Author's Note

First real chapter is done! Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 1: risen from ashes

Princess Celestia was annoyed. Day court had been much more hectic than usual, as it always got on the day her school was testing for new students. Almost every noble with a child attempted to bribe, persuade, and even threaten her to let their children in, even if they failed. At this point, nothing phased her anymore when it came to exam day. That is, until the explosion happened.

The judges looked on in horror, as the young Twilight Sparkle began to float into the air. None of them had ever seen a magical flare as bad as this one. As the magic swirled around them, her horn suddenly lit up, before a beam of pure mana began to shoot towards the egg. The egg began to glow, and eventually, began to crack. All the while, offshoots of magic branched off from the beam, striking anything nearby. Within the next few seconds, the cracked began to spread, until eventually a small chunk fell off the egg. And a small, purple head, covered in feathers slowly rose up.

Darkness. That is all the drake within saw. That is, until the cracking began. Slowly, small streams of light began to filter in, as cracking noises filled the interior of the egg.
Until, suddenly, a large piece fell in, and a large beam of light shone directly into his eyes. He blinked, getting the spots out of his eyes, before he began to slowly raise his head. As his head slowly rose above the shell of his former prison, he locked his eyes into a small, purple creature floating in the air, shooting a beam directly into the egg. As they made eye contact, he instantly knew what was happening. This creature was hatching his egg. Thus, it was his mother.

Princess Celestia ran through the halls as fast as she could towards the exam room. Her mind raced with possibilities, and hoped that no pony was harmed. As she neared, the sounds of a magical flare mixed with the sounds of panicked yelling and shuffling feet. As she made it to the door of the exam hall, what she saw shocked her: somehow, this filly managed to crack an infertile dragon egg. And what surprised her more, was that within the egg, she saw a never before seen type of dragon, peaking its head out.

As his mother’s eyes began to glow, the dragon began to look around the room, as its young mind began to be overtaken by curiosity. There were more creatures, hiding behind a strange brown object. They all had things on their heads. Two more with head things were in the corner, as they shouted at his mother. They sounded concerned, perhaps they were related to her? And finally, it turned its head towards a tall, white creature. It had both head and back things! Suddenly, it began to run towards his mother.

Quickly getting over her shock, The run was attempted to run over to the filly. But before she could even make it 3 steps, the dragon leaped out of the egg, landing directly in front of her. It growled at the ageless princess, much to her surprise. She tried to continue towards the poor filly, but a jet of flames blasted her in the face, forcing her back. If she wasn’t the caretaker of the sun, she would be in immense pain. However, the fact that such a young dragon was able to even walk and jump, let alone breathe fire at such a young age was both impressive and surprising to her. She knew that if the filly continued, she could die.She also didn’t want to harm the small drake. So, in a last, desperate attempt, she began to speak to the dragon.

The white creature had tried to get to his mother! He would not allow it. He would not allow it to hurt his mother. It may have been resistant to his flames, but that did not matter. He would protect his mother, no matter the odds. Then, much to his surprise, the white creature got down on one knee, and began to speak in a soft, silky voice.
”I know you have no reason to trust me, little one. But please, let me get to the young filly. What she is doing is not by her doing, and could hurt her badly. If I get to her, I could save her. Please, let me save her life.”

As she finished speaking, the dragon looked at his mother, floating in the air. She looked as if she was in pain. She could get hurt? He didn’t trust the white thing, but he didn’t want his mother to suffer. As tears started to form in the corners of his eyes, he let out a whimper, before slowly moving to the side. The white creature looked surprised, before shaking her head and getting up. She ran over to his mother, and her head thing began to glow. Slowly, his mother’s eye’s began to dim, and she started to lower to the ground.

The dragon had understood her! She quickly shook off the surprise, before rushing over to the filly before lighting her horn. She began to cast a spell that would act like a lightning rod for the mana. For most other creatures, doing this to end a flare would be risky, but for the princess of the sun, it was a barely a chore for her. Slowly, the excess mama began to leave the filly, and the flare began to weaken, as princess Celestia’s mana pool began to slowly fill. Soon, the filly was back on the ground, with her flare ended. The filly slowly opened her eyes, and noticed the princess standing over her.

