Scaled Foal

by ColtKit Productions

Ch1: My Big Mouth

Twilight and Spike's relationship had always been a bit complex. After all, a dragon being raised by a unicorn was bound to turn some heads. Especially since that pony was just a kid herself when she got him. Some ponies even asked her if Spike was her pet, which always got her really mad.

Twilight had raised him all by herself since the day she helped him hatch. She was living at Celestia's magical boarding school at the time and so couldn't get any help from her parents. However the pair acted more like siblings then a parent would with their child. Twilight took a great deal more responsibility over him then a sister normally would though.

Spike never knew how to describe it until Apple Jack compared it to her own relationship with Apple Bloom. AJ said Twilight acted like an older sibling who had been forced to raise her kid brother after their parents died, only in their case no one had really died. That actually made a lot of sense to him.

What AJ said had just felt right. It was the perfect way to describe Spike's feelings for Twilight. She wasn't his mom and he definitely wasn't her pet. She was his big sister who had been left to take care of him. He still respected her and loved to be her little helper, but he didn't imagine any kid could get away with being as blunt or snarky to their parent as he was with Twilight.

They were friends, closer then friends. He told things to Twilight that he'd be far too embarrassed to tell anyone else, especially a parent... but at the same time Twilight was still responsible for him. She gave him his daily chores (which she actually did help with contrary to popular belief) and would... punish him if he misbehaved or did something dangerous or just without thinking.

A lot of the time the punishments where just a dressing down. Where she would mercilessly scold the young dragon. Sometimes he was made to stand in time out or go to bed early. Then their was the worst, most horrible, evil punishments he absolutely hated.

If Spike was really bad Twilight would pick him up with her magic along with a hair brush. Then he'd get his little bottom smacked with the backend of the brush over and over again. Those were horrible, although he only got about 10 swats (the most he ever got being 20).

He would cry and beg and make a million promises to never do it again, but Twilight never let him off until she was sure he was properly punished. Spankings might not be the most commonly used punishment for him but he knew by the look on Twilight's face when he earned one... like the look she was wearing right now.

"It was an accident!" Spike swore. Twilight had never spanked him for an accident.

"I'm sure it was buddy," Shining Armor grinned holding the ashes of the comic inside the plastic sheath where Spike had stealthily tried to hide them... the boy never was very good at hiding the things he accidentally broke.

They were in the room Twilight designed especially for when her brother visited. Shining Armor was a major nerd despite being the tough Captain of the royal guard. He collected comic books and action figures and was very sentimental when it came to the treasures of his childhood.

Shining Armor was actually the reason Spike loved comic books so much himself. Whenever Shining came to visit Twilight at school he always brought with him a comic book for Spike. Not just any Comic books either but trades, a single book that was a large collection of issues usually holding an entire saga. Spike loved them and continued to cherish those comics to this day.

Each trade cost about 30 or 40 bits but Shining wanted Spike to get the entirety of the best stories. Shining worked hard to convert Spike to the ways of nerddom. It was really nice since Shining's allowance at the time had been 20 bits a week (he had rich nobles for parents) and he visited Twilight once a month. That meant he spent half of his allowance a month on Spike and he usually brought Twilight a book to. He was always doing selfless things like that.

He would set up these amazing scavenger hunts with riddles hidden all over the school and when the pair finally solved them all, they would find a book for Twilight and a comic for Spike. It was glorious. Shining was as much a big brother to Spike as he was to Twilight.

So of course Spike had helped Twilight set up this amazing guest room for whenever Shining Armor came to visit. Spike had made sure it was geek heaven. Since Twilight had been all Princess-fied they could easily afford it.

Being the Princess of friendship came with a lot of perks, wealth just being one of them. The vault the Castle came with was filled with so many bits that she couldn't ever hope to spend it all. She even upped Spike's allowance to what Shining's had been, when he was a foal. And was ordering lots of gems to be delivered to the castle for Spike to munch on.

