A Night at the Crystal Fair (Hybrid Theory one-off)

>Khoa and Daze travel up the road that leads to the Crystal Palace in the illustrious Crystal Empire.
>The streets are alive with the hustle and bustle of crystalline ponies preparing themselves for the famous Crystal Fair.
>Despite the crystal ponies' haste, they still take the time to stop and stare at the two dragons dressed in royal guard apparel making their way down the street.
>Daze, opting against armor and instead clad in a leather jacket with a ripped shirt and shorts, wears her badge around her neck.
>She lifts her white scaled hand to her face, blocking the light from the sun so she can glare more effectively at the ponies glancing at them.
>"fuckin' 'ell, does everything have to reflect light in this bloody empire?!"
>Khoa, adorned in the traditional guard armor, fidgets with the metal plating around her torso.
>It had been specially made for her since she had been only the second dragon guardsman, but it still got a bit tight after meals.
"Well, it is the /Crystal/ Empire, what did you expect?"
>Daze takes off her jacket, exposing the white scales of her arms and midriff, and positions it like a leather hood on her curled horns and messy hair, sufficiently blocking the majority of the light assaulting her.
>"A spot o' subtlety wouldn't hurt..."
>Khoa chuckles to herself. That's quite the roll reversal: Daze, the Irate former brit, asking by-the-books Khoa for /subtlety/.
"Try to be more optimistic, Shining Armor called us here personally! Do you know what that means?"
>She answers dryly, clearly not interested in the conversation.
>"it means he doesn't hold a grudge against me for callin' his girl a bint?"
"Uh, yeah, basically. It means that he trusts us! We've been his most effective guards lately, and that means we get better positions, like this!"
>Khoa gestures with her arms at the vending stalls and attractions being erected in the streets around them.

"We'll be patrolling the streets during the festival! We might be able to play a few games and maybe even make it a proper date!"
>Khoa all but swooned thinking about it. The two dragon partners had just recently started a romantic relationship together, but seldom have had the chance to go on an actual date, until now that is.
>Daze looked down at her, surprised.
>"Are you implying we abandon our post to fool around?"
>Khoa puts a hand to her chest dramatically, looking offended.
"I would never suggest that! Buuut, if we finish our patrols early, we might be able to indulge ourselves...surreptitiously."
>Daze smiles mischievously, and speaks in a mocking tone.
>"So scandalous! I think I'm startin' to corrupt you, mate."
>Both of them laugh as they reach the entrance to the palace and step inside.
>Once inside, the words seem to leave them. The inside of the palace is breathtaking.
>Large windows line the walls, letting light in that reflects off of the crystal interior. Long purplish rugs pave the way through the halls, and matching banners depicting the empire's snowflake emblem hang between the windows.
"We've been to Canterlot, and even still this is amazing! And Shining Armor is like...the king now?!"
>"The cunt's gotten quite the promotion, that's for sure."
>Daze points a thumb in the direction of one of the crystal pony guards.
>"Even his new men are all posh an' shit!"
>The guard raises an eyebrow in confusion.
>"Excuse me?"
>She snaps her head toward him with a scowl.
>"Oi! I was talkin' /about/ you, not to you! Ye sparkly, faggoty little twat!"
>The guard goes back to standing at attention, more confused than anything else.
>As is the norm for Daze in Equestria. British is like another language to these ponies.

>As they step down a hallway that isn't populated by any guards, Khoa stops Daze.
"I know this may be hard for you, but I'm gonna have to ask you to tone down the 'Daze' shit in front of Shining Armor this time."
>The white dragon sucks in a breath through clenched teeth.
>"You're asking a lot, mate, I love rustlin' that cunt's jimmies too much. I've got quite the list of things to tell that bellend when we see 'im."
>Without warning, Khoa leans in and hugs her partner at the waist.
>Caught off guard, Daze raises her arms as if to drop something.
"Pleeaase? For me?"
>Khoa smiles to herself as she buries her face further into her partner's stomach. The added bonus of their relationship is that Khoa can now /sometimes/ manipulate Daze into listening for once.
>Khoa tilts her head so her left eye can see her girlfriend's reaction.
>Her hands, still outstretched in shock, curl into fists, and she lets out a prolonged groan.
>"Uuuugghh, fine! why do ye have to shit on my fun?!"
"Because I like being able to go to my job! There's a girl there that I have a crush on, a real renegade. She's got the attitude of a badger, but deep down she's sweet."
>Daze rolls her eyes, and then grabs Khoa by the shoulders and holds her at arms length.
>"Well you tell that bitch you're taken, yeah? Now get walkin' before I start vomiting flames."
>She turns the smaller drake around and shoves her in the direction of the throne room, following close behind.
>The crystal ponies guarding the door to the throne room side-step as the dragons move to enter.
>Inside, a scene that Khoa and Daze were no stranger to unfolds.
>Shining armor addresses a few soldiers, standing next to a large table with a myriad of papers scattered across it.

>Khoa whispers to Daze as they walk
"He's doing the same shit, just in a different room..."
>With a wave of his hoof, Shining Armor dismisses the ponies he had been talking to, and turns to regard his new visitors.
>He stifles a yelp and arrows his eyes in apprehension as Daze sneaks up on him and lays an arm around the back of his neck.
>"Ay-up, ya naff cu- I mean, uh..."
>She looks from Shining to Khoa before sighing
>"What's our assignment...?"
>The unicorn awkwardly wiggles free of her arm and takes a few steps back.
>SA: "If you recall from last time, I requested you stay at least ten feet away from me at all times."
>She scratches the back of her neck and looks to the floor.
>"Listen, right, I didn't know how aggressive this world's pumas were, and I didn't think the stuff in that bin was /that/ acidic. It won't happen again...probably."
>He appears to shake off some persisting annoyance and regain his composure.
>SA: "Lets just get to business. I need you two here because you're my most..."
>He struggles to get past his apprehension.
>SA: "...reliable soldiers. The Crystal Fair isn't like you average Fair it's a holiday here, so it's on a much larger scale. The crystal ponies also have much stronger brews of alcohol than what we're used to in the rest of Equestria."
>Daze's knees almost give out, and she grabs onto the table for support.
>"You tellin' me I can get a pint above five percent 'ere?!"

>SA: "When you're /off/ duty! The Faire could get a little rowdy, so I need my two strongest guards keeping watch."
>With his horn, he levitates a small stack of papers into each of the dragons' hands.
>SA: "There's a local list of wanted criminals in case you see any, a list of vendors that have been approved for sale, and a local map of the area. I believe you already know where the barracks are, you are dismissed."
>Khoa helps Daze to walk out of the throne room and down the hall, as her knees are still week.
>When they're both out of ear and eye-shot, Khoa spins Daze around and throws her to the floor.
>She kneels down next to her and points a sharp, accusing clawed finger up under Daze's threat.
"You listen here, I've been thinking about this Faire ever since we got summoned by Shining Armor! If you think I'm gonna let you fuck up our date by getting black-out drunk, you're out of your fucking mind!"
>Daze's eyes go wide and she crab walks backward until she's against the wall.
>"But the only drinks I've 'ad since comin' 'ere is either the weak-arse piss water they got in Ponyville or the shit I make in the cellar!"
"I don't care if they have the very last bottle of Jack! No Daze antics!"
>"But-"
"No starting fires!"
>She hangs her head and stands up, dusting herself off.
>"I'll go on this date, but then I'll need a stiff one. You can fight me all you want, but I'll go insane if I have to drink cellar booze for the rest of my life..."
"That's all I'm gonna get from you, isn't it?"
>She nods, and they continue walking toward the barracks as Khoa dusts off the back of her partner's jacket.

>Garrison shakes and shivers like an old mare as he and Ikra trudge through the deep snow of the frozen north.
>The thick cloak he wears helps against the cold, but is practically powerless against the oppressive wind chill.
>The only sounds that they've heard for hours now is the howling of the wind, the crunching of the snow, and the chattering of Garrison's teeth.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually miss the dragon lands! At least it stayed warm during the day."
>"Oh come on, it isn't that bad!"
>Ikra marches next to him with her chin in the air and a smile on her face.
"Easy for you to say, we can't all have the elemental resistances of a dragon like you do."
>She breathes out a "hmph" and bumps him with her hip, causing him to topple over into the snow.
>He sucks in a breath as the cold snow envelopes him. He stands up on trembling legs and hugs the cloak closer to him.
>He's about to retort when she interrupts him.
>"You don't get to complain about the cold, this was you're idea after all! I don't even know where we're going!"
>He continues walking again, and She follows close behind.
"I told you, it's a surprise."
>The real surprise was just how cold it was up here, but Garrison braved the weather so he could see the look on Ikra's face when she gets her first look at the Crystal Empire.
>It's perfect timing too, as the citizens of the empire are celebrating one of their holidays with the Crystal Fair!
>He had made a promise to her that he'd show her the wonders of the world when they got out of slavery, and that's exactly what he intended to do.
>She'd get to sleep in a proper bed, meet people who weren't criminally insane, and he'd make sure she tried a hayburger, along with the myriad of other fair foods.

