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One of the drawings I did on my roadtrip! Might put the other doodles into a big compilation and upload them here too, but I thought this one was cute by itself. Since I drew this on the road I had no references for Starlight’s hair or Ember’s face lol, so I kind of remixed them but I think they turned out alright.
 
I’ve been rewatching some MLP episodes lately and I feel heavily invested in some of the canon characters, especially Chrysalis and Cadence, so I might take a break from nextgen stuff for a while to draw some of the OGs
 

 
So, Starlight and Ember! It felt kinda off to ship Ember with Spike since she’s so much older than him. Since Ember’s the same age as the Mane 6 it felt a lil better to pair her with Starlight. I’ve shipped her with Twilight in the past, but that was mostly a crackship, since Twi is with Tempest. But anyway, I’d like to think that Ember and Starlight had a thing going on for a while, maybe for a year or two. Distance is what ultimately prompted them to separate since Starlight lives in Ponyville and Ember rules the Dragon Lands. Starlight eventually ends up with Sunset Shimmer, and they even have a daughter together. After the breakup, Ember actively avoids both of them because it hurts her. She’d never felt love like she did with Starlight, and someday, she secretly- selfishly- hopes to pick Starlight back up once Sunset is gone.
 
Dragons are reptiles, making them indeterminate growers. That basically means they never stop growing, which is why some dragons, like Ember’s dad and that one dragon from the Dragonshy episode, are so massive. They will shed their skin once or twice a year (or once a month for younger dragons like Spike), and they’ll grow continuously throughout their lifetimes.
 
Dragons are competitive and extremely territorial by nature. They solve their disagreements by duel or pack battles, and usually suffer severe injuries from these fights. Most are too proud to have serious wounds checked out by a healer, so the leading cause of death in dragons is actually infection. The few dragons that do survive can grow to be the size of mountains. But since most don’t make it that far, it’s pretty rare to see a dragon as big as Ember’s dad. These colossal-dragons are typically loners and avoid most contact with other creatures, which is why no one ever really spots them.
 
Ember’s still young in dragon terms. Even though she’s the same age as the Mane 6, she will outlive them by far. This also means that Ember is growing very fast. When she and Starlight were still dating, Ember’s shedding was a constant reminder of her “immortality.” Starlight worried that maybe one day, Ember wouldn’t want to hang around anymore. Maybe she’d choose to live in solitary like other dragons, and Starlight would never see her again. Ember was also getting too tall to reach up and kiss, too tall for their home, even. Starlight was thinking about the longterm, and she wasn’t sure if a definite future was possible with Ember. Starlight eventually broke things off, and they were both heartbroken. After the relationship ended, Ember did exactly what Starlight was afraid she’d do- she fled to the Dragon Lands and hasn’t really left since. The dragon alliance with ponies still holds strong, though.