> Friends and Family
>  by Zephyr Spark
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Capter 1 Heartache
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The purple alicorn trotted with her number one assistant to Sugar Cube Corner. In some ways, they were an odd sight. An alicorn living in the middle of Ponyville with a purple baby dragon seemed out of place considering the small number of alicorns and the obvious danger dragons typically posed, but any who knew the two, Twilight Sparkle and Spike, also knew how much they belonged together as friends, confidants, and family. Of course, the family part was not literal mother and son or brother and sister, though their relationship could certainly delve into both. The most crucial part of it all: Twilight loved Spike and Spike loved her. 
Today, they had plans to visit the Two Sister’s Ancient Castle. Twilight wanted to examine the vast catalogue of books within and Spike readily agreed to help her, bringing along a bag stuffed with quills, ink, and parchment to create detailed accounts of the various works. Twilight loved her detailed accounts. Their friends had agreed to meet up with them at Sugar Cube Corner and head there together as a group.
They reached the door and were met with a familiar smiling pony.
“Hiya, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie grinned with a strange list in her hoof as she saw them coming, “Dashie and the others aren’t here yet.”
Twilight and Spike glanced at the list and Pinkie quickly explained, “I’ve been researching more of my family history. Turns out there are Pies almost everywhere in Equestria!”
Twilight shuddered a bit at the though of more than one Pinkie Pie … again. She showed them the list and continued, “There’s a Berry Pie in Manehatten, an Apple Pie in Canterlot, and –“
“Who’s ‘Minty’?” Spike asked eying a smudged out name on the list.
Pinkie stopped smiling for a minute and her mane drooped a bit. She quickly retracted the list and spoke, “Nobody! Err I mean no pony! She’s just a… um… she sort of ran away a while ago. We don’t like to talk about her.” 
Spike decided not to press the issue although the name sounded familiar. “That’s quite a family.” He said trying to smile. He felt a bit uncomfortable thinking about Pinkie Pie having a relative she didn’t want to speak about, and a bit more uncomfortable talking about family.
“I know,” Pinkie said as she reflated, “Some day, I hope I can meet them all.”
“Howdy!” Applejack’s voice interrupted them as their friend trotted up to greet them. “Sorry, I’m late. Applebloom needed a little encouraging getting out of bed. Plus, Granny Smith and Big Mac wanted help collecting a few apples for brunch.”
“That’s fine,” Twilight smiled, “We’re just waiting for –“
Suddenly, a familiar blue pegasus descended from the clouds to a perfect landing a few feet away. Twilight rolled her eyes at Rainbow Dash’s excessive showmanship. Another similar looking blue pegasus joined her and after a bit of panting gave a beaming smile.
“Oh, my little girl, you’ve gotten so fast, I can barely keep up.”
“Sorry, pops,” Rainbow grinned and turned to gesture at her friends. “Hey, these are my friends. This is Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike.”
The other blue stallion walked up to them and politely bowed his head, “Rainbow has told me and her mother so much about you all. How you saved Equestria time and time again. I can’t thank you enough.”
“It was nothing really,” Twilight said quickly, feeling abashed by such praise.
“Well, you’ll have to pardon me.” He smiled wrapping an affectionate hoof around Rainbow Dash, “I just came by to visit my little Dashie.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened at the nickname and she became flustered. Twilight raised an amused eyebrow while Pinkie Pie and Applejack snickered a bit.
“Dad!” Rainbow groaned, “Not in front of my friends.”
Her father just smiled and playfully ruffled her mane, “I’m sorry, kiddo. I guess it just fills me with pride to see how far my little girl has come. You’re not the little filly I used to chase around the house. You’re a real hero.”
Rainbow looked at her father with an uncharacteristic look of embarrassment, and then let out a brilliant grin. Spike watched this exchange with a wistful smile. For some reason, this was all becoming too much for him.
“Hey, Twilight?” Spike tugged at his friend’s hoof.
Twilight looked over to Spike with a familiar smile, “What is it, Spike?”
Spike opened his mouth to speak but found his throat a bit sore. “I think I’m going to go ahead to the library to get a head start.”
Twilight noticed Spike’s falter and tilted her head with a curious face.
“I’m fine, really,” Spike tried to reassure her. 
Twilight was not convinced, especially considering Spike seemed so quick to say he felt fine, but decided she could always talk to Spike later and nodded, “I think it’s a great idea. We’ll meet up with you once we’re altogether
Spike waved goodbye and headed off to the castle. When he was out of eyesight, he began to ponder his feelings. Why had he felt so uncomfortable around his friends today? They were just talking about their families. They all had families; distant relatives, sisters, brothers, grandmothers, fathers, mothers. This was nothing new.
Spike turned to wave a greeting to a certain cross-eyed gray pegasus, who after returning his hello turned to a small unicorn filly. They touched noses with gentle smiles. Spike found himself smiling at the sight. He turned back to the road after adjusting his bag. 
He remembered how Rainbow Dash and her father shared a similar moment and found himself wondering. If her father had been his, would he have praised Spike for agreeing to help his friend Twilight today? Would he have tenderly reflected on their time together from when he was growing up? Then again, Spike supposed he was still technically a baby, so he would still be in the whole ‘growing up’ thing. Still, it would be nice for his father to come visit him just to say hello.
Spike almost tripped at the thought, his father. Then he found himself daydreaming. Wouldn’t his father be a big, mean dragon? Well, maybe not. After all, if he was related to Spike, who was for the most part a good dragon – alright, who tried to be a good dragon, he couldn’t be all bad. Maybe, he would take Spike out every now and then and show him how to breathe intense flames, find the tastiest gems, or even how to fly. At the end of the day, he would look at Spike with a grin and be proud to see what a fine young dragon his son was becoming. Wouldn’t that be something?
And who would marry such a kind-hearted dragon? Spike thought about it and decided he would be married to a similarly kind dragon. She would be beautiful and kind, tenderly nursing him and singing him to sleep every night. She would dote upon him even when it embarrassed him, but in the end, he really wouldn’t mind because she was his mother. 
But what if she wasn’t just his mother? Perhaps there would be other dragon siblings for Spike to play with. After further reflection, he decided he would have an older sister. She would be goofy and often pull pranks on Spike, but whenever he needed a friend, she would always be there for him. And if anything tried to hurt him, she would defend him fiercely. She would tickle him, make him laugh, and whisper words of comfort whenever he was scared.
Why stop there, he thought? Maybe there would be a brother, one younger than him. They would play-fight as dear siblings and share adventures together. Spike would teach him right from wrong and he would admire Spike because he was his brother.
He thought of endless relatives, uncles, aunts, cousins, all just as wonderful as his own family. His thoughts were interrupted as he bumped into a door. He looked up and realized he was at the castle. His imagined family was just that: imagined. Spike felt so empty and sad at the loss of the mere thought of his family. He shook his head and decided throwing himself into his task would help him forget his worries.
He entered the castle and made his way to the library. Placing his bag on the floor, he drew out a pen and paper and prepared to record the closest aisle of books. He soon found, however, his heart wasn’t in it. He sighed, grabbing another piece of parchment, and sat down on the floor, finding himself unable to focus on his task.
In a flash of inspiration, he grabbed a bottle of ink and a quill and drew the family he had fantasized over before they could vanish from his thoughts like a dream. They weren’t exactly perfect, but that was due to Spike’s impatience to preserve them if only in memory. Feeling a renewed interest, he took another piece of parchment and took the time to draw them in more detail, giving them all names and different faces. They looked wonderful, but Spike could do better. He took out several more pieces of parchment and continued refining and expanding his ideal family. 
After half an hour, Spike remembered why he came here and quickly scolded himself. He should be working, not wasting parchment and ink. What would Twilight even say if she saw that he wasn’t making the head start he promised? He couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing her. He was here to help Twilight not fantasize about a family that he made up. 
A family that doesn’t exist Spike corrected himself. I mean if they did exist, they wouldn’t have left me alone as an egg. Would they? Spike blinked as he paused to consider the thought. Dragons were never exactly known for being kind. For all I know, they abandoned me. Maybe they never wanted me.
Spike tried to stop himself from contemplating such notions. No, I don’t know that. All I know is that I was found and given to Twilight after she hatched me. No pony knows anything about where I came from or who I am. No pony knows. No pony.
He frowned and felt an uncomfortable, constricting tension in his throat and burning water in his eyes. Before he allowed his pain to take over, he threw himself back into his task anxious to forget his desperation for answers, for family.

