Part 7 of the Palaververse: The Dragons · 1:38pm Oct 27th, 2015
The Palaververse continues apace with a look into the resident sapient reptiles of the world, occupying all walks of life from avaricious tyrants to reclusive hoarders to assistants for alicorn Princesses. Meet the dragons!
Last week's round of nominations turned up a high amount of support for Antlertis, but also several arguments for holding off on Antlertis and making it another Capra-esque milestone post. I've heeded those arguments, though I'm undecided on what milestone would merit the post - possibly after finishing off all the core species that appear in the show, or just after Equestria's own entry (whenever that's requested), or after the baying mob drag me from my house and demand it with sufficient menaces. I'm open to persuasion on these or other approaches.
Leave any nominations you may have for the next post in the comments. Acclaim themaskedferret as the best proof-reader (not that I'm biased because she proofreads these or anything). Ask away if you want to see something elaborated upon.
That said, read on past the pagebreak and the icon of purest draconic majesty below!
According to the dragons, no other sapient species in all the world has ever known more glory, power, or wealth than themselves. No other species can claim to be older, for, so the legends say, dragons were among the first creatures born in the dawn of the world as it was woven out of primordial darkness. They and their ancestors, stretching back into the yawning depths of pre-history, have lived always in glorious isolation from the humdrum affairs of the littler, noisier species. They have seen empires rise and fall, and they will see yet more rise and fall. In an ever-changing world, only dragonkind is eternal.
According to the more cynical members of other species, this amounts to a lot of hot air from lizards with pretensions. Lizards who didn’t even pick up on useful things like organised society or written language until other somewhat more sophisticated civilisations started doing them. While it wouldn’t be the first time a dragon was caught producing hot air, such statements tend not to be made in earshot of dragons themselves. Liar or not, a dragon remains a massive, fire-breathing, armoured hulk, while a small and squishy quadruped remains a small and squishy quadruped.
Dragon phenotypes vary widely, down to limb number, the presence of wings (useful or otherwise), and size, with most who survive to adulthood invariably growing to at least building-sized. Gemstones and other precious minerals form their dietary mainstay, though they can subsist on vegetable and animal matter if need be - and some particularly notorious dragons throughout history have even acquired a taste for the latter. The lengthy periods of hibernation indulged in by adult dragons have produced a strong tendency towards greedy hoarding, where dragons amass piles of precious material to slumber upon and eat during their brief periods of wakefulness.
These hoards, once suitably built up in a dragon’s solitary early life, also assist dragons in finding and bonding with a partner after their first few centuries of existence. Courtship between reciprocating partners takes the form of mutual gift-giving, one of a few instances where dragons voluntarily part with something from their hoard, where an especially prized and large item is given to a hoped-for partner. Dragons have been known to spend decades in pursuit of a suitably ostentatious gift, and many a story of ferocious draconic raids amongst the smaller species is merely a component of a love story amongst dragons. If the hoped-for-partner reciprocates the interest, they respond by giving over a gift of their own, and the happy couple typically bonds for life afterwards, merging their hoards into one great pile. These piles tend to get split between their offspring upon the deaths of the old couple, and some items amongst a few hoards date back millennia. Smaller sapients delving into said hoards for the sake of historical interest is about as tolerated as you’d expect.
Clutches of up to half-a-dozen eggs are laid and hatched roughly once every fifty years. The hatchlings are either then looked after by their parents for their formative first two decades, or raised in one of the few communal nurseries scattered throughout the Burning Mountains or the Greycairns. These melting pots not only allow the hatchlings to learn the ins-and-outs of draconic society, but also give the adults excuses to confer and barter information and favours as they watch over their young. Few things in existence are more heavily guarded than dragon nurseries, and hatchlings raised there almost invariably live to adulthood. Once fully-grown, a dragon can look forward to centuries of life where they continue to grow, and will usually only succumb to accumulating wounds, other dragons, or the few creatures in the world more dangerous than dragons. The very oldest of the dragons, those who live past their thousandth birthday, are often able to channel barely-understood draconic magic, an alien sort to the magic possessed by other species. Few dragons live this long, and fewer still make a study of it - but those who do wield terrifying and eldritch arcane might in addition to their prodigious size and other natural gifts.
