Nestled snugly between his mothers hooves Spike stares blankly at the mug of coco sitting before him. The heavy steam billowing up in front of his snout in a silent dance that flirted with his dulled senses. Shapes in the steam tickling the back of his mind, tugging and pulling at his consciousness and begging for his attention. Dragons, ponies, griffons and more all intertwined in the steam while dipping and swirling to an unheard tune. In the center of every dance however is the familiar form of a dragoness that refuses to leave his thoughts.

“Is everything alright Spike? You haven’t even touched your coco.” Letting out a deep sigh Spike shakes his head and closes his eyes. Letting his chin gently rest on his paws he opens his eyes again to see that the dancers are gone and the steam has once again returned to its previous innocence.

“I’m really not sure anymore mom.” Concerned by the hollowness in her son's voice Celestia squeezes him tighter into her embrace. Dipping her own head down to rest on his scaled shoulder she nuzzles softly into his neck.

“Do you want to talk about it? You know I will never judge you Spike, no matter what you will always be my little gemstone.” Spike can’t help but crack a small smile and nuzzle back against his mother.

“Even though I’m still growing and am sure to be bigger than you soon?” Celestia snorts and laughs loudly while hugging her son tighter.

“As if your actual size would ever stop you from being my little gemstone!” Smiling wider Spike reaches for the mug of coco and takes a large drink from it only for his smile to falter when the steam again catches his eyes. Setting the mug back down Spike leans roughly into Celestia's chest. Again he watches as the steam rises and shapes start to flicker into existence. Yet rather than the delicate and rather provocative dances of before they now tear and claw at one another.

“Fenrir, I think that's how you say it anyways… If she did all of the things you said she did, why do you want to bring her back?” The smile on Celestia’s muzzle disappears.

“What do you mean Spike?” Picking up his mug again Spike blows a small flame over the top to dissipate the steam before finishing the rest of the coco.

“It just seems kind of pointless after what you told me about her before. You said that she did horrible things in that war, that she was more of a monster than anything else. Sure she lost all of her memories and more or less is a new person now as Gaia but… Why not let her be that new person rather than bring back the monster she was?” Celestia sighs.

“Given what little I have told you that would make sense but things are a lot more complicated than that Spike.” Spike sets the mug back down on the table and huffs. A small cloud of smoke billowing up as he does thanks to his own frustration steadily growing.

“It didn’t sound that complicated to me.” Celestia snorts back a laugh prompting her son to look back at her.

“Considering I glossed over a lot of the more bloody details it makes sense you would think that. What I told you about the war was just an oversimplification so that you could have the most basic of understanding of what was going on. I wanted to focus on Fenrir and what she did so that you could understand the difference between who she was and who she currently is.” Spike tilts his head in confusion.

“Didn’t Fenrir and the others that started rager rocks or whatever you called it nearly destroy the whole world?” Celestia’s ears fall to her skull and she bites her lip.

“Well yes but -”

“That sounds pretty monstrous to me. I can only imagine the things they’d have to do to literally destroy the whole world.” Anger bubbles in Celestia’s chest before it is violently stomped out.

“It's not that simple Spike. Fenrir is… Fenrir was a lot of things but… Everything she was, the monster she became, only happened because of what was done to her. The truth is there was no good or bad in that war, no right or wrong side to be on. When the dust finally settled we were all monsters in our own right, it was just a matter of what made you into one. No one creature is born evil Spike. What and who we are is shaped just as much by our own actions as they are by others.” Lighting her horn Celestia concentrates on her magic and feeds it into the many wards and sigils that line the walls of her room to boost their powers. For nearly a full minute Celestia focuses on her work in silence as her son waits patiently in her lap. When she finally finishes she wipes a small bead of sweat from her brow before focusing back on Spike.

“At least she came to her senses and sided with you in the end.” Celestia shakes her head, making Spike stop. Her lips trembling slightly and her wings suddenly limp at her sides.

“Mom?”

“Fenrir never changed sides in that war Spike, I did.” Turning to fully face his mother Spike growls.

“What?! They started the war! They killed everyone mom! Foals, hatchlings, eggs! You said they slaughtered everyone and often ate what was left! Like fucking Wendigos! Why would you want to help them!?” Snarling Celetia flares her wings and yells back.

