//------------------------------// // Coming to a conclusion // Story: Fatherly instincts // by ShowShine //------------------------------// Ocellus walked into Starlights office. As usual, her office was covered in kites. Starlight sat at her desk with a serious look on her face. “Take a seat.” Starlight said, pointing to the couch. There was tension in the room. Ocellus sat down uncomfortably, making awkward eye contact with Starlight. Starlight pulled out a few papers and looked through them. Ocellus could see that they were her friends student files. “Is there a problem Ms. Glimmer?” Ocellus asked. Starlight levitated the files over to her. “I’ve seen you hanging out with them a lot. Do you know them?” Starlight asked. Ocellus tilted her head. “You’ve seen me hang out with all of them multiple times.” Ocellus said. Starlight blushed at her stupidity. “If I’m correct, changelings can get impregnated regardless of there partners gender?” Starlight asked, raising an eyebrow. A large blush apeared in Ocellus’ face. “That is correct.” Ocellus stated. What was Starlight getting at? “Let’s get to the point here, did one of your friends impregnate you?” Starlight asked nonchalantly. Ocellus’ face turned bright red and she shook her head vigorously. “No no no no, that would never happen, I’m only focused on my school work and nothing else!” Ocellus exclaimed in embarrassment. Starlight stared at her for a moment. She was definitely telling the truth. “Dang, you can go.” Starlight muttered as she put the files back into her drawer. Ocellus tilted her head and stood up. “If you don’t mind me asking, why did you need to know that?” Ocellus asked. Starlight pulled out some supplies for making kites. “Spike found a changeling egg near the forest and your the only changeling in Ponyville, so we assumed it was yours.” Starlight explained while cutting some fabric in the shape of a heart. Ocellus let out a gasp of surprise. “What is he going to do now?” She asked. Starlight wrapped some string around two sticks. “He and Twilight are going to the Changeling Kingdom to see if a Thorax knows anything about this.” Starlight said as she finished her kite. She looked up to see that Ocellus was gone. “No one appreciates my kites.” She muttered. Spike and Twilight got off of the train. Strapped to Spikes chest, Scramble sat there with oversized red sunglasses and her frog pacifier. Luckily it wasn’t that long of a walk to get to the Changeling Kingdom. As they walked, Spike looked around. A lot had changed since he had last been there. Pretty flowers grew everywhere and little critters ran around. Twilight looked around excitedly. “I really want to check everything out, but we’re here for you.” Twilight said, trying not to sound like a kid. Spike playfully rolled his eyes. “You can go Twilight, I can handle this by myself.” Spike said confidentially. Twilight grinned and flew straight into the hive at full speed. She zipped pass Thorax, causing him to look around in confusion from the sudden purple blur. “Hey Thorax!” Spike said, causing him to turn around. A large smile apeared on his face, but quickly twisted to confusion when he saw Scramble. “Where did you get a changeling hatchling?” Thorax asked while tilting his head. “I found her egg under a tree near the Everfree Forest. I was wondering if any changeling here lost there egg while visiting Ponyville.” Spike explained. Thorax’s smile dropped in a frown as he shook his head. “I haven’t gotten any reports on a missing egg. But even if I did, it’s too late now.” Thorax stated. Spike cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “What do you mean?” He asked in confusion. Thorax let out a sigh. “Let’s go discuss this somewhere else.” Thorax sat on his throne and pulled up a chair next to it, gesturing for Spike to sit down. He turned to Pharynx. “Go get the doctor.” He told his brother. He nodded his head and flew out of the room. He turned back to Spike. “Whenever a changeling egg hatches, the hatchling imprints on the first one it sees. If you were to leave her here, it could physically and mentally kill her. Changeling need to be with there parents for the first few month of there life of they’ll die.” Thorax explained. Spike’s face dropped. He looked down at Scramble, who was mindlessly waving her hooves around. ”Really?” Spike asked in disbelief. Thorax somberly nodded his head. Before he could respond, the doors opened, revealing a blue changeling. Spike assumed that she was that doctor. “Is there any trouble your majesty?” She asked with a bow. Thorax smiled and shook his head. “There’s nothing wrong at all, I just need you to give this hatchling a checkup.” Thorax said, gesturing to Scramble. Spike took her out of her baby seat and took off her sunglasses, handing Scramble to the doctor. “Well aren’t you just the cutest thing?” The doctor said, lifting her into the air, causing her to giggle. She placed Scramble on the floor. “This will only take a few minutes.” The doctor stated. Spike was glad this would take a little while, he needed some time to think. The doctor handed Scramble back to Spike with a smile on her face. “She’s perfectly healthy and should be walking in a few days. She should be shape shifting, flying in two weeks, and using magic by next week.” The doctor said. “Thank you, have a nice day.” Thorax thanked. He looked over to Spike who had a blank stare on his face. “Are you okay?” Thorax asked. Spike nodded his head. “I just need to process this.” He muttered. He put Scramble in her carrier and put her sunglasses back on. “See you later Thorax.” Spike mumbled. He walked out the door and walked through the changeling kingdom, lost in his own thoughts. ”I can’t just let her die, I have to take care of her. I’m only twelve, I’m to young to be a dad but I have to take care of her” Spike was lost in his thoughts. He snapped out of his trance when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned around to see Twilight standing there with a flower necklace around her neck. “What did Thorax say about Scramble?” Twilight asked. “He said that she could die if I leave her.” Spike explained. Twilight let out a gasp. “That’s terrible!” Twilight exclaimed. Spike nodded his head, his scales drooping. Twilight noticed his upset mood. “Let’s go back to Ponyville.” Twilight said. Spike nodded his head. They walked out of the Changeling Kingdom in silence before Twilight spoke up. “You know I was younger than you are when I adopted you. I thought adopting a kid would ruin my life. But it didn’t, it only made it better. You were my first and best friend ever. I’ve seen you grow up into a wonderful young dragon and I know you’ll be a wonderful dad too.” Twilight said with a smile. Spike thought for a moment. “You’re right, I might not know much, but I can be a great dad!” Spike exclaimed happily. Scramble let out a small cheer at her fathers excitement. Twilight chuckled. They needed to Scramble her own things. Spike and Twilight walked around a baby store, looking for things for Scramble. The already had a shopping cart filled with stuff like bottles, a purple blanket, baby formula, diapers, a stroller, a build it at home crib, and a few baby books Spike could read to her. As they walked past the toy section and Scramble started to make a whining noise, stretching her hooves out. Spike and Twilight looked to see that she was trying to grab a plush raccoon. “You want the raccoon?” Spike asked. She continued to reach out for the stuffed animal. Spike took it off of the raccoon off of the shelf and handed to her. Scramble smiled widely and cuddled into the raccoon. Maybe being a dad wouldn’t be so bad.