Friendship is Magic: Growing up with Scales
By Winter Quill
--- Safe and Warm ---
After six months of being a dragon, Twilight Sparkle was coming to the conclusion that it wasn’t actually all that bad.
Gems had become an important (and delicious) part of her diet, with each type and even color having its own distinct flavor. She had a journal just for keeping track of them all. She had learned how to breathe fire, though she didn’t always have the best control when she got excited about something she was reading. Her parents had quickly found a fireproofing spell she could use on every book that she read.
Twilight had even discovered just how much she loved being a big sister, even when she had to change Spike’s diapers.
Though not everything that came with being a dragon had been good. Her bed hadn’t lasted more than a week against her new claws—even when they were dulled—and now she slept in a corner of her room wrapped up in blankets. There were always ponies that gave her wary looks every time she went outside, and a few had been outright nasty to her.
It had an effect on her parents as well, even though they tried to hide it. Some of their friends had stopped coming by, and invitations were canceled at the last minute. It had even ruined her father’s birthday dinner, after the restaurant had (politely) kicked them out. They had tried to pass off it as having change their minds, but Twilight understood what had happened. She told herself that it was only temporary, that sooner or later Celestia would find a way to turn her back into a unicorn, but until then she would have to bear it.
And then there was the cold. Twilight just couldn’t handle it anymore. It didn’t matter that she had a body temperature that was twenty degrees higher than the average pony—something she discovered after learning that being a dragon didn’t prevent her from catching the flu—the cold just seemed to sink in all the way to her bones. When Fall came around, she would keep her window open to allow the chilly night air in, and the first snowfall was always an excuse to run around outside, having snowball fights with Shiny and trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue. She had never really thought about how much of that love came from the thick winter coat she grew every year… until she no longer had it.
The first snowfall had been terrible for her. She had woken up all excited to see the city covered in white, but she hadn’t gotten three steps out the door before she was shivering, the cold pressing down on her from every side. The scarf and hat she was wearing did nothing to help. She wrapped the scarf tight around her neck and shoulders, then pulled her arms against her side. Finally, she had resorted to blowing fire into her cupped palms, which warmed them up but that did nothing for the rest of body.
It hadn’t taken long for her mother to notice and take her back inside. The few minutes out in the snow had left her scales cold to the touch, and Twilight spent the rest of the morning sitting in front of the large fireplace in the main room, just soaking up the flames from only a few inches away.
As the Fall officially became winter, the fireplace eventually became Twilight’s favorite place to sit. It was as old as their tower and big enough to heat the whole of it, and in the depths of winter it often did. She would come from school, or her lessons with the princess, strip off the thick sweater she wore, then curl up in front of the fireplace to do her homework, keeping as close to the fire as she could. She would stay there until bedtime, and by the time Hearth’s Warming had come around she had made a habit of falling asleep next to the flames.
It was the worst when the Canterlot Weather Bureau scheduled a deep cold snap. Even inside the tower Twilight could feel it prickling at her scales, forcing her to do anything she could to stay warm as she studied. She found herself moving closer and closer to the flames in order to get all the warmth she could—
“Twilight, Dear,” her mother said from across the room. “You’re sitting in the fire again.”
Twilight looked up from her book. She noted the flames burning bright around all around her, her tail draped over the burning logs. The flames rolled harmlessly of her body, her lavender scales shining from the glow as the rising heat caused her mane to flutter around her horns.
“Ah! Sorry!” Twilight checked the fireproofing spell on her school book, relieved to see that it was holding steady even while flames licked across the cover. She crawled out of the fire and used a brush to clear the ash and soot from her scales, but the cold returned the moment she was free of their embrace. She quickly wondered if it would be worth getting into trouble just to climb back inside. It had become a habit for her, and there had even been a few nights where she had woken up curled up with the ember of the previous night’s fire.
Her mother gave her a small smile as she rocked Spike in her forelegs. He was half asleep, his head tucked up against her chest, the edge of one of his tiny hooves stuck in his mouth. Twilight thought he was the cutest thing ever. “You need to stay clean,” her mother said, using her magic to pick up the thick stack of papers she was editing.
