Has it been three whole years since I lived here? It still feels like yesterday...
Spike reached out to the front door of his foster family's house, then pulled his forepaw back again.
"Hmm. Now that I can fly, I guess I can reach the doorbell," he said to himself. "That's not how they remember me, though." He reached out again to knock.
Shave and a-hair cut... two bits, echoed the rhythm, then he cringed. "Yikes. That's just what a little foal would do. Well, or Pinkie," he mumbled. "No, no, it's fine. I'm just overthinking—"
A familiar eye briefly appeared in the peephole, and Night Light threw the front door open with such gusto Spike jumped ten hooves into the air.
"Spike!" said Night Light, then he looked down in confusion. "Wait. Where'd he go?"
"Up here," said Spike, gently flapping his magical wings. "Sorry, you startled me."
"Honey, Spike is home!" called Night Light, grinning widely.
"Hay Night. It's great to be... er, home again," said Spike.
"Come in, come in!" announced Night, ushering the little dragon through the doorway. Spike flew in, grateful Rarity had specially designed the backpack he wore to accommodate his wings.
Twilight Velvet came trotting down the stairs, nearly at a canter. "Hello Spike," she called in a warm voice. "We've missed you so."
"Come look, dear. He's grown so much!" said Night.
Spike touched down on the floor and stretched his back. "I don't think I'm any bigger, to be honest."
"Well, you've still grown so much... wings?" said Night.
Twilight Velvet smiled as she approached the door. "He may not be bigger, but he's still grown up," she said. "I can tell just from the way you hold yourself, Spike. We're so proud of all you've done for Equestria."
"Not to mention the Crystal Kingdom! That statue of you is just enormous. We took pictures of it when we visited Shining Armor and Cadence last Autumn. Have them hanging on the wall in the den."
"Heh, thanks," said Spike, sheepishly grinning. "So, um, I take it Twilight—Sparkle, obviously—told you she thinks I should live here. For the next few years, I mean."
"Told us? It was our idea," said Night. "Well, Velvet's mainly, but I agreed with her."
Velvet rolled her eyes. "He always agrees with me."
"It's hard not to when you're always right, dear," he replied with a wink at his wife.
Spike chuckled. "You guys haven't changed a bit," he said. "Wow. So many memories."
"We've prepared your room for you, though I suppose it's a bit antiquated. Do you still read comics?" asked Night.
"Some of them, sure!" said Spike. "Though I don't sleep in a pet bed anymore. I mean, I can if I have to..."
"Nonsense. Sparkle warned us. We already moved a proper bed in there so you can get some rest. Here, let me take your things," said Velvet.
"It's fine, I can take them upstairs. You don't mind if I rest for a bit before we talk do you? I have so much to tell you, but I'm a little tired from being up late," he said.
"Of course, dear!" said Velvet. "We'll just call you for lunch in an hour, will that do?"
"Perfect," said Spike, and he flew up the stairs to his old room. Once inside, he tossed his backpack on the bed and shut the door. The doorknob featured a locking mechanism, which was new.
"Eh, better not use it just yet," he said. "Don't want to get too familiar."
The room was almost exactly as Spike remembered it. He'd shared the room with Twilight Sparkle until she was in her mid-teens and the parents moved her into Shining's old room, then they let him have it to himself. There were four posters still on the walls, right where he'd left them: the Wonderbolts, the Royal Guard, an illustration of Burnferno, and an old poster from a movie he couldn't remember well. His box of old toys was still there by the wall.
"Weird. I can't believe they never put all this stuff away. Why would they leave it all up like this?"
Spike heard a strange rattling sound, then looked down and noticed his rear paw was shaking a little. He walked over to the corner of the room and sat down, wrapping his tail around his legs. Then he began to rock back and forth as his mind wandered.
He stayed in that position until the call came for lunch.
Stifling a belch, Spike pushed his plate away. "The food was great! You always spoiled us with your cooking, Night."
"Oh, that's sweet of you," said Twilight Velvet. "You know, when you were just a hatchling we considered hiring a chef, but Nighty wouldn't hear of it. He took culinary classes on the weekends. I don't know if Sparkle remembers it."
"I doubt Twily remembers, but Shining used to help me in the kitchen. He mostly got underhoof, but he really wanted to contribute," said Night. "I took the classes to improve my skills, but I also knew I'd be cooking for five and I wanted to be prepared."
