Disclaimer: All MLP:FiM characters belong to Hasbro and DHX Media. I do not own any of them except my OC.

It was another beautiful sunny day at the School of Friendship and I was hanging out in the teacher's lounge with Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike. What? Just because I'm the vice principal does not mean I can't be in the teacher's lounge. Besides, Twilight always wants me in there anyway anytime she's grading papers in here. I heard the door knock and I opened the doors with my magic to see who it was. Oh. Smolder. Hi. She said "Uh, headmare Twilight?" Yes? How may I help you? "Sorry to bug you in the teacher's lounge." No problem. You can come at any time. "Is it okay if I miss class?" For what purpose exactly? Twilight nodded and said "You can make it up tomorrow." Hmm. Something seems to be bugging Smolder and I think 1 day might not cut it. I'm just saying. Smolder said "Actually, I'll be gone for a week." Okay then. Twilight's eyes went wide and she put the paper and quill down. She said "A week?! In the middle of the semester?" I guess so. Fluttershy got concerned and asked "Oh, is everything alright Smolder?" It doesn't appear that way. Smolder said "Not exactly. *sighs* My brother's been having a hard time since I left for school." I can imagine that. "I wanna go home and check on him." That's very kind of you to do, Smolder. "He's a really sweet guy and the other dragons can be kinda rough." Really? Hmm.

The only dragons that I know of that are friendly are you, Spike, and Ember. That's it. I can't think of any other dragon. Spike was intrigued and asked "Did you say sweet guy and dragon in the same sentence?" Yes Spike, she did. Why? Smolder said "Yeah. He's sorta like you Spike." Hmm. I wonder. Spike brushed it off and Twilight said "I'm sorry to hear about your brother Smolder." Me too as well. Whoever it may be. "But the Dragonlands are really far for you to go by yourself and I'm not sure about you missing so much class." Well, we could always do dimensional travel between here and the Dragonlands. Twilight looked at me and rolled her eyes. "Must you really always come up with the dumbest ideas when something important is going on?" I said "Yes, I do. And I regret nothing. Also, I do take certain situations seriously thank you very much." Spike thought of something and said "Hey! What if she got a school credit for it?" What do you mean by that? "Kinda like a-a kindness field trip." I guess.

"I'll go with her." That's nice of you to do Spike. Smolder smiled and said "Thanks." No problem. "The Dragon Lord is way too busy for personal problems when it's baby dragon hatching season." Oh how lovely. Fluttershy got super excited and said "Baby dragon hatching season?!" Yes. You heard her. "All those cute little snouts poking out of those adorable little shells. Teeny Tiny twitchy tails." Uh huh. I said "You do realize that they will get bigger and eventually be prone to greed and competition right? *looks over at Spike and Smolder nervously* Uh, no offense." Spike said "It's no big deal." I sure hope so. Smolder said "It's alright. That's actually quite true if you think about it." Yeah. Anyway, moving on. Fluttershy said "Anyway, can I go too?" I guess. Let's see what Twilight says. Twilight thought about it and said "Well, you are the perfect pony to lead a kindness field trip." Yeah, since she was the Element of Kindness. They all gave happy pleading grins and Twilight gave in. "Fine, but I'm gonna expect a full report when you get back." I figured as much. That's my mare for ya. Smolder asked nervously "How many pages?" Hopefully, not too much.

Twilight turned around and said "I was talking to Fluttershy." Oh right. I knew that. "Hatching season sounds fascinating!" Of course it does. I'll go too. I said "Since you are traveling to the Dragonlands, you are obviously going to need some protection, so I'll come with you." Fluttershy seemed confused at that and asked me "Are you sure you would want to go there? It can be quite dangerous." I laughed and said "HA! Obviously, you don't know me very well. I'm the definition of dangerous. I laugh in the face of danger. Besides, if anything does go wrong, I'll have this disguise to make the haters back off." I charged up my magic and turned into Venom. Yeah, the black creature that they made a movie about in 2018. I still haven't seen it yet, but I would love to watch it sometime. "Anytime a dragon tries to mess with you, I'll simply be like this and basically teach them a lesson. But I doubt I'll have to use it." I changed back into my lion form and stretched my eagle wings out just to get that blood flowing. Twilight came over to me and said "Please be careful. I don't want you to get hurt. I worry very much about you." She kissed me goodbye and I smiled at her one last time before I turned to leave. "I'll be fine. I'm the Prince of Defense. I've faced danger before. It will be okay."

We made it to the Dragonlands and Spike said "Okay. I made a list of what cheers me up when I'm down, so if your brother's like me, he's gonna love it!" Maybe. "What should we do first?" Arm-wrestling and watch Marvel movies. Yeah, that sounds pretty cool. "The smile song, the sharing circle, or friendship bracelet weaving?" Really? I said "Uh Spike? Those are things that ponies would like. That isn't exactly something that dragons really like at all. I think you've spent too much time around ponies." Spike was a bit shocked but Smolder said "He's right. I'm not exactly sure those are the kind of things my brother's going to be into." It makes sense why that would be the case. Fluttershy asked "Well, what would make your brother happy?" I think that's kinda obvious. He's a dragon after all. Smolder said "Just having Spike and me accept him for who he is will make a huge difference." That is a very good point. "Dragons who appreciate his more sensitive side." We all have one. I generally hide mine away, but I can admit I do have one. Spike said "I got it! Showtunes!" Yeah, no. I don't think so. Smolder said "Yeah, no. But good try." I said "Exactly. What do you think we were gonna do? Start playing "The Boys are Back in Town" while doing karaoke? Yeah, I don't think so."

Smolder was confused and asked "What exactly is "The Boys are Back in Town?" Oh dear. This is going to be fun. I said "Well, the original song was written by a group called Thin Lizzy who were an Irish Hard Rock band and usually when you use that song as a reference to something, it's not very good. So, that's all." Smolder blinked for a few seconds before saying "Okay then." We made it to one of the volcanoes and I could immediately smell the stink of sulfur which honestly makes me sick to my stomach considering the fact that's what my mother's farts smelled like. Fluttershy took a whiff and said "Oh um, that's an interesting smell." I think that's an understatement. Smolder inhaled it like it actually smelled good and said "Ah. The stink of sulfur. Sharp rocks under my claws." My paws don't hurt that much from it and even if they did, I could easily fly up in the air instead or be in my shadow form. "It's good to be home." I can mostly agree with that. Spike said "I can't wait to meet your brother, Smolder." Yeah, this is going to be really interesting per say. "We're gonna be best buddies, I just know it." I hope so. Otherwise, that would suck. Smolder said "He usually hangs out near here." Okay then.

