Of Purple Dragons, Great and Small

by Mannulus

A Long Walk to a Short Dragon

Summer was a happy time for Derpy Hooves these days. Her daughter was home from school, and for the first time in years, she had a very special somepony. The days were hot, and that made her work difficult, but when she got home, there was always somepony waiting for her. That thought alone made the tedium of the day seem less oppressive. It gave her hope and drove her on toward day's end. This was the life she had wanted for years without ever even taking the time to realize it. Her stumbling upon it had been in itself a stroke of good fortune that even a few months before she would have considered far outside even the realm of her wildest fantasy.
On this particular midsummer afternoon, however, she found herself curiously alone. Chill Breeze had weather work to tend to, and would be occupied until late that evening, and she had left Dinky in the company of Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Applebloom, and several other girls their age, who were engaging in the ancient rite of the slumber party, courtesy of Princess Twilight Sparkle, who had assured their parents, Derpy included, that all proper procedure would be observed.
That being the case, Derpy had decided to take a long walk in Whitetail Wood, and there, alone with the trees, the sound of the breeze in their leaves, and the occasional glimpse of a deer or rabbit, her thoughts had turned to how strange her life had been recently. She had nearly died several times. She had saved Ponyville from certain destruction, though nopony in the world but her would ever know that or likely even believe it if she told them. She had made a friend out of a pirate, and seen that friend hauled away in irons. She had seen something of herself reflected in an evil queen that once she would have thought too alien for her to ever understand; had even felt pangs of pity for her. She had found comfort for years of grief with somepony whom at first she had taken for gruff, cold, and even mean.
"I'm just Derpy," she said aloud. "I'm the cross-eyed delivery mare." This she said, though at that moment, as was always the case when she put her mind to the business of working out matters of who she was, she was not cross-eyed, at all. "I'm Dinky's momma," she continued. "I'm just... Ditzy. I'm not cut out for all this."
She gave a little giggle, and shrugged. It didn't matter if she was cut out for it, or not. She seemed to have born up under the strain, and her reward for that had been a better life, whether she had expected or sought it.
No, she had never sought her misadventures. They had always found her, always with their beginnings in a little, cardboard box in a brown delivery bag. Today, however, one would find its beginning in a completely different place: a place she had not been to in years, and that she only realized she had been heading toward when at last she found it.
It stunned her a bit when she stepped into the clearing with the little pond. Partly because she had almost forgotten it was there, and partly because she was no longer alone. For there, seated on a tiny, stone bench, covered with moss and weathered with the decades since somepony had placed it there, was a little, purple dragon -- one who looked quite forlorn.
"Spike the Dragon," she said, drawing him out of his reverie.
He had been hunched over, staring into the pond, tossing a stone up and down with a claw, as if considering whether to skip it across the water's surface. Faint ripples upon the pond's surface testified that such must have already been his entertainment for some time. Something seemed to weigh on his mind, giving an intensity to his expression and a depth and weight to his very presence that were far beyond his meager years.
He looked up, slightly shocked to encounter somepony this deep in the woods, and fumbled with his skipping stone for a second before allowing it to drop beside the old bench.
"Oh! Hi, Ms. Hooves!" he said, awkwardly. He tried to sound cheerful, but Derpy could see and hear a note of melancholy in his greeting.
She stepped over to the bench and looked out across the pond's surface, now settling from where it had last been disturbed by the dragon's chosen pastime.
"Mind if I sit down?" she asked.
"Go right ahead," said Spike. "What are you doing out here?"
"Me?" she asked, taking a seat, "Just out for a walk."
She smiled, remembering the last time she had sat on this bench. Once, that thought would have brought any number of expressions but a smile to her face, but Derpy had learned in recent months to turn her focus towards the better parts of her past. It used to terrify her to do that. Remembering the good times had only ever made her feel sorrow for the fact that they were gone, but now she saw that just because a few bad years had come and gone did not mean that good ones could never come again.
"I used to come here with somepony a lot," she said. "I'd almost forgotten this place."
Spike gave her an odd look, and scooted to the far end of the bench.
"What is it?" she asked through a faint laugh.
"You're Dinky's mom," said Spike. "Don't talk about stuff like that with me. It's weird."
"Alright," she said, laughing harder, now.