“I know, Mom. I’ll try.” Twilight opened her text book to where she had left off. There was a test coming up at the start of the week, and that only gave her the weekend to review. She was re-reading everything tonight, and would spend most of tomorrow going over all her notes to make sure she didn’t miss anything. She never did, of course, but that didn’t mean she was going to become lax in her studying.
Suddenly, the front door of the tower burst open, sending it a blast of cold air across the main room. Twilight edged back slightly, allowing the tip of her tail to drop back into the flames even as she looked up at the door.
Her father came in, a huge smile on his face. “You’ll never guess who I ran into at the train station!” He was followed by Shining Armor, his own face beaming. The last time Twilight had gotten to see her big brother was right before he was deployed to the Badlands, and that was almost nine months ago.
“Shiny!” she squealed, dropping her book and rushing towards her brother, almost leaping over her mother to get to him.
Shining Armor turned to look at her, the smile on his face suddenly falling away. His blue eyes opened wide for a moment only to narrow, his mouth pressing into a line. “Dad, lookout!” he said, rushing forward and shoving their father to the side, his horn starting to shine with magic.
Twilight only had a moment to process all of this before she ran snout-first into the familiar rosy glow of her brother’s magic. It stopped her in her tracks even as it wrapped around her, trapping her inside one of his shields. She slid to the bottom of the sphere, her claws pressed up against the field as she looked at her brother.
He looked back at her with a horrible expression on his face. His jaw was clenched tight with a hint of his teeth showing, his ears pinned back and his blue eyes glaring at Twilight like she was some sort of monster. It was an expression she had seen hundreds of times since she had changed, she had learned to ignore it on other ponies, but on her brother? It cut through her like a knife, hurting like nothing she had ever felt before. It was as if her heart was sliced in two.
Both parents reacted at the same time. “What are you doing?” “You put her down right this instant!”
Shining Armor kept looking at her, the anger on his face slowly fading away, his ears twisting forward before his eyes went wide. His mouth opened slightly for a second as he tried to speak. “Twily?” he finally asked, the word almost a whisper.
Twilight burst into tears. She felt the shield pop around her, dropping her to the ground. The moment her feet hit the floor she turned and ran, heading for the only place where she knew she would be safe. She leapt over the couch and dove headfirst into the fireplace, scrambling as far back behind the burning logs as she could.
She was only dimly aware of her parents yelling across the room. She curled herself up into a tight ball and cried,, her back pressed against the soot covered stones, her tears boiled away by the flames.
Twilight was slowly pulled awake by the shivering of her body. The cold air nipped across her scales even as she pressed up against what little heat she could find. She cracked one eye open, not at all surprised to find that she was in the fireplace again. She was covered in a layer of ash, and the remains of that night’s fire still smoldering up against her belly.
She started to crawl out of the fireplace when her eyes focused on the couch. Shining Armor was sprawled out on it, a blanket tucked over his chest. Everything from the night before came back to Twilight, the way he had looked at her, the fear that had been in his eyes. She scrambled back into the fireplace until she was once again pressed up against the far wall, watching and waiting.
There was no more fire to protect her, but that was something that could be fixed. She reached out with her magic, her twin horns glowing as she picked up some logs her field and brought them into the fireplace with her. She quickly stacked them on the ember, blowing in a blast of her own fire to help them light. It was only a small gout, just enough to catch the wood, but no more. Too much of her flame would turn the wood to ash in moments instead of igniting them.
That was when she realized Shining Armor was watching her.
Twilight sank down against the back of the fireplace. Maybe she could make herself as small as possible, just enough until the fire grew large enough to hide her—
“Twily. I’m so, so sorry for what happened,” he said as he slid off the couch. “I didn’t… I just acted on my training, and it was wrong.”
Twilight pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t look away either.
