Family. Now that was a weird word to think about. While it looked like a simple word in theory, it was actually filled with many depths and meanings. Now, if you asked any random pony to define what 'family' meant, they'd simply laugh in confusion and simply say that family was those who were closest to you, who cared about you and were always there for you no matter what.
Spike was not any random pony though.
As the young purple and green dragon stared outside the window of the Castle of Friendship's library, he sighed in contemplation. Originally discovered on the outskirts of Equestria as an abandoned egg by students of the famed Princess Celestia, ponies who knew of his existence believed he may never be hatched.
Boy were they wrong.
It all started as a 'test' for the School of Gifted Unicorns in Canterlot to see whether any prestigious unicorn's magic would be able to successfully hatch the abandoned creature; many skilled magicians have tried and failed the test, claiming that the egg would be sealed forever.
Then, Twilight Sparkle came.
A lavender unicorn filly said to possess a very special gift in magic - even she had no success at hatching the egg at first, until a sudden sonic rainboom in the distance enhanced her magical abilities enough to give life to the forgotten dragon. Of course, Twilight's magic went haywire and turned her parents into plants, but she did pass after being calmed down by the regal ruler herself.
Then the dragon's well-being was placed into the care of the studious filly and history was made. Spike and Twilight did everything together in Canterlot. He had learned to read and write from her, he helped her with her studies, and most importantly, he and Twilight shared a special bond that no creature could break - no matter what obstacle came their way, they would always be together.
They had become a family.
But was she the only family he could ever have?
True there was Twilight's parents and her brother, Shining Armor, but he rarely saw them enough to consider them more than really close friends. No, Spike wanted others who he could always see, who he could always believe in.
Now, many years later in the small town of Ponyville, inside a not-so-small crystal castle, Spike sighed as he began to think of who his family was supposed to be. Who really cared for him?
Of course, Twilight is and always would be like a sister... mother?... sis-mother?.... Twilight, she would always be a Twilight to him and nothing made the dragon happier knowing that; but surely he had more than one mare to cherish, right?
Twilight's adventures in Ponyville had resulted in the creation of five very special friendships (eventually six if you counted her student). The six ponies had formed the Elements of Harmony - a special bond that has saved Equestria multiple times at this point and allowed Twilight to learn about the magic of friendship, even later becoming the proclaimed "Princess of Friendship". However, the bond also did something much more significant - it gave Twilight best friends - her family.
As Spike glanced outside to see the streets of Ponyville in the distance, he gave a soft sigh thinking about the other Elements. Over the several years the dragon and his nerdy... Twilight... have lived in the small town, he grew to love each of the girls with sincerity as he never saw Twilight so adventurous and full of life until she had met them, and for that he would always appreciate them for loving and encouraging her. And yet, it often seemed like that bond wasn't reciprocated to himself. On multiple occasions, Twilight and the girls would often go on fun adventures or various friendship activities while excluding the baby dragon from participating. True, the group did have their moments where they offered the olive branch of friendship to him and include him, but it seemed like those moments could be few and far between sometimes.
With the girls themselves, Spike never felt he had really connected with them independently. If he wasn't by Twilight's side whenever he was included, it was like he didn't exist. Was it because he was a boy and the girls felt awkward having him around? Was it because he was a dragon and they weren't used to a usually hostile creature? True, they were polite and friendly to him, but it felt more like a courteous act than anything else. Many questions dived into Spike's head, searching for a possible answer but only one conclusion came. He never really got the chance to truly bond with each one of them. He was simply their best friend's little brother...son?... this time Spike decided on brother. He was just the friend's little brother who occasionally tagged along and it pained for him to think like that, but he thought it was the truth.
As such, Spike could never really consider them part of his family.
At long last, Spike finally thought he had someone else to relate to - to consider family, and heck if it wasn't a bonus he was a dragon! He could finally learn what it meant to be a dragon in a world which had only previously contained colorful ponies who knew nothing about dragon culture. It was a dream come true!
Too bad, it only ended up being a horrible nightmare.
It all started a couple weeks ago when Spike and his recently new dragon-friend Smolder had discovered an adult dragon literally crash into the middle of Ponyville. He had called himself Sludge and despite his rough demeanor they could tell he was badly hurt.
So, with some help from his Twilight's family, they helped Sludge recover from his rather critical injuries until he was completely revitalized. The friends and him were all happy to know that they had helped someone in need and were about ready to properly wish him farewell until the older dragon revealed something that shook everyone to their very core.
He was Spike's father.