>"You keep saying that, 'surprise', but what could be out here that's so special? It's a wasteland! What even is this stuff?!"
>She gestures to the snow all around them.
>Garrison smiles to himself. She's lived in the desert her whole life. She's no stranger to extreme temperatures, but she's never actually seen snow, or any large bodies of water for that matter...
>He hums thoughtfully. How to explain snow...?
"You know about rain, right?"
>Her lips purse as she tries to remember.
>"Uh...that's like, how water gets here right? The clouds? I think it happened a few times back in the dragon lands."
"Basically. Well, this is just frozen rain."
>She throws him a sideways glance.
>"This isn't ice, is is solid and clear, this stuff is all white and fluffy!"
>He pulls off his scarf and gives it to her.
"Here, catch some of the flakes on this. Look closely, the rain freezes into really cool shapes, they say no two flakes are alike."
>She all but presses her eye to the scarf as it accumulates snowflakes, examining each one as if falls.
>"Oooooo~"
>Garrison sighs in relief internally. Good, maybe now he can finish the journey without being interrogated.
>In the distance he can see a large hill, and above it sparkles the light of the morning sun reflecting off of the Crystal Empire.
>Finally, they're almost there, it's just over that hill!
>He breaks into a sprint, trying his damndest not to fall over, and Ikra quickly jumps to follow him.
>"Hey, wait up!"
>Garrison reaches the peak of the hill and is almost blinded by the light of the empire.
>He turns to face Ikra, who slows to a walk as she eyes him cautiously. Once she reaches the top of the hill, she looks past him to the empire below and gasps at the beautiful sight before her.
>Garrison too almost gasps, for he also has quite the beautiful sight in his eyes.

>Ikra, smiling bright with her pearly sharp teeth, her long messy black hair billowing in the harsh wind, and the light of the empire making her bright green eyes shine even brighter.
>"It's gorgeous!"
"It sure is...t-the city, I mean."
>"Well duh, I'm not talking about the snow!"
>She takes off running again toward the empire with Garrison at her side, talking to each other between ragged breaths as they struggle through the deep snow.
>"There's...other ponies there? And they're nice?"
"Yeah! And there's games...and food...and drinks!"
>They run as fast as the snow will allow until they reach the edge of the magic bubble protecting the empire. Ikra stops before they reach the line of ponies waiting to gain admittance, grabs the cloak off of Garrison, and wraps it around her.
>He tries to object, but she interrupts him.
>"They've never seen a naga like me have they? I need to hide so they don't freak out when they see that I'm a monster.
>He smirks and yanks the cloak off of her, claiming it once more.
"These are crystal ponies from an empire lost for a thousand years! They've seen stranger things, you'll be fine! It'd be a shame to cover yourself, you're so...unique, and special."
>Her face flushes, and her eyes glimmer with would-be tears.
>"Really?"
"Really!"
>They stare into each other's eyes before the moment is interrupted by one of the guards shouting from afar.
>"Are you two seeking entry?! The line starts here!"
>They both turn to face the guard. He stands at the back of a line of ponies waiting to be permitted to enter the city.
>Garrison begins trotting toward the line, and Ikra reluctantly accompanies him.
>Oooh's and aah's come from the ponies standing in line as they watch the Hybrid approaching them. Some have looks of curiosity, others have looks of fear.
>They come to a stop at the back of the line where a young filly turns around to gawk at the naga.
>"Mommy, she looks cool!"
>The other ponies' looks of concern melt away as Ikra and the filly share a laugh.

>Once they were inside the empire, they walked with the crowd of other ponies along the crystalline road leading to the fair.
>Streamers sway in the breeze and party flags hang between various houses.
>Garrison can already faintly smell the many fair foods in the distance, and he suspects that Ikra has been able to smell it for a while now because of her superior nose.
>His theory is confirmed when he looks over to see drool dripping off of her slender forked tongue.
"We can try everything."
>"huh?"
>She meets his gaze. Her face briefly flushes red as she wonders how long he's been staring.
"All that food, we can try a little of everything! I know /I'm/ dying for some caramel apples right now..."
>She looks confused now.
"Apples are a fruit...and caramel is...never mind, you'll see."
>His smile never left his face as they day went on, and it even got more and more dreamy without his knowledge.
>He was entranced by his naga friend. The way she gaped at the crystal roads and structures because she could see her reflection it them, the disconcerting way she had asked for meat after taking her first bite of a hayburger, the way her face scrunched up when she tasted a lemon for the first time, and the battle of emotions on her face as she fought between her excitement and social anxiety.
>She was becoming more intoxicating the longer he stayed in her presence. He had known her for a few years, but never this intimately. He never got to stand so close to her and feel the energy radiating from her, he never got to touch her smooth scales or her thick mane, and he certainly never saw her with a genuine smile that wasn't full of bloodlust.
>You'd never guess if you knew just how many ponies she's killed, but she has the innocence of a filly.

>Even though she was older than him by a few years, he had always seen her as a little sister: someone to watch over, to give advice to, to protect. Her wisdom of the world is so lacking that she seems so much younger than she is.
>Despite this, Garrison has slowly begun to see Ikra as less of a little sister, and more of an adult mare...or dragoness, whatever she calls herself.
>To have his view of his closest friend change so drastically without his direct knowledge was a surreal experience, and he had just now realized it.
>He now sits across from her at a table situated outside of an Apple stand. Ikra had wanted to try a caramel apple ever since Garrison had mentioned them.
>He figured this particular stand had to be the most legit, as the ponies running it were literally named 'Apple'. A cute farm mare around his age initially caught his eye because she had an orange coat similar to his.
>He watches her with an amused smile as she struggles to eat the apple with her awkwardly sharp teeth.
>She finally gives up on subtly and chomps down on it. The apple crunches rather loudly, and juice and caramel gets all over her lips.
>She hums in delight as she tastes the treat, but Garrison is at a loss for words.
>He keeps staring at her lips as her long nimble tongue licks them clean of the caramel and apple juice. He wants nothing more than to just lean in and-
>"Why are you looking at me like that?"
>As she asks, a fantasy enters Garrisons head. In his mind's eye, he sees her teeth clench in a mischievous smile before she says in a sultry tone: "Your eyes look hungry, like you want to take a bite out of me." She lets out a susurrus moan before continuing. "Not if I bite first..." she then leans in to give him the most passionate kiss of his life. Messy black hair tangling with his own, and her deft tongue dancing in his mouth as she grabs the back of his neck and pulls him in closer, her claws digging into his flesh in painful ecstasy.

>The fantasy ends in a split second as Ikra tilts her head to the side in confusion.
>She leans in, glancing around cautiously with her head down and whispers:
>"And why are you leaning in? Do you see something suspicious?!"
>The heat in his face threatens to cook his brain as he tries to shake his rogue fantasy from his mind and get back to the real world.
>'Where in Tartarus did /that/ come from?!' Garrison thinks. 'No time for questions, you need damage control!'
"Uuuhhhh..."
>He glances around as subtly as he can for a scape-goat, shutting his eyes tight for a moment as another vision of the seductive Ikra from his fantasies flashes before him once more.
>There it is! There.../she/ is! Perfect scape-goat material!
"There. Behind you, see that? It's a dragon! And she's wearing royal guard armor!"
>About a hundred yards from their table stands a golden dragon in guard uniform, rotating her head around as if looking for someone. She's pretty exasperated by the look of things.
>Garrison wonders how he didn't see something so out of place like that sooner! Oh wait, he knows why he didn't see it, he had been too busy staring at Ikra's lithe bod- never mind.
>"Woah! Wait, what's so special about that?"
"Last I checked, dragons were never part of the royal guard. They had never been motivated or trusted enough to keep the peace. How strange..."
>He was actually glad he caught a glimpse of her, as he's genuinely curious about her now.
"What do you say we go talk to her?"
>Ikra bites her lip.
>"T-talk to her? She's a guard, what if she thinks I'm dangerous? What if-?"
>He places a comforting hoof on her shoulder.
"Hey, relax, it'll be fine. I gotta hear the story behind this!"

