Raising a baby dragon wasn't actually as difficult as I thought it would be. No doubt it would've been easier if I hadn't been up to morally reprehensible things, but my plan was what mattered above all else, in my mind. Still, there was no way to not re-assess my priorities in terms of keeping him fed, keeping him occupied in a safe area of my laboratory, and preferably not exposing him to my cigar habits.

I really should've been more rattled by this, especially since when I got undressed that first night and went to brush my teeth, I saw plain as day in the mirror that I'd gotten my cutie mark. It was always a point of embarrassment for me, growing up. I should've had that thing a lot sooner, but then, before now I didn't have the time I would've liked to really show my magical prowess off. Nor did I have much time to practice what I loved so very much, even more than I loved the idea of getting the revenge I so craved.

You wanna get Twilight Sparkle wet? Bring her a secret rare book full of spells the world hasn't seen in ages. She'll soak the floor.

Anyways, it was actually not that difficult. He seemed perfectly capable of entertaining himself most of the time, though I did have to scold him for gnawing on some of my more valuable spell books. I quickly learned not to leave anything valuable lying around, because his teeth were and still are extremely sturdy and sharp. They have to be, one of his main dietary supplements is raw minerals, like limestone. Dragons need them in order to build bones more solid than some lesser metals.

Had to learn how to change diapers though, and oh wow, I was not ready to be a Mom! That had to have been the most disgusting stench that I've ever gotten a whiff of, and mind you, I used to wait in back alleys for packages next to piles of garbage over three weeks old! That is saying something.

Then again maybe dragon shit is just more rotten than pony shit. I wouldn't really know.

I actually got pretty good at manipulating my own senses with what I'd learned of mind magic because of it, because otherwise I probably would've thrown up a whole lot more. It was still disgusting, don't get me wrong, but being able to shut your sense of smell off temporarily is really useful when you're on diaper duty.

Cadance made a point of stopping in to help me out a lot, which surprised me since, you know, Princess. Turned out that a babysitter for Spike (that's the name I went with for him) was entirely necessary due to my new studies with Princess Celestia, because with how inquisitive and attracted to shiny valuable things he was, I feared the idea of him committing the grave sin of teething Princess Celestia's golden shoes, or even worse, her crown.

The lessons themselves were very unconventional. Some of them I didn't truly understand, with how different they were. Some days I studied advanced magical theory, other days she put me through practical application of the spells I learned. Then, there were the strange days where we simply sat and talked over tea. Those days were shorter than most, but I did at least develop an appreciation for darjeeling.

It certainly didn't help that I didn't have a whole lot to talk about. If it wasn't about magic, I didn't know much about it, though I did have quite a propensity for learning that she gladly indulged. She seemed to enjoy the input of an outsider, someone not involved in the proceedings of her legal dealings, or the politics each of her days were filled with. Of course, I had other things to talk about, but if I talked about them, I'm fairly sure she would've had me thrown in jail, so I continued to play the role of the fairly innocent, sheltered young mare.

Those calm moments of conversation between us actually satisfied me more than the studies, after a while. Eventually instead of discussing work, she began to tell me stories of ages long past. No national secrets of course, but she had plenty of amusing tales of old friends and ponies that once planned to overthrow her or just discredit her...various things. Sitting pretty at the top tended to earn the often impotent ire of those below her station.

Of course, that closeness brought a different kind of problem for me. Namely, Celestia's inquiries as to why I always wear clothes. Pants, specifically. It's normal for ponies to wear clothes around their barrel, maybe some accessories or perhaps a dress if they must cover their whole body, but it was unusual to see a mare wearing full-body clothes every day. At first she was content with me saying that I've always worn clothes like this, it's just what I do. Then I made the mistake I used to make when I was a little child: I got way too into my studies.

It was a heavy, long-term project that, as always, I felt the need to do my very best on. I've always been that way, and even Spike, at only a year and a half old, seemed to know me well enough to realize that I needed to focus. He was trying to walk upright by now, but he often defaulted to flopping down onto his hands and feet and waddling around quick as a whip. I swear, he almost looked like a dog, it was adorable!

