Later that afternoon as the sun was near setting, Sludge had already started helping clean up the mess he left while some large dragons gathered up all the treasure inside the ship to prepare to take to Equestria. Spike and Smite took some time to finally talk on a cliff near His Elevated Eminence, while the others helped with cleanup. They had been talking for over an hour now.
“This is quite a story, son. So you were in Equestria this entire time?” Smite asked.
“Yup, a little back-and-forth from Canterlot to Ponyville over the years. Right now I’m staying in Ponyville for the summer to watch Flurry,” Spike replied.
“To think you and your sister have been helping fight evil forces in Equestria all these years…and on top of all that, you have magic fire. That’s pretty rare in Northern Drakes nowadays. If only I had known where you and your sister were this whole time.”
“It’s okay, Dad. I didn’t know about Nordo Dracos for a while. I had no idea the division between dragons and ponies was so bad all these years.”
“Most of the dragons of the world resented Celestia after she banished Luna. They thought she could have handled it differently and that it meant ponies didn’t know how to treat their family right. I think that resentment waned over time and the dragons just simply kept to themselves, but Nordo Dracos would have gotten in touch with Equestria a little sooner if…”
“If what?”
“Well, let’s just say your old Grandpa Rubble’s not exactly fond of ponies.”
“He’s not?”
“That’s part of the reason why we never went to check Equestria for you or your sister’s eggs. Ponies were already prejudiced or scared of dragons by then and your grandfather was one of many that bought into this nonsense that Celestia hated her sister. Now we know what was up with the night lasting so long that one night years ago: that was the night Luna returned.”
“Yeah, as Nightmare Moon, but then she was freed by the Elements of Harmony. Sadly, that’s not a battle I was part of. But you guys didn’t know about that for a while?”
“No. Despite how close Nordo Dracos is to Equestria, we don’t get news from them up until recently with it traveling through word of mouth. I knew Dad would forbid me from going into Equestria and I figured you and your sister had already been eaten by rocs. I wasn’t king at that time.”
"Grandpa doesn't sound very nice."
“Not to ponies at least. Thankfully you don’t have to worry about him right now. He’s out in a cave miles away in the middle of a really long dragon nap with Mom. The day will come for you to meet him and I’ll have to tell him you were raised by ponies, but not yet.”
“What about you, Dad? Did you ever hate ponies?”
“I can’t say I ever did. For a while I didn’t think much about it. Dad was the one who told me ponies couldn’t be trusted. Mom just sort of went with it but I don’t think she really saw it the same way he did. After we started hearing about all these things happening in Equestria, it became obvious to all of us that the Equestrians weren’t as bad as we thought. With everything you’ve told me now, I wish Dad had known years ago.”
“So you aren’t mad that we were away from you for so long?”
“Maybe I could have been, but seeing you and Butter the way you are right now, I think it was all a blessing in disguise. I thought all these years that my two eggs were eaten by rocs and I’d never see you again, but both of you were being raised by good beings this entire time. From what I’ve already heard about you and your sister’s adoptive families, I’d say it was worth it. I never got to know you growing up, Spike, but you were in a good place all along, so I’d be remiss if I said it was a waste. I owe a lot to those ponies.”
Smite put his hand around Spike as he spoke. Spike smiled warmly as he noticed Buttercream walking in to join them. She sat down next to Spike and he put his arm around her.
“There’s so much I wish I could tell both of you. So much time has passed without you in my life, but I’m just glad we got to meet at last. I was going to ask if you wanted to stay, Spike, but I can see you’re in the middle of something important with the princess.”
“Yeah, Twilight trusted me with watching Flurry. I hate to just not be around you guys, but I’ll definitely come by to visit as often as I can. I’ve been working my way into becoming an ambassador for Equestria.”
“Then I won’t fight it, son. You take care of Flurry Heart and her friends. Everyone’s already labeling you a local hero for what you did this afternoon, so you’re always welcome to visit us in Nordo Dracos.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Smite lifted both of them in his hands and held them to this chest. They spread out their arms and pressed themselves into his warm pudgy body. He tilted his head down and nuzzled them with his cheek. He then set them both back down on the ground.
“This has been quite a day, Butter,” Spike told his sister. “Will I be seeing you again soon?”
“Course you will, bro!” Buttercream said, cheerfully. “I’ve already told my pony family back in Daleshire that I’ll be taking a bit of a sabbatical this summer. I’ll split my time between Ponyville and Nordo Dracos frequently.”
