The next morning, the three women I'd spoken to the night before stayed in their rooms, although Chrysalis had actually come out of her room and requested a pen and a few sheets of paper. I grabbed an old composition book I had lying around my Earth home and gave her three G7 pens. She was a bit confused by how they worked at first, but she was quick to learn and when I left, she was sitting at her desk, furiously writing away and ignoring me. The look of concentration in her eyes astonished me.

Things did seem like they were starting to return to a kind of normalcy, with Scarlet, Zecora and Mica all eating near me. Our conversation was light and felt like things were going to be okay.

Now, unlike my original house, my mansion had actual bells, a lot like the kind seen in any movie version of A Christmas Carol when the ghost of Jacob Marley began ringing them. There were enough throughout the house that whenever someone would press the button on the side of the main door, each bell would receive a small jolt of magic which made them ring. As we were wrapping up the meal, the doorbell that hung above the dining room entrance began swaying back and forth until it began to ring. "Huh, I wonder who's at the door this early?" I asked. It was almost nine in the morning, and the only plans I had for that day was to just take it easy and recover before the events of the past week before plunging back into my work as Emperor.

"Want me to go find out who it is?" Mica asked, immediately standing and looking ready to go

"Nah, you stay there and finish eating," I said, standing up. "I'll go have a look."

So saying, I stood and headed out into the living room. As I made my way out, I saw Ember walking out of her room. She had a bleary expression on her face. "What's that ringing about?" she asked tiredly.

"Someone's at the door," I said.

"Oh…well, I guess I'll go back to sleep, then-"

The bell rang again, and then someone began knocking. It sounded frantic. Then a voice on the other side called out, "Jethro! Please help!" The voice belonged to Spike.

Ember was immediately awake now, and she and I I quickly made our way over to the door. I quickly undid the few locks I had set then threw the door open only to see a frantic Spike standing in the door. He was wearing a thick black coat and brown slacks. "Whoa there, Spike," I said, grabbing the fist that was about to hit the door that wasn't there anymore, "any more and you'll break the door. What's going on?"

He relaxed, but not by much. "Sorry for coming so early in the morning, but it's Twilight! She's been in that library you gave her all night!"

"Doesn't she stay up reading a lot?" I asked, confused why Spike was coming to me with this.

He shook his head. "Not like this," he said in a worried tone. "She's locked herself in the room and cast a spell around it. Sunset can't even open the door!"

Now I saw why he was worried. "Alright, come on in and warm up for a bit," I said, "I'm gonna go get dressed and be right over."

"What's all the hubbub out here?" Scarlet asked, hovering out of the dining room with a bit of egg on her face. When she saw how frantic Spike looked, her eyes widened. "Whoa! Spike?! What's going on?"

"Twilight's acting a bit strange," I said, "well, more so than she normally is. I'm going over to check up on her."

"I hope you realize we will be coming with you, dearest," Zecora said, walking out behind Scarlet.

Mica followed close behind the Zebra. "I'd come with you, but I need to look after my sister and help her guard the Dragon Princess and the Dark Fae Queen," he said apologetically.

"I don't need guarding," Ember said indignantly. "In fact, I'll be going with him for now over to see what the issue is with the Pony."

I turned and raised an eyebrow at her. "You are?"

She nodded, then leaned forward. "I need out of this house for a while."

"Alright, fair enough," I nodded. Turning to Mica, I said, "I can handle myself. Take care of things while I'm gone, alright?" I added as I flung on a thick overcoat and a pair of my best boots. The ground was still damp from the rain, and I knew that the Weather Team had also forecast a few showers sprinkled throughout the day.

"Will do, sir," Mica said, saluting me in the Lycan fashion, a fist to the chest.

I replied in kind. "See you later, okay?" I turned back to Ember and tossed her the clothes she'd discarded the moment she stepped into the house. "Put these on. Ponyville is colder than Aelyssia."

She grumbled in response, but did as I suggested. "I hate clothes," she muttered.

"I'd rather you be warm and dressed than naked and cold," I replied as I pulled my second boot on. When we were all ready, I looked down at Spike. "Lead on, Spike."

And with that, the young drake led us out into the early morning.

