Spike and Macintosh have taken the next step and are soon to be wed. However, a startling event just a week before their wedding may upset the future they have together, or possibly make things better. Only time will tell.
Spike and Macintosh have taken the next step in their relationship and are soon to be wed. Spike can even enjoy the comforts of his younger days thanks to the cooperation of his friends and family. However, a startling event just a week before their wedding may upset the future they have together, or possibly make things infinitely better. Only time will tell.
Cover art isn't final, just there until I find something better.
It had been four months since Spike and Macintosh had decided to wed after Spike received the collar allowing him to change sizes. He had suggested Twilight name the device The M.A.C. or, Magical Adjustment Collar. She agreed to it since it had been the shy stallion's idea to begin with. Macintosh denied taking very much credit as Twilight had actually toiled away to create the thing.
Tonight, Macintosh was at his bachelor party in Appleoosa. It was being hosted by Braeburn, a close cousin that Spike knew was a good pony. Spike was likewise having his own party back in Ponyville with the girls. Normally this sort of thing was handled by male friends, but Spike had always found himself swimming in mares. The wedding was to be exactly a week from tonight, making sure there was enough time for final preparations and the like, and ensuring there would be no hangovers getting in the way. Both of the grooms had agreed to keep things chaste during their fun.
The group had agreed to keep things simple, Spike had never been one for over the top parties. They were currently doing truth or dare, but if the pony (or dragon) completed their task or spoke their truth the darer had to drink. If you gave up or passed out you lost. Spike got to go first as it was his party, he looked over the group, carefully selecting his prey.
"Rainbow Dash, truth or dare?" Spike asked as he readied his glass of hard cider.
"Truth." She replied with a look of absolute confidence.
"What's the worst thing you've ever done without getting caught?" Spike asked with a toothy grin. Everypony ooed at the question, there was almost definitely something she was hiding.
Rainbow's pupils shrank instantly and her wings drooped. She hadn't anticipated that, she expected something much tamer in nature. However, Rainbow Dash was not one to shy away from a challenge.
"During middle school, Gilda dared me to pee in the cloud condenser in the weather factory after everypony had left for the night. I did it, and she turned it on and made a cloud out of it. She took it and moved it over a teacher we hated's head the next day and made it rain on them. She flew away too fast for anypony to see her do it." Rainbow Dash explained guiltily.
"Eeww." Spike said before downing his drink. "Your turn then Dash."
"Umm, Rarity, truth or dare." Dash uttered as she pointed a hoof at the prissy unicorn.
"Dare I suppose." Rarity replied nervously. Dash appraised the unicorn like a jeweler would a fine stone, and after a moment she spoke.
"I dare you to let Pinkie Pie change your mane to look like hers." Dash said with a grin that would have looked at home on Discord's face. Rarity paled visibly, an impressive feat for having such an white coat.
"Ha! Good one." Pinkie said happily as she positioned herself behind the white mare.
"No! I default, I will drink all the liquor in Equestria, just don't destroy my hair!" Rarity said before downing her own beverage in surrender. She left the circle and took a seat on a nearby sofa.
"Well, already one down. I think Pinkie should go next since she didn't get to have her fun." Spike chimed in before downing another drink regardless of turns, he had an unfair advantage so needed to level the playing field.
The game continued on for about an hour and a half. Surprisingly enough, Fluttershy was the ultimate victor. Everypony was in shock when she revealed her greatest secret, but all were forced to be bound to a Pinkie promise. Even still, the group could hardly believe it.
Afterwards the group played several more drinking games. The most awkward of which was I never, they were all worried about Pinkie's liver after that one. Eventually everypony was pretty sloshed, so they settled down and watched movies with particularly attractive stallions in the lead roles. They also gorged themselves on pizzas bought from, and delivered by a twenty four hour place in town.
As the night wore on the mares sobered up and left with words of congratulations. The only ones left as the sun peaked over the horizon were Twilight, and Trixie who had come to fetch her, but ended up staying. Spike himself had been asleep on the couch opposite them. All three of them were asleep when a thunderous roar shook the whole house, the sudden acoustic barrage broke several windows. With a second roar the rest soon followed. Spike was at full alert, rising from the couch fast enough to knock it over.
"What in the world is happening?" A very nervous Trixie replied hanging on to her alicorn for dear life.
"It's coming from the Everfree." Twilight added, likewise holding on to Trixie.
"That was a dragon, I'm sure of it." Spike said with absolute certainty. He clutched the pendant of the collar and returned himself to his maximum size, preparing for the worst.
"Are we being attacked?" Trixie asked with a look of fear in her eyes.
"No, I don't think so. Those were cries of pain if I'm right." Spike said walking over to the nearby closet.
From the closet he pulled a large weapon, a hammer bigger than any Twilight or Trixie had seen. It's handle was twice the height of a normal pony, and was a polished silver. It's head was black like a night with no stars. It was a gift from Luna, she had used it herself against dragons thousands of years ago. Ponies possessed no weapons that could cut the hide of a grown dragon. Luna had settled for breaking bones, a feat only she had ever accomplished. She had always been one for the direct approach, while Celestia was the planner. Spike was grateful for it, his young claws and fangs had no hope of harming a dragon of advanced age. Even for him it was quite heavy, Luna had needed both might and magic to wield it properly.
"Spike? You can't possibly be going to fight whatever is out there that's hurting a grown dragon." Twilight said in disbelief.
"I'm the protector of Equestria now, and we don't have the elements. I'd rather take a crack at it than let you girls or mom and Luna have try." Spike said holding the immense weapon with both hands.
"Twilight is right, we can't let you do this Spike. You should at least call for backup." Trixie reasoned.
"No time, the forest is awfully close to Ponyville. Whatever it is could get there sooner than help could come." Spike replied as he headed to the door.
"Then I'm coming with you." Twilight said with absolute finality before teleporting herself between Spike and the exit.
"What?!" Both Trixie and Spike asked in disbelief.
"I'm the most magically gifted pony in Equestria even if I don't have the most raw power. I could help." Twilight explained.
"If you go then I go, you've taught me a lot of magic recently and it's my special talent. I could offer some support if nothing else." Trixie said taking a place at Twilight's side.
Spike looked the mares over, the determination in those eyes was something he was very familiar with. It was the same look Twilight had whenever things were there darkest, as did the rest of the elements. Trixie, while new to the group had already mastered it. She had already proven herself to Spike, he knew she was good for his sister and they would be miserable without each other. She had even stopped speaking in third person for her. Aside from that, they were extremely competent mages and he wouldn't be able to stop them from following him if they desired to do so without harming them.
"Fine, but if either of you get hurt I will literally carry the guilt with me forever. Just keep that in mind." Spike said with a scowl as he wagged a claw in their faces as if he were scolding children.
"Okay, then. We'll just have to be careful." Twilight replied with a smug smile.
The trio of one unicorn, an alicorn, and a dragon trekked through the Everfree in the light of early morning. It was especially dim in the forest thanks to the cover provided by the trees. Spike was leading the group as his sight wasn't hindered by the lack of light. Twilight was bringing up the rear, she had enough magic to handle anything so long as she could detect it in time. Trixie was in the middle for safety, as she was the weakest of the group.
"How exactly do we know where we're going?" Trixie asked from behind Spike.
"I've met the dragon of the Everfree before, he almost ate me once. His cave is this way. He's the only dragon here, he'd never allow another within his territory. So, I figured it has to be him." Spike replied without taking his eyes off of the path before him. His was able to travel fairly quickly, despite the weight of the hammer he carried. Twilight had helped his sling it to himself with a chain enabling him to remain on all fours, but still have quick access to the weapon.
"Then why are there two dragons up ahead?" Trixie asked pointing to two mountainous forms ahead. They were just coming into view, they lay battered and beaten at the entrance of the green dragon's lair. The trees thinned here allowing more light and a better view.
The green dragon of the Everfree was most definitely the larger form, but he seemed the most gravely injured. Slashes marred his body deeply, but looked insignificant compared to the worst wound. There was a deep puncture wound in his chest, presumably going all the way into his heart. It was definitely made by the spade of the golden dragon's tail which was dyed red. As they drew nearer it was plain to see he was not breathing. Beside him lay a dragon of a breed Spike had not seen before, it had golden scales and a pale blue underbelly. Upon it's head was a crest of four points, it looked a bit like the fossils of a dinosaur Spike had seen in a museum. It had three spines on each cheek and one small horn at the top of it's nose. It seemed to be breathing, but seemed to be having difficulty with it.
"She's beautiful." Spike said stopping dead in his tracks, taking in the scene.
He had never been face to face with a female dragon before, he wasn't into females anymore, or dragons, but from an objective standpoint she was quite a sight. Even the injuries across her form did little to diminish her beauty. She shined like a freshly minted bit. Truly gorgeous in the early morning sun despite her imperfections.
"She? The gold one or the green one?" Trixie asked unsure of the genders of the dragons. Spike was the only dragon she had ever met, and the wounds covering the both of them made her too uneasy to look at them for long.
"The gold one obviously, how can you not tell the difference?" Spike asked as astounded as if Trixie was asking what color the sky was.
"Well excuse me, I've never seen a grown dragon before." Trixie said in a huff.
"Few of your kind have ever seen me and lived to tell of it." The golden dragon said through no small amount of pain. Trixie instinctively ducked behind Spike for safety.
Spike had been taught how to speak to an elder dragon by Luna. She had supposedly had far more interactions with them than his mother. It was wise to mind yourself when talking to a dragon, especially if you were below the age of two-thousand. Luna was the only pony dragon's held in high regard, as they respect only power. As for Celestia, she was always a diplomat and avoided conflict with them.
"Twilight, Trixie let me do the talking. Otherwise I can't guarantee we'll get out of here." Spike said stepping toward the behemoth that was the lady dragon. The pair nodded and retreated a safe distance.
"You bear the hammer that cracked the skulls of many of our kin, and you smell of the magics of ponies and the mad god. Who are you hatchling?" The golden dragon asked as she opened an enormous blue eye. Spike knew he was not permitted to ask her name, a sacred trust among elder dragons, but since she had far more power than him she was allowed to demand his.
"I am Prince Sullivan Amadeus Equestria, knight protector of these lands, son of the White Flame and nephew of the Star Bearer." Spike replied placing a claw over his chest as he used the names his people called the royal sisters.
"The White Flame is your mother? And the Star Bearer entrusts you with her weapon? Such an oddity you are. You are the last thing I would have imagined seeing in my final hour." She said with a threateningly toothy grin.
"Do you mean to say you are dying?" Spike asked, concerned for the giantess.
"Indeed I am hatchling, I have divorced my husband and come out of it victorious. Regrettably he has caused my end as well." She said lifting her side just enough to show Spike her mangled underbelly.
Though the damage done to the rest of her was minor, the internal injuries she had sustained would end her soon. Spike knew there was no amount of magic in the world that could save a pony from that sort of injury, let alone a dragon. He had to pry himself from these thoughts to focus on her words.
"Divorce? I am unfortunately lacking in knowledge of the customs of our kind, but is this the norm for such things?" He asked trying to hide disgust.
"Yes, my mate thought I was unfaithful to him, though I rarely left the den. He believed our child looked too little like him. He refused to believe she merely takes after my mother." She said with a roll of the eyes. It bothered Spike greatly that death was so easy to accept for her. Her words raised an important question however.
"Child? Is she unharmed?" Spike asked looking around the clearing. Hopefully the baby was alright.
The she-dragon moved her arm weakly and stretched it out toward Spike. Slowly, the enormous clawed hand opened revealing a single white and teal egg. It seemed perfectly untouched by it's parent's life and death struggle.
"I was expecting her to be... hatched, before such drastic measures would be warranted." Spike said trying to keep up the formalities through his surprise.