Spike currently closed his eyes in hurt, reflecting back on the memory. He should've known Sludge was lying from the very start. There were many hints and flaws that suggested he was deceiving all of them, but Spike foolishly accepted him without any trouble.
Sludge had gone off on a rather vague story that involved Spike's supposed mother disappearing for several years, leaving his egg behind with Sludge having gone off on some fantastical journey to reunite the family. Then Sludge had apparently been captured by 'scale collectors' for several years as he hid Spike's egg from his capturers, leaving the egg to eventually be found in Equestria.
Spike clenched his shaky fist in anger as he realized how pathetic Sludge's story actually was. Many of the ponies had even questioned some noticeable flaws in the tale - such as where his mother was, or how his egg made it to Equestria - but all Sludge did was weakly shrug off any inquiries. And Spike bought it.
From that point on, Sludge began to live in the castle as he 'attempted' to be the good father figure for his son, showing him what a 'true dragon was'. Spike could only snort in disgust as the thought of Sludge's teachings being beneficial made his mind recoil.
"Hoarding stuff? Massaging his feet? Sleeping outside while he sleeps comfortably in my bed?" he thought bitterly. "Yeah nothing like a true Dad there..."
But Spike was too blind by the aspect of finally having a parent, a dragon to himself. He even managed to snap at Twilight for disliking Sludge, who in reality was the one who was concerned about the baby dragon at all. He started to wipe away a few stray tears as he blamed himself for yelling at the only mare who gave him the time of day. He almost destroyed his one, true relationship for some destined fantasy that sounded too good to be true.
Fortunately, Spike's potential family destruction was prevented a few days ago when Sludge was discovered to have lied. He lied and purposefully took advantage of someone who thought he was their father just to live in some kind of rich palace! Because he did "what any real dragon would have done".
Spike pounded his fist on the nearby wall as he felt his emotions overflowing.
"He used me as a son for his own luxury! He made me think I knew who I was!" he internally roared.
But really, after Sludge had left a heartbroken Spike to ponder his true identity - he realized who he was all along. He had Twilight as a family and he had turned her away.
Thankfully, after Spike open-heartedly apologized for his actions while admitting Sludge's true intentions, Twilight embraced him with the full concern and love a mother...sister... Twilight had as he knew from that moment on that he always had her. Spike smiled back at this in fondness as he knew she would always be there.
Now back to the present though, a few days after Sludge's big reveal, Spike looked back out the window and frowned in contemplation again. He knew who he was, he knew that Twilight was his family and they would always have each other, but none of those things were problems anymore.
The problem now was that Sludge had made him think he could have more of a family than just Twilight and that thought ate him up inside. He thought he had someone else to love and appreciate, to open his heart up to, but it had all been nothing more than some cruel joke.
Spike looked down at his claws with a concentrated look as he tried to think.
"Can I ever have more than one in my family?"
"Spike? Are you ok?" a concerned voice echoed from behind the now sulking dragon. Spike did his best to hide the pain he was feeling before turning around to discover two ponies in front of him, both faces etched with worry for the poor creature. Twilight was the first one while the other was a unicorn with a lilac coat as well as purple mane and tail - Starlight Glimmer.
Starlight, once a cold and diabolic dictator with the goal of ensuring cutie marks would never separate friends soon saw the errors of her ways and became the newly crowned princess of friendship's pupil. Ever since Starlight moved into the castle with him and Twilight, he actually grew really close to her as a friend; sure it took a while for her to open up to others, but the dragon soon discovered that she was a very articulate and intelligent mare who also had a heart of gold deep down that could protect her friends whenever they needed her. Plus she had a sarcastic and witty personality, which she and Spike both admired about each other as they would often pester an annoyed alicorn much to her own chagrin.
"Yeah Spike, are you feeling ok? You've been like this for days now." spoke the aforementioned unicorn, displaying as much of a caring expression as Twilight did.
Spike tried to hide his real issues with an awkward smile, but upon further staring into the eyes of the two ponies in front of him, he could tell they weren't buying it as his face fell with an audible sigh.
"Just thinking about...what happened recently." spoke a dejected Spike, telling the half-truth as he didn't want to worry the two magic-wielders with his still apparent concerns about family.
"Oh, Spike." cooed a motherly Twilight. "I'm so sorry about what happened with Sludge. I know you wanted to find out abou..." she began before a dragon quietly shushed her.
"Hey, hey. It's not about that. I already told you that I know who I really am and I wouldn't change that for the world" he said, displaying a sincere moment of warmth as he wanted to reassure Twilight the best as he could.