Not too uncommon for a dragon to hang out at. "I'll go try and find him." Be careful. This place can be very dangerous. Well, you're a dragon, so you can't be hurt or killed by fire. Spike took out his sewing materials and Fluttershy said "Spike? Do you mind if I take a peek at the cute little baby eggs?" Oh brother. Here we go with that again. Spike said "No problem. I'll stay here and finish this comfort blanket." That looks more like a sweater to me. "It'll be like a hug every time Smolder's brother wraps it around himself." I'm not sure that is the best idea, but whatever. Fluttershy said "Aw, I'm sure he'll love it Spike." I'm not so sure about that, but whatever. Fluttershy took off and I followed after her. I've never seen dragon eggs before, so I was kinda curious and wanted to check them out. Don't tell Fluttershy that though. She'll tease me to death about it. She gasped in amazement and said "Oh my goodness." Here we go. Cuteness level over 9000. "Good morning little one. I've come a long way to meet you." It wasn't that long. "Did you know there's a whole wide world out there waiting to say hello?" I said "I don't think that's exactly quite accurate to be honest. The world is very mean. Believe me. I've had plenty of experience with that."

Fluttershy squinted her eyes at me a bit and said "I see. Well, I was just entertaining the thought. Don't be trying to ruin this now mister. Is that clear?" I sighed and said "Yes mom." Fluttershy said "Good." and continued talking to the eggs. Finally, a voice said "It can't answer you." Oh lovely. It's kinda been awhile since I last saw Ember. That wasn't exactly the most pleasant experience to be honest. But hopefully, she has forgotten. "It's an egg." Well, obviously. Fluttershy noticed who was talking and said "Uh, Dragon Lord Ember. How nice to see you." Likewise. I said "Hello again Ember." Ember looked over at me and said "It's nice to see you again, prince. *turns over to Fluttershy* Also, nice to see you too." Well, aren't you going to mention her name? "Uh, which one are you again?" I think it might be obvious. "The party one? Appledash! Or was that the country one?" The party one is Pinkie, it's Applejack, and she is the country one. Rainbow Dash is the one with speed. Fluttershy said "Fluttershy. The one that loves creatures." Yeah, that one. "Are all these yours?" Fluttershy! That's very rude and quite embarrassing! Ember got defensive and said "What?! No! None of them are." What did I tell you? She hasn't had relations with anyone yet, so you can't make that assumption.

"Watching over eggs is just part of the glamorous life of a Dragon Lord." I can see the sarcasm in that. Yeah, that can sound very boring if you ask me. Fluttershy said "I think it sounds wonderful." Not really. Ember said "Yeah? Then maybe you can help!" Oh goodie. How lovely. Fluttershy gasped with excitement and said "I'd love to! Just tell me what to do!" From the looks on Ember's face, that's quite challenging. Speaking of which, she sighed and said "I don't know. It's my first time being in charge." I know how that feels. "Dad wasn't that big on sharing Dragon Lord details." Figures. That dragon really is something. "It's kind of a burn or be burned job." Dang. I said "I know how that feels." Ember seemed surprised by that and said "Really?" I sighed and said "When I first became royalty, I obviously had a lot to learn because I knew next to nothing about being in a position of power, so it was a lot of trial and error most of the time. Heck, even my own title as Prince of Equestrian Defense was kinda tough to figure out mainly because I had to know where to draw the line between defense and violence."

"It wasn't easy, but I was eventually able to figure it out with the help of a good friend of mine and it's been mostly smooth sailing ever since." Ember seemed quite interested in the story and said "Wow. I had no idea that someone as successful as you would struggle with something like that." I said "Unfortunately, that's a common stereotype where ponies would think that rulers in power don't suffer any problems and are perfect all the time when in reality, that's far from the truth. I have come from humble beginnings and still struggle with a lot of things. Thankfully, Twilight does help me out with that, so it's mostly fine." Fluttershy said to Ember "Well, even though what Zachary said makes a lot of sense, I'm sure you're doing great!" Clearly, you don't know these kinds of things well enough, Fluttershy. Ember seemed to disagree with Fluttershy's statement and said "Not really." See? What did I tell you? "The eggs should have hatched by now." I guess. "But none of them have even cracked." Oh my. That's not good. I said "That obviously doesn't sound very good." Ember sighed and said "It isn't and if something doesn't happen soon, I worry that these eggs might suffer devastating consequences." I see. Fluttershy said "Maybe they're lonely?" I highly doubt that. All of them are pretty jammed packed together.

So, that's not exactly a valid argument to say the least. "Don't you worry. Auntie Fluttershy's here and the Dragon Lord and I are going to do everything we can to welcome you into this world!" I have one question for you though: How are you going to accomplish that? Ember said "Really? How?" Fluttershy seemed unsure and said "I have no idea." How lovely. Figures she would have no clue. I don't know why I even bother anymore. I sat down next to the eggs and pulled out a book. I said "Hmm. It really doesn't mention much here in the "Dragon Hatching Season" book about anything regarding how to fix the issue." Ember seemed surprised and asked "Where did you get that book?" I said "Oh. It was in Twilight's library back in Ponyville. I thought it might be useful. But apparently not. At least for right now. Anyway, I'm going to take my leave now and check on Spike. See ya!" I spread out my eagle wings and took off to where Spike was. I found him relatively quickly, but I noticed another group of dragons coming that seemed familiar, so I dove right down to the rock behind Spike and hid inside of it. I heard Spike say "Now that's a thing of beauty." You might want to look out Spike.

A dragon flew down and Spike put up his blanket in front of him as a defense so he wouldn't get eaten. That dragon said "Well if it isn't our little pony friend Spike." Garble. Figures. I always hated that dragon. Spike said "That's Equestria's official Friendship Ambassador to the Dragonlands to you!" I think they could care less about that. "And I'm not little." Well, to be fair, you still kinda are, not gonna lie. "I had the molt. See?" Well, they're obviously not going to find it cool or not. Speaking of which, the dragons just laughed at Spike and Garble said "Runt's got wings. I'm sooo impressed." Time to reveal myself. I said "You might want to be careful who you say that around." The dragons looked over at me and were confused. Garble said "Who are you supposed to be?" Ugh. Here we go. I said "First of all, I am royalty, so you need to have more respect, and second of all, I am the Prince of Equestrian Defense where I am the most powerful creature in all of Equestria and known as the King of All Beasts." However, the dragons just laughed and Garble said "Really? Ha ha ha. Nothing about you seems intimidating. Also, how could you be the most powerful creature in all of Equestria?" I think he'll regret asking that. I said "You don't want to ask that question." Garble got up in my face and said "Oh yeah? Prove it." Fine. If that's what you want.

