Spike flew the entire night without stopping once, when Ponyville came into view he headed straight for the library. He landed upon the balcony swiftly without making much noise, he didn't want to wake anypony as it was still very early. Spike decided he was too big to enter easily now & curled up on the balcony for a rest. He slept several hours into the day without interruption. This changed however at 9AM when he was awakened by the sound of screams.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!! Dragon! Help!" Screamed a purple-gray unicorn mare. Spike shot up & covered her mouth with a claw.
"Shhh! This is a library! MY library. So would you please not try to alert the whole town that I'm here?" Spike said whispering loudly. The young mares expression went from fear to surprise as she began to nod her head. Spike hastily removed his claw from her mouth.
"Spike! It's me Dinky! You've been gone for two years! Where'd you go? The whole town was so worried, we couldn't find a trace of you." Dinky said hugging the dragon several times her size.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Does Fluttershy still live outside of town with Zecora?" Spike asked seeming slightly downtrodden.
"Yeah, they even h-" Dinky managed to get out before Spike was in the air already headed toward the Everfree. She sighed but waved toward the dragon before returning to open the library for the day. Spike was already out of view before she knew it.
Spike arrived after only a few moments of flight, Fluttershy's cottage still seemed exactly as it had over a decade ago. Spike sighed knowing he needed to do this to set everything right & figure out what he wanted from life. He hesitantly knocked on the door trying not to damage it. The pony that answered the door took him by surprise. Before him stood a small zebra colt that couldn't be more than 5. It was looking at Spike who towered over him with enormous frightful eyes.
"Uh... Is Fluttershy home?" Spike asked unsure of what else to say. Causing the colt to run back into the house screaming:
"Mooooooommmmmmyyyyy! There's a monster at the doooor!"
Spike just stood there unsure of what to do until a familiar butter yellow face peek out from one side. Spike was immediately knocked over into a powerful hug by the usually timid mare.
"Spike! Oh I'm so glad to see you! You just vanished! You've gotten even bigger! Where have you been?" She fired so many questions at him so fast he couldn't keep up. Pulling himself into sitting position he began to say:
"It's good to see you too Shy, did you two adopt a foal? I think he doesn't like me."
"Oh! yes we got him from Zebrica on a trip, we had been planning it for a long time but you left before we could tell everypony... Zecora! Akutchi! Would you please come outside?" Fluttershy said as she turned her head toward the house. Before long Zecora with a frightened colt on her back stepped out. Zecora immediately put on a smile & said:
"Greetings to you my dragon friend, I had begun to think you're absence would not end."
"Still rhyming Zecora? So who's this little guy trying to hide from me so badly?" Spike said with a slight smile.
"This is Akutchi, Akutchi, this is you're uncle Spike we told you all about." Fluttershy said while placing the colt on the ground before her. The colt eyed him suspiciously before saying:
"I-Is it true you eat diamonds & breathe fire?" Akutchi managed to stutter out. Spike smiled & tilted his head back & let loose a small jet of his emerald flames.
"That was the coolest thing ever!" The colt said suddenly losing all apprehension toward the dragon. After that the four of them caught Spike up on things before he needed to explain himself. He agreed to tell them everything but asked first for a paper & quill. Fluttershy immediately retrieved the requested items. Spike only wrote one sentence:
I'm at Fluttershy's house, I need to see you.
He then reopened his flame channel for the first time in two years & incinerated the note, it's ashes flying through the air toward Canterlot. Within seconds Twilight Sparkle the newest crown princess of Equestria teleported before them. She didn't wait a second before smacking Spike across the face with tears in her eyes.
"Where have you been! I looked for you for months! We all did! We thought you were dead! You shut off the flame channel!" Twilight screamed at him. While this was going on Zecora took Akutchi back into the house as this was a bit much for the toddler.
"I left because there's nothing here for me! You had no time for me, everypony lost touch with each other! I hadn't seen anypony in months! I was depressed & nopony even noticed! I needed to leave to find my own place in the world!" Spike screamed right back with tears that scorched the ground streaming from his eyes. Nopony spoke for several minutes before Twilight broke the silence.
"I didn't know, I should have been there. You're the closest thing I have to a son & I love you. It took you leaving for me to realize how much you mattered to me. I sent dozens of letters but they all just burned up. I was so afraid you were gone for good. I'm sorry we abandoned you Spike, I should have never gotten so wrapped up in work. I should have been there." She said tears streaming from her own eyes. Spike lifted her into a hug as powerful as he could muster without harming her.