“Yeah, that’s another thing: we gotta arrange to see your pony family too.”
“I know! You have to meet my pony parents; they’re so nice! Nightwatch is such a great brother! Oh, and just between the two of us: Nighty and Twilight are totally made for each other!” Butter whispered out of the side of her mouth as she leaned in close to Spike.
“Is that so? Well Twilight is in serious need of a boyfriend.”
“Hehe!”
Barb, Scorch, Singe and Flurry and her friends all walked in as Chara stood next to Smite. Smite let Spike and Buttercream down on the ground to join their siblings as he put his arm around Chara. They happily watched as the young ones made conversation.
“Well kids, Twilight said she’d be coming soon to visit,” Spike said, looking at a scroll he received from Twilight earlier.
“Didn’t she say she’s bringing Dad and Grandma and Grandpa too?” Flurry asked.
“Oh you bet! Both my pony and dragon families have got to meet before we go home!”
“It’s been great having you all here,” Barb said, kneeling down to the kids level and rubbing their heads. “Like Dad said, we’d love to have you any time.”
“Yeah, plus we might be able to let you see a proper wrangling later this summer,” Singe added.
“So long as we’ll all be at a safe distance, I think that would be nice,” Flurry replied.
“Well we already saw a wrangling today!” Stormy beamed. “That was the coolest thing ever! Now I don’t feel so bad missing Tirek and Scorpan fight!”
“Yeah, that one was pretty crazy, but another successful way to reform a villain,” Flurry said. “Gosh, we’ve had such a productive summer. I didn’t think we’d be able to get to this many trouble-makers in Equestria like we did. First Anatankha, then Tirek, and now Sludge.”
“Hopefully we get Cozy Glow soon,” Pound added.
“There’s always a chance, bro!” Pumpkin said, putting her arm around Pound.
“Well Dad,” Barb said as she flew up to Smite “I think one great thing we learned from Spike today is that it’s now possible to subdue permanent rage mode; all it takes is a little pep talk.”
“That is still very surprising,” Chara said. “I guess there will be no need to banish dragons to Oster Dracos after all.
“I’m surprised it worked on Sludge too,” Spike said. “When I heard about how it can go permanent, I was a little scared, but we might wanna try that on the next dragon it happens to. Still, that should just be a last resort. I think we should keep doing the wrangling since it’s such a big part of our culture. I wouldn’t mind getting into it someday myself.”
Scorch then wrapped his arm around Spike while giving him a noogie.
“We’re always here to give ya a few tips, little bro!” he said.
Spike laughed along with everyone else. Suddenly he noticed a chariot being pulled by several royal guards coming towards them. Inside the chariot was Twilight with Shining Armor and their parents Night Light, and Twilight Velvet.
“Dad, Twilight, Grandma, Grandpa!” Flurry shouted as the others turned around.
Twilight leapt out of the chariot and rushed over to hug Spike and Flurry.
“Spike, I’m so sorry I couldn’t be here earlier!” Twilight said. “When I got your note last night, I was so happy for you and I had to bring Mom and Dad!”
“Better late than never, Twilight!” Spike told her. “And you brought Shining too!”
“I wasn’t going to miss meeting my little surrogate brother’s dragon parents!” Shining Armor said as Flurry went in to hug him before Spike did.
“Spike, we’re so happy for you!” Twilight Velvet said as she hugged Spike along with Night Light.
“And are these the folks?” Night Light asked, noticing Spike’s family behind him.
“They sure are!” Spike replied. “Everybody, this is Buttercream, Singe, Scorch, Barb, and back there are my parents King Smite and Queen Chara.”
“It’s an honor to meet the ponies who cared for Spike all these years!” Chara told them.
“Thanks for taking care of him for us, Princess Twilight,” Smite told Twilight as he bowed his head to her.
“King Smite, I’m so sorry we didn’t get in touch any earlier,” Twilight told him. “I had no idea Spike would be related to the royal family of Nordo Dracos. And I hear this little one over here was also raised by ponies, correct?”
“That’s right!” Buttercream said, shaking Twilight’s hoof. “It’s so great to finally meet you, Princess Twilight! I’m Nightwatch’s adoptive sister. Does that name ring a bell?”
“Nightwatch? Wait, the Nightwatch? The one I mailed his journal and telescope nob back to years ago?”
“That’s him!”
“I…I can’t believe it! I was talking with the stallion that had Spike’s sister all these years and I didn’t realize it!”
“Yeah, sorry we didn’t manage to get in contact with you guys. He tried replying, but one day he stopped getting letters from you.”
