Conversations
Princess Celestia,
Or I guess I should just call you Celestia from now on like you keep asking me since I’m a Princess now too. There are some things that have come to light, that have opened my eyes to things I’ve been blind to. You’re the first pony I could think of to talk to.
So here it goes A little filly that lives here, the one that recently was deemed an honorary sister to Rainbow Dash, was discovered to be living on the streets. Her name is Scootaloo, and I’m shocked that nopony, including myself, noticed. The mare who found her found out that Scootaloo had been taking money and materials for survival. She came up with money of her own to pay back what was stolen, but even without that ponies, here are so much more accepting than in bigger cities, and I was proven right during when Scootaloo came out and confessed.
It was quite the get together, lots of tears, but in the end, everypony forgave her. They were more upset that they hadn’t noticed Scootaloo’s plight. It made me think that if a sweet filly like Scootaloo could be alone for years, unnoticed, who knows how many others have slipped through the cracks? Is there anything we can do for them?
That brings up another subject. From what I’ve heard from plenty of ponies in their childhood, they either ran away from home to make their living, or wandered across Equestria without adult supervision before they got their cutie mark.
It made me wonder, in regards to Scootaloo, why is it so natural to ignore the young? Let them go places that even adults would consider horrifyingly dangerous, or situations that in other ways would be considered negligent, but not bat an eye? How many children get injured or die from adults not knowing or caring where their young are? I know that the adults of Equestria love their foals, and look after them if they’re in eyesight, but how did this culture of “out of sight, out of mind” come about?
On a separate, yet related note. I. Am. The. Worst. Mother EVER! I never really thought of where Spike fit into my life. I hatched him from an egg, sure, and when he was a little hatchling he followed me everywhere, clear indications of imprinting. Especially considering that he would go into hysterics when I wasn’t around for long stretches of time. I just chalked it up to a baby being a baby, but didn’t think much of it at the time. After all, I was just a filly.
Nopony has ever raised a dragon before, but even then, training him with tutors alongside me, and was held to the same high standard. Again, something I should’ve questioned, but at the time it was just so useful. Someone to be a soundboard to my lectures other than Smartypants and Mr. Wigglesworth; Someone that could make my life easier; But more importantly, since I didn’t see the need for social interaction, I never gave thought that he might need more than he got.
For so long, I never thought about it. Then a few days ago, the same social worker who helped Scootaloo looked into Spike. How come we never thought that working him like an adult was a bad thing? And the dog basket, I know that I used it when he was a hatchling because he loved sleeping surrounded by my scent and the basket let me keep him near in case I needed something.
But the worst of all is that, and I know she never meant to hurt him, that Rarity’s use of him as a mobile pin cushion has chipped and bored holes into his scales. He even mentioned that when he was in the lava pool with the dragons he felt itchy in there. That means that some of the lava was able to get deep enough to act as an irritant. He could’ve died, and nopony would’ve noticed the damage until it was too late! What kind of mother does that make me?
Anyway, I’m going to have Spike send this to you and have a proper freak out.
Your faithful student,
-Twilight Sparkle
Dearest Twilight Sparkle,
You’re a co-ruler in our nation’s triumvirate. You are no longer my student, but my equal. A friend as well, I hope, but enough pleasant teasing. This note you sent me is quite the food for thought. It really does sadden me that anypony under my sun could spend years on the streets alone. Especially when that filly is one that has captured my sister’s heart. I hear quite a bit of that filly from Luna and their dream adventures.
If Scootaloo was a unicorn, I know my sister would jump at the chance to take her as a student. Even without that, knowing Scootaloo is in the care of a social worker is good. May I inquire as to who’s taking care of her? As for your other question, on the matter. Even when Luna and I were foals, hard to imagine, I know, but there was a time when Lulu and I were young. We weren’t just popped out full grown. But it was like that then as well.
It’s a cultural thing that ponies have never really grown out of. Of course back then it was a way to ‘cull the herd’ as it were. Ensuring the smartest and strongest survived, while those who foolishly risked themselves were no longer able to add their seed to the herd. Survival of the fittest as it were.
Of course nowadays it’s just something that happens. If a foal wants to run off to discover themselves, or doesn’t feel their cutie mark is suitable for their current living conditions, they move away, and ponies just let them be. Of course, knowing that same mentality is also something that fostered Scootaloo’s previous living conditions, it’s something we as princesses should address in our next summit.
