//------------------------------//
// Part 4 Discoveries 
// Story: The Measure of a Dragon 
// by Zephyr Spark 
//------------------------------//

	Dr. Saffron scowled as she read another proposed experimental procedure from the science department to try on the dragon should she win the case. She crumpled it up and threw it into a trash bin already overflowing with similar proposals. Maybe she was a scientist seeking to understand dragons, but she put her morality first. 
Once again her eyes turned to the clock. She had been going through proposals like these for well over two hours. Plenty were insightful and reasonable procedures, such as creating a scratch test with the dragon’s crystal breaking fangs and comparing them to the hardest known stones to determine just what they were capable of crushing, and testing the bite force behind a dragon’s jaws. These experiments would not hurt the dragon in any way, shape, or form and would provide valuable biological findings on these species. 
However, there were many unorthodox experiments proposed, that quite frankly, she wouldn’t perform on a lab rat. One of these experiments involved a dissection. Dr. Saffron found this absolutely brutal, inhumane, and seriously considered moving for the scientist who proposed the experiment to be permanently suspended. It wouldn’t do any good if they mutilated the only dragon they might find. If the department tried to push for something so terrible, Dr. Saffron had no doubt she would leave the department for good or drop the case altogether. No dragon deserved that sort of treatment, even if it could be done safely. 
But these letters told her a sadly unfortunate truth. Few other scientists could appreciate what a valuable asset this dragon was, and how many of their methods could hurt it before they made any true discoveries. She was grateful she brought the case to the council before Dr. Facts and became its head. A scientist like him would squander the dragon in his attempts to achieve fame. If she won the case, she would ensure that dragon did not go to waste. Yes, her methods were fairly untested and could cause the dragon discomfort, but she had no intention to dismember the dragon or change him. She realized that if she dropped the case, some other scientist with no such reservations would take control and ruin any chance they had to learn about these creatures.
Using her magic, she grabbed a book, full of her research notes and proposed experiments. She added some notes regarding the reasonable propositions, before closing the book and placing it aside on the left side of her desk. She plowed through similar letters, made notes in her book, and crumpled up others. As she neared the final proposals, she noticed a package beneath the mail. She levitated the yellow package, no bigger than a letter, and inspected the address, which listed Dr. Facts’ name. She sighed, not wanting to deal with that doctor right now, until she turned the package over and noticed a message scribbled on its back.
You once asked us how we confirmed Dr. Ruby and Dr. Sapphire’s demise despite never locating their bodies. I’d say the ends justify the means. And I’m not the only one who thinks so.
The unicorn’s eyes widened and she gasped. Dr. Ruby and Dr. Sapphire were Silver Stone’s parents. After the fire, every pony assumed they had perished amidst the flames, but no pony ever found their remains. They had to bury empty coffins. Her whole body trembling, Dr. Saffron opened the package and out slid a journal, bound with some sort of scales. She immediately recognized them as flameproof dragon scales and recoiled. What kind of monster would do this to a dragon? One or two scales, she could understand, but to acquire this much, one would have to … She didn’t want to finish the thought. 
Tentatively, she opened the journal. On the first page, she had to catch her breath. There was a picture of a red male unicorn and blue female unicorn, cradling a silver coated little filly between them. Beneath she read:
Ruby & Sapphire with Silver Stone Day 1
Recognizing the handwriting, she scrolled through the pages, and realized the nature of this journal. It was her dear friend Sapphire and her husband Ruby’s research journal and diary from their days studying dragons, leading up to the day when something provoked the dragons into burning down an entire forest. Every pony knew that their field research had provided valuable knowledge of dragon migration patterns, but never had these documents been salvaged to reveal the exact migration routes. Had the science department, or some other pony, found this and withheld it from her all these years? Why? The public had a right to know this.
Then she read more closely. And for the first time in her life, Dr. Saffron wondered if she ever truly knew her friend.

