Chapter Twenty-One

Upstream Conversation

It was the following day, after much haggling and conceding on the price, that Spike and his wives bid goodbye to Al Abbas and set sail up the Nile in their boat. Well, not so much set sail as float with a little push from the winds and some magical oars rowing them steadily along. Still, it was a nice, relaxing ride, and the boat was spacious enough for everypony to sleep without curling up on each other, though Spike doubted any of his wives did not want to curl up next to him.

He sat near the front of the watercraft, content to feel the breeze brush past him as they journeyed up the river. Trees and long grasses dotted the winding path of the world’s longest river, with birds and savannah creatures coming along to drink from its watery banks. Here and there, and luckily with his camera, Spike would get glimpses of creatures he had only heard about in books: lions, flamingos, hippos, rhinos, even a few friendly groups of wildebeest and gazelles who would wave back as they collected water for their villages. they , along with the giraffes, were the natives that shared the continent with zebras and as a whole were on very good terms with their hooved brethren. Spike felt much more relaxed than he had in a long time. He was so relaxed, in fact, that he soon fell asleep in his seat.

At the far end of the boat, one of his wives was also fast asleep. Asalah had never been on a boat before and as such, the gentle rocking motion had induced her in her an irresistible urge to close her eyes. As she slept peacefully on top of some pillows and surrounded by silken curtains, the three unicorns comprising the rest of Spike’s harem were talking, although quietly.

“A colt or a filly, do you think?” Trixie asked, rubbing her belly softly. She now had the slightest bump, entirely noticeable but not distracting. In fact, it just looked like she had a bit more to eat earlier. In fact, she had eaten more earlier, as the foal’s growing body had induced in her a sudden desire to eat more. Not too much more, as the foal absorbed nutrients from her and the whole “eating for two” myth was just plain wrong in that regard.

“I’m thinking it’ll be a colt, myself,” Meia said, gently rubbing her own hand over Trixie’s belly. Maria’s hand joined her, feeling the life growing within the blue unicorn.

“I’m thinking filly: that way, at least one of us will be right,” she said with a smile, thinking back to her own prediction. The Spreignish unicorn had no doubt her first would be a colt: it just seemed so natural to her to bear Spike a colt first. If it was a filly, then she would be happy just the same and love and cherish the little darling with all her heart. She'd likely spoil the little filly rotten, just like her parents had done for her without realizing it. And yet, she had grown up just fine: she had known when to be good and when it paid to be a noble's daughter.

“Whether it will be a filly or a colt, I know Spike will love them,” Trixie said, smiling as she felt the warm hands rub her belly. It made her feel relaxed, part of the group: part of the herd, if you will.

“Of course he will,” Meia said, leaning back and looking down at her own taught stomach. She was only two weeks pregnant, and she knew she wouldn’t show for a while, just like Trixie. “He’ll love all of his children for who they are, as he does so for us.”

“Do you think the foal will look like him?” Maria asked, gently placing a hand on her own belly. Once again, as with Meia, nothing yet showing but the soft pelt and the underlying stomach muscles.

“I’ve been reading up on that,” Trixie replied, pulling a book out of her rucksack. “I hadn’t looked in it at all when we were going through the desert: maybe I should have, to have staved off boredom some nights.”

“Trixie, you and I both know you were too busy many of those nights to read,” Meia said with a smile, which caused Maria to blush and giggle slightly.

“Most definitely,” the Spreignish unicorn agreed. “I never knew dragons could output so much and regenerate so much in such a short time.”

“They are highly magical creatures, though in different ways than we,” Trixie said as she opened the book. “As for the foals, there is a special section for not only dragons, but for several different kinds of species hybrids. Would you care to listen?”

“Sure, why not?” Meia said, leaning back on some pillows to get comfortable, with Maria sidling up next to her.

Trixie cleared her throat slightly and shot out some magic from her horn: instantly, a small pair of reading glasses sat on her nose, making her look a bit like a schoolteacher. Thus, she began to read.

“Chapter Two: Dragons.” She moved a finger down the page, past several diagrams, until she reached the first paragraph. “Perhaps the most mysterious, oldest and most dangerous of the sentient races, dragons come in a few select varieties: those who inhabit water, those who have wings and those who do not or cannot do either. For the sake of easy explanation, we shall classify these dragons into three named categories: earth dragons, water dragons, and sky dragons.”

