Ember is much more open to friendship and affection then she originally started in canon. This includes enjoying Spike's hugs right away and giving him a kiss on the cheek before he leaves.
When Ember learns that Spike never knew either of his biological parents, she promises him that she will find them for him. The opening of Chapter 4 explains how much Ember believes in the concept of keeping promises, and she uses all her resources as Dragon Lord to find Spike's parents. Even after it is revealed they are both dead, Spike still visits their grave and thanks Ember for giving him the chance to learn about them.
Torch says he thinks Spike is weird, but he also knows that he makes Ember happy, so he is alright with him.
When Ember asks her dad to tell her about herMissing Mom, Torch recounts with nostalgia how she was tough, smart, had a passion for adventure, how she was the only dragon he ever considered making his life mate, and how Ember is more like her than like him. When Ember asks why he didn't make her his life mate (after correcting herself from using the term "married"), Torch said he couldn't take away her dream of seeing the world she loved so much, knowing that all he could offer her was a Gilded Cage.
Torch: She promised me that she would always love me though. You are a product of that love. You are the one thing I have in this world that reminds me of her. Ember: So... is she still alive? Torch: I don’t know. The last time I saw her was when she delivered your egg to me. She might be with the gods or she might still be adventuring. I don’t know. But I can tell you this, she would be proud of you. Dragon Lord or not.
Ember was able to make two new dragon friends on her own, Aquafire and Blitz, who got to know the real her instead of just the Dragon Lord.
Spike and Ember sharing a Convenient Slow Dance together at Spike's birthday party, after they overcome their initial embarrassment.
After Ember is forced to maintain a stoic appearance throughout her father's funeral, she finally breaks down in the privacy of her own room. She is quickly comforted by Spike's presence, who allows her to cry into his chest, because to him, she isn't his Dragon Lord, she is just a friend who has lost the only parent she has ever known.
Ember recalls a story she was told when she was young. When she was just a hatchling she was very sick and nearly died. Her father stayed by her side the whole time, ordering the best potions, the best healers, even ordering help from outside their borders if necessary, all for her. The biggest part though is how she was told Torch prayed for her recovery, because she had never heard her dad pray once her entire life, and Ember knew from that how much her dad truly loved her.
In a weird way, Garble confirming his Undying Loyalty to Ember. He makes it pretty clear when he says he hates her, thinking he would be a better Dragon Lord than her and she is bringing them all down the wrong path, but at the same time says he respects her for her decisions and confirms he will never betray her and is willing to die for her.
Although she only admits it to herself, Ember makes her feelings about Spike clear when she calls him "the dragon that had stolen her heart", and prays she will not be too late to save him.
Ember learned from her training with her dad that in the event of a Hostage Situation, you had to sacrifice them for the greater good of the dragon race. But Ember would gladly sacrifice the whole world to save Spike, because he did something that only her father had done before. He made her care about him.
Twilight returns to Ember and her friends with the backup she promised to help save Spike. A small group consisting of some Crystal Ponies, King Thorax, and a few Changelings. Twilight says once they heard Spike was in danger, they jumped at the chance to help him after everything he has done for them, since the Crystal Ponies view Spike as their greatest hero and savior and see it as an honor to help him, and Thorax says Spike is his best friend that he owes everything to for being able to learn how to use love to free his people. Ember realizes with a smile that she wasn't the only one Spike touched in his life.
When Twilight sees Spike with Thorax, it reminds her of the bond she has with her best friends in Ponyville. When she sees him with Ember though, she is reminded of how she met Flash Sentry in the human world, knowing that there is a bond growing between the two of them and appears happy for them.
After Garble's Heroic Sacrifice, Ember proclaims he will be given full honors at his funeral and his remains will be buried in the Cavern of Heroes, and rewards him, posthumous, the title of Lord Redskull. He will be remembered the way he wanted to be, as a true dragon and the pride of his people.
When Ember reveals she is still alive and how Clan Redskull betrayed her and tried to kill her, every other clan leader swear their service to her, even the ones who have opposed her, since even if they didn't like her or her plans trying to kill their Dragon Lord is way too far.
Ember absolutely refuses to consider killing the rampaging Spike, even growling and getting in Luna's face when she thinks she is suggesting this option.
Before Aquafire leaves with Derpy to get a cure for Spike from Zecora, Blitz quickly grabs her and kisses her on the cheek, wishing her good luck and winking at her. Aquafire is clearly flustered by this and blushes heavily, thanking him. After Blitz being completely ignorant of Aquafire's feelings for him until her confession, it seems he returns her feelings.
Spike being aged up to adulthood as a side effect of the potion's effects means that Ember no longer needs to worry about the massive age gap between them and can happily admit her feelings for him. She also admits she likes Spike's new attractive body.
Though Twilight says she is stepping down as Princess until Spike's exile is over, due to refusing to be the Princess of Friendship without all of her friends, she says she will still continue to protect Equestria and spread friendship regardless, with her even implying she will open the School of Friendship sooner than in canon.
Ember and Spike's final scene together.
The two initially sit in awkward silence together, with Ember unsure what to say after Spike's exile is announced. But Spike speaks up first, apologizing for almost getting her killed in his rampage, and that she saved his life, even though killing him would have been easier. When he asks what he can do to thank her, she just asks him to kiss her, saying she needs to know if it feels right.
Though hesitant for a few seconds, Spike complies and the two share their First Kiss. It is clearly the greatest moment in Ember's life and confirms for her that she really does love Spike.
After Spike ends the kiss, the two keep staring lovingly at each other, until Spike pulls Ember closer with his wing and the two silently nuzzle together.