"That is of no matter, neither of us had any white. She will be white, as evident from the shell she resides in, that was enough to raise his suspicions. I regret that she will grow cold and expire without me, even though I won out against my former mate." The golden dragon said sadly as a few boiling tears fell from her eyes.
Spike was deeply saddened by the turn of events, he had not dealt with much death in his short life, and here before him a whole family was needlessly dead or dying. He knew little about his kind, but knew this wasn't right in his heart. It was definitely too late for the parents, but there seemed to be hope for the child.
"I could take her and raise her for you, I know I'm young, but I don't wish to see her life end before it begins." Spike said dropping to his knees, as was customary when asking something of a dragon elder.
The golden dragon seemed genuinely surprised by Spike's offer. Spike could understand that, dragons were a brutal race, and cared little for anything other than wealth. Even if there was a life at risk it was unlikely a strange dragon would aid another without selfish motive. She closed her eyes and contemplated his words. After a brief moment, she reopened her eyes, presumably having come to a decision.
"You are unlike any other dragon I have met, you seem to genuinely care for others and live in harmony with the ponies, I can smell them on you. You are full of magic, far more than any your age has right to, and yet you keep it in check. You restrain your greed with ease, any other would have left me to die and took the riches from the cave behind me already. You will be a force to be feared to those that threaten your lands in ages to come. I believe your words, but cannot entrust my child to one so young." The dragon said seemingly disappointed.
"Why? If you know I will care for her, why not entrust her to me?" Spike said angrily, his composure lost, all he wanted was to save the unborn dragoness.
"You yet lack the means to care for her, and you are not yet strong enough to protect her. You live with the ponies who have numerous predators, danger will never be far away. There is a way to change this, but the pain may break you." The dying mother said in a tone that reflected the gravity of the situation. Her words somehow carried a weight that Spike could feel upon his shoulders already.
"What would I need to do?" Spike asked uncertain he would like the answer.
"You must stand before me and feel my fire, my last breath. It is a ritual that can only be performed by one on their death bed. A small part of me will feed your magic and you will change. You will learn what I have to teach you, and you will have the means, and power to nurture and protect my spawn. It will be painful, it will force it's way through your scales, and on into your heart." The aged dragon said with a voice that obviously knew of pain.
"If I can save her life, I'll take the pain." Spike said throwing the hammer aside, bracing himself to face the flames.
"Then you are a soul kinder than any of us before you, I pray my daughter will grow to be the same in your care." The dragon said with the saddest smile Spike had ever seen.
He silently prayed all would be well, he still had a life to build with Macintosh, and a baby yet to be born depending on him. He knew Twilight would take the egg if he failed, but hatching one dragon was an incredible feat in itself, another would likely be impossible. His mother had once told him his egg was growing cold when it was used during Twilight's test. He had been found in an abandoned cave only a week before, she herself hadn't managed to hatch him in that time, proof of the difficulty.
The great dragoness took in a deep breath, though it clearly pained her. A second later Spike's world was consumed in flames of blue. It was beautiful until the burning started, dragons aren't accustomed to burning, as all natural heat was nothing but a comfort to them. Spike had never been burned by another dragon before either. All he knew was that this fire was seeping into his core, and that he had never felt so terrible. He could feel the power seep into him, It was far more terrible than anything he had ever felt, but he gritted his teeth and barred it. There was a life on the line.
After what felt like an eternity the pain stopped, replaced by familiar warmth. Along with it came sudden understandings, knowledge of his kind both great and terrible. He opened his eyes in time to see the flames enshrouding him change from blue to a familiar green. In another moment the flames dissipated, showing Spike the world he knew again. He could feel his body grow again, not as much as a growth spurt would force him to, but a fair bit. He estimated he was about two and a half feet taller. His insides felt different as well, he could tell his inner fire was much hotter than before. He felt more powerful in general now, the mother dragon's power had given him much.
He looked to the gold dragoness who still wore her sad smile as her eyes closed for the last time. The egg lay in front of her, still in her outstretched talons, waiting for him. He could feel an invisible connection to it, as if it really was his child. Before Spike could go to it the mares rushed back to his side. They had been forced to watch the spectacle helplessly, dragon fire wasn't to be trifled with.
"Spike! Are you crazy? What if that had been a trap or something?" Twilight said scolding him.
"I had to do it, otherwise the baby would have died with her. I didn't know anything about taking care of it, and now I know everything I need to." Spike said as he walked off to claim the egg.
"Why are you bigger? I thought you couldn't grow more for twenty years?" Trixie asked looking him over.
"I grew because I needed to be bigger to hatch the egg properly." Spike said picking the egg up carefully.
"I'm not sure I follow." Twilight said tilting her head to the side slightly in confusion.
Spike didn't answer, instead he craned his neck down to his hands and carefully put it onto his tongue, avoiding his fangs. He lifted his head back up slowly and lifted it straight up as high as he could. The mares watched in horror as the egg could be seen traveling down Spike's esophagus as a large bulge. It ceased being visible when it got to the bottom, he had seemingly swallowed it whole. After rubbing his midsection gently he looked back to the slack-jawed mares.
"What?" He asked unsure of their surprised reactions.
"You just ate the baby!" Both mares bellowed at him causing him to cover his ear fins.
"What? I'd never eat anyone, especially not a baby! I'm just keeping it warm!" He said appalled at their insinuation.
"In your stomach?" Trixie asked skeptically.
"No, in my flame chamber, that's were my fire is produced. Apparently that's the main reason I needed her magic, my flame chamber is now just as developed as a dragon a few times my age would have." Spike said pointing to a spot opposite his heart.
"You know this how exactly? We were right over there, and I didn't hear her mention anything like that." Twilight said pointing to where she and Trixie had listened at.
"Dunno, but after the pain went away I knew stuff about dragons, like everything. For instance the male is supposed to warm the egg in the first place because males have bigger flame chambers." Spike said adopting Twilight's lecture tone and raising a clawed finger in a matter-of-fact way.
"That's cool and all, but does that mean you're pregnant?" Trixie said snickering to herself.
Spike's expression changed to an annoyed one quickly. He opened his mouth to chastise her but stopped when he came to a sudden realization.
"Oh buck, I'm pregnant with a stranger's baby." He said in a tone of desperation. He seemed pretty close to panicking at this point.
"Spike, calm down. Stress is bad for the baby." Twilight told her brother, entirely uncertain whether or not that was applicable to the situation. Regardless it seemed to ease Spike's nerves a bit, he didn't want to risk harming the child in some way.
"So, this is pretty high up there on the weird scale. I wonder how Macintosh is going to react to this." Trixie said genuinely curious.
"I'm not sure how to react to this. Ancient evils and magical disasters are way less complicated than... whatever you call this situation." Twilight groaned, already feeling the oncoming headache.
"We should figure out what to do with them, it wouldn't be right to just leave them here." Spike said as he looked to the defeated giants.
"Yes, sorry. You're right Spike, I wasn't thinking of them as people, I'm ashamed to admit." Twilight replied guiltily.
"We can't exactly bury them, it would take much more time than we have to do. They would be in a sorry state by then." Trixie said sadly as she tried averting her eyes from the fallen titans.
"According to what I know now, dragons cremate the remains of their loved ones. I guess we're more flammable when we're dead." Spike said grimly.
"Then shouldn't you do it? I mean your breathe fire and all." Trixie asked, stating the obvious.
"I can't make enough without endangering the baby, I could light a torch and use that, but we'd need to use some kind of accelerate on them." Spike replied as he clutched the spot where the egg resided safely.
With that, the group agreed to depart the forest to retrieve supplies from home. Before they left, Spike took a scale from each of the dragons. He planned to give them to the baby when she came of age. Spike had always wondered who his biological parents were, he intended to make sure his daughter wouldn't want for that. It would be difficult, but he had no desire to lie to her. When she was old enough she would know the truth. The immediate future however, seemed far more worrisome. He just hoped Macintosh wanted kids.
The short trip back to Spike's home just outside the Everfree was silent. Both Trixie and Twilight were unsure of how to take the situation. Trixie had initially thought the idea of a pregnant Spike to be hilarious, but the realization that he had just risked death for a baby that lost both it's parents shot her full of guilt. It spoke volumes for the young prince, she hadn't known Spike on a personal level long, but it was an act of selflessness she couldn't say for certain she would have done herself. Twilight had told her of Spike's problems before, she knew that Spike was destined to live for eternity while the stallion he loved would die in less than a hundred years but he would stay with Big Mac regardless. This was something she knew may become a factor in her own love life with Twilight.
"Hey Spike?" Trixie said gaining the silent dragon's attention.
"Yeah?" Spike said looking back to the mare.
"I think what you did was great, I'm sorry for poking fun at you for it." Trixie said guiltily.
"Thank you, and don't worry about it. Not many ponies would go rushing in to a potential battle like that. I'm glad to have you around." Spike said with a smile. He had really grown to like the showy mare, and Twilight was head over hooves for her.
"Gotta admit, I agree with Trixie. Even if it was stupid to trust someone that could have easily killed you." Twilight added in a typical big sister tone. The neutral tone that conveyed a mixture of compliment and insult.
"I knew she was honest with me. I could see it in her eyes." Spike replied sadly, the look on the golden dragon's face was one he would never forget.
The group arrived at the house several minutes after conversation ran thin. Spike was thankful for the wonderful work his mother's crew had done. Even though he was taller the door still allowed easy access to the house. Spike stopped dead in his tracks when he entered the living room. There, sitting on the sofa was Macintosh reading a magazine about farming tools. He looked up when he saw a familiar mass of purple in his peripheries.
"Spike? D'ja get taller since yesterday?" Mac asked as he looked his love over.
Spike was silent, his mouth was open to speak but no words would come. His brain, for all the knowledge he now possessed, was drawing a blank. He didn't even notice Twilight and Trixie enter the room behind him. Trixie observed the scene, and did all she could think to do. She levitated the branch she had grabbed to serve as the torch they needed, and unceremoniously thwaked him on the back of the head. It seemed to jump start Spike's brain, giving him his cognitive abilities once more.
"Um... Yes? Like only a couple feet though. I couldn't really help it." Spike admitted.
Macintosh was always the silent type, but that didn't make him stupid. He knew something big had to have happened to worry Spike so much that he locked up, and something huge to effect him physically.
"Sumthin's wrong here. Is this some kinda magic problem?" Mac asked as he closed the magazine and placed it on the end table.
"Not exactly, the problem has been resolved... mostly." Spike replied nervously.
"Mostly?" Mac asked with a raised brow.
"I suppose it'd be best if I just showed you. You need to come with me to the Everfree, it's important." Spike replied without meeting Mac's gaze.
"Alright, I trust ya." Mac said getting up from the dragon-sized sofa.
"Twilight, Trixie, I'll take care of business in the forest. Me and Mac need to talk about this sooner than later." Spike told the mares who merely nodded and left the house. Spike was glad they didn't object, this was already going to be difficult.
Spike took the branch Trixie had assaulted him with, a rag, some twine, and several bottles of household cleaners. It was the best he could do under the circumstances, he had never needed help burning something before. Macintosh looked at him with concern, but stayed silent and packed the items into his saddle bag. Spike took a moment to lock the hammer and chains back into the closet, it seemed he had no need of it today. They left the house silently and headed through the forest.
Spike decided to try and start some conversation on the way, despite the noticeable awkwardness.
"So... You were home earlier than I expected. Everything go alright in Appleoosa?" He asked as they continued down the rough path through the forest.
"Eeyup, caught n' early train. Braeburn's pals weren't mah kinda folk. Thought ah just wanted to be with ya fer status, er money er somethin. Ah bucked em' through the bar, ah think we're gettin billed fer that." Macintosh said with a smug smile.