Dragons could actually taste the pure magic trapped in gems and even got nourishment from it. This made Gems not only a tasty treat for Dragons but a healthy one. It used to be that gems were too expensive to get just for Spike to eat. Although they were good for dragons they weren't necessary for a healthy diet. Twilight might have came from a family of rich nobles but her trust fund was far from limitless so Gems were a rare treat for Spike.

Now that Twilight was Princess rich she could stock up on lots of gems for the boy. She would put them in fruit bowls around the Castle for Spike to munch on between meals as a healthy snack. Unlike normal food it wasn't actually possible for dragons to get fat on gems and in fact the excess magic they consumed safely added to their magical reserves.

Twilight even got Spike his own bedroom, which he'd never had before as he usually shared a room with her. She also bought a bunch of Arcade games and filled one of the larger rooms with them. Although she made it clear that this game room was for everyone and not just Spike but he could use it whenever he wanted.

She had been spreading her wealth around Ponyville as well. Everything in the Castle she had ordered from the local store owners, who in turn often ordered it from somewhere out of town. The book store owner had always liked Twilight since she bought tons of books but now he was practically in love with her.

Since this castle had such a huge library she had ordered over 20000 first editions to fill it. All the furniture throughout the Castle was custom made by local shop owners to fit with the themes her friends had when they were decorating the rooms. The Castle felt much more like a home now.

"It's only a comic. It's okay," Shining insisted.

"No it's not." Twilight glared, "All these comics are first editions! The cheapest of them are still worth over a thousand bits!"

"Twi, it's cool," Shining waved off, "Let's just look through them and see which one got burnt up," he used his magic to pull a few of the comics out from their nice box and began gushing, "A mint condition first edition Spidermare #1! Twi this thing is worth over a million bits! How did you-"

"Maybe now you'll get why I'm upset," Twilight sniped.

Shining's eyes grew large with worry at the implication. He quickly began searching through the comics, "All these comics are some of the greatest landmarks of the industry," strangely he was getting more and more worried as he saw how amazing the comics were.

"Oh no," Twilight groaned, "I can't find Action Comics #1,"

Shining paled, "Action Comics #1," he muttered putting the other comics back into their box for safe keeping then levitating the bag of ashes to his face. "One of the rarest and most priceless artifacts in comic book history... The first superhero comic ever made," he was staring at it with a stunned expression before he suddenly started screaming in terror at the ashes. After the screaming came the sobbing as he reached out and hugged the bag of ashes.

Spike tried to sneakily sneak out of the room but gasped as he was suddenly picked up by Twilight's magic. With Shining still crying in the background Spike yelled, "It was an accident! I swear Twilight! I didn't mean to!"

"I TOLD you to stay away from the comics Spike," Twilight glared, "I told you for exactly this reason! We both know you haven't mastered your fire breath!"

"I'm sorry Twilight!" Spike tried to run but his limbs wouldn't make contact with the floor.

"You destroyed something worth nearly 5 MILLION BITS!"

"I'll pay you back!" Spike swore.

"With what? A lemonade stand?"

"Please Twilight, I'll find a way!"

"Oh don't worry, I've already thought of a way," Twilight glared, "I'm taking it out of your hide!"

"Noooooooo Twilight, PLEEEEEASE! I'm sorry!"

"Sorry isn't good enough this time Spike, come on," Twilight walked out the door and Spike floated behind her. He desperately tried to grab the door frame as he was forced to follow but Twilight was used to this trick and easily made him avoid them. Shining was still hugging the bag and weeping, not noticing they left.

Twilight brought the young dragon to his room. She had put Shining Armor right next door to Spike so they could hang out more during his visit but Spike was feeling horrifically unlucky at this display of kindness. There was practically no delay in getting Spike into his room and Twilight grabbing the small paddle off the wall.

