Epilogue - Friendship is Forever
Note: This Epilogue was inspired by a comment left by Royal Guard Tictac. Originally I had no plans for wrapping up the story elements in the future. But based on this comment and the story's popularity. I thought I'd do one. I hope you all enjoy it!
Epilogue – “Friendship is Forever”
The portal closed. Had Princess Luna and Horizon Sparkle succeeded? The princess saw an adolescent dragon lying on the grass where the portal had been. The alicorn walked over and gently nudged the dragon. His eyes opened and he looked at Luna. A smile formed on his face. Spike stood up and saw the lavender unicorn join them.
“Spike?” questioned Horizon.
“Hi Horizon,” he said looking at his friend.
She ran up and threw her hooves around him as best she could. “Spike it is you!” She said. The dragon placed a caring claw along her back. In her heart, she knew this was their friend Spike. “You had us so worried!”
“I’m sorry for worrying you Horizon,” said Spike running his hand gently along her back.
Princess Luna placed an affectionate hoof on his side. Spike looked at her. “You missed them didn’t you?” Inquired Luna. He nodded solemnly. “I don’t blame you. I know what it’s like. I miss Celestia everyday.”
Spike could hear the sorrow in Luna’s voice. It made his heart ache. Thankfully he had some good news for her. A new smile formed on the dragon’s broad face. “Chin up princess,” he said.
Luna looked at Spike curiously. “What makes you say that? You know every attempt we’ve made at restoring my sister have failed,” remarked the princess.
“It’ll be easier if you come with me,” he said. Luna began feeling more and more puzzled. Still she and Horizon followed the dragon. They had no idea what he was up to or how this would aid Celestia. Spike led them to the large area of the castle. This was a place where he could still fit and move around without too much trouble. Following a brisk walk they arrived at the Canterlot Magic Archives.
Princess Luna was all too familiar with this part of the castle. She spent endless days and hours searching the various books, tomes and scrolls desperately searching for a cure for her sister. Sadly she never did find a viable means to restore her big sister. “Spike what are we doing here?” Luna asked.
The dragon temporarily ignored her as he walked to a specific shelf. He began searching the tomes looking for a particular volume. Horizon watched him intently wondering what he was up to. Finally he pulled the book he sought from the shelf. It was the same book he’d used recently. It was still quite dusty. Taking a deep breath he blew the dust off of it. Though Spike should have been more careful where he blew the dust. It clouded right in front of the princess.
“Spike what’s the big ide…ahh…ahh…ahh-choo!” Sneezed Luna.
“Bless you your highness,” said Horizon Sparkle.
“Thank you. Oh my. Spike what was that for?” She asked slightly annoyed.
“Sorry princess. These old books sure do get dusty. But this book is the one I found the time spell in. And I just remembered something else I found in it,” he explained.
Luna sniffed trying to clear her nose as she walked closer to examine the book. “And what is that?” She asked.
“Just this,” he uttered opening the book. A single beautiful dried flower fell out from among the tome’s pages landing on the stone floor. Luna’s eyes widened filling with intrigue. The dragon smiled.
The princess walked closely to the flower giving it a good looking over. She turned to Spike. Her teal eyes glistened with hope. “Spike…is this what I think it is?” She asked daring to hope against all hope.
He nodded happily. “Yes. This is a dried Heart’s Desire. Starswirl or perhaps whoever read this before I did, must have put this in here long ago.”
Horizon looked at the flower. Though a long time had passed the flower only appeared recently dried and still in fairly decent shape. “How did this flower stay preserved in this book for so long?”
Again Spike smiled as he explained, “Simple Horizon. Long ago my friend Zecora told me Heart’s Desire could survive for long periods of time. Even after it has dried out it can still be used a very long time afterwards.”
Luna’s face was shining with delight, though she felt puzzled. “Spike I went through the books in this room plenty of times. How did I miss finding this flower?” She asked.
“Well princess. You checked all the books but you didn’t read them all,” he explained. He held up the tome grasped in his claws. The title read “Magic of the Dimensional and Temporal Boundaries by Starswirl the Bearded”. “See you never read this book, because its spells would be of little use to curing a curse of stone.”
Luna face-hoofed. He was right though. Shaking her head it didn’t matter. With this single flower a cure could finally be made! “I guess I should have opened all of the books,” Luna remarked feeling a little foolish.
“Don’t worry princess. It’s all right now. We can use this flower to mix up a doozie of a cure potion!” Declared Spike happily.