"They got lucky, I'd have burned their tails off." Spike said with a snort of black smoke. "Didn't peg Braeburn to be a bad judge of character."
"He said they ain't normally like that. Ah believe im'." Mac added. "Folks jus' cain't use their heads sometimes."
"That's true, but as long as you use your heart you should come out alright." Spike said yet again avoiding Mac's eyes. His words stung, Spike needed to be rid of his secret soon.
"Yer right about tha..." Mac trailed off as he looked back to the path ahead, the sun's rays had intensified making what lay ahead easier to see. "Are those?"
"Dragons, a male and a female. They can't hurt you though, they've already passed on, but they're part of why we're here." Spike said with a monotone that told Mac Spike was holding back his emotions.
Neither of them said anything else until they were just a couple yards from the fallen dragons. Mac was rightfully confused, he had never seen such violence before. Yet here he stood before two downed creatures that had seemingly ended each other. It was an indescribable feeling, these two creatures though different were still strikingly similar to Spike. Mac's imagination twisted the image of one to the likeness of Spike, the thought of seeing his lover like this made him feel ill.
"W-why are we here?" Mac asked looking up to Spike in desperation.
"These dragons killed each other because that's how they were raised. It sickens me to admit it, but this is what my kind call divorce." Spike said with lament heavy in his tone.
"Ya mean these two... were married?" Mac asked in disbelief.
"I don't think other dragons really have a concept of marriage, but they were mates. The green dragon was dead when we got here, and the gold one wasn't far behind. I spoke with her in her final moments. The reason they died was they were fighting over their child. The green one didn't think she looked like him and tried to kill her because he thought the gold one cheated on him. The gold one killed him to protect the egg and herself." Spike explained sadly.
"That's terrible! If they loved each other why do this?" Mac asked in utter disgust.
"I'm almost certain they didn't love each other, but the golden one loved her daughter very much. She cried for her before she died, without her the egg would grow cold and magic would most likely fail to save her." Spike continued.
"Where's the egg now?" Macintosh asked with eyes glued to Spike, the fate of a child was nothing to be taken lightly.
"I have it, I promised the mother I'd take care of her. Her last act was to give me some of her knowledge and strength to protect the baby. Her last words were that she wished for me to raise the baby to be better than the rest of our species, to be a good person. To be better than them." Spike replied with conviction as he pointed to the immense cadavers. He needed Macintosh to see how important this was.
"So, you wanna raise their baby?" Macintosh asked slightly bewildered by the idea of Spike devoting himself to something so potentially dangerous.
"No, I want us to raise her. She's a dragon, of course, but more than that she's a child. She deserves a loving family just like anyone else. I know family is the most important thing to an Apple, and I want to be part of yours. I'd like nothing more than to bring the baby into the family with me, but I need your blessing. I love you more than anything, but I swore to a dying mother that I would raise her child. I need to know what to do Mac, my heart is telling me I need you, but she needs me to save her." Spike said as tears streamed from his eyes.
Macintosh loved Spike more than anyone in the world, and the idea of raising a child with him wasn't at all unpleasant. The only doubts he had were those he had of himself.
Am ah ready t' be a father? Would ah be able t' help raise a dragon? If ah fail, would Spike ever forgive me? These questions ran through his head like bugs scattering away from the light. He looked back to Spike who kept shifting his gaze between Macintosh and the golden dragon. Macintosh had watched Spike go through hell during his growth spurt, but the pain in Spike's eyes now made that seem like nothing. He knew he had been silent for too long, worrying the dragon. He was mentally kicking himself for doubting his future with Spike, even if the circumstances were strange he should have jumped at the chance to raise a child with the one he loved.
"Ah love ya more than anything Spike, ah know you better than ah do mahself. Ah'm sorry ah worried you, but ah never wanna leave ya. Raisin a foal is somethin I'd thought about fer us, jus' never so soon. Ah know it's gonna be hard, but ah wanna start a family with ya more than anythin." Macintosh said, with tears streaming down his own face. He was soon pulled up by Spike into a powerful hug.
In the heat of the moment Spike had forgotten his strength, but Macintosh didn't care. His family had just grown again, and he couldn't be happier. So long as they had one another life could throw nothing their way that they could not overcome.
A week had passed since the events in the Everfree forest, Spike and Macintosh burned the bodies of the dead dragons as was customary. The egg was warm and safe, eventually their daughter would hatch from it. Spike had contacted a team of government workers to retrieve the hoard of the baby's parents, he saved three fourths in the bank and invested the rest in long-term business ventures. Money would never be an issue for taking care of the baby, Spike made sure of that.
Twilight and Trixie had been sworn to secrecy, Spike and Macintosh were going to tell everypony about the egg during the after party at their wedding tonight. Nopony knew about the egg other than the four of them, not even Celestia and Luna.
Spike was currently putting on his suit jacket in his dressing room, Rarity was assisting him with Twilight, Fluttershy, and Trixie standing by. The other girls were either helping Macintosh, or making sure everything was perfect. There were even magic sensors on all the doors and windows that detected changelings in disguise. Celestia had them installed in all government buildings less than a year after the invasion.
"Really Spike, I wish you would just shrink yourself. You've somehow grown since I made your suit less than a month ago." Rarity complained as she did alterations to the garment.
"Yeah I know, but I'd like to be myself today, Ya know?" Spike lied. He couldn't change his size so long as the egg was within him, if he got smaller his flame chamber would crush her.
"I suppose that makes sense, either way I've finished now." The seamstress said as she hopped off the step ladder she was standing atop to reach Spike's height.
"Thanks for the quick save Rarity, I should have thought to ask sooner." Spike said as he looked himself over in the mirror.
The girls chatted amongst themselves for a moment as Spike tied his new bow tie. It was a gift from Luna, it had been specially made from Saddle Arabian silk and was completely fireproof. His mother told him she would give him her present after the wedding, she made sure to be as cryptic as possible to keep him guessing. The gifts from the others had all been the normal things, flatware, fine china, appliances and the like. Just as Spike finished up the music began to play, signifying the ceremony was soon to begin. Spike was ashamed that he had cut things so close, forgetting about his suit had been easy while the egg he harbored was constantly on his mind. He shooed the girls out to their places and took his own at the head of the chapel.
This was the chapel of Canterlot castle, reserved specifically for royalty. It was the very same one where Twilight had revealed the changeling's plot with Cadence. Spike looked around seeing all their friends and family looking back at him. The royal sisters, the elements of harmony, the crusaders, Discord, the royalty of the Crystal Empire, Trixie, Twilight's parents, Some close friends from Ponyville, Pony Joe, and about ten of the closest relatives Big Macintosh had. His mother was presiding over the ceremony itself from behind the podium at the head of the room. Discord was the one playing the organ, but was also sitting in the audience because he was the only one who could do it and watch the ceremony at the same time.
The music changed, signifying the time had arrived. Spike gulped nervously. He knew nothing could go wrong with all the most powerful beings on earth here together, but this was the most important day of his life so far, he had every right to be nervous. The grand doors at the opposite side of the chapel opened, revealing Big Macintosh being escorted by Applejack. Macintosh was a sight to behold, he wore the finest white suit Rarity could make. This was also the first time Spike could recall Macintosh having perfectly styled hair, but it definitely suited him.
Spike's frayed nerves eased as he looked upon Macintosh, he saw not only the stallion he loved, but a wonderful future. It would be hard when Mac passed, but not even death could stop Spike from loving him. He straightened himself up, his renewed vigor evident to any that looked upon him. All eyes converged on the couple as Macintosh arrived at the podium, taking his place beside Spike. Celestia looked to her son who nodded to her, telling her to begin.
"Friends and family, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of my son, Prince Sullivan Amadeus Equestria, or Spike, and Macintosh Apple. I take great pride in presiding over this joyous occasion, there are none who deserve happiness more than these two. The differences between them are great, but true love conquers all regardless of gender, species, or the test of time. Let any who believe they have a reason that these two should not wed speak now or forever remain silent." She said to the crowd of familiar faces.
None in the room so much as coughed, no one could deny the pair's bond. Spike smiled brightly, he knew nopony he called family would deny him, or Mac their happiness.
"Then do you, Spike, take Macintosh Apple to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, so long as you may live?" She continued, looking to her son.
"With all my heart." Spike replied without hesitation.
"And do you, Macintosh Apple take Spike to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, so long as you may live?" She asked, looking to Macintosh.
"Ah do." Mac replied.
"Then by the power vested in me as co-ruler of Equestria, I pronounce you wed. You may now kiss." Celestia said with a warm smile and tears of joy.
The couple embraced each other, locking into a deep, passionate kiss. The friends and family of the couple cheered as loud as they could for the newlyweds. Flash bulbs went off several times a second it seemed, none would ever forget the occasion, but photographs were always nice. After the lengthy kiss was over the happy couple joined their loved ones and headed for the ballroom for the after party.
The grand ballroom was the largest single room in the castle, it seemed empty with not quite fifty ponies attending, but the couple wanted it to be a family only affair. There was an impressive array of food, everypony knew of Spike's appetite. Their was also a full bar, Luna had made sure of that, she knew Spike shared her fondness for alcohol. She was vexed when Spike completely ignored the impressive selection of liquors.
"Nephew? Are you not planning on partaking any alcohol tonight? It is your wedding." She asked the dragon sitting a few places away from her at the dining table that had been placed in the room.
"I just think I need to cut back is all, Besides, Mac isn't big on me drinking so much anyway." Spike assured her. She raised a brow at his response but left him be.
Spike and Mac fed each other bites of their wedding cake as was tradition, the Cakes had managed to recreate the Mmm for the occasion. Spike saw his mother take several pieces when nopony was looking, he needed to remember to have a talk with her about pastries. More pictures were taken, and the couple even managed a few awkward dances together. Spike's size made it a tad difficult, but it went well enough. Macintosh even saw Twilight attempting to dance with Trixie. She still hadn't quite gotten it down yet.
As the night continued on, everypony eventually slowed down and talked with one another. Celestia levitated a spoon and used it to tap the rim of her glass, gaining everypony's attention. She had not yet given the pair her special gift.
"Everypony, I'd just like to take a moment to give my gift to the couple." She said with a smile.
On cue, the balcony door of the ballroom flew open with two orange blurs darting inside. The first landed on the back of Celestia's chair, it was Philomena her pet phoenix. Spike looked up in time to see a slightly larger bird land atop the largest spine on his head.
"Peewee?" Spike asked in surprise. "I haven't seen you in years."
"Yes, well I thought maybe you two could use some company in that big house of yours. Philomena was kind enough to find him for us, he was quite excited to see you." Celestia explained as the fire bird munched happily on his snack, raining crumbs on Spike.
Spike dusted his face off, and looked to Mac. Mac could essentially read the dragon's mind and nodded his approval. Spike stood from his seat, as did Big Mac. The party goers looked to them, wondering what they were now doing.
"Thank you mom, Peewee was a great pet, and I'm sure he will be again. But we aren't going to be as alone in the house as you would think." Spike said with a warm smile.
The guests all looked at each other wondering if anypony knew what they were talking about, Celestia and Luna included. Twilight and Trixie averted their eyes from the others in an attempt to feign ignorance. Luckily, no one paid them too much attention.
"Spike? What exactly do you mean?" Luna inquired.
"Mac and I have adopted a child." Spike said proudly as he placed a claw on the stallion's back.
"Eeyup." Mac added.
Celestia was struck dumb by the admission, she had seen cities destroyed before her very eyes, but receiving the news that she was to be a grandmother on her son's wedding day had rendered her unable to think. Luna waved a hoof in her face, to no avail. She tried poking her sister in the shoulder, producing a less than desirable result. She fell over, unconscious.