That imbalance in individual power kept dragons comfortably at the top of the pecking order across the inhabited continents for most of early recorded history. Before the other sapient species developed into complex and united societies, dragons were a widespread species, roosting and foraging wherever they wished. Smoke clouds from the lairs of sleeping dragons blotted out expanses of farmland, slowing agricultural growth and settlement, and the hoarding behaviours of dragons often led to them plundering from the smaller species or subjugating them in order to gather precious materials on the dragons’ behalf. Diamond Dogs in particular were a common target for this, with their burrowing and mining capabilities put to use in feeding dragons.
As the small species gradually settled and grew in numbers, they became much more capable of fending off and driving away dragons who threatened them or their agriculture. Diamond Dogs carved out the first underholds below the earth to withstand draconic attacks, and developed iron weaponry capable of piercing dragonhide. Enchanted longbows have been found in old unicorn and ibex settlements for the purposes of dragon-slaying, and fragments of old ballistae have been found amongst the remains of the early donkey tribes. This reaction spurred on increased solidarity and alliances-of-convenience between nearby dragons, and raids by whole flocks became more common in the days before the rise of the Capric Empire.
The rise of the caprid tribes in the face of the dragons over two thousand years ago was the greatest assault on the dominance of the dragons, and involved the co-ordinated and ruthless efforts of the caprids to oust each and every dragon from Capra. Individual dragons and small flocks found themselves overwhelmed by the batteries of spellfire and arrows disciplined caprid warriors could send their way, and many nurseries and lairs in the middle of Ungula were threatened as a result. The dragons of Ungula gradually coalesced to meet this common threat, and from amongst their ranks, the oldest and most powerful dragon forcefully assumed leadership. Glade, an ancient drake from the hostile wilderness of the Ungulan North who was rumoured to be the last of the generation of dragons to have seen the Fall of Antlertis with his own eyes, took the title of Fire King and led the dragons to war.
Glade failed, and the first Fire King and half of the flock he led into battle with the caprid legions died fighting. Shocked and demoralised, the remaining dragons lost their hard-won unity and scattered to the edges of the continent into the territories of Corva and what would became Equestria. The dragons resumed their earlier existences there, nesting and amassing hoards in the wilderness. However, as the Empire advanced, raiding became much harder and food stocks became scarce. The dragon populations dwindled, and though another Fire King arose through personal might from the ranks of the remaining old dragons, the most that Fire King Obsidian could do on Ungula could do was treat with Capric Imperators for gems in exchange for mutual non-interference.
Obsidian recognised Ungula as a lost cause, however, and set his eyes on the large and barren island archipelago in the southern sea. Although uninhabited and lacking in many of the needed nutritious rocks and minerals, Obsidian saw potential in the islands for his people and drew deep upon his own draconic magic to make them a more fitting home. One by one, he stirred the island’s mountains into life, making them into volcanoes as the lifeblood of magma was coaxed up from the depths of the earth. Precious minerals and metals bubbled up with it, and naturally-growing gems sprouted in the new caverns. The prolonged effort cost Obsidian most of his magic and lifeforce, but he had secured the archipelago - now known as the Burning Mountains - for his people.
Not all dragons followed Obsidian to the Burning Mountains, however, with many remaining in Ungula to survive in the shadow of the Empire. The migration of the pony tribes into Equestria fifteen hundred years ago was an especial opportunity for the dragons, either as a new source of tribute or an ally against the Empire. The latter of these potential relationships initially prevailed, as the Capric Empire prodded at the new nation with a few legions to encourage it to kneel and send tribute. Dragons and ponies found a common cause in that conflict and fought side by side, with one particular young dragon pitching herself into the combat. Talon, who wasn’t old enough to fly and still small enough to ride on a pony’s back during those early days, joined legendary figures like Commander Hurricane and Clover the Clever in the fighting, amassing experience and plunder for her own early hoard.
The alliance between Equestria and dragonkind couldn’t last, however. As the Empire settled for letting Equestria remain free in exchange for ample annual tribute, the dragons and Talon split away from the ponies and soon decided to extract their own tribute from the ponies as well. Several decades after the clash with the Empire, the Draconic Wars blazed across Equestria, and Talon, now a powerful grown adult with her own hoard and an impressive reputation, fought and killed the elderly Commander Hurricane in one of several mass raids. Although she was wounded in that same fight, Talon survived the Draconic Wars and secured an uneasy peace and regular tribute from the battered Equestrians.