She had to remind herself that even though Spike was a different species, he was still fundamentally a child. He acted very mature for his age, probably a product of Twilight Sparkle drilling her own work ethic into him at every opportunity, but his life experiences and understanding of social dynamics were still limited by his age.
"What are you doing out here?" she asked. "You shouldn't be sitting here alone looking so glum. You're a kid, and it's summer. Why aren't you out with your friends having fun?"
"Are you kidding?" asked the dragon. "I don't know how to be a kid."
"Huh?" was all Derpy could muster.
"Well," said Spike, "dragons aren't like ponies. We learn to talk and can learn to read and write really early. Princess Celestia sort of took care of me when I was really little, but she was so busy that it was really more just a bunch of nannies and butlers that looked out for me. Then, as soon as I could walk and talk, she made me Twilight's assistant."
"Do you not like being Twilight's assistant?" asked Derpy.
"Well, yeah, I like it," said Spike, "but with her, it's all about working, studying, and research, you know?" He sighed. "And nowadays, she's getting as busy as Princess Celestia always was."
"I see," said Derpy. "But at least you're always right there with her."
"Sometimes," said Spike, "but these days I end up running a lot of errands, and then there's days like today."
"Oh," said Derpy. "The slumber party."
"Yeah," said Spike. "I get it that she's trying to do something nice for all the fillies in Ponyville, but I... eh..." He waved a claw at the water, giving a glum stare.
"You feel left out because you're not a filly?" asked Derpy.
"I guess so. I mean, I'll go back home later, but she'll want me to just kinda stay out of the way, you know?"
"Well, it's just one night," said Derpy.
"Yeah, I know," said Spike. "I guess I just... I watch all the colts and fillies in Ponyville, and they've all got..."
His words trailed off.
"What, Spike?" asked Derpy.
"They've all got... parents. They've got ponies that have time for them, you know?"
"Not always," sighed Derpy. "I wish I had more time for Dinky, some days."
"Yeah, but you want to," said Spike. "That's what I mean."
"I'm sure Twilight wants to spend more time with you," said Derpy.
"Not like you're thinking," said Spike. "She's not my mom, and neither was Princess Celestia. Neither were any of those nannies that used to feed me and put me to bed. I don't have any idea of what it's like to have a mom or a dad or anything. I don't even know if dragons are supposed to have moms or dads around, but I'm not much of a dragon, either."
"You're a fine dragon, Spike," said Derpy. "I've seen you breath fire, eat rocks, and demolish half of Ponyville."
Spike blushed.
"And I'm sure that even though Twilight and Celestia both know they're not your mom, they've always done their best to be there for you. At least it seems that way from what I can see."
"I guess so," said Spike, "but still, I have to wonder what it's like."
"It's different for everypony," said Derpy. "All families are different, and not all of them are even happy."
Spike shrugged, and said nothing for awhile.
"Come on," said Derpy, finally, standing up. "Twilight Sparkle will probably be wondering where you are."
"Don't count on it," said Spike, but he stood up and followed, all the same.

The pair made their way back to Ponyville, and as they crossed the small bridge leading into the town square, they were accosted by Pinkie Pie, who popped out of a nearby fountain wearing goggles and a snorkel.
"Oh, there you are, Spike," she said, lifting her goggles. "Twilight'll be glad to know you're alright."
"Twilight's looking for me?" asked Spike, confused.
Derpy merely stood there, staring at the soggy, pink pony that had popped out of the fountain.
"Yeah, she's been looking for you for like an hour," said Pinkie Pie. "I volunteered to check all the ponds and streams because I thought you might have gone for a swim."
"You're in a fountain," said Spike, flatly.
"Well you weren't in any of the ponds or streams, and I already had the snorkel, so..."
"Right," said Spike.
At that moment, Twilight Sparkle landed beside Spike, and shoved her face into his own, scowling deeply.
"Where have you been!?" she asked, the last word spiking sharply enough that her voice cracked slightly.
"Hanging out with background ponies, it looks like," said Pinkie Pie. "We must be in a fanfic."
They all stopped, and stared at Pinkie Pie for a moment. She was still in the fountain, resting on its edge with her forelegs folded as if in a swimming pool, though the fountain was not physically deep enough to accommodate the rest of her body, given her posture. Nopony responded, prompting her to shrug.
"Cheers, all!" she said, popping her goggles back over her eyes. "I'm out."
