A Siren Rose

by Mystic Sunrise

Answers at last and A Surprise

Pearl grumbled as she staggered toward the massive living area of her ‘sister’s’ home. Her night had been a moment of bliss, her and Twilight experimenting with her new alicorn body. She despised having to leave the bed she was in. A pox on whatever it was that woke her. Stopping at the threshold to the large living area. Looking over the scent of freshly smoked salmon made her mouth water. Turning her head she saw Summer gleefully humming as she set several large wooden planks, each one with a foal-sized salmon on each.

Sitting off to the side was her Twilight sipping quietly on her morning coffee and staring at her young student. Pearl smiled as she looked over and watched with a raised eyebrow as Sky was smirking as he poked at the entrance of a conch shell in front of him. Still too tired she didn’t hear what Summer had said but Sky shrugged and leaned in and started to bite at the shell. What raised her eyebrows and snap her back to her senses was the fact that the boy’s teeth crushed the shell as easily as she’s seen Spike crush a gemstone.

“Oh wow. It’s so spicy yet sweet and salty at the same time.” Sky excitedly called out as he took another large bite out of the shell.

“Be sure to eat it all. It’s good for your digestion. And the snail inside is quite the delicacy very tender yet meaty all the same.” Summer giggled as she looked up. “OH hey, sis. Come, breakfast is all ready. We have plank smoked salmon for you and me, along with some steamed vegetable dumplings and a miso soup.”

“Uh yeah, thanks.” Pearl groaned and took a seat next to her wife. She continued to watch Sky as he made quick work of the large shell. Ever since he showed up on this trip, she wondered more about him. He’s not a normal pony, everyone in Ponyville knew that. She usually brushed aside his oddities but was finding it difficult now. He could read a draconic script that eluded her. And now he was devouring a snail’s shell-like it was sugar glass. It took Twilight’s wing around her shoulders that brought the Dragon Princess back from her thoughts.

“My wife isn’t the liveliest creature in the morning.” Twilight chuckled which caused Pearl to huff.

“Ain't that the truth, and just what was that thing that shrieked outside the window and sent me flying up into the ceiling?”

Summer lifted her head and looked at her younger sister. “Oh, that? That’s a cliff wyvern. They like to caw at the morning sun. Some make some lovely music”

“Well get it tuned, that one sounded like hooves on a chalkboard.” Everyone at the table laughed in agreement.

“I’ll look into it.” Turning Summer looked at Twilight. “You said last night that there was something you wanted to ask me about.”

“Yes, there is.” Twilight’s eyes steadied on her student, causing Summer and Pearl to do the same.

“I see…” Summer smiled and closed her eyes for a moment. “Say Sky. How about you go have some fun outside. The beach below is simply amazing, it holds the heat from the morning sun remarkably well. And the soft sand is perfect for keeping one’s scales fresh.”

“Really? You sure it’s okay? You heard what the multi-headed rainbow lizard said.” Sky chuckled.

“I’m sure. As long as you keep this cliff face in sight. And don’t go beyond the border rocks. You’ll be fine. Plus it’ll give us adults time to talk without a child around.”

Sky smirked and shrugged his shoulders. “Okay. I’ll be back later.”

“Have fun, my student.” Twilight nodded to the boy.

“Don’t get into any trouble,” Pearl shouted as Sky shut the door behind him.

Summer sighed deeply as she shook her head. “I assume he’s what you wanted to talk about.”

“Yes. And thank you for getting him out of the way. I’d rather not discuss this in front of him. After all, it’s not our place to throw his view of what he is out the window.” Twilight leaned back and looked out the window. “You know more about him than you let on. Don’t you?” Summer simply nodded slowly.

“You figured it out I take it?” Twilight nodded as Pearl raised an eyebrow.

“Figured out what?” Pearl looked between them.

