Dear Princess Twilight,
I’m happy to hear that things in Equestria are going peacefully. The Dragons are being as fiery and boisterous as ever, but I’m keeping everyone in check just fine.
In response to your question, burps don’t really mean much to dragons. What’s the big deal? If you need to burp, just burp. I don’t really understand what your question is getting at. Do ponies have some custom with burps or something?
Onto a more important note that I’ve been wondering about for a while now. Just how did you adopt Spike? Did a dragon drop their egg in Equestria? Did a pony steal his egg? DID SOME PONY STEAL AN EGG FROM US!?!
Uh, sorry, but it’s important that as Dragonlord I deal with any trespass or theft here. I am keen to learn about how Spike ended up living in Ponyville though.
From the daughter of Torch, winner of the Gauntlet of Fire & Dragonlord,
Ember
Dear Dragonlord Ember,
I’m glad you’re doing okay. As for burps, ponies usually say “Excuse me” after a burp to be polite, but not everypony bothers & it can depend on their present company. They don’t mean anything special. I was just curious about dragon etiquette regarding them after seeing a hopeful Dragonlord intending to make them an official greeting after winning the gauntlet.
As for Spike, I don’t know much. For my entrance exam at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns I was presented with Spike’s egg. I had to hatch the egg with my magic to pass the exam. I succeeded & that’s how I first met Spike. We’ve been together ever since. I’ve tried to find out more about where the egg came from so Spike could find his birth parents but all I found out is that it was found in Equestria abandoned. Do you know a way to find Spike’s parents? I know he’d be incredibly grateful if you helped him to meet them.
I hope that helps explain things.
From the Princess of Friendship & your loyal friend,
Twilight Sparkle
Dear Princess Twilight,
Wow. Now I wish you’d told me sooner. As Dragonlord I could order a search of dragons who lost eggs. I’m sure we could narrow down a match with the time and location of the loss. I’ll shout at some dragons and see what I can find. I’ll let you know if I find anything.
From the daughter of Torch, winner of the Gauntlet of Fire & Dragonlord,
Ember
P.S. Seriously? Burp greetings? I’m glad I won the Gauntlet… talk about weird.
Dear Dragonlord Ember,
Really? That’s wonderful! Let me know if you need any help. I can make some tables & graphs & collate all the information you find. No pony is better at sorting out data than me! I even included a checklist to help you research Spike’s parents! Oh, I do hope you find something!
I’ll be sure to organize a trip to the dragon lands with Spike as soon as you find any leads!
From the Princess of Friendship & your loyal friend,
Twilight Sparkle
Dear Princess Twilight,
Thanks for the checklist, but I didn’t really need it. Whilst you were sending your reply I went and banged a few heads together, and it seems there are a few dragons here who might know where Spike’s egg came from. The dragons don’t migrate through Equestria that often, so it was fairly easy to identify any dragon parents who were passing nearby just before Spike was born. I think we have some clues to go off.
Are you sure about sending Spike so soon? I wouldn’t want to build up his hopes only to have nothing to show for it. Besides, you know firsthand that not all dragons are like me. What if his parents turn out to be total jerks? It might be better to let me take care of this further just to get a better idea of what we should expect.
Let me know what you think.
From the daughter of Torch, winner of the Gauntlet of Fire & Dragonlord,
Ember
After reading through Ember’s response, Twilight knew she had to have a talk with Spike. Like Ember, she had not really revealed the contents of her their recent exchange for the fear of building the young dragon’s hopes up for nothing. Now though, it appeared her long time companion would need to make an important journey to the Dragon Lands sooner or later. She couldn’t just answer the letter and decide for him, that would be disrespectful. No, she needed to present him the choice.
Spike made his way into Twilight’s expansive study, bustling in and walking over towards the alicorn. “Hey Twilight!” He greeted her with a smile. “What are you up to?”
“Hi Spike. That was good timing.” Twilight replied. “I was just reading the letter Ember sent me. I wanted to talk to you about it actually.”
“Great. How is she doing? Does she need some help from the ambassador to the Dragon Lands?” Spike asked. “Maybe she wants me to arrange a meeting with Thorax again? Not by accident this time, heh.”
“Not quite.”
“Oh, does she want another checklist like the one you sent in your last letter?” Spike suggested, before then frowning slightly. “You know, you never really told me what that was about. Don’t tell me you were giving her some boring list on how best to organise things.”
“No! I don’t even know what dragons organize! Ooh, maybe I should ask her that in my next letter!” Twilight cooed, before then getting back on track. “Anyway, I kept quiet because I didn’t want to get your hopes up, but Ember has been asking about how I met you, and she started asking around looking for clues about your parents.”
The purple dragon’s eyes widened at this revelation. “R-really!?” He exclaimed. “Did she find anything?!”