She had hung it there as a reminder to behave, although Spike didn't think she'd actually use it. Twilight had only ever taken the hairbrush to him and it didn't seem real that he had graduated to a paddle. The moment it started to glow with Twilight's magic Spike burst into tears. He cried and cried realizing he'd soon know what his new paddle felt like regardless what he did or said.

Twilight levitated Spike in front of her. She magically lifted the boy's tail out of the way of his bottom and tapped the small rump with the still floating paddle.

"Do I have your attention?"

"Y-yes hic" Spike began to hiccup from crying as he felt the paddle pat him

"Can you tell me why you're in trouble?"

"C-cuz hic c-cuz I burnt da hic da c-comic," he stuttered.

"And why, or better yet 'how', did that happen?"

"B-because I-I hic I didn't l-listen hic,"

Twilight nodded, "Good, now do you have something to say to me?"

"I-I'm s-sorry T-Twilight hic, I..." He took a gulp of air, knowing what he was supposed to say. He took a moment to force the hiccups to end, all the while Twilight waiting patiently for him to ready himself. When he finally spoke, although the hiccups were gone, he was stuttering a lot more.

"I-I'm s-sorry I-I was n-naughty... p-please S-s-spank me s-so I'll r-remember t-to be g-good," Twilight always made him say that when she was about to spank him. She said it was important that he acknowledge the fact he did something wrong and accept the responsibility, and thereby the consequences, for it. Twilight was always trying to teach stuff, even during something as horrible as a spanking.

The paddle left Spike's rump and the little dragon quickly braced himself. Sure enough it came back with a vengeance, slamming itself against the poor little boy's rear. Spike gave out a loud yelp and the moment the paddle left again he instantly covered his bottom with his claws. Unfortunately this resulted in Twilight magically forcing his arms to his back, pinning them there so he couldn't move. Her magic continued to wield the paddle with terrifying skill. Hitting his poor backside over and over.

WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK

Spike howled bloody murder as his poor rump was viciously tortured. He kicked and cried and begged as only a little boy could when in this predicament. He didn't even noticed when the spanking ended until Twilight floated him over to her and brought him into a hug, holding him tightly with her hooved arms. The pony Princess lightly kissed his forehead as she assured him it was okay and that it was over now.

Once he calmed down Twilight informed, "Sorry Spike but a spanking just won't cut it this time. I'm afraid I'm also going to have to ground you. No videogames, or TV, and especially no comic books for one month. Instead of going out to play you'll also be spending extra lessons with me over this time to focus more on training your fire breath. You understand me?"

"Y-yes" Spike sniffed rubbing his sore bottom, "I'm sorry Twilight,"

"Apology accepted, now let's go back to Shining so you can apologize to him to,"

"Noooooooo!" Spike wailed.

"Spike" Twilight gave him a stern look, "you need to apologize to Shining Armor,"

"But he hates me!" Spike sobbed.

"He doesn't hate you. You're his little buddy. Now come on," She let the boy go and gently patted his back with the top of her snout to get him going. However Spike dug his feet into the ground so he wouldn't have to face Shining Armor. Twilight rolled her eyes and pushed a bit harder, forcing Spike to scrape across the floor all the way back to Shining Armor's room.

She magically repaired the claw marks before getting her brother's attention. "Shining Armor, Spike has something too say to you," she nudged Spike with her hoof but the little Dragon started to tear up again. This time from the thought of Shining not accepting his apology. He couldn't even force himself to give it for fear of rejection.

"Aw Spike," Shining spoke with unexpected sympathy, "Did the meanie Twilly give you a spanking," Shining went over to him and gave the young dragon a hug "It's okay, your big brother Shining Armor will protect your rump from further torment,"

Spike cried hard and hugged Shining as tight as he could. Shining blinked, that's not how the reptile usually reacted when Shining coddled him after a spanking. He usually got embarrassed and bashful. Shining looked over at Twilight for an explanation, worried she might have been too hard on him this time. It be understandable since it was a lot of money Spike just destroyed but even then unacceptable to brutalize a child.

