The Heart of Pleasure
By Haunter Rayne
Chapter 34 - A Victory for Love

- Back in the Dragon Lands -

As the sun began to shine over the horizon Ember gave an angry snarl to Starlight. Despite this, she saw that the pony had no intention of backing down. After looking to her two friends being dangled in the air by her father, Ember had to look away for a moment so that no one could see as she wiped a tear from her eye. “I hope you're right Starlight. For everybody's sake…” She whispered. “Put then down!” A massive cry of disappointment came from the dragons around her but Torch nodded and placed the two accused onto the stone below. Instantly Spike and Rarity wrapped themselves in each other's arms and held tightly not wanting to let go. “The floor is yours Starlight.”

Now the unicorn stepped forward to face as many of the dragons as she could at one time. “Listen, I don't know a thing about court rooms or how these things are supposed to go. But I do know that the truth to most problems is never as simple as black or white. I'm not going to try to say that Spike and Rarity aren't responsible because they are.” Instantly the two of them cried out in shock but Starlight just raised a hoof for them to wait. “Their actions caused panic in not just the Dragon Lands but in a northern territory of Equestria as well. But what I am pleading for you to understand is that this is a victimless crime.”

Now there was more murmuring from the dragon crowd. It was Garble who spoke up first asking, “Uh, what is that?”

Starlight couldn't help but to roll her eyes a bit. “It means that while it may have been troublesome, no one actually got hurt. Listen, many of you are friends with Spike and many of you still don't like him. But except for maybe Garble, can even a single one of you say that you honestly believe Spike would do something to hurt you on purpose?” Garble crossed his arms seeming offended but every other dragon shook their head in response. Now Starlight continued by saying, “That magical wave that you all felt is probably something that shouldn't have been possible but how do you know that it was actually a bad thing? How do you know that it wasn't maybe something good? Or something that doesn't even have anything to do with you?” Several looked like they wanted to object but again not a single one could come up with a valid argument.

That was when Ember walked up to Starlight and placed her claw on her shoulder. Then in a surprisingly soft voice she asked, “So then what did happen? If it wasn't an experiment in magic then what could have caused that light?”

Starlight smiled and held Ember's arm saying, “I think those two could answer that better than anyone.”

With all eyes now on the two of them, Rarity and Spike blushed a little as they held each other. “I guess now is the time to tell them darling?” Rarity stated, but it was more of a request for support from him.

“Yeah, I think it is.” He agreed. They separated from their embrace but kept ahold in hoof and claw with each other. “Ember… other dragons… I need to let you know that something happened the other night which I don't think has ever happened before.” Spike announced.

Following up Rarity cleared her throat and called out, “A pony… and a dragon… have fallen in love.”

Instantly there were various roars from the crowd. Many cried out in disgust. Others argued that it was a lie. “No, really it's true!” Spike yelled and then he held Rarity's hoof in both claws. She smiled at him and they leaned forward giving each other a romantic kiss on the lips.

Now the cries of the dragons grew louder, several calling the union to be unnatural. Ember was shocked by the sudden display of affection but after a moment she quickly tried to regain control of things. “Alright enough!.. Be quiet!.... I SAID BE QUIET!!!!” She roared as she rose the Bloodstone Scepter and every dragon immediately fell silent. Now she began rubbing her forehead as frustration overtook her. “Spike! Listen to me! I- I don't know how to handle this. If what you say is true then… ugh! Look, that isn't why you are here! I don't know whether or not I can support this kind of relationship so please don't go asking me for your blessing or anything. But I need to know what happened that affected the OTHER dragons! So what does you two… being… tog-... what does that have to do with it?!” She yelled, having a hard time swallowing the concept.

Spike answered next saying, “We don't understand it completely ourselves but we can tell you what we know. It happened when Rarity and I shared our first kiss. Well our first real kiss… on the lips…” He gushed as he remembered back.

“Keep it together darling.” Rarity giggled, giving him a little bump with her hoof.

