The Hardest Goodbye-Part 3
The night passed quickly as the sun shone through the same window it had every morning. Twilight got sleep sporadically, but nothing solid as she couldn't keep her mind off Spikes second to last day in Ponyville. This time yesterday she was waking up to fresh haycakes and Pinkie Pie's constantly elevated emotional state. But now she had nothing but the apprehension of losing her oldest friend on her mind.
'No. Today is about Spike. I'm not going to ruin it by being mopey all day!' She promised herself as she looked over to Spike's bed.
He was already up and making breakfast. Nothing out of the ordinary there. She didn't bother to brush her mane as she came downstairs to a rather impressive spread. Oats, Wheat, apples, carrots, daisy's, daffodils and pretty much any and every kind of food Twilight enjoyed, prepared in just about every way imaginable. She stopped on the bottom step as Spike still hadn't noticed she was awake. Even though the thought of his imminent departure was still fresh, she honored the promise she made to herself and pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind.
"Spike this is amazing! How long did it take you to make all this?" She asked as he turned away from the counter and faced her.
"Well, to be honest I couldn't sleep. I was too excited about today! I was up all night thinking about what I wanted to do! Also I figured since I won't be able to cook for you anymore, I'd get a head start on breakfast and make you everything you've ever told me you liked, so take your pick!" He said taking a seat at the table while Twilight sat herself and ate steadily. He had a small bowl of gems he had been eating since early this morning that he began munching casually when he heard a knock at the door.
"I'll get it!" He said hopping off the chair and opening the front door.
Twilight leaned over from her seat to see who would need to come by the library this early.
"Hey ladies, come on in!" Spike said as all of her friends trotted in and stared in awe at the massive amount of food on the table.
"Grab a seat everypony! There's no way I could eat all of this." The purple unicorn invited as her friends took her up on the offer and began eating their fill.
Spike rejoined them and continued eating his gems until their guests were full.
"That was downright amazin' Spike! Where'd you learn to cook like that?" Applejack asked with a hoof resting on her slightly distended belly as she leaned back in her chair.
"I've been making Twilight breakfast for years! Practice makes perfect." He said eating the last gem in the bowl, propping his feet up on the table in satisfaction.
"Everypony ready for my best day ever?" Spike asked getting up to remove some of the plates from the table before Twilight stopped him with her magic.
"You cooked Spike! Let me get that, you all go ahead and I'll meet you outside." She said lifting all the plates and piling them into the sink.
She joined her friends outside as they waited for Spike to decide what he wanted to do first.
After a brief moment of thought, Spike knew exactly what he required first and foremost.
"Ok the first thing I want, is from Twilight." He said turning to her grinning.
"Number 106 please." He said expectantly.
"Oh, feeling bold are we?" She teased as her horn took on a purple glow.
In a flash of violet, Spike was endowed with a bushy black handlebar mustache, but also a Hemmingway-esque beard. Truly the perfect combination.
He stroked it with his claw it and smiled.
"Ohhh yeah. This is what I'm talkin' about."
"Very handsome Spike." Twilight giggled with the rest of her friends.
He turned back to the other ponies and produced a list that tumbled to the ground and between his legs as it unrolled.
"Alright, first up, Rainbow Dash. I've always wanted to fly as fast as you do, but I don't have wings. I want you to carry me through the clouds as fast as you can!" He said excitedly.
"Uh...maybe we should come back to that one...I'm kinda full right now, I don't think I'd go very fast." She admitted as her blue cheeks took on a red tint of embarrassment after having filled herself full of Spike's massive breakfast.
"Alright, but don't think I'll forget!" He said moving onto the next item, circling that one.
The day seemed to fly by as the group completed a myriad of activities. From tasting the first apple of the newest planted tree at Sweet Apple Acres, eating a fresh out of the oven jewel encrusted cupcake at Ms. Cakes bakery, playing pranks on unsuspecting citizens of Ponyville with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash to breaking the sound barrier on the back of the fastest pegasus to ever come out of Cloudsdale. Spike had a day anypony would be envious of, and all while sporting some quite dashing facial hair. As it wound down, every equine in the group was pretty tired. They found themselves sitting at an outdoor cafe in the center of town as Spike crossed the last thing off his list and sat back against his chair, surveying the exhausted ponies as the sun sank beneath the hills.