As soon as he finished saying that, black web like wire things came out of my body and wrapped around Garble's stomach. He grunted in pain and Spike was horrified at what he saw. Next, I activated my scepter and controlled the grip on the black webs. The more force I put into the scepter, the stronger the grip would be. Eventually, Garble gasped in pain so much that he started to turn blue and couldn't breathe. I eventually let go and dropped him. I looked at the other dragons and said "Do the rest of you have any doubts?" The dragons immediately shook their heads no in fear and trembled away from me. Gosh darn right. You should be scared of me. Garble got up and noticed Spike's blanket out in the open. He said "What's that supposed to be?" A comfort blanket you idiot. Spike quickly hid it away and said "Nothing." However, Garble was having none of it. He tried taking the blanket away from Spike, but was having trouble. But, he was able to get it out of Spike's hands and say "Looks like a baby blanket to me." Really? Is that really the best you got? Spike said "It's not a baby blanket. It's a… comfort blanket." Well, that is a bit similar. The dragons laughed at him again and Garble said "Aww, did your pony pals make it for you with friendship and gumdrops?"

I said "I'll have you know that friendship is what powers this artifact right here and if you EVER think that's being weak, then you are nothing more to me than some cliche bully in a mediocre fairytale book." I heard Spike whisper "Ouch." and the dragons behind Garble thought it was funny with what I said. Garble snarled at them and looked at me with anger. He said "How about you shut up?" I said "How about you stop being a bully towards the kind and generous? Also, DO NOT TELL ME TO SHUT UP! I AM A ROYAL AND ONLY I COMMAND YOU TO BE QUIET! SO EITHER KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT OR SUFFER MY WRATH! Your choice." Garble said "You don't rule over me. Only Dragon Lord Ember does that." I said "Oh, I think she would be totally fine with what I just said right now. Besides, I have something for you." Garble was confused and I made a giant black fist appear and I punched Garble in the face knocking him backwards and making all the dragons fall. Then, I held them down to the ground with my scepter where they couldn't get up and they would scream out in pain if they tried to. "DON'T YOU EVER UNDERESTIMATE MY POWER! I MIGHT NOT LOOK INTIMIDATING TO YOU, BUT I CAN BE THE MOST INTIMIDATING THING YOU HAVE EVER SEEN ONCE YOU GET ME MAD!"

"IN FACT, YOU WILL BE SORRY FOR EVER CROSSING ME! SO EITHER YOU SWALLOW THAT PRIDE AND BE QUIET, OR YOU SHALL NEVER SEE CELESTIA'S SUN EVER AGAIN! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!" The dragons shook their heads quickly and I released them. Spike was clearly blown away at how much I embarrassed them with my power. Spike said "Since Zachary has said all that, I made that blanket myself. Also, knitting is a lot harder than it looks." It really is to be honest. Garble ran in the other direction and said "Look at the baby blanket guys! *says in mocking voice* It's a lot harder than it looks!" Next thing I know, the rest of the dragons are basically doing keep away with Spike to make sure he doesn't get that blanket back. Spike said "Give it back! That's for my friend!" However, the dragons didn't care and began laughing out fire. Hmm. I think that is laugh fire. It changes colors and becomes more destructive the harder a dragon laughs. "Cut it out! You know laugh fire is dangerous! It can- *blanket gets burned by laugh fire* do that." Ouch. Well, there goes that. Suddenly, Smolder came over and said "Garble!" Oh dear. How do you know him?

Garble was surprised and said "Smolder?" Oh dear. He pushed Spike out of the way and did some fist bump thing with Smolder. "What are you doing here?" Looking for Smolder's brother. The brown dragon said "How's it scaling, bruh?" What's that supposed to mean? Spike pushed Smolder back a little bit and whispered to her "We better get out of here before your brother shows up." Really. "Garble isn't very nice to sensitive dragons." Or to the King of All Beasts. Smolder said "But Garble is my brother." WHAT?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! How can someone as chill as you have an awful dragon like that as a brother?! Oh brother. This isn't going to be very good. Spike was terrified and said "Your brother?!" It appears so. Garble came up behind him and said "Got a problem with that, pony boy?!" Uh yeah. You have been extremely mean to everyone that you have come across thinking it makes you look "cool" or something when it actually doesn't. It makes you look more like a fool and an idiot. Spike said "Oh brother." and had a look of fear on his face. After a few seconds, Smolder said "I've missed you bro." Seriously, this does not make any sense. "We got a lot of fun to catch up on." It appears so. "There's no lava diving at school." I said "I think there's a reason why we don't do that."

Smolder agreed and said "Probably so." Definitely. The brown dragon said "Good luck getting Garble to do anything." Why do you say that? The orange dragon said "Huh, yeah. He's been so weird since you've left. Hiding and moping around." Really? Doesn't exactly sound like him. Garble got mad and yelled "I have not!" Dang. Someone's embarrassed. The rest of the dragons yelled "Have so!" Smolder was having none of it and said "Easy guys. I learned at Twilight's school ganging up on each other isn't as half as cool as you think." She's right. Mob mentality is honesty so stupid and it makes me so angry that's now part of our modern culture as part of the stupid "cancel culture." Dumbest thing I have ever heard. Cancel culture is stupid. Yeah, it really is. I mean, yeah, sometimes, we do need to hold people accountable and punish them, but we shouldn't try to end their career entirely. I know there's going to be people who will be angered by that, but I really don't care because that's the cold hard truth and they are denying it because they refuse to admit it. Anyways, back to the current topic. The brown dragon said "Aww, pony school made you soft." Oh really?

I shot out another black web like wire and dragged him in front of Smolder's face where she said "Wanna try me and find out? I'll gladly have the prince over there crush you like a soda can if that's how you want to behave." Dang. She takes no bs from anybody. All of the dragons immediately became scared and their pupils shrunk down to pinpricks because of how terrifying I am. The brown dragon gulped in fear and said "Maybe later." That's what I thought. I released him and he fell to the ground. Spike said "So uh, let's get lava diving." I might need my fire resistance potion though. Yeah, I know that's Minecraft, but this is a fantasy world, so I can do whatever I want here. "What do you say?" I think it's a splendid idea. The orange dragon said "Better stay here, shrimp." Who are you calling shrimp?! I'll fight ya right now if that's what you think of Spike. "Lava might ruin your blankety whankie." Well, it's burned now, so it doesn't matter. Garble said "Let the wimp tag along. Then we'll have some dragon to gunk ha ha ha." You seriously need to stop slapping Spike like that. Smolder was not having any of it and said "Only going to warn you once. Spike's my friend. You mess with him, you mess with me. That also means you'll have to deal with the prince if you misbehave."