***

Well, it certainly took time, but Rarity and Fluttershy finally showed up. Rarity explained that Sweetie Belle had a bit of a fever and could not attend school today, so she had to notify her teacher, tuck her in bed, call a doctor, and ask a friend to watch her. All while finishing a last minute order from one of her clients. Simply a disastrous morning! When asked what kept her, Fluttershy mumbled something about Angel Bunny and her friends decided not to pursue the matter. 
They walked to the castle and shared some discussions but Twilight found herself too concerned about Spike to join in any conversation. He had seemed rather distant this morning and she suspected there was something bothering him. Was it something she said? Something she did? She recalled confiscating one of his comic books last night but only when he refused to stop reading and go to sleep. Even then, she returned the book the very next morning. She didn’t recall saying anything that could have logically hurt his feelings that morning, but then again maybe it was something she didn't say–.
“Hey Twilight! Why are you being such a frowny-mc-sad-face?” Pinkie asked interrupting Twilight’s brooding and making her jump in surprise.
“Oh, it’s nothing, Pinkie,” she said regaining her composure, “I was just thinking.”
“Don’t hurt yourself,” Pinkie said keeping a straight face as the other ponies grinned and chuckled. Twilight had once considered Pinkie to be a bit scatter-brained and, well, not always the brightest pony, but she had to admit Pinkie could be an incredibly clever and witty trickster. She was just grateful Pinkie was simply an earth pony, if given magical powers or flight; well, Twilight nearly stumbled at the thought.
“I was just thinking about Spike,” Twilight continued reflecting on his attitude, “He seemed a little off today.”
“What do you mean?” Rarity asked with piqued interest and the concern of any good friend, “is he unwell like Sweetie Belle?”
Twilight considered the thought but quickly dismissed it, “No, he didn’t seem sick or even unwell. He just seemed, I don’t know,” she searched for the proper word.
“Uncomfortable,” Applejack chimed in, “like something was bothering him.”
Twilight glanced at the orange earth pony and nodded. That was exactly what she was thinking. Rainbow Dash, flying overhead, let out an exasperated sigh, “I think you’re making a big deal out of nothing. He was probably just weirded out seeing my dad being all cuddly, or something. I’m sure the little guy’s fine.”
Twilight was not convinced in the slightest, nor did she appreciate Rainbow trying to dismiss the whole issue. “I’m going to talk to him. Just to make sure.”
They arrived at the castle and crossed through the large doors. Rainbow Dash and Applejack both recalled when they dared each other to stay in the castle and reflected how the castle was slightly less scary at day. Carefully avoiding any traps they remembered from their first visit, the group ascended several flights of stairs to reach the library. 
They stopped short when they heard heavy panting and the sound of paper crunching and crinkling. Twilight motioned for the group to stop and peered through the door. She saw parchment thrown about the floor and Spike hard at work, a little too hard at work. His actions looked pained and even strained. She was instantly worried and opened the door to trod over to her friend.
“Spike?” She gently spoke to avoid alarming him.
Spike stopped for a moment. He just stopped doing anything and stood still like a motionless statue. Eventually, he lifted a free hand in a manner of greeting without turning back to look at her and continued about his work. Twilight glanced back at her friends peering through the doorway and gave them a confused look. Rarity entered next carefully stepping around the discarded papers covering the floor.
She walked next to Twilight and spoke, “Spike, dear, are you alright?”
Giving a half-hearted nod, Spike didn’t even break. The rest of the group entered the room and looked at Spike with concern but unsure what to say or do. Pinkie broke from group to pick up a crumpled piece of paper on the floor when she noticed a certain illustration on it. Studying it more carefully, she recognized five dragons. They were largely stick figures but Pinkie could see the wings and tails. She wanted to blurt out her discovery but then she saw names written under the dragon figures, mom, dad, sister, brother, me, and looked again at Spike with sad realization dawning on her. She picked up another paper and saw a more detailed picture of these figures with the same labels, and another with two cousins, and another with two uncles, and another with two aunts, and at least five more family members.
Pinkie Pie took the pictures and nudged Twilight, who turned around irritated that Pinkie would bother her in the middle of – then she saw the pictures in Pinkie’s hooves. Her eyes widened with understanding as the others crowded around the pictures. All that talk about family must have made him wonder about his family and then he must have gotten sad just thinking about it.
Twilight wrapped her hooves around Spike in a hug, causing him to tense up in surprise and finally stop his task. “Spike, if something’s wrong you can tell me.”
Spike lowered his head and closed his eyes, trying to keep his cool before his friends. He had dropped the pen and parchment and couldn’t even pretend to keep working.
“Spike,” Twilight continued in a soothing voice Spike had known since birth, “it’s alright. I’m here. Whatever is wrong we can work through it together. Trust me.”
Finally, Spike spoke carefully repressing his feelings, “I’m sorry. I got distracted with doodles and didn’t get much work done. Please don’t be angry.”
Twilight broke away from the hug and turned Spike around placing her hooves on his shoulders. His head was still down and his eyes closed. She put a hoof under his chin and lifted his face.
“Spike, I’m not angry with you. I just want to help you," she smiled encouragingly even though Spike's eyes were closed, "Please, tell me what’s wrong.”
Finally, Spike opened his eyes. Twilight’s heart lurched when she saw her friend’s eyes red from crying. She wasn’t the only one. Instantly, all of their friends became instantly more concerned than before. Yet, they knew better than to intrude. 
“I just,” Spike’s voice cracked as he met Twilight’s eyes. “I was wondering if my family, I mean, my parents ever loved me.”
Twilight mouth opened in shock as Spike spoke, “I mean if they loved me, why did they leave me?”
Spike finally broke down and embraced Twilight in a wet, teary hug. She instantly moved to comfort him, and hugged him in return. It just burned her up inside to see him so distraught. She remembered hatching Spike all those years ago. He was so tiny, so precious. She assumed responsibility for raising him, even though he often took time from her studies. Twilight refused to let anything separate them. When he grew older, he assisted her in so many ways, organizing her books, calming her down when she felt stressed, and just being there for her. She never had any true friends before him. He really taught her what friendship meant; putting others before herself. He did that for her and their friends everyday. More than that, he taught her how to love. 
With all of this in mind, Twilight whispered into his ear with more conviction than any alicorn had ever used, “Well, I love you. And I promise you, I will never leave you.”
Rarity laid a comforting hoof on Spike’s shoulder and spoke with rivaling conviction, “We will never leave you, Spike.”
Soon, all of their friends placed their hooves on Spike’s shoulder or back, and even on his little head, and joined the embrace, whispering similar words of comfort. Soon there were no words or tears, just silence. The hole in Spike’s heart may have been healed, but he knew the pain would still be there until he found some answers.