"Well, we did every. Single. Thing. On that list. What could you possibly want to do tomorrow?" Twilight asked slumping against her chair.
Spike rubbed his beard in thought, but couldn't come up with a single thing he had left off his comprehensive list of all things awesome.
"I know! I'll throw you the best most fun most awesome super amazing going away party ever!" Pinkie Pie said bounding up and down on her seat, she being the only one who had even a modicum of energy left.
"Wow, really? That would be awesome! I can't think of a better last day!" He said excitedly.
"Then it's settled! I'm going to get to work on it right now! See you guys tomorrow!" She said dashing away from the table toward her house.
"Well, I best get to headin' back to the farm to get some shut eye for Spike's party. I still gotta help Apple Bloom with her homework. See ya'll tomorrow!" Applejack said pushing her chair away from the table and setting off toward her farm.
"Um...I guess we should all go get some sleep...if we're going to be at Spike's party all day...I mean..." Fluttershy added.
With that the rest of them went their separate ways as Twilight and Spike walked side by side back to the library.
"So...tomorrow's the last day..." Twilight said with a nervous giggle, proud of herself for keeping her feelings about Spike's impending absence from getting in the way of his perfect day.
"Yeah..." He said with a heavy sigh, her beard and mustache combo spell having just worn off.
"Thinkin' about it huh?" She asked, his tone being more than enough to betray his true feelings.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. It's been in the back of my mind all day..." He admitted, though she was glad it wasn't just her having to fight to keep those same negative emotions in check.
She felt a weight drop in her stomach as she let her emotional guard down after a long day of maintaining an impeccable poker face.
"Yeah...mine too. I didn't want to mess up your big day by being sad and mopey the whole time." She admitted as the library came into view down the street.
"Actually, I woke up this morning thinking the same thing. I didn't want my being upset to ruin my last few days with you." He said with a slight laugh.
They reached the library and Spike lit some of the candles as it was nightfall by the time they got inside.
There wasn't anything to organize or clean up so they decided to hit the hey early so they'd have enough energy for his party tomorrow.
Twilight extinguished the last candle beside her bed as Spike bid her goodnight.
"Good night Spike. Sweet dreams." She said, her smile and tone hiding how much these past few hours have meant to her. The realization that the clock was ticking on her oldest friendship was just so much to suddenly be saddled with. She felt that this was almost too much for one pony to bare. She climbed into her bed and pulled the covers over her, turning her head to look out the window. The stars shone brilliantly that night, every one twinkling brightly in the constellations she readily identified as she did every night before she fell asleep. Though tonight sleep would not come easily, her anxious mind nagging her with sad thoughts and denying the young unicorn even a wink of slumber.
Spike wasn't asleep yet either, as his mind raced with the depressing and worrying thoughts he had managed to keep at bay during the daytime. Where would he go? How do you know if a cave is vacant without risking being eaten? What's going to happen to Twilight without him? This was by and large his biggest concern. He knew she didn't mind writing on her own, but how will she get her letters on friendship back to Princess Celestia? The post-pegasus was as reliable as she was cross-eyed, but wasn't as fast as Spikes method. He was somewhat upset with the Princess, but understood her reasoning. Dragons get big when they grow up...too big to live in a place populated by creatures 1/15th his height alone. But it would be years (he thought) before he was that big, which made him wonder why now he was being asked to leave? His steady stream of thoughts were interrupted by a sound coming from Twilight's side of the loft that put a sharp pain in the young dragons heart. Sobbing.
"Twi...you're breaking rule one..." He whispered. She stopped and sniffed up her tears when she heard his voice.
"Sorry Spike...I thought you'd be asleep by now..." She whispered back to him in between sniffles.
"Its just hard to believe this is your last night with me..." She added in the same soft voice she had answered him with.
He knew this would happen...heck, he expected it to a degree. He knew that if she started letting her feelings go, he wouldn't be too far behind.
"I know...I wish it wasn't..." He said, his previously blocked emotions now flooding the forefront of his mind.
After a few moments of silence, Twilight broke it with a gentle admission.