“Hmm, I never knew there were different types before,” Maria said, curling some of her mane between her fingers. “Also, why is the second chapter on dragons? What was the first one on?”

“Quite,” Trixie said, looking over her glasses at the noblemare. “Oh, the first chapter was simply an introductory one on relations between dragon and ponykind throughout the centuries: rather boring, if you ask me.” She flipped the page and continued. “Earth dragons are those without wings and are more suited for life on the ground, since they do not swim. They move on all fours, have thicker scales and on average have a cooler fire, though they are by no means less powerful. As their body type is more suited for the ground, they are faster runners and will move on all fours when they have to, greatly increasing their speed. They are also more slender and have a leaner musculature, so as to aid in such motion. Elongated tails aid by helping balance them while running, and any spines they have are usually far narrower and sharper than those of other the other species, so as to reduce wind drag.”

“So, Spike’s not an earth dragon, I take it?” Meia asked, although she already knew the answer to her question.

“No, he has wings, and several other key differences in body structure,” Trixie said patiently, without a modicum of exasperation or annoyance. She continued as if nothing had happened.

“They are by far the most unusual of dragons, as they will often and even regularly interbreed with other species. As a result of this tendency to crossbreed, there are relatively few truly pure earth dragons outside of their home range. Only there, where it is difficult for non-dragons to survive, can one find what are known as “pure-bloods”, an archaic way of stating one’s ancestry in draconic terms.”

“Well, I certainly haven’t seen one in Spreign before, and judging from her reaction to Spike, Asalah hasn’t seen one in her homeland either,” Maria said, gingerly stroking her stomach with a far-off look in her eyes. She must have been only paying half-attention to Trixie: the foal was one her mind and yet hadn’t been in existence for even three weeks.

“Well, there aren’t many dragons in this part of the world,” Trixie said. “The dragon homeland is back on the continent that Equestria is on, and frankly many ships probably wouldn’t have taken dragon passengers back in the day due to them being a fire hazard and all.”

“Yeah, the captain of the Crowhop had said something along those lines,” Meia said as she pulled out a comb and began moving it through Maria’s mane, who gave a soft neigh of thanks. It was a good method for bonding between the mares, as being part of a herd meant they were to share everything with one another. “Spells probably weren’t as advanced back then as they are now, what with new ones being formed every other day it seems.”

“Are by any chance a subscriber to Unicorn Annual?” Trixie asked. “They publish all the latest spells every year to keep unicorns up-to-date.”

Meia looked thoughtful for a few seconds as she combed Maria’s mane. “No, I don’t think I’m subscribed to anything. I think my mother was a long time ago.” Truth be told, there was actually validity to the words of the disguised Chrysalis. Her mother had been subscribed to one publication: Equestria Monthly, where she had learned all about the kingdom that many of her kind had grown to be jealous of. That publication had long since disappeared, but Chrysalis still remembered looking through the magazines as a little filly: the dresses had been very pretty.

“Oh, well, it is a good magazine, though some of the recipes are not what one would think,” Trixie said, returning to the book. “Sky dragons are simply dragons with wings and are more suited for life flying or at least flying a lot. As such, their bodies are lighter than an equivalent-sized earth dragon, but they are still very strong. They have powerful flight muscles and are considered the more dangerous kind of dragons, as they are more common due to the ability to spread and gather food and treasure more effectively. Whereas an earth dragon can only attack from the ground or a water dragon from water, a sky dragon can swoop down from on high.”

“Spike can swoop down on high for me any day,” Maria said with a smile. Meia giggled at this, was joined by Trixie, and soon all three unicorn mares were laughing. It was an enjoyable kind of laugh, of comradery and friendship and relaxation. They were bonding, becoming friends: just as those in a herd should. It eliminated the need for an aplha mare and as such improved the overall connections between the herd mares.

“Well, that is certainly the image I would not mind seeing,” Trixie said, her magic making her own brush push through her mane. “Let alone be a part of.”

“Indeed,” Meia replied, her magic bringing them a pitcher of water. They eat took a swallow before Trixie turned back to the book.

“They are also highly sociable and readily interact with others at a younger age, eventually decreasing in such activities as they grow larger and much older.”

“Define ‘much older’, please,” Maria said as she and Meia swapped positions: now she was combing Meia’s mane. “I doubt any of us will see Spike grow old and large enough to never want anything to do with any pony.”

