Spike's body laid there, still as the mountain he had called home.
It was peaceful.
It was tranquil.
It was just as Spike was.
The only sound to be heard was the gentle splash of the river as it continued its course as it had for millennia.
One day, it could dry up, or it could keep running for thousands of years to come.
The only definite was that it ran now as it always had.
The river had cleaned the blood from Spike's claws after his first kill.
The river had polished the fire ruby to a pristine shine many times.
The river had been the portal through which Spike saw himself for over seven hundred years.
And yet, the river flowed on without the dragon.
The river would not mourn his loss.
The river would not cherish his memory.
The river would flow on.
Just as Ponyville, despite its value to its guardian, would continue on without him.
Ponyville was Spike's entire life, but, to Ponyville, Spike was merely a chapter in a book nopony wrote.
Spike was merely a piece of unwritten history.
In the city of Canterlot, there was a palace. In that palace, there was a study which contained a writing desk, a bookcase, a chair, and a fireplace. In that study, a white alicorn sat, staring at a closed scroll. The last letter that Spike the dragon ever wrote to her. The last remnant of the writing style that once filled her every day with a new message from her beloved student. The last piece of evidence that proved Spike's existence.
"Sister?" Luna's voice startled the princess, causing her to drop the scroll onto the rug below. She greeted her sibling with a smile,
"Luna, what brings you here?" The princess of the night frowned, walking towards her older sister.
"You do not seem to be yourself, sister. What is troubling you?" Celestia stared at the scroll, filled with dread. She wanted to tell Luna about what she had done, maybe she'd find some sort of comfort in her sister's support. Maybe Luna would tell her that she was a monster and prove her right. Maybe she'd be punished, she knew she deserved to be.
And yet, she couldn't tell her. It was a burden that Celestia had to carry on her own, just as when Luna was banished. Her mistakes were not something she could force upon her sister. She deserved to sleep soundly, she'd earned that much. With a single flick of magic, the alicorn cast the scroll into the fire. It ignited immediately, crackling and searing until it was nothing but another piece of kindling.
"Nothing, Luna. I just need to get some sleep."
Celestia wasn't sure how long she stared at the fire that night, but she recalled waking up in her chair filled with regret. What had Spike told her in the end? Would it have changed her mind? Would it have solved all of their problems? Would he have understood why she did what she did? She could've read it. She could've shown him at least that much respect. But it was too late now. It was too late for a lot of things.Spike the dragon was gone. Another stick fueling the flame that was Equestria.
Day ???
In a meadow just outside of Ponyville, seven friends had met for a picnic. It was the first of its kind, but it would not be the last. A tradition was created on that day, in that meadow, and it was one none of them would be breaking any time soon. It was a humble set up, just a blanket on the grass, but nothing had ever seemed so perfect. At least for one of them.
Fluttershy and Rarity were talking about something they had planned later in the week, most likely their spa trip. They hardly noticed the click of the shutter, and it was bright enough that the flash went unnoticed, which was perfect as well. Spike wouldn't want to change the moment.
Twilight and Pinkie were watching the clouds. Pinkie pointed out the obvious, Twilight pointed out the reason that the clouds were moving at the speed and trajectory they were moving, and Pinkie pretended to get it. They also didn't notice the camera, but, then again, Spike didn't notice the clouds, so it was probably fair.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash were in a heated discussion about something, probably a bet waiting to be made. Spike would've taken a photo of that, but it would end up looking angry, and that wasn't the point of it at all. The pair weren't really mad as much as they were just pushing each other's buttons. No reason to capture a moment in the wrong context. Besides, he'd already gotten plenty of photos of them during their impromptu three hooved race. That was going straight into the album once he got back to the library.
All the remained was the last member of the group, and to capture an image of him, he would have to get tricky. Spike carefully assembled the tripod, placing it down on the flattest ground he could find, and looked for the timer button. Once he pressed it, he would have to get to a optimum distance in order to get the best picture, and the timer only went up to three seconds. It probably went higher, but he could never figure out how to increase the time. He'd probably end up caving and asking Twilight how it worked, but even baby dragons had their pride. Especially baby dragons like Spike.
His first attempt hadn't gone as planned. He'd walked when he should've run, and because of that he captured a lovely picture of the back of his own head. During his second attempt he'd tripped over a rock, and by amazing luck got a mid air shot of him humiliating himself. The third time wasn't the charm either, and he managed to stand slightly off centre, resulting in half of him getting quite good exposure. Attempts four, five, and six were no better. Although, attempt seven was interesting.
After another failed attempt, a giggle caught Spike's attention. It was then that he noticed something he should've noticed quite some time ago. Fluttershy and Rarity had finished their conversation, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and Applejack and Rainbow Dash had agreed on a time and date for their next challenge. The six mares had instead been watching the dragon run back and forth, trying to get a single good picture of himself.
Spike felt his cheeks glow red as his eyes scanned the amused faces of his friends. "Uhh... I was just trying to fix the timer?" None of them seemed to believe that, and before Spike could reach it, the camera was already in Twilight's hold. The first picture probably got a good action shot of him diving for the camera, the second one likely captured his bemused reaction to not getting the camera, and the third one probably immortalised his eye roll nicely. "Very funny, Twilight."
"You wanted a picture."
"Yeah, but I wanted to do it myself!"
"You can't do everything by yourself, Spike. Nopony can."
"Yeah, well, I'm a dragon."
"Fine. Then nodragon can."
Spike couldn't help but smile at that. He'd always wanted to hear 'somedragon' or 'nodragon'.
"Besides, you've been taking pictures all day. I think it's time that you actually enjoyed the picnic."
"I am enjoying it! I just don't want to forget it. Not a single second."
"Then remember. Now, everypony group up."
The group came together faster than Spike expected, it was almost as though they all knew exactly where there place was. Spike felt the familiar sensation of a magic aura around him, and found himself airborne before landing in the group where a pair of hooves wrapped around him. The young reptile craned his neck to see who they belonged to only to be met with a beautiful pair of blue eyes. "Can't have this picture without you, Spikey-Wikey. Just wouldn't be the same." Spike felt his heart swell at her voice, and a quiet sigh escaped his lips before he turned to the camera that was levitating in front of them.
Just before the picture was taken, Spike realised that he couldn't think of a single moment that deserved to be remembered more than this. Standing there with the six greatest ponies had ever met, or ever would meet, surrounded by so much happiness and love, it was just amazing. Spike was a baby dragon. He had an entire life ahead of him, and he hoped to Celestia that he would get to spend every day of it with these mares.
The camera flashed, and Spike found himself wondering what to do next.