Last time, Spike was on his way back home, after a heart-to-heart talk with Mistmane and a pep talk with Shining Armor. However, it was still not enough to dispel the self-doubt that continues to swell itself within Spike.

The young dragon was so caught up, that he had a painful crash-landing experience, right into the face of a clocktower, and fell to the streets below, "Ow..." Spike groaned, rubbing a claw over his inflicted nose. "My nose."

"....I beg your pardon but.....get OFFFF!" A voice grunted from below.

Looking down, Spike's eyes widened when he realized he landed on some pony, "Oh! I'm sorry!" He quickly apologized, scrambling up to his feet to help the pony up. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Upon taking a closer look at who he landed on, Spike quickly exclaimed, "Oh, Diamond Tiara?!?"

"Yeah, that's me alright!" Diamond Tiara began angrily. "And what interest is it of yours to-Oh, Spike!" She calmed a little, when she recognized her dragon friend. "Hey, how are ya, aside from crash landing ponies?"

"Sorry, not on purpose," Spike chuckled. "Still, long time no see, Diamond Tiara! Haven't seen you in awhile."

"Yeah, no kidding," Diamond Tiara muttered. "You get one episode of redemption, and then all of sudden, you've been demoted to a silent background character, before the writers decided to exclude you completely in Season 8 as a whole."

"What?"

"Never mind. So, what brings you to Fillydelphia?"

"Well you see, I was-Wait, Fillydelphia?!" Spike looked around him to see, he and Diamond Tiara aren't in Ponyville. "Oops. Wrong town."

"You mean, you weren't here fora visit?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"No. I just got back from the Crystal Empire," Spike explained, "I was heading towards Ponyville, but I kinda got distracted and crash landed here," He chuckled with a bright shade of red on his face. "Not on purpose of course! Anyway, sorry again for landing on you Diamond. I'll just be going. See you later," With that, Spike was about to leap up into the air and flap his wings, but a snapping sound was heard and the small dragon fell back to the ground. "OW!"

"What's the matter?" Diamond Tiara asked. "Can't fly?"

"Afraid not. Ow!" Spike groaned, turning his head slightly to look at his wings, to see one of them was bent slightly out of shape. "Oh, my wing! I think I twisted it! Ow!"

"Yikes," Diamond Tiara cringed. "I may not be a pegasus. But I know that's a bad shape for a wing."

"No kidding."

"We better get that looked at. Come on! Doctor's office is this way," Diamond Tiara instructed.

"Are you sure Diamond Tiara?"

"Don't worry. It's actually a doctor's office for dragons. I should know, because it's in Dragon Town."

"Oh yeah, Dragon Town!" Spike exclaimed in acknowledgement. "I haven't been there in a long time." Curiosity piqued, the little dragon turned to the filly and asked, "You've actually been to Dragon Town before?"

"Mmm-hmm," Diamond Tiara answered. "Dad does some business with some of the dragon merchants down there. They actually sell some beautiful gems there!"

"Yeah, I know," Spike licked his chops at the thought of the gems. "They were delicious too!" On the way, Spike decided to strike up conversation with the filly, "So Diamond Tiara. What brings you to Fillydelphia?"

"I was just here to visit some family relatives," Diamond Tiara answered. "Well, me and Randolph that is. Mom and dad couldn't come with me, since as usual, they're too busy with work," The filly grumbled at the last part.

"Ooh, sorry I asked."

"That's okay. At least Grandma and Grandpa Rich were more loving, and understanding."

Spike shared a quick chuckle, "Well, at least you have some ponies who actually cared for ya. And who actually support and teach you the right things to growing up," The dragon looked away, trying to hide the sad look from Diamond Tiara, despite how obvious it is to the filly.

Taking a deep breath, Diamond Tiara spoke in a rare welcoming and sweet tone of her voice, "I'm sorry about what happened with you and that Sludge dragon."

"There's no need to apologize, Diamond," Spike replied sadly. "It's hardly your fault. Besides, it's on me. I should've known better that it was too good to be true."

With he look of empathy and sympathy on her face, the filly spoke, "You know you're not the only who's been misled to doing something you would later regret your whole life, Spike. Especially with someone who you would consider a parental figure," Spike turned his attention to Diamond Tiara, with a look of curiosity to where the conversation is going.

"Don't be so surprised. Sure I may be rich, and I may be living a life of luxury. But up until the Cutie Mark Crusaders helped me open my eyes, I've never been happy. And I hardly considered my parents to be real family. They're always so busy at work, we hardly spent anytime knowing each other, let alone play together like a real family, or telling me what the true meaning of my cutie mark really was."

The young dragon looked, and he can clearly see the haunting look of regret reflected in Diamond Tiara's eyes. They reminded him of the looks on Starlight Glimmer, and Sunset Shimmer's face whenever they recall their horrible past.

"So I guess we both have misleading regrets because of bad parents, huh?" Diamond Tiara pointed.

"Maybe," Spike replied. "But it doesn't change the fact that I was too quick to trust Sludge when he passed himself off as my father."

