//------------------------------//
// S8 E24: Mother Knows Least? (Father Knows Beast What If?) 
// Story: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If?: Volume 8 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
//------------------------------//

Although it had been several weeks since Spike had gotten his wings (and grown in size), Twilight still decided that now was as good a time as any to teach him about flying. After all, he'd managed pretty well with Rainbow Dash's lessons, and Rainbow Dash was the one who had taught Twilight everything there was to know about flying.

Twilight was currently cheering Spike on, encouraging him! "Woo-hoo-hoo! That's the spirit!"

Spike struggled to land in the same fashion Twilight had just done, but somehow he managed even though his wings worked against him. "Whoa! Ta-da! Nothing to it!" He boasted.

Twilight clapped her hooves together. "Your flying skills are coming along nicely. So I think you're ready for some of the heavier stuff."

"Lay it on me, I'm ready!" Spike proudly declared.

Twilight smiled. "Okay, Spike. Now let's try a flip. Remember – two flaps, then straight up!"

Spike nodded. "Got it! Now watch this!" He did just as Twilight had instructed, he flapped his wings twice and then flew straight upwards. But that was when the trouble began. His wings didn't seem to want to work properly. He veered off course and crash landed in a nearby pond. He sighed, glad to be unharmed.

"Okay. You had a slight setback, but that's okay. Let's try again." Twilight encouraged the dragon.

Spike did his best. But it seemed like no matter what he did or how much he tried to follow Twilight's instructions, his wings refused to obey. He constantly either veered off course, flipped upside down, or thudded onto the ground. And each time he would pick himself up and dust himself off, groaning the whole time.

Twilight, of course, remained optimistic the entire time. "You're doing great, Spike. Now let's see the big finish! You can do it, my son! I believe in you!"

The dragon gulped and then sighed. "O-okay, here goes," He took to the skies with a flap of his wings. It didn't take long for them to act up again. "Oh no! Whoa-oa-oa-oa!" He screamed and plummeted to the ground, creating a massive tunnel. It took him a while to stand up after that. "I'm gonna feel that in the morning," He groaned. "I don't know about 'big', but I am definitely finished. Stupid wings."

"It's not your fault, Spike. You'll get the hang of it eventually," Twilight encouraged. "Although, perhaps I should ask Rainbow Dash for help? Maybe I'm doing something wrong."

Spike shook his head. "No way! I've had enough of flying boot camp for one life time, thank you very much!"

"Oh come on, I took the classes with you!" Twilight protested.

Spike only remarked. "Doesn't mean I appreciated being worked so hard it felt like my wings were gonna fall off. Maybe that's how it worked for you when you were learning how to fly, but I prefer a calmer approach," Then he added. "Besides, if I'm gonna mess up, I'd rather do it in front of you. I know you won't laugh too hard, you're my mother after all," A sigh then escaped his lips. "I just don't understand why none of your advice is helping anymore."

Smolder (who'd been observing the whole thing from afar) commented to Spike. "Because she's teaching you to fly like a pony instead of a dragon."

"What's the difference?" Spike asked.

"Well, we don't have feathers, for starters," Smolder explained. "I think it's best if I took over the lessons from here."

Spike shot his fellow dragon a confused look. "I thought you told Twilight you didn't remember your flight lessons."

Smolder nodded her head. "I didn't. So I wrote to Princess Ember for advice. And since she's not here, I'm the next best example. Come on! I'll show you how dragons are supposed to fly!"

Spike followed Smolder as the orange scaled dragon flapped her wings. It took him a while, but soon he was able to imitate her flying methods and was soaring with the greatest of ease. "Ye-he-he-hes! Now this is more like it!" He landed a short time later, giving Smolder a claw bump as a gesture of thanks. "Wow! Thank you so much, Smolder!"

Smolder shrugged her claws. "Honestly, this is Dragon 101. Usually, dragon parents teach this stuff. It's only natural Headmare Twilight would think pony wings and dragon wings work the same way though. On the surface that would be the case, but if you look closely you find there's a few key differences."

Twilight seemed to take that off the cuff remark to heart, for sometime later she was checking up on Spike in his bedroom. She knocked on his bedroom door and when she didn't get an answer, she decided to enter anyways. "Spike, I've been thinking about our flying lessons." She commented.

Spike appeared to be too absorbed in whatever he was currently doing to take any notice, so he just commented. "Uh-huh..."

Twilight then added in what could've sounded like a guilty plea. "I can't believe that I overlooked something as simple as feathers. It's no wonder you were having trouble. Oh, I wish I had more 'dragonish' knowledge to give you, my son," Then an awful thought struck her and she asked. "Do you think that being raised by a pony has affected you in other ways? Ways I maybe didn't consider?"

"What are you talking about, Mom? That's crazy talk!" Spike protested as he turned around. "You hatched me and took me in even though you never planned for such a thing. You adopted me and taught me right from wrong. So if you have affected me at all, you've affected me in the ways any mother should. By making a difference in the life of her child."