"I don't know what I'm going to do without you Spike." She whispered through the darkness.
"I'm gonna miss you too Twilight...You'll be okay without me..." He said as he felt the warmth of tears growing in his eyes.
She didn't respond, but he knew she was awake as her irregular breathing gave her away. Spike threw his blanket off himself and stood up from his bed. He walked towards Twilight's side of the loft and stood beside her bed in the starlight. She looked up at him from her pillow, tears soaking into it as she covered her face with her hooves in embarrassment. She felt him move her hoof away from her blushing cheeks, meeting her with a smile even though two thin watery lines ran down his face as well.
"Have I ever told you that I hate seeing you like this?" He whispered.
"You've never seen me like this..." She said smiling between sniffles
"Exactly. Now move over...I'll be the little spoon..." He said as she laughed but obliged, sliding over as he threw his pillow beside her own.
She put a hoof around him, never wanting to let go. He was surprisingly warm for being cold blooded. She nestled her head on his shoulder as he whispered a confession softly to her.
"Twi...You're the only family I've ever known...I just wanted to tell you thanks for everything you've done for me over the years..." He said, regaining control of his tear ducts for the time being.
Twilight let out a soft giggle as she felt him take her hoof in his claw affectionately.
"No Spike...without you, I wouldn't be half the unicorn I am today." She whispered.
"You're the closest thing I've ever had to a family...I don't know where I'd be if the Princess hadn't made me your assistant."
"In a cave somewhere probably." She teased as they both shared a laugh. They would both miss the rapport they had built over the years, there was no question about it. The gravity of their situation slowly melted away as they held each other for what at least one of them knew was the last time.
They reminisced about all the adventures they had in Ponyville with their friends. Laughter was had and more tears were shed as they talked quietly into the night, the moon and stars gently yet silently gliding along their courses outside the window as they relived every adventure they had ever shared. Eventually they ran out of memories but were still awake, simply enjoying each other's company. Spike would admit that even if they hadn't spent all day doing what he wanted to do, this night, and the closeness he now felt with Twilight would have more than made up for it.
It wasn't long before Spike broke the stillness of their momentary pause.
"Twilight...You've been the best friend a dragon could ever ask for. You're practically responsible for me being here in the first place and..." he trailed off as his tongue twisted up in his mouth, the young dragon was preparing to bare his soul.
"Hmm?" She asked snuggling up against him, her cheek against his.
"You're family to me...and I wanted to make sure you know, in case... in case I can't say it when the time comes that..." He paused again, his heart felt as though it was going to pound through his chest. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"I love you Twilight." He said softly, but loud enough for her to hear in the midnight silence.
She knew he did. In fact, she had always known, but hearing it out loud really drove the point home as the young mares heart beat with unfettered happiness for the first time since all this sadness had entered her life. She knew how much courage this had to have taken on his part to say, him being the one constantly defending his masculinity while being surrounded by females. The stress of the last 48 hours washed away, replaced by the immeasurable high one could only get by hanging on to a perfect moment that you know won't last, but you'll be damned if you don't savor every last second of it. He still held her hoof gently in his claw, and hadn't dared let it go since he climbed into bed with her. She wasn't the only one wishing this moment could last forever.
He felt her smile against his cheek as she planted a quick kiss on it, squeezing him closer to her as she settled in for the night.
"I love you too Spike. Pinkie Pie Promise you'll visit me after you get settled?" She said softly to him, even though she knew what she was asking to be an impossibility. But she also knew he hated the Pinkie Pie promise, and just couldn't resist making him say it one more time.
"Ugh...Why do you make me do this?" He asked annoyed.
"Because it amuses me." She giggled softly, propping herself up on her elbow so she could watch him recite it, the tears of earlier now long since dried up.
"Fine...Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." He whispered back with his head half turned to her.
She gave him one final squeeze before they both fell asleep in each others embrace, the stillness of the midnight air and the gentle whistle of the night's breeze singing them into an easy slumber.
Spike turned his head away from the window to get away from the sun that woke Twilight every day. He moved his head back out of the sunlight and thought 'I can't believe I waited until now to sleep in this thing! I feel amazing!'