"We had no idea how picky you might be. We didn't even know what you would eat! Princess Celestia told us that dragons were omnivores, and that was about all we had to go on," said Velvet.
"Heh. It probably didn't take long to figure out I'd eat just about anything. I vaguely remember locks on the trash cans," said Spike. "Unless it's gems, I don't really have a taste for it, but I knew your cooking was first rate. Twilight—er, Little Twilight of course—and Shining would always brag about it to their friends."
"I'd say don't give Nighty an ego, but it's far too late for that," said Velvet, poking him teasingly in the ribs. "Oh, Spike. We've really missed you."
"Yeah, me too! Empty nest syndrome, huh?" asked Spike, and then he grimaced. "Er, that was rude."
"No, it's true," said Night, leaning back in his chair a little. "When you both left—"
"It was so sudden!" interrupted Velvet. "It was supposed to be for just a weekend, and then it became a relocation. We almost said 'no', but Twilight was an adult, and when the Monarch of Equestria makes a request... well, you know."
"Right, right," said Spike, looking nervously at the wall as Night Light skillfully collected the plates with telekinesis. They hovered in the air surrounded by his pale aura.
"The meal isn't over yet! Be back in a jiff," he said, trotting off to the kitchen.
Spike looked over at Twilight Velvet. She stared fondly at him. "We're so proud of you, Spike. You know that, don't you?"
He smiled. "Yeah, I guess..." he said, and didn't notice the large bowl of gems until Night had set it down right in front of him. "Whoa! These are for me?" Spike licked his lips energetically with his prehensile tongue.
"Yep! The two of us are already full," said Night Light. "See, it's funny because we're not dragons."
"He gets it, hon," said Velvet, dryly.
He greedily eyed the gems, then paused. "Wait, this is really expensive, isn't it?"
"We're rich, Spike," said Velvet. "We were rich even before our children became royalty, and now we're obscenely rich."
"We still don't like wasting money, but dessert for our favorite dragon is worth the expense," said Night. "But she's right about the royal thing. We have official titles now, even. It's kind of ridiculous."
Spike chuckled, fondling a ruby from the bowl. "Yeah. I think I'm an Archduke, or something? Whatever that means." He opened his mouth to take a bite, then tossed it back in the bowl with the others.
"What's wrong, dear? We didn't get the wrong kind, did we? Velvet had her chin propped up in her hooves as she watched him.
"Hmm? Oh, no. There isn't a wrong kind, really, although some are much better than others," said Spike. "I'm just, um..."
"Oh, that's good," said Night Light, trotting over to take a seat by his wife's side. "We were worried you'd been spoiled by that tram—oof!"
One of Velvet's forehooves was hidden beneath the table. She glared at her husband. "What Nighty meant to say is we worried you'd have developed a more selective palate with that gem-miner... friend of yours."
Spike smiled shyly. "Ah, right. Sis—I mean, Twilight—um, not you, the Princess—Sparkle told me," he stammered, looking back up at his foster parents. "She told me you weren't a fan of Rarity."
Velvet nodded, and her ears lay flat against her mane. "She's a grown mare, and you're just a baby—"
"Young," corrected Night.
"Young dragon, Spike. And Sparkle told us how she used to exploit your crush on her."
Spike sighed and pushed the bowl of gems toward the center of the table. "Look, you don't know Rarity. She's a warm and generous pony and I was glad to spend time with her. She didn't mean any harm, she's just a little thoughtless sometimes," said Spike. "She's already apologized for everything, and I know the crush was dumb. She's just not used to being around..." His voice trailed off.
"Dragons?" asked Night.
Spike winced. "Foals," he said, covering his face in his claws. "I mean, children in general. She knew I was just a whelp, but she never thought of me as a child because I looked so different from pony foals. Also, I kinda did everything I could to keep her from seeing me that way."
"That's hardly an excuse," said Night. "Not that you aren't mature in your own way, of course."
"Rarity doesn't even get along with foals," said Spike, putting his forelegs back down on the table. "She's a little high-strung and worries about what might happen to her work. Like how Sparkle gets... well, Rarity's not nearly as intense, but with her it's almost all the time. She barely gets along with her little sister."
"Hmph. Well, you must have been very responsible for her to trust you, I suppose," said Velvet.
"I guess. It doesn't matter now. I miss her, and I'm sure she misses me too, but it's probably for the best," said Spike, frills drooping.