However, Twilight commented. "But what if I told you, I wasn't your mother?"

"Well, yeah. Obviously you didn't lay the egg I hatched out of," Spike rolled his eyes, before he giggled. "Though I seem to remember thinking you were my birth mom when I was really little and didn't know better. Why would you even bring something like this up?"

Twilight gulped. "Well, there's... something that just came in the mail a short while ago. I looked over it briefly, but when I saw who it was from I figured it would best if you got to read it." She levitated over a slightly opened envelope.

Spike grabbed the envelope and finished what Twilight had started. Soon he was holding a letter in his claws. And when he had read it all the way down, he could not believe what he had seen!

The letter read as follows:

Dear Spike,

How are you, my precious little hatchling?

By now I'm sure you've grown into a fine young drake, but I want to see for myself just what's become of you.

Could you please come to Canterlot right away? There are some things I think you'll want to hear, and things we'll need to discuss.

Sincerely,
Your mother, Singe

"M-M-Mother?!" Spike gasped as though the words were alien to him! "But... that can't be!" But the dragon was about to find out that it wasn't. The dragon he was soon to meet was indeed his mother. And at long last all the questions he'd had about his origins were finally going to be answered. Though not necessarily in the way he would've liked.



As soon as Spike had finished reading the letter, it dropped from his claws. He glared at Twilight! "All this time, you knew! You knew and you didn't say anything!"

But Twilight quickly shut down the accusations. "Spike, in all the years we've known each other I've never kept the truth about where you came from a secret. It's like I told you when you first started wondering: You were given to me as an egg. No one knew where you'd come from or who had given you up. Even Princess Celestia wouldn't tell me. The news that your birth mother is alive and well came as just as much a shock to me as it did you."

"Then Princess Celestia had to know!" Spike growled. "Why didn't she ever tell me?!"

"I'm sure the princess had a very good reason," Twilight nervously insisted. "Perhaps she made a promise not to tell. Perhaps she swore to secrecy."

Spike let out an unhappy sigh. "Then I guess I have to go to Canterlot, if only so I can find out why I'm only now learning about all of this. Even if my mother wasn't a good dragon, wouldn't I have had a right to know?"

"I can't answer that, Spike. That's something you'll have to discover for yourself," Twilight answered. "I'll write to Princess Celestia right away to tell her we'll be in Canterlot soon," Then she asked him. "Obviously, I'm going with you since you're my son now. But do you think we should bring our friends along too? And perhaps Smolder as well in case we run into something we need her help with?"

Spike shook his head and firmly insisted. "Smolder's gonna tag along even if I tell her no, she's stubborn like that. Besides, I owe her for teaching me not only about the molt but how to fly like a dragon. And since Starlight's pretty much family ever since she started living here, she deserves to come along too. But aside from that I want no one to tag along! They don't need to know about this, it doesn't concern them! I don't pry into their family issues, so they shouldn't with mine."

"Very well, Spike, if that's what you truly wish," Twilight reluctantly replied to him. "Should they ask I'll tell them that we're leaving for Canterlot because of a 'personal issue'. However, I'll need to make arrangements for the school in case we're gone for an extended period of time."

Spike sighed. "Whatever. I'm gonna go get Smolder, now, and make sure she doesn't blab to anyone else about where we're going. I just hope that my birth mother's ready to accept the fact that I already have a real mother. One who hasn't been hiding from her son all his life."





Smolder and Starlight quickly accepted when they learned what the reason was behind the surprise trip to Canterlot. Even the train ride to the city itself was a tense and anxious affair.

"Do you even know what you're going to say to your mother when you meet her?" Starlight asked Spike within the privacy of the train car they were in. "You must have quite a lot of things you'll want to get off your chest."

Spike commented in a low, hurt tone of voice. "I think the first thing I'm going to ask her is 'Why?', that's what I really want to know. Why would she wait until now to contact me? I went through my entire life up to this point believing both my parents were dead, or at least had disappeared somewhere and forgotten all about me."

Starlight adopted a perplexed look. "Do you think maybe that's the case? Do you think maybe they went missing and presumed dead? And maybe your mother escaped whatever terrible fate awaited her but lost her memories?"

Spike shook his head. "You've been reading too many comics, Starlight."

"Well you read them too!" Starlight protested.

Spike sighed and commented. "I did, once upon a time. But things change. I've changed. And sadly I've come to learn that real life doesn't work out like the comic books. There's not always a happy ending for the good guys. Not everything neatly wraps up at the end of an issue or arc."

Starlight couldn't help but comment. "Well, they say real life is often stranger than fiction."

