Life Finds A Way
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Spike knocked as hard as he could on the Ponyville castle doors, begging and pleading for anypony to answer. The stars were still holding their place in the sky, but the sun was due to come out any second. However, it was still way too early for Twilight and Starlight to be up and around.
“Twilight, please wake up!” Spike called out to the wooden obstacle in front of him. “It’s an emergency!”
Fluttershy, who was standing just a bit behind him, gently tapped his arm. “Spike, maybe we should just come back later. It’s early… and I’m still kind of sore.”
Spike turned around to face her. “But Shy, this is like… the most insane thing I’ve ever seen happen. I don’t even know if you’re alright or not! We need answers, and Twilight’s the only one that’ll have them… if she has them, that is.”
“You’re right,” Fluttershy responded, looking into the saddlebag she was gently carrying with a soft smile. “We should probably learn what we can.” She punctuated the thought with a quick nuzzle into Spike’s side.
The dragon smiled and was about to resume his knocking fit when he finally saw the door gently crack open. Once it fully opened, a most unfortunate sight greeted him.
“Spike… do you have any idea what time it is?” Starlight Glimmer was standing in the doorway, donned in a bathrobe and moose slippers. Her mane was a train wreck, and her face was an unfortunate passenger.
“I know, I know, but Starlight, please let us come in. It’s important.” Spike gave her the biggest puppy dog eyes he could muster.
“Us?” Starlight rubbed some of the sleep from her eyes and the figure of Fluttershy suddenly appeared standing behind him. She let out a deep sigh and stepped aside, allowing them entry.
“You know, guys, it’s not that we don’t love you, or anything, but most ponies don’t consider five-thirty AM a prime time slot for friendly visits.” Starlight swung the door shut..
“Oh, thank you so much, Starlight,” Fluttershy interjected. “We are very sorry for intruding on such short notice. It is something serious, though. If it weren’t, I promise we wouldn’t be bothering you like this…”
Spike sighed heavily. It was still hard for him to get used to the fact he didn’t live at the castle anymore. It had been three months since he was married and moved in with Fluttershy, but old habits die hard, or so they say. And now, with this latest… development with their marriage, things were only going to get even more different.
But admittedly, he was a bit excited, too.
“Serious?” Starlight replied. “Well, is it anything I can help with? Twilight had a long day yesterday and was rather intent on sleeping in. I’ll do my best to help if I can.”
“Oh, well, you see…” Fluttershy’s gaze fell to the floor for a minute before she was able to stand upright and look Starlight in the eyes. “Spike and I are having a baby and— “
Starlight levitated over a glass of water, took a sip and immediately spat it out. “What?”
Spike rubbed the back of his head. “Yep, that’s right.”
“Oh my gosh!” Starlight couldn’t resist hopping in the air a bit. “I can’t believe… I didn’t even know that was physically possible. But hey, life finds a way and all that jazz, right?”
Fluttershy chuckled a bit and smiled brightly. “Mhm, thank you. We’re both really excited.” She ever so carefully stroked the bag she was holding. “But, that’s not why we’re here this early. The real reason is because— “
“Just, wow!” Starlight was still in a state of shock. She darted over to Spike and elbowed him in the side. “Good job, bro. You didn’t waste any time, did you?”
“You know it,” Spike said with a chuckle, giving Starlight a quick hoof-to-claw bump. “But, like Fluttershy was trying to say, that’s not the real reason we’re here. We need Twilight’s help with something a bit stranger.”
“Pfft, strange?” Starlight waved a hoof in the air. “What could be stranger than some dragon-pony hybrid baby?”
Fluttershy reached a wing into the bag and took out a purple egg with bright yellow speckles on it. She cradled it in her wing and held it forward toward Starlight whose jaw was now on the floor.
“Umm… w-what is that?”
Spike rolled his eyes. “Popular science would call this an egg, but I may need to double-check ‘Obvious Things Monthly’ to be on the safe side.”
Starlight couldn’t even come up with a smart remark back to him. “No, I mean yeah, it’s an egg. But...” Her eyes turned to Fluttershy. “Did… Did you? The egg? You?”
