It had been two days since Twilight had sent her letter, and she had gotten no reply. She wasn't too worried. Princess Celestia had royal duties to attend, but Twilight would have liked if she had at least gotten a confirmation that the Princess had received the letter. No response at all. Okay. . . maybe she was a little worried. The two days since the egg had been saved, and Spike was taking it all very seriously. Currently, the adolescent dragon was out gathering some gems.
Spike looked back at the wagon he was pulling. After a couple hours of digging, he had finally the perfect kinds of gems. He had rubies, garnets, emeralds, and he had even found some fluorite. Happy with his selection, he headed back into town. Several ponies greeted him as he walked by, he smiled politely back. Spike walked by the quill and sofa store, and froze in place. Unhitching himself from the cart, he placed it by the door and walked in.
"Ah, Spike! It's good to see you again! Are you here for some more quills?"
"Hello Davenport. No, actually. I was wondering. . . do you have any feather stuffing?"
Davenport scratched his chin in thought.
"I have some feather stuffing, but it's not in any sofa cushions. That okay?"
Spike smiled.
"That's perfect. Thanks!"
Spike paid for the large bag of feathers. He placed them in his cart. He stopped by Rarity's and knocked on the door. Rarity answered and smiled up at the dragon.
"Spike, darling! Is there something I can help you with?"
"Yeah, I'd like to buy some fabric, if that's okay with you, milady."
Rarity giggled and let Spike in.
"Sure thing, oh Sir Spike. What kind of fabric and what color?"
"Cotton. One in black, one in purple, please."
Rarity went into the back of her shop, returning with the spools of fabric.
"Here you go, Darling. May I ask; what are you using them for?"
Rarity tilted her head up, and Spike caught a glimpse of the white fur under her chin. Usually Spike would feel a flood of happiness whenever he saw the underside of her chin, but now Spike felt afraid. He felt as if Rarity was about to attack him. About to crush the fragile egg that sat in his crop. He shook his head. Rarity would never do that. Even if she would do something like that, the young dragon was much stronger than her. Yet, the fear did not leave him.
"Spike? Spikey-Wikey? Are you okay?"
Spike swallowed and quickly paid, leaving behind a bewildered unicorn. Reaching the library, he grabbed the feathers and fabric, heading in. Twilight looked up from where she was organizing some books.
"Hey Spike! Uh. . . are you okay?"
Spike must have looked as scared as he felt. He smoothed out the expression on his face before turning to his sister.
"Yeah, I'm good.
Twilight frowned.
"What's with the feathers and fabric?"
Spike gave her a genuine smile at that.
"You'll see!"
Spike pranced out, only to quickly return with a load of gems in his mouth. Two more trips to get the gems, and Spike placed them down next to his bed. Twilight stepped up next to him.
"You're not planning to eat all those, are you?"
Spike snorted.
"Nah. This is for the hatchling, once he or she hatches."
Spike started to sort the gems by color and size.
"Need any help?"
He waved away his sister, shaking his head. Once the gems were sorted, he unraveled both fabrics. Taking his claws, he started to rip them into long thin strips. Twilight was confused. What was Spike doing? Maybe that book had something in it about. . . whatever Spike was doing. Twilight grabbed the book and settled down on her bed in the next room over. She opened it to the chapter she suspected she needed.
Nest Building
A nest is a vary important item part that all male dragons must construct. Male dragons will start to build a nest almost immediately after receiving the eggs. The nests are very similar to that of a birds. It is in the shape of a bowl, built out of what the male deans necessary. Usual materials include:
Gems
Stones
sand/dirt
clothes(stolen from ponies)
hay
sticks
feathers
leaves
scales(from male's own hide.)
It is also very important what the colors are. Most eggs are a different combination between the male and female colors. The nest will also be a mix of the male and female colors. This is usually four different colors that makes the nest
Twilight leaned to look across the hall at Spike's own bed. Sitting next to it was the beginnings of a nest. The fabric was woven together with the feathers. A few sticks she hadn't noticed made it very sturdy. The gems had yet to be put into the nest. It was then that she noticed the colors. Purple, green, red, and black. Purple and green were Spike's colors, and if she remembered correctly, the egg was red and black. Spike looked the half built nest over before he turned his head to his side. He sniffed at his scales before nipping at them. When he pulled back, a purple scale was clamped in his jaws. Twilight raised an eyebrow, but did not worry. She'd seen him do this before to remove loose or tight scales. However, he dropped the scale and looked surprised. He looked over at her from across the hall. He opened his mouth and blew a small stream of fire out. A scroll formed out of the smoke.
On the ribbon was Princess Celestia's crest.