As for Spike, I’ll be honest, Spike is the first dragon in pony civilization that has been monitored, raised by, and lived with ponies, not just reluctantly living alongside. With him, there have been many firsts. I’ll admit that I had him taught in an accelerated manner so that he could be of assistance to you, as well as for a few more selfish reasons.
The first being that I didn’t want him to suffer discrimination. I don’t have to tell you how cruel foals can be, and as the only dragon hatchling in civilization, I didn’t want him to suffer. Nor did I want him to be around those who would use him to get to you, and through you myself. That isn’t a life for any child. The other reason was that I wanted to study dragon magic myself. It’s how I was able to create the spell to send letters via dragon fire. Using a spell reverse engineered from what I taught Philomina when she was but a hatchling.
Unlike most beings, dragons don’t have a linear biological growth. As you’ve noticed, both when you hatched him, and during his birthday party in Ponyville, he’s hit full grown adulthood twice. Yet he has twice gone back to being a whelp. Then you have to take into consideration his mental development versus emotional development. While emotionally he’s around the age of a young colt, mentally he’s as developed as any stallion. And that growth will continue, even centuries from now as he grows into himself. How much of that is our teaching him at a level far higher than those normally taught, and how much is a dragon’s natural hyper intelligence, I do not know. And yes, I know from the few dragons that were civil enough to talk after the World Peace Convention of 832 CE, they are hyper intelligent but they as a species usually put those smarts into increasing their hoard as well as increasing their magical prowess.
But I can honestly say that you are not the worst mother ever. Yes, you have much to catch up on with Spike, but I’m sure that you can make him happy. If you ever need anything, don’t be afraid to ask. I’ll always be here for you.
You’re friend and confidante,
Celestia
Twilight set the reply down on her mahogany desk, and leaned back, staring at the ceiling. She took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. There was a lot to think about. She had always called Spike her Number One Assistant, and a baby dragon. But thinking about it, she didn’t truly know whether he was a child of the Crusader’s age group, or an adult. In many ways, Celestia’s experiment was a success, that little dragon of hers was perfect for her, and did allow her to focus solely on whatever tasks she came across.
But she didn’t have to worry about discrimination, now that she thought about it. Spike had tons of friends. A shiver ran down her spine as she recalled that in five years, Spike had rarely seen or spoken to the friends he made in Canterlot while she was busy in her school work. Although some of them, like Amethyst Star and Lyra Heartstrings had moved to Ponyville, or commuted back and forth, he still had very little time to hangout with his old friends. Nonetheless, discrimination was rarely a problem. He had ponies to look out for him, but he would’ve had more to worry about from those who would try to use him. Thankfully, being around her and Celestia’s staff constantly prevented that when he was younger. But Twilight wasn’t sure if that was a good enough excuse.
As for the enhanced curriculum, now that it clicked that he was her son, she knew that was no way to raise a child who had no say in the matter. Worst still, she grew into being antisocial until she came into Ponyville. But he had been forced into a higher state of learning, and cut off from normal means of development, stunting the milestones most foals need to grow into well adjusted adults. Worst still, she set it up so that it was hard to put him into school as a student, since with his honorary masters degrees, something she needed to fix now that she saw the racism in that, any curriculum they did was going to be beneath him.
Sighing, Twilight looked around her room, taking stock of Spike’s few meager possessions. Her face set in a look of pure determination, she thought to herself, I’m going to be the best mother ever to Spike! I need to get the girls, we’ve got lots of work to do!
Rarity and Spike sat on Rarity’s fainting couch, a small dining tray resting between them. The pot was filled with Pachydermian Chai that Rarity recently discovered thanks to Fancy Pants. Sipping her cup daintily, Spike initiated the conversation. “So we said we’d wait until after Scootaloo’s little get together until we talked… So what now?”
Setting her cup down, she sighed. “Honestly Spikey-Wi -... no Spike, I don’t know. I admit that your feelings for me were the worst kept secret in all of Ponyville.”
“Thanks, Twi,” Spike mumbled sarcastically.
“Now Spike, don’t say that about Twilight, after all, even without that everypony knew,” Rarity replied.
“If you knew then why didn’t you say anything?” Spike asked, his eyes watering slightly.
“A few reasons actually, and I’m afraid none of them are what you’d like to hear.”
“I don’t mind, I just want to know.”
