It Takes a Village

A My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fanfic by "Determamfidd".

Spike only wants things to stay the same. Time, however, has other ideas. He's going to need a lot of help... It's a story about growing up, learning and being accepted.

You can read it here.

"My ponies! Muaahahah! Mine, all mine! M-my p-ponies! Mine? Please? Maybe one? Just one? Just a little one then? How about a background one? Aw dammit. Selfish Hasbro."
 * Animal Wrongs Group: Though the RSPCD are stated to do good work, they get the wrong idea about Spike and demand he be 'freed'. To their credit, their leader Just Cause realizes Spike is happy in Ponyville after speaking to him.
 * Anti-Magic: Dragons are naturally magic resistant, although they are not completely immune to it.
 * Ascended Extra: The green dragon Spike crossed in "Owl's Well That Ends Well", here called "Razorfang".
 * Babies Ever After:
 * Berserk Button: Thanks to dragon territoriality, any insult or threat to the ponies Spike holds dear, especially Twilight, is a Berserk Button for him.
 * Blessed with Suck: Having great strength, claws that can cut rock, the ability to incinerate a field with a gout of flame, and being the size of a few ponies put together would ordinarily be considered a plus; however, these aren't very conducive to living peacefully in Ponyville.
 * Cerebus Retcon: Some things that happened in the TV series, such as the events of "Owl's Well that Ends Well," take on a more serious bent when cast in the light of them stemming from a dragon's innate territoriality.
 * There's also the question of where the School got Spike's egg ...
 * Chekhov's Gun: The same rock that started the whole mess in chapter 3 returns in chapter 15
 * Coming of Age Story: The story is primarily about Spike dealing with the difficulties of growing into an adult dragon; with all of the internal, social, and natural conflicts that that entails. Not that growing up is completely without cool perks for Spike...
 * Also has shades of Growing Up Sucks
 * Continuity Nod: Huffy shares her name with Fluttershy's nickname for Spike in "Over a Barrel" ("Huffy the Magic Dragon").
 * Deadpan Snarker: Spike, primarily.
 * Seems to 'run in the family' so to speak given that he seems to have gotten a lot of it from Twilight.
 * Die or Fly: Spike finally manages to fly near the end of chapter 8 to
 * Does Not Know His Own Strength: One of Spike's biggest issues with growing up - he is far stronger than he's used to being. This complicates such matters as picking up items without slicing/crushing them. This also goes for his firebreathing.
 * Big Macintosh apparently suffered from similar issues when he was young which leads him to offering to teach Spike.
 * Fantastic Racism: A group of ponies fear Spike and think he is nothing but a bloodthirsty monster. The dragon from Everfree Forest has a very low opinion of ponies, and thinks that Spike is less of a dragon because he was raised by them.
 * Freudian Excuse: The leader of the protester ponies Grape Vine grew up hearing horror stories
 * Gene Hunting: Spike does a little of this to discover if he has any living relatives..
 * A Glass in the Hand: If somepony startles Spike while he's holding something, said something usually falls to the floor cleanly sliced.
 * How Do I Shot Web?/Centipede's Dilemma: One of Spike's biggest challenges is learning how to fly. When he finally takes his first flight, he makes it clear that no one is to make him think about how he's doing it.
 * Hypocrite/EntitledBastard: The leader of the protester ponies who believes that Spike is a menace begs Spike to protect everyone when Razorfang appears near Ponyville's outskirts in chapter 11.
 * I Do Not Own: Parodied; the author puts rather hilarious disclaimers at the start of the chapters. One example, from chapter 7:
 * I Do Not Own: Parodied; the author puts rather hilarious disclaimers at the start of the chapters. One example, from chapter 7:

""Now you jest hushit, you young whippersnapper! If somepony's goin' to go tryin' to take our dragon away, they're goin' to have words with me, y' hear? An' if I want t' go protestin', well there ain't nopony old enough to tell me otherwise! You brought back our ol' stream where mah Toffee proposed hitchin' to me. Yer good to mah kin, mah farm an' mah village. Yer our dragon, an' I'll whip the tarnation outta anypony who says otherwise!""
 * Chapter 14's disclaimer is a parody of the first Bad Horse song from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
 * Last-Minute Hookup:
 * Mama Bear: Messing with Spike in front of Twilight is... unwise.
 * Monster Sob Story: Razorfang
 * Mundane Utility: About the only thing Spike plans to use his strength, flight, sharp claws, and firebreathing for that actually falls into what a dragon would normally do is "protect Ponyville" otherwise he seems to prefer helping lift heavy rocks, unblock streams, help make charcoal, cook, and generally lend a claw where a hoof or horn won't cut it.
 * Never Mess with Granny: In Chapter 6, Granny Smith makes her feelings about Spike staying in Ponyville very clear, basically saying that anyone who has a beef with Spike staying where he wants will answer to her.

"Zecora: I will be seeing you again, at Pinkie's party in the glen. Spike: Uh, it's at Sunnybank Park. Zecora: That doesn't rhyme."
 * No True Scotsman: Razorfang frequently berates Spike for not acting like a "true" dragon. The Wyrmstadt ambassador's representative, who isn't even a dragon, also gets in on the act. Spike is quick to point out the Fridge Logic in their stances. The dragon magician sent to oversee the duel in chapter 15 also gets this from Razorfang.
 * In the case of said dragon magician, he has an excellent Shut UP, Hannibal moment when he reminds all present that he is a freaking dragon wizard.
 * Out-of-Character Moment: Somewhat for Zecora, who normally speaks in rhyme like in the show:

"Twilight: Celestia give me patience. Spike the matchmaker."
 * Outside Inside Slur: After finding out that Spike was raised by ponies, Razorfang says "You are no dragon, hatchling. You are nothing but a mammal in a scaled skin."
 * Parental Substitute: Twilight and to a lesser extent the rest of the Mane Six, who help Spike deal with the social, physical and emotional challenges of his situation.
 * Protectorate: To reconcile his dragon-born greed and territoriality with his upbringing, Spike has decided to make Ponyville and everyone in it his Protectorate. The ponies are his 'hoard'.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: The Princesses and the Mayor are naturally this, but a fairly unexpected one is the Magician of Coal Crater.
 * Serious Business: Names are a big deal to dragons. Razorfang disapproves of Spike giving out his name to everyone, and is shocked that Twilight, a mere pony, was the one who named Spike.
 * It turns out that the reason why names are such a big deal is.
 * Shaming the Mob: This being Ponyville, the speech works almost perfectly.
 * Shipper on Deck: Spike actively works on getting Fluttershy and Big Macintosh together.
 * As made clear by the epilogue,

"Zecora: No matter how different, strange or wild, it takes a village to raise a child."
 * Stealth Mentor: The Dragon from the Everfree Forest is this to Spike, if only to groom him to be a Worthy Opponent in their coming showdown.
 * Stealth Pun: The title may be one as a key plot point of the story is Spike claiming (or taking) Ponyville as his territory.
 * Sympathy for the Devil: After hearing Razorfang's Monster Sob Story, Spike feels sorry for him and is unwilling to fight dirty against him despite Razorfang's overwhelming advantage.
 * Title Drop: In Chapter 8, Zecora quotes the proverb that the story is named for:

""And then you will die, and I will not. And I will endure.""
 * Training from Hell: Spike goes through an obstacle course designed to test everything he's learned so far - in one go, with an audience.
 * WAFF: Suffused with heartwarming moments. E.g. Twilight is Spike's sister, for ever and always, and nopony is allowed to say otherwise - not even Twilight.
 * Who Wants to Live Forever?: Spike is not happy about his projected lifespan, although Princess Luna did provide some perspective along an offer of friendship.