He stretched his legs and yawned as he realized he was alone in this bed. He sat up and looked around for Twilight, but she was nowhere in the loft.
He hopped out of bed and went to the stairs, seeing that she wasn't on the bottom floor either.
'Where could she have gone this early?' He thought coming down the stairs, and seeing some burnt wheat toast on a plate with only a few bites taken out of it.
'I see she tried to make her own breakfast...' He thought cracking a smile at Twilights attempt to cook for herself.
Just then he heard the door open and saw Twilight come in with a massive basket of the biggest gems he had ever seen in her jaws, as well as some dirt on her hooves. His eyes lit up and his stomach growled simultaneously as Twilight set the basket on the table.
"They...they look delicious...How did you...where did you...I don't care!" He said nearly diving face first into the gemstones.
"I just copied Rarity's gem finding spell, and looked around outside." She said happily. She had woken up in a much better mood than she had been in these past few days. She figured the talk they had last night probably had a lot to do with it, hearing both of their true feelings aloud was very liberating, and she thought it could only benefit her to do it more often.
As Spike chomped merrily on her basket of gems she remembered she had yet to get Spike a going away present! She threw on her saddle bag and stepped into the center of the library.
"I'll be right back Spike!" She said charging her teleportation spell.
"Where you goin?" He said with a mouth full of crushed gems.
"Don't worry, I'll be back in time for your party!" She said vanishing in a flash of purple light.
Spike stopped eating temporarily to wonder where she could be going, but went back to eating at his stomachs protest.
After about a half hour, she returned with something stuffed inside her bag, but quickly hid it inside one of the drawers.
She found Spike sitting on the balcony, his feet dangling from the railing as he watched the citizens of Ponyville go about their daily routines. She quickly joined him, taking a seat next to him on her flanks.
"You never realize how much you'll miss a place until you have to leave." He stated not taking his eyes off the view of the already bustling town square.
"Yeah, I'm pretty lucky to have this place." She responded.
They watched the grey postal pegasus fly off from from the post office with a heavy bag slung over her shoulder as she waved bye to a franticly waving similar colored filly on the ground. Though while she was waving goodbye to her daughter she wasn't looking where she was going and bumped into the clock tower.
Spike and Twilight both snickered as she shook it off and went about her rounds.
"Fun to watch isn't she?" The unicorn asked as they sat on the library balcony and pony watched until noon, when they assumed the party would be ready.
"You want to head over to Sugarcube Corner? My flanks are falling asleep." Twilight asked as Spike stood up and stretched.
"Yeah. Lets go have some fun." He said smiling at her as she stretched her legs.
They left the library and walked over to the brightly colored bakery, greeting anypony who happened to look their way. They both felt unusually happy for a day in which the end would bring about quite a bit of sadness.
Outside the door, Spike stopped and looked at Twilight.
"Ready?" He asked.
"Yes. Are you?"
He took a deep breath, and replied.
"Yeah. Lets do it." He said pushing open the door as everypony he'd ever known greeted him inside the bakery.
His party was everything he could have asked for. Pinkie Pie really outdid herself. Rarity helped design and put up the decor while the pink pony worked many hours on a cake with various gemstones embedded in the frosting. They played games and danced all day until the sun went down, and the full moon began to rise over the hilltops.
Every guest gave him a sincere farewell as the bakery gradually emptied out until only six ponies and one dragon were left.
Spike looked outside and saw that night was well underway, the harbinger of his departure already high in the night sky.
"Well...I guess it's time..." He said calmly as he walked toward the door. He was stopped by a hoof on his shoulder. It was Rainbow Dash.
"You don't think we're gonna let you walk out of town by yourself do ya?" She said with a grin as the other ponies stood behind her.
"Guess not." He said returning the smile as they walked out of the store and down the street abreast of one another. The other ponies all had their saddle bags, except for Twilight who retrieved hers and Spikes satchel of things he meant to take with him via quick teleportation. The walk to the edge of town seemed to go by quickly as Spike's nervousness and fears grew inside him with every step.
Before long they reached the edge of town and Spike turned to the six closest friends he had made during his time in Ponyville, each with a different level of sadness etched across their face.
For a while, nopony said anything. They all just stood there, lamenting the situation they found themselves in.
