Chapter 2
“Fathers”
Silence fell in the room as Thal’lan’s words sunk in. Twilight and I just stood there in shock, jaws hanging open. This guy was Spike’s dad? I couldn't begin to imagine what was going through Spike’s head at this point.
Spike looked down, dropped the emerald he was eating, and just stared at the ground. For the longest time he didn’t say anything. What would anypony expect? He spent his entire life not even knowing if his parents were still alive. Now one comes along claiming to be his father? How would he react I wondered?
My answer came when Spike lifted his green eyes to Thal’lan, who looked desperate to hear his son’s response. "Where the heck were you?” he cried, angrily.
“I…” Thal’lan said, closing his yellow eyes.
“Seventeen years of not knowing if you even existed and now you decide to show up!” Spike said, glaring at his father. “I lived my entire life without a father to tell me who I am! If you are even really are my dad then you sure are a lousy one!”
“Spike…” Twilight said, as she walked to him, wanting to comfort him. Spike just moved out of her hooves and marched right up to Thal’lan.
“What do you have to say for yourself?” he asked, maintaining his glare.
Thal’lan lowered his head to face Spike, his yellow eyes betraying deep guilt. “There are no words I can say to express how sorry I am. I believed you dead when I returned to the cave to find your mother dead and your egg gone.”
“My mom is dead?” Spike asked, looking at his father with new eyes.
Thal’lan nodded sorrowfully. “Yes, she was killed when raiders entered the cave. I had only left to try and find more gems. I was only gone for an hour but…” He closed his yellow eyes and I saw a single teardrop fall from his eye.
“Dragons do cry," Spike said, staring at the teardrop.
“When we lose the ones we love, of course we do," Thal’lan said.
“So what exactly happened?” I asked, looking at the dragon.
Shar’drel replied, “Perhaps it would be better if I explain it, to keep Thal’lan from getting too emotional.”
All parties agreed and Shar’drel began, “Fran’salel was a good friend and my king’s mate. Our clan rules the mountains south of here. Seventeen years ago, Fran’salel and Thal’lan picked a private cave and laid a small clutch of eggs. You, young Spike, were among the eggs laid.”
“I have brothers and sisters?” Spike asked, about to faint before I caught him.
“You had brothers and sisters,” Thal’lan interjected, somberly.
“When Thal’lan came back from looking for gems he discovered,” Shar’drel paused and closed her anguished green eyes, “that pony raiders had ransacked the cave and murdered Fran’salel”
“The eggs?” Spike asked nervously.
“Two were smashed,” Shar’drel replied bluntly. “One hatched into a dragoness, yours, however, was missing.”
“How did I end up at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns?” Spike asked.
“I never knew that was where you ended up,” Thal’lan said.
“Twilight used her magic to hatch me,” Spike reiterated.
Twilight shook her head. “I tried asking once at the school, but all they said was that somepony gifted your egg to the school. I’ll be asking again when we get back," she assured Spike, looking very determined and slightly scary.
“I believed you dead when I found your egg missing,” Thal’lan explained. “I couldn’t bear to hope that maybe you'd survived. Only to find out seventeen years you were here without a father…”
Spike looked down and said, “So, you didn’t abandon me?”
“Of course not,” Thal’lan said firmly. “If I'd known you were here, I would’ve torn this town apart to get to you. Spike, my son, all I ask is that you know who I am. I cannot hope for more, not after leaving you alone all those years.” He slowly looked away.
Spike reached out and put a claw on the large dragon’s violet scales. The ones they shared. Thal’lan looked down at his son and stared. Spike swallowed and tried to sound cool, “So um, how long do you plan on staying here?”
“We were on our way back home,” Shar’drel answered for Thal’lan. “This was, as ponies call it, a pit stop on our way.”
“Do you think I could stay and at least get to know you a bit before you head out?” Spike asked, looking up at his dad.
Twilight and I looked at each other. I noticed the apprehensive expression on her face. She really was worried about him. So was I, but I was better at hiding it.
“I would like that,” Thal’lan said, as his face curled into a smile.
“Can I, Twilight?” he asked his adoptive mother. “I mean, he’s only in town for a little bit and I’d like to get to know him,”
Twilight still looked apprehensive, but she sighed and said, “Okay, Private and I are going to continue investigating the fire. You stay safe now.”
