"You see, Your Lordship, I have something here that's going to revolutionize treasure transport..."
As the dragon in front of her chattered, Ember wondered to herself what crime he may have committed in a past life to have hatched out of the egg with scales that exact shade of puce.
The golden throne she was sitting in, with its comfortable red cushions, had been a gift from Equestria, and the gemstones that decorated various surfaces had been gifts from her friends among dragonkind and foreign dignitaries alike. It was a cave that had been crafted to impress, as well as provide contrast to the deep blue of its serpentine occupant. It was no Canterlot palace, but as the first Dragon Lord with a proper throne room, it was the most impressive in the Dragonlands by default.
She'd also been in it for so long today that even the comfy cushions on the throne weren't enough to keep her rear end from falling asleep, and she found herself contemplating the series of decisions that had led her to this one mind-numbing (and tail-numbing) moment.
One thing that Ember had picked up from other species was the concept of open court.
It was a simple enough idea. The position of Dragon Lord was no longer the biggest, angriest voice shouting "because I said so" down at other dragons. It now was an actual leadership position that made important decisions, and part of leading the people was being able to hear their problems. So Ember had started doing what rulers in plenty of other places did, and had a publicly-accessible cave where she would sit there with her scepter and hear what was bothering other dragons, to see if she could help.
This decision had been met with instant regret.
The puce dragon enthusiastically waved to a pair of other dragons, who left the cave and returned with a hunk of stone. This stone that been shaped into a disk, with a hole through it, and it took Ember a second to realize what she was looking at. Claws met face and harmlessly raked down her own scales. "Smoke--"
"I know it doesn't look like much, Your Lordship, but look." He gave the disk a nudge with his tail, and it started to roll along the cave floor. To his credit, the disk made an appreciable distance before it inevitably toppled onto its side. "The shape is purpose-built to move over terrain with minimal force."
"Smoke..."
"Now I know what you're thinking, 'what does that have anything to do with treasure?' And you see, the really exciting part is when you put two of them together, like so." The helper dragon swiftly fetched a second stone disk, along with a smooth rod of stone to stick through the holes of each. "With this, the two are much more stable. From there, you can place slabs on top them, and the treasure upon the slabs. I call them--"
"They're wheels," Ember finally said.
He blinked. "What?"
Ember rubbed her temples, doing her best to fight off the brewing headache. "Wheels. Most creatures have them already. They make them out of wood and metal, and use them to move heavy things, or each other."
"What?"
"Carts. Chariots. Trains. Haven't you ever seen any of those?"
"What?" It was a bit like listening to a skipping record, and Ember felt confident he'd never seen one of those either.
"Do us both a favour, Smokeblown," Ember said with a sigh. "And go take a flight or two outside of the Dragonlands before you come back in here, so you don't stand here in front of me and reinvent the wheel."
"She was my friend first!"
"But I make a better friend for a pony!"
Ember looked between the stouter purple dragon and slimmer dark grey dragon with exasperation as they bickered. She knew these two. They were Backdraft and Charcoal, respectively, two of the dragons who'd used to follow Garble around as his lackeys before he straightened his life out.
If he'd become Dragon Lord instead of her, they'd no doubt be enjoying some kind of high position in his new army that he'd planned to raise in order to raid the lands of the ponies. Well, enjoying it until the ponies scorched that army's collective hides; not even dragon scales could hold up to the destructive power of the sun, and most dragons had never put two and two together about the fact that there were ponies who could make that sun do what they told it to.
As it was, the two had reluctantly begun down the path of being less of a pain in the neck and being nice to other creatures. Results so far had been mixed, and this was the third time they'd come in here with friendship problems.
"No you don't!"
"Yes I do!"
"No you don't!"
"Yes I do!"
"Alright, you two." Ember leaned forward on her throne. Her claws rested lightly on her scepter as a quiet reminder of her position. "Have you tried asking this pony friend of yours how she feels about this?"
Backdraft shrugged. "Well, yeah."
Charcoal rolled his eyes. "But she says she likes both of us."
"So the answer the question is obviously to...?" Her grip on the scepter tightened, just a little. They couldn't still be this dense, surely.
"For you to choose which of us gets to have her as a friend, Your Lordship!" Backdraft eagerly replied, exactly that dense.
"Yeah!"
"NO, YOU BOULDERHEADS!" The scepter struck the ground, both dragons flinching back from the stone's glow as it washed over them, making them almost instinctively cower from its light. "YOU SHARE! NOW GET OUT OF HERE AND STOP WASTING MY TIME!"
Both of them vanished so fast their their hind claws left marks in the stone. Ember then slumped back down in the throne with an exasperated groan, rubbing her temples again. "Next..."
"What part of 'I am in a relationship' isn't penetrating your thick skull?"
"Now, now, Your Lordship, don't be so hasty..."