The success drove the ambitious Talon to declare herself Fire Queen, a challenge which the elderly and ailing Obsidian couldn’t ignore. Despite his persisting frailty from crafting the Burning Mountains, he flew north to confront Talon and, in a battle which was said to have melted several respectable islands, was able to subdue the upstart. However, Obsidian decided to spare Talon’s life, perhaps influenced by her display of power and competence, the loss of nearly all dragonkind’s old guard, and in the knowledge that dragonkind would need a competent leader after his own passing.
That passing came three centuries later, relatively quickly as far as dragon lifespans go. Obsidian perished during the two-decade-long misrule of a legendary demon of chaos who arose in Equestria. The same demon sent Talon and the remaining dragons there fleeing for the safety of the Burning Mountains, where she assumed the mantle of Fire Queen with little fanfare. Most of her efforts went into trying to preserve the Burning Mountains from the effects of chaos, and her few attempts to fly forth and confront the demon herself invariably ended in humiliation and defeat.
The only respite came when the demon was overthrown by forces within Equestria. Talon immediately led a raid north across the sea to re-secure the old lairs and tribute, and instead found herself stymied by these new forces. Two alicorn sisters, Celestia and Luna, were more than a match for Talon and her dragons and the renewed Draconic Wars ended as quickly as they’d begun. The peace terms, in which Luna did much of the negotiating while Celestia turned her own attention towards the Capric Empire’s own attempted invasion, demanded that all raids against Equestrians cease, and that no hibernations take place in Equestrian territory. Talon reluctantly agreed, and withdrew the dragons under her command all the way back to the Burning Mountains.
For the most part, dragonkind has kept itself to the Burning Mountains or pockets of wilderness within the inhabited continents in the centuries since, remaining scattered, aloof, and distant from the strife that has plagued other species. Talon exercises her authority as Fire Queen loosely and infrequently, and most dragons have lived out their lives without having to interact with Talon more than a handful of times. Their semi-regular migrations from the Burning Mountains to a few nesting grounds and nurseries in the heart of the Greycairns are the closest thing to a communal action dragonkind achieves, and for the most part, not even the suggestion of collective nationhood applies to them. In an inherently individualistic species, each dragon is expected to be their own nation.
Separate concords have been reached by Talon with most other species, and the Asinial shipping that passes by the Burning Mountains on its way to the Ceratos Sea is largely allowed to pass by unmolested. A handful of dragons have even sought to integrate themselves into the nations around them, with one enterprising drake, Glint, going so far as to establish a new bank in Asinia using his own hoard as an asset base. The notion of lending out parts of one’s own hoard is one that tends to produce inarticulate hissing from most of polite dragon society, even with the promise of interest reaping profits, with Glint’s calculated avarice making him a relative paragon of progressiveness amongst his kind.
In spite of this peace and piecemeal progress, Talon has not been idle. Her centuries away from the affairs of the world have allowed her to amass a truly great hoard and to grow to mountain-rivalling proportions, to the point where she can no longer leave her cavern without breaking its walls. Talon has kept in contact with the outside world, however, through researching and delving ever-further into her draconic magic, its true extent as yet unknown even to her. She can exert her will through the minds of lesser dragons, commanding them as she would a puppet, and she can warp unborn dragons in their eggs so that their fire can be used to send messages and teleport small objects. She frequently does so to her own clutches of eggs and casually gives them away to others with whom she wishes to curry favour and keep in contact. Celestia was the most recent recipient of such an egg, and the hatchling in question was given into the custody of Celestia’s own faithful student. She can awaken mountains in the same manner as Obsidian, and has kept the Burning Mountains secure as a homeland for dragonkind.
Other unrevealed magic is known to Talon alone, and their possible uses turn and are plotted out within her still-ambitious brain. The minds of dragons the world over lie open to Talon’s delving and afford her all manner of opportunities to accrue knowledge for her own closely-nursed schemes. Most of these schemes revolve around her own retention of power - Talon will suffer no challenge to her status, and has slain other dragons who seem as though they may threaten it or desire the kingship for their own. In past times, she would fly out to fight them and inevitably win, and these days, she simply takes command of their body from afar and makes them drown themselves in the most convenient body of water. But some of her schemes look outwards, to the outside world.
The present powers of the world may briefly eclipse dragonkind’s own might, but Talon is resolved that they will never be permitted to obscure it entirely. No alicorn or aspiring empire or any entity or nation must be able to inflict the humiliations of past ages. And in time, the wheel will turn and dragonkind will spread, roost, nest, and raid wherever they please once again.
And if the wheel doesn’t turn quickly enough for Talon’s liking, she’s quite happy to push it herself. Ambition and greed burn within most dragons' hearts, and for the greatest amongst them, only the world itself will suffice as a prize.