“Well, it says here sky dragons live just as long as any other species of dragon,” Trixie said. “Many can and will live centuries and very well millennia or even longer, but it doesn’t say if there is a way to tell just how old one will live. I believe the oldest lived one million years, judging from what the authors could tell.”

“One million years?” Meia asked in disbelief. “How in the world could they tell it was that old?”

“They asked it, it says right here,” Trixie said, holding the book so she could point it out. “They were also using lie-detecting spells, and frankly that old dragon had told the truth with every question it had been asked.”

“Where is its body?” Maria asked. “You said it lived one million years.”

“He sank into the Barnlantic Ocean, it says,” the blue unicorn replied. “Apparently he was so large that one could have mistaken him for a large island when he was asleep on the surface.”

“Perhaps he was the inspiration for the legend of the kraken?” Maria said.

“That is possible,” Trixie said, turning the page: she cleared her throat.

“Water dragons are those who spend most if not all of their lives alongside or in bodies of water, ranging from rivers to lakes to the oceans. They have no wings, have relatively weak limbs when compared to other dragons, but their bodies are incredibly muscled so as to move more efficiently through the water. As compensation for no wings, they often have flippers or even wing-like structures, similar to those of manta-rays.”

“Oh, it would be so cool to see a manta ray,” Meia said. “I heard they are very gentle and graceful creatures.”

“I’ve heard that too,” Trixie said as she turned another page. “Water dragons cannot breathe fire but instead can use sonar and can hold their breath for long periods of time. They also have a variation of fire where they can heat up the water in their mouths and eject it as steam or even boiling water. The ones living in the oceans can grow to enormous sizes but usually tend to stay away from others, both out of not wanting to compete and a shy reluctance to be known.”

“Well, that would explain why they are so rarely reported or even conversed with,” Maria said as she finished combing Meia’s mane. Moving over to behind Trixie, she began to comb through the spots the blue unicorn had missed with her brush.

“Exactly, though you would think more would be seen now that ships are so much more common,” Trixie said.

“That is all very fascinating, but I think we know what we all want to know right now,” Meia said, patting her belly softly for added effect. “Tell us about their breeding.”

“All right,” Trixie said, turning the page. “Ahem: dragons can and will regularly interbreed with other species, including equines and similar folk. They do not engage in bestiality unless they are truly depraved, and rarely will one find a dragon that does so.”

“Well that’s comforting to know,” Maria said. “I t would be mortifying to find Spike out in the field ‘riding’ some dairy cow or a goat.”

“He’s not that kind of dragon: we all know that,” Meia replied, also thanking the sun and moon Spike didn’t have that weird streak in him. Spike then wouldn't even be a dragon: he'd just be some kind of animal who looked like a dragon. Not a good thing, to be perfectly honest.

“Moving on,” Trixie said, sounding a bit uncomfortable with the image of Spike rutting a farm animal. “There are countless examples of dragons taking unwilling brides in the far past, but times have changed and as a whole the species is honorable and tries to integrate into a society it lives in.”

“How exactly would a water dragon take a bride?” a voice asked. The three unicorns turned and saw Asalah walking towards them, without her usual robes and instead dressed like they were: simple. She sat down by Meia, crossing her legs beneath her: that nap had been relaxing, but she must have been awake for a few minutes to hear their conversation.

“Well, I guess they would keep them close to the portion of water where they live,” Trixie said. “No ponies can breathe underwater, so taking them with them under said water would be impossible.”

“What about merponies?” Asalah asked as Meia moved over to her side and began to comb her mane. The zebra shot her a look of thanks, an improvement over the dead stares she usually gave out.

“Well, if they existed, then they would likely be the best choice of an equine for an ocean-dwelling water dragon to marry,” Trixie said. “I still think they’re a myth.”

“While a pleasant idea, they do sound a bit far-fetched,” Asalah agreed, wondering why it was suddenly so easy to get along with these mares. All of the servants back home had been polite but distant, and her visiting aunts had been anything but nice. These three unicorns, on the other hand, connected better with her than she could have hoped. Maybe, in time, they would become good friends.

“That ends Chapter Two,” Trixie said, turning the page. She looked at the title. “Well, Meia, I believe this is the chapter you’ve wanted to know most about, and frankly, so have I.”