Just as I'd expected, the ground was wet and somewhat slippery, and the sky was threatening rain, but I knew the rain wasn't coming for a little while, yet, so I hurried along, following Spike. The streets weren't that full of Ponies, yet, but those who saw us would wave at us. A worrying number actually bowed in my direction despite me telling them the day before that they didn't need to bow down to me or anything like that.

I was so engrossed in my task that I didn't see the bright green Unicorn mare walking in front of me until it was too late. I collided with her and went sprawling onto the cobblestone street.

"Jethro!" Scarlet rushed over and landed beside me, putting her hoof on my back. "Are you alright?"

"You aren't hurt, are you?" Zecora asked, rushing to my side as well.

I slowly sat up and looked around, more concerned with the mare I'd accidentally run over. She was lying on the ground, groaning and slowly standing up. She was a light lime green colored mare with a darker green wavy mane and tail. Her eyes were a somewhat grayish light brown and her ears were drooped. She actually had a few darker green freckles on her cheeks, as well. Her cutie mark was a drooping potted plant. She was wearing a now dirty light brown and dark brown striped turtleneck sweater. I quickly made my way over to the mare and helped her to her feet. "Hey, are you okay, miss?" I asked.

She tensed up immediately and looked at me. "I-um…I think so," she said.

I brushed off her sweater, then looked around. In the fall, I thought I had heard the shattering of pottery. When I saw a destroyed pot, some potting soil and a bonzai tree of all things, my eyes widened. "Oh, shit."

The mare followed my gaze and her eyes widened in horror. "No…NO!" She galloped over to it and picked it up with her light brown magic. "This was directly imported from Neighhon," she whimpered sadly.

Feeling extremely guilty about what I'd done, I held out my hand. The pot, soil and plant began to glow in the silvery golden glow of my magic, then slowly began to reform. Finally, the pot was sealed up as best as I could get it. I slowly floated it over towards the mare. "Think you can get this someplace where you can replant it in a new pot?" I asked.

The mare took the entire pot in her magic, then looked back at me. "Th-Thank you, Jethro," she said quietly.

I then remembered who she was, and when I did, I nearly smacked my head in surprise. I'd seen her Equestria Girls[/i ]counterpart already, and she'd asked at least one question during the meeting at Town Hall after Eris' defeat. "You're welcome, Wallflower. Take care of yourself, and I'm sorry for running into you. I wasn't looking."

Wallflower Blush looked stunned that I knew who she was, but she quickly shook her head. "N-No no, it's fine," she said, "I'm a quiet Pony anyway…"

"It's still no excuse for me not to pay attention to my surroundings," I said. "You be safe now, and I'll see you around, okay, Wallflower?" She nodded and quickly made her way down the street. I stood and turned back to the others. "Alright, let's go!"

A few minutes later later, we were standing in Twilight's basement, the same one where she kept her scientific instruments which she had used to try and understand the Pinkie Sense. There were many different instruments everywhere, from tables full of beakers and test tubes to the very same machine she'd used on Pinkie, and later me. There were many various roots coming down through the vast cavern that was the basement of the library, and a long set of stone carved stairs leading up to the main floor.

However, there was one new addition to the room: the very same door which lead to the interdimensional library with every copy of the books that were in my own new hoard. Sunset was in front of it, her horn glowing as she tried to pull the door open. However, the harder she tried, the more the door seemed to resist.

When we all came down the stairs, Ember looked around with a worried expression. "By the gods, what is this place?"

"It's where Twilight studies things she doesn't understand," I replied.

"Science! Formulas! Microscopes! LEARNING!" Scarlet giggled.

I facepalmed. "Not the time for a My Little Pony YouTube skit reference, babe."

Sunset stopped what she was doing and turned to us. Her face became one of relief. "Thank God you're here," she said, rushing over to us. "She's been in there all night, and when we tried to get her out this morning, she cast a protection spell around it. I could probably break it if I wasn't so out of practice, but all I can hear from inside is her muttering something to herself."

"Let me give it a try," I said as I walked up to the door.

Sunset stood aside and sighed. "Good luck."

When I reached the door, I knocked. I could hear the echo from inside reverberating around the inner chamber. "Hey, Twi? It's Jethro," I said, "Is everything okay in there?" I put my ear to the door, but heard nothing. Just the roaring of a fire and some indistinct muttering. "Listen," I continued, raising my voice a little bit, "the others are out here. They're getting worried. They say you've been up all night in there and haven't eaten since yesterday. It's time to take a break." I listened for a bit. There was still nothing changed.

