Love's a Drag-on

by The Lord Thunder


Final Chapter

Ponyville seemed much duller than usual when Spike returned, dragging his drooped body along the dirt road that led back to Twilight’s library. A strange, empty feeling persisted inside his gut ever since Sapphire left. Was she really gone for good? Would he never hear her voice, the soft sweet sound of her giggle, or feel the warm touch of her paw again?

Not even the rainbow-colored pony following above was enough to make him lift his head.

“Boy, you sure got me good yesterday, Spike. Those were some mean peppers. Nice prank!” Rainbow Dash bantered on. “But don’t let it go to your head. You just caught me off guard, that’s all, and I’m giving you fair warning that I’ll find a way to get back at you!”

Spike had heard Rainbow Dash’s voice, but her words washed over him. He simply maintained his moping posture without making a sound.

Rainbow stopped her forward movement, holding her hoof to her mouth in an apparent mix of awe and sympathy as she watched Spike walk solemnly along towards the library. Were those tears going down his face? She’d watched him come into town from the direction he usually took when he left to visit Sapphire.

“Uh-oh.” Rainbow hovered in place as she observed Spike, then slowly followed.

***

“I still don’t understand why you’re so jealous of Spike and Sapphire, Rarity,” Twilight said. The two unicorns stood in the middle of the library, where Rarity had paid a visit in order to complain about her lack of a love life. Of course, Twilight was the smart pony that everypony came to when they had a problem.

“It isn’t fair!” Rarity’s curled mane danced as she stomped her hoof in protest. “Why haven’t I found love yet? They’re probably ten years younger in pony years than I am! Why must it take me so long?”

“Probably because you’re too picky?”

Rarity narrowed her eyes. “You could have at least given me the dignity of hesitating before you answered.”

The sound of the door opening brought the unicorns’ attention away from their conversation to see Spike walk into the library.

“Oh, Spike,” Twilight said. “You’re back sooner than I thought you’d be.”

Without paying any heed to Twilight or Rarity, Spike moped across the lobby and up the stairs to Twilight’s room. Not so much as a sound followed.

“Spike?” Scratching her head in confusion, Twilight looked to Rarity for an answer.

“Oh my. Didn’t you see the look on his face? The poor little dragon is crushed.”

Rainbow Dash fluttered in through the still-open door, the worried look on her face telling Twilight that Spike was on her mind, too.

“Hi, Rainbow,” Twilight said. “Did you see Spike just now?”

“Nope." Rainbow's eyes darted as she locked her front hooves behind her back. "Just wanted to check on him because, uh...” She paused to work up an explanation for her being there besides the obvious. “Because I have nothing better to do and we're all friends here, right?”

“Um, excuse me.” Fluttershy appeared underneath her rainbow-colored companion. Once she noticed all eyes were on her, she hung her head, scraping her hoof across the floor. “Oh. I hope I’m not interrupting, but I saw Spike looking really sad. Is he alright?”

Twilight paused to look to the top of the stairs for a few moments then turned back to her friends. “I think he and Sapphire just broke up. He should be all right, in time.”

“We simply must check on him,” Rarity replied.

The other ponies wordlessly nodded in agreement. As a group they crept upstairs into Twilight’s room. The little dragon was there, curled up in his basket, a sobbing, shivering ball of scales.

Rarity was the first to approach Spike and rubbed his back to comfort him. “Spikey-Wikey, sweetie, whatever is the matter?”

“What happened, Spike?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, tell us what’s up!” Dash said.

“Are you okay?” Fluttershy added.

All Spike could do to answer was shake his head no.

Twilight tapped her hoof impatiently as she awaited further response. “Are you gonna tell us what happened or not?” she asked once she realized waiting for Spike to answer on his own was futile.

Spike blinked as he hugged and stroked his tail, trying to find form for the words. “It’s over.”

“Over?” Rarity asked.

“Sapphire’s gone. She left Equestria with her parents.”

Dash gritted her teeth in sympathy as the other ponies puzzled for something to say. “Oh. Bummer, huh? Look, never mind what I said about paying you back for yesterday’s prank. I won’t do it.”

“Rainbow!” Twilight snapped.

“I mean, um…” Rainbow cupped her hooves behind her back, slowly working her mouth until she spit out, “I’msorryokay?”

The cross gaze remained pasted on Twilight’s face. Rainbow Dash sighed and wilted before planting her hooves to the ground so she could rub Spike’s shoulder in sympathy.

“Look, Spike. I’m sorry it happened and it stinks. Is there anything I can do to help?” Rainbow dared a glance over her shoulder at Twilight, who smiled and nodded in approval.

Again, Spike answered with a negative shake of his head.

“Are you sure?” Rarity asked. “I can bring you some nice, delicious gems.”