"Don't blame yourself, Spike! You just didn't know! Just like how I didn't know my real purpose from the start, because I was putting my trust in the wrong ponies! I hardly even knew what loving parents are, and I have parents! These things can happen to anyone!" However, the little purple dragon continued to look doubtful, "Well, we're here," Diamond said, letting Spike know that they now stood before an entrance to Dragon Town.

Looking back up, Spike sighed as he felt a wave of nostalgia and remembered his first visit to this place, "I haven't been to this place in so many moons!" He said.

"Great Bahamut's ghost!" A familiar voice exclaimed. "Spike?!" Spike and Diamond Tiara both turned around and standing before them was a red dragoness with curly pink hair, blue horns with matching underbelly and eyes.

"Mina!" Spike smiled as he ran up to the dragon and shared a hug with her. "Long time no see!!"

"Red rubies to see you too, Spike!" Mina smiled. "Wow, it's been many moons since I last saw you!" Mina looked down and gasped, "Oh! I see you finally got your wings! You're a fledgling dragon now!"

The little purple dragon chuckled, "You can say that again," The joy was short lived, however, when Spike remembered, "Unfortunately, I'm kinda grounded at the moment."

"Yeah, he sort of crashed into a clock and sprained his wing," Diamond Tiara spoke on his behalf. "You wouldn't happen to know a good doctor around here, would you?"

"Who needs a doctor?" Mina asked rhetorically. "Twisted wings? Sprained ankle? These things are very simple to fix."

"You mean, you can actually fix my wings?" Spike asked.

"As clear as a diamond in the sky," The red dragon replied proudly. "Come on. Let's go!" She said, as she was about to lead Spike away.

"Well, it's been great seeing you again, Spike!" Diamond Tiara called out. "Get well soon!"

"Thanks Diamond!" Spike called out, before he stopped. "Wait, just a moment Mina," Spike quickly ran back to the filly, just as she was about to take her leave, "Hey, Diamond Tiara?"

"Yes Spike?"

Scratching the back of his head, Spike struggled to find the right words, before he spoke, "I hope I get to hang out with you more. Y'know, after we get back to Ponyville."

Diamond Tiara smiled, "I would like that."

"Great!" The little dragon quickly hugged the little filly, before he ran back to Mina, "See ya then!"

"Bye!" Diamond Tiara took her leave from Dragon Town, while smiling to herself, "He's such a good dragon."

Once they got back to Mina's place, Spike was laid to rest on a rocky mattress, while Mina held up a tiny cotton ball with a pair of thin sticks. With a slight blow of her breath, she breathed a tiny puff of flame onto the cotton ball, before dipping it into a tiny glass bulb, before placing it on Spike's back, instantly vacuuming an amount of his skin into the dome.

"What are you doing?" Spike asked, only to be shushed by Mina as she placed more glass bulbs on his back.

"Keep still," Mina instructed, once she finished putting the bulbs on specific points of Spike's body. Then, Mina breathed some flames onto her claws, which she later used for a heat rub, to ease muscle tension and to promote blood circulation for Spike. After a few minutes have passed, she removed the bulbs from Spike's body. "How do you feel, Spike-um?"

Stretching his arms and wings out, Spike was amazed to see that his wings and certain parts of his body were no longer sore, "It doesn't hurt!" He exclaimed. "What was that?"

"It's called chauva," Mina answered. "Ancient fire healing technique. My grandma taught it to me when I twisted my wings, once. Very effective for sore muscles. But very deadly if you use it incorrectly."

"Wow. That is so awesome. I thought you were just a manager for a comic book store, or a big fan of Princess Luna!"

"You think only with your eyes, and you are easy to fool kid," Mina chuckled as she cleans up the bulbs and cotton away. "Of course, I'm sure you've already known that as well as I have. Right?"

"I guess," Then, remembering some questions he's had, Spike began, "Hey Mina? Mind if I ask you some questions?"

"Fire away."

"I was kinda wondering," Searching for the right words, Spike was about to ask, when Mina realized something.

"Yikes?! Is it that time already?!" Mina gasped, before she frantically searched through her house and came back with a gift wrapped box. "Oh, sorry Spike. Loved to stick around and chat, but I have to go and pay my respect to Long Mu!"

Spike's eyes widened at what she just said, "You know Long Mu?!"

"Of course!" Mina smiled. "It's only the best story ever!! Well, for most us dragons. I mean, almost every dragon in Dragon Town have heard of the story of Long Mu! How else did Dragon Town got built in Equestria to begin with, huh?"

"Wow, that's so cool!" Spike smiled as he got up and followed the red dragon. "You've got tell me everything!"

"Red rubies!" Mina smiled, as she took Spike by the hand and they were on their way out of the house.

The story of Long Mu and her dragon children were known far and wide. Even the empress, Sable Spirit, had sent her gifts of golds and jades, in hopes of inviting Long Mu to come to her palace. However, by that time, Long Mu had grown old and was too frail of health to make such a long treacherous journey.

