In the Ponyville Library, a tall lavender alicorn was busy reading and writing something on a piece of parchment. The door suddenly opened and a tall, rather muscular purple dragon with green spines with golden Royal Guard armor walked in. The alicorn noticed the dragon and went over to kiss him.
“So what spells are you writing down now Princess Twilight?” Asked the dragon.
“Oh stop it Spike,” she said with a blush. “You know as well as the others that you can still call me Twilight. I may be an alicorn, but I’m still the same mare you’ve come to know and love.”
“I know that, but I’m not here to joke around. I’m here because I’ve got some exciting news to tell you.”
“Oh? Then what’s so exciting about this news?”
“Hey Dusk Scale, come on in and tell her yourself.”
A rather tall figure stepped out of the room with a smile on his face. The figure was leaned muscled and had dark purple scales all over his body. His spines and tail though were replaced with a dark green mane and tail and he had the snout of a stallion. He was dressed in a purple t-shirt with blue jeans and worn out white sneakers. Dusk Scale ran over to Twilight and hugged her tightly.
“You won’t believe it mom!” He shouted in a rather deep voice. “I finally got my cutie mark at last!”
“That’s great Dusk Scale,” said Twilight. “So what’s your mark in?”
Dusk Scale pulled his pants slightly down to reveal a large open book with a magnifying glass on one of the pages and a question mark in the middle.
“Um . . . is it mystery novel writer?” Asked Twilight.
“No mom, it’s a cutie mark in being a researcher,” he said. “I got it during one of my class assignments. We were supposed to study a species of our choice and I decided to do the Firebird, a very rare bird species that some say is like a phoenix. I was told there were no Firebirds around here, but I knew I saw one flying through town at one point and decided to study it. I observed and recorded it habitat, what it eats, and even saw an egg that hatched another Firebird.”
“That’s amazing,” said Twilight. “So what happened then?”
“I showed the class what I learned and they were all very impressed with my research and studying. Mrs. Cheerilee was very impressed with what I learned and even pointed out the glow coming from my flank. When I realized I got my cutie mark, the entire class cheered and they all congratulated me.”
“I’m so proud of you Dusk Scale,” said Spike. “You definitely have your mom’s intelligence in you. So what do you want to do to celebrate?”
“Well . . . I heard your one friend Pinkie Pie is in town with her husband, Braeburn. I’ve heard about her parties and would love to have one planned by her.”
“You know, that does sound like a good idea,” said Twilight. “It’s been awhile since we’ve seen the girls anyway. I’ll go get Caramel and Applejack from Sweet Apple Acres and see if they can come. I’ll also swing by Fluttershy’s place so her and Thunderlane can come along.”
“You do that Twilight,” said Spike. “I’ll go by Rainbow’s place to grab her and Soarin. Then I’ll go by the Carousel Boutique and get Rarity and that one stallion whose name I keep forgetting.”
Twilight gave a nod and walked out the door. Spike was about to follow suit, but was stopped by Dusk Scale.
“Dad, can I ask you something?” He asked.
“What’s the matter son?”
“You know when I told you about that pretty mare in my class, Crystal Prism?”
“Yeah and what about it?”
“I’ve been trying to say something to her, but she seems more interested in a handsome colt in the class than me. I know mom told me the story of how you two got together, but how can a researcher win over a mare as beautiful as her? I’m nowhere near as strong as you and I’m a kirin.”
Spike put his hand on his son’s shoulder and said, “Dusk Scale Sparkle, you are a brilliant and intelligent colt. It doesn’t matter if you’re a kirin or a pony, you have to show her how much you care about her. You have to take things slowly and prove to her how much she means to you. The one thing I’ve learned all this time from being with Twilight is that no matter how hopeless it may seem, there’s always a chance to win over somepony, or somedragon, you love dearly. You can’t just let the fact that you’re a kirin stop you from pursuing your heart’s desire.”
Dusk Scale looked at Spike for a few seconds before hugging him. “Thanks dad, I can see now why mom loves you.”
“No problem Dusk, now go on and get to Sugarcube Corner. I heard Pinkie and Braeburn are supposed to be visiting the Cakes and their children today.” Dusk Scale nodded and took off, with Spike watching him.
“He certainly takes after you, doesn’t he?” Asked a voice.
Spike turned and saw Twilight was smiling at him. “Yeah . . . but he reminds me of you as well. It’s kind of cute actually.”
“Do you think he’ll be alright though?”
The dragon smiled and nodded. “I know everything will work out for him.” Spike grabbed Twilight’s hand and the two walked out of the library and towards Sugarcube Corner.