“That’s probably because the library I lived in at one point was destroyed during a battle with Tirek. I remember sending a response to him a few weeks prior. I lost my mail that day in the fire and his response letter was most likely in there. I thought he was the one that stopped replying.”
“Twilight, you never told me you were pen-pals with a guy called Nightwatch!” Spike said, nudging Twilight teasingly.
“I didn’t think he was of that much importance at the time. Gosh, this all really went out from under our noses all these years. I can’t believe we missed it all!”
Butter appeared nervous at first but then perked up and wrapped her arm around Twilight.
“Yeah, there are a lot of things that got in our way of reaching you guys sooner, but don’t worry your little head off about it right now. Someday we’ll get you and Nighty together to catch up. I think you and my brother are gonna really like each other, Twily!”
“Um…okay. I wouldn’t mind talking to him in person for once,” Twilight said while blushing. “Oh, and do my eyes deceive me or is that the mighty mountain I’ve heard about: His Elevated Eminence?”
Twilight walked over near the edge of the cliff to see the mountain greeting her with a friendly smile.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle, welcome to our humble abode. It’s been too long since we had any contact with Equestria,” he told her.
“His Elevated Eminence, I am honored to meet you. I know ponies and dragons have been so divided over my predecessor’s decision to banish her sister to the moon, but we are long past that stage in our history. I would be more than happy to amend all relations with Nordo Dracos and Equestria.”
“And I would be more than willing to be in service to the Princess of Friendship.”
“Both of us would be,” Smite added.
Twilight bowed in reverence to the mountain and the dragon king. She then felt someone tap her on the shoulder.
“Hey Twilight, there’s someone else that would like to meet you,” Spike told her.
Twilight looked behind Spike to see two taller dragon guards walk in with Sludge. Twilight instantly recognized him and gasped a little. She always figured she would lash out angrily at this dragon if she ever saw him again, but she was not prepared to see Sludge like this. Spike had clearly already forgiven him so she remained silent and listened as Sludge spoke.
“Hey, Twilight. I owe you a huge apology for what I did years ago: you know, trashing your castle and hording everything in Spike’s room for myself, not to mention lying about being his dad. I got a little greedy over the years and I made a mess here, but I’m alright now.”
“Twilight, remember when I got all big and nearly destroyed Ponyville?” Spike explained. “Well that happened to Sludge today. It happens to all Northern Drakes at least once in their lifetime. He went out of control and did a lot of damage here, but I managed to help him remember who he was just like Rarity did for me that day. It’s going to take some time to get things cleaned up, but he’s learned his lesson.”
Spike put his hand on Sludge’s shoulder as Sludge looked remorsefully at Twilight.
“I know I don’t deserve it, but can you forgive me?” he asked the princess.
Twilight stood still for a moment and then smiled.
“All is forgiven, Sludge,” she said. “I thought maybe you’d learn your lesson someday. I’ve met and confronted many villains in my lifetime, but I never considered you to be the worst.”
“Thank you,” Sludge said as he knelt down to hug her. “Oh, and by the way, in my fit of greed-induced rage, I think I managed to uncover an old sunken ship containing treasure meant for Equestria ages ago. I believe it was somewhere in the Luna Ocean.”
Sludge pointed behind him to the ship and the gold around it that had been gathered up by the other dragons. Twilight’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened.
“Oh! That’s the H.M.S. Pinto! Celestia was wondering what happened to that ship for decades! Sludge, you’ve already done Equestria such a huge favor!”
Twilight hugged Sludge even harder this time. They then parted and Sludge stuck around to take a break from his duties to join the fun. As everyone from both sides of Spike’s family continued to make conversation, Twilight went to speak to Flurry.
“So would you like to fill me in on today’s friendship report, Flurry Heart?” she asked her niece.
Flurry looked around to all the others and smiled as she spoke.
“Well, not only did I learn a lot about the Northern Drakes, I learned a lot about the acceptance of family over material goods. Spike’s family was kinder than any of us thought they would be, and they were also very good about forgiving Sludge for what he did today. Sludge was definitely humbled because Spike gave him a chance, even when many others might think he shouldn’t have. Now that he’s been welcomed into Nordo Dracos, I couldn’t agree more that family and friendship will always be far better than horded treasure.”
Flurry and Twilight embraced one another until everyone heard a loud scream from a hot air balloon coming in.
“Spiiiiike! Happy Find-Your-Family Day! It’s a new holiday I made up just for you!”
