'Dina walked happily with Spike back to the library, being patient with him, as she fully understood why he was lost in thought. As they arrived at the library, he looked up at her. "I'm going to...excuse myself for a bit. I-"
She rested a hand on his shoulder. "Quite alright. You have a lot to think about." Seeing him smiling gratefully, she went into the library with him, sitting down at a central table while he went upstairs. It wasn't long before Twilight entered the room from the basement. "Hey Twilight."
"Hello 'Dina," Twilight replied happily. She looked around. "Where's Spike?"
"Upstairs," the dragoness replied, laying back in her chair. "He has a lot to think about. I answered some of his questions, as well as some he didn't know he had. Probably wants to clear his head before the party tonight."
Twilight smiled. "Thank you for helping him. He kept saying he had no more interest in his dragon heritage, but I could tell it bothered him. I hope he can come to terms with it all."
'Dina smiled. "I'm sure he will. He's stronger and wiser than he seems."
The lavender alicorn nodded. Then her eyes brightened. "I don't suppose you have time to answer some questions, then?"
'Dina nodded. "I suppose I do."
Twilight squealed happily. "I'll be right back!" she said eagerly, rushing out of the room. 'Dina privately suspected it was to fetch her question checklist.
"Peep!"
'Dina turned at the sudden noise right beside her ear, and found herself eye to eye with a red, orange, and gold puffball with wings...which she recognized as a slightly overweight baby phoenix. She stared in fascination. She'd never been this close to any phoenix before, let alone an infant. She held still, not wanting to disturb him, as he seemed completely calm in her presence.
"Peep!" the infant insisted, pointing his beak towards her opposite claw.
In surprise and confusion, 'Dina raised the indicated claw and began stroking the baby phoenix. The infant expressed his pleasure with a happy trill as he nuzzled into the stroking hand.
"I see Pee Wee likes you," Twilight said as she reentered, taking a seat opposite the dragoness.
As the phoenix hopped off 'Dina's shoulder and fluttered over to land before Twilight in a begging posture, 'Dina stared in amazement. "You raised a baby dragon, and now a baby phoenix?"
Twilight chuckled. "No," she corrected as she gave Pee Wee a treat, which he eagerly gobbled. "Pee Wee is Spike's. Garble and his cronies were proving how tough they were by smashing phoenix eggs. Spike refused to smash one, and protected it from Garble. We couldn't find the parents, so we brought the egg back here. Spike took care of the egg, and the child that hatched from it. Shortly after, the parents showed up." She smiled proudly. "Spike was ready to return Pee Wee to his parents, since we figured that would be best for him...but as soon as Spike walked away, Pee Wee flew after him. The parents talked for a bit, then flew off without Pee Wee. Spike's been especially close to the little guy ever since."
'Dina smiled. "There can be few better companions for a dragon than a phoenix, though a very rare bond to be formed." She plucked the scroll from Twilight's hands. "Let's speed this up a bit," she said, unrolling it and grabbing a quill.
"But-"
"There are things I can't tell you, and things I don't know. If I mark those off before you start asking, we save quite a bit of time."
Twilight thought for a bit, then nodded. "That's a good point," she said with a smile. The smile started to fade as the number of slashes 'Dina made with the quill made her realize just how many of her questions were on the 'taboo' list. When 'Dina handed back the scroll, Twilight unrolled it nervously. More than half her questions had been crossed out completely. She scanned down a bit until she saw one question she'd expected to ask, Why can't you answer these questions? and saw an X in the check box beside it. "How come some questions are crossed out, and some are X'ed?"
"The ones crossed out are the ones I can only discuss with another dragon. The ones with an X are the ones I'm only allowed to discuss with certain individuals outside the species, which you don't qualify for yet but might someday. Anything marked with a question mark is a question I don't know the answer to."