Fluttershy pulled her wing back and sheltered the egg against her chest. “Mhm, last night.”
Starlight cocked an eyebrow in the air. “No way. I just can’t… How are you even walking right now?”
Her cheeks flushed a soft red tint. “Well, I am a little sore. But I wanted to get help as quickly as possible; we both did.” She wrapped her free wing around Spike the best she could, given his height, and pulled him closer to her.
Starlight shook her head. “You know what; weirder things have happened around here and at least, for once, this is a happy mystery. Congratulations, you two. I’m not afraid to admit I’m completely unqualified to answer your questions, though, so I’m going to get Twilight. Given her experience in life so far, I imagine she’ll be way better equipped to deal with this than me.”
Five Minutes Later…
“WHAT?!”
All Twilight could do was stare at the egg Fluttershy was holding. Her eyes were wider than saucers; they were full dinner plates at this point, completely fixated on the object. It took a full minute of blatant shock and confusion before Twilight was officially able to start using intelligent language again.
“Guys?” she asked, clearing her throat and taking a few deep breaths. “I apologize for my reaction, but I do believe this is first known case of a pony laying an egg. Do you have any idea of how this possibly happened?”
Both Spike and Fluttershy blushed, but the dragon was the first to speak.
“Well, you see Twi, it was our wedding night, and the hotel room had this awesome shower and— “
“No, not that!” Twilight violently shook her hooves back and forth. “I know that part. I mean, did you guys have any idea this was going to happen, any magic you may have gotten blasted with while you were asleep… maybe somepony snuck the egg in your bed to pull a prank on you, and it’s just a fake?”
“Huh!” Fluttershy gasped and clutched the egg against her chest. “Never! Don’t talk like that. This egg is ours. I know that for a fact.”
“Okay then,” Twilight replied. “I’m sorry.Just ruling out the obvious. I’ve honestly never heard of this before… ever!”
“Well,” Spike began, “how many times in history have a dragon and pony gotten together and had children? This is unexplored territory we’re dealing with here.”
Twilight gently rubbed her chin. “You’re definitely right about that.”
“And that’s why we came here,” Fluttershy said, speaking softly. “We need your help and we’d be grateful for any advice you’d have. We’re not sure what to do.”
“Of course, I’ll tell you whatever I can,” she replied with a confident smile. “But, to be honest, I haven’t exactly experienced anything like this before.”
“It’s okay, Twi,” Spike said with a wink. “We knew we weren’t exactly dealing with the patron saint of relationships and parenting. If we wanted that we would’ve asked Cadance.”
“Gee, thanks,” she said, deadpanning. “Anywho, Fluttershy, why don’t you tell me what I can help with?”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’m just not sure how I’m supposed to be a good mother to an egg. How am I supposed to take care of our baby?” She carried it delicately in her hooves before setting it on the ground.
Twilight placed a hoof to her chin. “I’m honestly not quite sure. Is there anything specific about caring for it that you’re worried about? Maybe we can figure it out with basic logic.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Well, I know how birds take care of their eggs, but not dragons. Am... Am I supposed to lay on it to keep it warm?” She attempted to lower herself on the egg but she struggled to maintain her balance and awkwardly flopped onto her side. Her hopeful smile was quickly replaced with a large frown. “I don’t think I can do it right.”
Spike helped her to her hooves, and she quickly picked the egg back up.
“Fluttershy, don’t feel bad. We’ll figure it out.” Spike placed a reassuring kiss on her cheek, which she reciprocated with a nuzzle on his.
“I know…” She let her gaze fall to the floor once again. “I just want to know what to do. Should I build a nest for it? I don’t know. I read almost every book on pregnancy and raising foals when I was growing up, but they never talked about how to care for an egg.”
Twilight sighed and walked over to her friend’s side, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “Fluttershy, it’s okay. Everything will be alright. You and Spike are two of the best friends I’ve ever known, and there’s no way you’ll be bad parents. I just don’t think I’m the right pony to ask.” Twilight contorted her face as the gears in her head began to move. “Actually, I’m not sure any pony at all will be able to help.”