"Stand aside," Ember said suddenly. She walked up to the door and began banging on it. "Hey! Pony brat! Get out of there! I'm sure it's fascinating reading all that boring ancient Dragon garbage, but your friends are worried!" She put her head to the door, listening. But there must have been no change because she threw her arms up in frustration. "Gods save us from the stubbornness of Ponies," she growled as she walked away.

"May I try?" Zecora asked. When I nodded, she walked up to the door and knocked. "My dear Twilight, are you well in there? You've been up all night, I hear. I can prepare something that can reenergize you." She put her head to the door and listened. When she came away, the look on her face said she had failed. "Sorry, love," she said.

"It's alright," I said, stroking her mane.

"Here, let me try," Scarlet said, walking up to the door and, standing on her hind legs, leaned against it. She began pushing herself against it, like she was trying to open it. Just before I was about to mention that the door opened outwards, she began moaning. "Oh…Oh Jethro…you're so big! Ah! I'm almost…nnng…there!"

Sunset blushed, Ember scowled, but her cheeks went red as well, Zecora covered Spike's ears with her hooves, and Spike watched with more confusion than anything. I was a bit too stunned to say anything at first, but then I rushed over. "The fuck are you doing?!" I hissed in her ear, pulling her away from the door.

And it was a good thing I did. Because the moment I pulled away, Twilight burst through the door, wide eyed and furious. "What's going on out here?!" she snapped, looking around the room at the gathered group. "I'm trying to read in there!"

"Twilight!" Spike said, breaking away from Zecora and hugging his first ever friend and foster sister. "Thank Celestia!"

Twilight's rage instantly subsided and turned to concern when she looked around and saw the worried faces all focused on her. "Um…Spike? Everyone? What's going on?"

"You've been locked in there ever since last afternoon," Spike said, his voice trembling.

"It's true," Sunset confirmed.

Twilight's eyes went wide. "I…I was?!" She looked up at a clock on the wall of the lab. When she saw the time, she swallowed and looked at the rest of us sheepishly. "Oh…um…whoops?"

"That's all you have to say? Whoops?" Spike asked, now getting angry. "You had us all worried sick!"

I walked up and put a hand on Spike's back. "Calm down, Dragon-boy," I said reassuringly before I turned to Twilight. "You did go a bit overboard."

Her ears flattened. "I…I'm sorry. I just…got so engrossed in the history section. I couldn't put it down. I learned so much that you should all hear!"

"Come on," I said, lifting her up and cradling her princess style in my arms, "we should get you to bed."

She blushed when I picked her up, but when I said I was taking her to bed, she shook her head. "Not yet…I need something to eat first."

"I'll go warm up your pancakes!" Spike said, rushing up the stairs.

Twilight yawned tiredly, and to my surprise, snuggled into my grasp and buried her face in my chest, nuzzling me affectionately. I stroked her mane gently and looked down at the other three. Zecora was giving me an affirming smile and Scarlet was just smirking and gave me a wink. Sunset was rolling her eyes, but had an amused expression on her face.

And Ember? Well, she was looking down at a book that was sitting on the floor in front of the door. She stooped and picked it up, looking at the title. Then she looked over at Spike with an unreadable expression. I stopped and waited for her. When she looked over at me, she quickly put the book down on a nearby table and joined us. "Let's go," she said, walking up the stairs quickly.

I looked down at Twilight again. She looked so peaceful in my arms, and I wrapped my wings around her for some extra warmth. She relaxed even more in them, exhaling deeply and contentedly. "Mmm…this feels nice…" she muttered tiredly.

"Don't go to sleep yet," I teased, "you need to at least eat something before you go to bed."

"Mmm…but the library-"

"I'll look over it for today," Sunset said quickly. "You just need to catch a few Z's."

"Mmm…okay," she said.

When we reached the small dining area, I put Twilight down at her chair. She groaned in disappointment when she left the warmth of my arms and wings, but the disappointment quickly turned to happiness when Spike put down a steaming plate of pancakes in front of her. She quickly spread them out, put some butter on each one, then doused them in a heaping helping of maple syrup. The others sat at the table, all looking at Twilight with varying degrees of relief. All except Ember, who was looking down at the table with a now thoughtful expression on her face.