> Chapter 2 Discovery and Departure
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	After further consolation, Spike returned to his work. Twilight tried to tell him to relax and just stay back, but Spike insisted he had to do something. If he didn’t do something helpful to some pony, he just felt useless. More than that, it gave him something else to focus on.
Twilight and the others did try to comfort Spike, saying that he had no way of knowing what happened with his parents, and they could still be looking for him. The hole in his heart was still there, but his friends made at least a little more tolerable.
So they went about cataloguing the various books. Well, everyone but Pinkie Pie did. She was tilting books out of their places on the shelf with a determined expression. Eying every one closely.
Finally, Rainbow Dash spoke up, “Pinkie, we’re not here to do,” she looked at Pinkie searching for the perfect coolest catchphrase but gave up, “whatever you’re doing.”
Pinkie Pie turned around, “Oh, I’m just looking for a secret passage way. And the best way to find a secret passage way,” she leaned against the shelf, “is by accident.”
Nothing happened. Pinkie banged her back on the bookcase a few more times, and a few more times. She eyed the shelf with a suspicious glance and then walked away slowly all while staring at the shelf.
“I don’t know Pinkie,” said Applejack reaching for a book on a shelf in front of her, “I don’t see how you could find something if you weren’t looking for –“
As Applejack tugged on the book a metal sound clicked behind the shelf, and the shelf swung open like a door to reveal a secret passageway. All of the ponies looked at the entrance in surprise, except for Pinkie who had a smug grin.
“Well,” Applejack blinked feeling baffled, “I’ll be.”
Pinkie Pie bounded down the passageway. “Pinkie!” Twilight yelled, “Don’t go wondering off on your own!”
Too late. “Come on,” Twilight grumbled, “we better get her before she hurts herself.”
The group walked through a rather long tunnel and descended multiple flights of stairs. Twilight and Rarity lit the way with their magic as the others tried not to stumble down the steps. 
“Hey Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said, “Did Princess Celestia ever mention having a super long secret stairway in this castle before?”
“There are a lot of things Princess Celestia never mentions,” Twilight replied maintaining an aura of calm. Especially to me she thought feeling slightly rueful. “She might not even know about this passage.”
“She grew up here, didn’t she?” Applejack asked, “If you ask me, it seems kind of strange if she didn’t.”
“Well, yes. But that doesn’t mean she would know everything about –“
“Twilight! Spike!” Pinkie’s high-pitched voice interrupted their thoughts and almost made the whole group stumble, “come here, you’ve got to see this!”
“Pinkie,” Twilight admonished, “Stop goofing around – “
She stopped speaking when she saw Pinkie standing in a room filled with more books, and disheveled papers. Glancing around the room, she saw four torches in each corner of the room and instructed Spike to light them. Whatever materials fueled the torches, they illuminated the room as though the sun was shining directly over them. With this lighting, they noticed a table map, similar to the cutie mark map that appeared in Twilight’s castle a few weeks ago, in the center of the room. On it was a detailed map of Equestria, but there were several color-coded pins on various locations. What truly caught Twilight’s attention was a solitary purple pin on the badlands in the southeast. 
“What is this place?” Spike asked Twilight.
“Well, this book,” Pinkie Pie said as she lifted a small journal with her hoof, “says Property of Starswirl the Bearded.”
“What?!” Twilight could barely suppress her eagerness. She quickly took the journal from Pinkie, who moved to sit on a barrel in the right corner, and began carefully flipping through its weathered pages. The ink should have faded but it was still largely visible. To be certain of its authenticity, she examined the signature on the front. It fit the signature she had studied so many times in magic school. This was indeed the property of the great unicorn, Starswirl the Bearded.
Applejack had moved towards the map and inspected it curiously, “any idea what all these places are marked on the map?”
“Hang on,” Twilight said as she scanned the pages, “I’m looking.”
Finally, she found an image of the map and a color key and began to read aloud, “red marks places where exceptionally talented unicorns have been born, blue is where important magical achievements were brought about, green where ponies have yet to explore, orange marks locations of the greatest donuts shops,” she stopped for a moment, scowling slightly at the thought of a great unicorn such as Starswirl seeking the greatest donut shops in all of Equestria. 
“Oooo,” Pinkie Pie said with interest, “let’s go there some time!”
Twilight sighed. Well, even unicorns had to eat, she supposed. Scanning the page further, she finally found the purple mark and let out an audible gasp.
“What is it, Twi?” Spike asked wondering what could possibly have bothered his friend.
“Purple marks the one known place of a Dragon Archive!” Twilight exclaimed.
Spike gave a quizzical look. The name sounded familiar but he couldn’t tell why. Was it something Twilight mentioned before at her studies in Canterlot?”
“The Dragon Archives aren’t even supposed to be real. I thought they were just a myth,” Twilight said as she flipped through the pages eager for more answers.
“Hold on, sugar cube,” Applejack motioned for Twilight to stop, “what are the ‘Dragon Archives’?”
“Well, supposedly, some dragons who were smart enough to write began recording major events, and information surrounding dragons all over Equestria, and sent them to the Dragon Archives to preserve their culture and history. Many ponies theorized some dragons developed the ability to transmit messages through fire solely to stash their work in those archives,” Twilight responded excitedly as she continued reading. “I remember reading rumors about them at Canterlot but they were never discovered. Or supposedly they never were. I never once imagined they could be real.”
“Yeah,” Spike remembered now where he heard the term and frowned, “dragons don’t seem like the kind of creatures to take up writing of all things. At least, the ones I’ve met so far.”
Rainbow Dash and Rarity grimaced. They remembered when Spike went out on the dragon migration to discover what it meant to be a dragon, only to find every other dragon was a bully. It didn’t help that many of the other dragons they had met were also unkind or simply animalistic.
Rarity quickly spoke up, “You don’t know how all dragons behave, Spike. For all we know there hundreds of them who are almost as kind and thoughtful as you.”
Spike blushed at the compliment from Rarity and smiled his thanks.
“Here,” Twilight caught every pony’s attention as she found a page that renewed her interest, “After some time exploring the badlands, I have found the entrance to what I believe to be a Dragon Archive. Unfortunately, the entire cave is infested with dark mites –.”
“Dark mites?!” Fluttershy who had been quiet this whole time seemed rather shaken at the name, “Oh my.”
“What is it, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash asked her friend, “Do you know what those are?”
Fluttershy nodded and continued nervously, “Dark mites are extremely rare and nasty creatures. They’re too dangerous for any pony to study.”
The group never expected Fluttershy to call any animal nasty much less dangerous. She cared for bears and put up with Discord, what creature could possibly be too unpleasant for her?
“Why’s that?” Applejack questioned feeling she wouldn’t like the answer.
“Well, they have a natural immunity to all sorts of magic, unicorn magic, and have even resisted the effects of alicorn magic. So no pony can really safely study them. Because, well, they can consume almost anything within seconds and have a paralyzing poison that can immobilize a pony for minutes.”
“Just a few minutes?” Applejack said optimistically, “That doesn’t sound too bad.”
Fluttershy gave her a very serious look that sent a shiver down every pony’s spine, “a few minutes is all they need.”
“Couldn’t you just use your stare on them?” Spike asked trying to be helpful.
“They don’t have eyes,” Fluttershy explained, “and they’re not like any other animal. They’re just, well, unnatural.”
“Goodness,” Rarity uttered, “why haven’t we heard of such creatures before?”
“They’re not supposed to exist anymore,” Fluttershy explained. “They largely thrived before Princess Celestia and Luna brought order to Equestria and began raising the sun. Dark mites just can’t live in the sun. They had to move to caves and places where the sun couldn’t reach. If they’re guarding the cave…” Fluttershy couldn’t finish the sentence but they all understood her message.
“Maybe Starswirl has more information,” Twilight tried to turn away from Fluttershy’s train of thought. “And I have yet to breach the entrance. If this was truly a Dragon Archive, how could dragons store their scrolls within while all these dark mites buzzed about? There had to be an answer. I waited out in hiding and after three weeks, a medium sized dragon appeared and entered the cave. With a breath of fire he illuminated several torches on the wall and the dark mites willingly moved away. I can only surmise that the dragons have conditioned the dark mites to instinctively fear their flames, or perhaps these creatures simply obey the dragons in return for using the cave as a home. In any case, this symbiotic relationship makes for a brilliant defense. Still, I can hardly see the point of writing something if you don’t intend to share it. It’s just selfish and unfair.” 
Twilight paused at this, sharing similar thoughts with this ancient unicorn. Then Spike urged her to continue. “I decided to take a chance and follow the dragon into the cave. The torches shared one fuel line, which ran throughout the cave and was filled with a substance I cannot discern. I collected a sample and will analyze it for later use. 
“I followed the dragon further down the passage. We descended several feet into the earth to reach a large room, which could likely fit the entirety of Canterlot. In this room, were shelves of books and scrolls. They all seemed too massive to hold, much less read. The dragon placed a hand on a rather large pedestal near the front of the room panel and breathed more fire into an opening above the panel. He then spoke something into the panel and a large book came flying off the shelves and shrunk itself to fit perfectly in his hands. This is a monumental discovery. It proves dragons are capable of their own level of magic and could come close to rivaling unicorn magic. That is if they ever pursued the art. As he proceeded to read the book, a scroll appeared before the pedestal. Two small dark shapes appeared beneath the scroll and moved it to a nearby shelf. I believe the dark mites act as a sort of librarians to this place, organizing scrolls that dragons send them. Perhaps, this is why some dragons have the unique ability to teleport scrolls through their fire. They never even have to visit the library; they can just use their fire breath as I and many other ponies have theorized. 
“Before I could explore the library, the dragon’s ears twitched as if he heard something. All I heard was a high-pitched humming. The dragon instantly breathed flames towards my direction. I raised a protective shield but he quickly distinguished the flames and the dark mites instantly breached my shield and began to bite me. By some miracle, I managed to teleport away before their poison could take full effect, and drag myself to my hiding place outside the entrance. I had to wait out the effects of the poison for three minutes. This was a most unpleasant experience. I felt sweaty, light-headed, a throbbing headache, could barely stand on my own four hooves, and could not perform a simple illumination spell.
“That was a misadventure but not a fruitless one as it left me with some greater understanding. That humming noise I heard before the dragon attacked, it most likely came from the dark mites, as they were the only other being in the room that I could see. Perhaps, dragons and dark mites have some method of communication that ponies cannot hear. And this liquid oil-like substance I collected, I believe it is reproducible. It could serve as excellent lantern fuel.
“Unfortunately, I cannot breach the cave with regular fire. I tried it a few days ago, and barely escaped. These dark mites appear to be a hive mind; they worked together to block my path and trap me. I am faced with a true conundrum. Even if I could trick a dragon into lighting a lantern with his fire, it simply would not be enough. Yes, it might ward off the dark mites but I doubt it would stop them completely from storming, especially around night when they are particularly vigilant. The entire cave needs to be lit up with dragon fire and a dragon must be present. I believe this is the only way to calm these creatures – no, these monsters. I will reproduce this substance and detail my process for doing so, but until I find a dragon willing to show me these caves, I’m afraid, we will never truly know the history of these proud dragons. I hope to come back some day. I have so many questions and this Dragon Archive surely has all the answers. For the time being, I think it’s best to leave this place alone for the safety of other ponies.”
Twilight finally stopped reading as the rest of the group looked on in reverent silence. So much was fitting into place. For Spike, he finally felt a new sense of hope.
“They could give me the answers,” he said breaking the silence. The ponies turned to look at him.
He repeated himself with increasing excitement, “They could give me the answers. Who I am, where I came from, who my parents are.”
Twilight had been sharing similar thoughts. This could be the perfect opportunity for Spike to receive some clue of his origins or even some closure. He had been anguishing over these thoughts all morning, but now he had a chance to find answers. She should have shared his excitement but found some reservation kept her from doing so. 
“Now hold your horses there, Spike,” Applejack interjected, “even if we got in these Dragon Archives, we have no idea what we’re looking for.”
“I’m pretty sure dragon eggs gone missing would be an event worth recording,” Spike explained. Then he narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean ‘we’?”
“You seriously didn’t think we would let you do this alone?” Rarity questioned her friend. “If those archives are as big as they sound, you’ll need all the help you can get to search those records.”
Spike considered this for a moment and admitted there was some logic to it. Spending years reading endless scrolls and books in a room large enough to hold all of Canterlot was certainly not appealing. With friends, it could certainly go by more quickly.
Then he shook his head. “No,” he stated firmly, “I’m not letting any of you risk your lives for me. If those dark mites hurt any of you, I could never forgive myself.”
“And if they hurt you?” Rarity walked over to Spike to look him in the eyes with a fiercely protective gaze. “For all we know, they might turn on you if they see you are not a dragon who, well, lives with other dragons.”
Rarity’s stumble on her words did not go amiss to Spike. She had said the dark mites might attack him if they saw he wasn’t a dragon who lived with other dragons, but he understood she had almost said they might not see him as a dragon. He took no particular offense to this statement and recognized that he was not the traditional kind of dragon. Spike liked to think he was his own kind of dragon. He grew up with ponies, who taught him to be kind and generous. He did not like hoarding all of his belongings to himself and actively resisted his dragon greed. On the outside, he was a dragon but on the inside, he was a pony.
With all this in mind, he had to admit his friend had a point. If these creatures turned on him because he was not like most dragons, he did not think he would fare particularly well.
“Well,” Pinkie Pie decided to join in, “we could always go in with lanterns lit by Spike.”
All of the ponies and Spike turned and looked at Pinkie Pie uncertain how to respond to her statement. She shrugged nonchalantly, “it seemed like the obvious thing to do.”
Sometimes, Pinkie Pie could point out the obvious solution when every pony was overthinking the issue. It could be both frightening, that behind her happy persona there could be a brilliant mind, and humbling, that the party pony came with the solution when the others could not. Rainbow Dash glanced and Pinkie and frowned.
“There’s still a problem,” she pointed out, “we’d be exploring this place for hours, maybe even days, and candles burn out.”
“Candles?” Pinkie asked with a slightly confused, “I thought we were going to use that stuff the bearded guy took from the cave. You know, the stuff in the barrel I’m sitting on,” she gestured to the barrel and pointed out a label on the side, “It says Dragon Archive Fuel, so I figured this was what we would be using.”
They all noticed the barrel and the label, both of which had been before their eyes this whole time. Pinkie never ceased to amaze.
Twilight walked over to the barrel and after flipping through the journal’s pages found a similar-looking barrel illustrated, along with instructions how to create the substance and safely use it as fuel. She began performing silent calculations in her brain, accounting for the probability they would have the place to themselves for some time, how often they would need to break for food and water, how many scrolls or books they could read through in a given day, and various other factors.
“I think,” she spoke slowly, “this could work.”
The ponies and Spike all glanced at each other in excitement. They were really going to do this. They were going to explore some place only the unicorn Starswirl the Bearded dared to venture. They would be the first ponies to learn about dragons, through their own writings. Spike could barely contain his excitement. He was going to learn more about his culture. He was going to find his family.
“Um,” Fluttershy nervously mumbled.
“What is it, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash glanced at her shy friend, “Is something wrong?”
“It’s just that,” Fluttershy continued with more confidence, “we probably shouldn’t stay in the caves when it gets dark out.”
Rainbow Dash gave her friend a playful sneer, “what? You afraid of the night?”
“When it comes to dark mites, yes,” Fluttershy spoke grimly, “they become very active at dark. They probably won’t go outside the cave, knowing that the sun will rise within hours, but they will be very aggressive in the cave. I’m not sure having a dragon or dragon fire would ward them off completely.”
“So we work by day,” Rainbow Dash felt a bit shaken at the thought but wouldn’t let it show, “and leave before it gets dark outside. We can have some pony keep watch over the time and we’ll be fine.”
“I hope so,” Fluttershy replied unconvinced and wary, “for our sakes. There’s nothing more scary than dark mites at night.”