I kept him entertained during my more in-depth studies by pointing to things I needed that he could reach, and he would go pick them up and bring them to me. I could've used my magic, but he found such delight in helping me that I didn't have the heart to stop. It became a regular thing between us, after a while. Celestia told me this had something to do with the imprinting, most dragon hatchlings showed a severe devotion to their Mother figure, always seeking ways to please her. It was only natural.

I was just barely fifteen when it happened. I had been so heavily buried in my studies that I didn't realize how low I was running on my suppressants. I had three days left and I figured I could just work through it, but you have to understand...I see Princess Celestia every day, and need I remind you that us hermaphrodites are horny sons of bitches?

Of course I had dirty thoughts about the Princess, despite all those superstitions about how you'll never reach the Elysium Fields if you have dirty fantasies about the Princess of the Sun. Or was it something about your dick falling off? It was bullshit to me, so I ignored it for the most part. Now I'm walking alongside her, looking up at her, talking with her like a close acquaintance, all alone in her private chambers...

Have you seen the flank on that mare?! Sweet HER, I don't know what wizardry she employs to keep such a perfectly sculpted figure, but damn! I mean she eats a lot of cake, how does it all go to her ass until it's just the most perfect, round, plush shape to hypnotize mares and stallions alike?! That had to have been how she really brought the three tribes together, she just waggled her perfect butt at them until they were in her thrall.

Anyways my point is, I was off my suppressants the next day, mentally fatigued from a lack of decent sleep and constant studying, and Celestia was facing away from me standing on her balcony basking in her sun because of course that perfect flank had to be pointing in my direction at just the right angle! Sometimes if the sunlight shines on her just right she looks like a porcelain statue in motion.

I've noticed her before. How could I not? But other times, I had a bottle of my suppressants in my pocket. I could slip away and take one on a rough day. That day, I had zero on me. Nada. So when I felt a certain tension in my loins, there was little I could do about it other than sit down and try not to look suspicious as I shuffled my forelegs around to cover up my crotch and hopefully hide it from a pony much taller than me.

Obviously, when we settled in for tea as we usually do, I did not succeed in seeming completely casual.

"You are behaving strangely, Twilight. Is everything okay?"

I genuinely had no idea how to respond to that. Feeling my sheath swelling in my pants was doing nothing to fix that. I realized the position I was sitting in at the table was rather awkward, back straight, forelegs together and standing taut, the tension in my body clearly uncomfortable yet I refused to change my position in any way...and it had been around ten minutes of idle conversation by now.

"A-ah, am I?" I asked with the most innocent tone I could muster, inwardly cursing my nervous stutter. "I hadn't noticed."

"You stumbled over your words. That's not exactly something you do," she said, her golden aura going to work on the tea set in front of us, the familiar clatter of fine Chineigh filling the room as she shifted our teacups around. "You tend to be much more eloquent."

I wobbled in my very proper posture, the soreness of the position making it tempting to let my body relax just a bit, but the position also offered me protection from eternal shame and likely the infinite awkwardness of popping a boner in front of this magnificent mare with her sparkling eyes and beautiful ethereal mane, and it's really hard to stop when you're used to being on suppressants, okay?!

Apparently I'd been a bit too quiet for a bit too long, and the slight sway in my posture caught her attention. That calm and friendly demeanor of hers suddenly shifted to concern while I sat there, staring at her like I were staring up at a hydra. Oh I tried to hide my rising panic, I tried so hard, but I'm pretty sure she spotted the tremor in my lips and the lack of motion in my ears. I was the very visage of an alarmed pony.

"Twilight?" I heard her say, just as I began to swallow the lump in my throat. "What's wrong? You look like you're terrified."

"I'm fine! Really, I'm...I'm fine," I struggled to say, taking a deep breath and letting it out nice and slow. "Just tense, lately. Lots of studying to get done, heh, you know how I can be!"