"That coulda gone better." Mac said looking down at his mother-in-law.
Celestia, for all her finery and titles, was a simple mare. She loved her sister, her son, her student, and her country. Something only those close to her knew was her other love, although it seemed more of an obsession at times. Cake, her one true weakness. She had a fondness of most pastries, but cake was her favorite. She was currently having a lovely dream about cake, she could even smell it.
"Mom?" A far off voice called to her.
"Spike? Is that you? Do you have cake?" She mumbled semi coherently.
"Yes mom, there's cake. Come wake up and get some." Spike said trying to stifle a laugh.
Celestia opened her eyes to see a large group of ponies looking down at her, and Spike who appeared to be using her dream's cake as smelling salts. This was fairly new to her, she was always so much taller than other ponies. It seemed the ponies not especially close to Spike and herself had left during her improvised nap, likely believing it a more personal affair. She was helped up by her son, even with her abnormal size Spike was more than strong enough to lift her to her hooves. As soon as she was on her hooves she remembered why she had been on the floor in the first place.
"Oh dear, I fainted didn't I? That hasn't happened since you were a baby and I found you eating my tiara. I had no idea you could eat things like that back then." She chuckled to herself.
"And do you happen to remember why you fainted?" Spike asked with no small amount of worry.
"Yes, you and Macintosh announced you had already adopted a foal. I'm sorry I reacted poorly, but that's a big leap in such a short amount of time." Celestia answered with regret for her actions and worry for Spike's.
"I said child, not foal." Spike corrected.
"So it's not a pony?" Rainbow Dash asked from the side.
"SHE is a dragon, she hasn't hatched just yet though." Spike replied.
"You found another abandoned dragon egg? Such a thing has only ever happened once, with you in fact." Luna replied in disbelief.
"I didn't find her, she was given to me." Spike said sadly.
Spike went on to tell the group of his experience with the dying dragon. A mixture of emotions could be seen on the faces of the ponies listening in, ranging from disgust to sadneess. Even the phoenix's faces took on a look of surprise at the tale. Dragons were their only natural predator, but the story painted them in a new light. If the golden dragon was so willing to save her child it meant there was still hope for dragons to be better people. When he finished everypony was silent for a moment, letting the full impact sink in. His mother was the first to speak up.
"So where's the egg now? Surely you remember that I told you your egg was almost completely cold after a week. If the mother taught you how to hatch it you need to do it now." Celestia asked, fearing for the unborn dragon.
Spike sighed deeply, he had left that part of the story out to save himself some embarrassment, but his mother had always been a sharp one. Trixie and Twilight were close to cracking under the intense pressure of their building laughs. Might as well get this over with. Spike thought to himself. He opened his mouth to speak but Mac had decided to take charge.
"He's pregnant with it." Mac said bluntly. Trixie was the first to break, and Twilight soon followed suit. Spike hung his head in defeat.
"What he said." Spike added.
"The egg... is inside of you?" His mother asked skeptically.
"Yes, dragons apparently hatch their young in their own flame chambers. It's like sea horses I guess, girls lay the eggs, males hatch the eggs." Spike said trying to steer the comparisons away from pregnancy.
"Whoa so you are preggers." Pinkie Pie said in amazement as she poked his stomach through his suit. Spike didn't bother correcting her.
"I need time to come up with jokes about this, this is too sudden. I've got nothing." Shining Armor said in disappointment. Cadence promptly smacked him in the back of the head with her armored hoof.
"He meant to say congratulations boys." Cadence added with her warmest smile.
"It's not like I'm doubting you or anything, but how can you be so certain it's a girl if it's still in the egg?" Rarity asked.
"I didn't get it either until the mother filled me with magic, but now I just know." Spike said with a shrug.
"How long before the egg is finished incubating?" Luna questioned. She had always been interested in dragons, but had never dealt with anything like this.
Spike thought on that for a moment. The new knowledge he possessed seemed to be a little harder to understand than things he learned first hand. Almost like trying to read a language you hadn't spoken in ages. After several minutes of decoding he looked back to the group. Macintosh was especially anxious to hear this, they had been so busy with wedding preparations they hadn't really had time to talk about it.
"I'm not entirely sure, without the mother's magic my fire wouldn't have been hot enough for her to develop properly. But my fire is also different than most, it's mixed with pony magic because I was hatched differently. From what I can gather it would have taken her around a hundred and forty-two days, less if the father had done it like he was supposed to. I could either take more or less. On top of that, I'm a different breed than either parent, she's a mixed breed. So this is all sort of uncharted territory." Spike said uncertainly.
He was no biologist, and even if he were few ponies had ever studied a living dragon. The only ones who had had only examined him, and he wasn't yet past the adolescent stage of his life. On top of that magic was involved, and despite her best efforts not even Twilight knew everything about it. He felt bad that he couldn't do more to prepare, he had promised the mother he would do all he could, but he only knew what she had told him.
Macintosh placed a hoof over Spike's claw, he knew how important this was, but he didn't know what he could do about it either. He had helped raise Apple Bloom, but ponies and dragons weren't even the same type of creature. Everything he knew about them came from Spike who was already stumped. Ther's gotta be somethin we can do to get ready... Mac thought to himself. After a moment inspiration struck.
"Ya know, since we dunno when she's gettin here we oughtta get a room ready for her. The guest room should do." Macintosh said hoping to revitalize Spike by making him feel more useful.
Spike brightened at this, an unrestrained toothy grin came across his face. There was much to be done! He felt stupid for not thinking about this sooner but he could berate himself later. Things were gonna get crazy, but nothing in life worth having came easily.
"Mac, I dunno what I'd do without you!" Spike said picking his husband up as easily if he were Twilight's old doll Mac thought he didn't know about.
"Sorry to interrupt your impromptu planning session, but you two just got married. Shouldn't you be going on a honeymoon?" Trixie said stating the obvious.
"We'll do it some other time, we've got a baby on the way!" Spike said after giving his stallion a powerful smooch.
"Eeyup." Mac said as he turned visibly redder.
"First off, we need a crib made of fireproof materials, and it has to be something she won't wanna eat." Spike said as he placed the stallion he loved back on the floor.
Celestia stood back as her not so little boy talked with his husband and friends about her soon to be grandchild. She was unbelievably proud of her boy, he had found his special somepony so early in life. She hadn't lived as much in the last four-thousand years as Spike had in eighteen. She felt like such a fool, her own child was passing her up without even trying. She was a tad jealous to be honest, but she would soon have a new baby to spoil whenever she got the chance.
Outside of Ponyville there was an area full of large rocky hills. The only creatures that lived in this area were the diamond dogs, it was to dry for ponies as the pegasi didn't distribute clouds that far away from town. This was also the area Rarity had once been foalnapped in, with Spike and the girls coming to the rescue. Ponies typically avoided this area, diamond dogs weren't the friendliest bunch. Spike had given Rarity the address of the gem supplier his mother used for him to avoid further incidents.
Today however, was different. It had been a week since the wedding and the dragon magic Spike received from the golden dragoness seemed to be better acclimating itself to him. New information filed itself away more readily now. Something he had just learned was that under normal circumstances, a hatchling ate it's eggshells as a first meal. The eggshell contained large amounts of minerals, nutrients, and residual magic that would aid in development. Spike himself would have likely done this on instinct, but his shell had been crushed to bits under his magically enlarged form and reassembled later. Spike's new catalog of knowledge told him that if the shell was somehow unusable certain gems would do as a substitute.
Twilight had already expressed her intent for making another M.A.C. for the baby in the future, which would require the eggshell. To make sure he had the necessary replacements Spike was off to the diamond dog territory to barter for the necessary jewels. He was not alone however, Trixie was accompanying him. This had been Twilight's idea, Spike had never spent very much time with Trixie, nor had Twilight spent much time with Macintosh. So the couples had decided to swap partners for the day. Trixie would help Spike get gems, while Twilight and Macintosh dragon-proofed the house.
Spike was currently pulling the Apple family's largest cart through the dusty landscape, Trixie lay in the back wearing her cloak and hat. The pair had been pretty silent, unsure of what to talk about. Spike decided to try and start up conversation.
"So, Trixie. I thought you were past the whole show-mare thing, what's with the getup?" Spike asked as they continued onward toward where the main tunnel system was thought to be.
Trixie seemed to hesitate before answering, Spike was keeping his eyes on the path ahead so he couldn't be sure of her expression. After a moment of silence he heard Trixie sigh before she eventually answered.
"It makes me feel special. I talk big, but I really didn't have much self respect or confidence before you set me up with Twilight. I'm usually okay now, but I'm usually with her. Since we're going to see the diamond dogs I needed some help, I've told lots of scary stories about them over the years. I can't even remember what's real and what I've made up about them." Trixie explained. She chuckled a little toward the end, but Spike knew it had been hard for her to admit that.
"Well, don't sweat it. Big scary Spike is here to protect you. I may not be able to do fire right now, but I still pack a mean punch. Just ask Barktholomew." Spike said taking a moment to look back at the mare and smile.
"Who's Barktholomew?" Trixie asked, raising a brow at the unorthodox name. Spike snickered a bit at the question.
"That's apparently the name of the tree I accidentally uprooted with a light punch. Mac's family has spent so much time in the orchard he and his sisters have named all the trees." Spike said with a warm grin. It was a funny tradition amongst the Apples, but if Mac were half as good at raising children as he was trees then they had nothing to fear.
"That's kind of crazy isn't it?" Trixie replied. She had only been on the farm a few times, but the she had seen no end to the rows and rows of trees. She could never remember that many names, let alone tell all those trees apart.
"Yeah, but I intend to learn them eventually. I've got plenty of time." Spike joked. He had long since accepted his fate, so why not joke about it from time to time?
Trixie laughed weakly in reply, but it was obviously forced. Spike had lived around mares his entire life, he knew that tone meant that somepony was trying to make you think they were fine. Spike stopped for a moment to look back at the mare again. She had pulled the hat down low, likely so Spike couldn't see her eyes. She seemed to be close to tears.
"Trixie? What's wrong?" Spike asked as he let his tail loose from the cart hitch. He pulled Trixie onto his back with it, hoping the closeness would help her.
"Twilight, she told me about the magic that made her into an alicorn. Nopony knows exactly how long she'll live, she could be completely immortal or she could die tomorrow. I-I've never had anypony before, I was an orphan that ran away to make something of myself as soon as I could. I've never gotten attached to anypony, I just kept moving from place to place. Then I was shown up by her and lost what little I had because some baby space bear crushed my wagon. I did hard labor on a rock farm to get money for my revenge scheme and got possessed by ugly jewelry. I was looking for somepony to blame for all my misfortunes and Twilight had absolutely everything. She didn't deserve that, and somehow after I messed up yet again you give me the chance to make up with her and now I think I love her and... and-" Trixie was cut off by a slap to the cheek planted by the spade of Spike's tail. She had been breaking down in tears toward the end. Spike hadn't known about Trixie's past, but he could worry about it later, he needed to help her.
"I'm really sorry about that Trixie, but this isn't exactly friendly territory and you were kinda losing it. I think you just need to talk to Twilight about this, maybe Shining Armor too. Cadence is in the same boat as Twilight, you should see how he copes." Spike told the surprised mare. She sniffled a bit and nodded as she wiped her nose with a colorful rope of intertwined hankies from within her cloak. Presumably a remnant of her days doing tricks for crowds. She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself before speaking again.
"Thank you, I'm sorry I snapped. You were just joking about time and... I'm sorry." Trixie said as she hung her head in guilt.