Smolder grumbled. "Only you ponies say that! We dragons told stories all the time, but we never outright made up tales. They all ended the same way, there's no happy endings in life unless you're willing to make them happen for yourself," Then she looked at Spike. "Honestly, I don't see why you're making so much of a big deal out of this. You should be thankful your birth mother even wants anything to do with you. My parents stopped caring about me once I hit my molt phase. They took one whiff of me and it was 'Bye Bye, Smolder' no questions asked. Having Ember care about me is nice, but even she can't replace my parents."

"I actually wish my parents had kicked me out of the nest or done something along those lines," Spike grumbled back. "At least then I'd have some idea of what they were like. And for the record, if my birth mother has any plans to lure me back to the dragon lands or wherever she lives now, she can forget it!"

Meanwhile, Starlight noticed that Twilight wasn't saying anything. The princess was just staring out the window, appearing to gaze at her reflection. Starlight knew from personal experience that that wasn't a good sign. She wasn't a guidance counselor for nothing, after all. So the mare trotted up to her former teacher and lightly tapped her on the hoof. "Hey, you holding up okay? You're being awfully quiet."

"I'm just trying to think how I should conduct myself," Twilight let out a sigh and confessed. "On the one hoof, Spike is my son! We may not be related by blood but that doesn't matter. We've been through thick and thin together, and what we have is a bond that can't be broken. On the other hoof though, I don't want Singe to think I've been trying to replace her. If the roles were reversed, I wouldn't want to be denied a chance to be with my son just because someone else had bonded with him. I'm wondering if there's a way we can work something out, a way for her to be a part of Spike's life even just a little."

Starlight was quick to reply. "That's not up to you to decide, that's all on Spike. You do know that, don't you?"

The princess confirmed with a nod. "Of course I do. Spike's not the little dragon I hatched during my entrance exam. He's a big boy with big boy responsibilities. I've trusted him to make his own decisions before, and this is no exception. Whatever he decides to do, I'll support him. But I want to believe that Singe has a good reason for not keeping in touch. Because I don't want to imagine the alternative, that she cared so little about her son she gave him up without even a second thought. I would hope no creature is as heartless as that."





The train soon pulled into the station in Canterlot and slowed to a halt. The four occupants in the car furthest from the train departed without fanfare. Their quick jaunt to the castle seemed to take ages, even though it was over sooner than any of them would've liked. Heck, Spike would've liked nothing more than for it to constantly be out of reach. But he knew that was wishful thinking. Try as he might, he could not avoid the reality he was about to face.

When the four approached the castle, the guards parted ways without fanfare and spoke not a word. From there it was a simple stroll down the hallways and into the throne room.

When the throne room doors were flung open, the familiar forms of both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood at attention to greet their visitors. Luna in particular adopted a bright smile on her face as she flew up to Spike, for this was the first time she had seen him since his transformation. "If isn't my favorite dragon," She cooed. "My oh my, just look how big you've gotten! You're most definitely not the little dragon I used to dragonsit for on so many occasions."

Spike blushed a little even as he hugged Luna. "It's good to see you again too, Luna. And to be honest I'm not that old. I'm still living with Twilight."

Luna nodded and smiled as she ended the hug. "Even so, it seems you won't have much use for a dragonsitter anymore. Though perhaps we could hang out together sometime, sort of like those not so secret 'Guy's Nights' you have with Big Mac and Discord."

Princess Celestia quickly broke up the discussion by coughing into a hoof. "While it's great to see you in your new state of appearance, Spike. That is not the reason why you are here."

Spike sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know. So, where's Singe?"

Just then there was a tremendous roar, and then who should come swooping down from above but a dragon that looked only slightly smaller than Celestia and Luna? It appeared to be female from the appearance, sporting pinkish-purple scales with light amber spines all the way down the back. The tip of the dragon's wings were quite massive, about as big as Torch's, and they were light purple on the inside. Her eyes were a dark amber in color but they seemed to look rather gentle. "Hello, Spike," The dragon spoke as she locked eyes with him. "That's right. It's me, Singe, your mother."

The throne room quickly fell into a deathly silence. No one dared to speak a word, either because they couldn't think of anything fitting to say or because they were too on edge to dwell upon anything else.

Eventually, however, Spike broke the silence as he looked deep into Singe's eyes. "It looks like you, and of course you'd say that it's you. But I don't believe you're my mother."

Singe sighed and blew some smoke out of her nostrils. "Spike, you know it to be true. So why do you deny your senses?"

"Because I already have a mother!" Spike growled in a low tone of voice. "Her name's Twilight Sparkle. You may also know her as The Princess of Friendship, or as the head of her own School of Friendship. But to me, she's been my mother for years and years, even before I ever started calling her that or she started calling me her son. And she's been far more of a parent than you."

Singe shook her head. "Spike, I know you must have a lot of questions on your mind. I assure you, there's a very good reason why I had your egg delivered to Princess Celestia."