>Ikra studies Garrison as he observes the golden dragon in the distance.
>She really didn't want to talk to an authority figure. When she first saw the beauty of the empire, it was almost immediately ruined by the thought that she and Garrison would have to share it with other beings.
>Despite what he said, she didn't believe all of these beings would be as nice as they have been. The only trait she's experienced in most people she's ever known is hostility.
>This entire time she's been ready to lash out. She's been waiting for someone to challenge her or insult her, she has had it in her head to not take any nonsense from anyone, but she was caught off guard by the benevolence of the populace.
>She can admit that she's wrong, but guards still don't sit right with her. Their armor may be more shiny, but their authority will surely drive them to corruption like the thugs she's used to.
>She turns her focus to the small dragon and formulates a plan.
>'She's shorter than most dragons, that puts her at a reach disadvantage. She has a sword at her hip, but edges prove useless against your scales. If she wants to waste time grabbing for it, let her. When push comes to shove, go for the eyes, it's the weakest point on a drake.'
>Her gaze again turns to her pony friend, and she feels the ice around her heart melt when she sees the goofy smile on his face.
>That darn smile has been plastered on his face ever since they saw the empire from the top of that hill. Clearly he feels comfortable here and trusts these ponies, and yet Ikra has been formulating plans to kill everyone she's seen!
>She swallows back her apprehension. She'll try to trust these beings more, she owes Garrison that much.
>This has been the best day of her entire life, and it's all because of him. He's shown her so many new experiences, it makes her wonder why he does it.

>She can understand the concept of friendship, but to do so much for her without thought of personal gain...it makes her feel uncomfortable, but in a good way.
>The way he looks at her, the way he touches her sometimes, the effort he pours into everything he does, it gives her a foreign feeling she's never known: the feeling of being wanted, of being cared for. Not even Bomber made her feel this way.
>She certainly doesn't feel worthy of such praise. She's fine with the roaring fans of the arena, she's fine with the kobolds being overly enthusiastic about her draconic heritage, and she's fine with the loyalty of her former team, but a bloodthirsty killing machine like her doesn't deserve...this.
>Just when she starts to feel depressed, Garrison's voice cuts through her sadness.
>"Once you finish that caramel apple we can go talk to her, you guys might find something in common, being dragons and all."
>She holds the apple near her face and examines it. 'There has to be a less messy way to eat these delicious things.' She thinks. 'Maybe if I get the caramel off first...'
>She opens her mouth and closes her eyes in anticipation as her serpentine tongue wraps around the half eaten apple, practically polishing it until all of the caramel is gone and the red skin underneath shines in the light.
>Her meals consisted of mystery meat for most of her life, this was absolutely fantastic. She lets out an involuntary moan as she slurps it up and eats the rest of the apple.
>Her eyes are startled open by a loud thud. She looks down to see Garrison's head resting on the table awkwardly.
"Gary?!"
>He twitches and his head shoots up from the table as he regains consciousness.
"Did you just pass out?!"
>He looks around, dazed and with red cheeks.
>"Uh, y-yeah, it must be hotter out here than I thought! I'll have to get some water!"
>He gets up and wobbles clumsily to the nearest water stand as Ikra watches him with concern.

>He buys a big glass of water and shotguns it, then dabs his forehead with a towel and returns to the table where Ikra waits.
>"why don't we go talk to the dragon now."
>His voice sounds jittery.
>He regains most of his composure and walks toward the dragon, who looks less exasperated and more resigned now.
>"Hey there, the names Garrison, you're the first dragon guard I've ever seen! When did they start letting you in?!"
>The dragon cocks a smile and puffs out her chest, obviously proud of her position.
>"I'm Khoa! I happen to be a special case. They don't consider most dragons eligible for the task, but I managed. Though, I wasn't the first..."
>Her face then scrunches up, as if the recollection of the "first" one brings her displeasure.
>"I was actually looking for that piece of sh- well, never mind. It's not important."
>Garrison goes on to compliment her customized armor and ask about its specifications.
>Ikra has gone largely unnoticed because she positioned herself directly behind him so she could peer over his shoulder at the yellow dragon. Hopefully she wouldn't talk to her.
>She looks around the fair as she waits patiently for the conversation to be over, mainly back at that apple stand. As she contemplates getting another one of those candy apples, something purple catches her eye.
>Before she can look closer, it ducks behind some of the barrels of apple cider. Weird...
>"...And this is my friend Ikra!"
>She tunes back into the conversation long enough to see Garrison look to his left and right for Ikra, and finally spinning around to see her hiding behind him.
>She gives him a sheepish grin as he shakes his head, smiling.
>He shoves her forward into the dragon's full vision, and she practically yells her overly monotone and rehearsed introduction.
"Hello! I am Ikra! Nice to meet you! Do not be alarmed by my anatomy!"
>Khoa smiles as she looks her over.

>"A pleasure, and don't worry, I've seen worse. One asshole in particular that I know is like 9 animals in one."
>'Wow!' Ikra thinks. 'She doesn't hate me! I'm getting so good at this!'
>Garrison takes control of the conversation again, telling Khoa about some of their smaller adventures.
>Ikra was basking in her charismatic excellence, when she sees purple out of the corner of her eye once more.
>She turns back toward the apple stand and almost gasps. There, next to the apple stand, is a purple quadrupedal dragon! It's like no other dragon she's ever seen, and she's seen tons! Her scales are less like armor, and more smooth and shiny. She doesn't have spikes, but rather...webbed fins! She has wings protruding from her shoulder blades, but both act as third and fourth arms and are curled around 2 barrels of cider as her main arms walk her forward!
>She's so...badass! Those barrels must weigh a ton, and she's carrying two of them with her wings!
>Ikra practically squeals as she examines the dragon further. The four arms, the claws, the horns, the strength but also the agility! She would be a magnificent fighter!
"Oh my gosh!"
>She said it a lot louder than she would've preferred.
>The other two stare at her in confusion.
"Look at that dragon! She's so cool!"
>Khoa looks almost hurt.
>"I mean...she's cool for a dragon, I guess..."
>"Why don't you go talk to her?"
>Garrison's question slaps her upside the head.
"T-talk to her? Are you nuts?!"
>"well, why not?"
"'Why not'?! 'Why not'?! ....I don't know."
>She bites her lower lip. 'I guess I /am/ getting pretty good at making friends...' she thinks.
>She decides to suck it up and go try to make another friend.

>Garrison watches, expecting Ikra to walk over to the apple stand and make some conversation, but instead she remains where she is, staring intently at purple drake.
>He follows her gaze and sees the purple dragon set down the barrels of cider she was carrying and exchange glances with another pony at the stand, a red one with orange hair and green eyes.
>He's a large one. Garrison always prided himself on his build, and he regained a lot of his physique after he escaped from slavery, but this guy was something else.
>Looking exhausted, the large red pony yawns, and the purple dragon winks at him.
>Garrison tries to continue his conversation with his new guard friend, but Ikra remains still, regarding the purple dragon for several more seconds.
"Are you trying to figure out how to kill her?" Garrison asks.
>It only now occurs to her that she's been staring quite intently at the drake for a while now.
"Heh...how did you know?"
>'It's not hard to figure out' he thinks. 'Every time she sees someone new, she always pauses for a second or two to evaluate them, this dragon must be especially hard for her to figure out for it to take so long.'
"You always do it. I bet you have a plan to kill everyone here..."
>Khoa leans in, concerned.
>"Say what, now?!"
>They both ignore her, and Garrison continues.
"D-do you have a plan to kill me too?"
>He shudders as his mind begins to wander again, and another fantasy comes to him.
>In his mind, Ikra's eyes go half-lidded as she gives him a wry smile.
>"Actually, I don't. Would you mind giving me a hint? What's your weakness, Gary? What's your most...tender spot?"
>She leans in, almost touching her face to his, and he subconsciously holds his breath.

>"Is it your neck?"
>She closes her eyes and begins kissing his neck. She opens her mouth again and scrapes her fangs against the sensitive flesh, her warm moist breath brushing against his throat as she begins to lick him.
>"...Or is it something else?"
>She side steps and positions her self beside him, where she runs her claws down his legs. She says something else, but he's too lost to hear it.
"W-what?"
>He stutters and lets go of the breath he had been holding in in a burst of air.
>The world comes rushing back to him. The fantasy Ikra disappears and he becomes aware of the festivities around him.
>"I said, do you /really/ want me to answer that?"
>'Depends, are you going to answer it like the Ikra in my head?' He thinks. No, he wouldn't have that much luck.
"It'd probably be best if you didn't..."
>He blinks his eyes tightly and shakes the vision from his head.
"You won't have to kill her. Come on, I'll go with you."
>Khoa moves to follow.
>"I guess I'll go say hi too. It's not everyday you see another dragon around."
>After a few steps however, a few distant screams can be heard from somewhere off in the city.
>They all look around for any sign of the source, when Khoa points to a stack of smoke in the distance.
>She mutters something under her breath angrily. Garrison thinks it sounded like 'daze'? That doesn't make sense, he must have misheard.
>"I gotta go."
>She wheels around and sprints in the direction of the cloud of smoke.
>Over the clang of her armor, they can just make out her voice saying "I swear to God!" Before it fades into the distance.