"...Courtship between reciprocating partners takes the form of mutual gift-giving, one of a few instances where dragons voluntarily part with something from their hoard, where an especially prized and large item is given to a hoped-for partner..."
Fire Rubies seem to be the gem of choice when courting a particularly desired mate. (snerk!)
Now I'm going to have to write something where Rarity finds out that Spike and her are engaged, because they've been giving each other so many gemstones.
Rarity: Y-y-your mother is coming to visit?
Spike: (digging in the ground with one toe and not meeting her eyes) Yeah. I kinda-sorta told her about how we give each other gems and now she's got this idea that... I gotta go!
Is this the first time we're learning Talon's real name? I'm sure that she's only ever been referred to as the Fire Queen in all the actual stories set in this universe until now.
Hit me with some changeling lore, I guess.
*bays at your house* 8V
Another fascinating essay. A nice balance between civilised beings and monsters. Poor Spike. I hope he doesn't eventually have to introduce his future filly friends to his mother...
I must cast my vote in the direction of the changelings.
Oh ho. Is this the first we're hearing about Spike's relationship with the Fire Queen? In any case, it's certainly interesting. I can only imagine his reaction when he finds out, assuming he hasn't already.
The dragons' history doesn't have many surprises, though their magic is certainly fascinating. And Crackle is indeed best dragon.
If Antlertis is off the table, then my vote's for Saddle Arabia.
Are we allowed to know just how many 'fewer' is?
And I vote for Chrysalis and the changelings.
As he fails to give me credit again *mocksighs*
3500132
3500174
Nomination for the changelings noted! She's only ever been called the Fire Queen in any story directly involving her so far, yep. 'Talon' was mentioned fleetingly in The Devil's Details, but not in any way that drew a connection between her and the current Fire Queen.
3500183
Don't do it, PresentPerfect! You don't have to follow CSquared's example! You really don't!
3500193
Nomination for the changelings noted! Glad you approve, and I imagine any such introduction between the main six and Spike's mother could be ... well, something of a situation.
3500208
Nomination for Saddle Arabia noted! I can do nothing but concur with anything that proclaims Crackle's inherent bestness. Best to assume Spike as yet knows little about his family tree.
3500234
Nomination for the changelings noted! A 'few' would consist of past Fire Kings and a handful of other similarly old dragons, none of whom live today. The Fire Queen is fairly zealous in keeping all such magic firmly in her own claws.
3500278
But ... but ...
Best proofreadership was noted and a'hing.
3500132
And the biggest, baddest, potential mother-in-law appears. That can only end well.
I vote for the Changeling Hive next.
3500303 Just wait for the grandkids...
Grandma's going to spoil them rotten.
3500315
Nomination for the changelings noted! I'm sure absolutely nothing bad could come from the Fire Queen as a mother-in-law. Nothing bad whatsoever. Nope, nothing at all.
3500337
Mmm, more delicious worldbuilding.
I think my vote is for the Diamond Dogs.
3500406
Nomination for the Diamond Dogs noted!
Awesome as always. I vote for changelings.
3500443
Nomination for the changelings noted!
3500337
3500352
Well, there have been Kiren(?) fanfics before. Hell, this universe is filled to the brim with both spells and artifacts of plot convenience. Screw genetics. Anything can have kids with anything.
3500471 I sense the pitter-patter of little acorns around the library then.
But getting back to the Palavererse. Are the changelings going to stick with the comic book background from Fiendship is Magic? (Quickie summary: Somewhat of an anti-tree of harmony, a bug that bit Starswirl the Bearded, and the birth of the swarm that resulted, which would mean Starswirl lives on in present-day Equestria, or at least his blood type)
3500471
Genetics can be a really hard obstacle to overcome in the Palaververse, outwith some of the less ethically-restrained magical laboratories. Not that that stops individual members of the different species with a xenophilia kink from giving it a really hard effort.
3500502
Alas, I've not read the comics or know much about the lore attached, so whatever I've come with for the changelings has been spun out of wholecloth.
Back to voting diamond dogs - this entry in particular seems like an excellent lead-in to them.
3500471
I suspect you're thinking of Qilin (sometimes written Kirin).
3500563
Nomination for the Diamond Dogs noted!
I'd like to see something on the Changelings.
3500638
Nomination for the changelings noted!