Twilight rolled her eyes dramatically, "He's worried you'll hate him for destroying one of your presents,"

"Oh Spike, I could never hate you," Shining insisted, "Yes the comic was very valuable but you matter more, you understand me buddy?"

Spike hesitantly nodded as he continued to cry into Shining's fur.

"I guess I should take this as a wake up call though. If someone like Twilight can have trouble foal proofing a house... Well at least I got a good story out of this," he levitated the bag with the ashes and looked at them, "I think I'll keep these and show them off every chance I get. I'll undoubtedly be telling this story for the next thousand years,"

Spike groaned as he imagined Shining showing off the bag of ashes and telling everyone he met about how his little brother destroyed a 5 million bit comic.

###

Later that day Spike followed Twilight and her friends around as they tried to solve various riddles Shining Armor left all over town for their latest scavenger hunt. They hadn't done anything like this in years and Spike was bubbling with excitement the entire time. Although their friend Pinkie Pie seemed to be handling the excitement much worse then he was but she'd been acting really weird for the last couple of days (even by Pinkie Pie standards).

When they figured out the last of the riddles they arrived at Sugar Cube Corner like they were instructed to by the notes. Shining Armor and Cadence were waiting for them and happily announced the prize for this scavenger hunt wasn't a book but news that the royal couple were having a baby. When Spike asked where it was they explained it was in Cadence's belly but refused to explain how it got there. Spike could always ask Twilight later.

###

Spike grinned happily as he stood next to the table with the baby themed cake. The shop owner, Mrs Cake, cut off a slice before hoofing it to him.

She had closed the shop early today for the private event. She was hosting royalty after all, even if it was a very small party. Only Apple Jack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity had come. Spike knew each of them had hung out with Cadence at some point and they wrote each other letters but it was kind of weird that only Twilight's friends were invited to their party.

Although it was pretty cool that the scavenger hunt led to Cadence's baby shower. It was a pretty small shower with none of the guest having brought presents since it had been a surprise for them instead of the mother.

Cadence kept assuring everypony that Shining had already bought everything they would need for the baby and this was more just a party to celebrate her pregnancy. She said this had all been Shining's idea, further proof he was the nerd king. ALL PRAISES BE TO THE NERD KING!

"So how's it feel to be an uncle," Shining smiled at Spike well getting a slice of cake for himself.

"Awesome!" Spike grinned, "I can't wait for the baby to be born. I hope it's a boy. There are way too many girls in Equestria,"

Shining Armor chuckled, "If it was a boy we'd probably have to marry him off to some Noble as soon as he was of age. The Crystal Empire has a lot more... traditional traditions about gender roles. I guess it comes from being gone for a thousand years"

Shining happily accepted his slice of cake and used his magic to hold it. He even used his magic to hold his fork like many unicorns do, "They've been making a stink about me still being Captain of the royal guard instead of retiring after I got married. They want me to just be a homemaker like they expect all boys to be. They're even more upset now that Cadence is pregnant and I still haven't stepped down. They say I should focus on taking care of the baby and the household and leave matters of the Empire to Cadence,"

"That's... kind of weird." Spike frowned.

"Tell me about it. They also don't like that Cadence has allowed colts to join their guard either as they believe it is far too dangerous for boys. According to them, boys shouldn't even be allowed to work at all. They should be married off when they come of age and focus on raising the foals."

"Seriously!?"

"Well it kind of makes sense. Only one in 6 births are male so back then keeping boys safe and sheltered was done for practical reasons. After all, with the few number of colts there are it was important they get married and give their wife babies or there would be no future generations.

"Then since it was so important to protect colts it became common for their parents and eventually their wives to keep them at home as much as possible. So it became boys who were in charge of taking care of the house and the children well the fillies worked to earn money. This may have started as practical but it became expected and eventually a cultural Taboo for boys to have any other lifestyle,"

Spike nodded, "Twilight taught me about all the equal rights stuff they had during the beginning of Celestia's rule."