“WE DIDN’T GIVE THEM A CHOICE! IT WASN’T THEIR FAULT! IT WASN’T OUR FAULT!” Spike pulls away completely from his mother and jumps to the other side of the table in fear. His spines bristling and raising up along the entire length of his body as he instinctively takes a defensive stance against her.

Celestia closes her eyes as tears threaten to blur her vision. The image of her own son fleeing her in fear burning brightly beneath her eyelids. As Spike takes a single step back the sound of his claws striking the floor is enough for Celetia’s eyes to shoot back open. Instead of the soft and caring magenta eyes he has known since hatching a deep fiery orange the likes of which he has never seen stares back at him. The slitted eyes of a predator lock with his own making him freeze.

“Please don’t Spike. Don’t look at me like that… I can’t lose you too.” Shifting to fully face her son Spike can’t help but notice the fire in the hearth behind his mother start to burn a brighter and more vibrant orange. The contrast in lighting made her back glow while the rest of her was shrouded in a deep shadow with only her eyes truly visible.

“Ma…” Spike's voice cracks as he falls to his flank in terror. Tears now stream down his ‘mothers’ face as her form flickers and is soon overtaken by crackling arches of magic stemming from her horn. In seconds her entire body is obscured from view and shortly after a fire bursts to life around her.

Doing this will destroy everything we have ever done since that war. We can’t hide the truth again if we do this but… He has to understand. I can’t lose my gemstone. He has to understand.

Unable to move Spike watches as the fire around Celestia grows rapidly. The stones she had been sitting on moments before melting into a lava like slag as the temperature in the room quickly rises to something only found in the mouth of an active volcano. Wood and cloth alike start to smoke and then catch fire while moving out in a circle from the alicorn until the entire room is engulfed in flame. For what feels like an eternity Spike is transfixed on the molten sphere of fire that had been his mother.

“MOM!” Spike's scream rips at Celetia’s heart but she knows she can’t stop now. Crying out in pain she can no longer hear Spike's cries over her own. Instead she focuses solely on pushing her magic into undoing the runes and sigils that had held her illusion up for untold millennia. First her fur starts to slowly burn away until her scarred flesh is bare, but that too is quick to catch aflame. Before long the fire starts to eat away at her flesh, muscle and sinew slothing off of her bones only to turn to ash before it can even reach the ground.

Sobbing on the floor Spike can do nothing but watch helplessly as the fire spreads and his mothers screams eventrually fall silent. The roar of flames is the only sound to accompany his own cries of anguish until a single loud and sickening snap is heard. Slowly he looks back up from his paws to the ball of fire as it starts to twist and contort with a loud snap each time. The sphere slowly loses its shape and instead grows and shifts into a new shape all together before it retreats back into another blob of fire just as quickly. Too terrified to do much of anything Spike watches on as the sphere deforms and reforms at random before suddenly it just stops. With no real warning the fire dies and in its place a thick black smoke blankets the room and leaves the young drake blind.

“Mama?” Spikes trembling voice cuts through the black smoke and stabs into Celetia’s heart. Even though she is blinded by the smoke the second she hears her hatchlings terrified voice Celestia rushes through the smoke blindly and scoops Spike up into her arms. On instinct Spike clings to her, unable to see anything he relies on his sense of smell to tell him everything he needs to know from the familiar scent of his mother holding him tightly.

“I’m here Spike. I am here and I am never leaving you again. No more lies, no more secrets.” Focusing her magic into her horns Celetia creates a small opening in her wards and flapping her larger wings forces the smoke to clear out of her room. Lifting up from his mothers chest Spike freezes again as he is finally able to see clearly. Holding him is not a pony. Not the white furred and fluffy alicorn he has known his entire life. Instead he is cradled in the scaled arms of a massive dragoness.

Deep purple and black scales glisten in the light from the hearth fire nearby making the creamy white plates that trail along her belly pop in beautiful contrast. Running a paw gently over his mothers scales Celestia giggles and flares the magic back into her massive crown of horns. Each of the six shining brightly with the familiar comforting golden glow of her magic. Spike watches the destruction of the room shift, everything that had been destroyed from wooden tables to the marble floors reforming quickly until all was back into its previous pristine condition.

“Mom?” Celestia lowers her head down and gently brushes her snout against Spike's own. Her piercing orange eyes gazed into his even as tears streamed down her muzzle and blurred her vision.