“Well honestly, you confuse me, Spike. On one hoof, you’re a baby dragon who looks no bigger than my sister. So in that respect, it’d be like reciprocating with a foal. And that’s illegal on so many levels. But on the other, I’ve seen you grow into adulthood, even if temporarily, and you have the intellect and responsibilities of an adult.
“Dare I say, in some areas you do more than most adults I know would ever dream of doing. And let’s not ignore the fact that you have moments when you act so young, emotionally, but other times you are so grown up. That is a source of so much confusion, Spike,” Rarity said, looking deep into her cup.
“I’m sorry,” Spike sighed.
“Pish-posh, there’s nothing to be sorry for. The other reason is that, well, I’m your first crush. First major one, anyway. And I was hoping that like all crushes it would fade over time and you’d fall for somepony more fitting for you. After all, even those rare ponies who do end up with their crushes, very few of those last any amount of time. And those usually end in heart break. Something that I’d like to spare you from.
“Lastly, simply put... You are a drake that I care deeply about as a friend, even as horrible of a friend I’ve been. And when those relationships between friends go from friendship to romance. When it falls through, it’s very hard to remain friends afterwards. And I’d hate it if that rift came between us. Even though I’m Twilight’s friend, hurting your heart would probably make her try to banish me to the center of the sun,” She drank the rest of her chai as Spike thought about his reply.
“Yeah, Twilight would probably try to do that, but I wouldn’t let her. To be fair, those are good reasons, but if I wanted to give us a chance, would you want to try? See if there could be an us?” Spike asked.
“I’m not saying no. But can you hold off a while longer? I need to get my feelings in order,” Rarity asked, trying to buy herself time.
“Alright, and Rares. No matter what you chose or what happens, I’ll always be your friend,” Spike replied, earning himself a hug from Rarity.
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Both Best Friend-ship for spike and rarity
Any of them sound good. You are a competent writer, and Spike is my personal fantasy persona, sometimes having a girls as a friend can be better than having her as a girlfriend.
I would like to see them get together. Also polyamorous shipping is always intriguing to me, I'm not sure it would work here, but maybe.
5153226
D'aww, thanks for the compliment
. And that's true, I've had a lot of girls who were just friends growing up. Best source of advice and girl help a guy could ever ask for.
5153303
Spike has it in him to be the Rainbow Dash / Twilight of Dragons [shipping wise] XD. Although I can't ship him with the CMC since I already have plans for them ^_^. But as for the polyamory, start it off as a love triangle / quadrangle, then ease it into something more
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Too awesome
5153385 Oh yes, I can see that happening normally. I'm just not sure it fits the vibe of this story. I don't know though, maybe?
Naturally the overall decision is to the author of a fic but if it were me I'd go with a best friend ship. Why? Well it's because of the obvious age gap in between spike and the mane 6 even if it's minuscule it's still a big gap and having a young character and one who's older than him by a few years in a relationship would not be under the best of circumstances because of the different responsibilites they have in their lives. I think you're doing a good job on emphasizing the importance of how someone who's a different creature than that of the society they've been raised into is not taken into consideration enough and how it affects that one individual as a being.
5153624
Thanks for the compliment. And yeah, I think Rares would be an amazing wingmare for Spike, as well as a really close friend. Something that unfortunately he's lacked in the show. Also thanks for that comment, it was really well thought out.
5153712 You're welcome and I guess it's the result of me reading alot of the sparity fics or some harem fics as well as seeing some of the elements in the show. Anyways keep up the good work and I look forward to reading future chapters when they're out.
Was this chapter edited or looked over? I haven't read it all yet, but so far Twilight's letter seems to have several mistakes. Just what I noticed.
5153737
My editor took 4 weeks looking it over, and fleshing it out. You might be seeing something that he missed. He's usually really good at finding stuff, but slip ups are bound to happen every now and then. If you'd like, and want to, you can PM / post the fixes / errors to me and I'll fix them up.
5153809
So here it goes. A little filly that lives here, and recently has become an honorary sister to Rainbow Dash, was discovered to be living on the streets.
Should be: A little filly that lives here, the one that recently was deemed an honorary sister to Rainbow Dash, was discovered to be living on the streets.
The other way I re read out loud several times and is improper wording. I found quite a few examples of improper wording.
From what I’ve heard of quite a few ponies in their childhood, they either ran away from home to make their living, or wandered across Equestria without adult supervision before they got their cutie mark.