“Oh great,” Spike said with a shrug. “What other creatures do we know that lay eggs?” It took him approximately five seconds to realize how stupid that question was. “Hey Fluttershy, let’s take a train out to the dragonlands, shall we?”
He gently took her hoof, and they walked out the castle doors.
“By the way,” Twilight called out before they fully disappeared. “Congratulations! I’m so happy for both of you!”
“Thanks, Twi!”
“Wait, wait, wait, hold on a minute…” Ember leaned toward Fluttershy, inspecting the egg intently. “You, a pony, managed to lay a dragon egg?”
Fluttershy bobbed her head. “Mhm, that’s right. But, I’m not sure it counts as a dragon egg since I’m a pony.”
It had taken much of the morning, but Fluttershy and Spike were eventually able to make their way to the outskirts of the dragon lands. They were currently at the base of a small mountain where Ember was able to meet them. The dragons were getting friendlier, but Fluttershy wasn’t entirely comfortable bringing her newfound offspring into the heart of dragon civilization.
“Well, who would’ve thought,” Ember replied, scratching her head. “I didn’t think you had it in you, Spike.” She jabbed him playfully with an elbow.
“Heh, I didn’t think this could happen, either,” Spike said. “But, here we are, and now we have no idea what to do. You’ve gotta know a bit about dragon eggs and caring for them, right?”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened to their full extent as she looked up at the dragon ruler. “Please, tell us anything you know. Anything would be appreciated.”
Ember smiled. “I’ve never had any eggs myself, but I know a thing or two. I’ve had to deal with enough whiny parents over the past few years, after all. What do you wanna know?”
Fluttershy’s look of concern immediately flipped into a smile. “Well, how do I take care of it? Am I supposed to lay on it or read it bedtime stories or— “
“Hah!” Ember clutched her sides. “Hahaha, no. Dragons can keep enough warmth on their own so you only need to make sure the egg doesn’t get picked off by other monsters.”
Her eyes shot open. “M-Monsters? P-Picking off?”
“Yep!” Ember grinned. “You’ve got garudas, rocs, sea serpents, other territorial dragons… the list of things that like to eat dragon eggs goes on forever. Point is, it’s your guys’ job to keep that from happening.”
Spike shook his head. “Well, we’ll be raising it in Ponyville, so that should keep most monsters from harming it, right?”
“That is true…” Ember shrugged. “Well, then it really shouldn’t be that hard. Of course, there is always the risk of accidentally stepping on it or something. So, you know, be careful about that.”
Fluttershy squeaked, holding the egg against her fur and blocking it with both wings. “We’d never do that.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” she replied. “Nobody would. But it still happens. And of course, this all means nothing if your offspring can’t past the ancient draconian test of strength.”
“Test of strength?” Spike asked, already completely aware whatever it was would probably scar Fluttershy for life. “What’s that?”
“Well,” Ember began, “it’s not always practiced these days, but it is a tradition. When the baby is ready to hatch, instead of letting it struggle to get out on its own, you take the egg and toss it into the biggest pool of lava you can find! If it makes it out of the egg and survives, then it’s fit to be a dragon. If not? Well, try again next year.”
“Ah!” Fluttershy didn’t need to hear any more as she turned tail and darted off in the direction of the train station as fast as she could.
…And Spike was right again.
“Uh, Ember?” Spike said, walking up to the genuinely confused dragon.
“I didn’t scare her, did I?” she responded. “I was just trying to share some of our customs for friendship stuff and to help you guys.”
“I appreciate that, I really do,” Spike replied, placing a claw on her shoulder. “But, you know, pony society isn’t quite ready for infant sacrifice and death. You should probably give it another generation or two.”
Ember gave him a thumbs up. “Oh, I gotcha. Sorry about that.”
“Not a problem.” Spike unfurled his wings and spread them out. “Well, I’ve got a terrified wife to track down. Have a good one!”