Shining Armor picked up a bowl from beside the couch, using in his magic to move it closer to the fireplace. It was filled with small gems of all sorts of shapes and colors. “Mom says you like these, and you didn’t get any dinner. You can have them if you like.”
Who did he think he was, trying to bribe her with food? She thought it was insulting that anypony would think something that primitive would work to get her to come out. Unfortunately her stomach was in complete disagreement, letting out a rumbling growl that shook her belly.
Twilight’s glared down at her body, then back to the bowl as it came to rest on the edge of the fireplace, almost within reach. It was covered with the rose glow of Shining’s shield, keeping her from just grabbing it with her magic and pulling it to her.
Reluctantly she moved forward, clawing over the logs until she was sitting just inside the fireplace. She reached out with one claw, letting it hover just above the shield, which vanished a moment later. Quickly, her hand shot out and scoop up a number of the gems and shoved them into her mouth. The mix of gems had a weird taste to them, all the different flavors mixing in her mouth and becoming a muddled mess that tasted more like dirt than gems.
A second handful followed, and a third before her stomach finally quieted down. All the while Shining Armor sat watching her from only a few feet away.
Twilight looked at him, her eyes narrowing as she grabbed the bowl and pulled it closer to herself. She could feel the fire growing behind her as the fresh logs started to burn, the heat making her feel a little better. “Why?” she finally asked.
Shining Armor seemed to deflate. “Mom and Dad had told me that you got your cutie mark, and that they adopted our little brother, but they never said anything about what happened to you. If I had known…”
“I’m not a monster,” she finally said.
“No… at least, no more than any other little sister,” he replied with a forced chuckle.
Twilight snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Then why did you treat me like one?”
Shining Armor bit his lip, looking away from her for a few moments before he turned back to face her. “I didn’t think. At all. I just… reacted, like I was trained to react. If I had just stopped for just one moment to think, I would have realized that Mom and Dad would never allow a random dragon in the house. I would have seen it was you and hugged you like you deserved. But I didn’t, I just saw a dragon and reacted like a guard, and I was wrong.”
Her brother looked smaller then she had ever see him, hunched down, head lowered, ears sagging to the side. One of the strongest stallions Twilight had ever known, and now he looked as small as Spike. She didn’t know what to do, he was hurting as much as she was, yet he was the one who had hurt her. She couldn’t just forgive him for that, could she? He treated her like a monster, how could she just forgive that?
Because it was a mistake. A horrible, terrible mistake, but it was just a mistake. It was her brother, they were family, and she loved him even when he was acting stupid.
Twilight crawled out of the fireplace and hugged her big brother tightly around the neck. “I forgive you,” she said.
“Thank you,” he replied, wrapping a leg around her and pulling her tight against him.
They held it for a few moments before she pulled away, discovering an ash image of her face in Shining’s white fur. Blushing, she picked up the brush in her magic and quickly brushed away most of it, then started working on cleaning off her scales.
“I can’t ever do that again. Not to you, not to any creature,” Shining said to himself, watching his sister work, her natural lavender color being revealed from under the gray ash. “It’s early, but want to go to Donut Joe’s?”
Twilight’s eyes light up for a second, before she sighed and returned to brushing off the ash. “No,” she admitted.
“Why not?”
Twilight paused for a moment, then sat down across from her brother, her back to the hot flames of the fire. “Because a lot of ponies treat me like a monster, and I’ve had enough of that today.”
Shining frowned, and reached out with a hoof, placing it gently on her shoulder. “I’m sorry you have to deal with that. I promise, I’ll protect you from anypony that tries to treat you like that.”
That was the brother that Twilight had always know, the stallion who was always there to protect her, the stallion who would do anything for her. The one stallion she trusted more than any other pony outside of the Princess. She was safe with him, even after what had happened, she knew she was safe with him, and he would always be there for her.
It allowed her to give voice to her deepest fear. “What if I never turn back?” she asked, looking down at her claws, clenching them together for a moment.
“Do you think that’s likely?” he asked.