Princess Celestia commented in reply. "The most I got from you, Singe, was a note instructing me to take good care of your child. You hadn't settled on a name at the time. Heck, you hadn't even determined if it was a boy or a girl yet. I sent some of my finest royal guards to track you down, but you'd already disappeared without a trace. Whatever your intentions were, I had no clue what they were," She turned towards the dragon. "I was most surprised when you showed up in my courtyard this morning, ranting on and on about how you had to see your son. If not for the DNA test I conducted on you with my magic, I'd never have guessed you were one of Spike's parents."

Smolder glared at Singe. "Maybe you're just 'pretending' to be related to Spike so you can take advantage of his hospitality. That's what most dragons would do."

Singe quickly protested. "I assure you, I have no ill intentions. I simply wanted to see what became of my only child," Then she adopted a smile as she looked at Spike. "I hear you're quite the hero in the Crystal Empire, and that you've been on so many adventures. Both on your own and with friends."

Spike puffed out his chest. "Yeah! I've even been to the dragon lands at least twice! And one time, I actually trespassed on a dragon colony in Equestria and made friends with its ruler. But of course, you would know all about my exploits. My reputation does precede me in many places," And he went back to glaring at Singe. "Smolder brings up a good point, though. How do I even know you're actually who you say you are? This could all be an elaborate set-up just so you can come into my life and live off of me. There was a dragon a while back that tried to do just that."

Smolder added. "Yeah. His name was Sludge, and he was just a fat, lazy slob! Twilight thought there was something fishy when he mentioned places no dragon had ever been to before. It soon turned out that Sludge was lying through his teeth when he claimed to be Spike's long lost uncle. And when Spike found out, Sludge learned the hard way what a peeved off young dragon can really do!"

Spike giggled. "That was nothing! Twilight was the one who really made him regret ever coming to Ponyville," The memory was still fresh in his mind. "She actually got so mad she sent him flying into the sky! Heard he crashed in Canterlot, and Princess Celestia had to make arrangements with Ember to have him banished from Equestria forever."

Singe groaned. "I should've known a dragon like Sludge would muck things up! Even among dragons he was a disgrace, Torch booted him out long ago. The saddest thing is, at one point I actually almost fell in love with him. But I'm glad I didn't, he could never keep his stories straight," She made a gag face and stuck out her tongue for a moment, then she regained her composure. "But I assure you, I'm nothing like him. I would never tell a lie like that! Any creature that ever did that is quite frankly without a heart in my book!"

"Yeah? I imagine Sludge would've said the same thing if I'd pressed him on that," Spike bitterly commented. "Even Princess Celestia seemed surprised by your arrival. So how do I know you are in fact my birth mother? You got some way to prove it?"

"There is one way that should satisfy you. One way that should hopefully clear up any lingering doubts, my son," Singe declared as she stepped forward, facing Twilight. "Princess, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to cast a memory scanning spell. Everyone in the room would see them play out. My memories can't be altered, so I'd have nothing I could hope to hide."

Twilight eyed Singe with a nervous expression. "Mrs. Singe..." She began.

"Please, just Singe will do," Singe politely insisted to the princess. "Don't worry, I promise I'll hold still. You couldn't hurt me even if you wanted to."

"I'm not worry about that," Twilight admitted. "I'm just not sure if I can properly bring your memories out for all to see, or if I even should. What if there are things in there you want to keep to yourself?"

Singe giggled. "Oh, don't worry about that, princess. My story isn't exceptionally grim or violent. And I promise you, it's true as can be. I wouldn't harbor any dreams of lying to my son," She then adopted a more serious and somber look as she turned to Spike. "Spike. What are you about see, will not be pleasant. To this day it still tears at my very soul to know that it happened the way it did. But the time has come for you to learn the truth. No matter what you might see or hear though, promise me that you won't look away. Can you do that for me? For your mother?"

"I'll be the judge of whether your story checks out," Spike firmly declared to Singe. "And for the record, you're not my mother. You ceased to be my mother when you left my egg with Celestia without such much as a note."

The elder dragon appeared to sigh. "Hopefully, what you're about to see and hear will clear things up," Then she turned her attention to Twilight and told the alicorn. "Whenever you're ready."

"Okay. You may feel a slight tingling sensation on your forehead, Singe." Twilight cautiously advised. Then the room fell silent as her horn sparked to life with its familiar violet-red glow. All eyes turned to the young alicorn as she slowly lowered her glowing horn to the tip of Singe's forehead.

Suddenly, the entire room went dark as a fuzzy projection of what appeared to be memories started to play out for all to see. Spike especially watched with interest, even though he was convinced nothing could possibly change the way he currently felt.





A much younger Singe appeared in the projection, flying around what seemed to loosely resemble the dragon lands judging by the jagged, rocky texture and the haze of smoke and ash from the many volcanoes. Compared to her present state she seemed lively and full of life.