With that, Spike flapped his wings a few times and flew off in search of his loved one… or loved ones, as it stood now.
Spike eventually was able to find Fluttershy and they were now sitting on a bench at the station. She held their egg closer to her chest, tears brimming in her eyes. Spike had a wing draped around her, allowing her to snuggle against him.
“Fluttershy, there’s nothing to worry about,” Spike said. “We’re not throwing our baby into lava or letting it get eaten. I’ll personally make sure of that.” He flashed his fangs for added measure but to no avail.
“Oh, Spike, it’s not just that…” She sniffled, inciting Spike to wipe a few stray tears away with his claw.
“What is it, then?”
“I’m just...really scared,” she replied. “Nopony seems to know what’s going on or how we’re supposed to take care of it. What if I hurt it or I don’t take care of it right? Taking care of animals is one thing, but our baby is another.”
Spike pulled her a bit closer and kissed the top of her head. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem. But, there is one more pony, or two more, that I want to talk to before we go home, okay?”
She nodded. “Okay. Who are they?”
“Well,” Spike said, rising to his feet and helping Fluttershy to do the same. “Out of the ponies we’ve talked to or thought about talking to, I realized we’ve never bothered to talk to an actual couple who already has their own kids. Let’s change that.”
Fluttershy took a deep breath, drying up her tears the best that she could. “That sounds like a good idea, Spike. Who do you have in mind?”
He chuckled. “A couple that had just as many questions about their baby when it was born.”
“Spike! I’m so happy for you!” Shining Armor pulled the dragon into a hug and was quickly joined by Cadance as well. “That’s amazing!”
As they released the hug, the couple gave a much softer one to Fluttershy who they could tell had a long day.
“Both of you should be so proud,” Cadance said. “I can’t begin to describe how wonderful it’s been to have Flurry Heart. She’s six now, but every day only makes us happier.”
Fluttershy smiled, looking at her own offspring. “Thank you. I’m really, really excited. I’m just…”
“Nervous?” Shining asked.
“Afraid?” Cadance followed up with.
Spike and Fluttershy both answered in unison. “Yep.”
Spike jumped in. “We’re really not sure even how to take care of it or what things are going to be like.”
“There weren’t any books, or other parents or anything that could tell us what we need to do or what to expect,” Fluttershy cut in.
“Yeah,” Spike said. “It’s like we’re just having to go in with no idea of what we’re doing, make stuff up as we go along and just hope we’re doing it right. Doesn’t that sound like we’re messing up already?”
Shining and Cadance smiled at each other before turning back to the two of them.
“Nope,” Shining spoke up.
Cadance finished the thought for him. “It sounds like you guys are brand new parents.”
They both punctuated the thought with a quick laugh, much to the confusion of Spike and Fluttershy.
“What do you mean?” Spike asked. “With Flurry, you at least knew what to expect. She’s a pony.”
“Hah, that’s a riot,” Shining said. “We didn’t know the first thing of what to do, even before we knew she was an alicorn.”
“Mhm,” Cadance chimed in. “Do we buy toys first? Should we buy a crib, or should she sleep with us at first? How many doctor’s visits should we schedule? Is she going to come into the world okay or do we have to be afraid of that, too? Her being an alicorn was the least of our problems.”
Spike and Fluttershy both blinked a few times.
“But you know how we answered all those questions?” Shining asked. “Because, eventually, we did figure them out.”
“How?” Fluttershy asked.
“We experienced all the scary, unknown stuff and found the answers out for ourselves, as a couple.” Cadance leaned toward her husband and gently kissed his cheek.
Shining chuckled before continuing. “Nothing can really prepare you for what parenthood is like, the whole process. Books can help and so can other parents, but for most of it, you have to just do your best and work together.”
“Things aren’t always easy,” Cadance said. “In fact, things can get really, really hard sometimes. But those are the times where you need to depend on each other the most and then you can get through it together. If you do that, you’ll find that it’s a lot less scary than you think.”
