//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: Flurry Heart’s Story: Go North, Young Dragon 
// by AleximusPrime 
//------------------------------//

Spike and Buttercream sat outside with everypony, discussing everything from the separation of their eggs to Spike’s family origins.  She held in her hands the remains of her own egg along with Spike’s, which was lent to her by Princess Celestia.
“It’s not just the colors of the eggs that matter.  See these little markings on the undersides?” she asked.
“Yours has the same scratch marks?  So that’s how you knew we’re related!” Spike replied, examining the eggs.
“After they were laid, Dad branded them with scratch marks like all the Northerns do to avoid confusion.  Our siblings have the same ones on their eggs.”
“Wait, so Spike has other siblings?” Trixie asked.
“Yup!  Two brothers and a sister!”
“So there’s more of us?  What are they like?” Spike asked Buttercream.
“Oh Spike, you’ll love them!  First there’s Singe: he’s a bit older than us and he’s the jokester and kid of the group.  Then there’s Scorch: he’s a such lovable jock and is really good at wrestling.  Then the oldest, Barb: she’s the responsible one and keeps the other two in line.  They’re all really close and you should have seen how happy they were when they found out I was one of their long lost eggs!”
“Awww!  So then you and Spike are the babies!  And what are his parents like?” Pumpkin asked.
“Chara, our mother is the kindest, gentlest dragon I’ve ever met. She’s such a great mother!  King Smite, our dad is a great big, rough, tough, strong guy but a real softy deep down.  And the coolest thing is, he looks a bit like you, Spike.  That’s also how I could tell you were my brother!”
“Wow really?  Gosh, it must run deep in the...wait…did you say, king? Our dad is a king?  I’M A PRINCE?!”
“Hehe, they don’t always use that term for the kids unless it’s the oldest one.  Barb is usually called ‘princess’ cuz she’s gonna be queen one day.  But yeah, we’re technically royals!”
“SPIKE!  YOU’RE A PRINCE!!”  Flurry said, hugging her dragon protector.
“Sweet Mother of Twilight!  What more is there we need to know about Spike’s origins?” asked Starlight.
“Oh you have no idea, Starlight!  There’s so much I didn’t know this entire time that I’m still finding out!” Buttercream told him.
“I can’t believe I’m finding all this out!  This is unbelievable!” Spike said as he fell back on the ground and stared up at the clouds, taking in all this news.
“Hehe, sorry if I’m laying a bit much on ya.  I’ve been waiting a while for it,” Buttercream said, lying down next to him.
“No, no, it’s okay.  At least this is way more believable than Sludge’s story.”
“That’s the second time I’ve heard you mention him.  Who’s Sludge?”
“A dragon that came to Ponyville years ago and told me he was my dad.  His story wasn’t very convincing, but his tears managed to sway us.  Turns out he wasn’t my dad, he just wanted to live in the castle and mooch off of us.”
“Oh gosh.  That must’ve been rough.”
“Yeah, but now I have you, Butter.  Do you mind if I call you that?”
“Hehe, sure.  My family’s always called me that for short.”