Twilight looked away. “Princess Celestia is trying to find a way to turn me back, and I was sure she would find it right away, but she hasn’t yet. Last time we talked about it she said she still doesn’t know how I did this to myself. I had thought it would only take a few days, but it’s been half a year and nothing has changed. I don’t know if I’ll ever be a pony again.”
Lifting his hoof, Shining motioned for her to come to his side. She reluctantly did so, not wanting to leave the warmth of the fire, but still pressed up against him. He placed a foreleg across her back, pulling her to his flank. “Whatever happens, you will always be my sister. That won’t change even if you never get turned back. Though I’m sure Celestia will find a way.”
“But what if Princess Celestia never does?”
Shining smiled down at her. “Is it really so bad being a dragon?”
Twilight made a face. “Of course it is! There are so many things I want to do that I can’t until I turn back. I haven’t even made any friends because I want them to know me as a unicorn, not the weird dragon.”
Shining nuzzled the top of her head, discovering that her mane was still filled with ash. “Twilight, you can’t put your life on hold waiting for something that you’re not sure will ever happen. Don’t wait for things to be right, or for them to change. Go and make friends, eat gems, be a dragon. Your friends will be happy for you when you turn back because it doesn’t matter if you have fur or scales, you’re Twilight Sparkle, and that’s what is important.”
“But I’m not supposed to be a dragon,” Twilight replied.
Shining smiled at her. “Maybe not, but you’re still the prettiest dragon I’ve ever seen,” he replied, pleased to see a hint of a blush that colored her scales. “You’re supposed to be you Twilight, nothing else, and you get to decide what that means. Those that really care about you will do so no matter what you are.”
Twilight closed her eyes, considering her older brother’s words. Was he right? Was it up to her to decide who she was, if she was a pony, or a dragon, or just herself? She didn’t know, but it sounded like it should be true.
Shining bent down and gave her another hug. “Whatever happens, I will always be your big brother, and you will be my little sister. Nothing will ever change that.”
She returned the hug, pressing up against him before slowly pulling away. “Even if I’m a big, ugly dragon?”
“Even then. Though I doubt you could ever be ugly,” he replied, using his magic to push some of her mane out of her face.
Twilight laughed and pulled herself out of his grasp. “I’m so glad you’re my brother.”
“I’m glad you’re my sister,” Shining Armor replied.
She looked back at the fire, it was burning hotly now, the flames pushing away the morning chill and warming the tower. It really was her favorite place in the tower, a place where she was safe, held in the hot flames that danced off her scales like water off a fish. If she could, she would stay there, warm and safe in the fire that cut her off from everypony else. Protected from the world and all of those who saw her as a monster, protected… but alone.
But fire wasn’t the only thing that could protect her.
Twilight smiled at her brother as she ran her claws through her mane, shaking out the last of the ash that was still clinging to it. “Why don’t we go get some donuts, just the two of us?”
“I would love that,” he replied. He lowered himself down and motioned for her to climb on his back. She quickly scrambled on, then grabbing her sweater and winter gear, they headed out the door.
Neat, this AU's continuing!
I liked this. I got a kick out of Twilight's dragon-isms, and the whole situation with Shining Armor was well-handled.
Have a Like and a Follow, Mr. Quill. I look forward to seeing where this goes!
Nice.
awsome continuation of great story/AU
THIS AU IS TOO CUTE AND AMAZING FOR ITS OWN GOOD! Insta-track, favorite, and upvote!
Cute as heck, favourite and following
Before I read this or recommend it to my dragon-loving friend: What is this story rated T for?
9465535
Because over all there are going to be bits in future stories about growing up and other such things. Nothing explicit, it's mostly just there to be safe.
9465536
Like... what do you mean?
9465540
It's mostly for what could come up in the future with other stories in this collection. At the moment there isn't really anything objectionable in this story, I just wanted to be safe for the future.
9465549
Like... as long as it's not something suggestive, both me and her would likely read it. (And if it is, no hard feelings, I just won't read it)
9465554
Nope, nothing suggestive.
9465556
Then we'll probably give it a read.