“Oh right, sorry. Well when it happened I kind of froze. It was if I was held in a trance. And I don't just say it was magical because it was special to me. Anyways, while that was happening Rarity had a vision of me as my giant dragon self.”

Just then Spike was interrupted by a loud scoff. Garble crossed his arms and yelled out. “Yeah right! This story is getting more ridiculous by the minute. There's nothing giant about that puny pipsqueak. Except how annoying he is.”

“Really! It's true!” Spike yelled as other dragons started to laugh. “I was as big as a house, no bigger! I destroyed buildings and climbed right up the side of a mountain!” Now there were several dragons laughing at the thought.

After it seemed like they were not going to stop it was Ember and Starlight together who both yelled out, “SHUT UP!” Once the commotion quieted down Ember turned to Rarity asking, “That claim IS a bit hard to believe. What do you have to say about it?”

Rarity nodded and held onto Spike proudly. “Every word is true. It was a few years ago, just after his birthday. Spike went through a terrible case of greed which seemed to, if you'll forgive the expression, 'spike' several massive growth spurts from him. First he was as big as a pony, then he was larger than a carriage, then he grew so big he busted right through a ceiling. By the time he was done he stood taller than the tallest building in the town! And to make matters worse the bigger he got the more his mind seemed to lose it's sense. He was quiet the frightening brute.” Now the dragons looked on in disbelief. After that explanation she noticed Spike look to the ground feeling ashamed but she slyly ran her hoof up his spine before whispering so that only he could hear. “Don't worry dearest, that's all been long forgiven. Besides, now I find it rather fetching thinking about my big, strong, Spike carrying me away, hehe.” Spike's heart almost exploded and he felt a bit thrilled by how she whispered into his ear.

“Wait a second…” Ember asked, sounding confused. “While I don't believe that little Spike here grew to be as big as you say… dragons do go through a growth spurt when their sense of greed truly develops. But how could that have happened if he is still this small? What, did he shrink in the wash or something?”

Now Rarity frowned again. “Most certainly not! And I don't find your commentary to be the least bit amusing.”

“Rarity!” Starlight scolded. “May I remind you that you are on trial for your lives? That isn't helping!” Now speaking directly to Ember Starlight stated, “If I may summarize, when giant Spike saw Rarity he was reminded of the friendship they have with one another. And after that it wasn't hard for him to realize that he had been terrifying the one pony who meant more to him than anything his greed could make him pursue.”

Spike now spoke up for himself saying, “I let go of my greed because I realized that Rarity meant more to me than anything in the world. And if I couldn't be with her to make her happy then everything else I had collected on my rampage… just seemed so worthless by comparison. I decided that it was better to give and to make others happy than to take for myself. And… then I shrank right back to my old self again.” Every single dragon gasped in fright at the thought.

Rarity followed up saying, “So to get back to the point, after Spike and I shared our magical kiss the other night I had a vision of Spike in his larger form. It was like a dream while I was still awake. But this time I wasn't frightened of him. I didn't see a brute. I saw the same dragon that I had realized I was in love with and it didn't matter to me what he looked like. So I kissed the vision of the giant Spike just as I had been kissing the real one in his room in the castle. Suddenly the vision was gone but there was that purple and green magic floating all through the room. And yes, I am aware of how much the purple resembled my mane and how the green mirrored Spike's scales. When we broke the kiss the magic just… shot off in every direction. We honestly had no idea what happened to it after that. We certainly had no knowledge of it reaching all the way here!"

Spike held her hoof and continued with the rest for her. “We didn't even know that it spread out from the castle until the next day. An artifact in northern Equestria that runs off of love magic started to overload and I guess the blast also reached down here which affected all of you. But we have no idea why it happened. It wasn't anything on purpose. And it hasn't happened again since.”

Now all of the dragons seemed to be speechless. Ember softly mumbled out, “So, it was an accident?”