“Okay, well I always wondered about my parents, I just wasn’t sure where I could start looking for them.  I didn’t know about Nordo Dracos for the longest time, but how did we manage to stay apart so long?”
“A lot of reasons.  On my end, I was so close to my family and things just always got in the way by chance.  There’s a lot more to that I could tell you when you meet my unicorn family another day, but one thing is clear: the dragons and ponies were pretty divided after Luna’s banishment, so that didn’t help.  There’s a lot of weird politics behind the whole division.  Even after Luna returned and the dragons started opening up to Equestria again, it took a while for everyone to come back together, but thanks to Twilight, it’s all good now!”
“Did Celestia ever figure out my egg came from Nordo Dracos?”
“Well she said the roc she rescued you from was flying northwest when it went by Canterlot mountain, so she got the direction mixed up. It must’ve circled back when it realized it dropped my egg over near the Unicorn Range where Daleshire can be found.”
“That does make sense,” Sunburst said, stroking his chin. “Daleshire is right between Nordo Dracos and Canterlot.”
“Why would the roc carry your eggs for so long?” Annie asked Buttercream.
“I think it was taking us to feed to its babies.  Adult rocs can go for a long time without any food so the mother wouldn’t have eaten us.  It could have been flying out there for days and its babies could have been on some random island on the East Coast.  They tend to go after large fish in the ocean but sometimes they prefer dragon eggs and will search far and wide for them.”
“So Buttercream, you never figured out your egg was stolen by a roc?” asked Pound.
“We never would have guessed it since me and my unicorn family didn’t know about them.  My unicorn brother Nightwatch found me in a forest and hatched my egg.  Spike and I may be twins but Princess Celestia said Twilight used enough magic to cause Spike to hatch a bit earlier than expected.  He’s two days older than I am.”
“Interesting.  Celestia was too afraid to tell me about the roc until after I met one right when I got my wings.  She didn’t know they’d be attracted to dragons going through their molt phase,” Spike explained.  “It’s too bad she never figured out where I came from.  If that roc was flying northwest, I’m guessing she went to Torch’s realm to ask them about me?”
“Yeah.  At that time, Torch had all the migrating dragons in a volcanic island in the ocean on the East Coast and Celestia thought you might have come from there. She went and asked him, but they weren’t very welcoming since those dragons hated ponies then, so she didn’t stay long.  She was afraid you’d be worse off with dragons so she just kept you herself.”
“That was another thing she kept from me when I was little and I can see why now.  Twilight told her how I was venturing off to find the migratory dragons back when I was a kid.  Celestia tried warning me by sending me a note through my magic fire, but then Garble scoffed when he read it and threw it into the lava.  They weren’t too great when I first saw them either.  The migrators were pretty nasty for a while. It took some time for them to warm up to us, and now even those guys are tight with Equestria thanks to dragons like Ember and Smolder.”
“Oooh, you know Ember?”
“Yup!  Ember and I are good friends and I actually helped her win the scepter and become the new leader. I wish I could show you Smolder, but she’s vacationing right now.”
“Awesome!  I never got to meet any of the migrators, but I got to meet a lot of other really great dragons over the years!”
“Buttercream, I don’t get it,” asked Chip. “What makes the migratory dragons different from all the other dragons like the Northern Drakes?”
“Well the migratory dragons are just a huge mix of breeds lead by Ember, but there are four major purebreds: there’s me and Spike’s kind, the Northerns that have spikes down their head and back but no horns, the Southerns who do have horns like Ember and her dad, the Easterns which have snake-like bodies and no wings, and then the Westerns which have no arms but really huge wings and spikes all over their heads.”
“Oh yeah, I’ve heard about the Westerns,” Spike said, stroking his chin. “Aren’t they also called wyverns?”
“Yup.  They’re really wild and scary.  No one dares venture into Western Drake territory.  You will get eaten alive!”
“Gosh, we’re learning so much about dragon lore right now!” Flurry said as she took notes on a piece of paper.
“This is so cool!” Stormy chimed. “Spike, we gotta go see your family right now!”
“Oh, well I dunno if I can take all of you guys.  Might be kinda dangerous,” Spike said, cautiously.
“Yeah, I’m not too sure their parents will approve,” Sunburst warned.
“Aw, they’ll be fine!” Buttercream told them. “It’s quite a hike to the Nordo Dracos island, but we can use the train till we need to fly. Chip, Annie and Pumpkin can ride with me and Spike,”
Buttercream pulled Pumpkin in next to her.  Pumpkin giggled as she gave the big lovable dragon a hug.
“Okay, but what about the temperature.  Is it that far up north?” Starlight asked.
“The temperature should be good enough right now to not need any coats.  It can get pretty cold up there, especially in the winter, but the area our family lives in is nice and warm thanks to His Elevated Eminence!”
Everyone looked confusedly at Buttercream.
“Um…who’s elevated eminence?” Trixie asked.
“Hehe, that’s his name, silly.  His Elevated Eminence is a giant talking mountain that watches over all the Northerns.”
“Oh gosh, there’s talking mountains too?  My brain can’t handle all this knowledge!” Pumpkin squawked, with her hooves on her head.
“That’s why we gotta go now!  What are we sitting around for?  Let’s go!” Stormy said, taking off to the sky before Chip bit his tail.
“Hold on, Stormy,” he said. “We can’t go until we get approval from all our parents.”
“That’s right,” Annie added. “Mom and Dad will want to know what we’re up to, but I wouldn’t mind visiting this place myself.  The Northern Drakes do sound really nice.”
“Oh, they really are nice!  The Northerns are some of the most docile dragons out there.  They’re tough and strong, but they don’t have any gripes with ponies, at least not in the area Mom and Dad live in.”
“Well I say we all go ask our parents if we can go with Spike and Butter to Nordo Dracos.  If what she says is true, I think we’ll all be safe there,” Pound told his friends.
“Alright kids,” Spike told them as he stood up. “If your parents say yes, we’ll all leave tomorrow.  But for right now, Butter, I think you and I have a little more catching up to do in Ponyville.”
“I’d love to have a look around here, Spike.  It’s such a quaint little village and I’m dying to know what you’ve been up to all this time!” Buttercream said, hugging her brother.