3500303
Intriguing stuff good sir. I can only imagine form of alliance between the Fire Queen and Capra would be a race for who could betray the other first. And woe to the crown should that happen as I suspect he would shortly become merely another item in her vast hoard.
All jokesabout draconian in-laws aside, I wonder how much does she would actually care. From the description here dragons doesn't sound particularly famlial. Though, there could be a simple measure of pride involved.
Also, was there a reason beyond keeping her word for why the dragons didn't directly interfere in the chaos in Equestria after Luna's fall? I recall one of the rebels had service of a message dragon, but you'd think that if Talon wanted to strike that would have been the time. Though, she is old enough to remember Discord and may not have wanted to risk waking him.
I want to know about the changelings, but that lead in is too good.
I'll let my vote go to the Dogs.
3500811
Nomination for the Diamond Dogs noted. And I'm glad you approve!
To answer your queries, a few dragons tend towards the familial - most at least mate for life with another dragon, and most others remain on at least cordial terms with their grown children. The children themselves certainly have good reason to remain on good terms with their folks, as its their hoard they stand to inherit. (And as I type this, a story involving Spike coming into said inheritance comes to mind.)
Queeny herself, it should be pointed , is very, very far from the familial type, and probably wouldn't even know Spike's name. He would have just been a bargaining chip or a gift back in the day.
As for the messaging-dragon given to Iridium, that was likely a gift on her part to smooth Iridium's rebellion in exchange for access to Equestria's treasures after the war. Why raise a claw when these thousands of ponies are willing to do it for you?
"For the most part since, dragonkind has kept itself to the Burning Mountains or pockets of wilderness within the inhabited continents in the centuries since, remaining scattered, aloof, and distant from the strife that has plagued other species."
Extra "since"?
I love the balance of keeping the dragons powerful and terrifying but still giving them a valid reason why they don't rule the world. I suppose the logical order for the next one is the changelings/the Diamond Dogs/Saddle Arabia/the Crystal Empire, with Equestria to finish off Ungula, unless, of course, it makes more sense for Saddle Arabia and the Crystal EMpire to be included with Equestria.
Quick question, where was Antlertis located? Was it powerful enough to impact the whole world, or just Ungula? If its the whole world, I could see saving Antlertis for the very last nation post, after covering Dactylia and the Utmost North as well.
Also, are the only major continents at this point Dactylia and Ungula + wherever Antlertis was (I can't imagine you have an Atlantis-counterpart without it having sunk)? Do you have a general outline/map of the world as a whole? Are there any sea-based races/nations, since we know sirens exist/existed and I presume merponies will be included?
3500874
Derp, well-spotted. Fixed, and thank you!
3500906
Nomination for the changelings as the next post noted! The Crystal Empire would make sense to bundle along with Equestria. Saddle Arabia has its own daft history I'd like to have fun with.
Antlertis, as far as modern scholars can achieve a consensus, was located on the far side of the world to the inhabited continents of Ungula, Dactylia, and Ceratos, past the vast and haunted Black Ocean. Antlertean outposts have been found across the world, and its impact on the affairs of the world still produce persistent problems today. These should all be fun to reveal whenever I get around to Antlertis's post.
The main continents in the world today are Ungula, Dactylia, and Ceratos, with Ungula sprawling across the northern hemisphere, Dactylia stretching down south-west of Ungula, and Ceratos far out in the seas east of Dactylia. So far, only the map of Ungula exists online, though I could be easily persuaded to produce one for the whole world. No major sea-based races are known to exist, apart from a few sapient species such as sirens and sea serpents, who mimic the dragons in largely existing in isolation or small clusters. Sea-ponies are mostly regarded as a tale for foals, and in some quarters as a long-extinct pony tribe.
3500850 That's not the main problem with inheriting the hoard. How many brothers and sisters does Spike have at this point? Like 30, some of whom are probably 50 times his size?
I vote Diamond Dogs!
3501131
Nomination for Diamond Dogs noted! Not going to lie, the family dispute over the Fire Queen's hoard would become something fierce. Spike's best hope would probably lie in waiting until every other dragon had reduced themselves and each other to molten puddles.
3500950
Interesting. Well, just imagine the most adorable puppy eyes you can when I say I would love a map of the whole world.
3501146
I'll try and doodle one out for the next post.
That seemed like an infinitely more innocent sentence before I typed it out, honest.
3500950
You're welcome. :)
3501142 I could see some of the smarter heirs deciding that the threat Spike represents is too small to be worth the trouble of crossing the Alicorn of Magic who is on record as having defeated two gods before her ascension. I could see them giving him a token slice of the horde on the promise that he stays out of the succession squabble. Said "token," still being enough to buy Manehatten of course.