“Well, she wrote that she did find a few leads. We were just wondering when we should try and travel to the Dragon Lands. She was a little worried about the possibility of your feelings getting hurt.” A look of concern then filled Twilight’s face. “Spike, you know how mean dragons can be. What if your parents turn out to be like Garble or Sludge? They might have even thrown your egg away on purpose.”
“I know.” Spike breathed, a look of disgust filling his face as he recalled how Sludge had manipulated him by pretending to be his father. His face then filled with determination. “I don’t care though. We finally have a chance to find out where I came from, who my real parents are. If they turn out to be horrible, then it just means that I’m with my proper family right now.”
“Aw…” Twilight cooed, before then hugging the dragon who was like a little brother to her. Spike returned it warmly, before they broke the embrace. “Very well. I guess I should start packing some things. I’m sure Ember will have better luck if we both help her with the investigation.”
The two started packing their things, including the essentials such as food, water, sleeping bags, a tent and books (which are an essential if you happen to be a book loving princess). After a little while, the pair were about ready to leave.
“Okay, I think that’s about everything, just let me double check.” Twilight stated, before then pulling up a checklist of things to pack using her magic. She nodded down the list, ensuring they had every item on the list.
Before she could reach the bottom of the list, a glow started flashing nearby and Spike spoke up trying to get her attention. “Uh, Twilight?”
“Not now Spike, you’re going to break my… my cutie mark!”
Twilight interrupted herself as she noticed the spark of magic surrounded by stars on her flank was flashing vividly. This could only mean one thing, and the purple alicorn gasped.
“It’s a friendship mission! The map is calling me on a friendship mission!”
Quickly she started galloping towards the map room, closely followed by her number one assistant. The pair soon reached what they were rushing towards and sure enough, Twilight’s cutie mark was floating over the map, along with a familiar symbol consisting of three balloons.
“Wow, it’s sending me on a quest with-”
“HEY TWILIGHT!” An excited voice shrilled. “Looks like we’re going on a mission together! Oh, I’m so excited! This is going to be so much fun! I don’t even know where we’re going! Do you know much about it?! Do they have candy!? Is the mission to show them how to have a fun party!? I hope so, because I’m the best pony to show them how to have a fun time, and I just know you can help me organise everything. Eee! I can’t wait to show them a serious PARTY!!!”
“Whoa, Pinkie Pie! Where did you come from!? You sure got here quickly.” Twilight exclaimed.
“As soon as my cutie mark started flashing I shot myself here from my party cannon! Uh, sorry about your wall.”
Pinkie then smiled sheepishly as sure enough, there was a party pony shaped hole in the side of the castle.
“Uh… oh my.” Twilight looked rather aghast at the state of her wall, before then taking a deep breath and composing herself in a way that would make Princess Cadence proud. “Well, I already packed quite a lot of my things. I was getting ready for a trip to the Dragon Lands with Spike. I guess I’ll have to make a change of plan, I can’t leave a friendship mission languishing.”
She then sighed, but then a little clawed hand reached up to pat her neck in assurance, followed by some understanding words from Spike.
“It’s okay Twilight, I know you have to take care of this. You are the princess of friendship after all. You head on this mission with Pinkie, and I’ll make my way to the Dragon Lands and meet Ember. Besides, you know that some dragons might take issue with a pony coming to visit. I might be safer going on my own. No dragon will dare touch an esteemed guest of the Dragonlord. I can help Ember out, and you can complete your friendship quest.”
“Okay, but be careful. I’ll write one last quick letter to Ember to let her know you’re coming. Hopefully she can meet you out on the borders to the Dragon Lands. Write me a letter if you get into trouble, and I’ll make my way over to you as soon as we’ve finished our mission. Let me just see where we’re heading, hopefully it isn’t too far away.”
Twilight turned to look at the map, and then groaned as she spotted that her cutie mark was hovering over a town quite a considerable distance away in the opposite direction from the Dragon Lands. She would have a lot of ground to cover if she wanted to keep her word. It did hurt Twilight that she couldn’t be with Spike for what would inevitably be an important moment in the dragon’s life.
“Don’t beat yourself up Twilight. I might not even find anything with Ember.” Spike smiled once again, trying to make her feel better. “Hopefully if we do find my parents, they’ll want to spend some time with me and you’ll have a chance to meet them. I know you wanted to be there for me, but I’m quite happy to do this by myself.”
The princess gave a sigh. “I guess your right. I just wish this map had better timing. Well, I’d better let Ember know what’s happening and make sure we’re ready to go. Pinkie Pie, are you all set to go? Huh, Pinkie?”