As Twilight was eating, I took a seat on a chair next to her. "So, you said you learned a bunch of stuff we should hear?" I asked curiously.

She was in the middle of chewing on a bit of pancake when I asked. She nodded, grabbed her glass of orange juice, washed said pancake down with the juice, then said, "There's so much in there! Aelyssian history goes back to about twenty five hundred years ago, if I'm converting their years right! It may even be more!"

"Wow, that is impressive," I admitted. "But what got you so engrossed that you would cast a barrier spell?"

She looked up, stunned. "I did?"

"You don't remember?" Sunset asked, sounding shocked.

"I…no, now I remember," she said, a look of shame passing over her face. "I'm sorry," she added apologetically, "I just tend to get so engrossed in my reading sometimes. But I don't ever remember putting up barriers before."

"As long as you are alright, my dear Twilight, but please don't ever again put us in a fright," Zecora said with a relieved smile on her own face.

"I'll try and hold back, I promise," she said.

"Well, what did you learn?" Spike asked.

"We can talk about that after Twilight's rested up," I said quickly, wanting her to be in bed as soon as she was done eating.

"No no, it's alright," Twilight said, "I can give you the short version. But for one, did you know that there were five different subspecies of Dragons? Five?!" Her eyes widened in excitement.

"Wait, were? What do you mean, were?" I asked.

"Well, we've only seen the kind of Dragons that can fly," Twilight explained after swallowing another bit of pancake. "There are the normal Dragons like the ones we've seen. Then there were Loongs, otherwise known as Eastern Dragons, then Sirens, and Sea Serpents."

"Well, we know that some of them exist," I said. "Dragons, Sirens and Sea Serpents are still around. But you only mentioned four types. What was the fifth?"

"That's the thing, I'm not really sure what they were called," Twilight said. "There's not much on them that I've found. I only know they look like Wyverns and their fire has special magical properties. And while they were the rarest, they were also the most envied and hated."

I raised an eyebrow. "Most hated? What could their fire do?"

I wasn't sure if anyone else noticed it, but she clamed up slightly. "I, uh…haven't found out yet," she said unconvincingly, but she was trying so desperately to lie that I knew it must have been important.

Before anyone else could call her out on it, I quickly said, "Well, I think you'll have time to study more later. For now, you need food then a long rest."

Twilight smiled. "Yeah, I am a bit tired," she said sheepishly. She finished off her pancakes and quickly got out of her chair. She yawned and stumbled a bit.

I quickly caught her in my magic, then lifted her towards me, holding her once more princess style. "I've got you," I said with a reassuring smile.

She blushed and curled up in my arms. "Thanks, Jethro," she said tiredly.

"I'll take her up to bed," I announced as I headed out of the dining room towards the stairs. "Why don't you guys wait in the main room for me. I'm gonna make sure she gets to sleep." I gave her a stern expression.

"I'm not a filly, Jethro," Twilight said indignantly.

"It's for my peace of mind," I said as the others began filing out of the room. All except for Ember who looked over at Twilight and me. I locked eyes with her. "Ember?"

She slowly stood. "That Pony knows more than she lets on," she said sharply.

Twilight flinched and turned away. "I-I don't know what you mean," she said.

"You're a poor liar, Twi," I whispered. "Ember, follow me. I think we need to talk to our little friend here."

As the three of us walked up the staircase, Twilight remained silent. There was something in her expression that told me she'd learned something important. Something that was haunting her. Possibly even something she wished she hadn't learned. Finally, I reached her room. I smiled when I saw a second bed on the spare upper loft next to Twilight's bed. I pointed at it. "Is that for Spike?" I asked.

She looked up at it. "Huh? Oh! Yeah. Spike's too big to fit in his old bed, so I asked Sunset to buy another bed for…for him. Guess they did that yesterday."

I noticed the hesitation in her voice, and the frown on Ember's face told me she hadn't missed it either. I walked up the winding ramp that led to her loft, Ember following close behind. After I pulled her sun and moon decorated covers off and set her down, I began tucking her in. When I finished, I knelt beside her bed with Ember leaning against the wall next to the window. "You might have the others fooled, but not me and certainly not Ember here. You saw something, didn't you? You read something in that library that you don't want to talk about."

She stiffened and looked out the window. "Huh…cloudy day today," she said in a lame attempt to distract me.

