Twilight's Responsibility
By Ixy
Chapter I : The Gift
Twilight Sparkle idly twirled a quill in the air. The sunlight streaming in through the open windows made violet highlights dance over it's otherwise black surface as it tumbled. It stirred golden dust motes in the air, making them swirl around it in the light. A book on wild herbs sat open on a purple marble lectern before her but she wasn't interested in strange blue flowers with magical effects. Instead the young unicorn was bored and impatient. Outside it was a beautiful day. Birds flew around on the balcony outside and sang to each other. The whole room was lined with books and various magical equipment stood on stands and low tables. A bronze bust of Princess Celestia gazed down at the room.
Sunlight reflecting off the polished floor cast light on the face of a statue from below. Unlike the other statues of famous ponies made of marble and bronze in the room this was a life-size unicorn pony of plain gray stone. The statue's expression looked a bit startled and the strange light made it look even more so. It was disturbing. Twilight had always wondered why it was there and had asked her teacher. She told her Twilight that it was a former student named Sirius but said no more. The pony's cutie mark was the seven stars of the Pleiades. Twilight had looked up Sirius but couldn't find anything about her in the whole palace library. It was very curious indeed.
Twilight's ear twitched when she heard the sound of hooves coming down the passageway. She let the quill settle into an ink bottle on the lectern and stood facing the doors, nearly standing at attention. When they opened silently Princess Celestia strode in followed by two other ponies. One was an elderly earth pony everyone called Nanny. Her cutie mark was a baby bottle. The other was a rough looking chestnut pegasus stallion called Runt. Twilight had met him before. He took care of the animals in the royal preserve. He had a large collection of scars as a result of his duties and a large bandage on one flank with fresh blood oozing from it. Twilight bowed deeply to the princess as approached. In return the princess nuzzled her ear. “My student,” she whispered.
Nanny carried an elaborate looking basket on a saddle and a pair of packed saddlebags. “My princess,” Twilight said, rising. She looked curiously at the load Nanny carried, then up at her teacher.
“You're wondering already what new mystery I have to teach you,” she said, “And indeed this is something new to you.” She motioned Nanny forward. “This is something very important to your training and the future of Equestria.” “You see,” she continued, “It is the responsibility of all ponies to take care of all the creatures of Equestria.” The princess' horn glowed and the lid lifted from the basket. Inside, resting in a bed of the softest down was a large purple egg with big green speckles.
Twilight approached cautiously, circling around and gazing down at the mysterious egg. “What is it,” she asked.
“Why, it's an egg,” the princess said, giggling slightly. “Now can you sense what sort of egg it is?” she asked, “Focus your magical perception on it, not just your eyes.
Twilight nearly touched the egg with her horn, which started to glow softly. It was like feeling inside the egg. What she could feel was a yolk sac and something tiny curled up inside. What at was she wasn't certain at first. Okay, she thought, what's its nature? What is its elementary nature? What is its planetary nature? What is its name? What is… Something suddenly entered her thoughts unbidden. The image of a huge head rising out of the darkness. Massive green eyes… She squealed and before she knew it was sliding across the floor and hiding her head under a table.
“It's alright, little one,” a gentle voice was saying, “It won't hurt you.” It was Nanny, who was trying to gently nudge Twilight out from under the table. She was still shuddering, her ears flat against her head. She could see the basket on Nanny's back.
“Come out, Twilight,” the princess said, “It will be perfectly fine.” “I see that you were able to scry the nature of the egg. Your training has certainly paid off.” The gentle praise wriggled its way into Twilight's heart, driving out the fear.
“I-I'm sorry, Princess,” she said, “I sensed…” She approached her teacher, her ears and tail down.
“I know, my dear,” she said in the most soothing voice, “A dragon can be a frightening thing, but this is merely an egg. It may grow into wild and unruly dragon intent on destroying the homes and crops of ponies.” She passed her glowing horn over the egg and it stirred for a moment in its soft bed. “Or it may become a friend to all ponies. That is a part of our responsibility to nature and to Equestria. Many other creatures can be hostile too but dragons are the most intelligent and that can make them far more dangerous than creatures with larger claws and teeth.”
Twilight nodded respectfully. There was still fear in her heart. But it had subsided. She trusted her teacher. She raised her head enough to look at the egg again. With the sunlight glinting off its surface it didn't look all that scary sitting on Nanny's saddle.