***

So the friends each set about their own tasks in preparing for the journey.
Following the journal’s instructions, Twilight succeeded in replicating the substance, which she started calling dragon oil, until she had produced ten more barrels. She figured they would be working for a while so they might as well have a surplus of it. Plus, the ingredients were actually common and could be largely found at a pony market, so she had no doubt she could visit the closest town to retrieve more ingredients if needed. All the while, she continued feeling nervous as to what Spike might discover.
Using Fluttershy’s information on dark mites, Rarity fashioned each of her friends a protective outfit to ward them off. She knew they would not keep a dark mite from eventually breaking through incredibly tough fabric, but it would delay them long enough for their friends to bat away the dark mites with their lanterns. In the mean time, she asked her friend to take care of Sweetie Belle in her absence, giving her instructions. All the while, she was eager to set Spike’s heart at ease.
Applejack gathered camping supplies and a horse drawn cart. They had plans to camp near the archive so they could wake up at first light and fully utilize the daytime to explore the records. The horse drawn cart was to carry the barrels of dragon oil Twilight had made and their other supplies. Rainbow Dash and she had agreed to pull the cart together, seeing as they were the physically strongest of the group. All the while, her mind was set on helping Spike find the truth.
Pinkie Pie gathered a weeks worth of food and water. It was mostly traveling food, stuff they could eat quickly while having a decent meal. As a afterthought, she also gathered some gems for Spike just in case he had another bout of unhappiness. All the while, she focused on making sure Spike would be happy no matter what they found out.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash found lanterns matching Twilight’s descriptions, and a seven hour sand timer from a certain dental pony. The lanterns were light-weighted, a dull grey, and could be carried with magic or hooves. They were capable of enhancing the light of a fire and sustaining it for hours. When combined with the dragon oil and Spike’s fire, they had no doubt the lanterns would ward off almost any dark mites. The timer was to keep track of the day, so they could keep track of the time and leave the cave come night. Fluttershy even managed to find a dark mite anti-venom, but she had doubts about its efficiency. Rainbow Dash also thought to pack a first-aid kit just in case of an accident. When Fluttershy asked why Rainbow Dash had such a kit, Rainbow Dash explained there were too many answers to that question. All the while, both were steeling themselves to protect their friends and help Spike see his mission through.
Spike packed more parchment and quills. He reasoned that it would be useful to draw a map of the Dragon Archive, not only so they would know where they were going, but also so they could gauge how the dragons organized their records and find the ones most relevant to him. All the while, he felt a mixture of excitement, for the chance to finally find out where he came from, and unease, at putting his friends in danger. He promised himself that he would not let them come to any harm. He also felt unease at the prospect of finding the answers. What if he didn’t like what he found? He wasn’t sure he could take another heartache.
It took time, but they managed to gather all of their supplies and meet up at the train station as the sun began to set. They had agreed to take the train to the city closest to the badlands and then proceed to the Dragon Archives on foot. When they finally entered the train bound for their city, Spike and the others were already feeling somewhat tired. After eating a meal provided by the train service, they went back to their trolley and soon found themselves drifting into slumber as the train departed.

***

Twilight sat at the caboose of the train wide-awake. She just had too much on her mind to get a peaceful sleep. By morning, they would arrive at the city, by afternoon, the Dragon Archive. She wanted to be excited for Spike; he was going to learn about his family, but instead, she found herself rather apprehensive.
“Twilight?” Fluttershy’s gentle voice interrupted Twilight’s thoughts and she turned around to see the yellow pegasus accompanied by Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie.
“Sorry,” she smiled apologetically, “did I wake you up?”
“We’re fine, dear,” Rarity assured her although Rainbow Dash gave a brief snarky look that suggested otherwise, “but is there something troubling you?”
As much as she wanted to say no she was perfectly fine or she just woke up and needed to take a little walk, she knew better than to lie to her friends. They deserved to know the truth.
“I guess I was just worried about what Spike may discover in the Dragon Archives,” she confessed moving over to her friends.
“What?” Rarity prompted remembering when Spike almost left them to join the dragon migration, “are you afraid he might find out who his family is and leave us to find them?”
“Well, yes, that thought had crossed my mind,” Twilight admitted, “but I’m a bit more worried that he might find something,” she searched for the proper word, “something bad.”
“What do you mean?” Applejack asked with a look of concern.
“Well, what if he finds out his parents are no longer around, or they were monsters,” Twilight’s mounting dread began to take control, “or they forgot him as an egg and just left him unattended, or they didn’t want him so they abandoned him completely, or what if, what if he doesn’t find anything at all and learns he was always alone?”
The group looked at her with unease as though they had never thought of such a possibility. Before Twilight could continue worrying any further, Rarity stamped her hoof decisively making every pony jump with surprise.
“Well, Miss Sparkle,” she spoke with irritated certainty, “I’ll tell you what we’ll do: exactly what we did for him this morning, hold him, wipe away his tears, and remind him that we are his family and we will always love him!”
They all stared at Rarity with shock until she realized how un-lady-like her outburst was and blushing tried to dial back, “well, um, what I meant was, that we would be there for him in such an unfortunate event.”
Applejack smiled at her friend’s conviction and passion and joined in, “she’s right, Twilight. For all we know, Spike might be having the same fears you’ve been having. If those fears come true, well, we do what any good friend should do.”
“Let him know that in our eyes, he is still important to us as a friend and a member of this family,” Rainbow Dash finished the thought, then realizing how un-cool she might have sounded quickly added, “and tell him that his family’s a bunch of jerks so he shouldn’t sweat it.”
Twilight gave Rainbow Dash a hard stare and she smiled apologetically, realizing her statement was rather inappropriate.
“Well, don’t tell Spike,” Pinkie chirped in as she instantly brought her voice to a whisper, “but I brought him some gems to munch on if he ever feels unhappy or unloved again.”
Twilight smiled at her friend and chuckled, “I’m sure Spike will appreciate that.”
“Whatever happens,” Fluttershy spoke quietly but firmly, “we have to let Spike know we will still care for him. If he chooses to go find his family, he can always come back to Ponyville and find us waiting for him. If he doesn’t like something about them and stays with us, we shower him with love tenfold and show him that he is home with us.”
Twilight smiled at Fluttershy’s heartfelt statement and felt her eyes water a bit with joy. They were right. That’s how she had always tried to be with Spike. Whenever he was upset as a hatchling, she did her best to comfort him. When he wanted to know what being a dragon meant, she let him go to join the migration. Maybe she didn’t always do the best job of being sensitive to his feelings, but she would do the best she could to raise him and remind him that he would always have a home with her.
“You’re all right,” Twilight declared with a new-found confidence, “we might not be related to him by blood, but we are Spike’s family because we are connected by bonds of friendship and love.”
The friends smiled and embraced. Unbeknownst to them, a certain purple baby dragon had watched this whole exchange. Seeing these ponies accept him as a friend and family member was more than he felt the right to be. As he snuck back to his sleeping place, the tears he felt this time were very different from the tears he shed this morning. He was accepted, more than that, he was loved. As he closed his eyes once more to drift back to sleep, he found himself lighter and more peaceful than he ever felt in his entire life.