Yeah, that's right. Don't mess with me Garble, because you'll regret it when I do use my full power on you. "Besides, Spike came here to hang out with you, Garble!" Dang. Garble darted his eyes around nervously and the other dragons just laughed at him. The orange dragon said "Aww, how sweet." Oh shut up. The brown dragon said "Let's go do dragon stuff. Garble can have fun with his "new friend." They used laugh fire again and then flew away. Garble ran to them and yelled "But I'm not having fun! And he's not my friend!" You were at one time. Garble growled in frustration and Smolder said "Yeah, just ignore them, Gar-Gar." Hmm. I have an idea. I can now use this against him. Garble was extremely embarrassed and gritted through his teeth "Smolder! Not in public!" I could care less about that. Spike said "Oh, it's okay to have a nickname. Sometimes, I'm called Spikey-Wikey." Only Rarity calls you that. No one else does. Garble said "Seriously? You're admitting this?" Well, that's kinda embarrassing, but he's not ashamed really. Garble facepalmed and put his hand down. "I am not hanging out with him." Too bad because that's what you're going to do. Your sister said so.

Also, you don't want to mess with me. It will get ugly. Smolder said "Give him a chance, Garble." I doubt he'll do that. "You guys have a lot in common." Not really. It seems more like two opposite personalities to me. Garble groaned in frustration and said "Ugh. Fine! Race ya to the lava pit." He took off and Spike said "Wait. I thought you said your brother was sweet." That's what I thought too until I saw who it actually was. Smolder said "All the tough guy stuff is just an act." Really? I'm not so sure about that. "He's a big marshmallow." Yeah, I'm not seeing that, but then again, I don't live with him, so I don't know how he acts when I'm not around. Siblings know things about each other that others may not. That's just how life is. Spike said "Yeah, not seeing it." Me neither, but I believe Smolder. She lives with him, so she knows what's really going on here. Smolder said "Well, maybe a burnt marshmallow." Yeah, those things burnt are quite disgusting in my opinion. I've had them before and they tasted awful when they were burnt. "Smokey on the outside, but squishy inside." If that's what you say. "He just needs friends who can appreciate that part, like you." Okay then. "You're not changing your mind about helping me cheer him up, are you?" Yes. I am. Now that I know who he really is, he gets no sympathy from me. That's just how it is.

Spike denied it and said "Me? Of course not." I'm not so sure about that. Smolder took off and Spike sighed in sadness before he flew off as well. I rolled my eyes and spread out my eagle wings to follow Spike to the lava pit. I saw all three of them there and I just watched in the corner as they were getting ready to dive in. Smolder said "Okay. Lava jumping. Just like old times, huh Gar-Gar?" Is this what you did all the time before the School of Friendship was opened? Garble said with sarcasm "Yeah, just like old times. Except for one little annoying thing!" Cut it out will you?! I've had just about enough of your bad attitude and if you don't stop soon, you'll have to pay the penalty for it and it won't be fun either. Trust me. Smolder ran up to the lava pit and said "Scales away!" She dove right into the pit and spilled out lava from her mouth. How can dragons be immune to this stuff? Whatever. "Come on in. The lava's fine." I feel like this is a pool trip or something. Garble groaned and Spike said "You know, whenever I'm feeling a little down, it always helps if I do something with a friend. How about we jump together?" I doubt he'll want to do that. Garble saw this as an opportunity and smacked Spike with his tail right into the lava pit.

Spike fell through and landed face first in the lava. Ouch. That probably hurt. Smolder did the noises where she knew that looks painful and said "Spike? You okay?" I'm not exactly sure. Thankfully, Spike came up just fine, but his nose was red. Oh dear. He must have lava get stuck up his nose. Yeah, that would probably hurt. He said with a clogged voice "Uh, I know there must be something worse than lava up your nose. *sneezes out lava and wipes away the tears* I just don't know what it is." I think you might get your answer. Garble was way up high and yelled "Cannonball!" before he dived right into the lava and basically made a tsunami that covered up Spike where he was nowhere to be found. He laughed in victory before shrugging off what he had just done. "Oops." He went swimming around and Smolder went down to grab Spike. He coughed lava and that looked even more painful. He said in a clogged up voice "Swallowing lava- swallowing lava is definitely a lot worse." I can agree with that. Garble said "My bad." and kept swimming. He doesn't even care. How rude. I rolled my eyes and went to check on Fluttershy to see how she was doing. Apparently, she was reading a book for some reason.

I heard her say "And then, they all lived happily ever after." Oh dear. "Time to come out, little ones." I don't think that's going to work. "Maybe you'd like a song?" Oh dear. I said "Please no. That's the last thing I need to hear right now." Both Fluttershy and Ember seemed surprised and Fluttershy asked me "Where have you been all this time?" I said "I told you I was seeing how Spike was and I'd say he's making decent progress with Smolder, so yeah that's that. Also, I'm not really sure a book or a song would encourage the dragons to come out." Before Fluttershy could say anything, Ember said "He's right. Dragons aren't much for touchy-feely stuff." That's kinda more of a pony thing to be honest. Fluttershy said "Oh, I'm sorry." All is forgiven. Suddenly, the eggs started shaking and left me confused. "Goodness. Why are the eggs shaking?" Well, usually, the eggs would shake if it has no heat coming from it, so yeah. "Are they finally hatching?" I don't think so. Ember said "I wish. They've been doing that for days. I'm sure it means something. But it's probably not good." I said "Well, the only thing that I could think of when eggs are shaking is when there is a lack of heat around it and they start to do that. But, anything is possible these days."

"Anyway, I'm going to check up on Spike again. I'll come back in a bit." I spread out my eagle wings and flew off to find Spike, Smolder, and Garble again. I saw them having some picnic or something and I heard Spike say "Try this! Red Velvet!" That doesn't exactly look like Red Velvet to me. "Guaranteed to brighten anycreature's spirits." I would definitely say so. However, Garble didn't think the same way. He took the cupcake out of Spike's hands, and squashed it to the ground. Oh, you'll pay for that buddy! Garble sat back down and said "Feeling better already." My eyebrows became consumed with flames and then I breathed out fire right above his head for some reason. Garble ducked and then turned around to see me with my death glare. He was terrified and I could smell all the fear reeking right out of him. Smolder was surprised but made no comment on it. We went flying in the sky and Spike said "I don't know about you, but a change of scenery turns my frown upside down." You might want to be careful with that, Spike. Garble didn't care in the slightest and pushed him away into the clouds. Spike came out of them a few seconds later and he looked like a grandpa which made it really hard not to laugh.

