Spike was sweeping up the library in a slow methodical fashion. He let out a long sigh and leaned against the broom handle. All day ponies had been coming in and out and kept tracking leaves and dirt on his nice clean floors. They pulled books of the shelves and put them back with not effort to put them in the right place. But this wasn’t what was making him so exasperated. He looked out the window and sighed again. Little foals were skipping all over the street with their fathers. Some of them were carrying cards in their mouths and others had gifts resting on their backs. All of it looked very sweet.
“Is something wrong Spike?” asked Twilight as she looked up from her work.
“Just thinking Twilight” said Spike as he laid the broom against the wall and stared out of the window.
“What’s the matter?” asked Twilight setting her quill down on the desk.
Spike didn’t answer he just put one of his claw up to the window and watched ponies walking by until he felt something nudge his back. He turned around to see Twilight staring at him with her eyes slightly wet and her brow lowered a little.
“Talk to me” said Spike resting her hoof on his shoulder.
Spike just looked down “Twilight, What is a father?” he asked quietly.
Twilight paused for a moment “What do you mean?”
“What does a father mean?” asked Spike looking up at her with moist eyes.
Twilight cleared her throat “Well a father is the stallion who is your parent…” started Twilight before Spike raised his claw up to stop her.
“I don’t mean like that Twi, What does it means to be a father?” said Spike.
“Why are you asking?” asked Spike.
Spike turned to the window “I look out there and I see all the children with their fathers and I was wondering what it all means”
Twilight looked worried and wrapped her hooves around him in a hug.
“What is your father like Twilight?”
“You spent time with him, don’t you remember?” said Twilight.
“Yah but you’re his daughter, so what do you remember about him” said Spike.
Twilight put her hoof down and looked up for a moment her eyes beginning to water as she smiled. She laid down and pulled spike near her.
“Let me tell you a story Spike. When I was a little filly, before I met you, I was reading a book on wheels and I was really excited, so I got out the old wagon we had in the garage and tied it to myself. I was just going to walk it up and down the road a little and then take it right back. But I had forgotten that we were on a little slope so when I went out I was lifted up and was dragged down the hill into a lake. When dad came to pull me out, he didn’t say anything. He just levitated me into the wagon and pulled it back to the house. When we got there all he did was wipe away my tears, hugged me and give me a bath. The next day he watched me pull that cart again” said Twilight sweetly.
“What does that mean?” asked Spike looking up at Twilight
“To me a father is somepony who picks you up after you fall and then lets you try again” said Twilight rubbing his head.
Spike smiled and then turned back to the window to watch ponies again.
Twilight smiled and magiced the blinds down “Spike how about you take the rest of the day off and go for a walk?”
Spike nodded and walked out into the street. Every time he looked up, he saw another pony couple walking around being happy. He found himself heading towards the park hoping that there would be less ponies to bring him down. He sat down on a bench, right next to a some foal lost dragon doll, and just sighed as he watched the duck floating on the pond. When he saw a duck and a duckling swimming together he let out another sigh and looked down at his feet. As he looked, down he saw a pair of blue hooves appear in front of him when he looked up he saw Rainbow Dash looking at him worriedly.
“Are you OK Spike?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“I was just thinking about fathers and it got me sad” said Spike.
“Is there something wrong?” asked Rainbow Dash moving over to sit next to Spike.
“What is a father to you Rainbow Dash?” asked Spike turned to stare at her.
Rainbow laughed a little “My dad always taught me how to fight. Every time we were in a crowd, it was him who taught me how to body check and elbow my way to the front of the line. Whenever somepony picked on me it was him who would pulled them off of me, unless I started it then he would only stop them after they roughed me up a little, he told me it was so I would learn not to pick fights. When I was learning to fly, he was there to catch me. When I was sacred of something it was he who would come into my room and protect me until I fell asleep” said Rainbow Dash dreamily “Not that I was ever really scared” said Rainbow Dash quickly.
“So what does that all mean?” asked Spike.
“A father is somepony who is stronger and taller then you and uses that to protect you” said Rainbow Dash then she shook herself.
“I’ve got to go right now” she said before dashing away.
Spike smiled a little and got up to continue his walk. He walked down the road and ended up at Fluttershy’s house. When Fluttershy turned around and saw Spike walking by himself with his shoulders drooped, she rushed right over to him and scooped him up in a hug.
“What’s wrong Spike?” asked Fluttershy.
“I have no father” said Spike sadly, as he hugged Fluttershy back.
Fluttershy’s eyes began to tear up and she didn’t know what to do so she just kept hugging him.
‘What was your father like?” asked Spike as he let go.