That next morning, Spike, Buttercream and all the kids took off to head to Nordo Dracos.  Their parents had all given them permission to go as long as Spike and Buttercream ensured their safety.  They took the Friendship Express as far west as the rails would go and got off to continue by flight.  Spike carried the Apple Twins while Buttercream carried Pumpkin so she would not tire of lifting herself with magic for too long.
Nordo Dracos was an island located above the “Undiscovered West” peninsula beyond Equestria’s political bounderies.  It was further north than Canterlot, but not nearly as far as the Crystal Empire or Yakyakistan.  Even Nordo Dracos would be warm enough right in the middle of summer, though the kids did notice a bit of a drop in temperature.  The island was green with forests, but there were also plenty of tall mountains for dragons to live on.  As they got closer, they started to notice other dragons flying around in the sky.
“Look, you guys!  Dragons!” shouted Stormy, pointing to a large orange one flying by.
“Yup!  Those are local residents probably traveling or delivering goods,” Buttercream explained. “You’ll see a lot of them flying by.  Oh and look!  You can see His Elevated Eminence from here!”
Buttercream pointed to a large mountain peak with a mouth and two eyes.  It appeared to be sleeping at the moment but had a content look on its face.  In front of it was a mountain range with tons of dragons all around on both the ground and in the sky.  There were even dragons in the forested areas.  They didn’t have conventional housing like ponies did. They usually lived in caverns in the mountains, but some could be seen sleeping on large rocks and mountains. His Elevated Eminence was positioned North of the mountains where most dragons lived in this area so he could observe and speak with them when they needed guidance.  Although he was the tallest mountain, he had no snow on top nor did any of the mountains around him.  He used his powers to keep them warm.
“Wow, so there really is a magical mountain!” Annie said.
“Mom isn’t going to believe this!” Chip added.
“I can’t believe this is where I come from,” Spike said, staring in amazement at the land around him.
“Right down here is where we’ll find our family!  They should be out and about,” Buttercream said as she started flying low.
In no time, they all landed in a small clearing at the edge of a cliff.  There were a few dragons around who waved to them.  They weren’t used to having many ponies around but were polite nonetheless.
“Hi guys!” Buttercream said to a few young dragons that were taller than her.
“Hey, Buttercream!  Is this the long-lost brother?” said one dragon.
“Yup!  This is Spike and these are the cute little ponies he’s been assigned to watch after!”
A few worker dragons waved to Spike who waved back bashfully.  He was still waiting to see which ones were his siblings but was still feeling very welcome by the others.
“Wow, he looks just like the king!” said one dragon.
“That’s totally Smite’s kid!” said another.
“I know right?!  I can’t wait to show him to them!  Are they around anywhere?” Buttercream asked them.
"I heard Smite’s out dealing with something, but Chara’s over by the main court and your siblings should be somewhere around the market.”
“Awesome!  Well, guys, I think it’s time we go meet everyone!”
They all followed Buttercream into a corridor that went on for a couple hundred yards until they reached a large opening with dragons going about their business.  Much like the Ponyville market, there were some dragons selling things in little huts made out of rocks and crystals.  Most of these dragons were still quite young.  Some were still kids and used this area to play in.
“This is what’s called the Youth Market,” Buttercream explained to the others as she walked backwards and showed them around.  “The younger dragons come down here to do their business and the kids love playing around.  The bigger adult dragons can come in, but they tend to stay on the bigger mountains that are fit more for them so they don’t walk on any of the kids. A little further on down is the recreational center and then the school.”
“Gosh, this place is amazing!” Flurry said with her eyes opened wide.
“EEEEH!  Buttercream, you Northern Drakes have such a cool home!” Pumpkin said, tapping her hooves.
“So is this where Spike’s family lives?” Pound asked Buttercream.
“Well our siblings come down here a lot.  They have their own special cave a little further up. That’s where the royal family lives."
“HAH!  YOU’RE GOIN, DOWN, BRO!” shouted a voice above.
Everyone looked up to see two larger dragons wrestling each other midair and landed in the middle of the clearing.  There was a tall muscular green one with darker green spikes, a light green underbelly, and yellow wings, eyes and head fins.  The fat one he had in a headlock was bluish purple with a yellow underbelly, blue eyes, magenta spikes and orange fins and wings.  He was smaller but still stood taller than Spike. They were wrestling quite hard but were enjoying it and laughing.


 