“Not hungry,” Spike mumbled.

Tears welled up in Fluttershy’s kind blue eyes and streamed down her face, wetting the yellow fur on her delicate features as she listened to Spike's words. Twilight could understand why. She and Fluttershy both knew that Spike would never turn down gems. It hurt to see a friend so sad, and Fluttershy was especially sensitive to her friends' feelings. Fluttershy wiped away the tears and sniffed.

“Look, everypony,” Twilight’s voice called the other ponies’ attention away from the heartbroken dragon. “I think Spike just needs some time to himself.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Fluttershy asked, her eyes glossed with tears.

Twilight looked behind her shoulder at poor Spike, who was still curled up tight. “He’ll be fine… in time.”

"Thank you, Dr. Twilight," Spike grumbled.

Twilight didn't say anything in response, for she hadn't expected Spike to find comfort in those words in such an devastated state.


***

The herd of ponies left the room and trotted downstairs, save for Twilight who remained at Spike’s bedside. Only when he heard the door shut after the last pony left did Spike pick himself up and wrap his arms around Twilight’s front legs. He buried his face into her chest and cried.

“Twilight, it’s not fair! Why does it have to hurt so much?” Indeed, he’d never felt pain like this before.

Twilight shook her head as she rubbed Spike’s back to comfort him. “I wish I knew what to tell you, Spike, but it’s just part of being in love.”

A small groan sounded from Spike. Why did everypony insist on making love seem so grand and fantastic, as if it were the key to ultimate happiness? How come nopony ever told him love could hurt this much? They never talked about the ugly side of it. Of course, most ponies avoided unpleasant topics in general so that might account for it. Even so, nothing could have prepared him for this sort of emotional torture.

“Well, make it stop!” Spike cried.

“Sorry. I don’t know any spells to cure a broken heart. You just need time. Can you be a tough little guy until then?”

The only answer from Spike was a loud sniff.

“Look, I’m going to give you some time to yourself and catch up on my studies. I’ll be right here in the library if you need anything, okay?”

“Okay. ” Spike whispered.

After gently pushing Spike away, Twilight gave him a smile to assure him everything would be fine then retreated downstairs. Once she’d disappeared, Spike threw himself back onto his bed.

***

That night, Twilight’s mouth opened into a big, gaping yawn. She looked out the window and saw a reddish glow trimming the horizon. Easy to lose track of time when you’re pulled inside a good book. After a big stretch of her legs, she set her book on the table and stood up. She hadn’t heard so much as a peep from Spike since earlier that afternoon. Better check on him on the way to bed. As she walked up the stairs, a startling thought came to mind.

He was growing up fast. Maybe this would be the right time to let him go off on his own, to spread his wings with a certain young dragoness, just as she’d dreamed about earlier that week. The idea extracted quiet tears from both her eyes, but she was determined to do the right thing. She couldn’t keep Spike shackled to her forever.

“Spike?”

No answer. Twilight walked further up the stairs, wiped her eyes and approached Spike’s bed.

“Spike?”

Still curled up in his bed, Spike’s answer was a weak moan.

“Listen, Spike.” Twilight dropped to her haunches next to Spike’s basket bed. “You’re—you’re a big dragon now, Spike, and part of being a big dragon means having to make some tough choices.”

Spike could only sigh at Twilight’s words.

“Just hear me out,” Twilight replied, knowing that Spike’s yawn was a half-hearted protest. He buried his face more, as if trying to shut out her words. “Now, I’m going to let you make one of those tough choices. If—” Twilight had to turn her head and gulp down the tears before she could bring herself to continue. “If you want to leave and go find Sapphire, I promise I won’t get mad and I won’t try to stop you.”

For the first time since he laid down earlier that day, Spike moved. He rolled over on his back to look Twilight in her violet eyes. “What?”

“You’re growing up, Spike. I can’t keep you forever.”

“You’d just let me leave?”

“You don’t know how lucky you are, Spike. I don’t even know what it’s like to be in love. If being with her really makes you happy, then I’d be happy.”

Spike could only look up at Twilight, mouth agape in awe.

“I’m going to get some sleep.” Twilight said, more for her benefit than his. “I’ll let you think about it. Whatever you decide, I know it’ll be the right choice. Good night, Spike.”

The next morning, warm beams of sunlight greeted Twilight as she opened her eyes for the day. Stretching and yawning, the memory of the night before filled her with a strange sense of dread. She closed one eye and dared to aim the other at Spike’s bed. Except for his blanket, it was empty. Twilight sighed and climbed out of bed.

So, this was it. Spike was really gone.