She visibly relaxed when I spoke up, her magic grasping the tea pot and heating the water inside, a single tea ball being filled with fresh tea leaves before being placed inside of the kettle. My eyes followed that beautiful magical glow as she set the top on the kettle again with a satisfying and light clink. She had such lovely and radiant magic...I wondered what it would be like to run my tongue over her horn while she channeled it-

I felt my stallionhood begin to slip up and out of my pants, and it took every ounce of my willpower to restrain the pleasurable shiver as the head of my shaft slid over form-fitting fabric. Perhaps wearing a belt from now on would be a better idea than simply getting my clothes custom-fit.

"Of course! I would imagine taking care of Spike is very time-consuming as well," she said in that warm and pleasant tone that you could only count yourself lucky to have in your life every day. "He's two, going on three years old now, I believe? You should bring him along sometime, I haven't seen him in months."

"Oh! Uh yeah, sure-I-I mean yes, Princess," I said, while silently berating my lack of self-control. "I'll bring him along next time. He should really see you more often!"

I could not be screwing this up worse, short of jumping on the table, tearing my clothes off and doing a stripper dance while smacking her in the face with my stallionhood. Admittedly the more masculine side of me delighted in such a show of supreme disrespect, sort of like the ultimate taboo that would probably result in me getting locked in the dungeons forever, but oh, what a way to go!

I had gotten so lost in that mental cinema snippet that I hadn't realized Celestia's smile had faded once more. I only noticed her making any sort of movement when I heard the distinct and familiar clink of her teacup being set down on its saucer once more. She was looking at me with that heartwarming expression of concern that had me fidgeting on the inside.

The sudden realization of why I was being like this came to me like a lightning bolt straight through my horn: withdrawal. I've been taking suppressants since I was twelve. My parents disapproved of me going on suppressants at such a young age, but I just hated how distracting my suddenly fluctuating hormones were! Estrus was bad enough without having the strange, undeniable desire to somehow do the impossible and fuck myself. Now I suddenly have these strange urges distracting me when I'm just walking down the street, pony-watching?! Screw that!

I had been taking those things every single day, multiple times a day. Now suddenly, I had none, and these things aren't designed for slow release. You take them, they dissipate into your bloodstream, and they keep your libido under control through your hormones. Specifically, they suppress the release of hormones into your body and...well, that's all you really need to know.

My body was used to them, and now I didn't have any. It was making up for it with a vengeance. I vaguely noticed how much I began to sweat, almost as if I was in heat, but I did at least know the side-effects of withdrawal from suppressants enough to know that an artificial heat can happen to mares. Or hermaphrodites.

"Twilight, something is wrong with you," she said to me suddenly, snapping me to attention in more ways than one. "Please, talk to me. Are you okay?"

"I-I'm...fine! Totally fine," I said, feeling the warmth in my body rise as my pulse became audible in my ears. "I'm just hot."

"Well, why don't you remove your clothes then? The suit is nice, but dark clothes tend to absorb heat."

"Ah-ha, no no, it's fine, I just...I just need a moment! Maybe it was the tea."

"Those are flimsy lies, and very unbecoming of you," she said with some mirth to her tone. "You have never had any reason to be dishonest with me before."

Okay, that one dug deep. It had never been brought up, but I was certainly keeping a lot from her, a lot more than just my gender. Then again, she never really asked, to her I was clearly a mare, I certainly look like it on the outside.

The only upside to this was that an artificial heat doesn't put out pheromones that notify other ponies 'hey my body would SO like all the foals put in it right now', so she wasn't picking up on that particular scent. Nor was I ovulating. But that was probably because she was sitting across from me and not next to me...which she was quickly changing oh sweet Celestia I'm so getting banished.

She had stood up from her seat, and the world seemed to be moving in slow-motion as Celestia walked around the table. I could almost feel my pupils dilate in raw terror as she moved to sit down next to me. She hadn't seen it yet, but it was only a matter of time, and I reflexively slouched to try, in vain, to hide it better. By now it was really sticking out, and obvious.

Unfortunately, Celestia was a self-trained bleeding heart extraordinaire and, upon perceiving that I was afraid and hiding something from her, she did what she did best and rested a hoof on my wither, lowering herself down so we could be more eye-to-eye.