>Garrison and Ikra turn to each other and shrug before they continue walking toward the vendor.
>As they walk, Garrison becomes aware that Ikra is slowly falling behind in step so that he will have to speak with them first. Very clever...
>The red stallion greets them.
>"Eeeeyup?"
"Uh, we'd actually like to talk to the purple dragon there."
>The four armed drake turns around, obviously confused.
"My friend thinks you're really cool."
>She looks to her left and right, her eyebrows scrunching together.
>"You're talking to me right? Y-you think I'm...cool?"
"You're certainly unique, but Ikra here really likes your uh...wing situation."
>He steps to the side, revealing Ikra who had been hiding behind him yet again.
>Caught in the spot light, Ikra blurts out: "You're so awesome! I bet you could uproot a tree!"
>'Ok...that wasn't the most tactful introduction, but she's doing well so far?' Garrison watches her progress with hope.
>The other dragon gasps when she sees her.
>"You're half pony?!"
>She clumsily dashes over to her on six limbs and runs her claws through Ikra's curled black hair.
>"Oooooo~ You're so pretty!"
>Garrison turns to the red stallion for confirmation, and he looks just as stunned.
>This is by far the most bizarre introduction he's ever seen. Is it a dragon thing to be so...forward? To just bond through commenting on physical attributes? Either that, or this other dragon is just as socially awkward as Ikra is.
>Either way, it seems to be working, as they both squeal in delight from something the other said while he was absent from the conversation.

>Garrison smiles as he regards the two dragons bonding. It's like watching two fillies on a play date, except they're not fillies, they're incredibly attractive dragons.
>The purple dragon eventually introduces herself as Scylla, and the red stallion as Big Mac, how fitting.
>Garrison was glad that Ikra had made a friend out of Scylla. He wanted so bad for her to start integrating into society in a healthy way. He was worried that she was just going to spend the entire fair hiding behind him, thinking of ways to kill everyone.
>He looks over to see Scylla grabbing Ikra's tail and bringing it up to her own head, acting as if the the plume of hair at the end of it was hers.
>She looks down at her reflection in the crystal street and smiles widely.
>"I'd looks so good with hair!"
>He turns back to Mac who looks equally amused.
"You think Scylla could take a break from the apple stand? I think hanging around a new friend is exactly what Ikra needs to get her out of her shell."
>Mac's orange sister chimed in from behind them.
>"Why, that's a great idea! You should go too Mac, I can handle this with Applebloom."
>She leans in closer so the two dragon's can't hear.
>"Plus, I think them dragon folk are scarin' away all of the customers anyway..."
>With that, the four of them set upon the fair, playing every game they passed.
>Garrison and Ikra found that they were surprisingly good at the games they played. Who would've thought that deadly survival skills could be repurposed for carnival games?
>Garrison tried to win Ikra some good prizes to impress her, but she was always one step ahead of him, winning anything she wanted to get. Something told him that she wouldn't have been that impressed by it anyway, given her skill set.
>He ended up just giving his winnings to Scylla, who was more than happy to have Big Mac hold the small army of stuffed animals so she could take them back to her hoard in their barn.

>Now they walk toward the edge of the empire, planning to have a picnic on the outskirts of the city.
>The girls walk ahead of Garrison and Mac, talking about Celestia knows what.
>Little fillies and colts stare, mouth agape at the mound of prizes weighing Mac down.
>As he walks, he hands off stuffed animals to the various fillies and colts, being careful not to alert Scylla that he's giving away her hoard.
"A bit too heavy?"
>"Eeeyup." After a few seconds, Mac adds: "We're runnin' outta space in that barn..."
"So you and Scylla...you're an item?"
>"Eeeyup. You and Ikra?"
"I wish. She's not exactly the most romantic being, dragons in general aren't, come to think of it. How did /you/ manage?"
>He frowns as he thinks about it.
>"I don't know, she came on to me."
>Garrison's heart almost sinks. The one person he can talk to about romancing a violent dragon, and he's got nothing!
"What?! You mean you didn't say anything or do anything to impress her?!"
>He shakes his head in response.
"Don't you have any tips at all? You're a good lookin' guy, you've gotta be good at this!"
>"Nnnope."
>Despite his short answer, the frown on his face communicates all Garrison needs to know: He can't help him.
>The dating game was always easy for him, but Ikra isn't like any mare he's ever gone after. He hangs his head and continues walking, wracking his brain for a plan.
>A few meters ahead, Ikra walks with Scylla as they talk about anything and everything.
>Scylla's unique characteristics are a product of her being a water dragon. Ikra had been initially confused, as the largest bodies of water she'd ever seen were puddles. She had no idea that ponds, lakes, rivers, and even oceans existed.
>Like so many other things in this outside world, she thought it had been the fantasies of fellow slaves.

>Scylla had been equally interested in her as well. To be part dragon and another part pony was something she'd been dreaming of for some time now, as she wanted to be able to give her mate a foal.
>The conversation subsequently lead to them talking about the stallions behind them. Scylla started in, a mischievous grin on her face.
>"So?! How big is Garrison?!"
>She answers in a matter-of-fact, vaguely disinterested tone.
"Huh? I dunno, I'd say he's probably bigger than most of the ponies here..."
>"Really?!"
>Ikra looks over at her and cocks an eyebrow, obviously confused.
"Um...yeah, just look at him, he's right behind us. He's about as big as you and me, but Big Mac is a bit taller."
>"O-oh, I was talking about...never mind. S-so you two aren't...you know...?"
>Ikra's cocked eyebrow somehow goes up higher.
"Aren't...what?"
>With her extra set of arms, Scylla uses her thumb and finger to make a hole on one hand, and uses the second hand to jab a claw through the hole.
"What? No! I'd never gouge his eye out!"
>Scylla gasps in shock.
>"Are you telling me you're oblivious to all of this? Just think about how Garrison looks at you! I've known you for less than a day and I've seen it!"
"What are you-"
>Ikra is interrupted by the two stallions running up behind them.
>"This should be a good place to stop!"
>Garrison prepares the food, and Big Mac finally collapses under the weight of the prizes.
>Ikra shrugs off Scylla's comment and  looks around, seeming satisfied to not see any other ponies around.
"Does this mean I can fight her now?!
>Ikra had been absolutely dying to fight Scylla ever since she first saw her. Scylla had initially agreed to a small spar, albeit sheepishly, but Garrison wasn't about to let two dragons duke it out in the middle of the city.
>He nods, and Ikra cheers as she runs over to square off with her new friend.
>"Just go easy on me o-ok? I'm not a very good fighter..."

>Scylla positions herself in what could be considered a defensive stance, and Ikra charges in. Just has the naga had feared, Scylla's arms were a strong defensive mesh that she couldn't get around.
>Blow after blow just bounced off of them, and she couldn't get on either side of her.
>Finally, Ikra decides to use her secret weapon. She jumps back and takes a running start, at the last second, she uses the telekinesis in her twin horns to pry Scylla's wings apart. With her other set of arms focusing on keeping her standing, her face is wide open.
>Ikra goes to breath a quick wave of fire to show that she's won, but Scylla surprises her with a solid head-butt. As their horns connect with a thwack, Ikra's magic fails her, and Scylla's wings close in and grab her, throwing her to the ground.
>The purple dragon straddles the hybrid and prepares a final strike, but their positions are swapped as Ikra rolls and flips her around onto the ground.
>Garrison and Big Mac stare wide eyed, absolutely stupefied at the two drakes.
>Ikra and Scylla wrestle on the ground, their tails raised and their flanks on full display as they assault each other, groaning and grunting.
>The heat in Garrison's face is unlike anything he's felt before. With a great deal of strain, he manages to tear himself away from the...gripping action to glance at Big Mac.
>He's also staring at them in a way that suggests that Garrison's fantasies aren't exclusive to him...