Twilight nodded in understanding as she looked over her list again. "It looks like there's only five questions left I can still get answers for." She took a closer look at them. "And most of them are regarding more personal concerns." She chuckled as she saw a notation. "Maybe less. You can answer this one, but not explain the answer?" At 'Dina's nod, Twilight actually asked the question. "Can dragons breed with other races?"
'Dina nodded. "A dragon can have a successful offspring with any member of any other species, even ones that don't have defined genders." She leaned casually on the table. "While not something that happens frequently, it is neither discouraged nor frowned upon. However, the dragon who does this is considered responsible for any action taken by the first two generations of offspring. That's just to discourage siring and abandoning children at random, if the dragons know they will have to stick around and watch over two generations."
Twilight nodded. "What exactly is done to enforce-"
"A dragon who violates that rule is put to death."
Twilight gasped. "Isn't that a little harsh?"
'Dina shook her head. "The innocence of the young is considered of utmost importance to protect. Any dragon power passed on is strongest in the first two generations, and can easily destroy both the children and those around them if they aren't taught to control it." 'Dina frowned. "Which reminds me. I'll need to inform the Elders that Garble and his cronies were smashing phoenix eggs. That's a serious offense, and one that he'll be taken strictly to task for."
Twilight nodded. "Good to know." Her eyes widened. "You mentioned dragon power being passed onto the young. Can you give me some examples?"
'Dina smiled. "I can give you three examples of descendants of dragon/pony unions and the powers they inherited. All three happen to be ponies you've met."
Twilight's eyes widened. "Really?'
'Dina nodded. "First off...have you ever had a face to face encounter with a full grown dragon?"
Twilight shuddered. "Yeah. He was getting ready to nap, but the smoke he was snoring was covering the skies over Equestria. My friends and I went to face him, but he was massive!"
'Dina nodded knowingly. Dragons who settled down for century or longer naps tended to remain in their massive forms. "When you came face to face with him, how did you feel?"
Twilight shivered. "I...I knew intellectually that dragons could be spoken to and reasoned with, and that there was respect and agreements between the two races...but all that flew out of my mind when I looked into his eyes. It...it was like fear was flooding into me through our locked gaze."
'Dina nodded. "Dragonfear. It's something dragons naturally generate once they reach a certain age, and when they take on massive proportions. Any creature with magic inside them will feel afraid in their presence simply from being in their presence, and that fear is multiplied many times over by an intense locked gaze."
Twilight frowned. "But...but Fluttershy looked the dragon right in the eyes with her Stare, and the dragon broke into tears!"
"That's because when he looked into the 'Stare', as you call it, magically speaking he was looking into the angry gaze of a dominant dragoness."
Twilight blinked. "Wha...Fluttershy is descended from a dragon?"
'Dina nodded. "Far back in her family tree, so there's no physical signs, but the dragon magic inside her both links her to every animal she encounters, and enables her to enforce her will on other creatures through Dragonfear. Since it's so far removed generation wise, she can only channel it in certain circumstances, and only for short periods of time before she has to build up the magic stores again."
"Wow..." Twilight gasped out. "I had no idea..."
"She probably has no idea either," 'Dina pointed out. "For various reasons, dragon heritage isn't something that's included in heraldry. In unicorns, dragon blood generally grants a strong affinity for a magical element, as well as emotions tied to that element. The one you know has a dangerously strong affinity to fire."
"But who-" Twilight gasped as she realized it. "Sunset Shimmer?"
'Dina nodded. "Her strong affinity for fire and volatile emotions are a result of her dragon blood being especially strong in her."
Twilight nodded. "Is...is that sort of thing a given?"
'Dina shook her head. "No. In fact, the third example I can give you probably has the strongest self control this world has ever seen."
Twilight blinked for a bit. "You're talking about Maud, aren't you?"
"That's right. She inherited strength and speed above and beyond what any pony could normally possess."
"What about Pinkie? What did she get?"
'Dina chuckled. "Sorry, but even dragon blood won't explain her."
Twilight nodded. She then glanced over her list of questions. "I wish I knew why I wasn't allowed to know these things. I hate unanswered questions."