Everyone looked over to see the balloon landing and a chubby pink pony with a blue hair-bow leaping out. Confetti shot in all directions and she rushed over to give Spike a great big hug.
“Pinkie! I didn’t think you’d be making it too!” he said.
“There wasn’t enough room on the chariot, so she had to use the balloon,” Shining Armor said.
“And this was too big an opportunity for Equestria’s number-one party pony to miss!” Twilight added.
“Oh my gosh! Spike, is this the fam?! Wow, they all look amazing! I had no idea Spike was royalty all along! Now Mama and Papa Sparkle have three royal kids! You guys are all so lucky! Oh wow! Is that a talking mountain? OOOH! And Sludge, you’re here too!”
“Hey there, Pinkie. I uh-” Sludge started saying before Pinkie continued for him.
“Got all lonely over the years and watched as it culminated into a greed-induced rage like Spike did years ago and then before you knew it you were stealing things left and right until you grew to gargantuan size and terrorized this whole kingdom only to find Spike persuading you to shrink back down and give everything back therefore cementing yourself as another one of Equestria’s reformed villains?!”
Everyone stared at Pinkie with their mouths wide open except for Spike and all of the ponies he knew who were just rolling their eyes and giggling.
“How did you know all that?” asked Barb.
“Just a hunch,” Pinkie said, smiling.
“Gosh, you kinda remind me of myself!” Buttercream said.
“Hey there! I’m Pinkie Pie!”
“I’m Buttercream!”
“You like parties and sweets and spreading happiness everywhere you go too?”
“Yeah! How did you know that?”
“Oh, just something about your cheerful and energetic look that makes it totally obvious! Hehe!”
Barb, Scorch, Singe, Smite and Chara couldn’t stop laughing at the sight.
“This one’s a keeper, Dad!” Singe told his dad.
“That pony does sound an awful lot like Buttercream,” His Elevated Eminence chuckled.
“Hey, Mr. Talky-Mountain! I hope you don’t mind if I bring in a little Ponyville cheer to Nordo Dracos tonight,” Pinkie told him. “It’s just I can’t not do it now that Spike’s found his family!”
“Oh, you are more than welcome, my dear! We are already preparing a celebration for what Spike did earlier this afternoon and we could use you!”
“Something tells me it’s going to be a long night!” Scorch jested.
Pinkie then randomly appeared between Barb and Scorch and managed to stretch her arms out and wrap them around Spike and all five of his siblings at once.
“We are all going to have the best Find-Your-Family Day party EVER!” she squealed.
“Get ready guys! When Auntie Pinkie says she’s ready to throw a party, she means it!” Pumpkin told the dragons.
“Think Mom will let us stay out a bit longer?” Annie asked Chip.
“Eh, she’ll be fine with it once we let her know just how great this all was. Only problem is, we’re going to get home at around midnight at this point.” Chip said, nervously.
“I can conjure up some magic to have you kids all teleported back to Ponyville after we’re done.” Twilight told them. “In the mean time, you’ll be safe here. I’m in the mood for a little celebration myself.”
“First, I think it’s best we get some pictures,” Shining Armor said as he took out a camera and tri-pod that his guards brought in the chariot with him.
“That’s right! Night Light and I have got to add these to our little family photo collection back at home!” Twilight Velvet added.
“I’m not familiar with Equestrian technology, but I’m guessing that contraption can make a portrait in an instant?” Chara asked.
“It sure can, Mom!” Spike replied. “Everyone, let’s go stand in front of His Elevated Eminence!”
Spike and all his siblings flew over onto a plateaued rock while Smite and Chara stayed on the same level but got right behind them so they would be close enough to their faces. Twilight used her magic to help Shining Armor get up to the rock and position the camera to make a portrait shot. With His Elevated Eminence right in view at the top, Smite and Chara put their arms around each other as their kids posed at the bottom.
“Alright! Everybody say ‘Rubies!’” Shining Armor said, as he readied the camera.
“RUBIES!” they all shouted with huge smiles on their faces.
The camera then flashed and the picture was taken. This photo and many others like it remained in Twilight Velvet and Night Light’s home with other family photos taken over the years. Twilight and Shining Armor took copies to keep in their respective castles, and one last copy was sent to Buttercream’s family back in Daleshire.
From this day forward, Spike the dragon no longer spent his life wondering where he came from. He was lucky to be related to good dragons that accepted his upbringing in Equestria. Not only had he found his biological family today; his family had grown stronger than ever before.
THE END