From what I'e heard from plenty of ponies in their childhood, they either ran away from home to make their living, or wandered etc...
Well maybe not that many examples, but I know those two do not read correctly.
5153827
Fixed, thank you for pointing those out
.
5153885 NP... I hate the new notification system. It doesn't work as well...
As for your other question, on the matter. Even when Luna and I were foals, hard to imagine, I know, but there was a time when Lulu and I were young. We weren’t just popped out full grown. But it was like that then as well.
As for your other question on the matter, even when Luna and I were foals (hard to imagine I know) it was like that then as well.
I don't think you need the other parts. I'm assuming she means being on their own.
5154135
I wrote it like that, since I could see Twilight and most of Equestria thinking that Tia and Luna were birthed as adults like an Earth version of lots of Greek Deities. And saying that to poke fun at Twilight [in a friendly matter].
And not just on their own, but as children with their parents as well. Ponies had a rather Darwinian approach to child raising that's never went out of style / changed all that much.
I... do normally not support Sparity. It's cute and i like Spike to succeed, but being excessively prostrating and servile does not typically a love make, especially not with a girl that always shoots for the stars like Rarity. Would take an awful lot of work to make it make sense with Rarity's desire to court the most prestigious guy ever.
I guess, depending on how polyamorous works out, then maybe that... but I think them settling as friends is my go-to solution.
I'd prefer a romance between Spike and Rarity personally.
Awwwwwww
Oh boy, I know this is a story that's a branch off of another one. That said, this is one of the deepest Spike character looks I've seen in a while at a mere 2 chapters so far. With that in mind, here are a few thoughts. On the subject of Twilight trying to be a good mother to him, I've read so many damned fics where she goes overboard and overprotective right from the get-go. In this case though, Twi knows her tendencies, and tries to go for the slow, feeling things out approach. Likely, she'll see this as non-existent progress, especially when she hits the confusion of how to treat him whether child, adult, teen, or trying for something new entirely. It's this dynamic and seeing Spike's thoughts and opinions on the matter that I think would send the most powerful image.
As for Rarity and Spike...oh boy...gotta get my head on properly for this. I won't lie, I'm a shipper, the kind that squeed in the comics when Spike's sections came up in the Nightmare Rarity arc. That said, this could go many ways, some ending happily, some less so. But regardless, this would be a good way to actively explore Spike's growth mechanic as you see it, and see if that impacts his emotional maturity. Mind you, I also see his emotional maturity as being stunted to up-bringing as well, but with dragon biology, it could be either or both if you wanted. Just some thoughts on the subject, as I see it anyway.
I like this fic, no doubt about it. I want to see more, and until then, I wish you the best of luck.
5175507
Thanks. I agree, that Twilight's going to be at a loss. A part of her wanting to rush things to make up for lost times, a part of her wanting to take things slow to get a feel for their new dynamics, and a third stuck between the two not having any idea where to go.
As for Spike and Rarity. Even if I don't ship Rarity, I have two other ponies coming into his life that are going to build up for greatness. And Rares is going to be the greatest friend that's a mare anyone could ask for [since everything's out in the open rather than hidden] with many great moments between them.
Although a heads up, in one and a half to two chapters. Spike's going to Canterlot to clear his head. Mostly so I can split temporarily the GW and ToL stories without Scootaloo or Spike overpowering the others storyline while getting the big character defining moments laid down.
Sparity, definitely gotta go with the Sparity path.
With all the pet names Rarity has for Spike, And all the kisses and hugs in the show, Yikes, The Cakes had two little ones.
Spike & Rars should a
have sizable litter.
5216498
Yep you'd think with how physically affectionate /rarity is with Spike, they'd have 4.5 Draconies, and a house with a gem picketed fence. Rather than Rares trying to play it off like an Aunt, as wel as dumping on Spikes feelings eevereytime Stallion McStallionpants the Xth comes trotting by
.
5216814 Yepper, Poor Drake.
Stallion Mc Douchebagles
A new McDougals unhappy meal.
Just thought I'd point out that his degrees can only be honorary if he hasn't taken the actual classes required.
5393289
I'd think so, too. An honorary degree means that you've proven your worth without taking the orthodox education courses- it would be like earning a medical degree after passing a few tests because you've lived as an assistant in a hospital & doctor's office since you were 12. (Of course, most countries' bureaucracies wouldn't allow that, no matter how qualified you are.)
5615768
This comment here.