"It's alright Trixie, not everyone has my kind of time. But it's not always a gift when you care about so many others. Mac and I are past it, but our girl's going to have to deal with it too. All of us are just going to have to learn to appreciate each other for as long as possible, and the memories after. No matter what happens, I think you and Twilight have changed each other for the better." Spike replied. Trixie took it to heart, she was having a hard time believing that Spike was younger than her. He was pretty wise for someone in their late teens.
Conversation took on a lighter mood after that. Spike told Trixie of adventures past, specifically ones Twilight had neglected to mention. Trixie was in stitches after the want-it-need-it story, and the Pinkie sense story worried her a bit, Twilight had taken a beating during that one. Soon after he finished the story, they came to a series of holes marked with different numbers of stones to the sides of each. Presumably this was the main system of tunnels. Trixie slid down the smooth scales of Spike's side and looked at the holes in front of them.
"So, we can't exactly knock or anything. What are we supposed to do to get their attention?" Trixie asked looking down the hole nearest her. Spike rubbed his chin in thought for a moment before grinning like mad.
"Just move back and cover your ears, I don't usually do this on purpose so I'm not sure how loud it will be." Spike said moving Trixie out of the way, keeping her back with his tail.
He took in a massive breath, Trixie thought he was going to try fire, but thought he had mentioned he couldn't do so. She was about to ask exactly what he was doing, but he suddenly craned his neck into the hole. A mere second later a roar that literally shook the ground could be heard coming up from the various tunnel holes. Trixie wished she had taken Spike's advice, the roar rung out through her ears and shook her to her core. Spike pulled his head from the hole and coughed, he had breathed in a little dirt as he finished the primal shout. He smiled and looked back to Trixie.
"Do you think they heard me?" He asked sarcastically. He wasn't usually one for being petty, but those dogs had caused a lot of trouble in the past.
A large dog poked it's head out of a hole a bit further away from them to get a look at what had interrupted their business. It was one of the gruff, heavily muscled dogs that served under the alphas. It's nearly imperceptible eyes bulged at the sight of Spike. It was about to duck back into the hole, but Spike grabbed him by the helmet he and all the other grunts wore.
"We'd like to speak to the management please." Spike said before dropping the surprised dog, letting him fall back into the tunnel.
"Was that really necessary? That made you seem way more intimidating than you actually are." Trixie said from behind the smug dragon.
"That's sorta the point, I can't do a whole lot with the baby to protect. So, I'm making sure they think they shouldn't mess with me." Spike replied as they waited for the leaders to show up.
After a few minutes three dogs emerged from nearby holes, they were familiar to Spike. They were the same three diamond dogs that had kept Rarity hostage, that is until she whined them to near death. The tall one, the short stumpy one, and the medium one that seemed to be a bit smarter than the other two. Spike hadn't actually learned their names due to the prior circumstances, but it didn't really matter. They still wore the same red vests and studded collars as before, though age seemed to be taking it's toll on them. There were many wrinkles on their faces now, it seemed the concept of dog years seemed to be true for diamond dogs as well.
The largest and smallest dog seemed a bit worried as they looked upon the dragon and showy unicorn before them. The middle dog however seemed relatively calm, he had an extra gem hanging from his own collar. Spike presumed it was something like a show of rank. After both parties looked each other over the lead dog spoke.
"What dragon want here? Steal our gems? Eat dogs?" He asked with eyes slanted in suspicion. He seemed to be holding back anger as well, normally they would likely challenge anyone he deemed a threat to the pack. Spike however was likely a threat he knew he couldn't take.
"Actually, I have a proposition for you. I've got a kid on the way, and she's going to need some special gems when she's born. I'm going to offer to purchase these gems from you for a substantial amount of gold. I'd also be interested in any regular gems you'd be willing to part with." Spike replied as he pulled a large sack of bits from the back of the wagon with his tail. It was nearly twice the size of Trixie and made an impressive thud as it hit the ground.
The diamond dog's eyes widened at the sight of the obese bag. They huddled together to discuss the matter for a moment. Trixie and Spike looked at each other and shrugged, they could understand the confusion. A strange dragon comes into your home and offers you a sack of gold the size of a small cow. Not exactly an everyday occurrence. After a moment the dogs turned to face the pair again.
"Why dragon need so many jewels? Baby dragon need start a hoard?" The tallest of the dogs inquired.
"It's true most dragons hoard but I don't and my daughter won't either. Dragons eat gems too, they're good for us, helps us grow up strong. They don't taste too bad either." Spike explained. He had just assumed the dogs knew why he would want them, he assumed that's why they mined them too but couldn't be certain.
"So we give you gems to eat, you no eat us and give us gold?" the shortest of the diamond dogs asked, making sure he understood the situation.
"That's right, and depending on how well my daughter likes what we give her I might buy more from time to time. I can get you something else if gold isn't what you want, but this area has lots of gems and isn't too far from where I live. If at all possible I'd like us to come to some sort of arrangement." Spike replied calmly, this was going pretty well so far. Hopefully he could get what he needed. He gave Trixie a nod and she took a paper containing a list from her cloak that Spike had given her to hold onto. She floated it over to the dogs using her magic, the lead dog accepted it and looked it over carefully before coming to a decision.
"We have deal, gems are many here, but gold is hard to find." He replied. He gave the list to his companions and shooed them off into the holes presumably to get the gems.
"Are you sure you have everything on the list? There are a few harder to find ones on there." Spike asked as he took a seat on the ground in wait.
"Yes, yes. Dogs have all kinds of gems, we trade with other packs. We be rich with gold now too, envy of all neighbors." The remaining dog smiled smugly.
"Oh yeah, that reminds me. I have a friend who uses gems to make pretty clothes for ponies, she'd like me to ask if she could work out a similar arrangement with you but wasn't sure it was a good idea to see you again." Spike remembered suddenly. Rarity had been curious about the willingness of the dogs to negotiate, but disliked the idea of being thrown underground again.
The dog reappraised Spike for a moment, thinking back several years. It had been less than a decade for Spike but probably much longer for the diamond dogs. His eyes opened wide at the realization of who Spike was and who he spoke of.
"You little dragon, friend of whiny pony! We have headache for weeks after she whine at us. We only do business through you!" The dog punctuated his declaration with a powerful stomp that kicked up a small amount of dust.
"Yeah, alright I get it. No problem. Rarity sort of figured you'd say that." Spike said holding his claws in front of him defensively.
After a few more minutes several grunt dogs emerged from the holes and began loading the cart from a large number of bags. Each bag was full to bursting with gems of all sorts. The wagon was filled in no time at all. The other sub-alpha dogs returned with a smaller bag of gems, they handed it off to Spike who looked through it's contents. Within it were several unusual gems, even a small uncut fire ruby. These were the gems containing an abundance of natural magics and other things dragons required to grow properly. Spike smiled widely at the sight of them.
"Thank you gentle...dogs? Whatever. Anyway These are exactly what my little girl needs. The rest should keep the both of us well fed for some time too. Worth every bit. If you're interested I could actually get you in touch with the government. They'd pay pretty well for the gems you guys have a knack for finding. I happen to know someone who can keep you in touch with Princess Twilight Sparkle." Spike said confidently, as he used his tail to point directly to a surprised Trixie. He had heard Twilight and Trixie talking about finding her a job now that she was going to be living in Ponyville.
The lead dogs looked at each other and whispered amongst themselves for a moment. They returned their gazes to Spike and nodded with great enthusiasm. He looked back to Trixie and smiled, Trixie blinked several times in confusion. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't quite find the words. His smile seemed to dim after a moment however, and his eyes became cold and thinned into reptilian slits like a snake's. Spike snorted a small plume of black smoke and looked back to the dogs.
"That said, the princesses and this pony here are very important to me. If you wrong them, or hurt anyone here to do business with you for any reason I will make your pack and your descendants pay. Dragons live a very long time and have very good memories." Spike flat out threatened.
To punctuate his statement he plucked a rather large diamond from the cart with his claw. He showed it to them and crushed it to small pieces with little effort. The lead dog's ears flattened down to his head, he nodded nervously without hesitation. Spike tossed back the gem fragments like they were pills and swallowed them. He lifted the enormous sack of gold at his side and tossed it to the nearest grunt dog. He caught it, but fell over from the heavy impact.
"You've got your gold and I've got my gems, we'll send somepony to see about the trade agreements, alright?" Spike asked the dogs after returning to his normal demeanor. They merely nodded and watched him and Trixie walk off. Trixie looked at Spike cautiously, she had never seen anything so predatory before. Even the Ursa Minor seemed just a touch disgruntled compared to the cold fire in Spike's normally bright eyes. They were a few dozen yards away from the dogs before she spoke up.
"What the buck was all that about?! First you invent a job for me out of nowhere, then you turn into the most threatening looking creature I've ever seen. I thought I was going to die or something." Trixie exclaimed loudly, she was incredibly uncertain about everything currently happening. She had seen him go from friendly and thoughtful to bloodthirsty killing machine in a few seconds seconds.
"Well, I don't advertise it much but my hearing is amazing since I grew. I heard you tell Twilight you wanted to find a job, so I made you one and gave you some insurance, so to speak. I don't use political power very often, but I doubt anypony will have an issue with me opening trade agreements with the diamond dogs." He explained as they continued on with their cargo. Trixie looked at him like he had just claimed that he had merely forgotten threats were bad and that he didn't see anything wrong with how he had handled the situation.
"Okay, yes fine thank you. But it still felt like death was possessing you to tell those dogs to piss themselves, you were talking about protecting me and I thought I was going to piss myself!" She bellowed still half in disbelief.
"Oh... That. I think it's something instinctual, something primal. Most dragons hoard treasure and stuff, I don't. I keep my money in the bank like ponies do. But I think I do have a hoard. You and the girls, mom, Luna, Mac of course, and the baby that's on it's way. Maybe Discord. I treasure you all more than my own life, I honestly don't think I could stop myself from destroying something that hurt any of you. It, my instincts, sort of slipped out when I warned the dogs about behaving. I didn't want anyone to piss themselves." Spike explained, his face contorted into a frown several times during the explanation. It was obviously something that was difficult for him to put to words, and more difficult to live with.
"Well, warn a girl next time. That was scary, not quite as scary as when Twilight tries to cook, but up there." Trixie said playfully punching the dragon in the shoulder. It was her turn to cheer him up. The two shared a small laugh before being on their way.
Twilight had, as was often the case, been proven right. Trixie and Spike had indeed gotten to know each other better. There were a few rough patches but all was well with the world. They would soon be back with their own significant others and would be a better family for the time spent with one another. Spike silently hoped that Twilight's dragon proofing hadn't somehow destroyed the house however.
Macintosh had been sitting quietly on the sofa reading a book before hearing a knock at the door. Spike had already left with Trixie earlier in the morning due to the distance to the diamond dog territory. Trixie had informed them that Twilight would be along later with supplies for dragon-proofing the house. Macintosh slid a bookmark into the spot he stopped on and left the book on the end table before trotting to answer the door. He opened the immense door to reveal his sort-of sister-in-law, Twilight Sparkle, just the pony he had been expecting. What he hadn't been expecting was the extreme amount of lab equipment she was carrying in saddlebags and in her magical aura.
"Er, howdy Twilight. Ya need some help there?" He asked stowing his surprise away. She shook her head no before answering.
"Oh, no thank you. I have it under control really." Twilight replied happily as she trotted into the living room.
She levitated a large array of items out of her bags and placed them on a fold-up table that was among the first items she set up. There was a vast array of beakers and vials containing various chemicals in every color of the rainbow. She passed each item in front of her in her aura before checking off the items on a list also held in midair with her quill. Spike had told him about her near obsessive levels of organization, but seeing it first hoof was somewhat worrying.
"Is all this really necessary?" Macintosh asked looking over the items flying around his living room. He had to duck as he was nearly struck in the head by a centrifuge.