Fluttershy and Spike both took a moment to look at each other, warm smiles growing on their faces. Then, they both turned their attention to the egg, their baby, and the smiles only grew.
Spike let out a small laugh. “So, Shy, you ready to be afraid together?”
She responded with a quick kiss to the lips. “I can’t wait.”
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This story started out as a bit of a crackfic and turned into something with a positive message. You never know with these things.
Also, don't blame me for the God-Awful title. I worked with my editor for over an hour trying to think of something and that's the best we got...
9021224
UPS Can Suck It, I'm a C-Section Kind of Guy... (that was actually a working title)
9021225
Ok. I wonder what the baby would look like.
This story is eggcellent.
I love this.
9021267
She is quickly becoming my favorite character to write.
Intersting story. Wish there was more I'd love to actually see their kid and how they do as parents XD
9021277
*writes 300k word FlutterSpike parents side-arc chapter*
Person 1: Hey, Person 2, FamousLastWords wrote an amazing Spike story!
Person 2: And the sky is blue. What's your point?
But seriously, you have the Starlight and Spike sibling dynamic down pact, man. Seriously, I only have to read a couple lines of dialogue to think, "They're siblings." Amazing job, as always.
9021286
Thanks man. I try to take any opportunity I can to write them together. Always a blast.
9021263
You sir, need to cease these unholy puns at once. Please egg-sit the comments section immediately.
Beautiful.
Aww, that was really sweet.
9021273
You know what, I actually have a challenge for you, if you're up to it. Do you think you can write a StarSpike story?
9021316
Well, I've written 2 already. But I do have a more in-depth one planned. It'll take a bit to get right though, so a few weeks to a month before I release it.
Then again, sometimes when I get in the zone, I pop stuff out like crazy. I wrote this story in one day while at work, so, yeah...
Being male, I'm at an obvious disadvantage in this area...but from what I've heard from sources who would, I'd think laying an egg would actually be a bit easier than a live birth. Unless the egg's a pretty sizeable one (to be fair, the story doesn't clearly convey it's size), but it'd strike me as getting unrealistic at such sizes, for a variety of reasons.
Besides, the cover art seems to portray the egg at a not too unreasonable size...
Anyway, logistics aside, an altogether cute story, with a nice little message to go with it.
Loved it
It's stories like this that make me wonder if they'll ever address the dragon/pony hybrid. I mean, we got hippogriffs so I think anythings possible
9021335
Technically, hippogriffs are their own species in MLP, not a hybrid of pony/griffon couples, so I don’t know that we’ll ever see hybridization like that.
9021319
Sweet!
Very rarely do I read anything that has Spike in it, or at least with him as a major focus for... objectively petty reasons, but this was a decent enough read and I'm glad to have read it. It was cute and adorable, and had a few funny moments, so good show Flam, good show.
Also, holy heck Ember
That's roooough, lol
But aye, a nice story and one deserving of a read, wholesome af.
Good show! <3
Dawww That is all I can think. That and I'd love to have a story about the Babu's hatching.
Tempted to make a Jurassic Park reference here, but I won't. Really cute story.
Also, real nice one Ember. Real nice.
9021405
You better believe I referenced Jurassic Park on purpose. My favorite movie of all time. Thanks for reading, buddy.
9021411
Hey, no prob.
9021403
Thank you! I had a good time writing this and wanted to put across a kind message.
Good stuff as always!
Way to go. This was silly and funny but also heartwarming. They acted like real first time parents. At least according to what I've seen on TV so maybe my definition of "real" is pushing it
Anyway great fic. I'll be sure to put it in my Spike Folder Xp
I can't help but enjoy the thought that she levitated over the glass of water just to do a spit take.
You don't say? Maybe Spike should buy the extra thick edition of "Obvious Things Monthly".
This was such a feel good story!
With all your ships you've got a Spike NAVY
this was a sweet story and I wouldn't mind a follow up
I do have a theory as to how fluttershy laid the egg that isn't magic well not entirly anyway, and its kinda lame. Birds lay eggs pegasus are part birds their for some ancient part of fluttershys dna helped her make the egg
9021326
I remember hearing this as a way to describe birth: A Screaming Watermelon being forced through a paper towel tube. I assume the egg wouldn't be screaming but it would be almost as big to push through. If not bigger depending on the shells thickness so it wouldn't get crushed but to still have room on the inside of it.
