Finding your Wings

After dinner, Scootaloo didn't want to be near any other dragons, save for Spike. With Twilight's permission and a written note, she brought Spike back to her aunts' place. They were still up, and Aunt Holiday even offered them a bowl of ice cream for their long faces. Scootaloo explained why they were upset, and then pulled out the letter from Twilight, which basically said the same thing, as well as a notice that Spike needed to be in bed before midnight and awake by eight thirty.

Aunty Lofty was actually okay with Spike staying over now, though she did give him a few stern looks. She didn't have a problem with the dragons taking the eggs back with them, citing that Scootaloo was simply too young to be a parent. Aunt Holiday agreed, though not so bluntly.

Scootaloo's bed had been replaced, as promised, and though the new mattress was on its way, it had yet to arrive, so they would have to make do with the small one, which had just been pushed off to the side, with the sheets still on it. It was a simple matter to bring it back over to the bed frame.

"It's not fair to you," said Spike, once they'd curled up together. "They shouldn't be allowed to take your eggs like that."

"Me? It's you I'm more worried about," sniffled Scootaloo. "Whether I was pregnant or not, I didn't really mind, as long as I had you. You were really into the idea of having kids."

Spike shifted a bit. "Yeah, well, that's when I thought that I would be allowed to see them on a regular basis. Going out to the dragon lands is a day trip, as is coming back. That's two days of flight, and that's not counting spending any time with them. Three consecutive days of break per month is not fair to Twilight, and even then, I'm still only spending a day with them. If I can't find the time to see them, to talk to them, to help them with their troubles, am I even really a parent? Or just a poor excuse for an inseminator?"

Scootaloo hugged him tightly. "I know how you feel. Having to pick between you and my aunts was horrible. I can't ask you to pick between Twilight and your eggs. I'm not calling Ember a monster, but forcing that decision on you is monstrous. And what's worse, I don't know if Pinkie Pie can save us again."

"Yeah, wouldn't that be something special?" remarked Spike. "You know Pinkie, always working to make her friends smile. I wonder if she could find an addendum in the laws."

"Or some kind of exception?" offered Scootaloo. "After all, Ember did say you and I were exempt. What's standing in the way of more exemptions?"

"Standardized laws," answered Spike. "If more ponies are exempt from following a rule than are made to follow it, is it really a rule, or is the rule itself an exception?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "What am I, a lawyer? How should I know how to manipulate the law?"

"Especially one we only just found out about," sighed Spike. "Twilight's probably beating herself up over that."

"You said she didn't know," insisted Scootaloo. "If she didn't know that this was the way dragon laws worked, as she claims, then she can't really be at fault for making a report where following the law causes pain to somepony she loves. Why would she try to hurt you like that, Spike?"

"She wouldn't, of course. That's why she's beating herself up over this." He took a deep breath. "Hey, listen up for a moment. When I wake up, I'm going to dash back to the castle and see if she needs anything. So if I'm not around here when you wake up--"

Scootaloo interrupted Spike with a kiss. "You don't need my permission. Do what you need to do. As important as she is to you, and as kind and helpful as she's been to me in regard to this, she deserves some peace of mind. And so do you. I wouldn't dream of tearing you away from Twilight. You two have always been inseparable."

"Well, yeah. She hatched me from my egg. We've been together since we were kids. She's kind of my sister, kind of my mother, and I never knew my real parents." He shifted uncomfortably. "I'd always kinda hoped to be a better dad than my own was, by at least being there."

"Spike, you'd make a great father."

"But I don't want to leave Twilight, though."

"I'm not saying you should. It's a tough decision." She sighed and pulled him close. "Look, whatever it is you decide, I'll support your decision. I want you to be happy, Spike. What do you want to happen?"

Spike sighed. "I want my kids to grow up with their real parents. But I suppose I'd settle for just good parents. Is that so much to ask?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "I don't think so."

Spike sighed. "I'll see if Pinkie can talk to me tomorrow morning. I'll stop by Sugarcube Corner on the way back to the castle." With a deep breath, he tightened his hug around Scootaloo's shoulders and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Scootaloo, however, was unable to drift away. While she wasn't the one on the chopping block this time, she still felt bad for involving Spike in this mess. He'd been nothing short of kind to her throughout this whole ordeal, and now he was forced to suffer the consequences.

She had to find a way to fix this. She'd been the one to instigate this whole ordeal. It had been her decision to have sex, it had been her decision to turn into a dragon, it had been her decision to kiss him and sprout wings in the first place. Like the princess of the story, she had fallen in love with her dragon, and realizing that, she knew what she had to do.

She finally managed to drift off, wrapped in his warm embrace. It was a comfort, but also a reminder of what she was about to do. She'd never been more afraid of a choice she had to make, but perhaps that was for the best. If she had a nightmare, maybe she could ask Princess Luna for advice.