“What is it?” the unicorn asked as she continued to comb Asalah’s striped mane.

“Concerning Crossbreeds,” Trixie said. “Apparently it doesn’t just deal with dragons, even though they are what the majority of the chapter seems to be focused on.”

“Well, read on, then,” Maria said as she moved her comb down to Trixie’s tail.

“Of course,” the blue unicorn replied. “As you are most likely aware, many different species of creatures, both sentient and non-sentient, can cross and produce viable offspring, though it is still unknown just how this is possible.”
“I’m calling it: magic,” Meia said. “Definitely magic.”

Trixie quirked an eyebrow at this response, but continued anyway. “As a result, there are many characteristics possibly displayed in the offspring of a crossbreed, such as an earth pony with dragon wings or a dragon with something akin to mammary glands, AKA breasts.”

“Wait, female dragon’s don’t have breasts?” Asalah asked, sounding confused. “We all have breasts...”

“No, they are mostly reptilian in nature,” Trixie said. “So they would likely teach the young to find food or regurgitate it."

"Ew!" Maria whispered. Oh, sometimes her noble side really did shine though, such as then: a little filly disgusted at the thought of vomit. To be fair, nothing about vomit was appealing, but the others managed to keep their revulsion silent.

"Yes, vomit: reptiles do that some time. Though, I must admit, some of their features classify them as something not-entirely reptilian. I believe the term is reptomammals, or proto-monotremes, if you want to get extremely detailed.” Trixie sounded an awful lot like Twilight Sparkle, who none of the others (save for for Meia, as Chrysalis) had even met yet.

“Proto-whatsitnow?” Meia asked. Her eyebrows had shot up into her mane at that odd word: what?

“Monotremes: egg-laying mammals, like echidnas and platypus,” Trixie said. “Think... a beaver-duck.”

“So... dragons are like a cross between mammals and reptile, leaning more towards reptile than mammal?” Maria asked. “I always wondered how they could so readily interbreed with mammals.”

“Most likely, though I’m not entirely sure: I’ll have to send Twilight a letter asking for more information,” Trixie said. “Often there are three different “pure” forms offspring of a crossbreeding may take, though there is a greater chance of some taking random attributes of both parents in a way that will almost guarantee the survival of the offspring.”

“So, if we lived in a warmer climate, like here,” Meia said, gesturing to the lands around them. “Then the foal would more likely be like Spike than us?”

“I honestly have no idea,” Trixie said. “Maybe, maybe not: who really knows?”

“I think Spike’s foals would look like draconic forms of their mothers,” Maria said. “Seems the most logical thing to me, personally.”

“I’d have to agree with that, given what I’ve heard so far,” Asalah said. “Is there more?”

“Yes,” Trixie said, wondering why they kept getting sidetracked. She didn’t mind, she just wondered why. “Why few if any foals are ever born stillborn or deformed, it is unknown, but such things will likely be found out at a future date in time when science has sufficiently advanced far enough to tell us.”

None of the mares had anything to say about this. In their hearts, their greatest fear was giving birth to a deformed foal or worse: losing the foal altogether. To have such a dream shattered by a cruel twist in biology would undoubtedly crush their spirits.

Trixie cleared her throat and continued, trying to jeep the image of a dead foal from her mind. “The first possible “pure” form the offspring can display would be traits that are almost entirely that of the mother, with only a few key differences showing traits of the father. This could include a male minotaur crossing with a female earth pony and resulting in an earth pony with horns and a longer tail, but no other key differences.”

“That sounds rather silly,” Maria said, breaking the rather downtrodden atmosphere that the idea of losing the foal had brought upon them all. “An earth pony with horns? Sounds a bit like a costume, if you ask me.” She should know: Spike had proposed to her at a costume party.

“Well, that may be, but there is doubtlessly examples of this somewhere in history,” Trixie said. She turned the page. “The opposite would be where most traits are passed from the father and only a few are from those of the mother. This would be like a male dragon breeding with a female elephant and the resulting offspring would look almost entirely dragon, with the exception of possibly a trunk or a much larger body size. They’d also more likely walk on all fours if they were that much larger.”

“Okay, now that is a silly image: a dragon with a trunk?” Meia said with a little laugh. "If they breathed fire, do you think they'd have to move it out of the way every time they did?"