Garble did the L thing with his hand and followed Smolder. Dang. How blunt. I remember I always did that to my sister when she drove me nuts. No, I didn't actually think she was a loser, but she drove me nuts sometimes. It's part of sibling rivalry. If you're an only child, you wouldn't exactly understand sibling dynamics. They're kinda challenging to figure out. Spike said "I will be the bigger dragon. I will be the bigger dragon. I will be the bigger dragon. I will be the bigger dragon." There you go. Much better. They all gathered around at some crystal place and were sharing stuff for some reason. "Sometimes, just hearing what someone appreciates about you can make you feel better about yourself." I guess that is true. Smolder said "I'll go first." Okay then. Take it away. "Spike, I think it's really nice that you're trying to cheer up Gar-Gar." Yeah, even though it has failed miserably. Garble groaned in annoyance and Spike said "Thank you Smolder. My turn." Okay. Here we go. "I like how you always let every creature know how you're feeling, Gar-Gar." Oh my. Dang it. Spike beat me to it. Garble obviously got quite mad and said "Only Smolder gets to call me that!" Because of his anger, he let out fire and it burnt Spike's face like a piece of charcoal. Yikes.

Spike wasn't feeling that great and said "Thank you for speaking your truth." He then just fell down and I gave an angry stare at Garble. He trembled away in fear and quickly ran off to another part of the Dragonlands. He's terrified of me at this point. That's what I want. It's about time he started showing respect towards others. The rest of us followed Garble and I heard the brown dragon say "More fresh lava coming up!" Wait a minute. Why are you doing that? That seems awfully fishy. Spike said "Okay. New activity. Who wants to make vision boards?" What's that supposed to mean? The orange dragon said "Hey Garble! Smolder! Surf's up!" He slid down the mountain and both the purple and brown dragon followed suit. Garble grabbed a board and said "Let ME show you how it's done!" Uh huh. Garble then took off and Smolder was following right behind him. She asked Spike "You coming?" I'm not sure. Spike said "I'll check up with you." Smolder nodded and went down the mountain. Suddenly, Fluttershy came over and said "Spike! There you are!" Wait. Why did you come over here? Shouldn't you still be with Ember? Spike said "Hey Fluttershy." and then looked back in the other direction.

Fluttershy said "For a land that's all rocks, this place is surprisingly easy to get lost in." Definitely. I said "Well, it's definitely a lot bigger than how it looks." Fluttershy nodded in agreement and Spike asked "How the baby dragons doing?" Not very good. I can tell you that right now. Fluttershy said "The eggs won't hatch. They just keep shaking. I'm starting to think the dragons are too scared to come out." Eh, that's kind of a 50/50 conclusion. You could make great arguments for both sides, but it's so difficult it would be hard to see who's actually right and who's wrong. "I was hoping you could help." Yeah, he might have an idea. "If you're not too busy cheering up Smolder's brother." You might as well have thrown in the towel at this point. It's hopeless. Spike said "Not a chance. Smolder's brother is Garble." Fluttershy gasped and Spike continued. "The only thing that cheers him up is to make me miserable." I can empathize with you on that. I had to deal with that for so many years and it wasn't fun. We heard Garble say "Hey Spike!" What do you want this time, Garble? "Wanna play lava ball?" How about no? That could burn somepony.

Garble picked up some lava and threw it at Spike. He missed and Spike wasn't happy. However, Fluttershy wasn't either and said "Excuse me! But that's NOT a very nice game!" Really it isn't. However, the dragons didn't listen and continued to chuck balls at Spike. That's it. You don't listen to Fluttershy, that's when I have to step in. I said in my Royal Canterlot Voice "ENOUGH!" The force of it was so powerful that it sent the dragons flying back by quite a bit. However, the reaction they had was not what I expected. Instead of being scared, they were actually mad. Garble said to me "You think you can boss us around and control us like we're some sort of robot to you?! HA! I don't think so!" I said "Are you sure you want to go down that road? Because once you do, there's no turning back." However, Garble didn't seem intimidated by that at all. He said "Yeah. Go ahead and try if you think that you're so tough!" He has no idea what's coming. I said "Fine. Have it your own way. Mask!" The symbiote said "Copy." and I turned into Venom. Garble immediately regretted saying that to me and the rest of the dragons were intimidated. One of them said "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING?!" Your worst nightmare. They tried throwing stuff at me, but I grabbed it with my black hand and caused smoke to go everywhere where no one could see anything.

They threw something else at me, but I ate it and it created more smoke. I disappeared through the smoke and Garble asked "Anybody see him?" I'm right here. I growled at them and began to body slam them all over the place. I would pick them up high into the air and then throw them straight to the ground. I looked in the direction of Spike and Fluttershy and I growled loudly because well, I was a different creature. The dragons all tried different tactics, but I continued to embarrass them time and time again. The orange dragon yelled "WHERE IS IT?!" Look behind you. I attacked them again and they were definitely unprepared for it. One of them tried to scorach me with their fire breath, but I took another one of the dragons and yeeted him up to where he was and knocked him over. They tried using stuff as weapons, but I took it away with my black web like wires and they were left defenseless. They tried using other stuff, but once again, I continued to yeet them all over the place. One of them tried to escape where the smoke wasn't present, but my black webs dragged them back again and I punched them in the face. I felt a big rock hit me in the shoulder from behind up above and I yeeted him right to the ground.

I went up high on the rocks and the dragons continued to try and stop me even though they couldn't. They kept throwing stuff at me, but I kept deflecting it all. I saw a huge rock and I kicked it down towards them and they got crushed by it. I jumped down and used one of the dragons as a weapon to hit the other dragons that tried to come near me. Then, once I was done with him, I spun him around in a circle and then yeeted him right through the back of more rocks. I roared as loud as I could and the smoke finally cleared away after a bit. They were all so scared and I picked them up with my black web wires to bring them up to my face and have a chat. I said "You come in here again, in fact you go anywhere in this land praying on the innocent, and we will find you and eat both your arms, and then both of your legs, and then we'll eat your face right off your head. Do you understand?" They were so scared in fear that they didn't say anything. They were begging for mercy, so I continued. "Yes, so you'll be this armless, legless, faceless thing, won't you, rolling down the street like a turd in the wind." I gave an evil grin showing off all my predatory teeth and it only made the dragons more terrified. "Do you feel me?" The brown dragon asked "What the heck are you?!" I revealed half of my human face and said "We are Venom." Yeah, you heard me.

