Every once in a while, Smokey gets depressed with the fact that he has never had a family, mostly during family-oriented holidays. It seems he's in one of those funks and Fluttershy is trying to comfort him.
When I heard these lyrics in a Nickleback song, this idea popped into my head and I just had to draw it. It was also about time that I drew something sad.
"You're never gonna be alone From this moment on If you ever feel like letting go I won't let you fall When all hope is gone I know that you can carry on We're gonna see the world out I'll hold you 'til the hurt is gone"
-Nickleback, 'You're Never Gonna Be Alone'
Smokey the dragon, he's a magician and he has a rabbit and five doves as his assistants. He's quite friendly and gentlemanly and charming to those he meets, and he takes really good care of his animal friends since they are his family. He is very encouraging, forward, and most likely the gentlest dragon you could ever meet.
He was found by a pony as a baby and therefore, brought to a pony orphanage. He played just fine there until one day, the play room went up in flames thanks to one big sneeze. Ever since, the ponies there were afraid of him and he was locked into his own room to make sure it didn't happen again. They didn't really know what to do with him, the only times the door was unlocked was to give him toys to play with, feed him, and care for him when he was sick. Sometimes he faked illness just to get some attention. He was never adopted because the pony couples there weren't looking to adopting a dragon as their child.
He made friends with a few rats and birds he shared his food with, so he wasn't completely alone. When he turned thirteen years old, he ran away, working a few low wage jobs here and there. He took interest in magic and cooking, learning how to perform magic from different magicians where he traveled until he became as good as he is now.