The pair then looked around, as the pink earth pony was suddenly nowhere in sight. They then heard a voice going “Wheeee!!!” in the distance, before the two then leaped out of the way as Pinkie Pie came flying through the hole she’d made a second time.
“Woohoo! That’s so much fun!” She cried. “When I heard you were ready to go, I realised I forgot to bring my things, so I rushed home to get my stuff.”
“Uh… where are your things?” Twilight asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
“They’ll be along any second.”
Twilight and Spike then ducked for cover as various bags of party supplies came shooting in through the hole in the wall.
Through the countryside of Equestria, birds were singing in the trees, a faint breeze blew over the green hills surrounding them, and a small purple dragon flew quickly over the tops of the trees, his mind rushing as he headed towards the Dragon Lands.
Wow, I can’t believe this is all happening so suddenly. For years I thought I’d never know who I was or where I came from, and now I might finally get an answer as to who my parents are. I know I am a citizen of Equestria, and I’ll always think of Twilight as my family and I don’t want to change who I am now; but there might be a whole other family for me to meet and build a relationship with. I just hope they’re like Ember and Smolder. I’d hate to be related to a dragon like Garble or Sludge. I think I’d disown my parents if they ended up being like that.
I know I wanted to meet Ember again, but I didn’t think I’d be meeting her in circumstances quite like this. I suppose we did meet up in some high stakes fashion though. All of Equestria hung in the balance over who won the right to rule as Dragonlord. I hope this ends up going so well.
I wonder how Twilight and Pinkie Pie are doing? I’m sure Twilight will have her hands full trying to keep Pinkie Pie out of trouble. What kind of friendship problem would require those two to solve it? I’m sure Twilight will tell me all about it when I next see her.
Wow, having wings sure is cool! This sure beats walking to the Dragon Lands on foot! It’s nice to feel the wind under my wings and the cool fresh air of Equestria rushing into me. The view up here is amazing too!
Soon the smells of forest pine and fresh meadows gave way to the stony and smoky scents of the Dragon Lands, and the mountains and volcanoes of where his species chose to call home loomed into view. It wasn’t long before he saw a familiar looking blue dragon flying towards him.
“Spike! Over here!” Dragonlord Ember called out, waving for his attention. “Come on, let’s go this way.”
Ember flew in a semicircle and started flying in front of Spike, leading him deeper into the Dragon Lands. She glanced back and smiled at her friend.
“It’s nice to have you paying me a visit. I see you finally got your wings.”
“Nice to see you too. And I sure did! Being able to fly is great!”
“Just watch out you don’t fly too close to the volcanoes around here. Their updrafts can really catch out a new flyer.” Ember warned. “Just stick close with me. I’ll show you the way to our first lead.”
“Okay.” Spike replied, suddenly feeling a little nervous. “So what kind of information have you been able to find? Twilight didn’t tell me too many details, which is rather unlike her.”
“Well, using what little information Twilight gave me, I managed to round up some likely couples who could be your parents. I was just about to question them further to try and vet them when I got the letter saying you were coming to help.”
“Great! I can’t wait to meet them.”
“Uh… about that. I think you should let me do the talking to start off. These dragons won’t dare to try anything funny in front of me.”
“Yeah… okay. I don’t want to get fooled by another dragon pretending to be one of my parents.”
“Eh? What are you talking about?”
“Oh… it doesn’t matter. Let’s just keep flying.”
Spike’s dismissive response made Ember snort in annoyance, before then turning around to fly in place in front of him, effectively barring his path. She then challenged him directly.
“Listen, either you tell me about this dragon that apparently fooled you into thinking they were your parent, or I call this search off now, so spit it out already.”
Spike gave a sigh, not really wanting to bring up the rather painful topic. Still, he knew Ember was only asking out of concern.
“Fine. This dragon called Sludge came and crashed in Ponyville, and he claimed that he was my dad.” Spike continued to explain the story of how Sludge had manipulated him into thinking it was natural to live with next to nothing whilst he revelled in the castle’s luxuries.
Ember’s face had soured with disgust as her friend relayed the tale. “Urgh… what a jerk. Still, I’m glad Smolder was there to help you through it. I do wish I’d heard about this sooner though. I’m your friend, remember? I can’t help you with problems if you don’t tell me about them.”
“I know, but I didn’t even realise I had a problem until it was too late.” Spike admitted. “I’m just thankful Smolder was there to help me see it. Anyway, can we just keep going? I’d rather focus on finding my real parents than remind myself about a horrible dragon who pretended to be one.”
“Alright, let’s keep going then.” Ember replied, for once relenting to her friend’s request. It is my job as Dragonlord to stop dragons being mean to each other though. If I ever get my claws on this Sludge guy though, I’m gonna rip him to pieces!
The pair made their towards a set of caves set in a nearby mountain and landed right outside the cave mouth.