“Fire?” Thal’lan said “Are you speaking of the fire at that barn?”
“The flames were green does that tell you anything?” I asked.
Thal’lan tapped his chin and replied, “If the fire was green that means it was magical fire. It’s a special brand of fire with many magical properties, not the least of which includes teleportation of small objects.”
“I can do that!” Spike said proudly. “It’s how I send letters to Princess Celestia and back!”
“Only the trees weren’t teleported,” I pointed out. “They were burned to the ground, and when Spike leapt into the flames he grew a little and got these.” I pointed to Spike’s small wings.
“Magic fire can burn regular objects,” Thal’lan explained “but when Spike went into it, he grew. This means that the fire came from a dragoness. A dragoness’ normally uses that to hatch an egg, or to help a dragon develop themselves. The fire allowed Spike to grow because that’s what Fran’salel would have done.”
“She would’ve lit Spike on fire?” I asked, a little shocked.
“The pain of growing wings would’ve driven him to madness otherwise,” Thal’lan said. “The fire gives the body something else to focus on while they grew.”
“You sure know a lot Thal’lan,” Spike said, gazing up at him with admiration. “Do you think you could teach me stuff?”
Thal’lan’s eyes nearly watered again before he replied, “Of course, my son. Of course…”
“We should get going then,” I said, walking out with a troubled Twilight by my side.
She wasn't the only one. Something just seemed a little off about all this, Spike’s father suddenly shows up just as a fire breaks out? Of all the times… Why did he decide to come to Ponyville now?
____________________________________________________________
Twilight and I were quiet as we made the fly back. She sat with her hooves over the edge of the balloon basket. I could tell a lot was going on in her head. I reached over and put a comforting hoof on her back “Twi, you okay?” I asked, looking at her with concern.
She shook her head and replied, “I mean, Spike just said we were like his parents. I knew that someday he’d find out about his real parents. I just didn’t think it would be this soon.”
“You really care about him, Twilight,” I said soothingly. “Nopony can say that’s a bad thing.”
“I know, it's just that, he seemed so eager to stay with Thal’lan when he found out. I’m worried that he might not want to stay in Ponyville anymore.”
I felt a little crestfallen myself. I’ve always liked Spike, his cheery nature, his dedication and care for Twilight, and above all his friendship with me. I cared about the little dragon as a sort of second little brother. To hear that maybe he wouldn’t want to stay, especially with what I have in mind for his mother figure on the horizon, broke my heart a little.
I had to remain strong though, for Twilight’s sake. “Spike is the only one who can decide who he wants to stay with. All we can really do is hope that he makes the right decision. A parent can’t fully decide the fate of their child, only they can,” I said gently.
She smiled at me and said weakly, “Thanks, I’m glad you’re with me through all this.”
“Let’s get down and see if we can’t solve this fire fiasco,” I said, pulling on the rip cord so that we could descend from the mountain.
_____________________________________________
We landed back at Sweet Apple Acres to find the police there already. The arson crew was hard at work, searching amongst the ashen trees for any sort of clue. When Twilight and I climbed out of the balloon we were nearly assaulted by a flurry of cameras and reporters.
A million questions were fired at us all at once. One reporter shouted, “Detective Private Eye! What can you tell us about the recent fire at this farm?”
Twilight and I looked at each other. I'd dealt with the press before, so I gave her a look that told her to let me handle it. I looked at the reporter and replied, “The fire has been quelled, thanks to the help and cooperation of our townsfolk. We are currently investigating the cause of it, and more details will be made available when we have them.”
More of them shouted some questions before one reporter thrust a tape recorder in Twilight’s face. “Is it true that this fire was potentially caused by a dragon?”
Twilight looked at me, I shook my head subtlety and she said firmly, “We cannot confirm or deny the involvement of a dragon in this attack. More details will be made available when we have them. ”
“One more question,” I said, giving them a limit so as to keep any embarrassing questions from being brought to light.
They all shouted for attention before finally I pointed at one. He was a young earth pony stallion with a short blond mane and an aqua colored coat. A newspaper was his cutie mark and a tape recorder was in his hoof. He smiled and said, “News Spot from PNN, is it true that you, Twilight Sparkle, are in fact harboring a dragon?”
“Well, yes. His name is Spike,” Twilight answered.