I looked over at Ember and pointed to the window. She nodded in understanding and immediately pulled the yellow blinds shut. When that was done, I gently but firmly pulled her to face me. Despite that, she still looked away from me, trying to avoid my gaze. "Twilight Sparkle," I said, "please look at me. If there's something about these fifth type of Dragon I need to know, please talk to me."

"I…I can't," she said, her voice trembling slightly.

"Why not?" I asked.

She suddenly turned to me, eyes flashing with worry and anger. "Because you'll take Spike away from me and take him back to Aelyssia, Your Grace!"

I stumbled back, completely alarmed by the anger in her voice. She actually had her horn leveled at me, and when I saw this, I got into a defensive position as did Ember, her claws extended and her teeth bared. I knew then that Twilight wasn't talking to me personally. Instead, she was talking to Emperor Jethro. But I didn't fall into that persona. At least, not at first. "Twilight Sparkle," I said as I forced myself into a neutral position, "no matter who I am now, I am first and foremost your friend. I would never ever take Spike away from you. He's your first friend, number one assistant, and even your adopted little brother." After that, I stood taller and put on a more regal pose, or as regal as I could put on without practice. "Besides, Sir Spike is an Equestrian citizen, under the protection of the Princesses. If I were to take him away, it would spark an international incident. Do you think I'd risk that?"

Twilight slowly looked back up at me, her anger vanishing only to be replaced with grief and shame. "I'm sorry…I just…Spike's one of those fifth types of Dragons."

"I knew it," Ember said with a growl.

I ignored the other Dragon as I approached the bed again and knelt beside it. I reached out and took her hoof in both my hands. "Tell me, please. Why did you think I'd take Spike away?"

"It's a long story," she said.

"I have time," I replied, and I squeezed her hoof reassuringly. "Tell me. Please."

"Okay…here goes." Taking a deep breath, she began.

According to the historian that had recorded the book Twilight had been reading, the fifth race of Dragon-types were known as Wyverns. Back in the days of the Aelyssian Empire, each race called one of the five major island continents their home. The Wyverns lived on one of the island continents to the far east as well as a few of the smaller islands surrounding it. They were not only the longest living type of Dragons in the Empire, but they were capable of wielding the most types of magic among their kind. It was the Wyverns who had been the most instrumental in creating magical armor, weapons and more for the empire. Their fire was said to also contain a great amount of magical properties, which included the ability to send and receive messages across long distances in the blink of an eye.

When the five Dragon races united, they became integral in the construction of Dragon society. They were seen on almost every island and microcontinent of the Aelyssian Empire. Aside from their home microcontinent, the highest concentration of them lived in the capital city (which she'd learned wasn't named Dormog, but instead Virynth Atheos, City of Emperors), where they worked as enchanters of magical objects.

As the years went by, they began to be treated less and less as citizens and more as tools. As it turned out, a large portion of their race became so dissatisfied with their treatment that they threatened secession from the Empire itself unless something was done about their treatment. However, at that time, the historian recorded that the Dragon elite had become so self centered that they didn't see any others but their own kind of Dragon as worth anything less than the best. To a lesser extent, the Loongs, Sirens, and Sea Serpents were also being treated like second class citizens by Dragons. Even the Emperor at the time, Dormog, ignored the pleas of his own subjects. This led to a small group of about fifty Wyverns to contact the Fae, asking for their help.

But what they got wasn't help, but a war.

The Fae managed to extract information from the Wyverns who turned on their own Empire which led to the ultimate invasion of Aelyssia and the destruction of the Dragon's homeland. In the years after the fall of Virynth Atheos and the First Migration, it came to light just how the Empire was betrayed. Wyverns everywhere were seen as traitors, even though it was only a small group who betrayed the Empire, and even then no other Dragon believed them.

Under the order of the young Torch, a great purge commenced, with Wyverns all across the Dragon's continent being slaughtered. Eggs smashed; Wyverns publicly executed as enemies of the now dead Empire etc. That was where the story ended.

"…I was just about to try and find more when you guys came by," Twilight said.

