As Pinkie Pie set out all the refreshments, Twilight leaned over towards the datapack. "What's that?" she asked curiously.
Spike smiled. "It's a book, basically," he explained. "Except one that can hold an immense amount of information, and made out of metal instead of paper."
Twilight's eyes widened. "Fascinating," she whispered, her hooves reaching towards it.
Spike chuckled. "I know you want to take it apart and see how it works, but I think the information on it might be of more interest to you." Smiling, he turned it on.
The display immediately lit up with words.
Entry 00
This isn't the first entry I made for this Log of Spike's growth and development. I only added this entry when I realized Spike had a homeworld to go back to, and friends and family awaiting his return. This entry is an introduction, both for Spike and those he will show this to.
My name is Samus Aran, intergalactic bounty hunter, trouble shooter...and mother. This last was something I never thought I would ever experience...but my Chozo guardians and family had plans for me.
Most of these entries will be combination of text and video files. Spike, you'll know how to access all of these as you go through the entries, so I leave it up to you to determine what - and how - you share with those you know here.
But here is the story of how you came to be in my care.
During my first mission as a Bounty Hunter - when I returned to Zebes, the world I grew up on, to do battle with the Space Pirates - my ship was shot down and I lost access to my Power Suit, the primary weapon in my arsenal. However, in a Chozo Temple, I found another suit - more advanced than my original - waiting for me. The Chozo had read the future, and left gifts for me where they knew I would go. But they'd left something else for me here.
Old Bird himself - the Chozo Elder who raised and cared for me after I was orphaned, the one who was the closest thing to a father I had after that fateful day - appeared to me in spirit, with a message. I record that message here indelibly.
"Hatchling, you have come far...and we see that you will go much farther still...but you have turned your back on life to wield death. This is our doing. We foresaw that the universe would need you as its champion, and so forged you to become that champion. For the sake of all, we took that choice from you. We can only beg your forgiveness.
"This is not our only sin against you. When we gave you life with our blood, we took something precious from you...a joy you will now never know. Another unforgivable sin. And now we ask more of you than we have any right to...we ask another favor of you, and offer a boon in return.
"The streams of time unraveled, and through the hole this egg came to us, between the lands of spirit and flesh. We ask that you tend to this egg, and the hatchling that will come forth from it.
"Forgive us, our Hatchling. For the sake of the universe, we did great wrong to you in your hour of pain, and presented it to you as a gift. We carry this sin against our own to eternity..."
I didn't understand what he meant with this message for some time. But I do now. Spike, when next you speak to Gray Voice and Old Bird - or any of the Elder Spirits - tell them I do forgive them. I never blamed them for what they did. It is the fate I chose.
And having you with me made it...fun.
Spike stared at the entry for a time, tears beading his eyes. He blinked them away, and gave a loud sniffle.
"So...this Samus is, like, your Mom now?" Pinkie asked curiously.
Spike chuckled. "Yeah," Spike replied. "She raised me from the egg after I hatched aboard her ship." Seeing Twilight flinch slightly, he spread a wing over to hug her. "Of course, I know she's not the only one to have done so."
Twilight smiled at that.
"...she wound up sterile after the Chozo combined their genetics with hers so she could survive on their world, didn't she?" Fluttershy asked.
Spike's eyes went wide. "How'd you put that together?" he asked in shock, resulting in gasps of surprise from everypony else.
Fluttershy lowered her eyes. "What they said about giving her life with their blood...that meant amplifying her with their nature for their environment. Crossbreeds rarely produce fertile offspring without magical intervention of one sort or another. I should know; I work with animals regularly after all. That poor liger...he'll never be a papa..."
Spike nodded. "Yeah, that's basically it. Mom discovered that after her first physical upon her return to the federation."
Rarity let out a little whimper of sympathy. "To never have children of her own..."
Sighing, Spike keyed up the next entry.
Entry01
I've made it to a ship, and am back in space. The egg Old Bird gave me is still intact. Whatever creature is inside must be sturdy. It handled the energy-matter conversions of Speed Booster, Morph Ball, and Screw Attack without taking damage, and vital signs are still strong within the egg.
Included with an entry was a picture of Spike's egg, purple with darker purple spots, resting on a white pillow in a straw basket.
"But when I asked about you when we first met, you said you hatched from a purple and green egg!" Fluttershy pointed out to Spike.
Spike shrugged. "Maybe it was green last time around," he offered uncertainly.
"It wasn't," Twilight replied. "It was exactly as it appears in this picture."
"Huh," Spike pondered. "Wonder why I said green back then?"
"What was that Speed Booster thing she was talking about?" Rainbow asked eagerly.
"It's one of the many upgrades Mom's Power Suit can get," Spike replied. "It allows her to accelerate on the ground to a high enough speed that her body shifts partially into an energy state, allowing her to plow through many obstacles. When the energy is stored, it also allows her to propel herself in any direction at high speeds in that half-energy state in a technique called the Shinespark."
