting to sneak out the door. Veil was a particularly light sleeper, and the last thing he wanted was for her to question where he was going.

Still asleep in their bed, Veil moved an arm behind Cyclone, unconsciously looking for the second body she’d gotten used to sleeping with. Feeling that something was off, her body groggily began pulling her out of sleep. Blinking, she looked down and saw that Cyclone was curled up against her. She looked to the other side of the dragoness, and saw that Spike wasn’t there. “Spike?” she murmured softly, not wanting to wake the dragoness in her arms. When she heard the door to their room creak, she nearly jolted upright, worriedly repeating her drake’s name in a much louder tone. “Spike?”

Turning back to the bed when he heard Veil’s suddenly-loud voice, Spike put down the small sack he held down next to the door, not wanting her to see it. He rushed back to the bed, trying to get back to Veil before she woke up Cyclone. Kneeling down against the hound, he told her in a soft tone, “I’m right here Veil, shhh.” He looked at Cyclone over her shoulder, still snoring. “Didn’t mean to wake you up, miss light sleeper,” Spike chuckled softly, nuzzling a particularly sensitive spot behind Veil’s ear.

Veil whined softly as she reached an arm up behind her to curl around Spike’s head. “Where are you going?” she asked softly, still half-asleep. Spike nibbling on her ear didn’t help matters. She pulled Spike’s head down enough to where she could nip at his chin softly. “Come back to bed. You scared the hell out of me not being here.”

Spike smiled as he pressed his cheek against Veil’s. “I just gotta go use the bathroom, don’t mind me. I’ll be back before you know it, my overprotective puppy.” He pressed his muzzle against her neck and kissed her there, chuckling to himself as the sleepy hound tilted her head back to give him better access to her weak spot. She seemed disappointed as he pulled back, and Spike put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Veil sighed sleepily and brought her other arm back to pull the still-sleeping Cyclone in against her more firmly. She kissed the top of the dragoness’ head softly, before yawning and telling Spike, “Just wake me when you get back, ok?” Her eyes closed as she settled in again.

Spike smiled, telling her that he would. He knew she probably wouldn’t remember either way, but the hound would probably wake up at least a little when he returned to slip into bed behind her. He turned again to the door, and grabbed the sack he’d left there before walking out and shutting it as silently as he could. He made it into the parlor without making too much noise, an eerie silence filling of the mansion. However as he turned to head outside, a howl startled him, causing him to jump and whip around. Spike dropped his shoulders in relief when he found the sound to have came from Night’s pet, Kirin.

The small, tan vixen stood at the top of the stairs, watching the drake with her blood-red eyes. “Hey Kirin. You know where Night is? I need to talk to her.” Kirin tilted her head to the side a little, her ears twitching back. Spike sighed and shook his head, not sure why he expected the demonic vixen to understand him. “Heh, right. Well lemme know if you see her.” Spike turned to leave, his head down towards the ground as he figured it would be better to not bother the bat-pony this late at night. When he looked up, Spike jumped back when he found Kirin sitting in front of him. Purple flames covered the vixen’s body, cracking with magical energy. “How the -” He quickly looked back at the stairs to confirm that Kirin didn’t have a twin and that she had somehow teleported in front of him.

When Spike turned back around, Kirin was darting towards him. Spike stumbled slightly as she climbed his foot, spiraling her way up his body until she climbed upon his broad shoulder and laid her two tails across to the other. Spike turned his head and watch the little vixen get comfortable with the large room she had to lay about on his shoulder, shaking off the flames as if they were water. She mewled quietly and closed her eyes, laying her forearms over Spike’s shoulder. Spike sighed and looked up the stairs again for a moment before he resumed his way out of the mansion with his new companion resting on his shoulder. Outside, it was more silent and mind-numbingly quiet than inside the mansion, even as a light flurry of snow fell from the starless night sky.