I closed it back up and continued smiling. "On second thought." They all begged please and I gave them the most disgusting lick on the face with my tongue as I could. They were so terrified and then, I dropped them and changed back to my lion form. I said "What you just witnessed is only 10% of my power. So, you try any funny business again and *turns back into Venom* we'll make sure you'll never see the light of day again. Are we clear?!" The dragons gulped nervously and nodded. I changed back into my lion form and they all got up. I looked over at Fluttershy and she was completely dazed by what she just saw. I'm surprised she's not cowering in fear right now. Yeah, that truly is something else right there. Fluttershy eventually snapped out of her thoughts and said "Spike came all this way to cheer up Garble which was a very kind thing to do!" Exactly. Garble was embarrassed and the dragons started bullying him again. The orange dragon said "Aww, do you need cheering up?" Mostly. The brown dragon said "What's wrong Garble? Did some dragon hurt your little feelings?" Maybe. However, Garble wasn't having any of it and pushed back the brown dragon.

He said "No! I don't know what she's talking about!" Oh, I think you know exactly what she's talking about. "Spike's the one who's gonna cry!" Excuse me?! I said "I'll make you cry by turning back into your worst nightmare." The dragons gulped in fear and Smolder yelled "Hey! Are we lava surfing or what?" I don't think so. Garble said "Oh, yeah, yeah. Let's go hang with a real dragon! Not a pony wannabe!" He is a real dragon, you stupid scumbag! They all just gave evil laughs and Spike said "See? It's no use." I figured as much. "Why don't I see what I can do about the eggs?" Yeah, why not? "And you cheer up Garble? He listens to both you and Zachary." Spike walked away and Fluttershy said "Just you wait Garble. You're dealing with Fluttershy now and she's packing a whole lifetime of kindness!" Okay then. I said "I'm going to go with Spike. If you need me, press this button and I'll be right over." Fluttershy nodded and I spread out my eagle wings and took off. I went back over to where the dragon eggs were and I noticed that Ember was desperately trying to get them to hatch, but was kinda making herself look like a fool. Don't tell her I said that though. She was making weird noises for quite some time before Spike came over and asked "Uh, what are you doing?"

That was kinda what I was wondering myself. But whatever. Ember gasped and said with excitement "Spike!" Dang, someone's excited. Spike ran over and gave Ember a hug. This is always kinda awkward to be honest. I understand how Ember feels about hugs. Anyways, she asked Spike "Shouldn't you be doing whatever it is you do at Twilight's school?" Mostly. But, he was here for something else. Spike said "I wish. It's a long story." Yeah. Thankfully, Ember didn't hear all the smashing of rocks and loud roars from my earlier… episode with being Venom. That would have been embarrassing. Spike noticed the eggs shaking and his eyes shrunk. "Wow. These eggs really do look scared." I think there's more to it than that. I said "I'm surprised my butt hasn't been burned to death yet." Spike looked confused and asked "What do you mean?" I said "Well, according to the "Dragon Hatching Season" book, the ground would be extremely hot if anyone were to sit on it. However, it just feels like room temperature to me. Not like half of the Sun's corona or surface in case you were confused." Spike seemed interested by this and put his hand on the ground where a group of eggs were. He was surprised to say the least.

He said "Wait. Aren't the hatching grounds supposed to be hot?" I believe so. Ember said "Uh, of course. There's a lake of molten lava under them. That's why the eggs are laid here. The heat makes them hatch." Right. It all mentioned that in the book, but something is not adding up here. Spike said "I think Zachary is on to something. Something doesn't seem to add up. I don't think the eggs are shaking because they're afraid, they're cold." Oh dear. I put my paw down on the ground and I didn't feel any instant burns which is what you are to expect if you are not a dragon. Ember put her hand down as well and she didn't feel any heat either. She said "You're right! But what happened to the lava?" I think I might have a clue where it disappeared to. Spike said "I might have an idea." We took off towards that area and while we were on the way there, I looked at my computer screen and noticed that Fluttershy had discovered the playing of bongo drums. Hmm. How interesting. I didn't know Garble liked that stuff. I don't mind, but don't try and hide it because I will expose you for it if you try to do that. When Fluttershy came around to where Garble and Smolder were, Garble was immediately embarrassed and quickly got rid of the outfit as if she didn't see anything. Yeah, that's not going to work on Fluttershy, Garble. She is quite smart when it comes to things like this.

Before I could watch anything else, we had arrived at the initial spot that Spike was talking about and I made the computer screen disappear. I heard the brown dragon say "Fresh lava coming up!" while he was removing a boulder to let the lava flow down below. The other two dragons relaxed into it as if it were a hot tub and laid back in relaxation. Spike noticed this too and said "See?" I definitely do. "I wondered where that lava was coming from. They must be draining it from the underground lake." That's what I think. Ember became frustrated and went down to where the dragons were. She stomped her feet down and yelled to the brown dragon "PUT THAT ROCK BACK IMMEDIATELY!" Dang, she got some fire in her. Can't really blame her though. The brown dragon became afraid and said nervously "Uh… yes, Dragon Lord Ember." Yeah, you should be sorry for doing something so stupid like that. Ember asked "How long have you been removing these boulders?!" That's something I would like to know. The brown dragon looked around nervously and said "Uhhh… A while." Honestly, they look like little kids that just got caught doing something bad by their parents and they have to explain to them why they committed that action.

The orange dragon said nervously "It made our lava pool so nice and warm like-" before Ember got in his face and growled at him. She yelled "It's supposed to be HEATING THE EGGS!" That was kinda the whole point, but they were foolish and it cost them dearly. "NOW THEY'LL NEVER HATCH!" She had an angry glare on her face and her wings were spread out fully extended which really does look intimidating. The dragons were scared and hid under the lava in embarrassment. After a few seconds, they went to take the rock and try to put the lava back where it came from. The brown dragon said "Sorry, Dragon Lord Ember." You should be sorry. The orange dragon said "We'll put the lava back." It doesn't quite work like that. In fact, it's next to impossible trying to do that. Once it's out, it's out. There's no putting toothpaste back in that container. They all desperately tried to get the lava to go back, but it obviously wasn't working. Spike said "I don't think it works that way." You would be correct. "The hatching grounds can't be the only one place in the Dragonlands. There's got to be somewhere else we can take the eggs." I said "Where exactly would you even go though? And even if you could, eggs are extremely fragile and can break easily if not properly maintained."