A male dragon with a coat as black as soot appeared in Singe's vision, standing outside a small cave as he waved a claw. The dragon had scales the same color as Spike, as well as eyes the same shade of green as Spike's. Clearly, if this was Spike's father it was obvious whose looks he had mostly inherited.

Singe landed in front of the dragon a short time later and gave him a kiss and a hug. "Oh Charcoal, my dear, I have the most excellent news to share with you!" She eagerly told him!

"And I have equally excellent news to share with you, my precious little gem." Charcoal teased.

Singe blushed a bright red, something rare for dragons. "Oh stop it, you! Must you always tease me like this?"

Charcoal only laughed. "You know you don't mind it, my dear Singe," Then he cleared his throat. "You'll be happy to know that I've accepted the offer from his majesty, Dragon Lord Torch. I shall scout out the path for the next great dragon migration, much like my brother Daniel before me."

"Ah yes, I here he's done quite well for himself. Even established a small, independent colony that he considers a kingdom," Singe briefly commented in a warm tone of voice, before her tone changed to a more serious one. "But must it come now? Wouldn't you want to be here to see our first born hatch from his or her egg?"

"I wish I had learned of this before I said yes to Torch," Charcoal replied as the enthusiasm in his voice faded away. "You know that when you accept an offer from the Dragon Lord, you don't back out," But then he boldly asserted. "Fear not, my dear. The scouting party leaves this very night, and it shan't take more than two to three days to plan out the route and return. When is the egg expected to hatch?"

Singe commented. "Not for another week at the earliest. I have yet to see the egg wiggle."

Charcoal roared and laughed. "Then I'll be back in plenty of time to see the tough little dragon we'll have brought into this world together. If it's a boy, we'll name him Spike."

"And what if it's a girl?" Singe questioned her husband. "What shall we do then?"

"I'm thinking Barbra, or Barb for short," Charcoal declared and gave his wife another kiss. "Now I'd best be going. But I'll see you tonight when all dragons will gather to see off the scouting party!"





The memory soon changed to Singe waving goodbye to her husband, as he and an entire flock of dragons (all of whom were male) flew off into the sky with a flap of their wings.

The cheerful, excited nature of the dragons in the memory was a stark contrast to what happened next. A glum, somber looking Torch stood atop the mountain that served as his throne. In his deep, booming voice he spoke to all the dragons. "I bring bad news to you all. Our scouting party has been abducted by scale traders," The dragons gathered all gasped in horror, some even fainted! "Silence! I did not order you to be frightened!" Torch commanded. "It is the official policy of the dragon lands not to negotiate with scale traders. I shall be asking for volunteers to join a rescue party. Only the strongest and bravest of dragons need volunteer for this assignment."

Without even thinking, Singe threw up her claw and declared! "I will do it! I'll go! Those scale traders kidnapped my husband! And they're gonna be sorry!"

Singe was quickly seen standing amidst a group of various dragons in all sorts of darkened colors of blue, green, and red. Some were taller than Singe and others were smaller. But none had what she had, tucked into a small pouch around her lower stomach was an egg. Not just any egg, but the very egg that Twilight (and Celestia) distinctly remembered being the one Spike had hatched from. "Don't you worry, my little dragon," Singe spoke briefly to the egg. "Torch has assembled only the best to help rescue your daddy. Those scale traders will be sorry they ever decided to mess with the dragon migration!"

But to the horror of everyone watching, the next scene that played out showed Singe alongside the other dragons as they were ambushed by a group of shadowy figures that could not be properly made out! They did, however, bare a striking resemblance to the guards that had worked for the Storm King. The dragons (including Singe) fought bravely and boldly, clawing, punching, and breathing fire as necessary. And they brought down scores of the shadowy figures. But it was to no avail as more replaced the ones that fallen. One by one, the exhausted dragons were overwhelmed, defeated, and imprisoned! Even Singe could not escape this fate.

A now tearful Singe could be seen resting uncomfortably with her egg inside a cage. Said cage was but one of many cages that in a cave in the interior of a mountain. Where exactly this was, no one could say.

The shadowy figures laughed and cackled with fiendish glee. "His excellency, the Storm King, will be greatly pleased by this," One commented. "The scales of these dragons will fetch a lovely price on the market."

"Forget the market!" Another trader remarked. "I say we keep them for ourselves. Those scales will make fine outfits. We'll be the envy of all the world!"

Singe was stricken with fright and roared as she shook the bars of her cage! "You monsters! We dragons have done nothing to you!" She took in a deep breath to try and breathe fire.

"Don't even think about it, dragon!" A fur trader hissed. "Those cages are fireproof, and this entire mountain is filled with gems powerful enough to weaken even the toughest of dragons. How do you think we captured your little raiding party so easily?"

"Even if you could escape, our armies are highly trained and equipped with the toughest armor known!" Another trader declared. "Your dragon lord should've been so smart, he should've negotiated with us. But instead he sent you all out unprotected. Oh well. His loss, our gain."