"So...awesome!" Rainbow said eagerly, causing several giggles around the table.
Chuckling, Spike keyed up the next entry.
Entry02a
I've got my new ship now. Took a while to get it to match the specs of my original Chozo ship. Good thing the Chozo had the foresight to include the specs in my new Power Suit's data banks. Also today, the egg hatched.
A video file was attached.
Samus watched nervously as cracks spread over the egg. She was in her Zero Suit at the moment, which was durable enough for most situations, but she was on guard, ready to shift into her Power Suit at a moment's notice if necessary. While the Chozo had said the egg was a gift, they'd also implied that time travel was involved, and she wasn't about to take chances, especially with how durable the creature had proven to be while still in the egg.
The egg then cracked open, falling to pieces around its occupant. Samus saw before her a small purple reptile with large green eyes, rounded green spines down its spine, green frills at its cheek, a green underbelly, and a spade tipped tail. It looked up at her, blinking its eyes for a time, then smiled. Grabbing its tail in its foreclaws, it pulled it between its hind legs and stuck the spade tip in its mouth, sucking on it like a pacifier.
Samus stared at the creature for a time, but eventually couldn't suppress a goofy grin. It was just so cute!
"Awww!" five mares said, cooing at the video.
"I'd forgotten how adorable you were when you were that small!" Twilight squealed.
"So! Stinking! Cute!" Pinkie gasped out.
"Look at those adorable little chubby cheeks!" Rarity cooed.
Spike groaned, burying his face in his claws. He knew he had no one to blame but himself for playing that video file. What else could it have been?
Poor Spike. He doesn't just have baby pictures, hes got baby videos.
advanced
You know they're going to have to race at some point, right????
Excellent hatching, well done. I can't wait to see what adventures baby Spike gets up to with Samus. And I'm also eager to see how Ridley reacts to him.
5946153 And his mom probably has more on the ship that she's ready to share to his embarassment.
I'm a little surprised Samus didn't at least consider the idea that Spike may have been a hatchling Ridley. It would have made for some interesting tension, even if it only lasted a moment.
Also, I have a small objection: Samus is almost never a mindless killing machine. In SuperMetroid's manual, it mentions how she would turn down bounties if she thought they would risk innocents, and in the manga, she actually does go on one mad killing spree (which was actually fairly justified, given the circumstances), but she's talked down pretty easily and never does it again.
5946238
Nowhere in this story has it stated she's a mindless killing machine.
Old Bird's statement "You've turned your back on life to deal death" was referencing how she has no social life, no real friends, no family. That she'd cut herself off from social interaction to be a more efficient warrior.
That is canon. She doesn't socialize. She doesn't make friends. Even comrades are temporary, since they might be enemies when she meets them next.
So, like this? (ignore the rest of the clip)
5943314 Why is it that in the manga her hair is brown instead of blonde then?
Priceless! Keep it coming!
You a fantastic beyond anything else i've had the honor to know
fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/066/6/4/newborn_spike_sucking_his_tail__gif__by_landmind-d4rznvc.gif
awwwww he's so cute.
5946440 Space Magic. Or Cross-Media Differences. After all, if fiction in our world is just bleed-over from other 'verses, it would make sense for people to interpret it differently. Then again, I could just be talking out my ass and the REAL answer is "Artistic License"...
HHHHHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG! THE FEELS ARE REAL HERE.
5946159
Where's the romance/sex tag then?
so awe-dorable
5946289 You know they made a remake of that?
5946153 Baby videos!? That's just too much. Oh, and by the way, is Spike wearing a suit like the Power Suit?
5947010
Why Yesssss....I do know that...I just showed this one.
5946238 5946253
The idea of a hatchling Ridley outside of the Bottle Ship incident is noncanon. Ridley was not officially, TRULY killed until Super Metroid. There's nothing given to also consider that there were other infant Ridley's at the time of Zero Mission where this log takes place, though I have to admit, it WOULD be an interesting interaction if that was the case.
As for the canonity of Samus having a social life (or lack thereof), that's true in most ways. In the manga, she considers her comrades/colleagues in the FedPolice her friends. They don't appear later in other game installments so that can be taken as one wishes. From what I'm gathering, Tatsurou, the main focus of this story is Spike, and Samus will probably take the second largest role, though as such, she's going to develop more of a maternal image rather than a sociable one. Either way though, great chapter and I await the next one!
This... actually makes a surprising amount of sense in its premise, thinking about it. Why wouldn't you give it to her? It doesn't really get any better than "was raised by birds" where being qualified to hatch any kind of egg is concerned, after all.
We need fan art for this fic... Like, now!
5947222 persephonemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/david-tennant-doctor-who-OhYES.gif
5946253
Ah, alright. It seemed to me as though he was implying that she was pretty much nothing more a killing machine. My mistake.