"This is really it huh?" He asked not holding any feelings back, but maintaining his composure.
They all nodded as Rarity produced something from her bag. It was a jeweled bow tie, similar to one he had received from her a very long time ago. One he had accidentally eaten in his sleep one night after too much of Big MacIntosh's apple cider.
"You'll be the envy of every dragon you meet...Darling." She said as he took the glittering tie and put in his bag.
"Thanks Rarity...Its beautiful."
"There's also something I want to give you before I go." He said as she leaned in expectantly.
"Really? What is it?" She asked.
He leaned in quickly and kissed her on the lips for maybe a second or two before she pulled away, the alabaster pony's face now as red as the rubies in the tie she had just given him.
"SPIKE!" She yelled indignantly, having been caught completely by surprise causing the rest of the girls to laugh in the face of otherwise dreary circumstances.
"Worth it!" He said as she looked away in a huff. Fluttershy stepped up next, producing from her bag a crystal butterfly, similar in color to the ones on her flanks.
"I um... found it in the swamp one day while I was guiding some lost ducklings back to their mother...It's my favorite thing I've ever found out there... Whenever I would feel sad, I would just look at this, and it made me happy again...I hope it does the same for you Spike..." She said timidly.
Spike held it in his claw as it shined in the pale moonlight, casting a multicolored pastel light onto the ground below it.
"I think its working already...Thank you Fluttershy." He said sincerely as she smiled back at him, happy to have made somepony else happy.
"This is the first golden apple to come out of Sweet Apple Acres in ten years." Applejack said producing an apple from her bag that looked as if it was made of highly polished gold.
"I want you to have it, in case you get hungry on the road. Its supposed to taste sweeter than any other kind of apple. Don't go savin' it now, they don't stay fresh very long." She warned as he held it in his claw, seeing his own reflection distorted in the apples shape.
He nodded and thanked her as well. Rainbow Dash didn't reach for her bag, but instead put her mouth on her left wing, as if preening it. She gritted her teeth and yanked her head back, pulling a blue feather out of her wing with a wince. The sharp pain subsided and she gave it to Spike.
"This is to remember our flight. The look on your face when we broke the sound barrier...I'll never forget it." She said with a chuckle.
"I would've made you a rainbow...but you wouldn't be able to see it in the dark." She said grinning through the soreness in her wing.
"Wow...Thanks Rainbow Dash! I know how much that must have hurt."
'No you don't!' She thought.
He put the blue feather in his bag and turned to Pinkie Pie who produced a pink diamond in the shape of a cupcake, beaming brightly at him as she balanced it on the end of her nose.
"Wow...Pinkie...this looks delicious! Did you find it like this?"
"Of course not silly! I had to carve it into that shape! It took a while but it was worth it!" she said flipping it to him.
"It's too pretty, I don't think I can eat it! I'll put it with Fluttershy's." He said putting it in the satchel he had slung over his shoulder.
The last in line was Twilight. She was smiling at him, but it was a very obvious forced smile. She looked him in the eye for a brief second then broke away, not wanting to make this any harder than it had to be.
She reached into her bag and pulled out an old looking stuffed doll with button eyes, one barely hanging on by a few threads and blue with white polka dotted overalls. Spike was taken aback when he saw this was what she wanted him to have. It was the one thing she had known longer than himself.
"Smartypants? I thought Big MacIntosh had her?" He said astounded she was able to retrieve it from one of the strongest stallions in Ponyville.
"How did you manage to get that from him Twilight? He loved that thing!" Applejack said just as amazed.
"I may have volunteered to help him with the apple harvest for the next few seasons...but it was worth it." She said holding it in front of Spike, waiting for him to grab it.
"I...I can't take this Twilight. You've had it since even before my time!" He protested.
"No Spike. I want you to have it, so you'll know that no matter how lonely you may feel out there in the world, you're never truly alone. You'll always have me." She said as he finally grabbed it and held it in both claws, staring into its plush face. He looked back up at his friend with a layer of tears in his eyes and a jaw beginning to quiver.
'And I was doing so well...' He thought as Twilight smiled. Her expression was that same forced smile, even though her vision began to cloud with tears as well.