>"Hey Mac?"
>Garrison breaks the silence, neither of them taking their focus off of the two dragons writhing on the ground and pressing themselves against each other.
"E-eeyup?"
>Mac barely stutters out his response as he absent mindedly takes a bite out of his sandwich.
"Does Scylla do that to you?"
"Nnnope."
>He sounds almost sad. He goes to take another bite of his sandwich, but he only clamps down on his own teeth.
>All of the food was gone, he and his new soldier friend must've eaten all of it while watching the riveting "show."
>"What in tarnation is goin' on here?"
>Applejack's voice rings out from behind them. Mac and Scylla's ears twitch and perk up instantly.
>However deeply concentrated Scylla was in her fight, the sound of Applejack's voice snapped her right out of it.
>Big Mac new that she was uncomfortable around his sister. Applejack could be a bit...overprotective, and she was initially unhappy about the prospect of her brother involving himself with a dangerous predator.
>Scylla's head whips up and turns to regard her lover's sister. With her fears confirmed, she yelps and tosses Ikra away from her, flinging her into a nearby tree.
>She crashes into the trunk with a loud crack and an audible 'oof', and the tree topples over with a cacophony of loud creaking and squeaking.
>Applejack gasps, and Scylla shrinks away sheepishly.
>"Golly, you think she's alright?!"
>"S-She'll be fine. She's taken worse hits..."
>Garrison stares at the tree and then at Scylla in amazement, then winces.
>A few seconds later, they hear Ikra cheer faintly in the distance.
>"Woohooo! That was awesome!"
>Once she was sure that no one was hurt, Applejack wheeled on Big Mac.
>"What were you thinkin', encouragin' those dragons to fight like that? You know how aggressive they get, they coulda hurt someone...or themselves!"
"I don't know sis, they seemed fine to me..."

>"Yeah, besides, I don't think you give dragons enough credit, they can control themselves just fine. Did you see the way they were moving...?"
>She takes a moment to regard both of the stallion's in front of her, and their blank, heated faces tell her all she needs to know.
>She narrows her eyes at them. Mac flinches, he knows from experience that you can't lie to her, she reads faces too well.
>"You were watchin' 'em...ugh, you boys are somethin' else you know that?"
>Garrison rubs the back of his neck.
>"Heh, what can I say?"
>"It'd probably be best if you didn't say anythin'. Now listen, night time's a' comin', so I need you back at the stand, we're gonna be sellin' a lot of cider real soon."
>Applejack begins walking back the way she came, but pauses and turns around when the two stallions don't follow.
>The two of them remain sitting on the blanket with awkward smiles.
>"Well?! Git off your behinds and lets go!"
"I'd rather not stand up...just yet."
>Big Mac 'eeeyups' in agreement, and Applejack groans in frustration as she slides a hoof down her face.
>"Stallions..."
>After the "swelling" went down, they packed up the blanket, saddled Big Mac with the hoard of plushy animals, and set off to return to the Apple's stand.
>Mac walks beside Scylla as they go, disappointed that he can no longer lessen his load by giving away her prizes, while Ikra and Garrison walk together a few meters behind.
>Half the empire can hear Ikra raving about her fight with her new friend.
>"I almost had her, and then she head-butted me! It hurt...like, /really/ bad! I think my horns are more fragile like a unicorn's rather than a dragon's. And did you see how far she threw me?!"
>Garrison tried to keep up with the conversation, but he wasn't as fast.
>"Y-yeah, I saw the whole thing. You were.../amazing/...you both were."
>Scylla had initially felt bad for rocketing her friend into a tree, but Ikra's praise lessened her guilt.

>She now talks to Mac about the things she's learned about her new friend.
>"...So I was talking to her, and I asked her...well, I asked her something, and it turns out, she's oblivious to mating!"
"What were ya talkin' about that made ya realize that?"
>"Uuuh, n-nothing! Just small talk! She must've spent a long time alone in the desert to be so dense, I feel bad for 'ol Garrison."
>Mac chuckles to himself. He doesn't mention the fact that there was a time not long ago when Scylla was in a similar position.
>She had shown up to the farm out of nowhere and had no idea who and where she was. She had hid on the farm for the longest time, refusing to talk to anyone outside of the Apple family.
>It took a while to get her a while to get comfortable here, and even still she's a nervous wreck whenever she leaves the barn. It took quite a bit of coercion to get her to come to the Crystal Empire at all.
>He was so happy that Ikra had come along when she did. Scylla was feeling out of place and awkward from the stares she was getting, having a similarly foreign friend is just what she needs.
>When they arrive at the stand, they find it surrounded by ponies demanding their cider while a frantic Applebloom struggles to fulfill their orders.
"You left her here alone?"
>Applejack glares at her brother.
>"I didn't take your "swellin" into account when I went to come getcha!"
>Ikra cocks her head curiously.
>"Swelling? Did you and Garrison do some sparring while we weren't looking?"
"Uuuhh...e-eeyup"
>"ooooo~ I bet Gary won, didn't he?!"
>Applejack sniffs.
>"Neither of 'em won, sugar cube, they're both losers."
>Ikra looks to Garrison and expresses her confusion. While he tries to redirect their conversation, Mac and Applejack get to work helping their younger sister with the business.
>Ikra and Garrison eventually decide to take a seat next to the stand and take a small rest.

>"I'm feeling a bit hungry since you and Mac ate all the food. I could sure go for another one of those caramel apples."
>Her mouth begins to water and she licks her lips in anticipation.
>"NO! I-I mean...*ahem*, why don't you just have a regular apple instead, or maybe some cider?"
>"Cider? What's that?"
>A loud clanging rings out as Scylla trips over her extra arms. She corrects herself and then brings a few tankards of the cider over and sets them on the table.
>"You've never had cider before?! It's fantastic! The Apples make it extra hard, that's why it's so good!"
>Ikra peers over the rim of he tankard at the foreign liquid inside. She raises her nostrils and sniffs at it, only for her face to scrunch up like it did when she ate her first lemon.
>"Hrm, well if it tastes anything like it smells, I don't think I see the appeal..."
>Several tall glasses of cider later, the two dragons dance around in circles giggling maniacally.
>Garrison turns to Big Mac, who is handing a random pony a tankard of the cider.
>"I think she likes it."
"Eeeyup."

>'Alcohol, my sweet mistress, why do you do this to me? I show you such love, and you only hurt me.'
>Daze stumbles down an alley between two buildings in a drunken haze, her claws digging into the crystal walls for stability.
>In hindsight, this wasn't a very good idea...at all. The last time she got blackout drunk, she fell into another world, lost her dick, and grew a tail, tits, and hips. But hindsight doesn't give brownie points does it? Nope, it won't put out that fire, it won't fix her liver, and it definitely won't sit well with the 'ol girlfriend either...
>It all started with a bottle of wine. Normally, Daze would say that wine is for MILF's or alcoholics in denial, but this was some special shit. Apparently, King Some'bitch, or...King Sombrero, whatever that bellend's name was, he made the empire disappear for a thousand years. That's quite a long time for wine to ferment...
>How was she supposed to resist that?! There was no way she could pass up such an opportunity, so she dipped the first chance she got. From then on, things only got more and more hazy.
>She remembered drinking the glass of wine, then the bottle, then another one. She recalls eating meat, but considering it's a fair full of ponies, she has no fuckin' clue where she got it. Lastly, she remembers some fuck-wit at the bar she just left, and a large fire breaking out.
>She pauses when she reaches a dumpster, and leans into its opening to barf, but there's no vomit. Only a burst of fire comes from her belly, amplified by the strong alcohol.
>Now she has to add a dumpster fire to her list list...whoops. Slumping down to the ground, she rests her face on the side of the dumpster, its cold surface cooling her flushed face.
>She wants to scoff, but hiccups instead. Those pompous twats, even their /dumpsters/ are made of fuckin' crystal.
>"Where is she?!"

>Khoa's voice rings out from beyond the alley. Daze is almost brought to sobriety at the sound of it, and she scurries to the side of the dumpster and covers herself with some cardboard.
>As she lay under the cardboard, the glass bottle in her grip betrays her position as it rattles against the ground from the shaking of her arm. She sets it down on its side to silence it, what little alcohol that remains threatens to spill from the opening.
>Through a gap in her cover, light seeps in and allows her to see waves in the alcohol as the footsteps of her lover stomp down the alley in search of her.
>She can hear her rough scaled hand rub against the crystal walls as she no doubt examines the signature of Daze's claws from before.
>Suddenly, all goes silent. Daze imagines her golden girlfriend scanning the alley for any further trace of her. She's completely still, staring out of the gap in the cardboard at the dancing shadows from the firelight for any sign of life.
>A golden foot claw suddenly stomps down outside of her box fort with great force! Daze feels a strong urge to start coughing, but she holds it in with every fiber of her being. Her lungs burn as she waits for the threat to pass.
>Khoa's ragged and menacing breathing accompany her footfalls.
>Eventually, the sound goes away and she hears the clanking of armor growing faint. She begins to wheeze and cough as silently as she can, but her sudden jerking causes her bottle to roll out into the clearing, its hollow clattering echoing off off the walls!
>She's been had! She throws the flat boxes off of her and jumps to her feet, booking it toward the entrance to the alley. The light from the fire behind her grows exponentially brighter as Khoa roars, the fire from her belly joining with the dumpster's blaze!