Fluttershy let Spike down “My father was a really hard worker. It is his job to manage all the rainfall in Equestria. He decides which town delivers the water and all of the rainfalls in Equestria are managed by him. When I was a filly, he was just in charge of the regions around Manehatten and Cloudsdale. It kept him really busy but he always had time for me. No matter how scared I was of flying, he was always really patient. He always took me on trips and made sure that a day never went by when he didn’t spend at least a little time with me. He couldn’t always tuck me in at night but I knew that he stilled loved me. When I got a little older and his job increased, he still made sure to leave messages with me. He sent me off when I went to flight camp, and when I fell off the clouds, it was my dad who organized the search party that found me. I later found out that when he discovered I was lost he jumped right out the window and flew straight to the camp, even though he was in a meeting about the next year’s rainfall. He didn’t stop searching until he found me and he had to spend about 3 months trying to catch up on his missed work” said Fluttershy happily.
“How come he isn’t here right now?” asked spike looking around.
“Umm he had to go to a meeting with the griffins today so we spent least weekend visiting” said Fluttershy looking down and blushing a little.
Spike hugged Fluttershy again “Thank you Fluttershy I feel a little better now”
Spike turned around and headed over to Sweet Apple Acres, this walk really was making him feel better so he was just going to keep walking until he felt all better. When he arrived at the farm, he looked around the fields but didn’t see anypony working the fields. No Applejack bucking trees, no Big Mac pulling a plough, not even a Apple Bloom trying to get her cutie mark, the entire farm was silent. He went over to the house and knock on the door but no one came to answer, he peaked in the window but didn’t see anypony. Feeling a little dejected he walked back down the path and was almost back in Ponyville when he caught a look of Apple Bloom out of the corner of his eye. He turned at walked to towards her. She was sitting in the Ponyville cemetery along with the rest of the family looking at a large gravestone. Not wanting to interrupt them, Spike turned around.
“Spike is that you? Why don’t you come over here” said Applejack turning around to indentify the noise.
Spike slowly and solemnly walked toward that family and took a closer look at the gravestone. It was a simple granite marked with the words SAM YOUNG APPLE and VALENCIA ORANGE carved into it. A mug of orange juice and a bottle of Apple juice were sitting in front of it.
“I miss them both so much” said Apple Bloom through a her tears before Granny Smith reached over to hug her
Spike looked and quietly asked “When did it happen?”
Applejack sniffed “Ma died right after giving birth to Apple Bloom and dad got pneumonia after fighting off a frost three years ago”
Spike traced the words in the grave with a claw and began to cry alongside the Apples. Big Macintosh just rested on of his hooves on Spike “We come here and visit them every father’s day, as well as mother's day and Día de Muertos”
“He sounds like he was a great stallion” said Spike softly.
“Yah he was” said Applejack
‘What was he like?” asked Spike as he continued to study that state.
“Why do you ask?” said Granny Smith.
“I never got to met my father, I’ve been asked around to find out what a father is like. Sorry if this hurts you but I want to know”
Granny Smith smiled a little and patted Spike on the head. “I can’t think of a better way to remember him”
Applejack got a long away look “He was such a great father. He never let us say anything was too difficult for us to do, instead he just taught us how to do it and assigned us with the responsibility to look after it. He taught both me and Mac how to buck when we were little and once we did know he lets us take care of the farm while he and ma sold our apples. He loved to give lectures on everything. The reason I am so honest is because of the things he told me to do. He made sure I knew how to tell a deceitful pony from a true one. But the best thing he eva taught me was about respect. As farmers, we gotta lot of different animals living on our farm. He made sure that we knew how to treat them and how to make sure they are respected. We had to learned how to take care of the trees so we could show our respect for the lands that has given us so much bounty”
“And he was so nice to everypony he met, even when they were rude to him he always responded with a smile and a respectful nod, that’s why we have such a diverse farmland” said Apple Bloom looking up with a smile.
While the Apple continued to talk about the family and laugh, Spike respectfully slipped away. He was getting hungry and felt a trip to sugar cube corner was in order. When he got there he looked up the long line and smiled as he was the father by there little ones treats. As he was in line Pinkie pop up beside him
“Hi Spike! Are you here to talk to me?” asked Pinkie.
“Well actually I just came here for a snack” said Spike.
Pinkie smiled “That’s OK I got one right here for you” said the pink mare as she pulled a double baked calzone from her back “Come on, you can eat it in the corner while I tell you about my dad!” said Pinkie pulled Spike out of the line and towards a table.
“How did you know I was going to ask you about your dad? Was it Pinkie sense?” asked Spike as he was forced into a chair.
“Something like that” said Pinkie as she took the chair across from him. “My dads are really friendly and I love them very much. Clyde was a really hard worker and tried to encourage me to do the same, but after all the work was done and we were snug in the house he was a different pony, he liked to play the mandolin and tell us stories from his childhood. Every night he would tuck us in to our bed and kiss us goodnight, then the next day it was back to work before we could play. When I got my cutie mark, I could tell he was sad I wasn’t going to stay on the rock farm, but he never said anything instead he sent a letter to Carrot and I wound up here so I could learn. Now Carrot is different, he and Ms.Cake were nice to be right from the start and no matter how many times I made a mess or ate the snacks they never got mad they just hug me and told be to try hard again the next time. I love all of them so much”
“I don’t get it how can you have more then one father? And I thought Mr. Cake was just your employer”
“Nope I consider him as much my dad as I do Clyde, I know he love me just as much as he does Little Pumpkin and Pound” said Pinkie. “Unconditional love is something any father can give to them children, even if the father is not biologically connected to the pony he is father to” answered Spike before taking his empty dish as whisking off to the kitchen.