Ember said "He's right. There's no way we would be able to move them all safely. *growls in frustration and looks at the dragons* Ugh you! Go bring all the dragons to the hatching grounds. We'll have to make the heat ourselves!" The dragons nodded reluctantly and took off. I summoned my computer screen again and I heard Garble say "What do you think you're doing sneaking around here, pony?" HEY! Don't be trying to attack one of my friends now. Fluttershy didn't seem fazed by it and said "Sneaking? Looks to me the only one sneaking around is you, Garble." She's got ya there, my dude. "Why didn't you tell me you were a poet?" Why do you think? Garble's eyes went wide and he said "I'm not!" Yes you are. I've got the evidence to prove it. Fluttershy took the drums and played with it a bit. She said "Words. Rhythm. Sometimes rhyme. Weird punct...ation. Sure sounds like poetry to me." Definitely so. I've paid attention enough in high school english class to know that. Smolder said "It's okay, Gar-Gar. Fluttershy won't think you're soft for being a poet." Neither would I. I completely understand having the weird obsessions that people might laugh at, but I could care less how they feel because ultimately, their opinion does not matter to me.

"And neither would any dragon who was your real friend." She makes a point Garble. Anyway, Garble sighed and said "Okay fine. But I'm not a flowery namby-pamby poet!" I never said you were. Doesn't really sound like it to me. "I'm a beat poet. Dig?" Yes sir. That would be my kind of style. Fluttershy said "I totally feel you." See? Even she doesn't have a problem with it. Garble said "And you better not tell my friends about it!" Don't bully Spike or try to intimidate me and we won't have problems. Fluttershy asked "But why?" I think I may know why. I empathize with him on this. I know exactly how that feels. "If I was a poet, I would wanna share my creations with everypony." Are you sure about that? If I remember, you were terrified at the thought of that like probably 8 years ago at this point. Besides, creating any kind of music would involve you going on tour and performing at concerts occasionally which I know you would absolutely tremble in fear by that. Smolder said "I'm the only one Garble will perform for." Makes sense considering the fact you're his sister. "He hasn't written any poetry since I left." I see. "That's why he's been so sad." It makes sense to me.

Not being able to do the thing you love the most simply because of fear of embarrassment really does suck. I've been there before. Garble said "I need to create!" I can see that. "But if the other dragons found out I liked this junk, they'd make fun of me forever." I can understand, but that still doesn't give you the right to bully others weaker than you. I've witnessed this same old problem for years. That's mostly why people bully others is because they're going through a tough time in their life and they think picking on others would solve their problems. As you can probably tell, that is far from the truth and bullying others doesn't make you any cooler than you already were. In fact, it makes you look worse and a fool for doing something as stupid as that. I can understand the temptation, but that's never okay to do. Because not only will it hurt others, but it will also hurt you in the process as well. I'm just saying. Fluttershy asked "Is that why you pick on Spike? To make your friends think you're tough?" Pretty much. And honestly, it doesn't make you look tough. It actually makes you look like the opposite. Anyway, Smolder was surprised and said "Wait. You've been picking on Spike?" Uh, haven't you noticed yet? I'm surprised you haven't said anything about the Venom incident yet.

Garble said "Uh, only when you're not looking." Oh dear me. "But if I didn't pick on Spike, they'd just pick on me!" So? What excuse does that give you. "And he is kind of a weakling." HA! I doubt that. Fluttershy was having none of it and she went up against Garble's face and held it firmly so he could look her in the eyes. She said "HMPH! I'll have you know Spike is stronger than you are any day!" Well, maybe not physically, but emotionally yes. Garble simply laughed at that statement and pushed Fluttershy away. He said "Yeah right! That little cupcake-making, blanket-cuddling, pony dragon? Ha ha. Give me a break!" Excuse me?! First of all, Spike looks nothing like a pony and second of all, what do you have against ponies?! My marefriend is a FLIPPING PONY and she's BEAUTIFUL! Uhhh… okay then. That was embarrassing, but you get the point. Fluttershy gasped in shock and said "First of all, there's NOTHING wrong with being a pony." Exactly. I'm dating the Princess of Friendship and I could care less if she's a pony or not. "Second, Spike isn't afraid to be who he is, no matter what you or any other creature thinks. That's real strength." I agree. Well spoken, Fluttershy. "Not like some dragons I know." Oohh. Ouch. The burn. For a pegasus, that's not bad.

Smolder said "For a pony without a horn, she sure got a point." I agree, Smolder. But that's the wonder of Fluttershy for ya. Garble felt awful and suddenly Spike said "I've been looking all over for you guys! We need your help! Hurry!" Yeah, that's right. Ember sent Spike over to retrieve the rest of the gang to try and figure this problem out. Anywho, Spike dashed away and Fluttershy, Garble, and Smolder followed right behind him. I watched along with Ember all the dragons trying to heat up the eggs with their fire breath, but it didn't really seem to do anything. The rest of them showed up and Ember said "I've ordered every dragon to warm up the eggs, but they still won't hatch. I don't know what else we can try!" I said "Well, normally, dragon breath is extremely hot, but when it comes to hatching eggs, it doesn't generate enough heat to get them to crack." Seriously. That's how it is. Spike said "We can't give up!" I'm not exactly sure Spike. We're running out of options here. "There's gotta be something we can do!" Like what? The brown dragon said "How about we wrap the eggs in a bunch of baby blankets?" Ha ha. Very funny. Move on please. That's gotten quite old very quickly.

The orange dragon said "Yeah, the wimp can knit them up real quick like! Ha!" Then, all three of the dragons started laughing with laugh fire and Spike had to back away a bit so he wouldn't get burned from it. Spike said "Hey! Watch it! That laugh fire can burn somepony!" Even someone like me. It might never happen, but I'm still at risk for it. As the dragons continued to laugh, I noticed some steam come from the fire and that's when it hit me like a load of bricks. That's the key to getting the eggs to hatch! Garble noticed this as well and he said "Burn. Good idea, Spikey-Wikey!" Okay then. He dashed over to get his outfit and drums and sat down. The dragons stopped laughing and looked at him blankly. "Eggs. Come. Burst into that light. Break through shells that bind." Hmm. Really good so far. "Break free. Explore. Stuck. Between Rock and hard place." Pretty good. The dragons looked at each other and began laughing. Their laugh fire went into the pits and the other dragons there did the exact same thing. After a few moments, Garble kept going. "Freedom. Come. Don't be shy. Look those others in the eye." That last part was kinda cringe and I had to hold myself back from bursting out in laughter. The dragons laughed again and did the same thing they did before.

After a few more moments, Garble continued once more. "Stake your claim. Stop. Just do. Be the one and only you." We all came over and then I began to hear cracks. Yes! It's working. Fluttershy noticed as well and said "Spike! Look!" I see that. Spike said "What? Huh? Their laugh fire is so hot, it's hatching the eggs!" Well, laugh fire generates more heat than dragon breath, so it's a win-win situation here. Garble continued and said "Come to light. Proud to be. Open up. BAM! Be free." The dragons continued laughing and after a few seconds, the eggs fully cracked and the baby dragons started poking their heads out which was kinda adorable if you ask me. The other dragons realized this and stopped laughing. Smolder said "You did it, Gar-Gar! You performed in front of other dragons!" He sure did. The orange dragon said "And it was super lame." Maybe to you. "What kind of weakling writes poetry?" The one that just saved the Dragonlands. The orange dragon went in for a high five with the purple dragon, but Ember flew up in front of them with a glare on her face. She said "The hero of the Dragonlands! That's who!" You tell them, Ember!