'Dina thought for a time. There was one explanation she could give, but she worried how Twilight would respond to it. "...have you ever had a puppy, Twilight?"
Twilight shook her head. "No. The only contact I've had with a domesticated canine is Applejack's collie, Winona."
"Would you say Applejack loves Winona?"
"Absolutely!" Twilight affirmed. "She's as much an Apple as any of them."
"But AJ doesn't tell her everything that goes on around the farm, or consult with him about, say, the price of apples?"
"No," Twilight replied, confused. "She wouldn't be able to understand."
'Dina nodded. "If you could give a domestic dog the knowledge and understanding a pony has, would you?"
Twilight smiled widely. "That sounds like it could be wonderful!"
"Really?" 'Dina asked. "Winona, as she is now, knows that AJ gives her food, work, and love. She is perfectly content with her limited understanding of her life, but that doesn't make her joy any less. She comes from strong bloodlines, with no congenital defects or history of health problems, so when she comes in season she'll be bred, and her puppies placed where they will also be put to good work. If this weren't the case, she would be spayed, so she wasn't troubled by mating urges when she wouldn't be allowed to mate, in order to prevent bad genes from weakening the domestic dog gene pool.
"Domestic dogs, as a species, have become completely dependent on those races that domesticated them for their survival. If unicorns treated earth ponies that way, it would be called slavery and monstrous. But with dogs, it's accepted and natural. The bond between ponies - or griffons, or zebras, or minotaurs - and dogs is considered a marvelous wonder. Ponies, on average, will live between 100-200 years, longer if they take good care of themselves and/or are exposed to strong magic through a good portion of their lives. Dogs, however, even with the best of medical magic, won't make it past 30. These are all unalterable facts.
"And you say it would be wonderful to make little Winona wise enough, aware enough, smart enough to see things as a pony does." 'Dina lowered her gaze so it seemed she was looking down at Twilight. "Or have you reconsidered."
Twilight was shaking, her eyes wide. "That...that would be horrible."
"Why?"
"Because...because it would ruin her innocence," Twilight whimpered, looking on the verge of tears.
'Dina stood up, walking around to Twilight and resting her hand on her shoulder. "Twilight...dragons measure their lifespan by the turning of the galaxy. Few other creatures will live that long. The lives other races live are bound by what they understand of the world at large, and they are happy with them. That's why dragons keep secrets: to protect the innocence of the rest of the world. We...have seen what happens to creatures who learn more truth than they are ready for." She shuddered a bit, remembering the horror stories the Elders told to enforce their choice of secrecy, of the race that destroyed themselves and their world with the secret powers of the universe they unlocked before they were ready.
Twilight nodded slowly. "I...I see. ...I guess Spike's not the only one with a lot to think about now."
'Dina chuckled. "Seems that way."
They sat in silence for a while. Eventually, Twilight shook her head. "It's a lot to take in."
'Dina nodded. "I'm sure."
"I just...I'm going to need some time to wrap my mind around it all."
"Would a suggestion bother you?"
Twilight shook her head. "Not at all."
"Don't think about it." At Twilight's shocked expression, 'Dina continued. "Put it out of your mind, and join Spike, myself, and all your friends at the party Pinkie's throwing. Immerse yourself in the shared joy, and let it wash away unpleasant thoughts."
Twilight blinked. "But...isn't that kind of...head in the sand?"
'Dina shook her head. "No. It's choosing to live happily, and relegating unpleasant thoughts to the proper time for them. Which isn't a party."
Spike chuckled as he came downstairs. "You're right about that, 'Dina."
She smiled up at the young dragon. "Done thinking?"
"No. But I've decided those thoughts are future Spike's problem. Present day Spike has a pretty dragoness to escort to her welcome party."
'Dina and Twilight both giggled at that as the dragoness took the offered arm. "Then please lead the way, good sir."
With that, the three made their way towards Sugar Cube Corner, laughing happily.