Ember nodded. "Dad told me a lot about Wyverns when I was growing up," she said somberly. "He hated them so much. He actually led a hunt for them about thirteen or so years ago and publicly executed a small clawful he found hiding out near the Nyvna Inland Sea." She took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, hands in the pockets of her coat. "Mom…well, she wasn't around when the Empire fell, but she talked about them a lot. She didn't think that it was their fault for the fall of the Empire, just some individuals." She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. "The Dragons hate the Wyverns a lot. I'm actually surprised that one egg managed to escape the purge."

I frowned and stood, looking down towards the stairs. "It's a good thing I knighted him when I did," I said. "If Wyverns are really as hated as you're telling me, then hopefully his being knighted will afford him some protection. And if not, well let's just say the Emperor will not be pleased."

"I don't want him going to Aelyssia for a while at least," Twilight said firmly. "He'll be safer here."

"I understand that," I said, "and I won't take him with me. But if he wants to go back, you're gonna have to tell him the truth."

Twilight shook her head. "Not…I don't…"

"We won't tell him yet," Ember said, stepping forward. "I may not know the little Wyvern well, but I know he's no traitor to your nation. And…if we hope to reunite the Empire, we might need his help."

"How?" Twilight asked.

I caught on immediately and nodded in approval at Ember. "I think I see where you're going with this. Good thinking." I turned to Twilight. "If we can show that Spike is a Wyvern who's been accepted into another culture, it might let any other Wyverns know that this is a new era for Dragons everywhere and of every kind. No, for all Aelyssians. I'm going to try and learn from the example of the Ponies and unite all five Aelyssian races, if they're still around."

Twilight looked between me and Ember, completely and utterly stunned. "You…can't be serious."

"I won't force this on anyone," I said, "but if the Wyverns do still exist, I would like to have them on the side of the Empire. They will be given proper restitution for their treatment, if what this history book says is true, and will be treated with all proper respect. If I hear of any hate crimes against them, those Dragons shall be summarily punished. I'll make this more official later, but that's my intention. If Spike doesn't want to help and if you forbid it, I'll respect your wishes. But for now, you really need to rest, okay?" I moved closer and stroked her mane. "Go to sleep, okay?"

Despite her worry, Twilight's eyes began to droop and she yawned. "Yeah…I am a bit…sleepy…" she said tiredly.

I smiled, and as I continued to stroke her mane, I turned to Ember and said, "Could you tell the others I'll be down in a bit? I've gotta make sure that she gets some sleep."

She sighed. "Sure, I guess I can do that," she said as she walked down the ramp and then down the stairs, leaving me and Twilight alone.

She gave me a pout as she said, "I can go to sleep on my own."

I put a finger to her lips. "I know you can, but I don't want you falling asleep alone right now." With that, I used my magic to begin dimming the lights. Then I opened my mouth and began to sing:

"Sleep, my love, and peace attend thee,
"all through the night.
"Guardian angels God will send thee,
"all through the night.
"Soft the drowsy hours are creeping;
"hill and valleys in slumber sleeping.
"Love alone his watch is keeping,
"all through the night."

"Angels watching, e'er around thee,
"all through the night.
"Midnight slumber close surround thee,
"all through the night.
"Soft the drowsy hours are creeping;
"hill and valleys in slumber sleeping.
"Love alone his watch is keeping,
"all through the night."

"While the moon her watch is keeping,
"all through the night.
"While the weary world is sleeping,
"all through the night.
"O'er thy spirit gently stealing,
"visions of delight revealing.
"Breathes a pure and holy feeling,
"All through the night."

"All through the night…"

As I ended the song, Twilight was already fast asleep, breathing in and exhaling softly. There was a relaxed smile on her face. I quietly stood and made my way downstairs. I made my way into the main area of the library where the others were all gathered. They turned to me with expectant faces, and I raised my hand. "She's asleep right now," I said.

Everyone except for Ember all relaxed when I said that. "Well…if that's the case, I've got some chores I need to do," Spike said.

However, Sunset stopped him. "Hold on there, kiddo. I distinctly remember you promising the Cutie Mark Crusaders that you'd spend some time with them today," she said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How come?"

"Oh…they talked to me yesterday after the town meeting," he said. "But…they were acting a bit weird."

"Weird how?" Scarlet asked.

He frowned and took on a thoughtful look. "Well…they were talking over each other, then they went quiet, then they stammered a bit. It was…just weird, I guess."