Fearing for her safety, Long Mu's children forbidding her to travel too far from her village. And so, when Long Mu boarded a ship, the dragons swam under the surface of the water, intending on dragging the ship back, so their adopted mother could never leave. The officials of Sable Spirit finally relented, and allowed Long Mu to remain at her home, for all times.

Although the dragons were successful in saving their precious adopted mother from making such a long treacherous journey, they were unable to save her from the inevitable.

Death.

According to legends, Long Mu died in her sleep, with her dragons at her bedsides. Overwhelmed with sadness and the love they had for her, Long Mu's children took her to the top of a tall mountain, where her body was buried. In honor of their love and memory for her, the dragons took the forms of ponies, each sharing one crucial mission to their life. To preserve the memory of their mom, and to spread her story, instilling the love of motherhood everywhere.

Present

"And that's how the story of Long Mu ends," Mina concluded, much to Spike's sadness. "Hey, what's the matter, Spike? Why are you so sad?"

"Oh man, I didn't know, I mean....I can't believe she's dead," Spike frowned.

"Yeah, sad but true," Mina agreed. "But like my mom once told me. If you love someone so much, and you keep their stories to your heart, then they're never truly gone forever! They still live on, in here, in our hearts."

Spike looked down as he placed his claw over his chest, "In our hearts, huh?" He asked. "So, is that why Dragon Town was built? Another tribute to Long Mu?"

"Sure is," Mina smiled. "Most of us dragons who have heard the story of Long Mu moved to Equestria. Not to raid, or commit any activities that clashes with the ponies, y'know? We built Dragon Town because we believed in that story. We believed that if a pony can adopt some dragons and raise them like family, then there's still a chance that dragons and ponies can live together in harmony, and that it's worth a try."

Spike smiled brightly at the revelation from Mina, "Yeah," He agreed, thinking fondly of his adopted family. "It's so worth it."

At last, the two dragons arrived at the base of a statue, in which it depicted a an alicorn, surrounded by serpentine dragons. "Well, we're here."

"Whoa! Long Mu became an alicorn?!" Spike exclaimed.

"No, not an alicorn," Mina corrected. "She was turned into a longma."

"A llama?"

"No. Long-ma! Half-dragon, half-horse." Mina blinked twice before scratching her chin. "Though, come to think of it, she's not exactly a horse, since she was a unicorn to begin with. Hmm, half-dragon, half-unicorn. What would you call that?" The red dragon pondered for awhile, before she shrugged, "Oh well. Let's leave that for the bronies to debate."

"The who?"

"Never mind," Mina got down and set her gift for the statue. "Anyway, every year on this exact day when Long Mu died and became a goddess, we dragons come here to pay our respect for her. Out of her filial devotion towards the dragons whom she adopted. We do this because any creature who can . I guess in a way, it makes us a part of her family too! We're all her children, in more ways than one."

"Really?" Spike looked back up, and smiled with newfound admiration of Long Mu. "Then do you think I could be apart of her family then?"

"I don't see why not," Mina smiled as she wrapped her arm around Spike. "We're all family here, Spike! So don't be afraid of being a part of it!"

"Thanks," Spike smiled as he and Mina shared a hug.

Then, Mina perked up, "Oh! There's something else I wanted to go today," Mina said, as she took Spike by the claw and flapped her wings, taking him to the said area.

Before long, Mina took Spike to what appeared to be a large water fountain, constructed with statues of dragons, spewing waters from the top to the bottom.

"We call this the Singing Springs," Mina explained. "Here, some of us who liked to sing and dance would come here and, you know, sing and dance," Mina giggled. "And we also store some songs here to, so that they're never forgotten," She added before breathing a sigh of nostalgia, "My dad would always take me here. And we'd share some laughs and some songs together." Mina wiped a tear away, "I can still hear him right now."

Believe in Yourself - Jackie Chan

Spike smiled as he walked over and hugged Mina, "Your dad sounds like an awesome guy," He smiled. "I would've loved to meet him."

Mina smiled as she returned the embrace, "Me too, Spike. Oh!" Mina was taken by surprise when Spike suddenly tighten his grip on her. "Whoa, getting a little too close there. Huh, Spike?"

"I can't help it!" The little dragon replied. "I'm just so happy I came to Dragon Town, today! And I'm happy to know there are still dragons in Equestria, like you!"

Mina blushed as she stroked Spike's crests, "Just remember, Spike. Not all of us enjoy playing the role as the big villain," She smiled. "And just don't forget to believe in yourself. It may sound cheesy, like its on a cat poster, but it's true."

Spike chuckled, "After what I've gone through, who can I ever forget that? Thank you, Mina." He nuzzled up to the red dragoness. "You're best friend a dragon like me can ever ask for!"

"Same to you Spike," Mina returned the embrace. "Long Mu would be so proud of you!"

Author's Note

How long has it been since Diamond Tiara last talked? Has she been demoted to a background character?

In case anyone forgot who Mina is, she's the dragon girl Spike met and made friends in Friends Forever Issue 14.

Here's a picture of her:

Oh yeah, she's a big fan of Princess Luna. Hmm.....why do I hear Chantal Strand's voice coming out of her mouth?