Twilight seemed more relaxed before a frowning Starlight spoke up, "But still, just because that issue is over doesn't negate the fact that Sludge used and hurt you..." a scowl appearing on her face near the end of her exclamation.
Spike took notice at Starlight's apparent anger with curiosity, "Starlight?"
The unicorn in response quickly shook her head before sighing with a more resentful look, "Sorry. I'm just angry he hurt you like that. You're like a brother to me and I hate to see you like this. I swear if that creature ever steps foot here again I'll..." she began muttering before Spike, with a look of surprise on his face drew her attention.
"Wait, wait! Back up. What was that?" he asked, Twilight and Starlight both looking at him in confusion.
"I'm angry?" Starlight cautiously questioned.
"After that."
"I want to hurt him?"
At this, Spike and Twilight glanced at each other in concern.
"Ok...before that."
"You're like a brother to me?" Starlight finally guessed correctly.
Spike nodded his head in confirmation. "Yeah that!" he exclaimed before he froze and looked down at himself in nervous thought.
"Am I...really like a brother to you?" he almost whispered.
At this utterance, Starlight's eyes widened before she wrapped a hoof around his frame and gave him a soft embrace with a warm smirk, Twilight smiling appreciatively in the distance.
"Of course I am, ya big goof!" she quipped before her smirk was replaced with a serious frown. "Why would you ask that?"
Spike nervously rubbed his claws together as the two ponies once again gazed at him with concern and questioning. It looks like he wouldn't even be able to keep his half-truth for very long as he knew they would keep on bugging him until they got their answer.
"Well, it's just that...I didn't think anypony besides Twilight cared for me like family." he admitted.
A lilac hoof rushed underneath his chin to draw his gaze upwards towards the face of a very serious big sister.
"Spike, of course I see you as family. You and I have made some great memories over the years. You've helped me a lot, especially with some of my...earlier friendship missions." she rubbed her other front hoof sheepishly remembering the failures and problems she caused by worrying about her friendships. "You've helped me grow into the mare I am today and I will always be there for you when you need me." she concluded her speech warmly as she suddenly found a slightly teary-eyed dragon tackling her into a hard hug which she happily returned.
Twilight felt tears threatening her muzzle at the heartwarming display before a thought suddenly sprang in her head.
"Spike. Of course you have other family! What about the girls?" she asked inquisitively.
Spike instantly knew who Twilight was referring to: Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy.
The elements.
The dragon stopped the hug as his focus shifted towards the alicorn. He displayed a downcast expression as he spoke.
"They're not really family. We're not even that close. I'm more like their best friend's little brother who they tolerate for a little while." he concluded glumly, much to the apparent horror of Twilight and the wide-eyed concern of Starlight.
"Spike," Twilight began, "you can't honestly believe that. They love you like family" she said, Starlight nodding in agreement.
Spike let out a sarcastic snort at the comment.
"Yeah, right. All those adventures, parties, and hang-outs I wasn't invited to. Just like family." he countered.
Twilight's eyes softened in sympathy, seeing the dragon admit his true heartache.
"Spike, that was mostly my fault. I've honestly forgotten to invite you to a lot of times; but the girls do care. A lot actually- they always wonder where you are or why you weren't invited."
Spike at this, only rolled his eyes.
"Ok, that still doesn't excuse the fact that they never offer me to hang out with them on their own." he muttered.
Starlight finally decided to step into the conversation as she suddenly had an idea from Spike's own admittance.
"Have you ever asked them?" she asked simply.
He sharply froze as the air sucked out of his lungs.
"What?" was all Spike could say as he and Twilight both froze and glanced at Starlight in surprise.
"Have you ever asked any of the girls yourself?" she repeated before elaborating, "Maybe they're just unsure how to approach you alone, seeing as Twilight's always with you" she theorized, grabbing Spike's attention.
"I...I guess I haven't" Spike stuttered, never realizing he hadn't made the push to find out himself. Was he afraid to approach the other girls or had he just assumed they would never want anything to do with him? Either way, it was a new development the dragon hadn't anticipated.
"Then maybe it's time for you to bridge the gap. Make the effort with each of them." Starlight proposed, thinking that the dragon approaching them might alleviate any setbacks the ponies had consulting him one-on-one.
Spike's mind began to sweat as an alarming realization came to mind.
"What if they reject me?"
As Spike began battling with his mind, Twilight suddenly felt a light-bulb go off inside of her head as she had a plan on how to help Spike's relationship with the girls.
"Spike!" she exclaimed, snapping him out of his train of thought.
"I have an idea! You should go on a journey!"
