NOTHING IS FINAL. NOTHING IS ABSOLUTE.
-Terry Pratchett, “Sourcery”
~~~
Spike had settled down for a short nap a couple of decades ago. With most of his hoard tied up in the endowments he’d set up after Twilight’s passing, he could take some really deep naps, not worrying about anypony taking his stuff (especially as the items of real worth were kept in his wing of the Royal Museum, ha! take that, hoard stealers!).
He was back in Ponyville, curled around the library while Twilight bustled about, working. About mid-day, she’d taken a break and settled next to Spike’s head with a book, reading. And even in his dreams, he just..dozed.
Abruptly, Twilight hurried to her feet before kneeling. “Princess Luna!”
“There’s no need for that, Twilight. This is just a social call. Spike.” Spike nodded at the princess. In the centuries since Twilight had died, he’d become closer to the princesses, both as the few creatures in Equestria at least as long-lived as he was, and because the protection of Equestria was a common goal.
“Evening, Luna. Or...is it morning?”
Luna chuckled. “It’s evening, Spike. I’m surprised you didn’t ask what year it was.”
Spike shrugged. “I’ll find out when I wake up.”
Luna stilled, looking down at Spike’s claws. He raised them, looking at them questioningly. A dragon’s scales intensified in color as they aged, and Spike’s had become dark as midnight, a purple invisible against the night. His claws, though, were yellowing, and his naps had become more frequent.
And Luna usually preferred to wait until Spike’s dreams left his recollections of Twilight before visiting him, unless it were urgent.
Unless she didn’t have much time left in which to say good-bye. “I’m not going to wake up, am I?” he asked softly.
Luna shook her head, and took an uncertain step toward Spike. He recalled that she had, in the months after her release, been skittish about the love others had for her, so reached forward to hold her in a delicate embrace.
“I will miss you, Spike,” she whispered. “You have been a brave and loyal friend to me, and to all of Equestria.”
“A good replacement for the last bearer of Loyalty, right?” he asked jokingly, earning a wet-sounding chuckle from the princess of the night.
“Never,” she said. “You can tell the girls we’ll be along eventually, though.”
Spike pulled back and gave her a curious look. “I thought-”
“Everything dies, Spike. Only Death is eternal, and even she...someday, there will nothing left that can die, and even she must end.” Her smile turned a little sad, and she stepped closer, nuzzling Spike. “It has been an honor, and a pleasure, Spike, and I thank you for all you have done.”
“Heh. Just thank me for being a friend, Luna,” Spike replied, patting her head. “The rest is just...part and parcel of it.”
“Hello? Hello? One might argue that making me wade through your dreamscape to find you is impolite at best.” The call that echoed through the dream was familiar, but not overly so. Spike remembered, far more than a millennium ago, meeting a pale pony who had asked him a very important question.
When she appeared, she was exactly as Spike remembered her. She, apart from any other creature, would not change across the ages.
But that wasn’t quite true. She looked...easier, happier, than Spike remembered. He hoped maybe she’d made a few more friends in the intervening time.
“I’m sorry,” Spike said as Death drew near. “I wasn’t expecting visitors.”
“Really?” She seemed honestly surprised. “You seemed the type to have been able to expect me. I suppose you must simply have too good of an imagination.” She smiled at him before noticing Princess Luna. At that, she settled into a wary stance, fixing the princess with a steady gaze. “You are not here to interfere, are you? I had enough trouble with your sister’s student without you taking it into your head to meddle.”
Luna shook her head. “No, my dear. I am a moon goddess...I know well that every day must end, every life must die. I, too, will see you one day.”
“Not for a long time,” Death replied with a chuckle. “Not for a long time.” She looked back at Spike, easy smile still on her face. “But you, my dear, are coming today. I trust you lived well, as you promised me?”
Spike reached out and brushed the back of a claw along the Pale Horse’s head. “Yes. I never worried about what I knew would happen someday. I made sure that when you came, I’d have good things to remember.”
Death preened at the touch, or maybe the attention, and then stepped up, and up, until she was face-to-face with the ancient dragon. He felt something, like wings made of silk and flame, wrap around his body. He stared in wonder as the Pale Horse pressed her forehead against his own, and then...the dream came to an end.