Xenophilia: Shotglass Oneshots

by TheQuietMan


23: The Reason by Rikmach

The Reason by Rikmach

********************************

"Twilight?"

"Mmmm?"

Lero looked down at the ball of purple and green scales, curled up between them on the couch. Both of them were reading on a quiet evening alone. Lyra had gone to spend an evening with Bon Bon to catch up, and Rainbow was in Cloudsdale attending a regional weather manager's meeting.

"Why did they let you keep Spike? I mean, maybe I'm missing something, but weren't you practically a filly when you hatched him? I mean, I'm glad they did, the little guy's awesome, but giving a foal essentially a child to raise- especially one that can breathe fire- seems a little questionable to me."

Lero looked at her intently, hoping that he'd not said anything that would upset her; rather she smiled, taking off her reading glasses setting them aside.

"That's actually a very good question- and there were some ponies who wanted to. But let me put it this way: You know while not a large number of unicorns get into Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, there's still a sizable number each year, yes?"

"Yes..." Lero frowned slightly.

"And that attempting to hatch a dragon's egg is part of the entrance exam, right?"

He blinked, suddenly realizing the problem with that.

"And you don't see many unicorns walking around with dragons, even in Canterlot?" Twilight asked, confirming it.

"No, you don't. How does that even work?"

Twilight pauses, thoughtful. "The egg is a dud. the shells of dragon eggs have special properties; they're highly magically reactive, as a defensive measure- they tend to absorb, refract, or disperse magical energies. This prevents magical creatures from piercing their rock-like shell, as well as protecting the developing embryo from being affected by powerful ambient magical fields- too thin, and magical radiation plays merry hell with the developing embryo... Too thick, such as the one used by the school- the child never received any of his Parent's powerful magical aura, which is the spark needed to start the dragon elemental development process."

"So... trapped?" Lero asked.

Twilight nods. "Essentially, in magical stasis, forever. It's too tough to shave it down, and cracking it would just kill the egg. Most dragons just eat them to reabsorb the nutrients. However, they have uses to nondragons- for example, the observable reactions to the magic used on them is very useful in gauging someone's magical power, what kind of magic they use, how they react to magical resistance, adapt their spells and so on. In short, having someone cast magic on a dragon's egg is a near perfect way to gauge their power and skill."

"Wait- it was in stasis and magic resistant, yet you got it to hatch? How's that even..."

"...Possible? It's not supposed to be. Heh, some of the staff were even upset at me, apparently finding and paying for a replacement took a large chunk out of the budget. As for how I actually did it? Hey, Element of Magic." She grinned, gesturing to an invisible tiara. "But... more seriously, Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom somehow set off some sort of... cascading magical reaction in me that caused a massive surge of magical power- several thaumometers hundreds of miles away caught it- the sheer magical force simply blew through the egg's defenses and... well, gave Spike the spark of life."

Lero stared, almost slack-jawed at this. "That's... amazing, but it doesn't quite explain why you were allowed to keep him."

She noddded. "Well... as I said, there were several reasons. First, the magical force that brought him to life... made him my familiar."

"...Your what?" Magic was frequently beyond Lero.

"Well... some wizards form magical links to animals to expand their capabilities, as well as create completely loyal, obedient servants."

"Spike, a perfectly loyal, obedient servant? I don't buy it." Lero snarked.

Twilight laughed. "He used to be a lot more, ah, slavish when he was younger, and seemed more like an extension of myself. Normally, it's nearly impossible to do it with a sentient being, much less one as magically powerful as a dragon. And as time has passed, and he's grown older, gained power, developed a personality, formed a stronger will... I find him more and more defying my will, or doing unexpected things. and... You're never to tell him this, but I... delight in it a little bit whenever he does. It means he's not a slave, and I'm not a slavemaster. I think it's why mages don't normally make powerful, intelligent beings their familiars- They can't really be controlled that way. At least, not forever."

"So he'll eventually grow out of it?"

"Not really. Massive magical surge, and all. No matter what, we'll be connected. Not to mention, it's had some... effect on him, being given life by pony magic, rather than dragon magic. You seen any other dragons with messenger breath?"

"No... but what does this have to do about separating you two?"

"Well... Being my familiar, even if we were separated, he'd do absolutely everything he could to get back to me. There's ways to cut the connection but it's... traumatic for both parties."

"Traumatic how?" Lero asked.

"Well... It'd essentially be yanking out a bit of magic that has been deeply integrated into him. For Spike, it'd be like someone tore out a chunk of his soul. For me, It'd be like someone chopped off a limb." Lero winced at the idea. "Yeah. So, Princess Celestia decided that it was too much of risk to damage my talent- Spike functionally has a tiny spark of my magic inside him- that's how the link is made, and where the connection and loyalty spring from."

He nodded thoughtfully. "So, that's it? He's your familiar? That's why you kept him?"

She shakes her head. "No, that's really the reason why everyone else accepted it- ultimately, if I decided it wasn't something I wanted, I'm sure I could eventually learn to sever the link without hurting either of us. The reason that I decided to keep him was really the most important one."

"What was that?"

She pauses, looking down at the sleeping dragon, affectionately putting a hoof on his side. "Because... While maybe we treat each other mostly like brother and sister- we did grow up together, after all- and while maybe being my familiar gives him the desire to be close and loyal to me... ultimately? I may not have carried him, but Spike would never have been hatched without me. He's my son. He's my son, and I love him." She leans down, kissing his cheek. the sleeping drake murmured and snuggled closer to her. "And I wouldn't ever let anyone take him away from me." She smiled up at Lero.

Lero smiled at her. "...and that's probably the best reason, ever."