"Spike...You're breaking rule one..." She teased, getting a small laugh out of him and herself as he held Smartypants in one claw.
"So are you..." He answered as he went searching through his bag full of gems and going away presents and found a stunning blue sapphire.
"I wish I had presents to give all of you...but I don't really have much." He said looking back to Twilight.
"This was the gem Rarity gave me the day she was captured by those diamond dog jerks." He began as the bookish unicorn gasped in surprise.
"But I thought one of the diamond dogs ate it?" She said seeing herself in the many faces of the shiny stone.
"Nope. Before I tied it to the fishing line I doused it with hot sauce. There was no way any dirty dog was swallowing this thing. After we rescued Rarity I snagged it before you all hauled those gems up to the surface." He looked up from the stone and into his friends eyes.
"It's the one thing I've held onto since we first arrived here in Ponyville when I was still a baby. I know how much Smartypants means to you, so I want you to have this." He said handing the gem to her.
She was quite choked up at his offering as she took it with her magic and put it in her saddle bag. She looked back to him just in time to see him put his arms around her neck in what she knew was the last hug she would ever get from her number one assistant. She pulled him in close as the others closed into a group hug.
"I'm gonna miss you guys..." He said softly, yet so that everypony could hear. His turn now having come to shed his tears.
They all conveyed their variant of "We'll miss you too Spike." As they let go of the hug, leaving only Twilight and Spike in each others embrace. She never wanted to let go, but knew the time had finally come. She pulled him away to leg length and looked into his watery eyes with her own.
"Goodbye Spike." She said barely above a whisper, yet forcing the same smile to stay across her lips even though every other part of her face conveyed incredible sadness.
"It's not goodbye. See you later." He smiled back at her with Smartypants still in one claw, putting in his other claw on the hoof she rested on his shoulder. He slowly removed it as she got back on four hooves. Spike turned and faced the road ahead as he took a deep breath. Ready to start his new life, but never ready to forget those he was leaving behind. He took his first step on his long journey as the other ponies watched their dragon friend go. Twilight sunk her head and fell to her knees as her tears flowed unrestricted, her friends trying their best to comfort her. Spike heard her crying reverberate through the woods as he was only a few steps away.
He turned to glance over his shoulder and saw Twilight weeping on the ground. A hard blink flushed a fresh line of tears down his cheek. It truly pained him to see her like this. His heart was breaking with each step he put between himself and the unicorn who raised him. He wished more than anything he could just run back to her, and promise her that he would be with her forever...but he knew what had to be done.
He gritted his teeth to steel himself against his overpowering emotions as he kept putting one foot in front of the other until his old friends, and his old life had disappeared down the road into the nighttime fog. The sounds of his best friends tears now no more than an echo in his mind. Once Spike was out of sight, Twilight and her friends turned tail to head back into Ponyville. Even though their book savvy unicorn friend was in the grips of an unshakeable sadness, she felt a modicum of relief in knowing the hardest thing she had ever had to do in her life up until that point had finally been done.
Her friends decided a sleepover was in order since they didn't want Twilight to spend her first night without Spike alone with her memories in that big library. As the days turned to weeks, then to months and years Twilight knew Spike had probably long forgotten about them.
The science was behind it, and every book she had read on dragon anatomy said no dragon ever remembered their childhood after they reach a certain age. She was sure by now he was well past that point. It was only in the first week or so after his departure that she found herself telling the empty library to 'take a letter'. It got easier with each passing day, in fact Rarity stopped by some weeks later with a necklace made to hold the gem Spike had given her. It was something she wore every chance she got, and was quite a hit at the next few Grand Galloping Galas.
She never quite had the strength to throw out Spike's old bed, and found herself staring at it those first few lonely nights when she couldn't sleep. She worried about him, weather or not he had found a cave, was taking care of himself, or eating enough. She had to learn to cast these worrisome thoughts out of her head, and thankfully she had a group of amazing friends to help her do just that.
Eventually, enough time had passed to allow her only to think of Spike to bring her happiness, not sorrow. She hoped one day perhaps, she would cross paths with a purple and green dragon...but knew the odds were stacked well against that.