Very cute
In Shining's defense, the parents do deserve a bit of the blame. At the very least, Night Light should have said something about how Twilight looked different when they were making their way home.
I can feel for shining
9465591
Yeah, they really do. It's kind of a thing with the Sparkle family, we saw that in the show with them forget to tell Twilight that Shining was getting married until the day before.
Despite reading this stories prequel, I discovered I wasn't following you. This mistake has been rectified.
Well this is an interesting start, I'm always up for a good dragon-centric story. Hopefully they figure out how to let her be a dragon, rather than just a dragon-shaped pony. Perhaps Celestia could take her on a trip down to the smithing district, a nice bask in a furnace would be a lovely treat.
9465846
That's the plan, and you see that a lot more in the original story. I do like that idea of Celestia and Twilight going someplace like that for a little bonding. That might show up at some point. :)
This Twilight will have to endure many hardships growing up. She might end up with much tougher mentality than the canon.
There are three things I am really looking forward to.
1. The epic fight scene with Nightmare Moon
2. Who will be the star in Secret of My Excess?
3. Will Twilight have to compete in Gauntlet of Fire too? (being a magical dragon should have an advantage)
9465903
Yeah, she's going to be a bit tougher then in canon, but with some other problems that canon!Twilight didn't have to deal with.
1: That may show up, though in a story collection dedicated more to retelling moments form the show.
2: Twilight does have her own experience with greed growth, but that happened before she was in Ponyville. It's usually referred to as the Overdue Library Incident.
3: Yes, and the Dragon Migration as well.
It's been a while since I read the original, so I don't remember; is Twilight bipedal-shaped like canon!Spike, or is she more quadrupedal-shaped like the cover picture? I want to imagine her more dragon-like than the pudgy two-leggers the show often depicts them as.
9465913
Makes me wonder about trixie and zecora episodes as well
Excellent job on the first chapter of this half-prequel/half-sequel series to your previous AU one-shot (as these stories will be taking place at various points in Twilight's life following her transformation, it stands to reason that a few of these will be set after that aforementioned story, even if those won't be showing up for quite a while yet). The exchanges, characterizations, general "episode" wrap-up and future "episode" set-up. And, yeah, I can definitely understand Dragon-Twi reflecting on both the upsides AND downsides of being a dragon, in addition to the Guard-training induced instinct misunderstanding concerning Shining Armor(and the heart-felt make-up FOR the aforementioned misunderstanding) .
1. And, yeah, I have a feeling Twi's "molt" won't go QUITE as badly as Spike's did in canon (mainly because Shiny's force fields probably wouldn't let a single roc get through to get after his little sister), though it might still be very eventful in other ways (especially if it gets pointed out that, now that she has wings, she is also going to need to learn how to fly, but once she does, she'll have ALL of the BASIC abilities of an alicorn [i.e. being able to fly like a Pegasus, being stronger and tougher than all except the best conditioned Earth ponies her size and age, still retaining her unicorn magic and having a much longer life span than a normal pony] PLUS flame breath).
2. And, as mentioned in other responses to other reviewers in your previous story, it wouldn't be hard to visualize Spike still retaining a couple of other "dragon" traits even after being turned into a pony (such as being three times stronger and tougher than a normal Earth pony colt his size and age or having an aging process that stays the same as a normal pony until he reaches young adulthood [at which point his aging gradually gets slower, allowing him to have a life span comparable to that of a healthy dragon]).
3. Baby Spike's first meeting with Cadance should be downright cute (to say nothing of his first meeting with the other three Cutie Mark Crusaders later on).
and 4. I am definitely going to be looking forward to seeing Twi (as well as possibly Shining Armor and Cadance) put a few of the foals stupid enough to actually bully Spike in their places.
But I digress. At any rate, I will very certainly be eagerly looking forward to as many of these snippets as you can think of (but will also respect that you also have your own life AND inspiration might be hard to come by at times).