The couple both nodded but Rarity then wrapped her hoof around the little dragon. “The blast of magic might have been an accident, but this, what we have, certainly was not. This was from Spike stealing my heart… and me taking far too long to realize he deserved it.” They rested their heads together affectionately.

That was until they were interrupted once more by Garble now throwing a tantrum. “But it CAN'T HAPPEN!”

Starlight and Spike frowned at him while Rarity stuck out her tongue at him. But then Ember spoke and had a very worried expression. “No, you two. I'm sorry but this time Garble is right. He means about Spike's greed of course. Even if I believed that this is what you honestly think happen, this just isn't possible. Spike's greed didn't make him magically transform. Spike just grew up. This is how our natural aging process works. If he really did already go through his greed phase then that had to have been his natural time to mature. And dragons don't get spontaneously younger again just because they choose to.” Suddenly tears began to form in Embers eyes and she made no attempts to hide it. “But even if it did happen… then what you have taken away from Spike… is inconceivable!” She honestly sounded mortified as she spoke and Rarity suddenly felt incredibly guilty.

Seeing this Spike quickly yelled, “No, no! She didn't do anything! I didn't lose a thing! I gained what mattered most to me instead of losing everything that was important to me! I would rather be short and happy than tall and miserable! Come on Ember! I wish you could have been there yourself. Isn't there any way that we can prove it to you?!” He begged her.

The Dragon Empress raised her eyebrows while still having a sad expression. “Oh, no. There certainly is. I just don't want to believe that you truly gave up your own adulthood, your dragon-ness, for a pony."

Spike looked to Ember and then to Rarity. Then he looked to Torch and to the other dragons. Take a firmer hold of Rarity's hoof he said with a determined voice, “I've made my choice.”

“Oh Spike!” Rarity cried as her emotions overwhelmed her.

“Rarity, I need you to move away from Spike.” Ember said solemnly.

“W-what?! No! Why?” She gasped, tightly holding onto him in a protective manner.

Ember just casually raised a claw saying, “I'm not going to hurt him. This will be for the sake of clearing his innocence.” Looking hesitant, Rarity slowly released him and started walking over toward Starlight. “Don't worry, this will only be for a moment. Just stand far enough away for how big you think his ‘adult form’ really was.” Hearing that Rarity and Starlight quickly looked to each other with a nervous expression. Then they took off running all the way to the far side of the rock clearing before they stopped and looked back. Ember appeared incredibly annoyed saying, “You've got to be kidding me.” Meanwhile Garble had started laughing again in disbelief. “Very well.” Ember announced and flew into the air just in case. Then she looked down to Spike and yelled, “By the power of the Bloodstone Scepter, show us Spike's natural and rightful form!”

All of the dragons screamed as Spike's body began to grow. Ember was surprised when she was almost knocked out of the sky. “RRAAAAAAAAWWWW!!!” The tyrannical Spike yelled as every dragon stared at him in wide eyed amazement. Even Torch was astonished. Spike was not quite as bulky as the elder dragon but with his long neck Spike did reach to be even taller than Ember's father was.

Now the Dragon Empress then flew up and was was unbelievably excited. “Spike! This is amazing! Look at you! You're a.. you're an Elder Dragon! Well, I mean, you're not old enough for that of course… but you must have the lineage from one of our hereditary races! Just like dad! Well come on! Say something!” She beamed excitedly.

The giant Spike just looked at her. “RAAWW!” Then lost interested and started looking around. He reached down and used a claw to pick something out from under his foot and a smashed Garble was thrown aside like an insignificant twig.

“Spike?” Ember called out again.

That was when Rarity shouted from the ground. “I don't think he can understand you! Last time- oh thank you Starlight,” She said as the other mare levitated Rarity up into the air next to Ember, “last time he was this big Spike had almost completely lost his mind.”