Spike’s emerald green eyes struggled slightly to pierce the haze of darkness. With the moon the task would have been easy, but unfortunately it wasn’t out tonight. He was able to find a dead branch sticking out of the snow, however, and lit it for some light. He held his makeshift torch up and began walking down the path into the city below. The first layer of snow crunched underneath his feet, sinking down a few inches and making his trip a difficult and slow one. It gave him the time to enjoy the silence that most would find spine-chilling. Neither of the twins relished winter or sheer cold it brought, but they were raised to take the best of everything. And certainly the snow-covered ruins and peaceful serenity was something Spike could get behind.

After a few minutes of trudging through the snow and ice, Spike made it to the little shack that Night had appropriated to be her workshop. And as he thought, a dim little flame in the window confirmed that the mare was inside, already working hard on something, no doubt. Several large steps later, Spike walked up the stairs and to the porch of the workshop, shaking the snow off his winter coat after Kirin had dismounted his shoulders, and knocked on the thick wooden door.

“Darn it Fang, I told you I’ll be in after I finish this up.” Spike looked down at Kirin as she stretched her forearms out in front of her and raised her hindquarters, yawning. A moment passed before Spike knocked again, and this time the mare came to the door. Opening it, she looked like she was about to beat someone’s head in as she shouted, “Fang, I will drink you dry if you don’t -” Night’s voice caught in her throat when she came muzzle to muzzle with Spike instead of her doggie lover. Her cheeks flushed red, the bat-pony stammered while Kirin leisurely strolled inside the workshop.

Spike rubbed the back of his neck and coughed. “So, uh, getting a lot of work done, Night Blade?”

Night nodded her head, fixing her lavender hair out of her face and gesturing for Spike to come inside. Spike followed her inside the shop, closing the door behind him. A shiver went through his spine from the sudden change in humidity. He unzipped his jacket and placed it and his overcoat on the coat hanger near the door. Taking a moment to look around, Spike realized that this was the first time he had stepped foot in Night’s workshop since it had been renovated. He soon found the culprit for the heat when he looked to his right and saw a lit furnace. A chair, tool box, table and mold-hold were sitting not too far from it. He also saw a rack holding what looked to be a very old halberd, the bronze blade chipped but otherwise in a salvageable condition.

“So…” Spike turned to his left, seeing Night half-turned in her chair in front of a table littered with discarded sheets of paper pages, sketches he assumed. “What brings you to my little shop this late at night? I didn’t expect anyone but Fang. Big lummox loves to cuddle too much.” She froze and blushed, biting her lip as she mentally smacked herself.

Spike laughed as he approached the mare. “Trust me when I say I know the feeling. Cyclone isn’t much of a morning dragoness, and we have to all but drag Veil out of bed.” The mare laughed, internally sighing and grateful that Spike wasn’t much like his sister. “Anyway, I don’t want to waste your time; you’re obviously busy with a project right now,” he said, getting a better look at all the sketches on the pages. He belatedly noticed a few books stacked in the left corner as well.

Night looked down to her messy table, moving the pages around before she looked back up at the drake. “Yeah, sorry for the mess. I’ve already finished some of the projects and my job is a lot easier since the only set of armor I have to make is for this little vixen here.” Kirin howled at Night after she jumped in the mare’s lap and curled up. “So you missed sleeping with me too girl? Sorry then, guess I should call it early. But what is it that you needed Spike?”

“Ah, well I don’t want to put more work on you than you already have. But… if you ever have the free time, could I ask you a favor?”

Night laid a hand on Kirin’s head, gently scratching the fox’s forehead with her fingers as she arched an eyebrow and nodded her head. “Sure Spike, I’m not too busy here anyways. Mother Isis helping me cuts part of the process out. Hell, with all the scraps of metal lying around in that tomb, all I gotta do is reinforce the metal and let Isis take over. Not much real blacksmithing needs done.” She laughed a moment before getting back on track. “So what is it?”

Spike nodded his head and moved closer towards Night, reaching down to his side and pulling out the brown sack from his belt. “Can you keep a secret?”