“Are you aware, Miss Sparkle, that your dragon may be the cause of this fire?”
“That-“
“You were overheard saying it was similar to his fire, were you not?”
“Now hold o-“
“Do you confirm that your dragon could have done this?“
“HE WOULD NEVER!”
I looked over to see Rarity running up to stand beside me. Her face was absolutely fuming. She glared at the reporter and snapped, “I don’t know how reporters like you ever make it past Journaling School, but I’ll have you know that my Spikey Wikey would never do anything to harm ponies or to destroy property willingly!”
“Is it not true, Miss…”
“Rarity.”
“Miss Rarity,” News Spot went on, “that he did grow large and try to destroy the town only a year ago?”
Rarity glared at the reporter and retorted, “That was a year ago and any being can change. Spikey Wikey was saving the lives of my dear sister and her friend during the fire! He’s a hero and should never be seen as otherwise! Now get, all of you, before I tell some friends of mine in Canterlot just what I think of your slanderous reporting!”
With that the crowd scattered, not wanting to face the wrath of a furious Rarity. She smiled at our stunned faces and said, “Well, that takes care of your reporter problem.”
“Thanks, Rarity,” Twilight said with a smile. “I’m glad you came to defend Spike like that.”
“Anything for my Spikey Wikey,” Rarity said with a smile, a hint of blush on her cheeks. So, it seems her feelings for Spike had reached a new level. “I just don’t want ponies to try and pin the blame on him for what happened.”
Twilight simply smiled and I ducked under the police tape into the crime scene. Standing there near a burnt tree was a pegasus. He looked to be in his early forties, with an ashen colored coat and long red hair. He was clad in a black trench coat with a black fedora on his head. This was Flame Broil, head of the arson department at the ERPD.
He looked at me and said, in a heavy New Orneigh’s accent, “Private, it has been a long while.”
“Good to see you again, Flame Broil,” I said, shaking the stallion’s hoof. I'd always liked Flame Broil, maybe it’s because my mom’s dad came from his hometown. He was the stallion that made my stay at Arson bearable.
“Got ourselves a fine mess over 'ere,” he said, gesturing to the trees. “It was definitely done with dragon fire, but somethin' was mighty odd bout it.”
“How so?” Twilight asked, coming to stand beside me.
“Well, little lady,” he said, looking at Twilight, “normally a dragon fire would’ve completely incinerated this tree here.” He pointed to the ashen tree and explained, “This is where the fire started, judging by the ash pile up. When a dragon starts a fire it has a focal point where it all shoots out and hits dead on. Anything hit by that jet would've been completely vaporized.”
“So what you’re saying is that somepony simply used dragon fire to light the tree and the leaves, but it wasn’t a dragon?” I asked, drawing on what little of arson I know.
“Indeed, my friend,” Flame Broil said. “It’s as if they simply lit a match with dragon fire and tossed it on. Of course that’s impossible since match fire is nothing compared to true dragon fire.”
I then reached into my trench coat and pulled out the glass sphere. “What do you make of this? I asked. I found it by the trees while I was helping to fight the fire.”
Twilight stared at the sphere in shock and exclaimed, “Private! That’s a dimension sphere!”
“A what?” both Flame Broil and I asked.
“It’s a piece of ancient technology,” Twilight said. “I read about it in a book once, it was used as a portable storage unit. A long time ago, Alicorns put a spell on them to create a pocket dimension inside the sphere. It allowed them to store pretty much anything they could need”
“Anything at all?” I asked incredulously.
“Yeah, watch,” Twilight said, suddenly levitating my hat off my head. Her horn glowed as she put my hat over the sphere’s opening. The hat began growing smaller and a vacuum like sound came from the sphere. Suddenly my hat was sucked inside and disappeared.
“Wow…” I said, then gave her a look. “I’d like my hat back please.”
“Alright, let’s see if I remember how the spell went to extract…” Twilight muttered. Her horn glowed again and suddenly a bunch of junk fell out. I found my hat and took it, slapping it on my head before it could get further crushed.
“This is amazing tech” I said, “How come more ponies don’t use them?”
“They are extremely rare,” Twilight explained, in her typical teacher fashion. “After the Alicorns’ civilization fell apart most of their magical items vanished with them. This is an incredibly ancient and valuable find.”