She popped her snorkel into her mouth, and disappeared beneath the water's surface. Nopony even looked for her to reappear.
"Spike, don't run off for so long like that without telling me where you're going," said Twilight.
Spike grumbled under his breath for a moment, his brow furrowed and his arms crossed.
"What was that?" asked Twilight, suspicious and perturbed at the dragon's defiance.
"I said, 'it's not like you're my mom, or something.'"
"Oh, boy," said Derpy, worried that this show of attitude was at least partially her own fault.
"Well," said Twlight, gritting her teeth, slightly. "I may not be your mom, but I can still send you home to your room!"
"That's where I was going, anyway," said Spike.
"Good," said Twilight still obviously perturbed. "Go there, and don't come out until I tell you to!"
Spike turned, stone-faced, and walked away, throwing his claws out to his sides.
"How is that gonna be any different than how tonight was already gonna go?" he asked, his voice fading as the space between he and the two mares widened.
"Aaagh!!" Twilight groaned. "What am I supposed to do with him!?"
"I don't know, Princess," said Derpy, and for once Twilight did not protest her use of the title.
"He's my responsibility," said Twilight. "Mine, and I'm supposed to take care of him and make sure he turns out okay. But what am I supposed to do? I don't know how to raise a dragon."
"Well," said Derpy. "I don't know how to raise a pony, either, but I'm trying."
"A point for the gray pegasus," said Twilight her posture slumping.
"Speaking of which," said Derpy, "If you're here, who's with Dinky and the other fillies?"
"Fluttershy," sighed Twilight.
"Oh, that's not gonna cut it," said Derpy, imagining for a brief moment the yellow pegasus tied up and locked in a closet.
"And Applejack," said Twilight.
"Better," said Derpy, releasing a sigh of relief.
"I just wish I knew more about him and what he is," said Twilight. "I don't even know how long I have with him, really. I mean, he's a dragon. Even if we reign in his worst instincts, he'll still grow up, one day. How long will that take? How long until he's just too big to live with me anymore, even in a castle? How long until he outgrows his silly crush on Rarity and wants a big, scaly girlfriend who breathes fire? What am I supposed to do if he comes home with that? What if she's not... you know... nice, like Spike is -- a regular dragon, you know? I'm sure that'll go over really well with the neighbors, but am I supposed to tell him he can't have that? And can I even be there for him forever? How long will he live? How long will I live?"
A faint shout came from across the square. It was Pinkie Pie, now sitting outside Sugar Cube Corner drinking a milkshake.
"Seriously, the writing staff hasn't been at ALL clear about that; how long WILL you live!?"
"Ignore her," said Twilight, quietly. "She's insane."
"Twilight," said Derpy, now dispensing with formality, "I don't have answers for those things. My biggest day-to-day concerns are whether I read an address right, and whether I can outfly that evil turtle of Rainbow Dash's every month when the new Daring Do comic comes out... I still don't know why he doesn't like me."
"You always smell like muffins," said Twilight absent-mindedly. "Tank likes muffins."
"Oh," said Derpy, making a mental note to toss the tortoise a treat next month rather than lead him on the usual merry chase.
"I guess Spike's just my burden," said Twilight.
"Burden?" asked Derpy.
"That came out wrong," said Twilight. "But he is mine, you know? And I feel like I'm failing him."
"You'll figure it out," said Derpy. "Try going home and talking to him."
"I don't think he'll listen right now." said Twilight.
"Then tomorrow," said Derpy.
"Tomorrow," said Twilight Sparkle, and she turned to walk away.
"OH!" she said, turning suddenly.
"What is it?" asked Derpy.
"Wait here," said the alicorn.
She winked quickly out of sight in a purple flash, and then reappeared a moment later, holding a small, brown box.
"Can you get this to Princess Celestia for me? It's really important that it makes it to her, but I don't have time to go all the way to Canterlot for a couple of weeks, at least."
"Sure," said Derpy. "I'll take care of the paperwork on it. Just try to have fun with the girls tonight, and at least stop by Spike's room and tell him you're not upset with him. That might mean more to him than you'd think."
"Thanks, Derpy," said Twilight, and she flashed once more into thin air.
"Neat," said Derpy Hooves, watching the purple shower that had marked Twilight's disappearance effervesce into nothing. "I think I'll stick with my wings, though."
She leapt into the sky, and headed for home.