9021819
Actually, because creating eggs requires high caloric usage from the body, eggs mostly tend to be smaller in relation in nature so to compensate. I would expect much of the same rules to apply here...although the egg may still be dragon-sized considering it's mixed parentage.
Aw well, whatever size it was, it didn't seem to cause Flutters too much problem.
9021358
Alright, thank you for letting me know Mud Briar
9021362
If you're looking for Spike centered stories I've got one you might like
Though, if you have read it before and i don't recognize you, then I'm sorry
That was fun and sweet.
As to how Fluttershy laid an egg, I'd like to think male dragons have evolved over time to be more than just a DNA delivery system. If you happen to get impregnated by a dragon, not only do you get the DNA but as a bonus (and lovely parting gift) you get an entire factory in the form of worker cells whose sole purpose is to build a hard shell around the embryo to give it a better chance of survival in case the mother doesn't happen to also be a dragon.
Hmm, thinking about it further (yeah I need help, lol) even if the female wasn't ovulating, she might lay an egg anyway. It would just be formed around empty space. In fact, something like that could also happen if it were two males involved, instead.
All right, I’m convinced. They make a pretty cute couple. Spike seems a little cavalier about the whole thing—I mean, he’s bragging—but underneath that thin veneer of macho bravado his care and attention appears entirely wholesome. It’s tender and sweet and exudes a kind of calm, quiet confidence for Yellow Bird to lean on should she ever need it. He’ll make a great dad, I think. Just don’t tell Ember when it’ll hatch.
You know, just to be safe.
D'aaawwwww, this is just the sort of heartwarming story I needed to start my weekend.
9021819
Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures
that's where that description comes from, for reference. Abel uses it to discard the 'miracle of birth' as having magically changed someone's personality, while speaking to Dan.
9022362
I'm glad I could accommodate! Thanks for reading.
Did you enjoy writing fluttershy in this one? She was absolutely precious!
Hmm, Fluttershy and Spike. You don't see that everyday, and certainly not a mammalian egg.
But that doesn't affect this story adversely for me, in fact, this was a cute story – parenting worse can be great if done right – and I liked it. Had a good balance of romance/couple fluff and drama (I'm not sure if it's exactly drama, but that's the closest thing I can think of). Once again, I liked it.
That being said though, I would have loved to see more interaction with Twilight. Twilight is like a sister(/mother) figure to Spike, and he lived with her for most of his life; expanding upon her reaction would have been interesting, I think. But that's just a personal opinion of mine, certainly affected by the fact that Twilight is my favorite character, along with Flutters.
This was really interesting I have to say. I kinda hope we see more from this. I can take it if we only have the one but I just mean seeing how things go from here would be interesting. Oh OHHH or we can see how it is in AU where instead of Shy, Spike got with other members of the Mane 6 (7) and we see how each interaction and experience is different.
Well what did you expect if you got it on with a reptile Fluttershy?
What about Fluttershy's parents?
So ponies + dragons = platypus. Got it.
Smooth
Also the ending was adorable
Kind of surprised they didn't go to Celestia, who held onto Spikes egg until Twilight managed to hatch it.
yup, warmed my heaet alright
9021204 Wonderful. Can I claim any credit for inspiration?
And as the end came upon us, we Readers, Us Observers of Marvelous Worlds, we all had but one question: Will there be more?
While entertaining, there was one couple they overlooked: Twilight's parents. They have experience in raising a colt, an extremely intelligent and powerful filly, and were most likely largely responsible for helping raise Spike. As such, while they may not know what exactly a dragon's egg will need, they would have an idea on what they will need once it hatches.
Like fireproof everything.
9023574
There is always the time tested Equestrian tradition of donating the egg to a school (Twilight's in this case) and getting one of the students to hatch it...