3501253
Let's see what the Bugs are up to!
And poor Spike. Suddenly drowning in money.
Not that it will last long. His adoptive Mommy will lay claim to it to help with her cake budget.
3501963
Nomination for the Bugs noted! I'm sure he'll be happier off without all that money, y'know. Bad for the moral fibre. Cake, on the other hand, is superb for alicorns' moral fibre.
3502025
It is a well-known fact that alicorn magic is fueled by cake. This is why there is a strategic cake reserve in the event of a national baked goods crisis, in order that Celestia may continue to have sufficient power to move the heavens.
3502056
3502084
That sounds about accurate
So Spike is more or less draconic royalty, then. I can't imagine finding out would end well for him; he doesn't exactly have the best track record with handling power, even if this status probably wouldn't actually grant him any.
And Talon is a fairly intimidating villain, actually, between her unknown levels of power and her ambition. She's been kind of overshadowed by Capra and Corva, but maybe that's what she's going for. If my vague recollections of what she's done in the stories so far serve, she's been fanning the flames (no pun intended
) of Ungula's rivalries, so maybe her plan is to let the lesser species wear themselves down in another major war, after which she'll surface and make her own bid for world domination while they're off-balance. She'd stand a good chance of pulling that off, too...
Anyway, I agree that the build up in this post rather demands that the Diamond Dogs come next. I was planning to vote for them anyway, conveniently enough. Like the dragons, they've always seemed like they have the potential to be a major power, the ability to easily attack from underground being as potentially devastating as it is. What's held them back?
3502732
Nomination for the Diamond Dogs noted! As and when their post comes up, their own capabilities and the motives of their leaders will come up.
Spike is indeed draconic royalty! At least, as other species understand the term. For dragons, authority comes from the ability to effectively dominate other dragons, which Talon as the oldest and largest and most magically powerful dragon alive can more than accomplish. The offspring of Fire Kings and Queens tend to get little especial consideration there, and Spike would likely be eclipsed by his older kin in any event. Still, give him a few centuries. He's got the potential to grow every bit as potent as his mother in due time.
Not to mention he has access to the power and friendship of all FOUR known Alicorns, two of whom are at least cordially fond of him and the other two could be best described as adoptive parents. It would take a pretty dim example of Dragon-kind to pick a fight with him or a teenager on migration.
3504384
All exceedingly true! If any other dragon did catch wind of Spike's origin and came to pick a fight with him as a result, then that's a strong contender for the Equestrian variant of a Darwin Award right there.
I guess I'll go with the crowd and say Changelings? Although you do have the Crystal Empire marked on the map, and I'm quite curious about that.
Also, Talon is out now, thanks to Discord.
Nomination for the Diamond Dogs!
Does Spike have many siblings who live and work with other species? Did inherent draconic greed drive them back to their roots or are they still living and working with the societies they were gifted to? Do they know they were gifts? Does Twilight know where Spike's egg came from? Have any of these gifts decided they were perfectly happy with their host nations?
3505740
Nomination for the changelings noted! Talon is indeed out of her cavern, thanks to Discord. She's not likely to stay out for long - even mountains are a relatively paltry fortress against a well-motivated Fire Queen (and when her hoard's on the line, motivation ain't lacking) - but she's probably going have to nestle down again with more fresh air and sunlight than she's gotten used to.
3505785
Nomination for the Diamond Dogs noted! Spike does indeed have a few siblings, but none his age - his egg was the only one in Talon's most recent clutch. All the others are fully grown, and most have moved away from their host nations after they grew to (decidedly less controllable) adulthood and after whatever friends might have kept them tethered died of old age. Talon welcomes them back into the fold, calculatedly gives them just enough treasure to ignite a hoard addiction, and they're rarely anything but proper dragons thereafter.
Twilight doesn't know about Spike's origins, and assumes his egg was abandoned in its nest and luckily recovered by Celestia. Celestia herself knows his origins just fine, and'll tell Spike and Twilight about them if asked - but doesn't see what good can come from going out of her way to tell either of them yet.
Beautiful as always! Really have nothing to add to these highly entertaining comments ;)
Vote for the Dogs!
3509560
Nomination for the Diamond Dogs noted! Glad to entertain.
You're taking about more than one dragon. Move the apostrophe.
4080146
Moved, and thank you.