“So uh, do we just walk inside?” Spike asked Ember. “There isn’t really a door to knock.”
“Just leave this to me, and remember to let me do the talking.” Ember smiled, before then turning and bellowing right into the cave mouth. “I AM EMBER!!! PRESENT YOURSELVES BY ORDER OF THE DRAGONLORD!!!”
Spike gritted his teeth and put his hands over his ears. He was sure that Ember had inherited her father’s vocal chords when it came to yelling. Gah! My ears! I’m sure there was a more subtle way to get their attention.
There was some grumbling inside the cave, which was followed by a red dragon with sharp yellow scales covering his head and running down his back and tail. He was a foot bigger than Ember, but he looked rather alarmed to see that the Dragonlord was indeed standing outside his front door.
“D-Dragonlord Ember? Just what is this all about?” The stranger asked, looking a little startled.
“You’re Flame right?” Ember asked. “Did you fly with the migration over Equestria around 180 moons ago?”
“Yeah, my name is Flame, and I’m glad you’ve stopped yelling.” Flame replied, looking a bit defensive. “I flew in that migration, so what?”
“Did you drop an egg in Equestria in that flight?”
Flame’s eyes widened, before he then grew angry. “Why are you bringing that up!? Me and my mate were really upset about that, you know!”
Spike’s eyes lit up as he heard Flame’s answer. Is he my dad? Could he really be?
“I’m asking because I’m trying to find out if that egg was the one that was hatched by a pony princess in Equestria.” Ember answered with an edge to her voice, hoping that Flame would realise just who he was growling at and back down. “If that was your egg, then you are the parent of my friend Spike.”
Flame then looked at Spike for a moment, before then scowling. “So that’s what this is about. Well, you’ve wasted your time coming to me. Firstly, I doubt he’s my son looking at the colours of his scales. Neither me or my mate are purple and green. Second, the egg got dropped from a really great height over some rocks. I’m pretty sure it just got smashed.”
Spike gave a sigh, and lowered his head in disappointment.
“Rrgh… well thanks for the help anyway.”
Looking dejected, Spike turned away. Ember quickly thanked the dragon for his help and rushed over to try and comfort her friend. “Hey, don’t let it get you down too much Spike. Like we dragons say, fight past the pain. We just narrowed our search down. I’m sure we’ll come across your real parents soon.”
“Yeah… I guess you’re right. I just keep building my hopes up too high.” He replied. “We’re just so close to the truth, I just really hope the next cave on your list is the one.”
“There’s only one way to find out. Follow me!” Ember then took flight once more, and the pair glided over to their next possible parent pair.
Soon enough, the Dragonlord and the saviour of the Crystal Empire landed in front of a fairly modest sized cave. Her brow furrowing, Ember stepped forward and looked for any sign of life. “Hello, is there anyone here?”
Inside the cave, a rather fat blue dragon with green scales laid lazily on his cave floor next to a pile of gems, munching them happily. He heard the voice calling out through the cave mouth, but merely called out to his partner.
“Hey, there’s someone at the cave mouth.”
A curt reply quickly called back from another area deeper in the cave. “Yes, maybe you should answer it instead of laying there in your own gluttony.”
The blue dragon groaned, before munching on another sparkly sapphire. Eh… it’s probably not anyone important.
“IN THE NAME OF THE DRAGONLORD, COME OUT AND FACE ME!!!”
An explosion of gems then followed as the lazy dragon frantically scrabbled to get back onto his feet and rush to the door. WHOA! What’s the Dragonlord doing here!? I haven’t done anything wrong! Is Ember punishing lazy dragons now!? I hope she doesn’t want to challenge me to a battle! AAH!
“I’m here! I’m here! Please forgive my lateness in answering the cave mouth!” He quivered, looking very nervous. “What is it you need of me, D-Dragonlord?”
“I’m here to ask some questions. Your name is Blade right? Did you lose an egg over Equestria during a migration?”
“Yeah, that’s me. Huh? An egg?” Blade answered, now overcoming his shock with puzzlement. “Well, yes. Me and my mate did lose an egg. Just what’s this about?”
Ember explained once more about how she was helping Spike find his birth parents. Blade then looked towards Spike, and upon seeing the little dragon his eyes widened. No way… those scales. They’re just like… Can he really be?
“What in the world is going on out here Blade? Why is Dragonlord Ember screaming into our cave?” A slim, purple dragoness with pink scales emerged from the cave, looking rather concerned.
“Uh… Point? I think she’s here to introduce us to our son.” Blade replied, his eyes starting to well up.
The dragoness called Point looked astonished for a moment, before looking towards the dragon thought to be her son, and she too became flooded with emotion. “But… how? How can it be?”