The latest petitioner of the day was... large, though not so large that he couldn't fit in the cavern. His scales were deep black, with a sheen to them that could only be described as oily, and they overlaid muscles that clearly had never been earned, bulk borne of greed growth rather than exercise.
It wasn't a common sight within Ember's generation anymore, but even with her putting a ban on stealing treasures, some dragons still came into the possession of the right objects in the right amount through other means to spark small amounts of the growth. In those small amounts, stretched over a greater length of time, a dragon could adjust to the changes and keep their head about them, and given that this fellow could (unfortunately) still talk, he was managing the right balance.
None of those observations made Ember less livid with him. Her whole arm trembled with the force of her grip on the scepter. "Are you questioning my authority?"
He still had enough sense in his head to flinch back slightly. The greed hadn't clouded his respect for the Dragon Lord's position either. "No, no, not at all." Then he flashed a row of sharp teeth as he made clear he still wasn't quite smart enough. "I just question what you're currently calling a relationship."
The scepter came forward. Light flickered. "Choose your next words real carefully."
The toothy grin got wider, and it started to look like that maintaining it must be painful for his facial muscles. "I mean, everyone knows that you're with that Equestrian ambassador, but that's just... what? Letter exchanges most of the year, plus a few visits? What kind of husband would he make with that kind of schedule? Or father to your--"
Ember's whole body went stiff, and her spines stood straight up in fury. "Out." The single word came out, calm and cold, before he could finish his sentence.
"But Your Lordship--"
She forwent the scepter entirely. Instead, other petitioners ducked under the gout of furious flame that erupted from her mouth, and the would-be suitor yelped as he scrambled out of the cave, chased by her shout of, "I SAID OUT!"
"Are you feeling alright, Your Lordship?"
Ember paused in stretching her wings, at the mouth of the cave, to look behind her. The sun was setting in the distance, the orange rays glinting off the fixtures of her finely-decorated throne cave, and Crackle was standing there, one of her red-pupiled eyes focused on Ember with concern while the other gazed off to the side.
Crackle been standing upright for the last while, grasping various scrolls in her four forelimbs while her four back limbs and tail put in the work to keep her in that posture, the occasional bout of rapid flapping from her small wings aiding in her in keeping her balance.
Ember gave a weak smile that was almost a grimace. "I told you, Crackle. Once sundown hits, it's just Ember."
Crackle gave a sheepish nod. "Right, sorry Ember." Scrolls were arranged so one set of limbs could cross themselves in front of her chest. "But you're dodging the question. You doing okay? Today was a long day."
Ember sighed a little. "Yeah, I'll be fine. The flight home always helps."
"If you're sure." Paperwork was placed down and Crackle finally lowered herself onto all eight legs, a series of cracking sounds befitting her name sounding out that made Ember's own spine ache in sympathy. "I'll see if I can lighten your schedule a bit for the next couple of days, all the same."
The smile that came to Ember face in response was much more genuine. "You're the best, Crack." And with that, she took to the skies, relaxing as she soared through the cooler night air.
Lava and flames, Ember didn't know how Princess Twilight Sparkle didn't have a habit of throwing her subjects for distance, if ponies were even half as dense as dragons could be. Maybe alicorns just had some kind of magically-enhanced patience for dealing with idiots.
Or that was what her guards were for. Ember had certainly been considering hiring a few guard dragons expressly for such a purpose. It was just hard to find individuals she trusted enough for that. It had taken her long enough to hire Crackle as an assistant because she'd kneejerk protested the idea of someone else setting up her schedule. Still, her help had been invaluable and she didn't regret the hire in the slightest.
At least after this particular day of open court, she had welcome company waiting for her back at her personal cave. She also had no idea how other rulers could stand living in the same building that subjects were allowed into. Were mammals just allergic to the concept of privacy?
The flight back home was a good way to clear her head, especially tonight. Sometimes she had to dodge dragons who'd "forgotten" what times the court was open and missed the window, and so their solution was to try to fly her down and take "only a second of her time." She'd made the mistake of allowing it once, and after a hour-long conversation with a dragon who still hadn't gotten to the point by the time she'd lost her patience and flown off, she'd decided never again.
Even without that, there were still dragons who'd wave to her, who'd want a quick chat... some had even started asking to take a picture with her. Cameras hadn't caught on with all dragons, since many considered photographs a bit too delicate and easy to burn, but the younger generation was starting to get into the idea of hoarding mementos instead of traditional treasure.
This evening, however, it was quiet, which Ember running some of the encounters of the day through her mind without interruption. And it resulted in some daunting thoughts, even as she spotted the familiar purple and green at the mouth of her cave.
"Spike, can we talk?"
Ember saw frills twitch as Spike recognized her serious tone of voice, and looked up from their Scrabble game with a look of concern. Whatever he'd been contemplating as his next move seemed to be instantly forgotten, which was just as well, as she was pretty sure he'd already won and was just humouring her at this point. "Sure, what about?"