Smolder chipped in and said "Yeah, Garble saved our eggs because he was strong enough to be who he is whether you liked it or not." Nothing to be ashamed of there. "I grew up thinking it was okay to make fun of differences, but my friends have taught me to celebrate them!" That's right. All the other dragons nodded in agreement and Ember said "And from now on, in my kingdom, that's exactly what we will do!" It really is still kinda interesting how my scepter is very similar to the Bloodstone Scepter that Ember carries around with her as Dragon Lord. "Now, if you don't mind, can you teach me how to write poetry like that? It's pretty cool." I agree. It all fit the theme here. Garble said "Uh, yeah sure. No problem." I can't wait to see what Ember has come up with in the future. Make sure you send me a letter of it when you are done, Ember. The orange dragon said "Yeah, me too." Oh brother. The brown dragon said "I wanna learn." Slow down there guys. Spike stepped in front of them and said "Take a number guys." Seriously. Fluttershy flew up and said "I'll take them all." You better not steal them otherwise, you'll have a bunch of ticked off dragons on your tail. After all that, we all eventually left the Dragonlands and headed back to Ponyville. We all went our separate ways and I headed inside the castle.

It was quite late when I had returned, but I could still see in the castle. It was around 10:00 at night. That's how late it was. As I was walking to my personal quarters, I heard something. I followed the sound and it led right up to the royal chambers. Huh. I hope Twilight is okay. I pressed my ear against the door and I heard very familiar noises. Is that crying? No. It can't be. I listened again and I knew without a doubt, it was crying. Oh dear. Twilight must be upset about something. I need to comfort her. I disappeared into my shadow form and slithered through the door to come into Twilight's bedroom. I looked at her for a few seconds before reappearing before her in my lion form. I said "Twilight? Are you alright?" She looked over at me and crushed me to death in a hug before continuing to cry harder. Oh my. "Twilight. You can tell me anything. But I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong." Twilight sniffled a bit before saying "We-well, I-I was ta-taking a nap earlier and then I-I had th-this TERRIBLE NIGHTMARE wh-where you-you… at-attacked and ki-killed me. I-I'm s-so sc-scared." She buried herself into my chest again and began shaking violently in fear.

She had a dream that I was going to kill her? That doesn't make any sense. I would never do something like that! I've never seen her this vulnerable before. I asked her "How long have you been crying like this?" Twilight sniffled and said "A-a fe-few ho-hours." A FEW HOURS?! Poor Twilight. She's had to suffer like this for several hours with no one to comfort her. That would explain the red eyes and disheveled mane from all that crying. I pulled her in and hugged her as closely as I could. She cried even harder and I said "Shhh. It's alright. I'm here now. You're safe here." Twilight relaxed into my chest and I let her tears fall into my fur. I could care less if they stained or not. Twilight is in emotional turmoil right now and needs comforting. Besides, I can easily remove it with my magic once she's done crying. "This is exactly what will happen one day." What are you talking about, Nightmare? That will NEVER happen! "On the contrary, I disagree. Twilight will make a grave mistake that will put her and her subjects in danger and she'll have NOPONY to blame but herself! HA HA HA!" You're talking nonsense. As long as I'm around, that won't happen. "It will happen sooner or later, Zachary. Besides, you'll be the effects of her mistakes." What are you talking about?! "Oh, why spoil it now? There would be no point in that. You'll just have to wait and see."

Dang it. I hate it when he does that. Whatever. I doubt that what he's saying will actually happen. I'll make sure of it. Anyway, after a bit, Twilight stopped crying and she looked at me with sad eyes. She said "Yo-you must th-think I-I was being stupid, huh?" I looked at her with wide eyes and said "What? NO! Of course not! That is not being stupid, Twilight. I completely understand how you feel. I used to get terrible nightmares when I was young as well. So, I know the feeling all too well. Besides, that's all it is. It will never happen." Twilight asked "Bu-but what if i-it comes true?" I smiled and said "It won't." Twilight asked again "But what if-" before I cut her off again saying "It won't. I promise. I'll stay by your side for as long as I live. Here. I might have something that will help." Twilight looked at me confused before saying "What is that?" I leaned in and kissed her. Yes, I know. Real smart. I don't do this very often, but it's the best way to bring comfort to Twilight. If you don't like that, too bad. Anyway, Twilight moaned in bliss and wrapped her hooves around me as she melted into the kiss. Fanfiction, I promise this is definitely without a doubt family friendly PG-Clean. Okay, now that they're not listening, you know which direction this is headed.

After a few minutes, we pulled away and smiled at each other. Twilight said "Wow. That actually did help. I love it when you do that." She said that while having a blush on her face. I said awkwardly "Uh, me too." Yeah, that sounds so silly. We laughed for a bit before Twilight yawned. I laughed a bit in amusement. "Somepony's tired. Well, if you're okay now, I'll go ahead and head to bed." Before I could get off the bed, Twilight grabbed me and wrapped her hooves around me closely so I wouldn't leave. She asked "Can you please stay here and sleep with me tonight? I feel safer with you around." Before I could say anything, she gave me that pleading look that I absolutely cannot resist. Those beautiful violet orbs make it so hard to say no. I said "Yeah, I'll stay with you for tonight. Whatever it takes to make you feel safe." Twilight smiled and she laid down. I laid down next to her and put one wing on top of her to which she gratefully accepted. After a few minutes, both of us fell asleep and drifted into the dream realm. So, no matter what happens, I will always be right here. I will protect you from danger whenever I can, Twilight.

AN: I am very sorry this is coming out so late but a lot has been going on lately. I was busy doing work last week, and then I went on vacation for Spring Break, and then once I got back, I was extremely tired and didn't feel like doing anything. But I knew I had to get this done and out to you guys. Hopefully, random things stop happening and I can post more chapters on a consistent basis without having to go on a two week hiatus every month. But, anything is possible these days. So, hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Next Chapter: Prankster Gangster time! When everyone is out doing something, Zachary gets an idea of something fun to do since he doesn't have anything to do that day. So, he brings along Discord and Spike to have some good old guy time and prank the ponies of Ponyville. However, when they do a massive prank, it causes more damage than they realize. Can they successfully hide it and not tell anybody, or will they be revealed and have to suffer the consequences?

Until then, my fellow readers