Shining grinned, "Of course she did. Thing is the Crystal Empire disappeared when tensions were high but no big names had appeared to actually start fighting for equal rights yet. So the Crystal Ponies are having trouble adjusting to the idea that it is now normal for boys to work and even vote.

"Cadence is trying to slowly ease them into modern concepts like that but she also needs to respect their traditions and beliefs to avoid the riots that occurred when this kind of stuff originally happened. Strangely that means I need to present myself in a very specific way. I have to act really submissive around Cadence and let her boss me around.

"We also have these formal dinners with the noble Crystal Ponies once a month where I have to just sit there quietly and even ask Cadence permission to speak when I'm interested in a topic. These dinners are more then just hosting a party though.

"The nobles of the Crystal Empire make up a board of governesses who legally have a say in how the city is run. As Cadence must respect these traditions instead of having a plane old meeting once a month she host a royal dinner and the meeting takes place after it.

"Technically when it's time to discuss politics me and the other husbands are supposed to be sent out of the room, 'to not trouble ourselves with such things' as one of the governesses said to me, but Cadence has made it where we can stay and listen and even participate in the talks during these dinners. We still have to ask our wives permission to put in our two bits and sometimes that's not given but at least it's a step in the right direction.

"However after the dinner the boys are still sent out as the noble fillies start working on policy based on earlier discussions. Although Cadence would like for the colt nobles to have a say in that to, being allowed to talk politics is very different then being allowed to actually dictate them and the fillies aren't willing to do that yet. It's too big a step for them at the moment.

"Well they talk business I take the guys to my game room where we talk ourselves but not about anything important. They enjoy playing my videogames and watching my movies and seeing the various advancements ponies have made over the years. I have even become good friends with all the male nobles. Honestly the part where we are sent out of the room is probably the best part of these formal dinners for me as I'm allowed to be myself when it's just me and the other husbands.

"Unfortunately after the governesses found out that Cadence is pregnant they kind of ruined the merriment. As per tradition we set up a large Festival where Cadence announced at the beginning of it that she was pregnant. All her subjects cheered and spent the day celebrating the future birth of royalty but many of the governesses took Cadence to the side and asked who was going to replace me as Guard Captain. They didn't take it well when she told them I'd still be handling it.

"They kept insisting that since we would have children I needed to quit my job and focus on them. They even claimed, with a strange amount of genuine concern, that once the baby was born it would be 'far too much to ask' of me to have such a demanding career and take care of a foal. Once the baby is born I need to prove to the Crystal ponies that I can take care of the foal and not neglect my duties as Guard Captain. For political reasons Cadence will only be able to help me so much as she's expected to focus most of her attention on work. We need to prove we are honoring the traditions of the Empire and that our modern age beliefs won't conflict with them.

"Don't get me wrong, the Crystal Empire is great and all the ponies are really friendly and they love their new princess but we have to maintain a certain image to the public. It just goes with the territory of being royalty. It's nice to come out here and visit family and get away from all that. Twilight has it really easy being Ponyville's princess. The ponies here are much more laid back...

"If I fail to show I can handle working and taking care of the baby like I'm supposed to the nobles of the Crystal Empire will most likely demand boys be forced back into their subservient roles to fillies, but if I prove I can handle it... Well it be a big step for colts in the Empire... Pretty weird to think I'm the face of an equal rights campaign hundreds of years after the problem was put to rest for most of the world,"

"You got to take care of the baby all by yourself?" Spike stared.