“Really?!” Ember asked with curious interest. “Let's just see about that. Hey dad, a little help please?” She asked as she pointed towards a nearby rock face. Torch moved over and pulled a gigantic stone boulder aside. Then all of the dragons marveled at the largest horde of gold and jewels they had ever seen. Ember grinned proudly. “That's MY treasure horde. Or at least it will be. It's my inheritance from dad. What do you think Spike? You want it?” She teased him as she saw the pupils of his eyes reflect the gold coins in desire. But before he could move towards her treasure, Ember whistled drawing his attention her as she now took hold of Rarity. “Look Spike… I've got your girlfriend! And I'm flying away with her. You can save her but then you cant have the treas- AAHHH! OH SHIT- DAD! AAAHHH, DADDDDD!!!” Ember screamed as Spike suddenly looked furious, turning his back on the gold and lunging at her before she could even finish speaking.

Just before he got too close Torch managed to tackle Spike causing the two titans to come crashing together on the ground. One of the other dragons was thoughtful enough to lift Starlight away from the resulting earthquake that ensued. Torch used his bulkier body to hold Spike still as Ember flew Rarity down near Spike's face as fast as she could. Reaching out for him Rarity soothingly called, “Hey, hey there darling. Easy boy, easy. It's me. 'Your Rarity.' I'm right here with you and no one is taking me away from you.”

Ember had to leap back through the air to avoid being clawed in half as Spike wasted no time in snatching the pony mare away from her. But once he had, the purple dragon immediately began to settle. Once he had calmed down Torch let Spike go and the giant dragon carefully took hold of his girlfriend to cradle her gently. “Raww..." He dragon-purred while still not being able to talk.

Just then they heard Ember's voice say, “By the power of the Bloodstone Scepter… show us the form that is true to Spike's heart.”

Then Torch caught them both and set them on the ground after Spike reverted to his smaller self. “Aww, who's my big boy?” Rarity teased Spike just a little bit seductively.

“I am! And I love you Rarity, more than anything.” Spike said while hugging her.

“I know dearest. And I love you too.” She said while hugging him back.

“That was unbelievable you two.” Ember said while flying over. The other dragons started closing in as well, all looking at them with the same amazed expression in their eyes. Ember cleared her throat and called out, “I Ember, the Dragon Empress, here by decree that Spike and Rarity are cleared of all charges for treason against dragon kind! It seems that this was merely an accident and it was… a victimless crime.” She said as she winked to Starlight who winked back. “Now, instead of celebrating an execution, let us celebrate to lasting peace with our friends!” The other dragons shrugged and then cheered as they returned to their festivities while Ember walked Spike and the ponies away for a private conversation.

- Soaring Across the Sea -

The rescue party collaborated together one more time on the plan. In the sky carriage a unicorn with a brilliant vermilion coat gave the approaching Dragon Lands a determined stare. “Alright, we are almost there. Remember that we are going in blind here so you need to be ready for anything!” Using one of his off white hooves he stomped determinedly while using the other to push his glasses back up his face. “Flash Sentry, you're the leader of your team so make sure you remember to check for our friendly targets at all times. Our main priority is their safety, no matter what happens to us. We MUST bring then home!”

Flying in front of the carriage, the middle pegasi had a sapphire blue mane poking out from under his helmet and his brilliant gamboge coat could be seen under his matching armor. “Yes sir! This is what we've trained for! We will save the citizens of Equestria! Two unicorn mares and the purple dragon Spike!”

As they watched the shoreline of the Dragon Lands get closer and closer the unicorn double checked all of the incantations he had already prepared in advance. “Hold on Starlight… I'll save you.”

- Just outside the Dragon Land Festivities -

“Thank you for letting us talk this out Ember.” Starlight stated in a heavy expression of relief.

The light blue dragon just scoffed and smiled. “Thank you for being there for OUR friends and saving me from doing something that I really didn't want to do.” The two of them bumped claw to hoof and laughed. After that Ember gave a sly grin before saying, “Although I already knew that you would find a way to prove that those two were in love and that this was all some kind of mistake.”

“What?!” Starlight gasped in surprise. “How could you have possibly known all of that?!”