“This is why I fought Spike… Ragnarök was not a simple war. It wasn’t just one side facing the other, there were countless sides. I originally fought alongside the Æsir and my father against Tiamat and the other Jötunn but… I found out my adoptive father planned to completely eradicate all Jötunn after the war. Including me.” Finally letting the magic fall from her horns Celestia turns and waddles on her two hindlegs over to her bed where she gently sets Spike down. Circling her bed a few times first Celestia steps up onto the soft mattress and curls around Spike. All the while Spike fumbles with his words and is unable to tear his eyes off of his mothers new form.

“I… Wha… But your… Are… What the fuck…” A small blush works its way onto the dragonesses muzzle.

“I can understand you may be a little confused.” Spikes eye twitches.

“A LITTLE FUCKING CONFUSED?!” Flinching slightly at his volume Celestia paws gently at one of her ears.

“I forgot how sensitive my hearing was… I was adopted by the Æsir king well before I even hatched from an egg. When I did hatch however I was raised alongside his other children like one of his own. I was never treated differently, never harassed or bullied for being different. I only realized I wasn't a Æsir until I was about your age actually. Luna and I got into an argument and I guess she didn’t like that I was winning so sh-”

“Are you my real mom?” Celestia stops and looks back to Spike. His lips quivering and his eyes barely holding back an ocean of tears. Smiling wide, Celestia leans forwards and gently kisses Spike's forehead.

“Yes.” Rather than rushing and hugging her like she hoped Spike actually pulled away from her.

“Why… If you’re my mother why didn’t you hatch me? Why was I some… Some test to get into your stupid school!? Why have you lied to me my entire life!?” Shaking in rage Spike slashes Celestia with his claws. While certainly sharp enough to have tore deep into her flesh had she still been an alicorn his claws now only scrape off her scales. Closing her eyes Celestia turns away from Spike as he falls to the bed and sobs.

“Spike I never wanted to-”

“Did you not want me?” Celestia shoots back up and tries to reach out to Spike but gets slashed across the snout a second time. Unlike the previous time his claws manage to cut her and blood staines her scales.

“Of course I wanted you Spike. I love you with all of my heart but… I switched sides during the war and unfortunately ended up on one of the losing sides. I fought against my family, the ponies who raised me and who I had thought loved me. No I can't say that. I know my mother and Luna loved me, maybe even my father at one point but certainly not after I turned against him." Settling back on the bed Spike turns his back to Celestia.

“Why change sides then?” Ripping off a sheet with her claws Celestia wipes at the blood on her muzzle before gently applying pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding completely.

"Like I said I found out my father planned to kill off all of the Jötunn including me. At that point I'd already gotten into an extremely complicated relationship with your father and figured I might as well seek asylum with them. It didn't do me any good though. The fighting stopped less than a month later and I was bound in chains and brought before the stallion who raised me to be executed. Surprisingly for everyone I was carrying you. Ironically enough that was enough to temporarily save us both as killing a pregnant female was where my father finally drew the line. Though I think it was really my mother and Luna who forced his hoof." Peering over his shoulder to glare at his mother Spike snorts a large cloud of smoke before turning around again.

"What happened to my father?" Celestia drops her head and rests her chin on her paws.

"I wish I knew. As part of my punishment for defying my father I was held captive until I finally laid your egg and was then forcefully turned into an alicorn through a polymorph spell carved into my flesh. He technically kept his word every last Jötunn was hunted down and gotten rid of. I was apparently lucky enough to be 'saved' and instead turned into his 'true daughter'. At least that's what Luna said. I don't actually remember anything after laying your egg. Luna went into my mind and severed the memories of the transformation, unfortunately she had to take a lot of the closely linked ones with it. Don't ask why though, mind magic is far beyond my understanding. In the end I lost my memory of what happened to your father. I don't know if he died in battle, was killed by my father, or even alive now somewhere." Spike growls and flicks his tail roughly side to side.

"If you've been a dragon this whole time why haven't you changed back sooner?" With a hiss Celestia pulls the bloodied sheet away from her muzzle and tosses it to the side.

"For a long time I couldn't. Even when the runes and sigils started to fail and I could force the change back I didn't see the point. Too many needed me to be the alicorn of the sun, a god-like figure to the fledgling race of ponies." Standing back to his paws Spike turns and snarls.

"What about when I needed a mother?" Celestia shifts uncomfortably.