Spike: (whispering)... are we a couple now? Ember: (chuckling) What do you think? Now shut up and hold me.
A Burning Flame In My Soul
Spike's exile from Equestria has long since ended by the time of the story, and he continues to act as an ambassador between Equestria and the Dragon Lands.
Spike and Ember's relationship is shown to be as strong as ever after being together for twenty years. Their first scene together has the two of them engaged in a sparing match, with Ember eventually winning and pinning Spike down. The two joke together afterwards with Spike requesting a kiss as his "Last Request", with the two happily making out together.
Smolder has become the new captain of the Scale Guard, with her having joined the guard to honor the memory of her half-brother Garble.
Several other happy couples have married over the years, including Big Mac and Sugar Belle, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, Sandbar and Yona, and Gallus and Silverstream.
The Dragon Lands have prospered over the years, now having foliage and its own city of its own, Torchstone, named after Ember's father.
The scene where Rainbow delivers an engagement ring to Spike:
It is made clear Spike is going to ask Ember to marry him, but he says that before he does he also needs to prepare a God's Blessing for her first, so he can make it clear he doesn't just want them to be husband and wife, but life mates too. In a way, it is Spike honoring both of his cultures by doing it both ways.
What ultimately convinced Spike to go through with his plans to propose to Ember was getting some encouragement from his adopted sister Twilight, and she and Rarity, his former crush, were the ones that prepared the ring for him.
Spike openly admits that he knows Ember is the one for him, and that he recognizes despite having focused on Rarity for so long his feelings for her were just a silly crush, and he has fallen in love with Ember over the twenty years they have spent together.
Blitz is revealed to now be dating both Aquafire and his fiancé. It turns out, after Aquafire confessed her feelings to Blitz, they grew to love each other and tried to get Blitz out of his Arranged Marriage, but sadly both parties refused. Surprisingly though, Blitz's future mate proposed a solution, that Aquafire be allowed to join as a "second mate" in their union if her and Blitz still have a strong relationship by the time they come of age. Though a bit awkward at first, the three managed to work it out and end up happy together.
Smolder's speech to the rest of the Scale Guards about the other creatures in the world describing how powerful each of them are, and shows how much respect Smolder has for them.
Spike and Ember cuddling in bed together after their long day, with Ember telling Spike how everything she dreamed of is only possible thanks to him, with the two sharing a kiss before declaring their love for each other, and preparing for some "late-night fun".
As a villainous example, the army that Tyranus has built include some of his family, like his great distant uncle Scarscale, the leader of Clan Warblood, and his cousin Drogo, who already respects Tyranus as if he were the emperor. After his meeting with the major clean leaders in his army though, he has a romantic moment with his lover Dájǐ-Lǐ, with him saying out of everyone by his side he is happy to have her the most.
Dájǐ-Lǐ: Do you remember what you whispered to me when I kissed you for the first time by the waterfall? Tyranus: I said I was in a dream. Because there was no way you were real. Dájǐ-Lǐ: And I whispered if this was a dream, then let us never wake.
Sandbar and Spike are both honorary uncles to Garrus, the son of Gallus and Silverstream. Spike in particular is very close with Garrus after winning him over after Garrus was initially scared of him, and is referred to as his "favorite dragon uncle".
Although Spike is sad to know he will outlive most of his pony friends due to his long lifespan he is happy to just enjoy whatever time they have left together with their tea parties, and knows he won't be alone in the future since he will still have Twilight, as well as Ember, other dragon friends, Discord, and the descendants of his friends.
Although Rarity developing cancer is a heartbreaking thing, she refuses to let it get her down and keeps living her life with the hope she can beat it, with all of her friends supporting her.
Silverstream loved Gallus so much that when Queen Novo tried to force her to break up with him due to him being an orphan and insisting that as a member of the royal family she needed to marry into a proper bloodline of high esteem, Silverstream renounces herself from the royal family, even signing paperwork to make it official and publicly displaying it. When Skystar replaced her mother as queen, although she sadly couldn't officially restore Silverstream's royal status due to Novo's actions, she still allowed her cousin to be part of the family and can declare any children she has with Gallus are recognized as royalty. Skystar even personally had the two of them married in the royal throne room.
Flurry Heart's relationship with Erebus the son of Sombra. The two of them were friends since they were kids, with Flurry seeing him for the kind and awkward boy he was instead of the demon his father was. She saved his life when the Crystal Ponies tried to lynch him for who his father was, and the two of them are now engaged.
Ember reveals to Twilight that she wants to ask Spike to marry her.
She explaining she wants to be life mates with him but she also wants to be his wife and do it the pony way, because that is what makes him special and why she fell in love with him. She already got a God's Blessing ready for him, but wants Twilight to help her get an engagement ring since she plans to propose to him during the anniversary party.
Ember explains she decided she wants to propose to him now despite her young age, because while she and him were on a date watching the stars together at the same place her and her dad watched the stars together, she remembered how her dad talked about her mom and how he regretted not making her his life mate, not wanting to have that same regret when she knows she loves Spike.
Spike and Ember fighting as a Battle Couple against the Shadow Hounds is this as well as an awesome moment.
It is revealed that Thorax and Skystar have been dating in secret for a year, and that they already had the blessing of Thorax's husband for a polygamy relationship.
Although Rowan Forestheart arrived to Canterlot too late to stop the assassination attempt on Ember from happening, he is still thanked by all the kingdoms in the alliance for his warning allowing them to react fast enough and the journey he went on to reach them, with Ember even declaring he will always be considered a friend to her throne and have a safe place among Her people.