”Princess… Celestia? PRINCESS CELESTIA! I am so sorry, please don-“
”Young filly, please do not apologize. You were having a flare up, you could not control it. Besides, look at what you did. You hatched the egg!”
”I… did? I did! I DID I DID I DID I DID I DID!!!!!”
” If you would do me a favor, but could you explain to me what your cutie mark means?”
”Cutie mark? I don’t have my- (GASP) MY CUTIE MARK! I GOT MY CUTIE MARK!!”
”What is your name, my little pony?”
”My name is Twilight sparkle, your highness!”
Well Twilight, I have never seen a filly with such magical skill. I must admit, this test was not what they said it was. The egg was a dud, and it was a test to see your determination and how you dealt with failure. You were able to not only pass that test, but then hatch an egg, not able to be hatched.”

As Twilight and her parents looked on in shock, the princess continued to speak.
”It is because of this, that I ask you a question that very few have ever had the chance to hear. Twilight sparkle, would you like to become my personal student?”
As the words left her lips, Twilight sparkle began to rapidly vibrate. Slightly concerned that the flare was about to start up again, Celestia reached out to the filly, before she suddenly started to bounce all around the room. Suddenly, she stops directly in front of the confused princess, and screams a single word:
”YES!”

After regaining hearing in her ears, the princess notices Twilight looking at her, with a small purple mass snuggled up to her.
”Princess Celestia, what’s gonna happen to the dragon I hatched?”
The princess put a hand to her chin, pondering for a moment before responding.
”I do not know. Normally I would keep it here, to make sure it stays safe and to study it. But, it has grown rather attached to you.” Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle, would you come here please?”
This finally shook them out of their shock, and they quickly ran up, and smothered Twilight with their love.
”Ah! Mom, dad! Not in front of the Princess!”
”Don't ever scare us like that again, and we have a deal!”

After embarrassing their daughter with the amount of affection they gave her, Night light and Twilight Velvet follow the princess out of the room and begin to speak with her.
”We are so sorry, we were just-“
”It is fine, I understand. You were scared for your daughter’s safety, but seeing your princess save her is not something most ponies would expect to witness in their lifetimes. Now, I wish to talk to you about the drake.”
”Well, it sure does seem to like our little spark.”
I believe that is due to her being the first thing it saw. The little drake probably views her as its mother. That’s why I ask one favor of you: adopt it. The crown will cover all expenses of raising it, as a part of Twilights scholarship.”
The two spoke to each other in whispers, before nightlight responds.
”We understand. We soundly want to separate a baby from its mother, even if it is adoptive.”
At this, the Princess smiles.

As the adults speak, Twilight and the young drake are curled up with each other.
” Now that you’ve been hatched, you need a name. How about rover?”
At this, the drake shakes his head.
Twilight smiles at this.
”I’m glad you understand me. It would be hard to figure out a name that sticks if we couldn’t talk. What about violet?”
The drake shakes his head again, this time sticking out his tongue, making Twilight chuckle.
You’re silly, I like that! Hmm, you have spiky looking claws and horns. How about spike?”
At this, the dragon smiles and nods his head. Twilight giggles again as she hugs the dragon.
”Spike it is then!”

As the adults come back into the room, their hearts all collectively melt as they see spike and Twilight snuggled together.
”Twilight, I have good news for you. Your parents have agreed to allow you to take home the dragon.”
”Thank you princess! Thank you mom, thank you dad! I won’t let you down! I promise to take good care of spike!
Twilights parents and her audibly d’aww at hearing the name she gave the dragon, before Celestia responds.
”I know you will, my student. Good bye, I will see you in 2 weeks for your first lesson.”
And with that, the sparkle family leaves, just a little bigger, and Celestia sighs. She hopes she made the right decision. After all, that filly just earned her cutie mark doing the impossible. And that cutie mark was something she was not expecting to see: the element of magic. She would be keeping a close eye on her new student.