Trying to keep herself from laughing Ember said, “Well I-... was kind of flying only like ten feet above you guys when you first got here. You asked Rarity if she was sure and then she gave you that unbelievably sappy speech about being in love.” Starlight blushed and raised a hoof over her lips giggling. “I was surprised to hear about their relationship but I knew then that Spike was innocent and that us dragons just didn't have all the right information. I just needed your help to prove it to the others. Although you two had me worried for a minute there when Rarity totally botched Spike's defense and ended up implicating herself in the process.”

Starlight couldn't resist laughing a little bit before saying, “Yeah, that was pretty bad. But it all worked out okay in the end. Oh and I'm sure that Twilight is freaking out right now trying to decide how to save Spike. So please don't be upset if she suddenly shows up here with an army or something, okay?”

Now it was Ember's turn to lose against her giggling. “Then you'll just have to go straight back to stop the invasion. And give Twilight my apology, okay?”

“You've got it.” Starlight agreed.

While the two had been talking, Spike and Rarity had been walking ahead together. But at this point Rarity had seemed to separate from him and stand waiting for the two behind to catch up. Ember looked over to the mare and asked, “Rarity, why do you look so nervous? The trouble is over.”

With all eyes on her she gave a heavy sigh. “Ember, not to be too awkward here but... Spike was abandoned as an egg and you are the leader of ALL of the dragons. I know that you aren't incredibly older than Spike is but that makes you the closest thing I have to relate to a mother for him. I just want you to know that I am NOT trying to take advantage of him. I understand what it means… what he gave up, for me. And I do not take that lightly. If I had understood years ago what had really happened then I would have tried to find another way-”

But Ember put a finger over Rarity's lips to stop her. “Okay, whoa. So first off, don't EVER call me that again! I am way too young for that kind of responsibility. But secondly, I understand what you are trying to say. If you were some other pony then I would be more concerned but I've gotten to know you a bit over the years and I trust that you wouldn't hurt Spike. I don't envy the difficult relationship I think you two will have… but as long as you keep me out of it then I am not going to stand in the way.” The two girls smiled at each other before Rarity turned to walk back to Spike.

“That… was... hilarious.” Starlight snickered as she stood next to Ember.

All jokes aside now, they both stared to watch the two love birds walking together as a couple. Before taking another step onward Ember whispered to Starlight, “You had belief in hope, huh? I'll remember that. Seems like it's some powerful stuff.”

"I didn't have hope when I was younger." Starlight confessed. "I was without support, trust, or friendship as well. It led me down a dark road that I am not proud of. But I've since seen the light. Ponies don't just follow these ideals because we like being sappy. There is power behind these words. Even when they do sound like a cheesy greeting card." Ember chuckled and Starlight rushed to catch up to the happy couple. Seeing that they had finally stepped around the hillsides she yelled out now as she saw the ocean come into view. “Haha, almost home guys!”

Just then Spike looked up to Rarity and asked, “So, I guess that's all over. Hey you don't really see Ember as my mother do you?”

Laughing she replied, “Oh no Spike, of course n-”

But she was interrupted as a furious Dragon Empress stomped forward and yelled, “NO! THAT'S IT! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANY MORE CRAP LIKE THAT! EVERY PONY, SPIKE YOU TOO, GET OUT OF MY DRAGON LANDS RIGHT NOW!”

The three Equestrians with Spike included now tried to suppress a laugh so hard that they were almost crying. But to everyone's surprise that was when a roaring screech could be heard coming from above.

Up in the sky the rescue team from Equestria looked down to the ground. “All three targets sighted!” Flash Sentry yelled to the unicorn riding in the back.

Looking down closely they saw Spike and Rarity walking together when suddenly Starlight raced after them from behind. A moment later they saw the leader of the dragons shouting something after them, “... I DON'T… … PONY… YOU… MY DRAGON LANDS NOW!” Then all three Equestrians looked like they were in some sort of pain.