"It's alright Twilight, I've been living happily outside Equestria for the last couple years." He said patting her back. He proceeded to tell them all about the nearly utopian city created by Discord & the multitude of races living there. He left out the parts where Discord explained the source of his powers & such. He then explained the new found romantic tension Spike had been previously unaware of. All was silent as they pondered the situation.
"Well... I can honestly say that wasn't something I expected to hear about. I wasn't even aware Discord was gay." Twilight said looking to Fluttershy who merely shrugged.
"Are you attracted to him?" Fluttershy asked after a moment. Spike was silent for a minute before answering.
"I'm... not sure, I'll admit that he has an... exotic flare that I like the look of. I thought it was kinda awesome when I was a kid after he joined our side." Spike said still unsure of himself.
"What about his personality? It sounds like he's changed a lot in the last few years. The responsibility must have been good for him." Twilight said still a bit reluctant about her son being so involved with the incarnation of disharmony.
"Yeah, he's still random but his outlook is way different, he left for the same reasons I did so we can relate to one another. He's definitely my best friend right now, I just hadn't considered him like that before. Or anyone since I lost my crush on Rarity. How do I know this is really what I want?" Spike said looking back to the ponies that he called family. Twilight being herself wasn't the best at romantic situations, so Fluttershy was left to field the question.
"Spike, you've never had a thought about this before or with any male right?" She asked in a caring tone. To which Spike nodded.
"But you aren't against it obviously, & you seem to like him a lot. Why not just test the waters? That's what I did when Zecora started flirting with me when I went to learn about different herbal medicines." Fluttershy said with a smile that told anyone with eyes she was revisiting fond memories. Spike thought about it for awhile before coming to a decision.
"I've come to a decision, but I want to hear what everypony else has to say on the subject." He said after a moment. Twilight & Fluttershy nodded & said nothing else on the subject. They chatted for several hours before Twilight needed to return to her duties & making Spike promise to keep the flame channel open. Hugs were exchanged & tears were shed by all. Spike bid farewell to Fluttershy before heading toward Sweet Apple Acres.
Spike opted out of the flying option & walked the path to the farm. He passed the old crusader's old club house thinking of how sad he was when the fillies had each left for their new lives. Sweetie Belle to Canterlot for her record label, Applebloom to Apploosa to become a carpenter, & Scootaloo to wherever the extreme sports took her. He sighed as he passed by & continued onward. When he arrived he could see that the Apple family had expanded their operation as there were trees as far as even Spike's powerful eyes could see. He walked up to the farmhouse where he could hear foals crying, most likely Big Mac & Cherry's children. He knocked upon the door after ducking to be able to stand on the porch. He was greeted by the very mare he had come to see. She pushed him back off the porch & walked back up to him & helped him up. She then turned & bucked him in the chest, however to her surprise he held firm & she felt as though she had just bucked a steel wall.
"Well, ya definitely ain't gone soft on me, but ah'm still mighty cross with ya for up'n leaving without saying nuthin." She said trying to regain feeling in her back hooves.
"I know AJ, but this was my Manehattan trip. But I'm sorry I didn't tell anypony. I'm not back for good, I just needed to talk to you girls." Spike said with his head hanging low. Applejack immediately knew what he was talking about at the mention of her cutie mark story. She couldn't fault him for doing something she had done herself, but was disappointed that he had found home somewhere else.
"Ah can't fault you for goin' off to find yourself, but are you sure this isn't were you belong?" She asked with drooping ears.
"I've lived there two years & I've never been happier. But I may have found a special somebody, & I needed to ask what you girls, my family thought about it." Spike said with a firm but warm tone. He told her all about the city he called home & the questions he had to ask himself. She seemed blown away a bit by the influx of unusual information.
"Ah dunno know Spike, Ah can't make decisions for you but you seem awful fond of the varmint from what yer telling me." She said trying to console the dragon.
"Thanks AJ, I already made up my mind but it's good to hear your opinion. I wanted to see you all too, I left because I was afraid of watching you all grow old around me but when I came back I realized not seeing you made me feel just as bad." Spike said guiltily.
"Now, ah know you're gonna be around a long time but don't you ever think we'd be cross with you for something you can't help. Now come on, I'll bring you out some supper it's getting late & I don't think you'd have an easy time gettin inside." She said getting up from where she had been sitting. She returned awhile later with food for the two of them. Everything from then on went well & Spike was given the barn to sleep in for the night. The next day he had more friends to talk to.