9465903
9465913
Spike still has a small amount of dragon in him, just like twilight has enough unicorn to use magic
so hed probly get called by the dragon lord too, that would be a fun time explaining that to torch and ember
and if spike still has enough dragon to react to greed....what would happen would he become a nightmare breifly instead of a giant?
that would certainly give him and rarity something to bond over if so dont you think? and haveing him, twilight and ember all 3 be besties forged in the fires of the gauntlet would be even cooler then just spike.
also im snickering in my head imagiining 'princess' twilight later on trying not to nibble on her own palace, though shed likely be a princess in name only, or perhaps she would go thru something of the draconic equivalent of assencion? what would that even look like....turning matalic and geting a second set of wings maybe?
Final edit: oh i forgot to mention, this whole chapter is carved of 100 percent pure weapons grade cute!
d'awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
9465996
Those were already mentioned multiple times in the reviews of the previous story.
9466037
But not in detail it seemed more like skimming over them then anything else
It's good to see this continue. It was one that deserved it. Keep up the good work.
is she going to meet other dragons in her youth in canterlot and is celestia going to get her a dragon teacher to teach her about dragon stuff.
Awww, poor Twily Burn them all! With vengeance!
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Hey! Ponies may start musical numbers out of blue, but whenever you do something cool, an awesome soundtrack starts playing!
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9466100
Come on everypony! You know the words!
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I'm excited for more.
If she's that sensitive to the cold, she's going to look like a body that's been wrapped up inside a rug...
9466660
well she is a dragon which are cold blooded
I'll be honest the original made me want to write it out well basically this myself (note that I love designing AU's and thinking of the twists and turns that can arise from them) I, however, did not think you'd make a squeal I'm super glad and excited. I'm not about to post my own little story work off YOUR idea it was going to be just for personal fun so I'll be VERY interested to see where we differ even if I'm only writing for myself and for fun
9466673
Au contraire, mon ami. Dragons are very much hot blooded. It is the source of their flame, after all. But at the age she is in this chapter, the young Twilight's scales are too thin to help insulate her from losing all her heat to the cold.
9466759
its only their inner fire that gives them warm blood without it they are cold blooded
9466759 9466774
Cold-blooded. Highly doubt it. Sensitive to the cold, maybe.
9466787
i suppose we will have to disagree as this is hardly the place to argue such things its disrespectful to the author. if we must continue lets move to pm or my profile!
9466792
Sorry.
this well make the canterlot wedding likely twice as bad.
9466798
what for?
please keep this story going, I love to see how Candace, follow by nightmare moon, discord and evening the changling queen react to twilight dragon self
I look forward to more!
Started reading, but stopped after the first few paragraphs coz it seems so miserable for Twilight. I don't know if I can continue this, unless it gets better for her. (I just like it to be more lighthearted, at least when villains aren't around)
But, don't stop, a lot of people love this and don't want you to let them down.
9467083
...If you had read all the way through, you would have seen it gets better.
9465963
Right now she's about the same size and shape Canon!Spike was at the start of the series, but she'll grow up to be more along the lines of Ember's body type. Though not quite the same build.
9466036
Spike can still eat gems, though he won't have any greed growth. Though having him be summoned by the dragon lord... I hadn't thought of that, but it does make it more interesting.
9466038
Part of that is one or both of them might be fleshed out into a full story at some point due to how they chance from Canon.
9466759
It's a kind of a combination of things. Dragon's aren't cold blooded, but at the same time their inner fire is a magical one, so it don't really give them any extra heat. Having nothing to hold the heat in, and being so small, basically makes her very susceptible to the cold.
If one wanted to, you could make a good argument that MLP Dragons are more akin to mammals then reptiles. We know some dragons can have hair, and some of the body shapes are suggestive to have a bust...
9467083
It's not truly miserable, but it's still hard for her at the moment. If anything this story represent the low point for her (you'll know it when it happens) but Shining Armor helps her feel better.
9466725
Oh, that's really flattering, and I think's it's fantastic I could inspire you to play around with the idea as well. :)
9467119
That is fair enough. I look forward to what you come up with