Ember started to explain, but then huffed in resignation as Point, Blade and Spike all began crying.
Once the tears of the three dragons had run dry and their emotions had settled over their reunion, Spike focused his attention on his new father, his eyes gleaming with adoration.
“So uh… son. Your name is Spike right?” Blade began in a rather uncertain tone.
“That’s me! So you’re Blade huh? And your wife is Point?” The young dragon replied, trying to figure out which one of the hundreds of questions he wanted to ask first. “So what do you guys do in the Dragon Lands?”
“Heh, what else is there other than hunting for gems, then laying back and eating them all day?” Blade answered with a grin.
“I hear ya. Gems are the best. But what about hobbies? Don’t dragons like getting competitive with each other?”
“Yeah, but I tend to avoid speaking to the other dragons too much.” His father gave a sigh. “You might have noticed that there are a lot of hotheads round here who like picking fights for any reason. If I stay here I know I’ll be safe. What about you? Ember said you grew up in Ponyville right?”
“That’s true! I live with Twilight Sparkle in her castle.” Spike replied.
“He’s also my friend.” Ember added.
Blade looked at Point, his eyes opened wide in astonishment. “Please tell me this real, Point.”
“It’s real dear, although I can hardly believe it myself.” His mother’s eyes were also wide and a firm smile was on her face.
“Well, I have other jobs I need to take care of.” Ember stated, beaming at Spike. “You can handle things from here right?”
There was a brief pause.
“Bye.” The Dragonlord flew off.
Wasting no time, the three other dragons headed into their cave. Spike took in every inch of the rock formations view, spotting lots of gems tucked into crevices and piled on top of jutting out blocks of stone. There were even claw marks on certain parts of the wall engraving a volcano and other dragons who Spike didn’t recognise.
Before he could ask who they were, a crunching of gems between teeth caught Spike’s ears and he turned to see Blade munching a handful of gems. It had been a long time since the young dragon had eaten, and the sight of his father chomping down delicious bite sized morsels made his stomach growl.
“Hrm? Oh! Heh heh, it’s sharing time! Eat your fill Spike!” Blade then sat down on the cave floor and began eagerly stuffing his face.
Shoving fistfuls of gems into his mouth was his response, followed by a loud and muffled thank you.
Point moved quietly into the kitchen area to finish the chore she was in the middle of doing before all the commotion with the Dragonlord happened. She wasn’t hungry herself, and she knew that there’d be little chance of any meaningful conversation whilst her partner and son had their mouths full with food.
Once the two dragons had quite full bellies, they laid back into a hard sofa of sorts consisting of two large flat slabs of solid igneous rock. They both sighed from the pleasure of a very satisfying meal. After a little pause, Spike couldn’t help to ask the biggest question on his mind.
“So, uh… what happened to me when I was just an egg? How did I end up hatching in Canterlot?” Spike asked, his tone soft and measured.
“Huh? Oh… yeah, that.” Blade’s smile faded into a pained expression. “Hrm… this is going to be hard to say aloud. Uh… hey Point! Can you come back in here? What are you doing hiding in there anyway?”
“Coming!” Point replied cheerfully, reappearing with a smile. Her gaze quickly settled on Spike. “Did you enjoy your gems?”
“Yeah! They were great, thanks.” Spike answered, returning his mother’s smile. “I was just asking dad about how I ended up in Canterlot as an egg.”
“Oh? Ah… I see.” Point’s warm expression turned to concern, and she looked pleadingly at her mate. “Blade… can you tell him?”
Blade nodded, and he tried to muster the most reassuring expression he could. “It’s okay, I’ll tell him.”
“Alright, just let me sit down first.” Point sat next to Spike, before turning to him and offering her hand. “Your name is Spike, right? Would you like to hold my hand?”
“Sure!” Spike then took the offered hand. Thankfully for Point, he didn’t question the gesture as she was trying to get some emotional support. Her son was just happy to oblige, being the helpful number one assistant he was.
With his audience settled in, Blade began to relay the tale. “Your mother and I, we really wanted to have a kid, you know? Yet we were woefully bad when it came to actually hatching an egg. I could tell you about all the other eggs we lost, but I’ll get too upset to tell you about your egg. I’ll just say that we’ve got many unfortunate tales of how clumsiness, bad luck and vicious predators dashed all our hopes of becoming parents. All that heartbreak made us stop trying to become parents. If we couldn’t even look after an egg, we figured a baby dragon would be too much for us. Now, from what your mother had told me about the inquiries dragons working for the Dragonlord were making, I figure you must have been in the egg we lost at sea.”