>For about five seconds, Daze becomes quadrupedal as she scrambles around the corner and onto the street, just barely dodging a broken wagon wheel as it soars past her from the alley.
>She ducks into the pub she had just left before Khoa could reach the street. Once inside, the bartender glares at her. That's the fuck-wit she remembers...
>"Hey! You're lucky we got that fire put out, are you gonna pay for that or what?!"
>No time. She Bo Dukes it across the bar top and takes out her sword with a metallic ring. She goes prone behind the counter and points the tip of it at Mr.Fuckman.
"Listen to me, I'm not here! You didn't see where I went, understand?!"
>His eyes go wide and he nods, gulping.
>Within seconds, the door opens, and Daze hears the all too familiar footsteps once again walking cautiously through the pub. She peeks around the side of the counter, but quickly whips her head back to safety when Khoa turns in her direction.
>"Where's the dragon?"
>"T-the dragon...miss?"
>"I know the dragon set fire to this place."
>He stutters and stumbles over his words as she pulls out a stool and takes a seat.
>"What I wanna know is: why would you lie to me? It set fire to your bar after all..."
>Sir Fucker starts to sweat. Just when it looks like he's about to break, Daze jabs the end of her blade into his back leg.
>"I-I didn't see what happened, I don't know where she went!"
>Daze starts to make out a tapping sound as Khoa drums her clawed fingers on the table impatiently.
>"That's interesting, I don't remember mentioning the dragon's gender. So what is it, did she pay you to lie to me? Or maybe...you're /hiding/ her!"
>She punctuates her statement by driving her own blade through the counter. The tip  of the sword exits very close to Daze's head, and she again shoots up.
>The silence becomes tangible as Khoa glares at her, the flames of the nine hells burning in her eyes.
"H-hey babe, I was just looking for y- *hic* y-you..."

>"Looking for me...in a bar. Funny, I think I remember telling you that there was to be no drinking today."
"Well, it's just that-"
>"/And/, I recall you agreeing to at least keep it in moderation. Oh, and I think there was something about not setting fires as well."
>Khoa pauses to yank her word out of the counter. Daze capitalizes on the distraction, grabbing the bar tender and tossing him over the bar top at her yellow lover.
>With some more moves that would make Hazzard county proud, she was out the door again and running as well as she could in her drunken stupor.
>One good thing about being drunk is that it would help her evade Khoa. She couldn't predict where Daze was going if Daze had no idea herself. She just ran until she couldn't run anymore.
>She was starting to really sober up though, she needed to fix that. This was her one vacation spot with some real booze, she wasn't going to pass that up. She'll have to do some real apologizing later, but Khoa will calm down eventually, she always does.
>Her throat and lungs burned as she ran out of breath and desired another drink. She slowed to a walk, and as if on cue, a gift from the gods descended upon her.
>She found herself on the outskirts of the fair. It had been less populated during the day, but as night fell, more ponies migrated outward to see the attractions set up in the more open areas of the empire. Anticipating this, some of the vendors set up shop out here to cash in on the night crowd, one such vendor being the Apples.
>Renowned in ponyville for their cider, it's just what she needed...

>The night seemed to be in full swing as far as Big Mac could see. Multicolored ponies both crystal and not walked the streets with drink in hand.
>This is the first Crystal Fair that Big Mac has ever attended, but he knew what to expect given that his sister was one of the ponies who brought the celebration back to the empire.
>All manner of stands selling special foods lined the streets, there was the petting zoo, and the jousting matches were just about to start.
>Since everypony already had their drinks, business had slowed down to a more reasonable pace, which allowed Mac to talk to Garrison some more.
>Garrison was talking to him about his former military career, how it was possible for regular earth ponies to stand out, and had inquired as to why Big Mac never enlisted himself.
>Mac was doing his best to keep up with the conversation, but he was more than a little distracted.
>Having to keep an eye on two socially awkward dragons is distraction enough, but when they're both drunk on cider, you have to pay special attention to make sure they don't eat anypony.
>Not to mention how Scylla gets when she's been drinking...
>Whenever she gets alcohol in her system, all concepts of personal space are erased from her mind. Normally she just drinks on the farm and it's not a problem, but there's a lot of ponies here.
>Currently, her and Ikra are sitting together not far from the stand trading the stuffed animals they got as if it were Nightmare Night candy, but there lies the problem.
>Scylla and Ikra are sitting a little /too/ close together. Scylla's comprehension of boundaries have disappeared, and Ikra probably doesn't know any better if she's really as sexually oblivious as Scylla said she was.
>His mind starts to wander at this thought. Knowing Scylla, she'd probably try to "help" Ikra by conditioning her to understand romantic advances, and that's where the fantasy begins...

>Scylla would wrap one or two...or maybe three of her arms around Ikra for stability. Ikra chuckles nervously at the contact, but is strangely curious.
>"So you and Garrison have never even kissed before?!"
>"Um, no. I've never kissed /anyone/ before."
>Scylla gasps incredulously.
>"What?! You need to be experienced with that, otherwise Garrison would get bored!"
>Ikra's eyes would go wide in panic as tears start to form.
>"Y-you think he'd get bored of me? How am I supposed to learn?!"
>Scylla uses two of her arms to grab either side of Ikra's face and pull her closer.
>"Don't worry, I can help you!"
>"R-really? You'd do tha-"
>She's cut off by Scylla as she pulls her in the rest of the way for a deep kiss. Now laying on top of the hybrid, both of them giggle as their drunken flushed faces collide with one another, their long tongues almost tied together in a knot.
>"Mac?"
>Garrison waves his hoof in front of Big Mac's face to try and snap him out of whatever spell he's under. He eventually resorts to clunking him on the forehead, causing him to lean away from Garrison and blink his eyes back into focus.
"Sorry. I was just..."
>Mac looks back at the two dragons, now completing their trade as Ikra hugs a rather large plushy hydra.
>"I know. Trust me."
>Garrison takes a small sip of his cider. He's just happy that he's not the only one who gets..."lost in thought," he was starting to think that he was going insane.
>He goes to take another drink and almost spills the rest of the cider on himself as Ikra jumps up out of nowhere.
>"Gary! Look what I got!"
>She shakes the plushy hydra in his face, the multiple heads bobbing back and forth hitting his head.
"Hey, that's really cool!"
>He silently curses himself. That was one of the prizes /he/ won, but he decided to give it to Scylla because he didn't think Ikra would like it, she was forced to fight those things on occasion after all...

>"Look at all the heads! This one is smiling, but this other one looks really mean! I remember ripping the throats out of these buggers, but who knew they could be so darn cute?!"
>He hears a squeak as she hugs it tightly, and he can't for the life of him figure out if the squeak came from the toy...or her.
>A bit of commotion draws his attention away from his beautiful friend and toward the Apples' stand. Standing there, drinking a tankard of cider...is another dragon?!
>'I swear to Celestia, I've seen more dragons here than I have in the /dragon lands/!'
>This one is probably the most odd of all. She's all white and is wearing clothes of an unknown material rather than armor.
>She tips the tankard vertical and drinks the alcohol with surprising skill, and then belches a blast of bright green flames.
>"Oh fuck, that was bloody amazing!"
>She leans over, resting her arm on the counter to the stand and slurring her words.
>"Y'know, you bellends are the only ones outside a' the Crystal Empire that don't pussy out on the alcohol. I *hic*, I salute you. Name's Daze by the way."
>She lifts her hand to shake hooves with Applejack, but Applejack just raises an eyebrow.
>"Look, if y'see a yellow dragon, I was never here, yeah?"
>She looks away from the counter and into the crowd, scanning for someone, possibly that yellow dragon she was talking about. Garrison wonders if she's talking about Khoa, it would make sense, but after all of the dragons he's seen today, he wouldn't be surprised if there was more somewhere.
>She stops scanning and starts coughing when she spots Ikra, and quickly walks over after she grabs another drink.
>"You're fuckin' Yankin' me, is that some kinda *hic* ...half dragon?! I ate the fuckin'  worm didn't I?"
"Well, she's a-"
>"Hold the fuck up a minute, mate, what's this shit?"
>Daze turns and points out a pony clad in recreational armor and sporting a lance attached to his side.

>The pony turns to her, first surprised at seeing a dragon, then confused at her inquiry.
>"I-I'm a jouster, miss. The matches are just about to start down the road."
>Daze grabs the lance off of its mount on the pony's armor and examines it. She pokes the end of the lance and scoffs as she sees that the end is rounded off and not pointy at all. Then she grabs the end and draws it back, testing its buoyancy as she lets go and sets the end whipping back and forth.
>"Are you for fucking real?! You lot /joust/ with these toys? Nananah, that's some shit, tell me where this joke is taking place..."