"I never should have let this happen," said Velvet, frowning. "When we heard our daughter was moving to Ponyville, we didn't realize she'd be down there for so long. She's always been very mature, and technically she was an adult, but she isn't your mother."
Spike looked directly into his foster mother's eyes. "Well, what are you?"
Night Light coughed.
His wife pulled her lips tightly into a line and waited through a pregnant pause, then spoke. "I'm... well, I was your... caretaker, Spike. I suppose I still am."
"Caretaker, right. And what am I?" said Spike. His wings unfurled behind him, brushing the back of the chair.
"A dragon?" said Night.
"Dear, please," said Velvet.
Night Light nervously cleared his throat. "Sorry."
"Look, I love both of you. You did everything for me when I was younger, but..."
"We would do anything for you, Spike," said Velvet. "Even now. We shouldn't have let you go to Ponyville alone. We should have moved there to take care of you."
"Why? You have active social lives here, and you weren't obligated to care for me anymore," said Spike. "It was just the empty nest, wasn't it? I was fine with Twilight. It was fine there. Everything was fine." He sniffled and looked down at the table.
Night glanced over at his wife before speaking. "No, Velvet is right. We should have moved to Ponyville. Or we should have made you stay here with us."
"We failed you, Spike. We failed as..."
"Caretakers, of course," said Spike, rolling his watering eyes. "Glorified pet owners, really."
"You were NOT a pet," said Night, his eyes suddenly fiery.
Spike shrugged. "Maybe. I was at first, wasn't I?"
"We didn't know what you were!" said Velvet, and she shook her head. "Spike, we didn't even know dragons were people. When you started speaking Ponish, we were floored."
"Oh. You really didn't know what to expect?" asked Spike.
"Your... well, Velvet gave Princess Celestia an earful over it," said Night. "That royal high-horse was not used to ponies standing their ground with her."
"It's true. And after she sent you away and we found out you were staying in Ponyville with Sparkle permanently, I gave her something for her other ear," said Velvet. "No, we didn't know what to expect. We saw it as some kind of trial to toughen us up, so we'd be prepared for the hardships she'd send our daughter's way. It was... unnerving, at first."
"It was more than 'unnerving'. I was terrified!" said Night Light. "We'd heard stories that dragons eat ponies. And she wanted a newborn dragon to bond with our daughter? She was only six years old! The test they put her through was already traumatizing enough."
"Yeah, about that. Turns out it was supposed to be a test on handling failure," said Spike. "Celestia didn't expect me to be hatched. I don't think she even knew the egg was fertile."
"Sounds like her," said Velvet, frowning.
"Well, she did hatch you, because our daughter can apparently work miracles, and then we had a new mission. You were a strange fire-breathing creature in our house. You know, I'm still petrified of dragons—other than you, of course."
"To be fair, you're frightened by a lot of things," said Velvet. "Not that taking care of a dragon is an irrational fear, of course, but last week you were afraid to get into bed when I forgot to make it that morning and the loose covers vaguely resembled a timberwolf."
Night narrowed his eyes. "Spike, you had to see it. That blanket was possessed," he said, posture stiffening defensively. "Maybe I'm a little skittish, fine. I got over my fear of you pretty quickly, though. You were just so darned adorable," he said, smiling. "Our adorable little fire hazard."
"I know I was hard to manage," said Spike sighing. "I almost burned down the house, what, three times?"
"Four, but nopony was counting," said Night, brushing it aside.
"You withdrew from us quite a bit when you were eight, which made things harder. We were able to set boundaries with you, but... we realized we needed to be more involved in your life, and tried to get closer. Then you pushed us away. We weren't prepared for that," said Velvet. "Foals and whelps don't come with instruction manuals."
"It'd be pretty weird if they did," added Night, then he scowled at what must have been an imaginary Princess Celestia seated next to Spike. "Dragons raise themselves, said the 'infallible' princess. We assumed you needed space to do that."
Spike covered his face in his claws, then looked back up, brow furrowed in thought. "Velvet, what did you say to her after we moved to Ponyville?"
"That? I expressed my... displeasure with the idea of my daughter being responsible for raising you," she said. "Sparkle was ready for adult responsibilities. She wasn't ready to be a mother."
"Oh, she expressed it alright! I'll never forget it. Right there in the throne room, guards sent away by my darling wife's request, then she walks right up to that pompous horse and says, 'Princess, you don't know what the b—'," said Night, before Velvet's hoof interrupted his muzzle.