> Chapter 3 The Endless Search
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Once the group reached the city the next morning, the journey to the Dragon Archives was fairly uneventful. The badlands were difficult to traverse by hoof, especially while the group carried their supplies, but they managed as best they could. Twilight had copied the exact location of the archive on a map and was expecting to see a doorway or pillars of some kind, but instead found a cave opening wide enough to fit a fully-grown dragon. It seemed unassuming enough, and was not particularly interesting by itself. No wonder no pony thought to explore it. And even if they had the dark mites … she shuddered at the thought.
It would be too late to start investigating today as it was already late afternoon, so the group decided to set up a base camp and settle down for the evening. They eventually made camp on an area far enough from the entrance so they would not provoke the dark mites but close enough to have fairly easy access to it come morning.
Spike helped Applejack unload the sleeping bags while Twilight set down the barrels of dragon oil from the cart. Eventually, they had a homey little campfire, courtesy of a certain purple dragon and had several of their lanterns lit and forming a circle around the campsite.
Not a moment to soon, as soon the sky darkened and the night rolled in. They laid down on their bags staring at the starry night sky and reminiscing on past adventures, when Pinkie and Applejack brought out the food. It was mostly bitter camp stuff that Spike did not particularly care for, so he hoped Pinkie would eventually offer him a gem he heard she had brought along.
As they ate, Twilight went over their plans. 
“Alright every pony,” she spoke with authority and Spike couldn’t help smiling when he thought how becoming a princess made her seem more leader-like, “tomorrow morning, we descend into the Dragon Archives, but we need to make sure nothing can go wrong. Spike and I will go in and make a map of the place while the rest of you search through the works to try and get an understanding of how they are organized. I can teleport Spike and myself away when the time comes to leave, so we’ll meet up with the rest of you. Spike usually has a good handle on time so I think we’ll know when to leave. We’ll probably be looking for a book or scroll about purple eggs with purple spots or parents missing a child. One of us has to keep an eye on the timer so we don’t risk staying too long.”
“I’ll watch it!” Pinkie Pie volunteered, “I’ve always wanted to watch a timer.”
Twilight gave Pinkie a serious expression, “Pinkie, this is serious. Can we count on you to warn us?”
Pinkie saluted Twilight with a free hoof, “you can count on me, ma’am!”
Twilight had her doubts but Pinkie was usually serious when it came to the safety of her friends. Twilight continued.
“Then, the next day we can begin searching through the records and keep track of what we find. From there on, we’ll just keep reading through until we find something.”
“Do you really think we can read an entire library the size of Canterlot?” Applejack asked uncertainly.
“We don’t have to read thoroughly,” Twilight responded, “just skim over the contents until you find something of interest.”
“Here’s an idea,” Rainbow Dash interjected, “why don’t we just take all the stuff out of the archive so we don’t have to keep coming back?
“I had considered the idea but I think it’s too risky,” Twilight explained, “for all we know the dark mites might not let us take anything outside the archive. And even if we could, we would still have to read millions of papers, and I hardly think we have the ability to transport all of them. Plus, if a dragon comes by to check on the archive, I don’t think it would do us well to dump all of their pieces outside. We might not be able to reenter.”
Rainbow Dash nodded reluctantly and sat back down.
“It will be difficult and dangerous,” Twilight warned the group.
“When hasn’t anything we’ve done been difficult and dangerous?” Spike asked. Then as an afterthought he added, “still, I won’t think any less of any of you if you don’t want to go in.”
“Aw, can that talk, Spike,” Applejack snappily answered, “we’re all doing this for you, and none of us is going to let you down.”
Spike smiled as every other pony nodded in agreement and Twilight continued, “No pony or dragon should be without one of Rarity’s protective suits, a lantern with Spike’s fire, or some of Fluttershy’s anti-venom. Travel together in groups and make sure you meet up at the entrance before night. Soon,” she glanced at Spike, “we will have the answers.

***

Morning approached and the group rose from their slumber. After a quick breakfast, they walked to the cave entrance with Spike at the lead. Scanning the cave walls, he saw the torches Starswirl had mentioned, all connected to each other with one pipeline, and lit one closest to him. Instantly, the others lit up in a chain reaction and the whole cavern was illuminated similar to the way the secret room in the castle had. He motioned for his friends outside the cave to follow and together they descended several stairs and came to a large room covered in darkness that sometimes seemed to twitch.
So far, so good Spike thought as he lit another nearby torch causing another chain reaction that lit torches across the entire room. Spike and the others gasped when they saw how truly massive this whole place was; Starswirl was right when he suggested all of Canterlot could fit in here, but Spike wondered if they could fit perhaps three or four more. At the entrance, he saw the same pedestal Starswirl had mentioned and beyond that there seemed to be endless rows of shelves that stretched so far and so wide that Spike was not certain he could see the end. He had no idea how he would read just one of these immense books much less one half of the large scrolls, when he could not fit them in his hands.
Instinctively, he walked over to the pedestal and placed his hand on top of it. In a second, the books, and scrolls, shrunk to a size he and his friends could carry. The shelves were still stretching out incredibly far and wide but at least they could manage with the texts.
The group nodded to each other and set about their tasks. Spike mounted Twilight’s back and drew his own parchment and quill, ready to map out this structure as she flew.

***

Originally, they had planned to fly along the walls of the cave to map out the archive, but Rainbow Dash suggested they just fly above the cases and draw a map looking down.
After a good ten minutes with a bird’s eye view, Spike had a decent map of the structure of the library. It was square-shaped, and there were shelves lined up in rows with decent space between them. Now he just had to count the number of shelves. To facilitate this process, Twilight suggested he count the rows and columns and multiply them.
As Spike counted, he decided to talk to Twilight about what he saw on the train the previous night.
“So,” he said, “I heard you woke up that night on the train and every pony followed you.”
“Well, I was having trouble sleeping and wanted to take a walk,” she explained.
“No need to humble, I heard everything you all talked about. Twilight.”
She tensed up a bit at her name, “Yes?”
“Thanks,” Spike smiled remembering it all with great fondness, “you have no idea how much I needed what you all said. I’m glad you’re my friends.”
She smiled as well remembering the events with similar fondness, “we’re glad you’re our friend too, Spike.”
“One thousand.”
“What?”
“I was just counting the columns,” Spike quickly explained, “getting a rough estimate.”
“I counted over one hundred thousand on the rows,” Twilight explained.
“How many does that come out to?” Spike wondered prepared to do the math.
“Over one million shelves,” Twilight said glumly, “with who knows how many records.”
Spike suddenly didn’t like their chances of finding anything.

***

Returning to share their discovery, no sooner had he dismounted off Twilight than Pinkie ran over to Spike with excitement and a book.
“Hey, Spikey,” she hopped up to him and handed him the book, “get a load of this!”
Spike read the title, The Art of Breathing Fire: Making the Deadliest Flame with the Smallest Effort.
“Hmm,” he grinned appreciatively, “I want to read through this one later.”
“There’s a whole shelf just dedicated to fire breathing,” she exclaimed taking back the book to return it to its rightful place, “and another shelf on how to fly.”
“You can’t learn how to fly from a book,” Rainbow Dash snorted as she walked over to Twilight, “those dragon blunderheads are probably too clumsy to know how to fly anyways.”
“Well, most dragons can’t read,” Twilight said with a glare, “they had to use their instincts.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Rainbow Dash dismissed the thought, “anyways I looked through a few shelves, found a map that showed the dragon migration routes, where to find the tastiest gems, and some of their history before Discord came to power, but nothing about eggs.”
Rarity soon joined the group and shared her findings, “Well, I found a most interesting collection of various prominent dragon clans, but,” she looked a bit crestfallen, “nothing that matched Spike’s description or mention of lost eggs.”
Applejack came trotting along and had similar luck, which is to say none. She only found some book detailing dragon wars of thousands of years past.
Fluttershy found a scroll that mentioned stolen eggs but none of them were purple or even had spots. Once Pinkie Pie returned, Twilight showed them Spike’s map.
“Where are all the shelves?” Rarity asked, “the map looks rather empty.”
“Well, that’s the problem. There were too many to draw,” Twilight began, “Spike and I estimated there to be well over a million shelves.”
The group looked a little disheartened. They couldn’t possibly hope to find what they sought within a year, much less a week.
“Well,” Rainbow Dash put on her showman confidence, “we aren’t going to get anywhere standing around all day! Let’s get started.”
The group nodded and made larger copies of Spike’s map. They agreed to split up in groups of two and divide the archive into three different sections and categorize each shelf they found until they found some sort of pattern. Twilight had to admit Rainbow’s suggestion for mapping out the library, definitely saved them time. They could get a fairly decent start on their search today.