5947159
Ridley had to come from somewhere, and it has been mentioned that time and space travel are involved. Samus is aware of this, and given Spike's passing similarity to Ridley, it is within reason to consider the possibility.
Also, fuck Other M. Ridley is not and never was a damn space furby.
5947433 Yeah, he did. He barely survived in Zero Mission, Tallon IV, and the Omega Phase. In researching him I've not come across the idea of space or time travel other than the AU bs that Sakamoto tried to pull for Other M.
But yes, fuck the space furby lol.
5946153
Considering most Cell phones have video cameras nowadays, that's is becoming quite common for the new generations.
5947545
And I pity them all the more for it.
5947039
His armor is described in the first chapter.
5947433
Except, as a hatchling, Spike doesn't have a passing resemblance to Ridley. He's a different color, a very different body shape, and has no wings. Now, as he grows, that resemblance will become more pronounced, and Samus might make that connection on down the line...but at the present point, as far as Samus knows Ridley was vat grown.
Is your last name dynamite by any chance?
5947629
...no. Why?
5947641 Napoleon Dynamite?
Old movie?
Probably on Netflix right now?
Something?
Anything?
...Nothing? Seriously?
...Never mind...
5947602
I was just thinking that him being a purple, spade-tailed, draconic reptile would have raised some red flags for Samus. But if your intention is for her to start connected the dots when he looks a little more like Ridley, then I understand that.
5947493
What I mean is that Samus (or anyone, really) doesn't know what Ridley's history is before K-2L. Given that time travel is involved, it's not much of a logical stretch to consider the possibility that this egg was sent forward in time and belongs to Ridley (or at least, a member of his species).
Now, I'm not saying that this should be a major conflict. In all honesty, there's enough difference between Ridley and Spike that as easily as Samus could make the connection, she could also disregard it. I'm just saying that there's enough of a resemblance that it could be considered.
5947727
Except that Ridley is dark brown and orange.
Has a blade tail.
Is not chubby.
Has no back spines.
And has wings.
Basically, the only similarity between Ridley and Spike is they are both Reptilian. She's far more likely to think Spike is a baby Kraid at this point.
Still liking Batmare batter but this story is also well thought out, and Spike is cool.
5947750
metroidhat.com/ridley/RidleySSBB.jpg
38.media.tumblr.com/5a273df98da81ee539e89949d12f9158/tumblr_nf3r0bMNt51r46d1wo1_400.gif
generation-snes.fr/Dossiers/Metroid/Ridley1.jpg
metroid-database.com/bestiary/artwork/er_ridley_sm.png
Ridley's been purple before.
His tail is spade shaped, whether it's sharp or not.
It's normal for an adult to be relatively thinner than a baby.
Several versions of him actually do have back spines.
The only real inconsistency is the wings, and you've already established that Spike will grow some eventually, so there still my be some kind of evidence. Spike actually has less in common with Kraid, who is always green, lacks a spaded tail, has three eyes, and has big holes in his torso that shoot spines.
5948204
i.ytimg.com/vi/8jbgq2T4ZIo/hqdefault.jpg
This is the only Ridley Samus has seen at this point, though.
Brown and red.
A tail with many segments.
A spike tip, rather than a soft spade.
Not to mention a very differently shaped jaw.
Simply put, there isn't enough correlations at this time to conclude any connection between Spike and Ridley.
Now, once Spike starts breathing fire, that's a different story, because that says 'dragon'.
5948229
I understand; you're saving the realization for later. I said before that it makes sense to do that. I'm just saying that they're not so different right now that it's out of the question.
As impossible as it seems i'm one of those few who know nothing about metroid but from my point of view this story does have some awesome material to it and a lot of potential. So far you've done great at keeping a non-metroid fan entertained and I hope to read what comes next soon. Keep it up
5948229 At first I was gonna get a little disappointed you weren't gonna have her think he's Ridley, but then I saw this comment. Feels better that way. Thank you. XD
The mares should remember that moment, because I fear the next files won't be as cute.
I just had a thought: Does this mean that Spike will participate in the Smash Tournaments?
Great work on the cover art from Davie as expected.
And I found another! Huzzar!
And, apparently your either going with a theme or this is coincidence, male babized character gets a mother as a opposite of the females getting dad's?
i.imgur.com/7GcqV7Z.jpg
The purple and green egg joke made me laugh.
Love the story!
--SYA, The Horse
5948204 I actually thought that Samus was going to look at Spike and ask:
"Ridley?"
5987886
"krade?"
5956228 it's a metroid crossover. Bitch about it to the entire metroid fandom and everyone who has ever been involved in a metroid project EVER. I assure you they will respond appropriately.
5954685 That would be awesome. I so home he'd befriend and fight Bowser and Charazard.
So all this is BEFORE Super Metroid, or at least Entry 0 is.
VERY.
HEH!
And I destroy Metroids. When I'm not totally pissed, I'm extremely annoyed.