Shining smiled, "Well not ALL by myself, just during the day when Cadence is working and if the baby makes a fuss at night I need to get out of bed to handle it instead of us taking turns. But well Cadence is off work she can help me a bit and give me a break. We read up on the customs of the Empire a while ago including how their family dynamic works. I can't even get the staff to help me with the baby when I'm working as that would be a sign of shirking my responsibilities in favor of my career,"

"Wow,"

"I'm sure I can manage," Shining looked confident then it seemed a light bulb went off in his head, "Hey Twily," he called for her from across the room. She and Cadence, who she was talking to, came over.

"Yeah?" Twilight smiled.

"Well Spike and I were talking about how I have to portray a certain image now that my wife is ruler of the Crystal Empire and all and I realized... why isn't Spike in school?"

Twilight blinked, "I home school him, you know that, I have since he was a baby,"

"I know that Twily," Shining admitted, "But that was before you became a princess, of friendship no less. Don't you think your ward should be mingling with foals his own age and making friendships of his own,"

"He mingles plenty. We go out and talk to ponies all the time,"

"But what about on his own? Does he even have any friends his own age?"

"Of course he does" Twilight looked offended well Spike looked uncomfortable. He hated it when they talked about him as if he wasn't there, "He hangs out with the Cutie Mark Crusaders all the time."

"Only when they're hanging out with you," Spike mumbled, unfortunately Twilight heard him.

"What are you talking about" Twilight waved off, "You go to Apple Jack's or Rarity's all the time,"

"That's to hang out with Apple Jack or Rarity," Spike rolled his eyes, "I've never even been to the CMC's clubhouse."

Twilight's eyes widened and she screamed, "AJ! Rarity!" all her friends gathered instead of just those two. They could tell Twilight was seconds away from her 'panicking over nothing' mode, "Why are your sisters excluding Spike from their club!?"

Spike groaned, Twilight could be so over dramatic, "It's called the 'Cutie Mark' Crusaders. I don't know if you realize this Twi but dragons can't get Cutie Marks."

"That doesn't mean they can't still play with you," Twilight insisted.

"They aren't excluding me Twilight. Just because you, Rarity, and Apple Jack are friends doesn't mean all your siblings have to be to!"

"THERE NOT EVEN YOUR FRIENDS!?!" was all Twilight heard, "But you talk to them all the time."

Spike shrugged "Well we know each other but it's not like they ever invited me to one of their sleepovers or camping trips or anything. We're friendly but we're not exactly friends,"

Twilight continued to gape before glaring at Apple Jack and Rarity.

AJ rolled her eyes, "I'll talk to Apple Bloom and see to it that she invites Spike to hang out with them more often. That better?"

"No!" Spike frantically waved his arms to get their attention. "Look I appreciate it but I don't want to get them in trouble. Besides I DO have friends outside you guys, I hang out with Big Mac all the time." They talked a lot of hoof ball.

AJ rolled her eyes again, "Well although Big Mac is an overgrown child ya'll need friends your own age."

"You can't force someone to be friends," Spike insisted.

Shining got their attention again, "Twily, I think school would really help Spike make friends his own age. He might be a good deal more advanced then them academically thanks to your teachings but he needs to socialize more. If he was in school you wouldn't just be forcing the kids you know to accept him. You know that could never work. They're far too old for playdates,"

Twilight sighed, "I know... this is all my fault,"

Spike rolled his eyes, "How exactly do you figure that?"

"I never use to care about friendship before and I made you stay inside and study with me. Now you don't even have any friends"

"I have LOTS of friends!" Spike snapped getting tired of this, "Big Mac is my friend, half the townsfolk are my friends, YOU'RE all my friends!"

Rarity smiled, "Of course we are sweetie but it's really not the same thing. We're all grownups. It's just not healthy spending all your time with us and not foals your own age. You'll have a different kind of friendship with them. I think school is a marvelous idea Twilight. I'll ask Sweetie Belle to look after Spike well he's there."

And with that the conversation permanently changed from babies to setting up Spike for school.

Comments

[Super Spike]

Poor Spike! Somepony needs to call Child Protective Services! Twilight Sparkle is extremely abusive towards him!