***

Spike groaned at another wrong lead. He had read of a missing purple egg similar to his but this egg was lost centuries ago. Not his.
Placing the scroll back on its shelf, he picked up another scroll, hoping it would be a more recent scroll. No luck, it was from centuries ago. This whole shelf was from centuries ago. Spike marked the subject of the shelf on his map and heard a similar growl of frustration from Twilight on the adjacent shelf.
Let’s see, that’s twenty shelves down on our side, Spike kept tally, just about 333,313 more to go. Spike felt any optimism he might have once had melt away. This is hopeless.

***

Three hours later, and still nothing. Twilight was getting really irritated at all of these books containing nothing relevant to their searches. Then she glanced over at Spike and recognized similar frustration. Determined not to let Spike see her upset, she assumed a confident posture, marked the shelf, and proceeded to the next.

***

This is hopeless, Spike thought once more as he shoved another useless book back into its shelf. We need some way to just find what we’re looking for. At the rate we’re going, we won’t be done within this decade.
He sighed and sat down a moment, rubbing his throbbing head and marking off another shelf. Suddenly, he tensed as he heard something. He would have been startled hearing most anything in this stone quiet tomb but this sound was unnatural. No living being could possibly make such an awful, chilling, sound.
“Twilight?” He looked for his purple alicorn protector and saw nothing but empty shelves. Was he going insane? He heard the unnatural sound once more but this time it curve itself into words.
What shall we do? We cannot smite these intruders now when they have dragon fire and this dragon at their side. 
Spike stood up and glanced around nervously, wondering where in the name of Celestia had Twilight gone off. These voices didn’t sound natural, they didn’t even sound like voices. They reminded Spike of various noises that had no speech, hooves on pavement, fire crackling, pattering of rain, or the wind blowing. None of these noises should have a voice. What he heard now reminded him of these noises. This noise was never meant to have a voice and yet its noise was twisted to emulate a voice. It was sound given words.
They are cleverer than others. They plan to leave come night and return the following day to defile our home. Defile our archives.
Spike was beginning to think he was listening in on something he should never have heard in the first place. When he heard the all too apparent contempt and bloodlust, he felt a chill down his spine and his tongue felt tied up in his mouth
Strange that a dragon would not know how to summon the text he sought. He need only ask us at the pedestal and we would provide. 
Spike now felt beads of sweat rolling down his face as he realized he might very well be watched. He tried to muster up his courage. 
But the ponies are a problem. We are tasked to guard this place and given it as a home in return. If our accomplices find out we cannot hold up our end of the bargain …
Spike narrowed his eyes. They were tasked with guarding this place? Would that mean this was the voice of those dark mites? He hoped Twilight would find him soon. She could make sense out of all of this.
We cannot let our brothers in the other archives be punished for our failures. When night falls, we will return to full strength then we shall act. Tonight we stop the ponies from defiling our home any further. Tonight we shall collapse the cave and destroy the archives!
“No!” Spike couldn’t help screaming at this voice, “I need to know about my family! Please, don’t destroy these archives!”
There was no response. Spike began to wonder once again if he was going insane. Minutes passed and there was nothing but empty darkness. Then he heard it again.
If you wish to know the truth, little dragon, you have only to ask.
Spike blinked in surprise and glanced around in the darkness. Finding his courage he spoke again.
“Please, tell me and my friends the truth about my family.”
Not them. The secrets of dragons are not meant for non-dragons.
“But they’re my friends! Please, you have to make an exception.”
We are sorry. But more will come and defile our home if we even gave one scroll to them.
“They’re good ponies,” Spike insisted, “if you asked them not to tell any pony about this place they would.”
Truly?
“Yes.”
The voice seemed to consider his statement. After a few minutes, it spoke.
Meet us at the pedestal tonight alone in secret. We will share the truth only with you. Once we have shown you the truth, do you promise your … friends … will never return and jeopardize our safety?
Spike took time to consider their offer. He didn’t like it. Twilight had warned them not to hang around this place at night or those dark mites would—Spike really preferred not to think about it.
“Forgive me if I don’t trust you,” he said wary of any offer they might make.
Forgive us if we do not trust you. No dragon has ever willingly brought a pony into this place. It upsets the balance. If you show yourself to us tonight, we swear we will not harm you. Once you prove to us that you are not afraid to seek the truth no matter the risk or consequence, we will reward you with the truth.
“I’ll have to tell my friends that we would be meeting—“
NO! The truth must be sought alone! If you willingly bring them before us at night, we will be forced to collapse this place. Then you will never know the truth.
The voice became silent and Spike considered his options. Do nothing and cowardly let the Dragon Archive collapse and never discover his past, making this whole journey a waste and leaving all of his questions unanswered? He didn’t want to lose this one chance to find the truth, especially after his friends had given so much just to help him. Allowing a priceless archive to collapse seemed like a pathetic way to repay them.
Or lie to his friends, risk his life, and receive the answers, then convince his friends to never return? He really didn’t want to lie to his friends and betray their trust, but if he didn’t take this opportunity, wouldn’t that be throwing away all they had done to get him here? They often risked their lives for him. Maybe he should risk his life just this once to show how much all their efforts and love meant to him.
“After you tell me the truth,” Spike asked, “would you please let me let me tell my friends about you, how you all want to be alone and us being here risks your safety?”
Only after. Do we have a deal?
Spike gritted his teeth and silently whispered, “yes.”

***

“Spike? Spike, wake up,” a familiar voice roused him as he felt some pony shaking him. He opened his eyes to see Twilight staring intently at his face.
“Your lantern went out,” she held up a lantern whose flame she rekindled, “you were just sitting there sleeping.”
“Twilight?” Spike rubbed his eyes and groggily rose to his feet, “did you hear them?”
“Hear who, Spike?” She frowned at his question, “there’s no pony here but you and me.”
Spike remembered his promise to those dark mites and was certain he did not dream it all. He also remembered he promised not to say anything about them.
“Um, sorry,” he said as he faked a yawn, “I must have been dreaming.”
Twilight studied her friend for a moment. Spike was certain she suspected something. If she did, she didn’t say so. 
“Come on,” she said hoisting Spike onto her back, “it’s almost night.”
They met up with the rest of their friends at the entrance, all of whom looked rather tired from a day of non-stop, fruitless reading. Wordlessly, they marched out of the archive into the tunnel.
Spike glanced back at the archive nervously. He promised those creatures he would meet them. He promised to betray his friends to save this place from destruction. He felt sick to his stomach just thinking about it.
“Don’t worry about it, Spike,” Twilight said noticing her friend’s glance, “it’ll still be there tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” Spike knew it would be. He was going to lie to his friends to make sure it would. Soon, they crossed out of the tunnel into the sunset.

***

Dinner was uneventful, to say the least. No pony had found anything of interest and no pony had made a considerable dent in their section. They ate with mental exhaustion and fatigue.
“Ugh,” Rainbow Dash groaned as she squinted her eyes, “I think I’ll settle for never seeing another book about snacking on gemstones for the rest of my life!”
“On the bright side,” Pinkie said trying to smile, “I learned a lot about how to breathe fire.”
Applejack gave Pinkie a tired look. Under any other circumstance, she might have found Pinkie’s humor amusing, but tonight, she just found her annoying.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Twilight frowned as she looked through her friends’ sections. “None of these books are organized in any logical order. They’re just random! It’s like something just haphazardly tossed the books randomly in the shelves and said ‘that’s fine, it’s not like some other dragon will want to find those later’.”
“Spike, dear, aren’t you going to eat your food?” Rarity glanced at Spike’s hardly touched dinner plate.
“I’m not hungry,” Spike said despondently. He was not looking forward to what he promised to do. When he realized that his friends noticed he seemed unhappy, he spoke trying to fake an upbeat attitude “why? Did you want it?”
Rarity exchanged a concerned look with Twilight and looked back at Spike. She could only surmise he was unhappy that they couldn’t find anything in the archives today. She wanted to promise him they would probably have better luck tomorrow, but found she couldn’t bring herself to say so.