>Happy to be back on his way, the jouster continued walking toward his destination and allowed the white dragon to follow.
>Garrison watches after them, feeling apprehensive to let a wasted dragon go to a jousting match.
>His worries are cut in half by a rush of motion. A blue blur obstructs his vision as Ikra's face comes within inches of his, causing him to go cross-eyed as he tries to focus on her.
>"They have jousting here too?!"
>He tries to pull back from her, but she only leans back in in response, excitement clear in her bright green eyes.
>He tries to answer her through jumbled words, but he's thrown off by the heat in his face, and he can't bring himself to maintain eye contact when they're so close.
>He feels desire well up within him once again. All he'd have to do is lean in a few inches, and-
"Y-yes, they do have jousting, though it's not quite as violent as the jousting you're used to..."
>"Can we go watch?!"
>He pauses for a moment, unsure if he wants to take a drunk Ikra to watch a violent sport. The last thing he needs is for her to want to join in.
>"Pleeeaaase?"
>She leans in even closer, pressing her nose against his, making both of them scrunch as she pleads.
>He can practically feel his knees getting ready to buckle as the blood drains from his extremities and goes straight to his face.
>'Looks like Ikra took a page from Scylla's book when it comes to drunken boundary issues.' He thinks.
"I guess we can check it out."
>Garrison's subconscious tries once more to warn him about the possible antics Ikra could get up to, but how could he say no to her?
>In his love drunken state, he hoped that she'd be grateful enough to kiss him. After his response however, she pulled away to cheer, her hair whipping his face as she spun around.

>She rushes over to tell Scylla about their new adventure while Garrison remains in a dazed state. As Ikra departs, he shifts his weight onto his front legs, leaning forward in an attempt to remain close to her. He extends too far and ends up stumbling forward, trying to regain his balance.
>By the time Garrison and his small crew of friends reached the area where the jousting matches were being held, there was already quite a lot of commotion going on.
>The matches had started and had drawn a rather large crowd, a crowd that this white dragon had no problem cutting a path through in a drunken rage.
>Garrison watched as she seethed at the sight of two crystal ponies charging at each other with ball pointed lances.
>They collide with each other with the clanging of armor, and one of them is sent to the ground while the other remains standing in triumph.
>The crowd cheers, and the current champion awaits the next challenger. He doesn't have to wait long, as a light blue pegasus with a rainbow colored mane enters the ring and challenges him.
>Ikra's face scrunches up again as she too looks disappointed in the show.
>"You were right, this is really watered down from what I'm used to. It still looks like a lot of fun though!"
"I don't think Daze shares your view."
>Garrison winces as Daze practically tramples over some of the ponies in the crowd to get closer to the ring.
>When the two ponies begin their charge, Daze steps in between them, and the struggle to slow to a stop before they hit the wayward dragon.
>The champion stops himself, but the rainbow maned one was going too fast, and she hits Daze with her lance!
>The lance labs into her mid section, but it only arches as it bends and then snaps in half, having done seemingly no damage to the dragon.
>"Hey! What's your problem?!"
>The blue pegasus stomps up to Daze angrily, but begins to look less confident when she sees just how tall the drake stands.

>"M-my problem? My problem, *hic* is that I'm not dead, mate!"
>She gestures to the lance, broken in half and laying on the ground.
>"Your whole set up is like a dumpster fire! This equipment is shit! This would have been the best death ever, but it wasn't, all because you couldn't use a proper lance."
>The rainbow pony's face goes red, like a mixture of embarrassment and outrage.
>"This stuff is dangerous! It takes a lot of guts to do this!"
>Daze points to the area on her kid section where she was hit, revealing no indication that anything had hit her, her tone dropping with sarcasm.
>"Oh yeah, proper dangerous, I got right fucked up by that lance. I'll show you how to do it right, but I need a lance..."
>By now the shock has worn off, but the audience seems genuinely curious as to where this stunt could go. Daze looks around the ring for anything she can use, but ultimately comes up short. Eventually, she looks up to see a unicorn in the audience, and smiles mischievously.
>"You sir, I need you!"
>She staggers over to him as best as she can, and the ponies around the singled out unicorn back away, leaving him further isolated.
>He looks around for an escape, but Daze is already upon him. She scoops him up with her right arm, holding him at her side.
>"Now, *hic* somethin' to ride..."
>The ponies in the crowd collectively back up and gasp in fear as she looks around at them. Garrison hears Ikra mumbling next to him, and turns to see her crossing her fingers.
>"Please pick me, please pick me!"
"Are you nuts?! She's gonna joust...with a unicorn!"
>"I know! Isn't it exciting?!"
>Daze points in Ikra's direction, and Garrison can see her eyes light up brighter than the empire at mid day.
>"The purple dragon! You're perfect!"
>Ikra deflates as the brightness in her eyes is transferred to Scylla instead. Scylla jumps for joy and goes to join Daze in the ring.
"Uh, Mac? Shouldn't you stop her?"
>Big Mac shrugs.
>"Ain't no stoppin' her when she wants something."

>After finding a helmet that would fit her, Daze climbs atop Scylla and holds the unicorn to her side more firmly. Ignoring the unicorn's whimpers, she tries her best to focus her double vision as Scylla guides them to their starting point.
>The blue pegasus waits at her staring point, still determined but very confused.
>Just before a pink pony with an unkempt pink mane could sound the horn to start the joust, a voice rang out from the crowd.
>"Stop! I'll challenge the dragon instead!"
>The crowd of ponies parted to create a path for...Khoa! And she's riding atop...Ikra?!
>Garrison looks to his side to find that Ikra had slipped away from him when he wasn't laying attention.
"Sweet Celestia..."
>He looks back to the ring to see a panicked Daze. Ikra carries Khoa to where the pegasus had bin and readies herself to charge with a huge grin on her face.
>"K-Khoa, what are you doing here?!"
>"My /job/: protecting the peace by stopping you."
>The white dragon guffaws as the fear on her face melts away.
>"You think you can out joust me, mate? Get yourself a unicorn so I can drop ya!"
>Khoa grabs the rainbow pony's lance instead.
>"I think I'll just use this..."
>Daze again gestures to the broken lance now laying in a corner of the ring.
>"You're loss, those things aren't very effective against me."

>Khoa says nothing more as she readies herself for the coming joust, a cold determined rage displayed on her face.
>'She's gonna get what's coming to her.' She thinks.
>The pink pony sounds her strange looking horn, and the quadrupedal drakes take off toward each other with their payload of would-be knights on their backs.
>Daze, feeling rather...dazed, almost falls as Scylla builds speed. The unicorn under her arm cries out and covers his eyes as she regains balance and points his head in the direction of her opponent.
>The colors of the various ponies in the crowd start to blur together as they charge, blurring even more so for Daze as she tries to keep focus on her challenger.
>The dragons near each other, and at the last moment, Khoa drops her lance and stands atop Ikra poised to jump. She leaps off of her mount and dives into Daze, causing her to drop her unicorn and join Khoa in sailing through the air.
>Scylla and Ikra pass by each other unharmed, and the unicorn rolls to safety on the ground before getting up and running away.
>The two quarreling dragons kick up dust as they skid to a stop on the ground. Daze grunts as Khoa lands on top of her. Once they stop moving, they share a moment of silence as they glare at each other.
>Daze breaks the silence with a belch, and they treat the sound as if it were a bell to begin fighting. They immediately start throwing bunches, Daze's are stronger but inhibited by her inebriation, while Khoa lands strategic strikes to what little weak points a dragon has.
>A punch to the eye, a jab to the throat, a knee to the unscaled belly, Khoa keeps up her assault to shut down her girlfriend's body.
>What strikes Khoa does receive are largely absorbed by her armor, which frees her up to continue throwing punches. When Daze's strikes become weak, few and far in between, Khoa stands up and grabs the lance she tossed onto the ground from earlier.

