The intense glow of the light peered through the cracks of the leaky shack as the rain finally stopped. Dusk Shine’s eyes opened slightly, still weary from the sudden intrusion of of the sun. It wasn’t the first time he had fallen asleep in the barn and it probably wouldn’t be the last time either. The young wizard yawned as he tried to get up, but couldn’t because there was something heavy hindering him.

A large pink dragon’s tail.

His eyes widened and he almost screamed but stopped just short of the first cry. The events of yesterday began flowing into his mind as he remembered the promise that he made her, a promise to help her break whatever curse was laid upon her, and even though he wasn’t the best wizard in the world, he would certainly try his best to help in anyway he could, even if it was minimal.

Patting the tail of the sleeping dragon, he did his best to try and push it off of him. However, it proved more difficult than he had thought, for the more he tried to move the tail off, the tighter the vice grip it had on him got.

“Gek! C-Cadance?” Dusk Shine choked, tapping the dragon to wake her up. “Do you think you could loosen your grip on me? You’re crushing my ribs...”

Cadance shuffled in her slumber, curling her tail up as the pony screamed. She brought him towards her and started nuzzling him like he was one of her stuffed animals.

Eventually, her eyes started to peel open as she gave a mighty yawn, showing off the extent of her large, sharp, dragon teeth. She smacked her lips a few times and finally grew aware that Dusk Shine was coiled up in her tail and was turning a deep shade of blue.

“Oh my!” Cadance gasped, quickly letting him go and allowing him to breathe once again. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that. I’m still getting used to this new body.”

“Th-that’s okay,” coughed Dusk Shine, his face reverting back to it’s normal shade of purple. “Nothing’s too broken...”

“Did I hurt you?”

“No... you frightened me a little though,” said the wizard. “You know you can be really clingy, right?”

“Again... sorry,” the dragoness apologized. “Is there anyway I can make it up to you?”

Dusk rubbed the back of his head as he chuckled softly, “Nah, it’s alright. Hey, I actually do have a question...”

“Yes?”

Dusk gulped slightly, looking away from her eyes. “Can I ride you when we go to the Dragon’s Call?”

Cadance’s cheeks became blood red as the question sinked in. “Well, I suppose so, but we—” a loud rumble emitted from her stomach, which she immediately covered with her claws and giggled softly. “That.”

Dusk blinked twice then stared at her belly, “I guess we ought to have breakfast?” he asked, and saw Cadance nod her head. He then took a sniff and smelled his clothing, pulling away sharply. “And I seriously need to take a shower!”

Cadance raised an eyebrow, “When was the last time you bathed yourself?”

Dusk looked away again, “Um... last month...” he said softly.

Cadance gasped sharply, “Well you must shower first! I’m not having you ride me all dirty now! I saw a waterfall close to here, go there and get yourself clean!”

Dusk stood up sharply, saluting the dragoness. “Yes, ma’am!” he answered back, then he dashed off.

Cadance sighed and looked down on the ground, furrowing her eyebrows slightly. “I’m not old enough to be called a ‘ma’am,’” she said to herself before standing up and shaking all the hay out of her scales. “Now what do dragons eat exactly?”

___________________________________________________________________

“What do you mean she was killed!?”

“What has happened to our niece, Shining!?”

Shining Armor just looked down on the floor of the Throne Room of the two princesses as they demanded answers from him. He dared not look up to face the eyes of grieving aunts, not that he had the constitution of being blunt in his answers.

“Tis like I have said before, she has perished in the fire... by a dragon.”

“But how did we not notice a fully grown dragon sneak into the castle?” wondered Celestia. “They’re not the most stealthy of creatures...”

“I don’t know how it did it,” said Shining Armour. “I only know what I saw.”

“This seems very suspicious,” Luna said. “We have several protection spells as well as armed guards on every post. A dragon shouldn’t have been able to get into the castle, much less our niece's bedroom.”

“Tell us, Shining, did you see Cadence's body?” asked Celestia. “Maybe she was just kidnapped...”

“As I’ve already said... there was no body, and the dragon took no prisoners,” said Shining. “The foul beast killed her and flew out of the window.”