Celestia continued, “Sometimes an orphaned dragon's egg falls into our hooves and it's our responsibility to take care of it and make sure it grows to become a friend to all ponies. This task falls to only the most gifted and upright ponies,” her mane fluttered in the sunlight. “I've come to ask you if you would accept this egg and raise it. I can't force you too but realize that it's a great honor to be asked and I have the greatest respect for you, my student.”
Twilight was speechless. All fear seemed to have fled her heart and all blood seemed to have fled her head. She went from being terrified to feeling faint. “I-I what?” she stuttered. “Princess!” she nearly fell over for a moment before recovering her hooves. She tried to recover, turning her stumble into a deep bow, her hooves clattering on the marble. “I would be greatly honored, my teacher, my princess.”
Celestia approached and nuzzled her cheek. “You are the most responsible pony I know,” she said, “If anypony can handle raising a dragon, it's you. I wouldn't trust anypony else with this.” She bowed and touched Twilight's horn with her own. The sound of a sweetly ringing bell filled the room with a moment, along with a golden glow greater than the sun. Twilight looked up into the princess's eyes, hers filled with tears.
“Nanny has everything you'll need in her saddlebags,” she said, “You are the one who can do this, and much more. If you succeed, you'll have more than a creature to raise, you'll have a great and powerful friend.”
Chapter II: The Nursery
Twilight fussed with the pillows and down. The little egg was twitching like crazy and upsetting its perfect position in the nest. She checked the thermometer again it still read 132° precisely. She checked it off her ever-present checklist. She'd copied it from the back of the book. Care and Hatching of Dragons had been invaluable for the last few weeks. Now it was coming time that the egg would actually hatch. She was so nervous! It was bad enough turning the thing every four hours but she had to sing to it too. And sweetly. Her little egg got upset if she went off key and that simply wasn't her thing!
The egg kept wiggling. There were no cracks yet but she knew there soon would be. Between wiggles there were some long silences. The pony sat in the darkened room gazing at the egg. Then it squeaked. It was just a little squeak but definitely a squeak. Twilight stood perfectly still for several minutes. There were no more squeaks. She started singing softly.
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to lay your sleepy head
Hush now, quiet now
It's time to go to bed
The egg stayed quiet. She cantered off to sip some tea. Taking care of the egg was really getting on her nerves. It was the biggest responsibility she had ever had.
Days later the egg started squeaking again. Twilight had set the basket next to her bed at night so she could keep an eye on it. The squeaking woke her in the middle of the night, as it had done several times before. But this time it was louder than before. She opened one eye and watched it wiggle in the moonlight streaming in her window. The purple and green were muted in the light of the moon. It wiggled again, then it suddenly made a different sound. *tink*
“What?,” she asked herself aloud. She thought of a light spell and her horn lit in a moment filling the room with bluish light. She could clearly see the egg wiggling furiously. Then it made the *tink* sound again. She slid out of bed and approached it. “Good little egg,” she said, “Are you hatching?” It squeaked again.
In a few moments the sound became a repetitive tapping. Twilight floated Care and Hatching of Dragons over from her nightstand and rapidly flipped through the pages. “Hmm hmmm…” she said to herself, “Usually hatching after dark in the light of the full moon.” Of course you'd hatch at night, just like ponies always giving birth after dark. She looked at the egg. “I guess you're hatching, little guy.” Without warning a tiny opening appeared near the top of the egg. A bit of shell fell into the nest of down. A tiny white tooth wiggled around in the opening. Twilight came closer.
The little tooth chipped away more and more of the egg. Then a set of green spikes suddenly punched through the shell from within. The top of the shell crumbled and a bulbous head appeared. Its huge green eyes opened and gazed at Twilight. She could see her shining horn reflected in its eyes. A little paw reached out toward her. “You're so cute!” she said, “What a spiky little guy.”
Chapter III: Living and Learning
“Spiiiiike!” Twilight called out, “Where are the black opals I left in my study?” She could see the spade end of his tail sticking out from behind an end table. Her horn glowed and the tiny dragon levitated out from behind the table, looking embarrassed.
“I sowwy, Twiwite,” he said, looking on the verge of tears.
“What am I going to do with you?” she asked herself. She sat him down on a stool. “Those were supposed to be for Moondancer.” He sat looking so dejected. “It's okay, Spike, I guess I'll just have to find some more somewhere…” she said, “It's okay.” His expression brightened. The little dragon suddenly jumped down off the stool and toddled toward the kitchen. Before she knew it Twilight heard the sound of the trashcan being overturned.
“Spiiiiiike!”