>The weapon makes a rough scraping sound as she drags it through the dirt, walking menacingly toward Daze.
"Maybe you wouldn't be getting your ass kicked this badly if you'd just wear your armor like I keep telling you to!"
>Daze is barely able to lift her head to regard her approaching threat, but she's eventually able to sit up with great strain.
"/None/ of this would be happening at all if you'd just listen to me period!"
>She punctuates her statement by bringing the lance in her grip, holding it like a baseball bat, and cracking it upside Daze's head. The lance, much like its counterpart, breaks in half and lands somewhere near by.
>Khoa sighs in exasperation when she finds the Daze is surprisingly still conscious and groaning in pain.
>She bends down, grabs a fistful of her white feathery hair, and drags her away from the fair, Daze exclaiming the entire time.
>"Ow ow ow ow ow!"
>Khoa looks back at the group of ponies who are still silently watching the display and nods at them before walking again.
"Carry on, citizens..."
>About an hour later, Khoa stands over her  now unconscious girlfriend, laying on one of the beds in the candlelit dark of the barracks.
>Daze starts to stir and slowly opens her eyes, squinting them as she tries to make out the figure standing over her in the dim light.
>"H-hey, babe, how-"
"Shut up."
>Daze shifts uncomfortably and rubs the spot on her head where she had been hit with the lance. She tries her best to sit up again.
>"Have I ever told you how cute you are when you're angry?"
>Khoa punches Daze in the mouth, causing her to fall back onto the bed. She grunts in pain and tries once more to speak, her voice hoarse.
>"...I love you."
>Khoa punches her mouth yet again with her other fist. With Daze's lips sufficiently bloodied, Khoa clutches Daze's head with her claws and brings herself in for a passionate kiss.

>The yellow dragon moans almost beastly as she violently kisses her lover. She eventually pulls away to stare at the drake underneath her with a cold stare. Daze tries hard not to wince from the pain in her mouth, and hair, and head, but her attempts are fruitless.
"All of the guards are out patrolling the fair, so we get this barracks to ourselves. I'm gonna get that romantic date wether you like it or not..."
>Daze thinks for a moment that she's actually seeing stars, for the many candles reflecting their twinkling flames off of Khoa's armor makes her body look like the night sky. This illusion is shattered when Khoa unbuckles the straps on her guard uniform and lets her armor fall to the floor with a resounding clang, the dim dancing light now revealing her lithe golden body.
>Khoa licks the blood from her lips with her slender tongue and moans while she glides her hands down the curves of her exposed body.
>Once the blood is cleaned from her lips, an impish smirk grows on her face. She leans down and unfastens the button on Daze's ripped shorts and yanks them down and off, throwing the shorts across the room.
>Daze looks down at her bare legs, and for a brief moment, the candlelight reveals the glistening on Khoa's inner thighs. The sight doesn't last, because Khoa gets down on her knees, disappearing below Daze's line of vision.
>She tries to raise her head up once more, but the throbbing in her head is too much. She can't see, but she can feel her naked legs being spread apart, and Khoa begin kissing her now moist sex.
>Daze can feel the heat radiating off of her thighs as Khoa buries her snout in Her lap, her tongue twisting and turning inside of her, making her feel a tingling sensation she's never felt before.
>Usually when Daze had sex, she tried to be as masculine as possible, feebly attempting to hold on to the male identity she once held. She tried her best to ignore that her vagina was there at all, but she can't ignore it now.

>She writhes in a cocktail of pain and ecstasy as the tingling pleasure between her legs battles the sharp pain and throbbing in her head.
>She grunts and groans, sometimes in pleasure, other times in agony. She gasps rather loudly as Khoa uses her claws to spread her open even wider so more of her tongue can fit in. The heat of her thighs and the sounds of slurping almost lift Daze to cloud nine.
>Moving hurts like hell, but she can't help but squirm as Khoa's tongue reaches impossibly far inside of her, and the points of her sharp teeth tickle the surrounding area.
>Daze tries one last time to lift her head up, but she slams it back down as she climaxes, locking her legs around Khoa's neck and practically screaming through clenched teeth.
>Every muscle in her body tenses up, but the orgasm fades after several seconds, and pain and exhaustion claim her. Her legs go limp and rest on Khoa's shoulders as she continues licking and kissing between her thighs.
>The sensations stop after a a few minutes, and Daze takes that as her cue to give in to the pain and pass out once more, but just as she closes her eyes, a slap to her face startles them open again.
>Khoa straddles Daze's torso, still smirking, her wet sex dripping onto her chest.
>"Hey, you're not done, it's my turn now!"
>Daze tries her best to stay conscious, lest she get another smack across the face.
"Wait, I just want to know..."
>Khoa frowns and crosses her arms across her breasts, waiting expectantly.
"When you found me in the pub, you stabbed your sword through the bar top. How did you know the blade would miss me?"
>"I didn't."
>Daze gulps audibly, and Khoa begins to crawl closer, her bottom hovering over Daze's face. She speaks in a sing song voice that turns sharply harsh.
>"Now don't bite~  Or I'll kick your ass!"
>And with that, she lowers herself onto Daze's face, her moist thighs hugging the side of her head.

>Khoa slowly blinks her eyes open as the soft glow of the morning light peers in through the windows of the barracks.
>She lay on the bed her and Daze had been fooling around on the night before, her cheek resting on the pillow and a small puddle of drool around her mouth.
>She blinks tightly as she tries to wake herself up, and she suddenly remembers more details of the previous night.
>She had spent the later hours of the night sitting on her girlfriend's face, and promptly passed out afterward, exhausted from the ass-beating and ass-eating.
"...Daze?"
>Khoa's voice is rough but soft.
>She feels a vibration near the base of her tail as Daze tries to answer. Apparently when Khoa had passed out, she must have literally just fallen over, as she now realizes that Daze's head is still resting on the bed between her legs, and her face is covered by Khoa's tail.
>"Mmm?"
"Last night didn't turn out too bad..."
>"Mmmm."
"You think now you could listen to me sometimes?"
>Khoa looks back as Daze lifts the tail off of her face so she can speak properly.
>"If we get to shag like this every time I run off to do fuck all, then I'll ignore you even more, love."
>Daze grunts and wheezes in pain when Khoa brings her tail back down to smack her head.
"You want me to hurt you some more? That can definitely be arranged."
>Both dragons are startled out of their banter by some pony clearing their throat awkwardly. They both dart up into a sitting position to find that the barracks are now full of the other guard ponies staring uncomfortably at the dragon duo.
>Khoa becomes so hot with embarrassment that she turns into a red drake, while Daze gets up with a small laugh.
>"I think those are mine, mate, you mind?"
>She gestures for one of the guards to grab the pair of shorts laying on the floor across the room.

>Garrison squinted his eyes in the morning sun as he stood at the train station with Ikra.

>He blushes slightly as Ikra leans into him, using him for balance because she was obviously unprepared for her first hangover.
>"Uugh...Gary, why is everything terrible? The light, the noise, my tummy, and my head!"
>She rests her head against him as he tries to support her frame against his.
"That cider is good, but all good things have a drawback of some kind..."
>Ikra pouts her bottom lip and grumbles something to herself while Garrison watches for Big Mac.
>Both had made sure to be at the train station with the Apples as they departed for their home in Ponyville so they could say their goodbyes.
>Before long, the Apples made their way to the platform as the train began to board all of the ponies in attendance.
>Big Mac looked at them with concern as the ponies filed onto the train.
>"Where are you two goin' now?"
"We don't really know, we've got the whole world to see, it's tough to think of a good place to begin."
>After a short pause, Big Mac gestures his head toward the train.
>"How 'bout a small town? We could sure use some help on the farm this time 'a year..."
>Garrison looks down at Ikra as she gasps in excitement. She looks up to meet his gaze expectantly with a smile.
>He didn't know where Ikra and he would end up over the years, but as he looked into her eyes, he realized that he didn't care as long as she was with him.
>Garrison pries his eyes away from his beautiful friend to nod at Big Mac.
"We'd be happy to earn our beds."
>Once on the train, Ikra bombarded Garrison with questions about the locomotive, as she had never even heard of a train let alone been in one. The questions didn't last long however, as her hangover caught up with her excitement.
>Now they sit in one of the seats, Ikra resting against Garrison, and Garrison looking down at her messy hair and smooth scaly body in silent wonder.

>He had gotten what he wanted: Ikra had enjoyed herself and made a friend. He had gotten to see that smile of hers that was so very rare before. He just wished that at one point that smile would have landed on his lips.
>'Oh well,' he thinks, 'It's enough to make her happy.'
>He looks up from his crush to see Scylla and Big Mac sitting in the seats across from them, stuffed animals packed under the seats and billowing out of the overhead compartments.
>They look longingly in each other's eyes and lean in for a kiss.
>A familiar pain hits Garrison's chest as he watches, wishing for that to be Ikra and him instead.
>He looks down at her with a frown, but instead of finding her resting, he sees that she too is watching the display of affection in front of them.
>Before he can react, she looks up at him with a similar frown, her bright green eyes glossing over.
>Without words, both of them close in on one another as if their heads were magnetic. Their lips make contact, and the world around them fades away. The last thing Garrison and Ikra hear before they get lost in each other's embrace is the whistle of the train as it departs toward their future.

THE END.