"That's not fair Spike. I couldn't just-"

"Couldn't what? Put me first for once?" Smoke spilling out from his maw Spike jumps from the bed.

"No that's not…" Growling Celestia grabs Spike and pulls him roughly into her chest before he can get too far.

"Damn it Spike, it's not that simple! Nothing about this is simple! If I'd have changed before Luna came back the nobles would have taken control. Do you have any idea how many times those worms tried to blackmail me into getting rid of you? I had at least ten nobles petition me in day court to reinstate slavery of 'lesser races' because they wanted to follow in my hoofsteps. It only got worse as you got older so I officially adopted you into the royal family. The same day as that announcement I had to start warding my personal chambers again for the first time in over 1,000 years because ponies were breaking in to try and kill you!" Squirming in her grasp Spike only settles after she loosens her grip enough to let him shift around.

"Who cares what the nobles think. They can't do anything anyways."

"It's not just the nobles Spike. Sure most ponies don't think the same as those that live on this mountain but enough do. The problem is that the ones who do agree almost all manage to hold positions of power both inside and outside the government." Spike rolls his eyes and snorts.

"Alright so ponies are racist big deal. So is every other race on this planet. Just get rid of the ones that are an issue." Celestia sighs and pinches the bridge of her snout.

"Spike I can't just kill ponies for being racist." Spike shrugs his wings and growls in annoyance.

"I never said kill them! Just throw them out of office or nationalize their businesses. Do whatever you want, even as a dragon you're still their princess. It's easy to see your magic hasn't changed at all so it wouldn't be hard to prove you're still the princess either." Giving another deep and exaggerated sigh Celestia releases a large cloud of smoke that momentarily startles her. Waving a paw in front of her muzzle to clear out the smoke Celestia nearly chokes on the now unfamiliar smell of her own internal fire.

"I can't just do that Spike. I've spent hundreds of years and who knows how many generations slowly chipping away at the inherent hatred burning inside Equestria. Ponies have always been xenophobic and slow to change, in another time it's what allowed them to survive. I can't fault them for that, and I refuse to be my father and just get rid of those I disagree with. I'm a lot of things Spike. A shoddy fighter, a slimy politician, a horrible mother… I won't be a tyrant." Unsure what to say, Spike curls up and tucks his head under his wing.

.

.

.

.

"You know when I dreamed of this moment in the past I never thought it would be this… Dramatic." Lifting his wing slightly Spike looks to his mother with a raised brow.

"You got mad at me in the middle of an argument and set yourself on fire and exploded to prove your point." Celestia grins sheepishly and taps two of her claws together.

"Well… Did it work?" Spikes snorts and coughs before snorting a second time only to fall into a fit of laughter. A smile finally working its way back onto her muzzle Celestia can't help but join in and laugh along with him.

"Our family is so screwed up." Fully uncoiling from himself Spike turns and willingly lets himself be wrapped up in his mothers arms.

"Oh it's a complete disaster." Still laughing, Spike grins.

"I'm going to need therapy aren't I?" Trying to hold back her laughter Celestia only ends up snorting and giggling like an idiot.

"Oh yeah, we both do." Slowly settling down Celestia lowers her head down and gently licks along the spines on Spike's head.

"You know you never actually told me why you want Fenrir back. Who was she to you that made her so special?" Pulling back slightly Celestia hums and flicks her tail.

"Oh she is technically your aunt. We got to know each other pretty well during the war but we actually have more history after the war ended. It's complicated but… Spike?” Spike shoves his head into the nearest pillow and screams a constant torrent of obscenities. His twitching tail and flared wings are enough to clue Celestia in on his plight.

“I’m going to guess you may need a little more therapy than I will.”

Author's Note

Ironically enough yes this was planned to be in the last version of the story as well. However due to the lovely nature of that chaotic story I couldn't find the right place to add it in.

The next chapter will be a follow up to this Interlude and will focus more on Ragnarök itself. Additionally I will be touching on what the Æsir and Jötunn are/represent in this world. In other words . . . WORLD BUILDING! Yes everyone's favorite thing in a story that may or may not have been almost completely forgotten about in the original iteration of this story!

Jokes aside I hope you all enjoy this chapter and can't wait to see what you think of it. I'd also like to add that if anyone notices any glaring spelling mistakes please let me know. I write these chapters on google docs and then copy paste them to FimFiction and a lot of the times things can get muddled in the transition.