“We were migrating across the ocean with a herd of dragons during a terrible storm. I was carrying your egg, and I had to concentrate just to make out where your mother was flying because the rain had gotten so heavy and the wind was blasting it across my eyes. Suddenly, a big roc swept in and tried to snatch you out of my grip. I fought back, and your mother came to help me try and knock some sense into it so we could escape. It managed to knock you out of my grip though, and the second it did it tried to swoop down and snatch the egg for itself to eat. I instinctively dropped down and kicked it in the head, which stunned it for a moment. You fell into the sea, and were swept away by the current.”
Point had fallen very quiet, clutching Spike’s hand tightly. Blade gave a deep sigh, the sad, vivid memory flooding him with emotions that still hurt now. He took another long breath before finishing his tale.
“The roc quickly lost interest in us once it’s meal had been swallowed up by the sea. We looked around desperately for you, but there was no sign of your egg anywhere in the fast currents. As we risked falling too far behind the other dragons if we searched further, we had no choice but to abandon you. I thought you’d never hatch, but it seems you got washed up to the Equestria shoreline nearby and taken to Canterlot by some ponies.”
“I see.” Spike answered, still taking the information in. He then turned to look at his mother, who had tears trickling down her cheeks. He shuffled closer to her and then put his arms around her in an embrace.
“Huh?” Point was startled for a second, as hugs were not something dragons were used to. “Wh-what is this?”
“It’s called a hug.” Spike explained. “You looked like you needed one.”
More tears flowed down Point’s cheeks as she smiled. “Oh, thank you Spike.” Her arms then awkwardly worked their way around Spike’s adorable little body. “You’re such a thoughtful little dragon.”
“Uh… can I join in?” Blade asked bashfully. “N-not that I need one or anything, I think I wanna try it.”
Spike moved his right arm and waved at his dad. “What are you waiting for? Group hug!”
Blushing a little, the older dragon slowly walked towards the pair, opening his arms and shyly joining in the embrace.
After a few moments, the three gradually pulled away. There was a fairly tense silence now, but Spike decided to break it.
“So that’s what happened. Well, I’m happy you two fought so hard to stop me getting eaten, and it explains why I never met you before now.” Spike remarked. “It’s also not the only time a roc tried to eat me either.”
“Huh? You mean you had to fight off one by yourself?!” Point exclaimed, looking horrified.
“Yeah, it was when I had my molt.” Spike laughed a little. “Now that was rather embarrassing. Smolder said it was a real doozy of one too.”
“Hrm? Who’s Smolder? One of your pony friends?” Point asked.
“Huh? Oh no! She’s actually another dragon, and a good friend.” Spike replied.
“Oh? Aheh… has our son already found a mate?” Blade grinned wickedly.
“Wha!? N-no! She’s just a friend! Really!” Spike began to look flustered.
“Sure she is! Have you been showing off your fire breath to her?” Blade asked, clearly enjoying teasing his son over a girl.
“No! Uh… well, yeah. But it’s not like you think!” As Rarity once said, Spike’s cheeks were turning a delightful shade of red.
Blade snorted to hold back a laugh. He then turned to speak quietly to Point. “I think Spike is in love with this Smolder. We’ll just have to meet her.”
“Okay dear, I think you can stop teasing him now.” Point finally stepped in. “We’ve only just started to get to know him, you don’t want to make things awkward between us do you?”
“Alright, I’ll stop.” Blade relented. His fun was over. “Sorry Spike, it’s just I couldn’t resist when I saw your face. It was so funny!”
“Yeah, real funny.” Spike grumbled. There’s no way I can tell him about Rarity. I’ll never live that one down.
“I’m sorry about him, your father can be a bit insensitive sometimes, but he doesn’t mean any harm.” Point tried to smooth things over. “Would you like to tell us how you met this Smolder? Was it the same time you met Dragonlord Ember?”
“Actually no, but Ember did introduce us.” Spike then went on to relay tales of how he’d befriended Smolder at the School of Friendship, explained who Twilight Sparkle was and how he’d helped her and their friends save Equestria. He told them about how he met Ember and worked with her to win the Gauntlet of Fire. If Blade and Point had incredulous expressions at some of his other tales, this really blew their minds.
“Y-you competed in the Gauntlet of Fire!?” Point exclaimed, fearing for her child’s life even long after the danger had passed.
“Yeah. I couldn’t guarantee my pony friends would be safe if the likes of Garble or another mean dragon won the title of Dragonlord.” Spike replied simply. “I had to compete for the sake of my friends.”
“I thought you might have been telling tall tales before, but I remember a tiny little dragon speaking up when Dragonlord Torch summoned everyone.” Blade recalled, his tone in awe. “That was you, wasn’t it? I can’t believe such a brave and noble dragon is my son.”
“Aw, come on.” Spike blushed a little, although he was very grateful for such a heartfelt compliment from his dad. “It was nothing, really.”
