//------------------------------// // Explanations // Story: Estranged // by Abramus5250 //------------------------------// Chapter Three Explanations “What?” Twilight asked again, looking back and forth between Zecora, Nella, and Spike, who kept squirming where he sat. The party had long since ended, and they were all back in the library, at Twilight’s impossible-to-refuse request; more like a demand if anything. “When did this happen?” “Twilight, I’m just as surprised as you are,” Spike said, glancing over at Zecora and the squirming little filly sitting behind her mother. The fact that Zecora had chosen to spring upon him the mother of all surprises “I said, when did this happen?” Twilight asked again, gesturing at little Nella. “Leave my daughter out of this,” Zecora said. “She is pure, so her part in the matter, please dismiss.” “Zecora, I’m afraid I just can’t ignore the fact that you and Spike have had a foal together,” the purple alicorn said. “Nor can I just not know how it all happened. It is my duty as a princess to know these things.” “It happened the night before I went into hibernation, Twilight,” Spike said softly. “You know Zecora and I had been going out for around two years by then. We talked, we laughed, we shared in our good memories together... and then we opened up a bottle of wine. Zecora had been saving it, just for a special occasion like this, and so we started drinking.” “Wait, you two got drunk?” Twilight asked. “Spike, you’ve never had alcohol in your life!” “I didn’t until that night,” he said, glancing over at Zecora. Reaching out, her gently grasped one of her hooves in his hand and gave it a squeeze. Little Nella behind him gave a look of silly disgust, as if holding hooves were the grossest thing ever. “It didn’t take long before we, well, you know...” “Yes, I don’t need to hear the details, especially with a foal present,” Twilight said with a sigh. “What I wish to know is why neither of you told me and why I had to find out today, at a party, that Spike was a father!” “I wished for him to have some time back before he was told,” Zecora said softly. “My intentions were pure and honest, though appearing cold. It was a secret between him and I; our union was ours alone to know, so please don’t pry.” “We were worried about how most of you might react, but to be frank, we weren’t exactly sure why we had done it ourselves,” Spike said. “I mean, it was amazing, but we’d just been dating, and we hadn’t discussed any sort of physical relationship, and, well... it just kind of got out of hoof. Not that there was anything wrong with that,” he added quickly, glancing in Zecora’s direction. “Neither of us had any idea the events of that night could lead to something... else.” “Indeed it is true, neither of us knew what that night’s actions would bring, but I must say, for our moment together, it was quite... fitting,” the zebra said. “Twilight, you must understand that I am much older than thee; several more years down the road, and I might not have been able to have a colt, or a filly. Nella is a gift to me more precious than gold; a mother’s love for her daughter is fierce, I hope you have been told.” Twilight sighed; she was getting the answers she wanted, but they weren’t really making the situation any more pleasant to deal with. “Okay, okay, you two have had a foal together,” she said finally, rubbing her temples with one free hoof. “Now that I know, there’s a lot of ponies who need to know, namely my friends and the princesses.” “How soon will they know?” Zecora asked. “With this information, we would not wish to distress them so.” “I’m not sure, but within the week; Celestia will have to know as well, Spike,” Twilight said. “You know that she needs to know; there hasn’t been a dragon hybrid within Equestria’s borders in centuries.” “So?” Spike asked. “What does that have to do with anything?” Personally he thought Celestia might simply adore little Nella; she certainly did seem to be extra happy whenever she saw little ones. Luna wasn’t quite so excited, as she didn’t have as much experience with younger ponies like Nella, but then again, she could have developed the skills during his absence. “There are those who don’t like it when ponies mix,” Twilight said. “Most of them being stuffy old-timers who don’t like pegasi marrying unicorns and such, but most of the time they aren’t too vocal about it. Only when there’s some sort of scandal do they come out of the wordwork, but in a short time they fade away again. However, little Nella here could give them and those like them an opportunity to push for a few new laws that have been sitting around, gathering dust for years. She's not only from a zebra, but a dragon too, and that could have these "purist" ponies in an uproar.” “Laws? What kind of laws?” the dragon asked, almost instinctively putting his hand out to protectively shield Nella. The little zebra giggled and jumped over it and back, as if it were a game. “Registration laws,” Twilight said. “They’re terrible dreadful things, but they would require all hybrids or those of mixed parentage to be registered; Nella, the Cake twins, and any other ponies like them. It would also require any ponies wishing to be married to another race to fill out a ton of paperwork and also be put on a list. It’s all very totalistic, if you ask me, which is why Celestia has been against its use for centuries, ever since the very first ponies put in into the political ring. Only now, with the first dragon hybrid living in Equestria for the first time in hundreds of years, they could conceivably have enough weight to put enough pressure on Celestia to pass such a law.” “We cannot let that come to pass,” Zecora said. “Our Nella will not be singled out by those brain-addled fools in the upper class.” “I can only hope so, but she and those like her may be the keys to their demise,” the alicorn said. “If we can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Nella and those like her do no harm to society, but contribute to it, then we might have enough support to destroy the unpassed law completely.” “But... if that happens, won’t those who supported the law be angry with us?” Spike asked, feeling incredibly protective all of a sudden. If some pony tried to hurt little Nella... Wow, a father for a day and he was already thinking of burning to ash any pony who might try to do her wrong. Whether these were dragon or father instincts, he couldn’t