"Yes, the compound I'm going to use to make everything fireproof needs to be fresh when it's applied. So, I brought the essentials with me so that time wouldn't be much of a factor." Twilight replied as she began mixing the colorful liquids according to another paper she had pulled from her seemingly bottomless bags.
"Now, correct me if ah'm wrong. But aren't ya able t' teleport from Ponyville t' Canterlot on yer own? Couldn't ya've just made it at yer place n' brought it here?" Mac asked using his hoof to illustrate point A and point B by moving it from right to left quickly. Twilight looked back at him and opened her mouth to tell him exactly why she couldn't do that. Unfortunately on this occasion she could have done that with ease.
"Not making myself out to be such a genius right now am I." She said sheepishly. She had sort of wanted to show off her scientific skills, to make a good impression. This was far from the first time she had met the stallion, but this was the first time they were spending any time together alone. It had been her idea of course, it seemed like the right thing to do, but now she felt sort of silly.
"S' alright, ah get it. Yer important t' Spike an' Spike's important t' me. Ah know nuff about ya to know yer a good pony, mah sister thinks the world of ya too. Ya ain't gotta impress me." Mac said with a small, but warm smile. Twilight eased up considerably at this. She was the leading expert on the magic of friendship, but sometimes when you threw family into the mix she forgot everything.
"Right well, sorry about that. Anyway all I really need to do is mix this chemical with the floom extract. Then run it through the centrifuge for about five minutes. Then we just throw one of Peewee's feathers in the container and spray everything we need dragon proofed. It will make everything magically fire protected and taste terrible without being harmful." Twilight explained more honestly. She plucked a feather from Peewee who was asleep on a perch in the corner off the room as she mixed a purple liquid with a green watery gel.
Peewee squawked at her angrily before flying off to look for a safer place to nap. Macintosh would make sure to give the bird some extra seed for his trouble. He looked back to Twilight to see the alicorn placing several vials of the solution into the centrifuge before turning it on. It hummed to life and began rotating at a fast, but steady pace. He looked back to the green goop curiously, it seemed familiar to him.
"Ya said that green stuff was floom? How'd ya get that? Floom's a dangerous meat eatin plant from the griffon kindgom ain't it?" Macintosh asked before sniffing the substance. It was terrible, like rotten eggs and pickled cabbage had had a baby with a dirty diaper.
Twilight looked at him like he were a complete stranger. She had no idea exactly what floom extract came from, she had gotten this potion recipe and the ingredients from Zecora a couple days ago. It didn't seem possible that Macintosh would know about these things that only Zecora seemed to know anything about. Although Apple Bloom had spent an awful lot of time with the zebra over the years, perhaps she had told him about it?
"I'm actually not sure, I've never heard of it until recently. Did Apple Bloom tell you about it?" Twilight asked the strangely knowledgeable stallion.
"Ah learnt about it in school, it's one a' the most dangerous plants in the world. Ah hear it's got more uses than duct tape though." Macintosh replied as he pointed to three frames on the wall across the room. Twilight trotted across the room to read the documents in the frames.
To her great surprise they were degrees from the Equestrian Institute of Agricultural Sciences. A masters in Agricultural Science, a masters in Agronomy, and a bachelor's degree in Nutritional Science. Three fields all related to one another, and that she knew virtually nothing about. She knew Macintosh was about three years older than her, but to have that many degrees was genuinely surprising. Of course the most surprising thing was that Macintosh, the quiet, gentle stallion her brother had married was apparently brilliant.
"I had no idea that you were such an educated stallion. I knew you took care of an awful lot of things here on the farm, but I assumed it was all earth pony magic that made everything your family grows so special." Twilight said in surprise to the humble stallion.
Their was also a hint of apologetic tone to her admission. She had always thought Macintosh was a hard worker, but never a hard thinker. She recalled that Applejack had mentioned he took care of the farm's taxes and the like but never thought much of it. She had never thought of him as simple, but never considered him as being very complex either.
"Ah don't do nothin fancy t' the crops. Ah just give everythin the best ah can give it. The compost is sorted perfectly, an' it goes into the smaller crop's soil. The apple trees get the best care we can offer, an the bat droppins help enrich the soil an' spread seeds. Ah make sure the cows get the best food so they can make the best milk. Nothing like makin potions er anythin like that. Mah degrees help out with things, but ah went to school in the first place fer Pa. Before he an' Ma passed ah promised t' be the first Apple to go t' college. Ah went through the mail so's ah could still help round here, but Apples always keep their promises. Ah intend fer our girl t' go t' college too." Macintosh explained.
As he spoke he directed Twilight's attention toward a tall shelving unit in one corner of the room. Upon it were the majority of the photo's either Spike or Macintosh owned. Twilight was familiar with most of them, but Mac's were ones she hadn't seen before. There were numerous family reunion pictures and other events, but a picture of two Apples she had never seen before stuck out to her. One was a stallion, the other a mare holding a yellow foal with a red mane swaddled in a blanket. It was definitely the late Apples that were the parents of Macintosh, Applejack, and Apple Bloom. Beside it was a picture of Macintosh sitting before two headstones while wearing a tasseled cap. He wore both a smile on his lips and had tears in his eyes.
"Ma and Pa, ah ain't surprised ya ain't seen a picture a' em. AJ gets kinda torn up whenever she thinks of em too much. Ah know fer a fact she keeps one on her nightstand, but Apple Bloom asks a lotta questions. Makes her uncomfortable. Applejack takes after Ma an' Pa was a lot like me, smart but quiet and too shy fer his own good. He always regretted not goin t' college." Macintosh added. She had often wondered about the Apple family's parentage but Applejack was always reluctant to speak of them.
"I really appreciate you telling me all that Macintosh, I'm glad we agreed to get to know each other better. I see a bright future for you, Spike, and the baby. Also it's kinda nice knowing I'm not the only one with a degree around here." Twilight said with a deep feeling of gratitude. Mac nodded with his trademark subtle smile.
The tender moment was soon interrupted by the sound of the chemicals overheating. The pair looked back to the centrifuge to see the vials still spinning while on fire. Apparently floom combusts if mixed for too long, magical ingredients were fickle things. To their abject horror the vials flew from the rotating device, splattering several spots on the walls with the volatile slime. The spots instantly became stationary fireballs eating away at the wood and plaster of the walls, slowly expanding outward.
"Twilight, do somethin magical!" Macintosh shouted as he tried to keep the photographs from the fires.
Twilight lit her horn to stop the fires, but the fires had reached into the wall and heated a pipe causing a bolt to fly from it and strike her horn disabling her magic until the ringing in her head stopped.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh, my horn! I can't think straight, throw some water on it or something!" She cried in pain. She grasped the sides of her head with a hoof, trying to keep her head together.
"Ah cain't it's a chemical fire! Ya cain't use water on chemical fires!" Macintosh bellowed back as he tried to beat the fire out with a throw pillow. All that accomplished was to ignite the pillow which he threw out the door.
"Use a fire extinguisher then!" Twilight replied shakily as she wobbled to her hooves.
"We ain't got one!" Macintosh replied as he moved a houseplant away from the flames.
"What? Are you telling me, that you married a dragon, and you don't have a fire extinguisher!?" Twilight yelled in disbelief.
"Yes! Ah appreciate the irony! Yell at me when ah'm not burning up in mah own house!" Mac yelled back, patting out the small fire that had started on the yoke he wore at all times.
Suddenly, the pair's attention was drawn in by the flames funneling into one spot. The fires funneled into what seemed to be another larger, ball of fire flying about the room, drawing the wild flames into itself. As soon as all was clear, and the walls burned and bare, but still standing were out, the fireball hovered in the middle of the room. The pair's eyes never left the magical glowing fireball, entranced by the beauty and horror. The fireball soon grew smaller, and the brightness dimmed. Inside a shape could be seen, it appeared to be a bird.
"Peewee!?" Both Macintosh and Twilight gasped in confusion.
Sure enough, the flames dissipated revealing the now glowing form of the adolescent phoenix. He was beautiful in his golden glow, the natural golds and reds of his plumage accented greatly. It was somehow an even greater spectacle than seeing Philomena rise from her own ashes. It was, as many spectacles of great beauty, short lived. The glow abruptly ceased as Peewee landed on Macintosh's head and burped up a small cloud of smoke. He looked down at the stallion with an annoyed look. This was the second time he had been rudely awakened from his nap after all.
"Peewee, ah am getting ya so much birdseed fer this." Macintosh said happily. Peewee cooed appreciatively in response.
"I don't suppose you can also repair fire damage?" Twilight asked the magical bird hopefully. Peewee shook his head no sadly. Twilight massaged her aching forehead a moment as she thought.
"Well, I'd say we have about five hours until Spike and Trixie get back. I have the best clean up crew in Equestria on standby at all times. Let's face it, this is Ponyville. They can be here in an hour, and have everything done in three. We can make the solution over, and then we spray everything before they get back and we tell them about our wonderful bonding experience. Minus the fire and yelling parts, sound good?" She asked frankly.
She shakily levitated a piece of paper from her bags, anything complex would be beyond her for the rest of the night, but sending a letter wouldn't take much. Macintosh thought about their options, honesty is always the best policy.He thought. However, his desire not to tell his husband they had nearly destroyed their new home while the baby could arrive at any time won out in the end.
"Eeyup." Macintosh replied as he went off to find Twilight a quill. Spike could do without knowing this one little detail.
Spike was normally a happy dragon, but the baby had literally been draining the energy out of him. Adult males normally went into a short hibernation during incubation, Spike hadn't considered that it was for a good reason. He had wanted to live life as normally as possible, but now it was biting him in the flank. He was too tired to do much of anything and was pretty irritable when he wasn't sleeping.
The current count was up to one hundred and thirty-seven days, after the first month and a half the pseudo pregnancy started getting to him. The energy from the gems he devoured helped a bit, but couldn't compare to sleep. Spike was understandably miserable, he was essentially sharing his normal amount of energy with another dragon. He was trying to hold out however, he was nearly to the projected time the gold dragon would have taken to hatch the baby.
Currently, the girls were helping with housework. Macintosh was once again working the farm, he would have liked to help out more, but crops needed tending to. Trixie was dusting, Twilight was organizing... everything, Fluttershy was tending to Peewee, Rarity was straightening up the nursery, Pinkie was cleaning the kitchen, Applejack was with Mac, and Rainbow Dash was supposed to be vacuuming. What she was actually doing was playing Spike's new Haystation gaming system, he had bought it because it required little physical excursion while still being fun, a necessity for pregnant teenage dragons that thought they knew better than mother nature.
"Aw yeah! High score!" Rainbow bellowed as she pumped a hoof in the air, signifying her victory.
"Ugh, loud Dash. I've got a headache." Spike groaned from his spot on the sofa, he silently wished he had proper mammalian ears that could be plugged.
"Seriously dude, I've seen plenty of mares take pregnancy better than this. Spitfire punched a griffin spy right in the beak two days before she delivered Soarin's foal last year." Dash replied still much louder than Spike would have liked.
"Sure, because I should totally be out fighting evil while I'm all weak and achy. Come over here so I can practice." Spike replied with a snort of black smoke punctuating his annoyance.
"Heh, nah I think your okay. You can turn off the angry dragon smoke now." Dash replied nervously.
Spike looked at her strangely before looking down and seeing the black smoke still flowing faintly from his nose and mouth. Normally the black smoke would come naturally to make him seem threatening, but would also dissipate quickly. The continuing stream of unwanted smoke was a sign of his flame pouch's gasses reaching a very high temperature, normally due to anger or extended flame use. Since neither of those were the case it seemed to be something everypony had been waiting on.