A framed picture of Spike and Twilight on the unicorn’s desk caught her attention. It only took a second for tears to run down her cheeks. As long as she lived, she would never forget that little purple dragon. Twilight let out a sigh. Best to get some breakfast, if she could keep it down. Slowly, Twilight stepped downstairs, head hung in sorrow.

***

Spike watched the horizon from the hot-air balloon he’d hired to take him to Baltimare, where according to Sapphire’s latest letter she and her family had passed through that morning. At the rate the balloon drifted, Spike figured they’d overtake the ice dragons tomorrow.

For a while now, his thoughts were full of Sapphire, but when he looked back he could see Ponyville like a tiny toy village. Twilight was there, along with all his friends. He felt their pull on him, but he felt Sapphire’s too. She was waiting for him now, her latest letter full with the joy of their soon-to-be reunion.

So why can’t I be totally happy about it?

***

Twilight’s library was oddly quiet. The unicorn sat in her favorite spot, unable to even open a book. When she made that offer to Spike last night, she wasn’t prepared to miss him so much so soon. She pondered what the dragon was up to, where he was, if he was safe or if he had found Sapphire. It was a deep sorrow that disabled Twilight to do anything but mope.

“Oh, Twilight!” Rarity said as she invited herself into the library, “How is Spikey-Wikey doing? Is he okay? I just felt terrible seeing him in such a miserable state yesterday.”

The mention of her former assistant’s name only caused Twilight to sigh through her nose and shut her eyes to block the tears. Rarity gave her friend a look of concern.

“Twilight, are you alright? You look ill.”

Twilight couldn’t bring herself to look at Rarity, only hang her head in regret. “If you’re looking for Spike, you won’t find him here. He’s gone.”

“G-gone?” Within seconds of hearing that word, Rarity became misty-eyed and held her hoof to her mouth in disbelief. “What do you mean, ‘gone?’”

“He left to go look for Sapphire.”

Rarity slammed her hoof down with a stomp of protest. “Oh. It. Is. ON! She hooked up with Spike and made him happier than I've ever seen him. That's perfectly precious and everything, and I'm happy for it.” The white unicorn began pacing the room with a cross, unblinking look of fury. “But now she’s taken him AWAY from us? I shall not, no, I cannot stand for this! We must go get him back!”

“Forget about it, Rarity,” Twilight answered with a shake of her head. “I gave him the option to leave.”

“You what?” Rarity stopped her pacing and sat down by Twilight’s side so she could wrap her foreleg around her friend’s drooping neck. “Twilight, that was a grand thing to do, letting little Spike follow his own heart without thinking of yourself.”

Twilight grimaced and let the tears flow. “Maybe, but I miss him so much already.”

Once again, Rarity held her hoof to her mouth. As much as she resented the idea of getting her well-groomed coat messy and wet with tears, she scooted closer to allow her friend to cry on her shoulder. “There, there, dahling. Things have a way of sorting themselves out. I too will miss little Spike.”

***

It was evening by the time Baltimare loomed on the horizon. All Spike could do was look up at the clouds as stars appeared in the sky and listen to the whistling wind. It was so lonely out here. Lonely and quiet. Spike shifted his body a bit as he saw a sight he couldn't help but smile at. One of the clouds was round with curly facets framing it and a thin, long wisp emerging from the top of the cloud. It almost looked as if it were a white head with a horn and a curly mane.

“That’s funny. That cloud looks kinda like Rarity,” Spike mumbled to himself. There was a puffy round one next to the Rarity cloud, with an indentation in the middle that vaguely resembled an open-mouth smile. “That one looks like Pinkie Pie.”

My little Spikey-Wikey! This is so generous!

Happy Birthday, Spike!

My number one assistant.

Aw, shucks. He’s such a hard little worker!

I’ve never seen a baby dragon before. He’s so cute!

You know what, Spike? You’re actually pretty awesome!

Like an echo chamber, Spike’s mind rang with the voices of his friends; the friends he’d left behind. Up here, he was so alone. Nopony to talk to. Nopony who cared. He was doing this to be with Sapphire, so why did he feel so empty? In that moment, tears ran down his cheeks. It hit him full-force. What had he done?

But what about Sapphire? Spike knew his friends were special, but were they more special than the most beautiful dragon in the world? Twilight told him she understood, that she couldn't hold him back from love's destiny.

And yet Spike remembered what Sapphire said about the other dragons, and he remembered how abusive they were. What if the other ice dragons were that way, too? Would they accept him the way the ponies had?

Spike stared into the sunset and knew the choice he made would affect the rest of his life. Dragons lived extremely long lives, but to him every day was precious. Love or family? For several minutes he sat there, wrestling with it in his mind, his eyes closed. It felt like he was being pulled in half from both sides in a fierce game of tug-of-war.

When he opened his eyes, he knew. He pulled out a scroll and scribbled a quick letter to Sapphire then sent it on its way.