***

Silver Stone raced back to the room with Spike’s meal as well as hers. She was anxious to resume their debate of which of the Power Ponies would win an all out battle royal. Every time they came close to the answer, one of them recalled a nugget of information that prolonged the debate. So far, the fight was ending up in a stalemate, as the ponies seemed far too evenly matched to truly claim victory over the other. With the guards’ permission, they retrieved loads of paper to chart out how any fight between the six could play out and so far they had tracked over 300 possible outcomes, though no common trends in the victors and many fights ending in complete wipe outs. This whole day was just pure geek fantasy.
Being home schooled, Silver Stone never really had the chance to interact with other ponies her age and now she was spending the entire day with a fellow Power Pony fan, just enjoying their time together as friends. The thought almost made her stop in her tracks when she realized she regarded of the purple dragon as her friend. She hadn’t realized it, but in the little time that they already had together, she and Spike had undeniably become friends, bonded by a shared love of Power Ponies and an appreciation for the other’s company. She didn’t just appreciate his company because he was the only one she could really talk to for the rest of the day, but because he seemed to appreciate her company equally. And they didn’t just appreciate each other’s company; they enjoyed every second of it.
She honestly rather liked him. He was polite, had a surprisingly sharp wit, and was a good listener. Even though her surrogate mother and his protector were enemies, they could both find common ground and camaraderie. It was the last thing she expected of any pony, much less a dragon. Everything Dr. Saffron taught her about dragons, it was all so wrong. Spike wasn’t some animal that kept to itself, he was a friendly individual, no different than her on the inside. Honestly, the biggest difference between them she could see was his physical exterior, but when she looked closer, they were so much alike. They both never really got to know their parents; she had very faint memories and he had none what so ever. They both loved the Power Ponies, and they both lived with a pony they admired above all else. 
With this in mind, she began to seriously question Dr. Saffron’s goals as she reentered the room. Separating Spike from Twilight would be the equivalent of separating her from the doctor. Being forced apart from the pony they loved most would break either of them and destroy their protectors. At least, Silver Stone was fairly confident Spike loved Twilight. He certainly seemed fond of her and endlessly loyal. Yet, this loyalty was not merely an animal staying with a master to be fed and sheltered; it was a loyalty defined by … love. She no longer doubted. This wasn’t right. She had to talk to the doctor
“Silver Stone?” Spike motioned for her attention, and she remembered where she was, “Did you hear me?”
“Um, sorry no,” Silver Stone sheepishly responded as she placed their meals on the table.
Spike smiled at the filly’s scatterbrained nature. It honestly reminded him a bit of Twilight. Then he remembered that tomorrow, he might never see her again and his smile faded. He quickly drove those thoughts away. He believed in Twilight. She could win this. She had to. 
Noticing his sudden frown, Silver Stone wondered if once again if she had done something wrong. Before she could ask, Spike put on another quick smile and walked to the table, pulling up a chair.
“I said that we could take a quick lunch break and get right back on it,” he said as the unicorn walked to an adjacent chair. “This would be like, what? Match number 324?”
“326,” Silver Stone corrected the dragon, “and we estimated there are over 3000 ways this battle could play out. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”
“Well, it’s not work if you’re having fun,” Spike grinned as he dug into his meal. Silver Stone completely agreed, and this was the most fun she had in a long time.

***

Twilight nodded to herself as she read another helpful bit of information. So far, this venture had revealed immeasurably beneficial findings. Dragons seldom attacked ponies. Indeed, there were incidents and conflicts between the two, but these attacks seemed largely the result of misunderstanding or provocation. It made sense and seemed consistent with their experiences. During the dragon migration, none of the thousands of dragons they saw fly over Ponyville demonstrated any aggressive tendencies towards the ponies. When they had to stop a dragon from filling the sky with smoke, it only attacked them after Rarity tried to nab some of its treasure and Rainbow Dash bucked its face. And even then, Fluttershy was more than capable of talking it down. With this, Twilight could prove dragon and pony interactions were not so strained as the doctor had said.