***

The ponies went to sleep at last and Spike put his plan into action. Quietly as possible, he snuck out from under his covers and grabbed a lantern. He had decided grabbing one of Rarity’s protective suits might or Fluttershy’s anti-venom might cause too much noise and reluctantly decided to return without either.
He glanced back at his sleeping friends, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity. He whispered one more apology and walked to the entrance.
After lighting the lantern and the torches, he actually noticed the darkness scattering away from the light like insects. Except whatever those things were, they couldn’t be insects. Even insects didn’t move that ... unnaturally.
He descended down the stairs back to the room with the pedestal. He lit up the rest of the torches and glanced around. Nothing was here.
“I came,” Spike spoke to the darkness, “now you tell me the truth and please don’t destroy the Dragon Archives.”
He glanced at the roof of the cave and saw the darkness moving. Like a beast, crouched and ready to attack.
Nervously, his eyes shifted around the library and came to the pedestal. What had the dark mites said before? Simply ask what he wanted at the pedestal and it would be given?
He uncertainly walked towards the pedestal and placed his hand on the panel like he had before and breathed another small flame into it. 
“Please give me the truth, like you promised.”
Nothing happened for a second. Spike was beginning to think this was pointless, when he saw two small specks of darkness approach him bearing a scroll. They stood before him expectantly placing the scroll within his grasp. His sweaty claws wrapped around the parchment and the two specks flew away, disappearing faster than his eyes could track. He looked down at the scroll. This was it.
Hands trembling, he carefully and nervously unrolled the scroll and began to read. 
Then he screamed.

> Chapter 4 Truth?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight woke as she hear a noise and felt the ground rumble beneath her. Groggily, she raised her head and glanced at her sleeping friends. Her eyes turned to Spike’s place only to find him absent. She was instantly alert and ran over to the vacant sleeping bag. 
“Spike?!” She desperately called finding nothing, “where are you?!”
“Twilight, what’s going on?” Rainbow Dash grumbled as she and the others finally woke up.
“Spike is gone! Did any of you see him leave?”
Instantly, her friends were on their hooves searching. None had seen a trace of the purple dragon. 
“Hang on, I found something,” Applejack announced scanning the ground, “Footprints, they look like Spike’s. Looks like they lead to the…” she glanced up and saw the cave entrance as well as the light coming from within. “Oh no. You don’t think he…”
Without waiting another second, Twilight grabbed a lantern already lit and raced into the tunnel.
“Twilight wait!” Applejack called, “we need to put on those suits!”
Twilight paid her friends no heed as she reached the cave entrance.
Her friends quickly worked their ways into Rarity’s suits grabbed their own lanterns and followed their friend.

***

Twilight pressed through the darkness and entered the room. She saw Spike leaning against the pedestal with his arms folded and raced over to him.
“What are you doing here?!” She whispered fiercely, “you know it’s dangerous to be here at night—“
“I found out,” Spike interrupted numbly.
“What?” Twilight examined her friend more closely and noticed a distant, cloudy expression. Whatever he ‘found out’ certainly shook him up. “Whatever it is we can talk about it when we get out.”
Spike handed her a scroll he had been holding and bitterly spoke, “I know how Celestia acquired me as an egg.”
“Acquired you?” As she took the scroll from his hand, the rest of their friends entered and crowded around Spike asking him why he left them, why didn’t he realize how dangerous this all was. He wouldn’t say a word. He could barely hear them.
“Spike,” Twilight interrupted her friends and holding up the scroll, “what is this?”
He regarded Twilight a moment and motioned her to read it. Twilight cleared her throat and read aloud, wary of the darkness surrounding them.
“Things have been difficult for numerous dragon clans this year. With the recent surge in diamond dogs, many of us struggle to find the gemstones we so desperately crave. We cannot continue on without our primary source of food. Soon we may be left with no choice but to fight each other for gemstones or leave Equestria altogether.”
She scrolled down the page and found the next entry.
“After negotiations with Princess Celestia, we have managed to strike an alliance that may solve this crisis. She has agreed to supply us with enough gemstones to feed our families in exchange for two things: a written treaty to never seek out and attack ponykind, and some of our eggs for her magical studies. She promised to return the eggs once hatched but the majority of the dragons did not care so long as they received their gems. We readily agreed to this treaty and gave her several of our eggs for her studies. No pony has ever hatched a dragon egg before so it seems unlikely they could. In the event they do, we only gave her the eggs no dragon wanted, the ones too feeble to ever hatch or give strong, fire-breathing dragons. Overall, this agreement has greatly benefited our kind. We received enough gemstones to sustain nearly all of the dragon clans and rid ourselves of dragons who would have been mere burdens.”
Twilight and her friends looked absolutely aghast. How could any other creature do this? Sell their own children for food. They looked at Spike, who had folded his arms and lowered his head.
“Figures,” Spike said no longer filled with sadness but spite, “I hoped to find a family that missed me and instead I got dragons for parents, selfish, cruel, mean dragons.”
Rarity flinched at Spike’s bitterness and tried to console him putting a hoof on his shoulder, “you don’t know that this is you.”
Spike smacked Rarity’s hoof away making her flinch once more, rose to his feet and snarled, “Look at the date. Eight years ago! Twilight hatched me eight years ago! It fits perfectly. I’m ‘an unwanted egg’ a ‘mere burden’ that they never expected would hatch, fly, or breathe fire. And I wish I’d never thought for a second that just maybe my parents could be different.”
He fell down again feeling broken and pathetic, his fears not only confirmed but celebrated in this scroll.
“I should’ve known better. My family is a bunch of dragons. And dragons are just ... monsters .”
Twilight looked on as one of her greatest fears was realized. She wanted to embrace him and let him cry his heart out as he had before, but Spike was past tears. He was despondent, embittered. No comforting would reach him now.
“So why do I have to be one?” Spike let out angry tears, “I never asked to be a dragon, I never asked for this.”
Their hearts all ached to see Spike so furious, so broken. Applejack couldn’t stand it so she walked over to Spike and looked him dead in the eyes.
“Nobody asks to be the way they are,” she spoke with a slightly reprimanding tone, “they show who they are every day in the little things they do, how they help others, share laughs, and love. The way you are Spike is a gentle, sweet dragon, who proves not all dragons are heartless. You prove that everyday.”
“She’s right, Spike,” Rainbow Dash flew over, “your parents may be grade-a jerks, but that’s not who you are.”
Spike sighed. “Well, I now know one thing. It was a mistake to hope they wouldn’t be. Let’s go home.”
“Um, guys, we have a problem” Pinkie Pie interrupted nervously, “the tunnel is gone.”
They all whipped around to see the entrance they came through had vanished, replaced by a shadowy wall. They were trapped.
Twilight walked over to the wall and inspected it carefully. Whatever this was it wasn’t natural stone. The surface was unnaturally bumpy. Before she could blink the wall surged towards her and engulfed her.
“Twilight!” Spike ran to help his friend but found himself surrounded by the dark mites who quickly whisked him deeper into the library faster than his friends could blink. Seeing her friend in trouble, Fluttershy bravely charged at the dark mites surrounding Twilight with her lantern and managed to fend them all off, but Twilight lay in an unconscious, groaning heap. The friends could only watch on helplessly as their lanterns delayed the inevitable approach of a billion ravenous dark mites.

***

“Stop it!” Spike screamed as he flew through the air, “This wasn’t part of our deal!”
What part of our deal said we wouldn’t destroy the intruders if given the chance? No non-dragon may see the Dragon Archives and live.
“I would’ve told them to leave you alone. You don’t have to do this!”
This was never about leaving us alone. This was about luring them back at night to destroy them.
“What?” Spike’s eyes widened with realization. “You’ve been playing me this whole time! You knew they would follow me back in here! You set me up!”
Have you forgotten what we told you? Once you prove to us that you are not afraid to seek the truth no matter the risk or consequence, we will reward you with the truth.
“Yeah, I came here alone. I took the risk.”
And you neglected the consequences, namely the lives of the intruders. 
Suddenly, a new scroll appeared before Spike carried by two of the dust mites.
So we award you with the truth.
“What is this?” Spike narrowed his eyes, “you already gave me a scroll, “You know the one that confirmed dragons are cruel monsters.”
That scroll was only the half-truth. Indeed, dragons willingly parted with their eggs but many more were not as obliging. Many fought tooth and claw to protect their brood only to have the majority rip their children away from them.	
“What are you saying?” Spike growled.
We can recognize the parentage of any dragon, and we certainly recognize yours. Your parents fought tooth and claw to protect you, to keep you with them forever. They’re still alive, and they still miss you.
Spike almost felt his heart stop with joy, but then reminded himself these creatures couldn’t be trusted. “What if I don’t believe you?”
Then we suppose you will never see the truth. This scroll is authentic in every sense of the word and your family is waiting. We haven’t lied to you, little dragon, and we do not lie now.
They offered him the scroll and revealed a new exit.
Take the scroll. Find them.
Spike did not take the scroll and instead stared back trying to find his friends through the darkness. This was all his fault. If he hadn’t been so stupid, none of them would be in this mess. Now they were probably dying because Spike never stopped to consider their safety.
You don’t need them anymore, but your parents have needed you for eight years.
He squinted through the darkness and saw light of six lanterns, but the darkness quickly covered them from sight. They were still alive and they needed him.
Your father wants to see what a fine young dragon you’ve become.
He tried to step towards where he saw the light but found the darkness impede his path.
Your mother has been longing to sing you too sleep every night.
Spoke tried to make out their voices and could faintly hear Rarity screaming his name. Her shriek chilled his very soul.
Your sister has missed her favorite playmate.
He tried to isolate the sound and move towards it.
Your brother wants his big brother back.
“Stop it.” Spike growled, “They don’t exist.” Though he was beginning to question his own certainty.
Please, let us perform our ancient duty and protect this place. Please, go find your family. They’ve missed you.
Once more they pushed the scroll in front of Spike’s face, offering it to him.
Don’t you want to know who your family is?
This gave Spike a pause. He remembered that night on the train, what Twilight said.