Ember took in a deep breath, leaning back in the beanbag chair that she'd purchased the last time she'd visited Equestria. "You know how I sometimes get dragons coming to open court trying to ask me out?"
Spike's brow furrowed, his answer of, "...Yeah, what about it?" sounding slightly cautious.
Ember sighed. "Well, I had one who was really stubborn about it. Kept going about how our relationship isn't a real relationship. And it got me thinking."
"...About what?" The caution had roughly doubled.
"Well, I was just thinking. We've been doing this long-distance dating thing for a while now..." She waved her claws in the air. "We're even coming up on our first anniversary."
He blinked at that. "Huh, yeah, you're right. A full decade together just next year."
Ember nodded. "And that means it's... y'know... getting pretty serious, right? And I've started thinking we might want to talk about what 'serious' is going to mean."
Spike eyed her curiously. "This didn't just come to mind today, did it? You've been thinking about this a lot."
She snorted, cracking a sardonic smile. "Well, if we end up with eggs, I'm the one laying them, so yes, I've been doing a lot of thinking." She saw his expression and the rapid colour-change of his scales it came with and rolled her eyes. "Flames, you are still so skittish about the weirdest things."
"You thought that far!?" he burst out while trying to cover up the blush.
"Yeah Spike, I did, because if things keep going, that talk's kinda inevitable. We're coming up on our first anniversary. My parents settled down on their second."
"Well yeah, but... I just... we..."
Ember studied him. Spike being flustered by the topic was one thing, but she realized that he looked downright uncomfortable in how he was fidgeting on his cushion, grabbing at his tail like a young, nervous drake would and struggling with his words. She frowned. "Do you not... want kids? Because that's okay. That's why I wanted to talk about it, to make sure we're on the same page."
"I..." He continued to hold his own tail in a vice grip, the single word hanging in the air with no follow up.
Ember's voice softened as realization fell over her. "Are you worried about raising drakes?"
He was silent a little while longer, before he admitted quietly, "A little." He let go of his tail, running his claws over his spines. "I was raised by ponies. How do I raise dragons?"
"Well..." She offered a reassuring smile. "Those ponies raised a pretty good dragon, so I'd say just do what they did." She playfully nudged his arm. "Besides, you'll have me, you goof."
He didn't look convinced. "But... is that enough?" He held up a claw to forestall the next bit of reassurance. "That's not feelings of inadequacy talking. That's practicality. You're the Dragon Lord and I'm an Equestrian diplomat. Do we have the time to dedicate to starting a family?"
Ember went quiet. She took another deep breath. "That's part of why I wanted to talk. My Dad was Dragon Lord when I was growing up, but Mom was always here in the Dragonlands." She leaned back, looking at the ceiling of the cave. The stalactites needed some cleaning and polishing. "But I mean... we can't be the most busy potential parents in the world. I'm sure we can make it work."
Spike snorted a small laugh. "Yeah, we're definitely not. That's probably my big brother and his wife." Her blank look must have shown, because he rolled his eyes at her. "Oh come on, you've met Cadance and Shining Armour, and I know for a fact you remember Cadance at least."
"I remember her!" She said quickly, holding up her claws defensively. "And I remember your brother. He stands out. And I know she's a ruler, but why are they even busier than us?"
"Because it isn't just that Cadance is the Crystal Princess, Shining Armour has also been juggling being the Crystal Prince and being Captain of Equestria's Royal Guard."
Ember blinked several times. "...Wait wait wait." She waved her claws in the air, then made a time out motion. "Your brother's one of the rulers of one nation, and runs the guard of another? Is that... allowed?"
He gave her a flat look. "Equestria and the Crystal Empire have been allies for ages."
"Still! That sounds real sketchy to me."
The look flattened further. "Ember. He's my brother. He's one of the most trustworthy ponies ever."
She raised an eye ridge. "The same brother who almost lynched Thorax?"
"That was... a misunderstanding." He waved away the topic. "What I'm getting at is, they raised a foal together, and Flurry Heart turned out pretty alright."
The ridge raised even higher. "...Isn't Flurry Heart the one who broke some big magical artefact?"
"By accident! As a baby! And they fixed it!" He huffed a sigh. "Look, you just said that doing what my adoptive parents did would work out fine. Why not look for advice from more of my family?"
"You have a point..." She shrugged. "Okay, let's go see your brother and sister-in-law and see what they think."
With that, the Scrabble game resumed. The serious conversation had only delayed the inevitable, and Ember was, as usual, utterly obliterated. The resulting squabbling, as she demanded he get up so that she could check under his cushion for a hidden dictionary, then consulted her own dictionary--the bookshelf was new, and enchanted with every fireproofing spell known to sapientkind--to look up several words that she was certain he'd made up, helped her finally put the heavy thoughts of the future out of her mind.
For now, at least. The trip to the Crystal Empire was going to be sooner rather than later, and she would have to figure out what to say so not to embarrass herself in asking for advice.
It was just talking to her partner's family. She'd done that before. Easy, right?