“They're in trouble! We have to save them!” The unicorn shouted.

As Ember growled, watching her friends recover from their side splitting laughter she was taken by surprise when three pegasi dove to the ground right in front of her. Like a living barricade they blocked Ember off from the others and right in front of Starlight the unicorn heroically jumped forward to face the dragon leader. “Sunburst?!” Starlight gasped in complete surprise to see him.

“Stand back you vile fiend! I will not allow you dragons to harm this fair maiden and her friends!” He bellowed with his chest puffed outward.

Ember then looked over his shoulder and said, “Is this guy your boyfriend? Seriously, what storybook did he pull that line out of?” Starlight just smacked her hoof to her forehead in embarrassment.

“Sunburst, what are you doing here?!” Starlight yelled.

The unicorn looked back and forth between her and Ember while trying not to turn from facing his enemy. “Uh, I was, I mean… I AM- I am rescuing… you?” He mumbled in confusion. Ember now just gave Starlight a blank stare as if to say ‘seriously?’

From several feet away Rarity and Spike just stood there in shock before Rarity whispered, “Aww, how romantic!”

Then Spike smiled and whispered up to her, “Just so you know, that is totally how I saw it when you showed up to rescue me and when you worked so hard to defend me.” Rarity gave a giddy squeal before suddenly pulling Spike behind a rock. A moment later they popped back out but Spike was now spinning dizzily while covered in her kisses and smiling happily.

Starlight held up a hoof and asked, “Wait, wait a minute. Rarity and I came here to rescue Spike! Are you here to save him or to save me?”

Again Sunburst nervously stuttered, “Umm, can't I do both?”

Starlight’s mouth dropped open, feeling flattered but not knowing what to say. Before she could figure it out though she saw Ember grin and rub her claws together mischievously. “Don't!” Starlight yelled.

“Don't what? Rescue you or rescue Spike?” Sunburst asked now feeling totally confused.

Suddenly Ember leapt into the air and roared with a foreboding voice. “You foolish ponies! You come here to challenge my might?! I am a dragon and will take whatever or whoever I desire! YOU PONIES CANNOT STOP US! WE WILL INVADE YOUR HOMES, BURN YOUR VILLAGES! STEAL ALL THAT YOU HOLD DEAR UNTIL…”

“Spike has already been saved, Rarity and I are fine, and peace between dragons and ponies is no longer in jeopardy!” Starlight spat out extremely fast.

Sunburst and the three pegasi all looked surprised as the threatening dragon suddenly broke character and now sounded like a whining childhood friend. “Awww Starlight! I was on a roll there! You totally let the fire out of my big finish!”

“Hehe, I'm sorry Ember. Maybe next time.” Walking right passed the pegasi Starlight hugged Ember and she hugged back. “This place really isn't my style but I'm going to miss you. I'll take you up on that offer to visit you soon.”

“You'd better.” Ember smiled.

“WHAT IS GOING ON?!” Sunburst cried.

The two girls looked to each other and giggled uneasily. “Uh, oh sorry. Here…” Ember said winking to Starlight before super loosely wrapping an arm around her. “Ooh, raaar… I have your, uh, pony! You'd better save her!” She said mocking a kidnapping that even a filly wouldn't have believed.

Sunburst looked unimpressed and said, “Greater Void- no, uh I guess Lesser Void of Dimensional Space…” Suddenly his horn glowed and a shimmering rift wrapped around Starlight and pushed Ember about six feet away from her.

“Ooh, pretty neat spell.” Ember said as if giving commentary to a stage performance.

Starlight then winked and waved goodbye to Ember before saying, “Oh Sunburst… my, hero? You have saved'ed me from the terrifying-”

“Just stop and get in the cart.” Sunburst said agitatedly.

“Yeah, okay.” Starlight said nervously and climbed aboard.

Meanwhile the pegasi looked to each other saying, “Is this really what we came all the way out here for?” Then they waited as Sunburst, Starlight, Spike and Rarity all climbed on with the last two having a giggle fit about the whole scene.