In the end, her case resided on one of Celestia’s laws. This law essentially stated any being who lived with another for a period of over eight years, would be recognized (if the being so wished) as the other’s family. Spike had been with her for longer than that. If she could get this point out quickly, perhaps she could turn this whole trial in her favor.
“Twilight,” the alicorn turned from the table to see Rarity approach with a grim expression, “we might have a problem.”
Twilight frowned, feeling a headache at the mere anticipation of whatever might be said. 
“The librarian told me she was here with Cadence a little while ago,” Rarity explained, “and in the middle of her research, some pony named Dr. Facts came with documents from the council for ‘the advancement of science’.”
Twilight knew that name. Dr. Facts had written often on biology and physics, and she had used his textbooks in magic school. He was a very curious albeit risk-taking scientist, who often posed that the ends justify the means. If he too was interested in experimenting on Spike for the sake of science, Dr. Saffron would be the least of their worries. Twilight turned back to the book with new vigor.
“We’ve been researching what we can,” Rarity continued. “We’ll tell you everything we’ve found for the case when you’re done with that book.”
Twilight nodded without looking back. The words before her became blurry, as her eyes grew moist with worry.
“Don’t fret, darling,” Rarity laid a hoof on the alicorn’s shoulder in an effort to comfort her, “I know you’re frightened, but I promise you, we will get him back.”
Twilight’s lips curled slowly into a smile. She was truly grateful to have such wonderful friends. No, that she and Spike had such wonderful friends.

***

“So how did you get into the Power Ponies?” Spike asked as they finished charting out the one-thousandth possible outcome of a battle royal, which once again revealed a stalemate.
“Dr. Saffron gave me one of their comics when I was six years old.” Silver Stone fondly recalled the event, “She said it was one of hers when she was my age, and she thought I might like it. Which I totally did.”
Spike noticed how she referred to the doctor as Doctor Saffron, and was intrigued to know what exactly was her relationship to Silver Stone. They didn’t look physically similar so Spike had doubts they were mother and daughter, sisters, or directly related. But he dare not ask as he realized they were actually enjoying their time together despite their protectors’ rivalry. He did not want to spoil it by overstepping his boundaries.
After seeing his curious expression, Silver Stone recognized that Spike wanted to ask her something. Given how far they had come, she felt obliged to answer any question.
“Is there something you wanted to ask me?” Silver Stone smiled innocently.
Spike blinked in surprise. The filly was remarkably perceptive. Well, she was a scientist in training.
“Yeah,” Spike admitted, “ about Dr. Saffron. Is she like your mother, sister, or – what?”
“No,” the silver unicorn answered, though she quickly reconsidered, “well, I suppose in some ways she is, but no, we aren’t related.”
Spike’s suspicions were confirmed, “So she adopted you?” 
As he asked, he noticed her smile fade, replaced by a melancholy expression. He was suddenly worried that he had ruined their friendship and was about to stammer out an apology before the filly nodded.
“Saffron was a friend of my mom and dad,” Silver Stone’s head drooped a bit but she remained strong. “She took me in after they…”
Before she could even shed a tear, Spike was by her side with a tissue and a comforting expression. She smiled, truly grateful to have found such a wonderful friend.
“I’m sorry,” Spike said, ears drooping.
“It’s fine,” Silver Stone assured him, though she had doubts, “I’ve had time to move on, and I really don’t remember them that well. I lost them when I was five.”
“What happened?” Spike blurted out, and instantly tried to backtrack, “I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.”
“No, it’s alright,” the filly’s gaze moved away from Spike to stare pensively at a wall, as the ghosts returned. “They were scientists studying dragons and their migration patterns in the field. They had been studying them for three years when something happened. No pony knows for sure what happened, but one of the dragons they were observing went berserk. It burnt down a forest with them inside.”
Spike’s eyes gaped at the unicorn. Once again, he felt disappointment with his dragon kind. How could they be so cruel and thoughtless? How could they orphan this sweet little unicorn? He longed to comfort her, offer some words to ease her mind. But he had never lived through such a traumatic experience.