One fine summer day Twilight was taking a leisurely stroll back to the library from Applejack's farm, her hooves aching after helping the Apple family with the harvest like she had promised as the afternoon sun began to sink lower on the horizon.
The library came into view as the post pegasus came flapping down with her messenger bag on Twilights doorstep. She buried her face in her bag rummaging for the purple unicorns daily mail. She galloped the rest of the distance to her door to get the letter as the kindly yet cross eyed pegasus popped her head out of her bag with a scroll in her mouth, her ever present smile becoming infectious as Twilight caught it too.
"Thanks!" She said tipping her a few bits.
"You're Welcome!" She said flapping away to continue her route.
She unrolled the scroll and levitated it in front of her. There were only two words written on it, in a handwriting she found familiar but couldn't quite put her hoof on.
All the letter said was:
'Turn around.'
"Huh?" She said taking a peek over her shoulder and feeling her jaw nearly hit the ground. Her eyes widened and pupils dilated in absolute shock. She turned herself all the way around and couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Ten feet behind her stood a purple and green dragon who was now about a foot and a half taller than she was. His soft green eyes relayed to her relief of a long journey, finally having reached his destination. In his right hand he held a small, old stuffed doll with button eyes, and blue overalls with white polka dots. His tail was more long and pointy than she remembered and his fangs a bit more developed. The spikes on his head were now quite sharp looking, and a small set of wings stuck out from behind his back as she recognized someone she was sure she would never see again.
Then she heard six words that meant more to her than anything she had ever heard before in her life.
"I told you it wasn't goodbye." He said as she galloped at a speed Rainbow Dash would envy toward him, tackling him to the ground in a hug, the tightness of which he had never experienced before. She sat on top of him with the biggest smile on her face he had ever seen, tears of unequaled happiness glistening in her eyes.
How had he remembered? He wasn't supposed to remember anything after all this time, but he knew where to find her, how to mail her and even the last thing he had said to her! No dragon in recorded history had ever done what he just did. He proved science wrong, his best friend wrong and ten thousand years of dragon evolution wrong. The power of their friendship overcame the forces of nature itself to keep their relationship alive.
"Twilight... I'm happy to see you too...can you please get off of me?" He asked as she stepped beside him and allowed him to stand up.
For a good thirty seconds, she couldn't do or say anything but look at him and grin. Words couldn't begin to describe how happy she was at this moment. The moon itself could crash into Equestria and it would make no difference to her, as the impossible had just sent her a letter and came by for a visit. Just like he promised he would. All the nights she found herself staring at the stars outside her window, wondering if Spike was looking up into the sky and seeing those same stars, and whether or not he still remembered any of those who cared about him so much here in the small town of Ponyville seemed so silly and irrelevant now that he was here with her once again.
This was a prospect she would only dream of, savoring that glorious second in between being asleep and being fully awake, when your brain believes the dream you just had to be true. Those brief seconds were all the time she had with him until now, a short lived glimpse into how happy she had been with her number one assistant by her side, only to be pulled back into reality by conscious thought. But none of that mattered now.
"I'm so glad you came to see me Spike!" She finally said overjoyed, happier than she remembered being in a long time, her tears of joy gently tracing the edges of her wide smile and gathering at her chin.
"I'm sorry it took so long. But when I make a promise...even a Pinkie Pie promise...I keep them." He said smiling back at her, though nowhere near the ear to ear grin she was wearing. Her oldest friend had defied all the odds, and science itself to keep their friendship from fading away. If that wasn't enough of a reason to keep a hay-eating-grin one ones face she didn't know what was.
She still couldn't find the words to express how she felt so she just hugged him again. They eventually made their way inside the library and Twilight asked Spike to take a letter, for old times sake.
'Dear Princess Celestia,
I write to you today to let you know of a lesson I learned about friendship that was years in the making. Even though you knew Spike had to strike out on his own, I must admit at first I didn't want him to. I was even willing to defy your request in order to keep him with me, but it took the love of my friends to help me realize what was best for him, and that I was being selfish by wanting him with me forever. Even though my every instinct and book told me Spike would never return to me, today he showed me I was wrong. It proves that no matter how insurmountable the obstacle, no matter how impossible the odds, a true friend will defy the very forces of nature to keep an important friendship alive.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.