"Did you promise to go spend time with them?" I asked. He slowly nodded. "Well, then you should honor that promise. Especially if you don't want Applejack barging in here and dragging you to go hang out with her sister. She ain't the Element of Honesty for nothing."

"I know, I'm just nervous," he said. "I've hardly hung out with them at all."

"I believe you spending time with others your own age is a good idea," Zecora said reassuringly, walking up beside me. "There's nothing wrong with enjoying time with Twilight and her friends, but I think you should go spend some more time with fillies and colts your own age."

"And if you don't like it, that's okay," I said, "There's always Guy's Night with you, me and Big Mac. Heck, maybe we can get Shining to come play O&O with us."

Spike smiled a bit. "Yeah…I'd like that," he said. "Okay, I'll go. But what about my chores?"

"Leave that to me," Sunset said. "I'll take care of things for you."

"Well, if you're sure…but I'm still making dinner tonight," he insisted.

"I'm not the best cook, anyway," Sunset smirked self deprecatingly.

"Alright, well, see you later then," Spike said. He grabbed his coat, threw it on, and rushed over to the door.

"You'd better take an umbrella with you!" I called out, and I saw him grab one of the umbrellas hanging by the door before he rushed out.

"He certainly looks happy here," Ember finally said. It was obvious the weight of the revelations from Twilight weighed heavily on her mind.

"He's a very strong Dragon," Zecora replied with a chuckle.

"And apparently he's got some new popularity with the ladies," Scarlet grinned.

Ember slowly nodded, but said nothing. I quickly decided to change the subject. Turning to Sunset, I said, "So…do you need anything else from us?"

"Oh, no need to worry," Sunset said, "I'll be alright here. I've got my laptop and access to your…staticnet, you called it? So I should be fine. Hardly anyone comes to the library anyway."

"Alright, well, see you later then," I said. "Girls, let's go."

As we were walking back to our house, Ember came up to me and pulled me back. "Hey, can I talk to you for a bit? Alone?"

I nodded, then looked at Zecora and Scarlet. "Girls, go on ahead. I'll be home in a bit."

After the two members of my herd walked down the street, I began walking in stride next to Ember. I looked at her, waiting for whatever she wanted to say. She opened her mouth a couple of times before closing them. Finally, she began. "I thought a lot about what you said last night," she began. "And I have a few things I need to say."

I gestured to a bench on the road. "Then let's have a seat and you can tell me what you need to."

Nodding, she headed to the bench and sat down. Unlike benches from Earth, these were too low for a human, but they were comfortable and sturdy. When we were both situated, she turned to face me. "I've thought about your offer, and if you want me to be your Dragon Lord, I want a few things."

"Alright, name them," I said.

She straightened. "First of all, I don't want to be called the Dragon Lord. That's not really a name that I think other Dragons would like."

"Okay, I can accept that," I said. "What name would you prefer? Regent? Governess? Viceroy? Hand of the King?" The last one I added as a joke.

"We can discuss that later," she said. "Second, I don't want all of the responsibility for running an Empire all on me. I don't care how you do it, but we need to establish some kind of instant communication between us."

"I might have a way we can do that," I said, "a few ways, if they pan out. I'll just need to talk with Chrysalis about something. What else?"

Ember nodded, then said, "Third, I'll only take the position after the Dragons are all safe in Virynth Atheos or near it. Even if you're not a Dragon, you're the Emperor now. I'm pretty sure they'll follow your orders better if you yourself lead them back to the city."

I nodded again. "I'll do just that. Anything else?"

Ember shook her head. "Nope."

"Then, you have yourself a deal…Regent Ember? Or Minister Ember? Or Steward?"

"Again, we can talk about that later," she said, and she smirked a bit. "Although, I do like that Hand of the King thing you mentioned, but it would have to be Claw of the Emperor. Makes me feel more connected to the actual Emperor."

I chuckled. "We're lucky we're in Equestria. I doubt George. R. R. Martin would be okay with us blatantly ripping off his books."

"Who's George. R. R. Martin?" Ember asked.

"An author from Earth," I replied. "But enough about that. Do we have an accord?" I held out my hand to her.

I watched her reach out to me, then she hesitated. Finally, she gave me a smile, a nod, then clasped my hand in her claw. "Yes. Yes we do."

I smiled wider. "Then welcome to the Empire, Princess Ember. I'm glad to have you aboard."