“We might not be related to him by blood, but we are Spike’s family because we are connected by bonds of friendship and love.”

Spike softly spoke with more conviction than he had ever known, “I know who my family is.”
Then he blew thick flames through the darkness surrounding him, making it instantly disperse. He continued breathing his fire, unconcerned whether he burned books along the way, as he raced towards the fading lanterns light.
“Twilight! Rarity! Every pony!” He shouted between flames, “where are you?!”
“Spike, we’re over here!” Spoke heard Rainbow Dash’s voice coming from his left and made his way over, “Hurry! The lanterns are going out!”
Spike raced for what seemed like miles, cutting down any dark mites who got in his way with a mighty flame. He knew every second counted and quickened his desperate pace.
This is a mistake little dragon! You go with them and you’ll never know!
“Like I said before,” Spike snarled as he burned through a wall of dark mites, “I know who my family is.”
Finally, he saw them. Backed against a corner with their lanterns, he burned through all the dark mites surrounding them and relit their lanterns. Wasting no time, he ran over to Twilight hanging limply over Applejack’s shoulder.
“Twilight, I’m so sorry!” he yelled with his red eyes gushing tears, “this is all my fault!”
Fluttershy raised a hoof to Spike’s mouth and wiped away his tears. She gently smiled and said, “no pony blames you for this.”
“You should,” Spike said miserably.
“Twilight will be fine with that anti-venom,” Applejack reassured him, “let’s save the moping for after we escape.”
Then the whole chamber began to shake viciously as dust and rocks fell from the ceiling. A loud ringing sounded in Spike’s ears and he winced in pain, doubling over on the ground.
YOU IMPUDENT LITTLE DEMON!! WE GIVE YOU THE KEY TO YOUR TRUE FAMILY AND YOU SIDE WITH THESE PATHETIC PONIES?! WE’LL BRING DOWN THIS WHOLE PLACE AND TAKE YOU WITH US!! YOU CAN SHARE THIS TOMB WITH YOUR FAMILY IN DEATH!!
“Head for the exit!” Spike screamed as he blew more flames to clear the tunnel, “they’re bringing down the archives!”
They all bolted for the exit with the dark mites in hot pursuit. Spike glanced behind him and realized Applejack couldn’t move as fast as the rest while carrying Twilight. At that rate, the dark mites would catch up with her and all of them could see it. He dodged a boulder that fell before him and kept running. He saw the torches on wall and the fuel line sustaining them. Suddenly, he had a crazy idea.
“Rainbow!” Spike got her attention, “do you think you could break the fuel line? I have an idea.”
Rainbow Dash zoomed towards the pipe and strained to pull it out. Spike turned around and breathed as much fire as he could to halt the dark mites approach and buy Rainbow time. Soon, the rest of the ponies joined in helping Rainbow and managed to dislodge the pipeline and sever it, causing massive amounts of dragon oil to cover the cave.
Spike jumped behind the recently formed pool of oil that covered the entire base of the tunnel and set it on fire. Green flames leaped from the oil and halted the dark mites approach. He wanted to congratulate himself, but then he saw the mites climbing towards them from the top of the ceiling. He breathed more flames in an attempt to subdue them. It was no use. These creatures were too frenzied, a baby dragon’s flames would deter them but it certainly wouldn’t stop them. He turned to face his friends, who had given so much to him. He glanced at Twilight unconscious. Then he saw a pool of dragon oil in front of him. Enough to give his friends time to escape, but his own flames would cut him off from such escape. Not to mention, the rocks falling from the ceiling would soon make escape impossible for them all, or maybe just for him.
He didn’t have to think twice about his choice. Like he said before, he knew who his family was, and now he smiled weakly at them.
“Take care of Twilight,” he said and with that ignited the pool of dragon oil in front of him. The rocks on the ceiling finally gave way and collapsed. Before Spike lost sight of his friends, he heard Rarity scream.

***

“We can’t leave him!” Rarity exclaimed desperately trying to move the boulders.
As the tunnel’s rumblings became increasingly violent, Applejack realized the truth none of them wanted to believe.
“He did this so we could escape,” she said nearly choking on her own words, “if we don’t take advantage of this, we disrespect his final wishes.”
She glanced at the comatose Twilight and ran to the entrance. The others reluctantly followed desperate to find some way to save their friend.
They finally escaped the cave. Fluttershy immediately administered the anti-venom to Twilight, then turned around to run back and try to save Spike.
Within ten seconds, however, the entire cave collapsed and dust bellowed from the ground touching the heavens and darkening the night sky.
They could only watch in horror. It was all so surreal. It just couldn’t be, not Spike.
None of them could speak. None of them could think. None of them could breathe. The full weight of this loss finally sunk on the group. Rarity started sobbing violently, Applejack hid her face behind her hat. Rainbow Dash began bawling, no longer caring if her friends saw her tears.
“We failed him,” Fluttershy spoke in a feeble voice.
Pinkie Pie looked at her sadly as she spoke again, “we failed him. We said on that train we would keep him safe, but we failed him.”
Pinkie Pie turned away and noticed something peculiar.
“Applejack,” she said warily, “are you sure you brought Twilight with us?”
Applejack frowned, “of course I did, Pinkie,” but she turned around and gasped. Twilight was gone. They had seen Fluttershy give her the anti-venom moments before the cave collapsed. They all exchanged looks of fear.
“You don’t think,” Rarity spoke through sobs, “you don’t think she went back? Do you?”
They all stared at the cave and the full scope of this tragedy came full circle. They failed Spike and couldn’t even protect Twilight. They stared at the rubble covering the Dragon Archive. It took two of their friends, no, two of their family.
The rubble shifted. They stared curiously as the sun began to rise on the cave. The rubble flew away from the cave entrance, and a purple bubble exited the cave. The bubble evaporated to reveal Twilight Sparkle bearing Spike on her back, alive and well. He lifted his eyes to the rest of his friends and smiled, exhausted and barely conscious. Twilight staggered along with a similar smile and soon collapsed to the ground, depleted but very alive.
The friends rushed over and embraced them both, crying and laughing like a true family.


> Chapter 5 Family
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	They boarded the train once more, homeward bound. As they entered their compartment, the group all collapsed emotionally and physically exhausted.
“Well, I don’t know about any of you,” Rainbow grinned, “but I’m looking forward to never entering caves again.”
The group gave a resounding agreement.
“Personally, I’m looking forward to a nice bath,” Rarity said wiping dirt from her mane.
This received an even louder resounding agreement.
“Still, it’s too bad,” Fluttershy sighed, “we didn’t really learn anything about dragons.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Pinkie smiled.
She shook her mane like a dog shaking off water from its coat. She didn’t release water droplets, however. From her mane, dozens of books and scrolls flew free and covered the ground. All were works from that archive. For what would probably not be close to the last time, they all stared at Pinkie in amazement.
“Pinkie, how did you—?” Twilight stammered, “WHEN did you?”
“They were too busy looking at my left hoof,” she said pulling out a lantern with her left hoof, “to notice my right hoof!” She produced a book in her right hoof from mid-air, the one detailing proper fire breathing techniques.
“This is wonderful!” Twilight enthusiastically collected the works, “you rescued some of their culture!”
“Now we don’t have to start all over from scratch,” Applejack smiled helping Twilight collect the books, “why I’ll bet you learn to breathe amazing flames, eh, Spike? Spike?”
They turned to see Spike intent on a letter he was writing. Finally, he put down his pen and gave a content smile.
“I think it’s done,” he said holding up the paper.
“What’s done?” Twilight asked.
“My letter to Celestia of course!”
"Well," Applejack grinned, "let's hear it."
Spike cleared his throat to recite it.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Recently, I’ve been thinking about family. Maybe family isn’t something we’re all born with. Some of us grow up never knowing a father or mother’s love. But I think family goes beyond blood. I mean I was taken in by Twilight, who was a unicorn at the time, so it’s not like love can only come from one place and it doesn’t come just from your parents.
If we aren’t born with a family, then I think we eventually have to discover a new one. We meet other ponies who fill the holes in our heart and give us friendship, community, love. I know I’ve found six such ponies: Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. Whenever I wanted to cry for the family I thought I had lost, they reminded me that I will always have their unconditional friendship. Maybe I don’t have the answers to where my dragon family is, but I know where I will always be loved and I intend to stay there with my friends and family.
In some ways, friendship is at the heart of family; supporting each other through thick and thin, sharing laughter, and adventures. In some ways family is at the heart of friendship; sharing lives together and bringing each other joy. I know that because I have true, true friends, I have the truest family in all of Equestria.
Sincerely,
Spike

Spike looked up at his smiling friends, each and every one of them.
Twilight smiled proudly at his letter, “it’s perfect, Spike.”
“Yeah,” he looked over his friends and family and gave his own teary smile, “they really are.”
He embraced his surrogate mother, and soon all their friends joined in the big, dirty, stinky, family hug. The train departed back to Ponyville, carrying them all home together as friends and as family.