“I wasn’t there when it happened,” she continued, “but I saw the fire and smoke rising from our campsite. After that, some ponies brought me back to Canterlot and Saffron found me and took me in.”
Silver Stone grinned wistfully, “You know, despite everything I’ve been through, she makes me feel so loved that it doesn’t feel so bad. She gave me family, home, and has always gone out of her way to care for me. To me, she is my mom and my sister. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but it’s just the way I feel.”
Spike’s gaze softened as he felt new kinship with this pony. Now, he recognized an undeniable truth. Silver Stone was exactly like him; orphaned and adopted by a pony, who treated them like family. They both saw their guardians as parental figures and siblings, and dedicated their lives to them. The purple dragon turned his gaze to the wall to confront his own ghosts.
“It makes perfect sense,” Spike’s heavy voice made the unicorn turn and see his pensive stare. “I never knew my parents, but Twilight has always acted like my mom and sister, so I never felt unloved. She adopted me, even though no pony told her to, and the only way I’ve been able to repay her is by helping her in any way I can, but even that could never show how much she means to me.”
Spike’s green eyes met the unicorn’s cerulean blue eyes, and she recognized tears of bittersweet joy trailing down his face. “She’s the most important pony in the world to me. I love her.”
She now recognized the kinship Spike had seen moments ago. Wordlessly, the two embraced in movements to comfort each other, as they both recognized how they needed their protectors. If Spike truly meant this about Twilight, Silver Stone would beg Saffron to drop the case immediately. No science was worth separating a family for.
“I’m sorry, Spike,” Silver Stone broke from the hug to look at Spike in the eyes. “Saffron’s probably doing all of this for me. She thinks I’m still suffering over my parents and wants to prevent another incident like this. I don’t think she realizes I’ve been able to move on because I had her.”
She stared at the dragon with new resolve, “I’ll tell her to drop the case. You shouldn’t have to help her if you don’t want to.”
Spike smiled appreciatively, “Thanks, but I really don’t mind helping her if it can prevent another incident. I just don’t want to leave Twilight. If you have to convince her of anything, please just show her how much Twilight means to me, okay?”
The unicorn could only look at the dragon in complete disbelief. He was willing to subject himself to any experiment for her, a pony he had just met. In return, all he asked was to keep Twilight by his side. Silver Stone no longer had any doubts. She had to confront her mentor.
“Silver Stone,” a guard peaked through the door, shifting their attention away from each other, “Dr. Saffron has returned.”
She gritted her teeth, ready to chew out her mentor until she felt Spike lay a clawed hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t be mad at her,” he said calmly, “her intentions are good. She’s just been looking out for you.”
Once again, she gazed at the dragon in disbelief. Then, she nodded, said her goodbye, and walked out the door to find Dr. Saffron, looking absent-mindedly into thin air. Normally, the doctor would greet her with a smile and warm embrace. Something was wrong. Silver Stone shook her head, dismissing the thought for later, and walked up to her guardian, shocking her from her ponderings.
“We need to talk,” she mustered the courage to reprimand the doctor and would not back down.
Dr. Saffron was slightly taken aback when her surrogate daughter did not give her usual joyful greeting. But the filly was right. Dr. Saffron had something to tell her. The guards led them out of the castle to the doors they entered from this morning. They departed through the night sky back to their little house, not speaking a word. They reached the door and Dr. Saffron used her magic to open it. Her ward walked in with her head turned down.
The second the doctor closed the door behind her and turned to the filly, she braced herself to tell Silver Stone the truth about her parents. Before she could, her assistant gave a very harsh stare.
“How could you –?” Silver Stone choked, disliking what she had to do.
Dr. Saffron blinked uncertainly, as she noticed the filly trembling. She motioned for Silver Stone to continue with a gentle motherly expression.
“How could you take Spike from Twilight like this?”