Scenes flashed by in the blink of an eye. Singe's fire breath did indeed have no effect on the bars of her cage, and neither did her claws. She tried time and time again to no avail, all the while she slowly became worn down and exhausted. Bags formed under her eyes. Her constant fire breathing soon took its toll. Her flames gradually reduced to embers and then she could no longer even blow smoke.

The scene that came next was a surprise to everyone. The familiar figure of Charcoal showed itself, as he appeared to be fighting the shadowy figures while opening the various cages (including the one Singe was in). He was quickly barking out orders to them. "Go! Go! Leave here and save yourselves! I can't hold these scale traders off for long!"

Singe seemed reluctant to leave. "Charcoal! Let me stay and fight with you! We can take them!"

Charcoal swung his tail, knocking several scale traders to the ground. But they were quickly replaced. "No, my dear!" He told Singe. "You must leave, now! Think of our child! We mustn't allow the scale traders to get to him or her!"

Singe reluctantly fled with tears in her eyes. "I'm coming back for you, Charcoal!" She vowed even though in her mind she knew coming back would be pointless, she would just be captured again. With her egg safely in tow, she rushed to the top of the mountain and held the egg close as she flew away!

Only once she was certain that she was out of range of the scale traders did Singe stop, finally allowing herself to catch her breath. She landed in a forest of some kind and rested on a ledge, carefully setting her egg down. Just then, a phoenix came swooping past with its sharp cry! Except for Singe (and Smolder) all watching the memory recognized the phoenix as Philomena, Princess Celestia's pet.

Singe gave a whistle, calling Philomena to her. "Take this egg to your master!" She instructed. "Do not come back for me, I won't be here!" 

Philomena gave a sharp cry, before dropping a small piece of parchment and shedding one of her wings. Singe then quickly scribbled something down on the parchment:

To whoever receives this letter,

Take good care of my only child, and protect the dragon inside it from all who would wish to do it harm.

Her claw writing was barely legible but Singe didn't care. She had no idea where this phoenix's master was or who she would deliver the egg and the note to, but anything was better than continuing to carry it with her. In her current condition she was in no shape to care for a child.

Philomena accepted the letter and the make-shift basket the egg was in. She then flapped her wings and flew away.

Several more memories flashed by, showing an exhausted Singe collapsing and shutting her eyes! She seemed to open them back up in an instant, flying out of the forest she was in and flying all the way back to the mountains she had once been imprisoned in. But the interior was empty now, the scale traders had left. There were traces of magic blasts, indicting a great skirmish that had unfolded long ago.

Perhaps realizing what this meant, Singe was seen flying towards Equestria. Upon seeing a phoenix soaring through the skies, Singe followed it not realizing it was the same phoenix to whom she had gifted her egg to long ago. Suddenly, she lost control and plummeted into the ground near the castle in Canterlot! The last thing that could be seen in her memories, was her frantically shouting! "Where's my child?!" Over and over again.





The memory playback ended a moment later and the room fell deathly silent once again. This time it was Singe who broke it. "I spent years on the run from the scale traders, until one day all that running caught up with me and I fell into a deep sleep," She somberly explained. "When I woke up, the scale traders had been evicted from their hideout. But by that point you had already hatched. I didn't even know your name until I arrived here and was informed by Princess Celestia that your egg had ended up in her care."

Spike seemed to be shocked by the revelation. "So, all this time... you not only abandoned me but didn't even know where I was? All this time, all I would've had to do to track you down was to ask Philomena and follow the trail from there?"

Smolder, meanwhile, shuddered with fright. "I always thought the scale traders were just a myth, especially when that Sludge guy mentioned them. I can't believe they were actually real! But what happened to them? I can't believe they'd just abandon their hideout like that."

Twilight gasped in realization! "Tempest must've caught up with them after the demise of the Storm King! She probably made it clear to them that with their boss no longer around, there was no need for them to continue their operations. And when they refused she probably took them down personally."

Starlight commented. "Seems like she's doing pretty well for herself, broken horn and all," And she turned to Twilight. "How come you haven't contacted her about the school yet?"

"Because she still needs time to spread the magic of friendship. And it seems she's still searching for the purpose in her life now that the Storm King is gone," Twilight replied to Starlight. "If Singe's memories are accurate though, she's already done not only Equestria but the entire world a favor by riding it of a network of heartless scale traders. Who knows how many innocent dragons they had locked up?"

Spike just looked down at the ground, clutching his claws. "I still can't believe it! All this time, my birth mother was hiding right under my very nose and I didn't even know it!" He growled, gritting his teeth. "And she couldn't even write her name on a note, or give me some kind of letter so I'd have some way to remember her by!"

"I couldn't risk the letter being intercepted! If the scale traders discovered it they would've tried to track you down to hurt you, just to get to me," Singe explained to Spike. "I had to go into hiding, spent years on the run. I gave you up because I thought that wasn't a life you deserved. It wasn't fair that you should have to be on the run with me, you deserved to be free to live your own life."