“It wasn’t difficult. What Tiamat said about him, his egg. How he was another lost to ponykind. What could she have meant about it unless she knew about him? Then she mentioned his mother. Now unless she knows Windy Whistles personally which I doubt, she wasn’t talking about a pony. Was she.”

“No, she wasn’t. And it’s small wonder the Dragon ‘Mother’ knew little about what happened to his egg. Not even she can pierce my waters with her sight. I was quite careful in hiding it for so long. At least until I found his new nest mother. Who has raised him quite well it seems.” Summer leaned back as Pearl just looked on confused.

“Well, Windy is a wonderful pony. I can see why you chose her.” Twilight smiled looking at the dragoness.

“Oh, I didn’t choose her. I chose miss Dash. it was her spunk and drive that mirrored his ‘birth’ mother. And I was right. He hatched for her, just like your young drake hatched for you. Yes, the two of you treat your hatchlings like little siblings. But that doesn’t change the biological fact that she is his parent while you are Spike’s.”

“Yes well... She and I were quite young and..”

Summer held up her claw and shook her head. “It’s alright. You don’t have to explain. The love the two of you share for them is undeniable. And that’s all that matters.”

“Will someone tell me what you two are talking about?” Pearl huffed not being able to take it anymore.

“Pearl. Think about it for a moment. Surely you came to the same conclusion I have.” Twilight looked into her wife’s eyes as she rested a hoof on Pearl’s shoulders.

“You have all the senses of a dragon now Pearl, surely you felt it by now.” Summer smiled crossing her front legs across her chest.

“You mean…” Pearl felt her world just get a little more complicated.

“Yes. Sky is a dragon.” Twilight finished for Pearl.

“A Kirin actually. A branch species originating from us Eastern Dragons. There are several branch species but the Kirin’s are the oldest, earning them the title of Elder Dragon.” Summer smiled at their reaction. “The Dragon Mother does acknowledge them. And in her own way does care, but even they won’t ever be as beloved as her western brood.”

“That's just…” Pearl huffed and puffed trying to calm herself.

“Unfair? Yes, it is. Some did manage to get a respectful acknowledgment. Sky’s egg mother for instance. She constantly challenged the Dragon Mother for the treatment of our kind. While enraged on the outside, Tiamat brimmed with pride on the inside. All of us felt it. Except for her western children which couldn’t see past their own predigested snouts. All they saw was a mouthy second-rate dragoness who didn’t know her place.”

Summer narrowed her eyes and leaned back, swallowing down a large gulp of her tea. “I don’t know how many came after her. She was wounded and dying when she reached me and never said. But I do know that she took at least seven of those dragons with her, each one laid low by a ‘second class’ dragon. And left to become food for the trees in my forest.”

Pearl’s heart dropped right out of her. As much as Sky was a massive pain in her flank, that wasn’t fair. She couldn’t imagine what that would be like. Sure, she and her mom butted heads and argued over a lot, but Pearl couldn’t imagine her life without her.

Twilight felt the same. As much as her mom’s daredevil stunts drove her up a wall (causing more than one fight between mother and daughter over the years), she would never trade her mother for anything.

Friends may come and go, or change. But family was forever.

“OH, but don’t let that get you down. After all, Windy is more his mother than the one who laid his egg. Rainbow too in her own right. So he’s not missing out on motherly love. I’m sure when the time comes he can be proud of who his birth mother was and what she did for him.” Summer sipped on her tea pleasantly. “By the way. How did you two enjoy the little gifts I left for you?”

Both Twilight and Pearl choked on their drinks before looking up at the dragoness.

Coughing hard Twilight shook her head. “That was you? I thought it was from Tiamat?”

“HA! You wouldn’t want any gift like that from her. Neither of you would survive it. What I provided is something we easterners came up with millennia ago. Many of us like mating outside of our own species. Deer. Ponies. Griffons. Even Seaponies on occasion. Kinda hard to bridge that gap when children are desired. So we came up with some interesting and safe options.”