Soon they were all riding together as the pegasi flapped their wings to begin their return back to Equestria. A minute or two later Sunburst looked over the side of the cart and sighed. Starlight felt a nudge in her side from Rarity who gave her a stern look toward the male unicorn. Sliding her mane back nervously Starlight whispered to him, “Hey Sunburst?” Stepping up beside him after he had only glanced over his shoulder she said, “Did I really hear you almost cast Greater Void of Dimensional Space? That… is a super advanced magical spell. I don't think even I've cast it before. You could split mountains apart with magic like that.”

Sunburst chuckled and said, “Yeah well, when the princesses put the rescue mission together it was supposed to just be a small group posing as diplomats to rescue the three of you. Three pegasi and a unicorn from the royal guard. They asked me for help on what spells their military unicorn should prepare. But then when they let slip that you were one of the ponies that might be in danger I may have kinda… magically paralyzed a member of the royal guard and poised as him in his place for the rescue mission."

"You what?!" Flash Sentry yelled out from ahead of the cart. But Starlight just waived him off as she encouraged Sunburst to continue.

"Well at that point I just brought along some of the most advanced magic craft books that I own.” He started pointing to some very old tomes in the back of the cart. “We didn't know if everything would be okay or if we would have to fight the entire dragon army. I've heard reports about how large the dragon Torch could be so I knew I needed something that could handle the force he could throw against us. I've spent almost the whole trip trying to build up the magic to cast it.”

Instantly Rarity gave Starlight a look as if to say, ‘wow he did all that for 'you’?’ Purposely turning her back on the ridiculous kissing display that Rarity was making about her and Sunburst now, Starlight lowered her shoulder as she put her hooves together and said, “Wow Sunburst. No pony has ever done anything like that for me before. Thank you, really.” She said as she smiled at him with her eyes staring deeply into his.

Rarity had to move her hoof over Spike’s lips so his snickering wouldn't spoil the moment. Sunburst looked like he melted from the inside out. His voice cracked several times as his expression was goofy at best as he said, “Oh, well, it was nothing. You're important to me Starlight. I've never had a friend like you before. It was my pleasure to help keep you safe.” Meanwhile steam was almost burning off his cheeks.

Starlight gave an uneasy chuckle, “Ha, yeah. Friends.” Was all she said as she walked passed behind him. But just as she did she flipped her tail so that it would land over the backside and then slide slowly along until it fell off at the end. Starlight strutted over to Rarity who had her jaw completely dropped. “I know how to flirt when I want to, thank you very much.” The mare whispered to the other. But looking back behind her both girls suddenly started laughing so hard that they almost fell put of the carriage from how completely stunned Sunburst was left looking.

Meanwhile, Ember stood behind on the coast of the Dragon Lands watching as the cart flew away. “Those crazy ponies.” She said softly to herself.

“Aww shucks. It looks like they found their friend and are on their way home.”

Ember sighed and gave a small smile. “Yes they are.”

“Well isn't that just nice.”

Sighing again Ember said, “Yeah, it kinda is.” Then after a moment Ember realized that someone was actually talking to her and she looked down to see who was beside her. There she saw a wide crooked smile staring up to her face. It came from a pale grayish gold face that had a light brown mess of hair atop its head. Taking a step back she saw that it was an earth pony wearing a dirty white work shirt and he also had on a green hat with a turnip on it. “Wait a minute, who the heck are you?”

Author's Notes:

So Spike is finally on his way home and soon the mane six will be together again. Likewise there seems to be potential for some kind of interest blossoming between Sunburst and Starlight. We'll just have to see if anything plays out from that in the future.

I hope you all were moved by this chapter. I was really trying to make an emotional tug on what Spike “gave up” and how mortified the dragons were by that happening. But I didn't want to over do it either. Now it's time for the story to return to the Crystal Empire. Spike may be safe but there are plenty of more mysteries to be resolved.