“Yes, and I’d imagine they’d inherit the big floppy ears, too?” Asalah said with a small chuckle, earning a few giggles from the other unicorns. That indeed was a silly image: a trunked dragon with big ears.

Trixie continued on, readjusting her glasses from her giggling episode. “The third and much more common “pure” form would be for the offspring to acquire often equal part maternal and paternal traits. Such an example would include a kirin, equal parts equine and dragon. Another example would be that between a minotaur and a griffin, with a horned griffin that has hooves instead of lion-like paws and has a penchant for eating more grass and plant matter: minotaur heritage at work.”

“Wait, griffins don’t eat plants?” Asalah asked. From the look on her face, she had never seen a griffin.

“No, though they can and will still eat what we eat,” Trixie said. “It’s just they also have a penchant for eating fish, what with their predatory bird-like ancestry.”

“As long as they don’t go after foals, I’ll be fine,” Maria said. “That would also explain why I’ve never heard of one in the interior of Spreign: they must live by the ocean or large bodies of water.”

“Quite,” Meia said, her comb moving from Asalah’s mane to her tail, earning a soft whinny of thanks.

The four mares sat in silence for a few minutes, each deeply wrapped in thought as to what their foal would look like. Truth be told, Meia/Chrysalis was wondering the most. Would it be a filly, as most of her family’s heirs had been? Or could it be a colt, the rarer of the two? Would it look like Spike or be an exact copy of herself? Would they have to lay an egg, or would it be a live birth? So many questions...

To be fair, Chrysalis had cause to worry. While a normal pony’s gestation was the same as hers, eleven months, a changeling had several different ways of expressing a pregnancy. Increased aggression, for one: that would come in a few months and she feared that she would be found out if she started acting hostile. Before that, however, came the joy and sadness stage: she’d fluctuate between happy and sad on an almost comical level, which could be bad for the trip. All ponies experienced something similar to this, but she, being a changeling, was more influenced by her emotions than normal ponies and would more likely act on her impulses. Things could become very difficult if she held up the disguise until then.

“Are you all talking about me?” a voice said. The four mares looked up to see Spike standing near them, a rested look in his eyes as he looked over his brides. “I thought I heard my name a few times.”

“We were just thinking about you, Spike,” Trixie said, putting an emphasis on “thinking”. “About the foals and our future, about all of it. I still hope we can get back to Equestria before we’re due.”

“Well, I hope you’ll be glad to hear I’ve been giving it some thought as well,” the dragon replied, stretching his arms. “I want you all to be the ones who decide on the names.”

“Really?” Asalah asked with a soft squeal of joy. That was so unlike her, it made everypony stare.

“Well, yes,” the dragon replied. "I'm not one to take charge over everything in a mare's life: I protect you and that's pretty much it, I guess. Oh, and love you all, of course: that's the biggest part." Jeez, did he sound cheesy.

“Oh, that’s one of the nicest things I’ve heard,” Asalah said, rising to her hooves and walking over to her husband. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a great hug, resting her chin on his shoulder. He looked surprised, but the dragon returned the hug, feeling his wife's body press into his own.

“Uh, what’s happening?” Meia whispered, quirking an eyebrow. "Did I miss something?"

“I asked Asalah before, and from what I gather, letting the wife name their foal is one of the greatest gifts a husband can give in her culture,” Trixie said. “It is what her father gave to her mother as a gift when she herself was born. So naturally she feels very happy right now: very happy.”

“Well, that is awfully sweet of him, but what is she doing?” Meia asked as she saw the zebra take the surprised dragon’s hand and lead him to the front of the boat. The other two looked at her with smiles, Trixie readjusting the small reading glasses on her snout.

“I’ll give you one guess,” Maria said with a twinkle in her eye. “All that talk of foals and the future have probably gotten her in “the mood”, so to speak. Let’s give them their privacy for now: I still want to hear more about dragon reproduction. So, Trixie: do all dragons lay eggs?”

The trio turned back to the book, ignoring the commotion at the front. Soon enough, the boat began to gently rock as soft moans sounded from the front.

Author's Notes:

Ah, a nice filler chapter to help with character development and a more in-depth look at this universe. There will be more to come, and for those who do not know, there will be no more wives for a while: any guesses will be appreciated though, as the list has gotten slightly longer already, just from ideas by readers like you! Thank you!

Oh God, I sound like a PBS commercial. XD