“It’s not nothing, dear.” Point corrected quickly. “Neither me or your father had the nerve to compete.”
“Some example we set there.” Blade muttered, looking sullen. “Our son risks his life for his friends, whilst we cowered away in our cave over our gems.”
“I wouldn’t have competed if it wasn’t for my friends.” Spike said reassuringly. “I’m sure if a new Dragonlord would endanger someone dear to you, you’d have done the same. I wouldn’t even have been able to compete at all if you two hadn’t fended off that roc that tried to eat me as an egg.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Blade agreed, and both of his parents' expressions brightened a little. As his dad continued though, he looked a little solemn once again. “Still, you’ve done an awful lot for such a young dragon. I’ve been that busy just trying to feed myself, moping over not being able to father a child, and all this time you’ve been growing up doing all these amazing things.”
“Yes… we should’ve been there for you whilst you were growing up. We weren’t there for you when you really needed us.” Point added, clearly looking sad at the realization of how much they’d missed of their sons life.
“That may be true, but I don’t blame you two for it!” Spike spoke up, desperate to try and stop the depressing mood from overwhelming the cave. “I might not have had you, but Twilight and all my pony friends are a big part of who I am! I’d never have met them if you hadn’t lost my egg. Whilst I have wished to know about who my parents are, it never stopped me from living a good life with my friends. After all this time, I’m just glad to see my mum and dad! I’m really glad to see what good dragons you really are, after being really frightened that you’d turn out to be mean, selfish jerks like Garble, Sludge and most other dragons I’ve met! So what if you weren’t there whilst I was growing up! I’m happy living in Equestria, and it’s not too late! We still have time to bond as a family!”
Both of his parents' eyes were wide open. His words had really hit the mark. Their son was right. Of course he was! They might have a lot of catching up to do, but the three of them were all willing to put the effort in and make this relationship work! Their love for each other would bridge that gap, and the fact they had spent so long unaware of each other’s existence just meant that every second together now was that much more precious.
“Well said son.” His dad finally broke the silence. “Well said! We just have to make sure to spend as much time together from now on as we can! It’s going to be a lot of fun making up for lost time!”
“I’ve sorted a bed for you in a spare room in the cave.” His mother chimed in with a smile. “It’s a nice flat, comfy rock to lie on! If you want to add a few personal touches to make it feel more homely, feel free! That can be your room from now on!”
“Uh… about that.” Now it was Spike’s turn to look sad. “I don’t think I could live here in the Dragon Lands. Twilight needs me as her number one assistant, and I can’t just abandon all my friends, even if I have met my real parents.”
Blade and Point were crestfallen. “You’re still going to live with the ponies?!” They spoke in unison.
“Yeah. I’m sorry.” Spike felt terrible admitting this.
Another awkward and depressing silence fell.
Giving a sigh, Point spoke up. “I guess it was too much to hope for that you would simply move in with us. We have just met and you do have a life away from this cave. You have molted after all. At least tell us you’ll stay for a few days? Surely this Twilight will understand if you wanted to spend some time getting to know us better.”
“Sure. She wanted to meet you two after she’d finished her more urgent work anyway.” Spike replied, his expression becoming more positive as his parents understood. “I can just ask her then to let me take a bit of time off. I’m sure she will given how much work she put in writing to Ember to try and find you.”
“I guess we do have to thank her for looking after you in our place.” Blade admitted. “I just hope she gives you plenty of holiday! It sounds like you’ve earned it.”
“Heh, you don’t know the half of it.” Spike grinned, and he delighted in being able to tell them about some of Twilight’s more quirky habits, much to his parent’s amusement.
More hours soon passed as the three dragons happily talked, and in what felt like no time at all the sun soon set.
The following day came with another surprise, as when Spike decided to step out of the mouth of the cave with Point to enjoy the morning sun, they also saw a figure slam painfully into the rocky ground in front of them.
“Whoa! What was that!?” Spike exclaimed, before getting a better look at what hit the ground. “Wait a second. Is that… Sludge?”
“You know that dragon?” Point asked, looking very confused. “Why did he slam into the ground just now? That had to hurt.”
“I have no idea.” Spike answered honestly, not relishing the idea of seeing Sludge again.
“Oh! Spike! Good timing!” A new voice spoke out, and none other than Dragonlord Ember landed next to Sludge, who was groggily getting back up to his feet. His eyes widened as he saw Spike and Point, and he looked very uncertain about himself. He quickly rested his eyes on Ember, who was undoubtedly the reason for the dragon’s impact in front of the cave.
“I happened to spot Sludge mooching around, and he has something to say to you.” Ember continued, smiling to Spike. Her expression changed quite dramatically as she turned to Sludge. “SAY YOU’RE SORRY!”