Pearl’s head spun. “So, what? How do we know they even worked? Or do we just wait for the obvious signs?”

Summer sighed deeply and tut-tutted her sister. “Half the fun is working for it. After all, it's no fun if such things were guaranteed. And if that howl I heard was any indication. You two certainly enjoyed trying.” a sly grin crossed the dragoness’s face.

“So is that what it was I heard last night?”

Twilight and Pearl’s faces turned apple red as they turned around and looked at Sky who was sitting at the door.

The young boy held up a spiked shelled reptile with a short tail, clawed feet, and sharp beak in his hooves he smiled. “I caught a turtle! Can I keep it?”

Pearl’s eyes widened in shock. “That’s not a turtle. Well. It is. But not a normal one.”

Twilight gave her wife a confused look. “Then what is it? Fluttershy understands animals much better than I do. But even I know what a turtle looks like.”

Pearl shook her head. “It’s a dragon turtle. Basically what it looks like when a dragon and a turtle get it on with each other. They’re super rare. Not even dad’s seen one, and he’s lived on the sea his whole life.”

Sky’s smile grew. “Sweet. Can I still keep it?”

Pearl facehooved. “Don’t look at me. And unless you have a HUGE saltwater pond or lake for him, I’m not sure where he can stay. I think this one’s a baby. They get much bigger than this. If the stories are true.”

Summer nodded. “Oh, they are true. But I have to correct you on a few things, little sister. These dragons are amongst the oldest species. Predating the Dragon Mother. This one, in particular, is indeed an infant. He will not gain sentience for several centuries. Until then, he will be more or less a normal sea turtle. Assuming he lives that long. But if it does, young Sky will have a loyal friend for life.”

Twilight scratched her chin. “Well. I could make a saltwater body of water for him to live in close to or under Rainbows Cloudominium. Despite what the mayor wants to think, Ponyville and the surrounding area are my domain. I just do not exercise that power. I would need to enlarge it from time to time. But I don’t see why not.”

“So both him and Rainbow live in a cloud house? Interesting. You could create a massive cloud terrarium. If she allows it of course.” Summer smiled watching Sky playfully boop the turtle on the nose and pull back as it snapped, each time earning a giggle out of the boy.

“That does sound better. Okay, Sky, you can keep your turtle. As long as Rainbow approves. And lets me create the terrarium.”

“Woohoo!” Sky grinned wide and held the turtle out in front of him. “You hear that Chompie, your gonna live with me in the sky. Let's get you something to eat that’s tastier than my hoof.” Levitating the dragon turtle, the young boy dashed away into the kitchen.

Pearl rolled her eyes. “Hope you have a plan for when he gets big. Because he is going to be huge as he grows up.”

Twilight smirked and poked her fellow alicorn with a wing. “Well. it’s a good thing I have the Dragon Princess herself to help me now, don’t I? I’m sure Sky will be more than happy to have you help him with Chompie.”

“Well, it would give me the opportunity to study a dragon that's only been the subject of rumor.” Pearl grinned like Twilight during a long experiment. Earning a laugh from the Princess.

“Still reaching for that Dragon Scholar title aren't ya? Even after becoming a princess.” Twilight rested her head next to Pearl.

“You're a princess, a high-ranking one too. Has that slowed your studies and experiments?” Pearl kissed Twilight lightly on the nose. Then booped her with a hoof.

“You two are adorable. Feel free to do as you wish. I’m going to educate our young boy just what Dragon Turtles eat.” Summer nodded to both mares as she left the room to help Sky who was hoof feeding Chompie various pieces of fish.

Author's Note:

First off. A big congratulations to Sergio Pérez of Guadalajara, Mexico for winning the Monaco Grand Prix for Red Bull Powertrains, Marcus Ericsson of Kumla, Sweden, for winning the Indianapolis 500, and Denny Hamlin of Tampa, Florida for winning the Coca-Cola 600.