The doctor winced in surprise. This was not what she was expecting. What had the dragon done to her in their time together? No doubt he wanted to avoid revealing the secrets of his kind and was using Silver Stone to get her to drop the case. She was ready to dismiss anything the dragon told her assistant, but then Silver Stone continued.
“He thinks of her as family. Even though he never knew his parents, he hasn’t felt lonely because he had her. He needs her like I need you. If you take him away from her, he’ll die.”
Doctor Saffron shut her mouth. She always had a soft spot for her surrogate daughter, and valued her insights. Silver Stone believed what she was saying, so much that she compared their relationship to that of the dragon’s and Twilight’s. She was willing to listen and hear her assistant.
“I told him about my parents, and you know what he said?” Silver Stone’s eyes watered but she kept on, “He’s willing to help you understand dragons to prevent another incident. And all he asks is to keep Twilight by his side. You know why? Because she gave to him what you gave to me: a home!”
Silver Stone stamped towards her mentor defiantly, but with love.
“You wouldn’t keep someone from their family, would you?”
Dr. Saffron stuttered, “I…”
Silver Stone’s eyes gaped at Dr. Saffron in horror, “Would you?”
“No, I guess I wouldn’t.” she finally said, “but I can’t drop the case.”
For the first time in a long time, Silver Stone grew angry with the pony she had called her family. Was she really so wrapped up in her own grief not to realize how wrong she was? 
“Let me explain,” Dr. Saffron quickly tried to defend herself.
“No, let me explain,” Silver Stone grimaced, “what you’re doing is wrong. Spike belongs with Twilight like I belong with you. You have to drop this case now.”
“And then what?” Dr. Saffron became irritated with her student’s naiveté, “Another scientist would just come along and take up the case! And they won’t have any reservations about tearing him limb from limb if they think it could advance science!”
Silver Stone winced at those brutal words. She had never considered another scientist trying to take up Dr. Saffron’s case, and potentially destroying Spike.
“There are hundreds of other scientists who believe the ends justify the means,” the doctor brought her emotions under control, “and they would love to treat him worse than a lab rat. I’ve already had dozens of proposals for experiments that I wouldn’t try on any other being. If I don’t take the lead on this case, then there’s no guarantee that dragon will even be alive after one year.”
Silver Stone became irate and began pacing, furiously stamping her hooves. It wasn’t fair. Spike only wanted to keep Twilight nearby. Why couldn’t scientists see that he loved her? Did they think he was incapable of love?
Dr. Saffron noticed her student’s displeasure, and softened her gaze.
“If I win custody of Spike,” she said his name without any hint of sarcasm or mock, truly being sincere, “I promise not to separate him from Twilight or do anything that could physically hurt him.”
Silver Stone stopped mid-pace to look at her mentor. She meant it, every word. Spike wouldn’t have to leave Twilight after all. She no longer held back her tears, now fueled with joy. Suddenly, her teary assistant tackled Dr. Saffron in a bear hug, nearly toppling her over. Dr. Saffron wrapped a hoof around the filly unsure what to make of this outburst.
“Silver Stone?” her eyes gazed down at the little unicorn, “what’s wrong?”
Through sobs, the unicorn spoke, “Thank you. That’s all he wanted. Thank you.”
They sat on the floor, wrapped in an embrace for what seemed like hours. Finally, the doctor broke the hug. Silver Stone was confused when she noticed the doctor’s grim expression. Slowly, the doctor spoke, wondering how to explain what she learned.
“Silver Stone,” she began nervously, “I have something to tell you. Something I learned recently … about your parents. And what triggered that dragon to go berserk all those years ago.”
Silver Stone’s eyebrows rose with curiosity and surprise. Dr. Saffron trotted over to her desk and levitated a book, bound with some reptilian scales that Silver Stone could not identify. The doctor handed the book to the unicorn, who gazed uncertainly from the book, to her mentor, and back to the book.
“You know how I said some scientists believed the ends justified the means?” Dr. Saffron pursed her lips uncomfortably. Silver Stone nodded as she opened the book. “Your parents believed that, and it cost them their lives.”