********************************
"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."
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw1858-132431147462.png
Damn it... I lost it at the ending.
This person deserves a Feels Award.
I've always thought that the Spike/Twilight relationship feels more parent/child than sibling. The way Twilight talks to Spike is a mother with an intelligent and rebellious son. Spike's cheeky replies are pure just-turning-teen boy responding to a smart and over-protective mother.
Does that make Lero Spike's step-dad?
2785244
You're not the only one...
Such a beautiful, heartwarming story. To bring life to a being that was supposed to be dead, nothing more than a Kobayashi Maru for young mages...
2785501
I liked that as well... the way the test isn't so much about what you do to succeed but what you manage to think up and try out even though you're probably going to fail. In my eyes how a person deals with failure is more of a measure of character than how we handle winning.
2785501
That's a nice connection. Though Twilight did not cheat like Kirk did.
2785315
Functionally, yes, Lero is Spike's Step-Dad.
2785553
She didn't have to! She achieved the impossible. Which is really what Magic is all about.
2785734
Most headcanons assume The Element of Magic is actually Friendship(Friendship is Magic), just the glue between the other Elements, or literally representative of Pony Magic.
But what if Twilight's Element is none of those... but actually more along the lines of metaphorical magic, the idea of going beyond the the impossible and making achievements that should not be, akin to what magic would be on Earth. Pony Magic is downright mundane to ponies, so EoH "magic" is what is beyond that. Twilight routinely does the impossible. She awakens the EoH, she hatches a dragon egg(in this fic apparently a dead one), she defeats an Ursa Minor, she brings back Celestia's lost Sister,she becomes an alicorn.
This is now headcanon for me.
2786321
That still work as a metaphor. At least in the context of "There's nothing you can't do with your friend's help!"
2784859 i know it was posted on the xeno forums but i remember reading it somewhere else ><
aww ^^ i did kinda think twi had a mother son relationship with spike ^^
2801581
Agreed.
I think a few of you are missing the whole point of Shotglass Oneshots... NOTHING here has to stick to Xenophilia canon.. nor does it have to stick to Further Tales canon, Xenophile's Guide canon or even MLP:FIM TV show canon if it doesn't want to.
Hence everything posted here is correct, even the chapters that aren't... heck, especially the chapters that aren't.
2801759
We all know that. What I was saying was that this particular chapter deviates a little too far for my liking.
God-f***ing-damnit this is so f***ing fluffy. I might have a heart attack from the sheer amount of adorablnehhhhhnnnnnggggg....
Also...screw Star Trek hhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnggggggggg...
2843957
Continuity? In Shotglass Oneshots? If there's any continuity here I demand it be shot through the head and brought to me at once.
2843957
Oh sorry I thought I was on a different story nevermind.
2844378
Already said something about that
V
2844233
2844511 Yes I remember it. Kinda like in my headcannon. Elements were looking for "ideal" hosts 6 at the same time. Suddenly ka-blam *poof*. Elements gone, 6 alicorns bitches!
2844856
The one I wrote before the sad one featured a horny mermare and a naked Lero.
2846204
It is (and always had been) in the description that these aren't canon.
Plus it's also tagged "random" and "AU"
2846204
Once more I refer people to 2844233
Story 23 is very good!
Pretty! Would probably work perfectly fine without Leroverse, this one. Still, very nice :)
missing capital letter.
same
I like the familiar idea. I hope the show touches on this at some point.