“Not today, Scorch!” giggled the fat one as he tried to fight back.
“That’s Scorch and Singe!” Buttercream said, jumping up and down. “Guys, look over here!”
“Oh hey, Buttercream!  I’m about to get Singe…oh…”
Scorch, the green one let go of his younger brother and they both stopped and stared at Spike.
“I found him!  I found our brother!” said the adorable yellow dragon as she pointed to Spike.
“That’s him?  That’s our brother?!” Scorch asked in amazement.
“Whoa!  Scorch, he looks just like Dad!” Singe said excitedly. “He’s practically the same colors aside from the belly!”
“You guys are my brothers?” Spike asked, nervously.
“We sure are!  Butter said she’d find you and she did!” Singe said, giving Buttercream a noogie on her head as she giggled.
“Come here, little bro!” Scorch said as he hugged Spike and Singe joined in.
They both set Spike back down and walked around to inspect him.  At this point, several other dragons in the vicinity started noticing Spike.  They were already aware that Buttercream was Smite and Chara’s long-lost daughter so they had likely figured out that Spike was the missing son.
“Look at his build!  He’s got the ol’ Grumblebog belly I see!  I swear this is what Dad would have looked like at his age!” said Scorch, tapping Spike’s belly and feeling his muscles.
“And his wingspan isn’t too bad either!” Singe said, pulling out one of his wings to measure. “Nice tail, nice spikes…gosh, he’s a looker for sure!”
“I really look like my dad?” Spike asked.
“Definitely!  Dad’s got a gut just like ours, buddy!” said Singe said, patting his stomach as it jiggled like a bowl of jelly.
“This family’s whole again thanks to you, Butter!” Scorch said, lifting Buttercream up and spinning her around as she giggled.
“Oh, and these must be your pony friends!” Singe said as he walked over to meet Flurry and the others.  “Hey there, kids!  I’m Singe!”
“It’s great to meet you guys!  I’m Princess Flurry Heart, but you can call me Flurry,” Flurry said as she reached out to shake Singe’s hand.  “And these are my friends: Pound Cake, Pumpkin Cake, Apple Chip, Annie Smith, and Storm Streak!”
“At last, the lost son returns,” said a female voice behind the dragon brothers.
A female dragon entered.  She was red with purple spikes, a yellow under belly, red eyes, and pink wings and fins.  She was a slimmer Northern Drake with wide hips and stood taller than Scorch.  Despite her motherly appearance, Spike could already tell this was his older sister.





“Barb!  We found him!” Buttercream shouted. “This is Spike!  He was in Ponyville all along!”
“So that’s where you’ve been this whole time,” said Barb with a smile on her face.  “I had no idea you’d be a spitting image of your father, little guy!”
“I’m just sorry I’ve been gone so long,” Spike said, walking forward to meet her.
Barb knelt down and gave him a hug.  Spike nearly started crying till he heard footsteps in the distance. A much larger dragon was approaching.
“Everyone, make way!  Queen Chara is coming!” said a dragon nearby as everyone else cleared out.
Around the corner of an entrance appeared the most beautiful dragon Spike had ever seen.  She was a full-grown adult female.  She had the same physique Barb had but was bright pink with turquoise in her wings, spikes and fins, while her belly was a more pale pink.  Her eyes were blue just like Buttercream’s and there were small turquoise scales dotting her thighs, arms and tail.  She was curious as to what was going on, but once she looked at her children and saw Spike, her eyes widened and she put her hands up to her mouth.





“Mom!” Buttercream called as she flew up to Chara.  “I brought Spike here!  He really was the missing purple egg all along!”
Chara slowly knelt down as Spike walked to meet her.
“M…Mom?” Spike said, looking deep into her eyes.
“My son…” she said in a lovely and endearing voice. “Is that really you?”
“I guess so…after all these years.  I’m sorry I was gone so long and you never got to see me till now.”
“You don’t need to blame yourself.  We had no idea the roc took you into Equestria.  One night many eggs in the area just disappeared including you and Buttercream.  We feared the worst when we heard several rocs had flown by.  We searched as best we could, but we gave up once we found out some of the eggs had already been eaten.”
“It’s okay, Mom.  I should’ve been better about finding you guys.  I already had one dragon lie to me about being my dad and I just got discouraged.”
“Were the ponies good to you?”
“Oh yes, definitely.  Just like they were good to Buttercream.”
“That is wonderful news.  I can already tell by these little ones down here that you were in good hands all along…or hooves rather.  Hehe.”
Chara giggled and then put her hands together and allowed Spike to step into them.  She lifted him up and held him close to her snout.  Tears formed in both of their eyes and he wrapped his arms around her snout to give her a hug.  Buttercream and the kids all looked so happy for Spike to finally be meeting his mother after so long.  Barb, Scorch and Singe put their arms around each other as they watched their little brother and mother finally unite.
“I’m so glad I found you, Mom,” Spike said, “Is Dad anywhere around?”
“He’s dealing with a dragon in rage mode right now, but he should be back in a few hours.”
“A dragon in rage mode?  What does that mean?”
“I’ll tell you about that later.  Right now, I am just so happy to finally see my lost son. After so many years, this family is finally together!”
Spike embraced his mother again as everyone watched.  Pumpkin started sniffling as Buttercream lent her a tissue she got from her satchel.  Everyone else stared lovingly at the sight of Spike with his mother. Flurry felt so much joy knowing they finally knew Spike’s origins and found his family.  She recalled that Shining Armor and Cadance were ecstatic in their response letter to her about this yesterday.  Shining had treated Spike like a little brother all along and would be overjoyed to know they had more additions to the family.