"Yeah, and that was the wisest decision you ever!" Spike retorted with a snort. "Look at me now! There's so much you've missed out on! So many years that have passed. And yet you seem to expect me to just accept all of that."

"My son..." Singe began.

But Spike cut her off. "Save it! You're not my mother! You gave me away while I was still just an egg! All my life I've been raised by ponies, including one who never planned to become my mother but did anyway! Twilight has been more of a mother to me than you ever will be." He stormed out of the throne room a moment later, much to the shock of everyone.





Being a dragon herself, Smolder felt she was the one who might best be able to get through to Spike. So she was the one who followed after him. She found him out in the castle courtyard where the crater left by Singe was still there, it had not yet been filled in and covered up.

But Spike wasn't looking at that. He was looking at his own reflection in the nearby fountain, angrily striking at the surface with his claws!

Smolder was a little bit intimidated by this display but she still crept forward anyhow. "Hey, Spike," She tried to politely greet him. "Figured you'd like a fellow dragon to talk to about things."

"Smolder, if Twilight or Singe have put you up to this you might as well forget it!" Spike protested without even turning around to look at her. "I've already made up my mind about who my real family is. I know Singe thinks she gave me up out of love, and maybe she did."

"What else would you call it? She didn't want you to live a life on the run with her, trying to get away from those scale traders," Smolder commented. "And I'm not here for anyone else, I'm here for you."

Spike appeared to be taken back by that statement. "Me?!"

Smolder nodded, slowly flying next to him. "You should be lucky, you know. Most dragons only get one mother, you get two."

"But Singe isn't my mother, not anymore. When she gave up my egg, she stopped being my mother as far as I'm concerned," Spike declared. "I don't hate her for doing that, but was it really too much to ask for some kind of letter explaining her decision? Some final words of farewell I could remember her by? She never even would've had to give me up if she hadn't gone off with those other dragons to try and rescue my father. I can only assume he's dead, unless maybe like Singe he's been in a deep sleep all this time and doesn't know I exist."

The orange scaled dragon just replied. "At least you know what your parents are like. And at least for your birth mother I got the sense she loved you. Do you know how many dragons would love to have even a little bit of that, well, love? I might as well be an orphan like Gallus."

"You have Ember looking out for you though, She could teach you about how to be a dragon," Spike bitterly commented. "Me? I spent years wondering if I was really a dragon, or just a pony in a dragon costume. And now out of nowhere, just as I've finally made peace with not knowing about my birth parents and being perfectly content with Twilight as my mother, along comes Singe to upend it all. And all these feelings I thought I was over all come back to haunt me in an instant!"

"That's not what you're really worried though, is it?" Smolder questioned Spike. "You're worried that if you open up your heart to her, it'll be just like when Sludge came along and pretended he was your long lost uncle."

Spike reluctantly nodded. "Her story seems a lot more believable than Sludge's, but deep down what if she's just using that so like Sludge she can take advantage of me? Most dragons I've met have been selfish brutes who cared only about themselves, it's part of the reason why I entered that Gauntlet of Fire to replace Torch. I couldn't let another dragon like Garble take the throne for himself, and keep giving dragons a bad name. But it seems like dragons like you, I, and Ember, are a very small percentage of all dragons. Part of me wants to believe Singe could be part of that percentage too, but another part of me thinks that's ridiculous."

Smolder was quick to reply. "I was afraid to let myself be open and accepting of other creatures when I first came here. I didn't think I'd ever have a need for friendship, that it was just something other creatures would use to make me vulnerable. But I quickly learned that you can't keep yourself sealed off and isolated, no one's an island. Opening up your heart does inevitably mean you're gonna get hurt, but it's a risk you to take if you want to experience true friendship and truly feel loved," Then she put a claw around Spike. "And you're the dragon who taught me that where you're from isn't as important as who you are. That family is what you make of it, and family is family no matter what. Maybe you can't help what kind of family you're born into, but you're not shackled by what your family is. You can control how your family defines you, and you can control who you make part of your own family."

Spike stood up as Smolder's words slowly sank in. "You're right, Smolder! Even if Singe is my birth mother, she's not my only mother! She doesn't have to define who I am. What matters is what's on the inside. And I can't let a bad experience keep me from ever being willing to consider someone else's offer to be a part of my family," Then he commented. "You're actually not half bad at those little friendship speeches."

"Probably because I hang out with you, and you spend so much time with Headmare Twilight," Smolder suggested. "Besides, in a way, I like to think we're family. We've shared a lot with each other, and I've even taught you how to fly."

"You were family before even then, Smolder!" Spike proudly declared. "Far as I'm concerned you were family the day you told me about the molt and invited me to hang out with you. Now come on, let's go find Singe!"