"A journey?" Spike was puzzled. "That didn't exactly work out the last time when I went to the Dragonlands..." he remembered his first solo quest to discover the other dragons after the dragon migration. That didn't end well as he found himself with Twilight, Rainbow, and Rarity running away from a whole bunch of teenage dragons all while holding a non-smashed phoenix egg.
Come to think of it, why did his adventures involving dragons always involve some sort of identity crisis?
"No, no. Nothing like that. I meant here in Ponyville. Think of it more like a friendship mission!" Twilight replied.
"A friendship mission?" Spike asked with a pique of interest.
Twilight nodded. "As the Princess of Friendship, I order you, Spike, to go visit each of the five remaining elements. Spend some quality time with them and tell them about what happened to your 'father'" she quoted in disgust. "I'm sure they're curious as to what happened and would be able to help you through it" she spoke with an aura of wisdom in her voice.
The wisdom was cut short by a snarky unicorn.
"Can you really order friendship missions?" Starlight asked, with a smirk and one eyebrow raised.
Twilight gave a friendly glare to her student before focusing back on Spike.
"Ok, maybe not order, but I'd still like you to go. Even if it takes a couple of days, or a week, or longer. I think it'd be good for you"
Spike's mind came to a halt as he pondered what the princess had previously said.
"Wait, they don't know about Sludge?" he questioned.
Twilight shook her head no as she elaborated, "I figured you could be the one to do it."
Spike however seemed skeptical about this and looked at Twilight with a slight dejection in his voice.
"I don't know Twilight. I'm not sure I want to have 15 seconds of pity before the six of you go out on another adventure." he reasoned with a noticeable sense of hurt in his voice.
"Spike, I promise you that I know they care about you. Trust me, I think you could learn quite a lot from doing this."
"What if they just say that?" his mind echoed.
Spike didn't say anything in response, still mulling over the idea. He did have to admit though he grew more tempted at the idea.
"You should at least try." Starlight reasoned.
Twilight, seeing Spike's apprehension and remembering his earlier remarks about abandonment decided to sell the deal.
"You know what, Spike? If you do this, you can release any vent up feelings or doubts you have about the girls. Releasing the stress could be very cathartic and knowing you've been holding it in for years, I'll gladly vouch for you to the others if something goes wrong or they get mad, but I don't think they're going to. Besides, if you open up, maybe that'd help improve your relationships." she spoke in a very business-like tone, trying to appease the dragon's rebuttals.
Spike's eyes widened at that thought. Twilight inwardly smiled as she knew she had him.
"You mean if I was upset about anything they did, I could tell them?" Spike awed, much akin to a child discovering an endless supply of ice cream.
"Mmm hmm" Twilight nodded.
"And I could even spend time with each of them?" Spike asked, eyes glowing brighter.
"I'd finally have closure... I wouldn't have to live in doubt?!" his brain echoed.
"You can have as much time as you need. I'll send you a letter to check in with you every once in a while, but besides that, it's your mission." she nodded sagely.
Spike finally made up his mind. "Alright, I'll do it..." he began before he paused for a split second, "...but what if you're wrong? What if the others don't care or they get mad or..." he rambled before a warm lavender hoof embraced him.
"Then you can always come home, but I know you can do this. And trust me when I say, I think you'll have a family." she spoke with upmost confidence, getting Spike to agree with the usually anxious princess despite his own worries about the mission.
Another hour had passed, before the dragon found himself outside the castle, with a decent-sized (but surprisingly easily manageable) backpack on his back as he looked back at the two ponies formally wishing him good luck.
Starlight approached him and wrapped him in a hug, "Good luck and stay out of trouble." she lightly chastised.
"Who, me?" Spike innocently asked before the two broke out in infectious laughter.
They soon hugged again.
"See you soon, bro."
Spike felt his eyes quivering as he tightened his grip on the hug.
"See you soon... sis."
Then, Spike approached Twilight who tackled him into an over-affectionate hug.
"You'll do great, Spike! I know you've never really felt you had opportunity to be with the girls on your own before. That's why I'm so happy you're going now. I hope you can see how much they love you, almost as much as I do." she softly whispered.
"Thanks Twilight. I... I appreciate you doing this. I love you." he spoke warmly.
"I love you too." she replied, both wishing this hug could last forever before Twilight slowly pulled away.
"Now go see the rest of your family!" she proclaimed with a hoof-wave goodbye, Starlight joining her.
Spike waved a hearty goodbye as well, before taking off towards the center of town.
"A family..." Spike thought, his feet carrying him away from the castle.
"Would they even see me as one?" he debated, before steeling his resolve and setting out on what may not be the most epic quest, but perhaps the most important one.