"Twilight, please, you are a friend. You can open up to me about anything," she said, looking me over to try to figure out why I seemed so out-of-sorts. "You're practically shaking like a leaf, and you look like you're burning up. Is it-"

The world went still, and the room went silent as her eyes went wide. I could see it out of the corner of my eye. She had seen it, she had noticed, aaand there was the freak-out. Mind you it was a small freak-out, she was very much in control of herself, buuut it would be a shock to anyone that thought me purely a mare.

"That's...Twilight!" she said, quickly averting her eyes, though some part of me took a small delight in the faint blush on her cheeks. Downside of a pure white coat of fur, methinks! "You hid this from me?!"

"I-I'm off my suppressants!" I blurted out suddenly.

Oh yeah. So smooth.

Everything went quiet again. Even with the carpeting, plush as it was, I'm sure you could've heard a pin drop onto it. I had a feeling Celestia knew what I was getting at, and she immediately backed off, moving a short distance away from me. I was thankful for that...I don't think she realized how intoxicating her scent was to a herm going through an artificial heat.

Then again, maybe I was wrong. She knew what suppressants were, and judging by the look on her face, she disapproved in some way.

"I see. Why are you off your suppressants?"

I ran my hoof over my mane, taking a deep breath to calm myself. "I got caught up in my studies, didn't realize I'd run out, then figured I could make it a day or two without them. I hadn't thought about the withdrawal effects, however."

The quiet laugh Celestia let slip made me blush more. "And, well, you know...very attractive mare in the room, uncontrolled hormones, kinda can't help myself..."

"How very you, Twilight! I'll take that as a compliment," she said, moving to sit on the opposite side of the table again, if only for our mutual comfort. "Leave it to my student to get so wrapped up in her assignments that she forgets to keep one of her personal necessities stocked! Honestly, I'm surprised you have any pudge on you, with how often you must forget to buy food."

"Hey!"

Her horn lit up for a brief moment, the sensation of magic jolting through the room before a small bell dinged inside of the chamber doors. I was familiar with it, it was how she summoned somepony to her chambers, be it a maid or her personal assistant. Of course, that realization came with a realization just as horrifying: she called somepony else to her chambers. While I was still there. With a raging boner that was throbbing against my barrel!

"Wait, I can't...don't tell anyone! If the nobles found out-" I started to say, but she quickly held up a hoof to silence me. I clapped my jaw shut.

"Ah, that must be why you hid it from me. Don't worry, Twilight. Swirling Breeze is my most trusted assistant here at the castle. If I ask her not to speak a word about what she sees in here, she will honor that request," she said, taking a sip of her tea using her magic. "She will maintain silence on this matter. Trust me!"

I knew of Swirling Breeze, of course. A much older unicorn mare, soft-built with a light teal mane and an equally light blue coat of fur. She had the most curious eyes I'd ever seen outside of more innocent fillies and colts closer to my age. Given she was twenty-five, over ten years older than me, it was surprising to see such eagerness in her. Nice eye-candy, though I tried not to ogle her when the Princess was around.

Strange name for a unicorn though. More of a pegasus name. Could have something to do with the fact that both her parents were pegasi.

The mare entered a few minutes later, vaguely out of breath from rushing over from whatever she was doing previously. She looked between us for a moment before fixing her posture and walking forward with that proud Canterlotian gait that made it look as if the very ground offended her sense of smell. Of course, that was a total farce when it came to her, she was a middle-class mare from New Yoke that, thanks to a chance encounter after moving here, wound up with one of the more coveted jobs in the castle. Celestia had a habit of choosing ponies from outside the nobility for such roles closely related to her.

"Yes, your majesty?"

Celestia smiled at her, nodding once. "Twilight needs you to go into the city to obtain some hormone suppressants. Make sure to get the top-quality ones available."

Swirling Breeze (I called her Swirly, which made her giggle) looked over to me curiously. "Suppressants? Why-" she began to say, only to notice something thick and dark purple pressed flush against my barrel. Even in my hot and heady state, I laughed at the sudden beet-red blush on her face. "Oh. Oh my. When did this happen?"

I chuckled and shrugged. "Been this way my whole life."

"Huh. Well. Huh," she said, her blush failing to subside as she yanked her gaze back up to meet my own. "I'll be back shortly then."