Singe was still in the throne room with Twilight, Starlight, and the princesses. She apparently hadn't left yet, but her eyes reflected a look of one deep in sorrow. Even so, she noticed when Spike (along with Smolder) entered. "Oh, it's you," She commented. "Spike. What a fitting name for you."

"Twilight chose it, actually," Spike admitted with a blush. "She says she doesn't know why but it just came to her."

But Twilight massaged the back of her neck with a hoof. "Well actually, it's because you were trying to pronounce Smarty Pants' name, after I sort of blew up on you for things you couldn't control. Prior to that you didn't have a name. It kind of runs in the Sparkle family though. My parents had a hard time coming up with a name for me."

Singe simply commented. "It's funny, actually. Spike was the name I agreed on for if my first born was a son. But then you already knew that from the memory spell."

Spike coughed into a claw. "Yeah, we all saw. No need to remind us," He looked deep into Singe's eyes. "I needed some time alone to think. Some time to be alone with my thoughts."

The elder dragon somberly interrupted. "-I know what you must think of me, Spike. I really don't deserve to call you my son anymore. At the time, all I could think about was getting away from those vile scale traders and ensuring they could never get to you. I considered you a burden, though not intentionally."

But Spike shook his head. "You did what you thought was best for the both of us at the time. I actually thought about doing the same for my mom when I started molting, especially after I caused her and some of my friends to be attacked by a vicious roc. Long story, actually."

Smolder added. "You kind of had to be there. You would've been so proud to see how Spike handled it though. I know my parents were pretty impressed the first time I breathed fire," She proceeded to mutter. "It's about the only time I can ever remember them even remotely being interested in what I did."

"And deep down, a part of me could never hate you no matter what," Spike went on as he looked at Smolder. "Probably because I've seen for myself what hate can do to other creatures."

"But do you forgive me? Or do you still want nothing to do with me at all?" Singe questioned as she looked at Spike. "I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to go on pretending I don't exist. Twilight has been an excellent mother, raised you far better than I could've ever done on my own. You belong with someone who understands you, someone who's been there for you and provided for you."

Spike nodded. "Yeah, I do. And that's what Twilight has been. But I'd be lying if I said I wanted nothing to do with you even after all of this. There are still so many things about being a dragon that I don't know about it. So many things that even Smolder and Ember can't teach me."

Singe suddenly found herself struggling not to stutter. "Spike... are you saying that, you want to learn from me about being a dragon?"

Spike nodded again. "Yes. And I want to show how dragons can live with ponies, because if you're gonna go back to the dragon lands you need to know that ponies and dragons are friends now. Most of them, anyway."

Smolder added with a chuckle. "Yeah. Unfortunately, there's always a few black sheep in every species. Can't help that though, you know. Everyone's responsible for their own actions."

"Well, I reckon I'll probably be staying in Canterlot for the foreseeable future," Singe replied to Spike as she gestured to her wings. "That crash landing took a lot out of me and I'll need a few days at least to recover. Your heart clearly belongs in Ponyville though, with Twilight and all the friends you've made. But if there's anything dragonish you're stumped on, you can write to me."

Twilight's eyes lit up! "You can arrange it through me, and we can be pen pals! Gosh, between you, Ember, and Starswirl, I'm gonna have to get a bigger mailbox."

"Especially with all that important mail Cozy Glow keeps getting," Starlight commented. "Apparently, her parents have very important, top secret jobs. So secret that even she doesn't know what they are."

Smolder shuddered. "That filly gives me the creeps. I don't know why, she just does."

Spike chuckled as he ribbed Smolder a little. "She's just a filly, not some diabolical mastermind. And certainly nothing like that scheming Sludge."

Celestia grinned. "It's funny you should mention Sludge, because not long after Luna payed him a visit in his dreams, I had the 'luck' to bump into that freeloader myself," She barely managed to hold back a giggle. "Let's just say I gave him more than a sunburn."

Luna chuckled back. "Since when did you get so devious, sister? I only wish you had been that way with me."

Celestia shook her head. "Sister, you know that what you did was on a level different from Sludge's. Though honestly, of all the evil scum I've encountered in my many years, Sludge has to take the cake for most pitiful. Even Sombra posed more of a threat, and we had no trouble taking him down in one blast."

Singe laughed. "I'd say Sludge got off lucky. If I'd gotten my claws on him, I'd give him the verbal beatdown of a life time. No one, and I mean no one messes with my son!"

"Feeling's mutual, Singe," Twilight responded. "It seems that as mothers we would both do anything to protect the little dragon in our care," And then she commented. "Congratulations, Spike. Now you have two mothers! You lucky son of a filly!"

"Don't I know it?" Spike chuckled and grinned. "What more could one dragon need?"

Twilight then coughed into a hoof. "Well, not that this hasn't been a touching reunion, but we really should get going. It's almost the end of the first year of my School of Friendship, and that means finals and lots of 'em!"