"Girls! We have an issue! I think the baby's coming!" Spike bellowed as more smoke continued issuing from his maw.
The girls all dropped what they were doing, running to the dragon's aid. Twilight took point as per usual. She rallied them in line like a general would her troops.
"Pinkie, go get Applejack and Macintosh, Apple Bloom if you can find her. Fluttershy, get warm water and towels. Rarity, I want you to go fetch the gems the baby's going to need. Trixie, port home and get the camera. Dash, stand back and don't do anything." She yelled sending the mares off to their various tasks.
"Okay, so not gonna lie, pretty nervous right now." Spike admitted as the smoke continued to pour from his mouth and nose. Luckily the house had been built with powerful vent fans for emergencies, pushing the smoke from the house.
"Yeah, I don't really know if we really need water or towels for this. That's just what they always say in books, you do know what to do though, right? She's not gonna hatch inside you and crawl out right?" Twilight asked nervously as her mask of confidence slipped away.
"No, ew that'd be gross. I just need to spit up the egg, she's gonna start moving around in it and that'll tell me it's time. When the cool air hits the hot shell she'll know to break out." Spike explained, quoting the implanted information as best as he could.
A moment later Trixie popped back into the house in a flash. She was wearing the camera she had been seeking around her neck. A second later Fluttershy returned from the bathroom with towels and a bucket of warm water, and Rarity with the gems. Rainbow Dash was currently trying not to panic, she wasn't good in this type of situation. Pinkie burst through the door carrying all three Apple siblings in her front hooves somehow. She deposited the sisters on the floor and Macintosh on the sofa.
"It time?" Mac asked the panicky dragon with a worried tone fit for an expecting father. Spike merely nodded quietly, his attention was being devoted to feeling the subtle movement of the baby.
All was still for the next few moments as all eyes rested on the parents to be. Spike closed his eyes and took Mac's hoof into his claw for support. Mac was currently ignoring having his hoof crushed, there were more important matters going on. The mares in the room all exchanged worried glances with one another. Suddenly they all jumped a foot as Spike clutched the side of his chest opposite his heart and groaned. It may have been covered by the M.A.C. but his insides were still very vulnerable.
"Oof, I feel like I just got punched in the lung, but from the inside." Spike groaned sickly, it was a nauseating experience.
"Get her out of there!" Twilight yelled frantically.
Spike nodded, working through the extreme discomfort. He clutched his chest and worked muscles he wasn't used to working, trying to safely move the egg up and out of the flame chamber. After a few minutes of work he could feel the weight shift inside, and the egg appeared as a bulge at the base of his throat. Fluttershy placed two of the fluffy towels out across the coffee table in front of the couch. Spike nodded appreciatively as he tried forcing the egg up his throat.
It had been much easier getting the egg down, gravity playing a pretty big role in that. Now the egg was heavier, and he had to force it upwards. Instincts began flaring to life as he went on, the muscles in his throat normally used in honing his flames began enacting their secondary purpose. The egg traveled upwards steadily after he got the hang of it, he could feel it rising to the back of his throat. He lowered his head to the coffee table, not wanting his precious cargo to fall from his impressive height. The egg slowly slid into his mouth, hitting his fangs from behind, telling him it had reached it's destination.
He carefully deposited the egg onto the towels, making sure his fangs did nothing to harm the thin shell protecting his child. He moved his head back slightly, wanting to give her room. The white and teal egg steamed after being exposed to the much cooler outside air. It stood still before beginning to wobble. A light cracking noise could be heard, the shell began opening in one spot, a dazzlingly white set of scales could be seen beginning to break through. Trixie seemed to be taking a photo every few seconds, but nopony was paying enough attention to get her to slow down.
Nopony noticed as Rainbow Dash fainted, they were too busy marveling at the scene before them. The egg split directly in half, the infant dragoness emerging from the lower half, the upper remaining upon her head hiding her eyes from view. What could be seen of her were the same brilliant white scales they had been given a glimpse of before. Her underbelly was a light teal color, very smooth. Her spines took on the same color, and three of them ran down her cheeks on each side and one on the tip of her nose. It could be seen that her mouth was slightly more like a beak than that of other dragons. Spike carefully removed the egg half from his daughter's head revealing beautiful, unique eyes.
Unlike the eyes of a pony or even Spike, they were white where they would normally be black. They seemed odd, but completely functional as she was currently taking in the world around her for the first time. Upon the top of her head was a crown-like crest of four points, much like the one her biological mother had possessed. Her little ears began just behind the base of the crest, much different than Spike's webbed ones. As she surveyed her surroundings she flapped tiny fully developed wings happily, only now having the room to stretch them.
"She's beautiful." Spike said in wonder, he had had no idea what the baby would look like other than color. Seeing his daughter for the first time brought happy tears to his eyes.
Spike turned down the dial on his chest, shrinking himself to relatively the same size as Macintosh. He feared that his full size would harm the newborn. He carefully stretched his arms out and took her from the mess of eggshells, bringing her to her fathers. She cooed happily as she looked upon her parents, Macintosh too began crying tears of happiness. Everything seemed so much more real now, he was a father looking upon his little girl for the first time. Fantasies and fears danced through the minds of both proud papa's, neither had ever been a father before. The look of happiness on her face told them that everything would be alright however. The trio was silent in their bliss for a moment.
"I really hate to interrupt, but do you have a name in mind?" Twilight asked, summoning up a blank birth certificate and quill from seemingly nowhere.
Spike and Macintosh looked at each other at that, they had discussed several options, only knowing what color she would be made things difficult. One seemed to stick out from the choices now that they were seeing her.
"We do actually, Macintosh?" Spike said looking to his husband with a warm smile. Macintosh nodded knowingly.
"Priscilla Falstaff Equestria, fer official purposes. We're gonna call her Pearl." Macintosh finished. He affectionately nuzzled his daughter once he had finished, careful of Pearl's spines. She produced more adorable coos of affection at this.
"She certainly looks like a pearl, she's so pretty." Apple Bloom agreed, moving her head at different angles to see the glimmer of her scales in the light.
"Wasn't Falstaff grand pappy's name?" Applejack asked, scratching her head in thought.
"Eeyup. Granny was always tellin us bout how great he was. We're expectin great things outta Pearl, thought it was a good fit." Macintosh said plainly, he knew his daughter was destined for greatness, even if he'd be long gone by the time she accomplished it.
"Done, Pearl is officially an Equestrian citizen and a princess of the crown. I'll make a copy and get the original back to you as soon as possible." Twilight said looking up from the task of filling out Pearl's certificate.
"Ooh, another princess, and she's a dragon too. The government's gonna get crowded if this keeps up, Cadence, Spike, Twilight, Shining Armor, and Pearl in less than thirty years." Pinkie Pie counted off on her hooves, nopony even questioned where the fifth one came from.
"I'm not one for politics, but I do know little Pearl is just sooo adorable." Fluttershy squeed happily, babies were one of her favorite things in the world. Dragons doubly so.
"It'll be up to her if she wants to pursue politics, she can be anything she wants to be." Spike replied, giving his daughter a gem from the bag.
Everypony watched as Pearl munched on the gem. It was amazing to see a newborn chew through something like a diamond. Her tail flicked to and fro as she enjoyed her treat. The spade of her tail beating against Spike's arm. Spike took a moment to enjoy the contact of scale on scale. He never imagined that he would ever be able to call another dragon family. He would love Pearl no matter what she was, but he had often felt alone in his younger years, now he had a loving husband and a daughter of his species. Life couldn't get any better it seemed.
"Shouldn't we let yer Ma know?" Macintosh whispered, not wanting to disturb Pearl's intense but adorable focus on her crystalline meal.
"Yeah, I'll take care of it." Spike replied taking a photo from the stack Trixie was accruing. It was one of the first photos of the egg before it hatched.
Spike held the photo above him and let loose a small gout of green flames, it burned away and the ash left for Canterlot. It felt pretty great having his breath back, and being able to change size would be great. He'd be able to go through pony sized doors again. Pearl marveled at the fire her father produced, leaving the last bit of her gem forgotten. She tried to imitate him, coughing up a few blue-green sparks and smoke.
"Hey sweetie, don't rush it. I couldn't make a real flame on purpose until I was six months old." Spike reassured the now pouty infant.
"She seems awfully lively for being about ten minutes old." Rarity exclaimed.
"Dragon babies develop an awful lot inside the egg. Spike was climbing around Celestia's chambers within two days of being hatched." Twilight added, thinking back to her childhood.
"Still a baby though." Mac pointed to the stream of warm liquid running down Spike's arm.
"That's adorable." Spike replied sarcastically.
"We forgot to get diapers didn' we?" Mac asked trying very hard not to smile.
"Eeyup." Spike replied as passed Pearl to Macintosh carefully. He grabbed one of the extra towels, cleaning himself off.
Pearl let out a loud yawn as her eyelids grew heavy, being born probably took a lot out of you. She let her father's warm fur help her along the way to dreamland. Spike looked back to the adorable little dragoness, he couldn't bring himself to be mad at her. She was just too darn adorable. She should get her rest, her grandmother and great aunt would be along ant time now to spoil her rotten.
Spike, Macintosh, and the girls were all sitting in the living room as they had been for the last half-hour. Everypony was being as quiet as possible as Pearl was asleep in Macintosh's hooves. They were awaiting the arrival of the eldest princesses who would no doubt want to meet Pearl. Spike was actually getting kind of worried, he had expected Luna and his mother within minutes if not seconds. Everypony was distracted from Pearl's diabetes inducing nap-time as the ceiling moved. To be more specific, a large part of the ceiling was slowly descending to the floor. The normal plaster of the ceiling gave way to a set of large, perfectly smooth steel doors.
The doors continued down, and as they ended numbers could be seen above them. It seemed to be an elevator coming down from nowhere as the house was only one floor. As the impossible lift touched down a soft bing bong could be heard from a nonexistent sound system. The doors opened up to reveal Discord, dressed in a bellhop's uniform of deep red with gold trimmings. Had he not been a crazy chimera he would have looked right at home working in a fancy hotel.
"Third floor, Spike's house. Elements of harmony, heartwarmingly adorable baby dragon, proud pa's." The trickster god uttered happily as he stepped out revealing not only the royal sisters, but Shining Armor and Cadence as well.
Spike struggled to shush the draconequus behind the powerful grin of happiness and pride he wore. He pointed to the sleeping baby Pearl in Mac's forelegs, extracting a collective d'aww from the newcomers. Unfortunately it was enough to stir the little dragon from her slumber. She opened her eyes half way and surveyed the new sets of eyes looking her over intently. She yawned widely and fluttered her little wings as she stretched.
Celestia was currently pretty close to the breaking point right now. She desperately wanted to scoop up the infant and cuddle her forever, but new she was still a baby and too fragile hug properly. She settled for taking a seat near the sofa and watching her granddaughter. Pearl's eyes still seemed heavy, but she made no attempt to drift back off to sleep. Instead she looked to Spike and made a mid-pitched whine, apparently she remembered it was him who had fed her earlier. Spike smiled and handed his daughter another gem from the nearby bag, she accepted happily and began slowly crunching it up.
"We're sorry we woke her Spike, but she's just so cute." Cadence said, not bothering to take her eyes from the hungry dragon baby.
"It's alright, she's supposed to be eating right now anyway. Her name is Pearl, she's our little treasure." Spike replied as he proudly puffed out his chest.
"A wondrous beauty already, she will truly be a sight in years to come. I suppose it is a good thing she has two fathers to chase off the suitors." Luna joked.
"They're welcomed to try and get past the three of us." Spike said flatly.
"Three?" Shining questioned uncertainly.
"Me, Mac, and the hammer." Spike replied with a predatory grin.