I'm sure she thought I didn't notice, but she eyed me up in a whole new way as she left the room, and perhaps I was naive to certain social situations, but I knew when I had a mare's attention. I filed that tidbit of knowledge away for later use. It'd been a while for me, and I'd love to have a chance to blow off some steam.

Silence permeated the room once more, and Celestia was sitting there calmly, as she always was, enjoying her tea and pouring herself a second cup. I cleared my throat and took a sip of my own, but my body felt too hot to really be able to enjoy imbibing a hot or warm drink.

"I feel like I should apologize, Princess," I started, nervously licking my lips. "I should've told you sooner. Then maybe I wouldn't be sitting here with...you know."

She waved it off and pulled her cup away from her lips, floating in her magic. "Oh, don't worry about it Twilight! I assure you, it doesn't bother me. If anything, it's flattering!"

"U-uh, what? I don't think I understand."

"Twilight, I assure you that I'm used to this sort of thing," she said, smiling lightly and bringing her cup to her lips once more, taking a sip. "Nothing unusual for my daily life."

I was genuinely confused, and lacking anything else to do, I simply picked up my teacup and took a bigger swig of my tea.

"I live in a castle surrounded by trained soldiers that act as my Royal Guard," she said to me. "I'm used to ponies standing at attention in my presence."

She almost got a spit-take out of me. Almost. Instead I just choked on my drink as it slid halfway down my throat. I coughed and gagged and covered my muzzle with my foreleg, fetlock getting soaked with tea while Celestia laughed across the table.

"Hah-hah, gotcha!" she said while pointing a hoof at me, devolving into laughter once again.

I began to laugh as well, in-between my coughing. It had even come out of my nose, I probably looked like a mess! Soon we were both laughing at my situation, and we took to conversation once more as if nothing had been wrong in the first place. I was thankful for that.

Yes, it was odd to have such a close friend in the Princess of Equestria herself. Still, I was glad she was more than just a mentor to me, able to relax and laugh off even the most awkward of situations. Shame she was royalty, I could see myself taking her out for a drink or two as buddies in around a year. Legal at sixteen in Equestria!

Not that that mattered to Swirly, as I soon discovered. She returned with my suppressants within a half-hour, and I took two of them on the spot, washing them down with a fresh cup of tea. It only took a couple minutes for me to feel the intense heat in my body recede, and with my thoughts more under my control and my hormones not raging like a surging undercurrent in my body, I rapidly got my arousal under control. I'd really need to go and crank one out when I got home, but otherwise I was feeling a whole lot better.

"Thank you, Swirling Breeze. If I may request something else from you," Celestia said, glancing over at me for a moment. "I believe I will be cancelling today's lessons with my student, as she seems under the weather and under a lot of pressure to finish her assignment. You have an extra week to finish it by the way, Twilight."

I blinked a few times in confusion and bowed my head to her. "Thank you, Princess."

"It's no problem." she said with that warm smile, before turning her attention back to Swirly. "Anyways, I would like you to escort her back to her home. Take as much time as is required."

Swirly and I exchanged glances, confused by this sudden turn of events, and the request was strange enough, but...wait, was Swirly blushing? Huh. Well then. Apparently she knew something I didn't know.

"Of course, Princess," I said, standing and shuffling in place a little to get things a bit more comfy between my legs now that my arousal had tapered off. "We'll be heading out now then, if that's alright?"

Celestia simply nodded and continued to enjoy her tea while we left. Swirly was oddly quiet, though she did make vague attempts at conversation, and I tried to keep it going as we rode back to my place in a carriage.

"So, you don't really have anywhere to be today, right?" I asked her, recalling the look on her face earlier when she made that unexpected discovery about me.

She shook her head. "No, when the Princess says that, she pretty much means I can take a break for as long as I want. The rest of the day, potentially."

"Oh. Well," I said, brushing my mane around my horn with my hoof. "If you want, you can stick around for a while. I don't often get to entertain guests."

She accepted, long story short. She accepted, and despite having my lessons canceled for the day, I learned some things and got to put them to practical use for the next few hours.

What can I say? I'm a very eager student.