***

Two days later the morning sun shone through Twilight’s window, prying her eyes open for the day. Begrudgingly, she sat up and rubbed them. It was still hard knowing she wouldn’t wake up and find Spike downstairs preparing breakfast, but Twilight Sparkle was determined to fight her depression as best as she could. What better way to start than with some breakfast?

As Twilight descended the stairs, she slowed down at a familiar scent coming from the kitchen. Oatmeal? Twilight lifted her head to peer into the kitchen. There was Spike, with his heart pattern apron, preparing breakfast.

“Spike!” Twilight cried.

That voice snapped Spike’s attention to the lobby, from whence Twilight ran into the kitchen.

“Morning, Twilight.”

Twilight ran to Spike, picked him up and hugged him. “Oh, Spike. I was so lost without you!”

“I missed you too,” Spike said, returning the hug.

“You came back! But why?”

Once Twilight put him down, Spike stepped down off his stool to let the oatmeal come to a boil. “I’m not going.”

“Why not? She meant a lot to you, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, but—” Spike walked forward to embrace Twilight. Not even Sapphire’s hugs could beat the sense of security that his surrogate mother’s soft fur gave him. “You mean more.”

More tears welled up in Twilight’s eyes, happy tears this time. She was wrong to ever think Spike didn’t love her anymore. “Oh, Spike.” Twilight wrapped a foreleg around his back. “I’m so proud of you for making such a tough decision.”

Spike let go of Twilight and looked to the floor. “I’m gonna miss her though.”

“Do you want to write a letter to Princess Celestia about it?”

As he looked up at Twilight, Spike smiled. “I think I will!”

***

Dear Princess Celestia,

It’s Spike. This past week I was given the opportunity to learn a bit about friendship, both good things and very hard things.

I learned that new friends can seem to come out of nowhere, even when you think you’re alone. I also learned that one of the hardest things about friendship is having to say goodbye to a good friend. But just because you’ve said goodbye doesn’t mean you won’t see each other again sometime.

And even if you fall in love with a new friend, sometimes it’s your oldest friends who stay the closest to your heart.

Your faithful servant, Spike

***

After a deep inhale Spike blew on the parchment, which vanished into a streak of magic sparks and shot off towards Canterlot. However, the little dragon could only stare sadly at the ground.

“Feel better?” Twilight asked, placing her hoof on Spike’s shoulder, causing him to lift his head up and look behind his back.

“Eh, not really,” Spike replied.

“You’ll feel better, in time.”

Spike’s eyes shot open in astonishment at a rumbling deep in the pit of his stomach. A few seconds later, a belch forced a scroll from his maw.

“Well, that was a fast reply,” Twilight said as she watched Spike unravel the parchment. “What’s it say?”

“It’s from Sapphire!” Spike answered. He clutched the full, flat parchment in his paws and read it out loud.

"Dear Spike,

I’m so sorry things couldn’t have worked out the way we wanted them to. My parents are already better, being closer to home. You know how worried I was about them.

I miss you so much already, but I can’t blame you for going back to your friends. Don’t ever change; you just keep being the sweet, wonderful dragon I know you are in case we meet again someday.

We’re in the Crystal Kingdom now, and I got to meet Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. They told me all about the Equestria Games and I’m going to ask my parents if I can come see them. Maybe we can meet up there.

I won’t forget about you! Write back soon! -XOXO, Sapphire."

“See?” Twilight prodded, “keep writing to her and you’ll know where she’s at. And we’re going to the Equestria Games, of course.”

“Yeah.” Spike sighed as he rolled the parchment up. “But until then…”

The little dragon walked over to the desk where Twilight had kept a series of pictures printed from the day he brought Sapphire to Ponyville. He shuffled through them, searching for the perfect one. His paw stopped on a photo with him and Sapphire embraced in a hug, smiling widely. With a deep breath, he held the picture in front of his face and sent it on its way.

***

In the snow-capped mountains of the Frozen North, Sapphire walked on beneath her parents, head hung in sorrow. It felt like it was all her fault for breaking Spike’s heart. She only hoped he wasn’t hurting as much as she was. Her parents had tried to convince her she would meet many more nice boy dragons, but she knew none of them could be as generous as her Spike. Dragons simply weren’t known for generosity.

As she entered their home cave, a startling but familiar rumble formed in Sapphire’s stomach before she belched out a flat piece of paper. She snatched it out of the air to take a closer look at it. There she was in the picture, hugging Spike tightly.

Despite her sadness, looking at the picture made Sapphire smile as she held it firmly against her torso. She ran to her room, putting the picture on a stone shelf that held the rest of her treasures.

“Thanks, Spike. Thanks for everything.”

~Fin