Camaraderie is Sorcery

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 0:3 - The Foal and the Dragon

Chapter 0:3 – The Foal and the Dragon
Year 988 of the 4^th Age

Furniture wobbled back and forth erratically and the candlesticks shook in their wall sconces. Celestia fumed as she paced back and forth in the center of the chamber, while Raven stood by, stepping aside to avoid an inkwell as it flew across the room. The young page had seen far worse tempers from the ancient sorceress, and knew that this would soon pass. Celestia was furious, but it was a controlled anger, for nothing had gone wrong, per se.

“How could this have happened?” Celestia demanded, partly to herself and partly to Raven, “I gave specific instructions that the egg be locked away in the treasury until Cadence’s return! So how did it end up as part of a magical examination? Could the Panel not tell the difference between a phoenix egg and a dragon egg?”

“Your Grace, we must consider that this may have been a deliberate act,” Raven ventured, showing more confidence than she had just a few months earlier when the egg had arrived from Tyrannus, “All four mages you appointed to the Panel to judge applicants are members of families who’ve had bad blood with the Haltrotsuns in the past. It didn’t seem likely that Twilight Sparkle would be able to hatch even a phoenix egg, but it seems they wanted to make her failure a certainty, an attempt that backfired on them horribly.”

“And if it hadn’t, then it’s quite likely we’d be preparing for war with Tyrannus this very moment! It is quite likely that Cant’r Laht would fight alone, too. Killing the heir of another nation’s leader while they’re under your protection is universally condemned. I need to know exactly who was responsible for this near-disaster.”

“I’ll get right on it,” Raven promised, swallowing hard as she imagined what punishment Celestia might have in store for the perpetrator.

“The treaty with Ingrirtireth was so much easier when his heir could be confined to a crate in the castle treasury,” Celestia went on, incomprehensive of Raven’s reaction, “Now, this hatchling could prove to be a bother. It will be my responsibility to raise him, teach him, and prepare him to one day return to Tyrannus in exchange for Cadence. As if I weren’t busy enough already.”

“If I may make a suggestion, Your Grace, perhaps the hatchling ought to be placed in the care of Twilight Sparkle,” Raven proposed, “As the one who hatched him, he is already bonded to her. Let her raise him, and when he’s old enough he could serve as a page. Surely Ingrirtireth cannot object to his son being in such an important position as assistant to the personal protégé of the Matron of Sorceresses.”

“You suggest that I saddle a ten-year old filly with the responsibility of raising the hatchling, in addition to the rigorous study of sorcery I will be subjecting her to?” Celestia asked.

“Dragons’ minds mature very quickly, even if their bodies take centuries to grow to full size. She will have companionship during her studies,” Raven explained, defending her plan before her mistress, “Did you not tell me that the reason Sunset Shimmer failed as your student was because of her isolation? Yes, it will be additional work, but if even half of the stories spreading about what happened during Twilight’s magical exam are true, then she won’t have any difficulty mastering her studies of sorcery.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” Celestia considered as the motion of the room calmed down, “Yes, I’ve made up my mind. The hatchling will go to Twilight Sparkle.”

***

“Do I really have to move here?” Twilight Sparkle asked as she followed Celestia across the grounds of Cant’r Laht Castle, “And, if so, why can my parents not come?”

“The entire north tower has been cleared out for your personal use,” the ancient sorceress said as they climbed the stairs that wrapped around it, the wind grasping at her robes, “You need a place near me during your studies, and you must not have any distractions to tear you away from them.”

“That won’t happen,” the little foal protested with a frown, “Studying sorcery is all I want to do. Why would I want to do anything else?”

Oh my. Perhaps providing her with companionship is more necessary than I imagined.

“Your devotion is admirable,” Celestia said aloud, “However, studying sorcery will not be your only responsibility while you live here.”

Twilight gave Celestia a quizzical look, craning her neck to see the other sorceress’s face, but Celestia provided her with no answers. As they reached the top of the tower, Celestia pushed to doors open and allowed to foal to dash in and admire her new home. It was a true sorceress’s laboratory, though a few modifications had been made to make it suitable for so young a magician. Celestia gave Twilight a few minutes to explore and admire the view from her balcony before calling her back to the center of the room with a cough.

“I was speaking to you about the other responsibilities you will have here,” the Sorceress said, and waited for Raven to enter from a side room before continuing, “Do you recall the hatchling from your magical exam?”

Celestia was shocked as Twilight galloped past her toward Raven and the tiny dragon at her side. I hadn’t expected this level of enthusiasm. Twilight was holding the hatchling and cradling it in seconds, apologizing for what her errant spells had done to it. It’s bonded with her, Raven said, but it appears she’s also bonded with him. It would have been a crime to keep them apart and try something else.

“In addition to studying sorcery with me, you will also care for this hatchling,” Celestia explained after getting Twilight’s attention with another cough, “You will raise him, feed him, care for him, and teach him. Do you understand?”

“Yes, of course! I’ll take very good care of Spike!” Twilight said gleefully as she played with the green spines sprouting from the dragonling’s head, which he seemed to quite enjoy.

Spike? Not a very proper name for a dragon. Though, I suppose it’ll be hard to convince her to change it, given that she’s probably had this name for him since the moment he hatched. Spike it is, but we’ll need to make some slight modifications for official use. Spaaku, perhaps?

Author's Note:

This chapter was meant to be published much earlier, but it slipped my mind when I was working through the chapters. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter, even if it may be published out of order.

Comments

[Misty Spell]

And if it hadn’t, then it’s quite likely we’d be preparing for war with Tyrannus this very moment! It is quite likely that Cant’r Laht would fight alone, too.

"Hey guys, guys, remember me? The one that controls the sun and moon? Yeah, don't bother trying to protect me, I'm not important or anything."