“I see...”

“Your highnesses, with your permission, I would ask that we retaliate against the dragons for what they’ve done,” the knight said. “They need to know that this act of murder will not go unnoticed and unpunished.”

“An attack on the dragons?” baffled Celestia. “Are you mad!? I want to see justice for what happened to Cadance just as much as you do but my sister and I have an entire kingdom to think about as well. We simply cannot wage war on the dragons until we have more proof that this was an intentional act of war. I will not risk the populace life for a personal vendetta.”

“But she was your niece! And my fiance!” roared Shining. “And you’re going to just roll over and pretend nothing happened?”

“Silence!” commanded Celestia, her intimidating voice echoing through the halls of the castle throne room. “We will not forget nor forgive what has happened this day. If our niece is dead and this was an act of war we will not stand idly by. However, many things are still unclear for me and my sister, we will not be rash and jump to conclusions. For all we know, this dragon was acting on it’s own terms or Cadance is still alive... there are just too many variables at the moment.”

Shining Armour was furious. “So that’s it then!? You’re not going to do anything!?”

“We did not say that,” said Luna. “We are just trying to not cause any more bloodshed. Cadance wouldn’t want that. Now, unless there is anything else you could tell us that could be helpful I think this audience is adjourned.”

“Y-no your highnesses, thank you for your time,” he said, turning around to leave the throne room, all the time thinking about how if the princesses weren't going to do anything, then it would be up to him to avenge the death of his beloved Cadance. “I will have your head for what you did to me,” he said in a whisper. “Even if I have to do it myself.”

_________________________________________________________________

“Dusk! Dusk, where are you!”

Cadance walked to the waterfall just by the cottage, calling out her new friend. Though she had a little trouble with her walking.

“Omph!” she groaned slightly as she nearly tripped again, “I hate these claws!” she muttered to herself once she got her footing again. “Dusk!”

The cascading waters of the fall created loud bashing sounds against the rocks, which most likely interfered her callings. Cadance rolled her eyes and went further into the waterfall. “Dusk, where are you—”

She stopped and she could only stare as her eyes widened. Before her was Dusk Shine, washing away all the dirt that was nested onto him. He did not notice her presence and continued to enjoy the waters as though it was ridding all worries from him. Cadance noticed his toned body, which was odd for a wizard. She also saw how long his hair really was, reaching down to his shoulder blades. Cadance could not help but find him attracting, as her cheeks were burning brightly from the thought. They burned even hotter when she accidently looked down.

Dusk opened his eyes as he stepped away from the fall and turned around. “That was ni- argh!” he stood stock still as Cadance was staring at him. A few moments later though, he reached for his wet clothes and covered himself hastily. “C-Cadance!”

Cadance turned away sharply and rushed off, “I’m so sorry! I just wanted to check if you were fine.”

Dusk came out of the fall, with wet clothing covering his body. “I’m fine, thanks,” he said with a cheerful smile.

Cadance didn’t look at him immediately, but she slowly turned her head and gave the best smile she could muster at that point. “That’s good to hear,” she chuckled softly, though her cheeks were still burning.

“So...” pondered Dusk Shine, trying to fill the awkward silence. “How long were you staring at me?”

“Huh?”

“Why were you staring at me?

“I told you... I was just looking for you,” she quickly said. “I didn’t know if you were lost or hurt or something equally terrible.”

“Well... thanks for the concern,” smiled the wizard. “Anyways, I think that we should get going soon, and now that I’m all cleaned up, we can get flying.”

“Yeah...” blushed Cadance, lowering herself a little to allow Dusk Shine to mount her. It felt weird having a pony riding on her back. He was so small compared to her, and the fur of his legs kind of tickled her sides. When he was finally in the right position, she extended both of her wings. “You ready?”

“Yeah...” gulped Dusk Shine. “Ready as I’ll ever be...”

“Okay then, hold on!”

“Hold on to wha-AAAAAAHHH!”

Cadance took off at a blinding speed into the sky. The screaming wizard clung onto her neck for dear life as the two soared off into the distance towards the Dragon Homelands.