I sifted through the junk, let’s see. A couple of old cookies, some screws, a torch, and a business card…
Flame Broil lifted the torch and sniffed the ashen top. “Definitely dragon fire, Ah recognize the smell of the ash.”
“Where’d you learn so much about fires?” Twilight asked him curiously.
“I was a volunteer fire fighter back in New Orneighs,” he explained. “After a few years of that, ya get used to the flames, little lady.”
“This torch must’ve carried the dragon fire,” I deduced, and then lifted the business card with my hoof. “FlimFlam Bros. We put two Fs in Farming Fundamentals?”
Why is it every business I run into seems to have as dumb of a slogan as mine?
“The Flim Flam Brothers?” Twilight gasped in shock. “That explains everything!”
“Grannie Smith mentioned them when I first came to town,” I recalled aloud. “Who exactly are they?”
“A couple of cons that came through town about a year ago,” Twilight explained, her voice showing disdain. “They tried to take Sweet Apple Acres by showing off this big machine that could make Apple Cider seemingly faster. Only their competitive natures got the better of them and even though they won the contest, nopony was willing to buy cider with rocks in it.”
Now they were starting to sound familiar. I had heard rumors of those two jerks going from town to town trying to sell their latest gizmo. I remember County sending me a letter from Appaloosa that told me of one time they dropped by. Suffice to say, County made quick work of them.
“Unfortunately, this is all circumstantial,” I said, “We need hard evidence, like a witness who saw them. I wonder who was working around here when the fire started?”
Twilight shook her head. “I have no idea. We’ll have to ask around to see what we can find out.”
I nodded and turned to Flame Broil. “Thanks for the help,” he said.
He smiled and replied, “Mah pleasure, anythin' for the stallion who kept some moral integrity when everything went to shit.”
_______________________________________________________
“Step right up folks!” Flim shouted, the yellow lanky unicorn standing on a makeshift stage in Ponyville. He pointed to a large contraption hidden under a dust cover. “See the amazing wonder that will modernize transportation forever! Trains, carriages, even sky chariots will become obsolete next to this wonder!”
“That’s right, Flim,” his brother said. He looked exactly alike except for a mustache on his face. He tipped his straw hat to the gathering crowd. “This latest wonder of industry will guarantee a fine and smooth transition to wherever you wanna go!”
The crowd looked excited and whispered fervently, speculating about what was hidden under the cover. Flam and Flim started their horns and shouted, “Presenting the…”
The crowd hushed as they stared at the object in anticipation.
“THE SEGWAY!!!”
*Cricket Noises*
“It’s uh…” Caramel said, staring at it.
“It’s certainly,” Cheerilee paused, “interesting….”
“It’s a scooter…” Scootaloo deadpanned.
“Not just any scooter, mind you!” Flam shouted, trying to regain the hype from before. “This baby has a motor inside and is guaranteed to move at a brisk four and a half miles per hour!”
The crowd didn’t buy it, literally or figuratively. Flim said, “And the starting price is fifty bits!”
“I wouldn’t pay one bit for that piece of crap!” Cloudchaser called.
“This is worse than your cider stunt!” Noteworthy added.
“Disa has gotta be the mosta stupid scam I ever heard!” Potso called, glaring at the brothers.
“Uh, it comes with a free Frogert…?” Flam offered
Everypony was about to start throwing rotten fruit at the brothers when I called out, “Hold it!” I briefly wondered how angry mobs always seemed to end up with rotten fruit, or pitchforks and torches.
“Oh, finally a pony with good sense!” Flim shouted. “He’s probably interested in our fine product, right Flam?”
“I hear you, Flim,” his brother answered, as Twilight and I walked up to the stage. Their eyes became pin pricks where they saw the look on my face.
“Found your business card,” I said, holding the plastic bag wrapped card. “Your manager said you would be passing through town.”
“Oh, well we’re always happy to have a potential customer,” Flim said, sweating nervously. “Right Flam?”
“Right, Flim,” his brother replied with a nod. “So, uh, what can we interest you in?”
“You can interest me in an explanation of what I just heard from a friend of mine, Pinkie Pie. She saw you two during the fire.”
Flim and Flam looked at each other, and then reached into their pockets and pulled out small cupped beverages. “Frogert?” they offered in unison.
Okay, ponies have tried to bribe me before, but this is just sad…