Spike waited for a moment and looked around but Pinkie never came back to the table so with a shrug and walked over to Cup Cake and told her to make sure to give pinkie his thanks. As he walked out the door with the calzone now filling his stomach he slowly walked back towards the library, but he found himself walking right by it and continuing down the road he wasn’t sure why he felt the need to keep walking but he kept walking and watching the ponies as they walked by him. He was distracted until he was sharply knocked back into reality by colliding into some pony. He looked up and saw a moustached stallion with a straw hat looking down at him.
“OH Spikey are you Ok?” came a voice and Spike turned to see Rarity looking down at him as well.
Spike shook his head a little and brushing the dust off of himself, “I’m alright Rarity. I was just a little distracted”
“Oh so you are the spike my little Gemstone has been talking about” said Magnum giving Spike a hardy hug.
“Dad I told you not to call me that!” said Rarity with a whine in her voice.
‘But it is such a cute name and it suits you so well!” said Magnum.
“I’m to old for a nickname like that” said Rarity through her blush.
“OK sweetie” said Magnum with a wink “I’m going on ahead to talk to Sweetie Bell. Catch up when you can” he said before trotting off.
Rarity turned away and looked down at Spike who was watching intently. ‘Is there something wrong Spikey?”
“I was just wondering about your father” said Spike.
“Oh don’t mind him he has always been like that” said Rarity with a slight sigh.
“So what makes him your father then Rarity” said Spike staring up at her.
Rarity paused for a moment before responded thoughtfully “I would say it was his firm but just hoof. When I was a little filly, even younger then you, I was always wondering away from him. When he found me, he would send me up to my room without dessert. If I got in a fight at school, he made me sit in the corner when I got home. I knew that he loved me but it is because of him that I am such a caring pony. He taught me that there will always be consequences for my actions, and I must always be willing to accept them when they come, even the ones I cannot control. I learned to clean up after myself because if I didn’t then I wouldn’t get my allowance, and without my allowance I couldn’t go out and buy that fabric I need to make dresses for my friends, which made it embarrassing when they gave me gits but I was not able to respond in kind” said Rarity.
Spike nodded before hugging her ‘Thanks Rarity that is just what I needed to hear”
Spike ran off back to the library this time he made it to the door. Twilight was sitting there reading “Do you feel better Spike?”
“Much better Twilight, that walk did wonders” said Spike as he grabbed a quill, bottle of ink and parchment and laid on the floor to write a letter. Twilight smiled, adjusted her table an got back to reading.
Dear Celestia
Today I was feeling depressed because I was seeing all the ponies walking by with there father’s and I wasn’t able to do that myself because I didn’t think I had one. Twilight noticed so I talked to her about my problem. I asked her what a father was like and she told me that a father is somepony who pick you up when you fall and help you continue on your way. I went for a walk and the rest of my friends told me about their parents. Rainbow Dash told me that a father is somepony who protects you from harm, Fluttershy taught me a father always make time for you, Applejack told me that a father will teach you many things about life, Pinkie Pie taught me fathers love you forever and Rarity taught me that a father disciplines you when you are naughty. Pinkie also told me that you do not need to be boilgenet connected by blood in order to be family.
As I look back on my life, I realize that I do have a father. I pony who took care of me when I was just a little baby. When I hiccupped and burned this pony’s work she did not get angry or spend me away, she just smiled, laughed and hugged me. When I snuck into the royal treasury and started snacking on gems, this pony made sure I knew what I did was wrong and made me clean up my mess. My father taught me how to read and write, how to talk and walk and how to love and tolerate. When I was sick or bullied this pony protected me and carried me home. When I was scared this pony comforted me and let me sleep beside her. No matter how busy she is when I need her she came to me, when I cried she wiped away my tears.
My father has always been there for me when I needed her, even though she is a mare I still see her as my father. I don’t know if you feel that same way that I do but now that I have had the time to think about my life I must tell you this. Twilight might be my mother even if I would never call her that, but I would like to call you my father. I love you very much Celestia and even if you don’t feel the same way about you that I do I am glad that I had the pleasure of being raised by you and would like to thank you for letting me spend time with you as I grew up. I know that as a grow up into a young dragon it will be because of you that I will be a gentledrake. I cannot put into words how grateful I am for you I hope that somewhere in her you can find the words I cannot convey
Your Son
Spike Sheldon Dragon