"Yikes. Warn a guy when you're gonna bring out the teeth." Shining replied as he backed up a step.
"He gets it from me I suppose, I once banished a maid to Zebrica for hurting his feelings when he was a boy." Celestia added from her seat a few feet away.
"And you nearly gelded that private tutor that made a pass at me." Cadence said without meeting Celestia's gaze, the memory was... graphic.
"I get it, I'm overprotective. I spend so much time pretending to be the calm but warm ruler I go overboard when I show real emotion. We can find me a therapist later, this is about Pearl." Celestia replied obviously annoyed at the topic shifting to her.
"I suppose that is as good a cue as any to bring out my gift for the young one." Luna interjected.
Luna took a box from her ethereal mane and floated it over to Macintosh. It was pink with dark blue ribbon and was topped in a splendidly ornate bow. Macintosh unwrapped it carefully, it would be a shame to just rip open such a thoughtfully wrapped present. It took a moment, but inside was a beautifully designed black wood box with silver trim. It was about three hoof-lengths long and about one and a half wide. Macintosh opened it carefully revealing a silver telescope. Unlike the box it was worn and didn't seem very well made and was rather worn. All the ponies looked back to the princess of the night upon seeing the unusual gift.
"That, is the first functional telescope ever created. I made it myself when I was just a foal, before I learned to move the heavens. It was looking through that primitive spyglass that inspired me to shape the heavens I saw above. I know she won't appreciate it for some time, but I hope one day it could also inspire Pearl. As soon as she's old enough I'll be sure to get her a proper telescope. That old thing is just for show." Luna explained with a youthful glimmer in her eyes.
Everypony was silent and some were teary eyed, that was a truly heartwarming story, and a truly thoughtful gift. According to what Luna had said before, Spike knew she was at least thirty-five hundred years of age. That meant it was incredibly old and without a doubt valuable.
"Are you sure about this Luna? Isn't this important to you?" Spike asked.
"I know that there is no safer place for treasures than with a dragon, I have no doubt you and Pearl will keep it safe so that it may hopefully inspire future generations. Perhaps Pearl will pass it on to her progeny in the future." Luna replied warmly, she wished to see the telescope be used for good rather than collect dust.
"Thank ya, we promise to take good care of it." Macintosh said gratefully. He closed the lid and carefully set the box on the end table beside him.
"I'd like to go next if it's alright?" Celestia asked looking around the room. Nopony seemed to object, as in all honesty they had expected her to go first. The other's had all given their gifts while Pearl was unhatched, making sure that the royalty of the family would have more time.
Celestia took a moment to light her horn, she summoned up a short square white box wrapped in pink ribbon. It was fairly large, despite it's stumpy appearance. She floated it to Macintosh as well, Spike still had his claws full with Pearl. Macintosh repeated the slow unwrapping, wanting to keep the beautiful ribbon intact. He removed the lid to find a large, deep red book with three blank spots on the cover, presumably for photographs.
"It's a baby book, but I think it would be better to use it to document the time you three spend with each other. I had it custom made so you could put a picture of each of you in the front. It's also enchanted, nothing in it will fade, burn, or be able to be damaged by water. I know memories are wonderful things, but sometimes they need a push." Celestia told the couple.
"It's great mom, we'll definitely use it. Might have to buy another down the line, lots of memories to make." Spike said before craning his neck down to plant a kiss on Macintosh's cheek. He planted another on Pearl's forehead, causing the little dragoness to grab his snout.
The collective d'aww returned with a vengeance. Spike lifted his neck back up, but Pearl clung to him tightly. He chuckled lightly, she was too adorable to do anything but. She seemed to enjoy this, and sat happily atop his nose and returned to her snack. Spike turned the dial back up slowly, making himself larger again without frightening her. This way, Pearl could sit there without his neck getting tired. To his full size she weighed no more than a hat would.
"Anypony else need some insulin right about now?" Trixie piped up from her seat beside Twilight. Near everypony in the room nodded.
"There's actually something in the book too." Celestia added.
Spike used his now freed hands to open the cover of the album. Inside was a check, a very hefty check. Spike's jaw dropped considerably, Macintosh's soon followed as he looked to the incredibly valuable document. It was much more than Spike's stipend paid him per year, even with the raise for being the knight protector had brought him.
"Mom, why the hay would we need this much money? We were well off to begin with, but after the extra from Pearl's biological parent's hoard we don't really need any more." Spike asked handing it off to Mac. He was concerned that if he held onto the check for too long he'd get greedy.
"That's a little more than the cost of a full four years at the finest college in Canterlot. She doesn't have to go there, or at all if she doesn't want to, but now she has the option. I'm paying it out of pocket of course." His mother replied.
"Ah don' like the idea a' acceptin money from family, but if'n it's fer Pearl's education ah suppose it's okay." Macintosh relented.
"Yeah, alright. But no more monetary gifts, I'm worried about getting greedy. Eveypony needs to remember not to give birthday gifts in the future too. We're giving her one a year, and do the dinners like we do with me. I wish we could give her more, but I do not want to watch my little girl destroy Ponyville." Spike said seriously, he still had the occasional nightmare about his own incident.
"Trust us, we don't wanna see that either. You stopped the Wonderbolts in no time at all, that's crazy." Rainbow Dash replied as she held an icepack to her head. She had injured herself slightly when she fainted earlier. Spike's expression fell a little when Dash mentioned that. Cadence however took notice and stepped up to give her and Shining's gift to cheer him up.
"We brought somethings along too." Cadence added as she nudged her husband.
Shining reached into his military uniform with his magic and pulled out three objects. One was obviously a rattle, another was a very thick stack of envelopes bound with twine, and the last was a laminated piece of paper. It was facing away from the group so whatever was on it couldn't be seen. Shining levitated the toy up to Pearl who sniffed it experimentally. She took the floating object by the handle in her mouth, trying in vain to eat it. She shook her head trying to destroy the uncooperative snack. To her surprise it produced a somewhat jingly noise. She shook her head again and again, giggling at the repetitive noise.
"It's indestructible, we dropped a crystal block on it that weighed six tons to test it out. Not even baby dragon teeth are getting through it." Cadence replied over the somewhat annoying noise.
"These are from the ponies of the empire, everypony in every family each signed one and sent them to the castle. They're congratulation cards." Shining said as he floated the bundle over to Spike.
"Wow, that's a lot of cards. We'll need to write an awful lot of thank you's." Spike said as he felt the hefty bundle, there were at least fifty letters tightly packed together. Luckily, the empire was a small country made up of one immense city, otherwise he'd never finish the replies.
"This last one isn't exactly a gift, so much as an announcement." Cadence told the group before levitating the paper to Celestia. The solar princess's eyes went wide as soon as she saw it.
"I-is this?" Celestia asked shakily as she turned the mysterious document for all to see. It was a hazy black and white image instantly recognizable to nearly everyone.
"It's a sonogram, Cadence is two months along." Shining said proudly.
All the mares in the room let out a shriek of excitement that deafened all the stallions in the room, Pearl didn't even flinch despite having no idea what was going on. Apparently males and windows are the only ones effected by power shrieks.
"Huzzah! The infants have been doubled!" Luna bellowed in the royal Canterlot voice. Spike had to catch Pearl as the unnatural volume blew her off of his snout. It was a safe assumption that all the windows in the house would soon need replacing. Luna placed a hoof over her mouth and adopted a blush that pierced the dark color of her coat.
"That's another bit for the jar Luna." Celestia said as she silently hoped she didn't have tinnitus.
"My apologies, I have always loved children." Luna said sheepishly.
"Yes well, there's more." Cadence said as she took the sonogram back from her aunt.
"See here, and here? The doctor says it's wings and a horn. The development isn't far along enough to be certain, but those are the starting signs for both unicorns and pegasi. Our baby may very well be an alicorn." Shining demonstrated, his voice practically dripping with pride.
"Knew you had it in ya Shining, we'll have to take Pearl to see her cousin as often as possible." Spike replied as he handed Pearl her rattle, she had dropped it during the sonic bombardment of her great aunt.
"This is great! I get to be an aunt twice in one year!" Twilight blurted giddily.
"Yeah, and now Velvet's gonna be down your throat about settling down even more so than normal Twi." Spike smirked as Twilight was hit by the realization about her mother's nagging.
Twilight and Trixie shared nervous looks at each other complete with full blush. Rainbow and Pinkie each took place behind one of them and made kissy faces so the mare opposite could see them. Unbeknownst to nearly everypony Fluttershy scooted just a little bit closer to Discord who placed his tail around the timid mare.
Dunno if I can ever get used to that idea. Spike thought to himself.
The group devolved into happy chatter soon after the gifts had been given, Celestia and Luna played with Pearl and fed the hungry infant the remainder of the gems while Spike and Mac supervised. Cadence commissioned Rarity to design some maternity clothes that wouldn't make her look like a hot air balloon. Fluttershy and Discord joined in the fun with Pearl before mysteriously disappearing together. Rainbow and Pinkie played video games while they waited for their own turn with Pearl. Twilight and Trixie talked with Shining Armor while Cadence was busy, and the Apple sisters cuddled their niece before running off to finish Mac's chores for him, he deserved some time off after all. The gathering lasted several hours before Pearl fell back into her slumber.
"Thank y'all fer the wonderful presents an' all, but ah think we're gonna put little Pearl here to bed. She's had a big first day." Macintosh announced to the assorted ponies. Everypony said their goodbyes, and left or teleported with the alicorn sisters, as Discord was still nowhere to be seen.
Spike carried the sleeping baby Pearl to the guestroom they had converted into a nursery. It was now a pale pinkish color, with baby blue trim. It was furnished with little more than the crib, a dresser, and a large bean-bag chair for either Spike or Macintosh to sit on if need be. The crib itself was also baby blue, and there was a mobile hanging down above it. It had hearts, stars, comets, horseshoes, clovers and blue moons, hourglasses, rainbows, and red balloons. For some reason Spike got hungry whenever he watched it spin.
He placed Pearl in the crib carefully, he couldn't live with himself if he somehow hurt her. Macintosh stayed by his side, both of them watching their baby girl sleep for a moment.
"Mac, I'm happier than I've ever been, but I'm pretty scared right now." Spike admitted shakily.
"Ah know, this is a big deal. We can handle it though. We ain't alone, we got friends, an' family." Macintosh replied just as nervously, though he masked it with conviction.
"I know, I'm just worried about failing as a parent. I didn't say anything until now, but dragon fathers leave after they hatch the eggs. I don't ever want to leave you, or Pearl but I can't stop myself from doubting my parenting skills." Spike sulked guiltily.
"If yer still here, that means yer instincts don' matter none. What matters, is that yer willing t' do all ya can fer yer family, an' ah know you are." Macintosh said without a doubt.
"I love you Mac, and I love our little treasure too." Spike told Mac as he pulled him into a hug.
"Ah love you an' Pearl too. Now, we got a whole lot to look forward to. Let's get some shuteye." Mac replied under the crushing pressure of his husband's hug.
"You go ahead, I'm gonna set up the baby monitor." Spike said before planting a kiss on Mac's cheek. Mac smiled and gave him a nod before walking out to their bedroom just across the hall.
Spike took the baby monitor from the top drawer and used a claw to remove it from it's plastic packaging. The included batteries went in easy and Spike placed the first of the pair atop the dresser. He turned to the door, but stopped himself. He turned back and stood over Pearl for a moment, just letting her sleep. She was so content, just sleeping in her warm bed. She had her whole life ahead of her, and he was lucky enough to get to see it happen.
"Get some rest sweetie, you've got a lot of life to live." Spike said with a smile on his face, and tears of happiness in his eyes as he headed to bed were Macintosh was waiting.