tell; likely a combination of both. “They may, but seeing as a new law is put on the table for discussion rather quickly after the previous one is either accepted or rejected, they should forget about it rather quickly. My biggest concern for Nella right now making sure she’s properly taken care of, and-,” Zecora cut the alicorn off, peculiar look filling her eyes... pride. “I have raised Nella alone, for four years of her life,” the zebra said, the room suddenly feeling a bit darker as her mystic side began to show. “Do not tell me I am an unfit mother because I am nopony’s wife.” “No, no, I’m sure that’s not what Twilight meant,” Spike said, placing his hand on Zecora’s shoulder, partially to restrain her and also to reassure her. “Right, Twilight?” “No, no, of course I didn’t mean that,” the lavender unicorn said quickly. “I only meant that she needs to have more of a relationship with her father, and the community. This is the first time anypony has seen her, and soon there’ll be questions surrounding her... I just think it’d be best if she spent mmore time with her father in town is all.” Zecora didn’t say anything to that, and some of the fire in her eyes did disappear, but her mouth remained turned into a frown. “To her spending more time with Spike, I do not object,” she said. “Thank you for being so understand-,” “But I wish for her to know about you, so that her curiosity remains unchecked,” the zebra continued, as if she had not been interrupted. “Me?” Twilight asked. “Her?” Spike asked in unison. “Of course, she is like a sister to you, is she not? You two were still close, I had thought.” “Well, yeah, Twilight’s like a sister to me,” Spike said slowly. “What does that mean?” “It means, my dear dragon, that Twilight is Nella’s aunt. This is a fact in politics, twilight, you may not wish to flaunt.” “Wait... that silly purple unicorn with the wings is my auntie?” Nella said, poking her head out from behind Spike’s back now. “Hiya auntie! I’m Nella!” In the blink of an eye, the little spitfire zebra had bounded between her parents and rushed the purple alicorn, wrapping her legs around her neck in an adorable little hug. Twilight made no move, instead opting to seemingly freeze, her eyes wide and staring down at the little filly. Then, something magical seemed to happen. It was either the fact that a little filly was hugging her, or that Twilight had just realized just what Zecora had said, but... she began to softly return the hug. “Did you plan on that?” Spike whispered to Zecora as his “sister” gently nuzzle the top of Nella’s head, earning a sharp squealing giggle from the little pony. “Perhaps I did, perhaps I did not,” Zecora said with a wink. “What I do know is, that your sister may now be spending time with her niece a lot.” “Hey, Zecora... why doesn’t Nella have any dragon features?” the dragon asked softly as Twilight and Nella began to clap hooves together. “It was the potions during my carrying time,” the zebra said. “They help to alleviate those with foal who are in the later years of their prime. Do not worry, for she is your daughter true; in time, I believe, teaching her of her gifts will be up to you.” “Has she displayed any of my gifts?” Spike asked as little Nella gently poked at Twilight’s flight feathers, earning a few giggles from the normally boring librarian. “When she was born, my hut shook with her cries, but months later when I tried putting her in a crib, you could imagine my surprise. With her teeth forming she had chewed right through the bars, and as later her eyes twinkled like the night stars. I feel she will grow more into your heritage, my dear, but I want you to help her, so her later power she doesn’t fear.” “I’ll help her, don’t worry about it,” Spike said with a smile, leaning in and giving Zecora a soft nuzzle. “Ew, mom, dad, that’s gross!” Nella said from atop Twilight’s head, where she had come to rest while examining her aunt’s horn. Spike and Zecora pulled away quickly, but the two of them kept glancing at one another out of the corner of their eyes. “Hey, psst; Zecora,” Spike said. The zebra nodded silently to him. “Do you... do you want another one?” “Spike, that would be most sublime, but with Nella around, I’m afraid we likely wouldn’t find time,” Zecora whispered back. Well, she hadn’t said yes, but technically she hadn’t said no... “Well, what if, down the road, she hung out with her “auntie” for some time?” he asked. “Then, sir dragon, I tell you this; the walls of my hut will be shaking with my bliss,” she replied, smiling as a very red blush came over Spike’s face. Well, that cinched it; he wasn't going to be a deadbeat dad while Zecora was around. She'd be running him ragged to help with Nella's upbringing, as well as, it seemed, running him ragged for... other things. “Daddy, why is your face red?” Nella asked, clambering down from her aunt’s back. “Are you running a fever? Mommy usually has the best kinds of medicines for colds.” “Yes, “daddy”, why is your face red?” Twilight asked, arching an eyebrow in amusement. “I’ll... I’ll tell you later, sweetie,” Spike said to the little filly, giving her a small nuzzle on the head. “Right now, why don’t I show you around the library? This is where I lived before I met your mommy.” “Cool! There’s so many books and stuff!” Nella yelled, squeaking on “stuff” as she rushed around, seemingly determined to inspect every little inch of the library’s shelves for two seconds before moving onto another part. She sneezed; "kinda dusty over here, dad." “Twilight, do you think she’ll get a cutie mark, with her being half... me?” Spike asked. “I’m not sure, but I do think that she would,” Twilight said, who seemed a tad irked that Nella had managed to find the one spot she herself hadn't been able to dust that day. “She seems to be mostly exhibiting her mother’s traits.” “For now,” Zecora said. “Someday she may yet develop the taste for gem chow.” Spike followed his rambunctious little daughter, already feeling as though his life, while it never could be the same, was only going to get even better. If only he could have been there for Nella in the earlier years; thankfully she was still young enough that he could still make a lasting impact on her life. He needed to be there for her, and she would undoubtedly, along with her mother, be there for him. So it began; the first day of the rest of Spike’s life with his little daughter Nella and her mother, Zecora.