"Ahem. To paraphrase, I said she didn't know what she was doing, more or less. This time it was different, though. I've never seen a pony that enraged before or since, Spike. Princess Celestia can be much scarier than a baby dragon, or even a dragon the size of this house!" said Velvet. "I didn't know what would happen to me. Before I could react, Nighty leaped between us and stared her down."
"Stared her up is probably more accurate," he added. "I kind of blocked that part of the story from my noggin, so I don't remember any details. But, y'know, she's pretty tall."
Spike rubbed his eyes with the back of his paw, mopping away some wetness. "Wow. What happened?"
"She backed down and apologized, to her credit. She actually agreed she had no idea what she was doing, but she needed to try something, anything, to help our daughter reach her potential. Something about friendship, prophecy, yadda yadda yadda," said Velvet, spinning her hoof in the air. "I could tell she was hurting, though. She felt responsible for Sparkle's social ineptness. She felt like a mother, and even though it was completely misplaced, I understood. So I told her I thought she did the right thing with our daughter. Just not with you."
"And we should have followed up. We thought it's what you wanted, but it wasn't what you needed..." said Night, and then he paused. "Spike, did you call Twily 'Sis' earlier?"
Spike closed his eyes tightly. "Y-yeah. I mean, I kind of think of her, and Shiny..."
"You're a part of our family, Spike," said Velvet, reaching over to hold his forepaw in her hoof. "I wish we could be your parents..."
"Then why weren't you?" said Spike, looking up angrily as he yanked his paw away. "You said Twily shouldn't be my mom, and she's not! I just... I just want parents."
"We would be that in a heartbeat for you! We're just not dragons," said Night Light. "We can't give you what you need. We never could, and we knew that. It felt wrong to pretend otherwise."
Spike reached over and grabbed a napkin from the table and mopped his eyes with it. "I don't want you to be dragons. Most dragons are terrible parents! They take care of whelps, but after the first molt young dragons get kicked out of the den and have to fend for themselves," he said. "When I molted, I was afraid Twilight would do that to me—Twily, I mean—but I've always been afraid of being without a family. Being sent away is my worst fear. Pinkie says it's 'canon' or something."
"I'm so sorry. We never should have let you go. Horsefeathers," cursed Velvet, prompting a blush from her husband.
Spike sighed, the exhaustion in his voice almost palpable. "Did Twily ever tell you about the time some deadbeat dragon pretended to be my dad so he could steal from us?" asked Spike.
"Nope! But let me know what he looks like so I can kick him in the face if I ever meet him," said Night, nonchalantly. "What an ingrate! I'd be thrilled to be your father, Spike. All three of our children are national heroes, for crying out loud—but just to be clear, it has nothing to do with accomplishments. We raised you, and we love you. You're ours."
Spike finished drying his eyes and coughed, prompting the tiniest tinge of flame to swirl in front of him. "Really? I know I didn't make it easy. I guess I never mentioned it, but... I do remember pushing you away. I really thought I was your child until I was maybe seven or eight. Then one day it dawned on me how different I was. I slept in a dog bed. I'm even a dog in an alternate universe..."
"Is that a comic?" asked Night.
"No, it's real, but it's a long story. But yeah, I was just a little whelp when I suddenly realized I was a pet. A curiosity. I wasn't worth what they were," said Spike, dabbing again at his cheeks even though the tears had stopped flowing.
"Oh, that's not true, Spike," said Night. "I hope you know that now."
"I do, but... you let me raise myself, then you tried to get close to me. Of course I resented it! What was the point of growing attached to you if I didn't really have a Mom and Dad? It was like we were all just playing pretend. A game of 'house'. It hurt," he admitted. "I really wish I'd had the courage to tell you when I was still here."
"Is that all you wanted from us?" said Velvet, smiling with shining eyes. "You've always been one of our children, Spike. True, not at first, but as soon as we knew you were sapient. We didn't want to deprive you of your heritage, but we love you... Son."
Twilight Velvet reared up and spread her forelegs for a hug. As Spike looked up to her, he could see fear in her eyes, but it wasn't fear of who or what he was. It was a kind of fear he knew too well: the same fear of rejection he'd kept bottled up inside him for eleven long years in this house.
So Spike the dragon reached out to his Mother and cried in her legs, gratefully emptying a little more of that silly bottle within.