“Aah! I’m sorry Spike! I truly am!” Sludge yelped, apologising out of fear rather than actual guilt. “I won’t ever bother you again, I swear!”
Spike looked rather amused, whilst Point looked a little wary. Sludge then looked back at the Dragonlord, wondering if he had done enough to end her wrath.
Ember snorted. “That’s a good start, but I think you ought to do some chores for Spike and his parents to show your apology is sincere.”
“What!? Aw, come on Dragonlord, I was only doing what come naturally! Why should I...” Sludge began to complain, but the ferocity in Ember’s eyes as he spoke made his argument die on his tongue. There would be no bargaining with the Dragonlord when she’d decided his punishment. Defeated, he turned to Spike. “Uh… c-can I help you with anything?”
Spike wasn’t sure what to say, but thankfully his mother spoke up. “Oh, I’m sure there’s a few chores I can put you to. I’ll set you to work before Blade sends you out gathering the gems he should be hunting for.”
It was at that moment Blade stumbled out of the cave yawning, wondering what all the noise was about. Point was smart enough not to tell him they had a dragon to do their housework for a little while until after she’d decided on a couple of tasks for Sludge to do. The dragon was obviously disgruntled, but he did as he was told, mainly as he knew that Ember was still outside just waiting to breathe her pink flames over his rear if he didn’t.
As for Spike, he quickly turned to his friend, who then lightly knocked him on the head.
“Ow! What was that for?” Spike moaned, rubbing his head.
“Not telling me about what happened with Sludge until I forced it out of you.” Ember replied. “I know you had a painful experience, but aren’t friends supposed to help each other through things like that? You shouldn’t be afraid of asking for my help.”
“I know. I guess I instinctively did the dragon thing of wanting to be tough.” Spike admitted. “Although I did have Smolder to help me out.”
“She’s not your only dragon friend you know, and I like to be kept in the loop, especially with dragon stuff.” She pointed out, before then smiling. “Heh… you want to be tough? You? Let’s see how you hold out against me, tough guy!”
“Huh? Whoa! E-Ember… cut that out! Ahaha!” Spike laughed and helplessly flailed as Ember started playfully poking at him with her claws.
Later, once Ember had taken her leave once again and Sludge had been sent away to retrieve gems, the three dragons were relaxing in the cave when a voice called out from the cave mouth.
“Uh, hello? Spike, are you there?”
“Twilight!” Spike exclaimed, running towards the cave mouth. He ran right into the purple alicorn and hugged her. “You finally got here!”
“Yeah… I managed to solve that friendship problem with Pinkie, and Starlight is taking care of the school.” Twilight smiled. “How about you? I take it you met your parents?”
“I sure did! Uh… mom? Dad?” He then turned, and he was glad to see that his parents were making their way to the cave mouth. Spike eagerly introduced them as they eyed the purple pony curiously. “This is Twilight Sparkle, the pony who hatched me. Twilight, this is my dad Blade, and Point, who is my mom.”
“Pleased to meet you!” Twilight beamed. “It’s so nice to finally see you after all this time. I would’ve got here sooner, but then the map called and Starlight needed to go over something and here we are.”
“So you’re the pony who raised our little Spike.” Point breathed.
“You helped us become real parents.” Blade added. “Thanks for looking after our baby Spike!”
“Don’t mention it. He’s been a great friend to me.” Twilight replied. “In fact, he’s more like family.”
“Well, it looks like you raised him well.” Blade smiled, whilst Point was clearly feeling emotional. “I just hope those adventures Spike told us about weren’t all tall tales to impress us. Ha ha!”
“Heh heh… I can assure you they’re true.” Twilight smirked. “Even if I still struggle to believe it all happened.”
“It’s almost like it was meant to be.” Point managed to struggle some words out. “I’m glad Spike has enjoyed his life until now. It must be nice living with you in a big castle with so many friends to watch out for him.”
“Mm hm! Oh, you’re welcome to come and stay at the castle if you’d like.” Twilight offered. “It would be no trouble, and you both seem like such nice dragons.”
“Well, we’d need to sort a couple of things first. Although it would be nice to spend some more time with our son.” Point seriously considered it.
“Stay in a big fine castle and spend more quality time with Spike? Of course I want to!” Blade couldn’t be happier. Lazing around in a castle was much better than lying around in a cave.
“Great! Aw, thanks Twilight!” Spike hugged the purple pony once more.
And so, a relationship that might never have been realised finally began to grow. Spike finally knew what it was like to have real parents, and he was very proud of his roots. He hadn’t changed who he was, but a hole in his heart had finally been filled.
Author's Note
I'm posting this before the inevitable Season 9 episode on this. This was inspired by a flash fic contest at BronyScot last year and is my first proper fanfiction for over a decade! I hope you enjoyed it.