“Still I wonder why someone would put such a valuable flower in a book like this,” Luna commented.
“I know,” Spike began, “Heart’s Desires has become quite rare.”
Horizon looked at the flower and prepared to lift it with her magic. Then she noticed a small piece of old folded parchment resting on the floor nearby. “Hey what’s this?” The lavender unicorn asked. She held up the paper with her magic. Opening it she discovered a note was written on it. After reading it she took it over to Spike and Luna. “You guys are not going to believe this!” Horizon Sparkle stated incredulously.
The dragon and alicorn turned and looked at Horizon. “What is it?” Asked Luna. Horizon held up the note. The princess examined it carefully. It read:
To whoever finds this,
I hope this Heart’s Desire will aid you in curing the princess. Make sure you give her a big hug for me! She was and has always been the best mentor a pony could have!
Yours truly,
Twilight Sparkle
Luna’s mouth dropped open and her eyes had widened to the size of saucers. Never before had she felt such amazement. “Spike!” She expressed. “Do you realize what this means?”
He scratched the back of his head. Honestly he didn’t have a clue. “Uh not exactly,” he replied nervously.
“When your past self returned to his proper time, he must have told Twilight and the others about Celestia being turned to stone. Twilight must have put the flower and the note in this book knowing you would find it when you’d use it to go back in time,” Luna remarked still hardly able to believe it was true.
“But wait!” Asserted Spike. “The flower was all ready there before I went back in time. I just was so eager to see the others I didn’t think of using it on the princess prior to my departure. How could it be there before I went back in time?” He asked curiously.
Luna giggled at the confused Spike, “That’s easy Spike. Temporal mechanics never make complete sense. I’d explain it to you, but I’d just end up giving you a headache.”
“Besides! We have a cure to brew!” Exclaimed Horizon holding up the flower with her magic. “Thank you grandmother Twilight!” She squealed with delight.
The three of them went to the castle magic lab. There they brewed the strongest anti-stone potion they could and carefully added the Heart’s Desire. Before long the potion was ready. The three eagerly took it to the courtyard. There the contents were poured on the stone Celestia. They stepped back and watched. At first it seemed nothing was happening. Then they all heard a cracking sound. Breaks began to form in the stone and beams of shimmering yellow light began shooting out. The cracks continued to form until the entire stone prison broke. Princess Celestia took a deep breath in and exhaled out. She unfolded her long feathery white wings and began stretching her legs and her tapered neck. The pearl white alicorn looked at the three of them. Then looking around she said, “Hello everyone!”
Tears mounted in Luna’s eyes as she ran to her sister. “Celestia!” She cried throwing her hooves around Celestia. “Oh Big Sis! I just knew someday we’d free you!” Luna held her sister tightly and cried tears of joy.
Celestia smiled and returned Luna’s tender hug. “Dear, dear Luna…my little sister,” said the elder princess. “I always knew you’d find away to free me. Even while I was in that cold slumber within my stone prison…I knew.”
“It’s thanks to my Grandma!” Declared Horizon Sparkle.
The two sisters ended their hug. Celestia gracefully walked over to Horizon. Her elegant mane swirled like a colorful stream. “And who do we have here?” The princess asked full of intrigue.
Luna smiled wiping away some lingering tears. “Oh that’s right,” she sniffed. “You only saw Twilight’s granddaughter when she was very little.”
Celestia examined the young unicorn carefully. “This is Horizon Sparkle!?” The unicorn nodded. “My how you’ve grown.” The elder princess looked to her sister. “How long was I frozen in stone?”
“For nearly twenty years,” Luna replied.
“Wow, that was longer than I thought. Looks like I have quite bit of catching up to do,” Celestia replied with a giggle. “Now Horizon you said it’s thanks to your grandma that I’m freed?” She asked the lavender unicorn.
“Yep! She provided the Heart’s Desire needed to make the potion that freed you,” replied Horizon grinning with delight.
“Wow this sounds like quite a story,” remarked the princess.
“Don’t worry big sister! I’ll be happy to tell it to you!” Declared Luna overflowing with joy.
Spike deftly picked up Celestia and gave her a big hug. “It’s great to have you back princess!” He professed happily.
She hugged him back. “Thank you Spike!” He gently placed Celestia back on the lush grass. The princess smiled at him.
“I’d say this calls for a celebration! Equestria has both its princesses back once more!” Declared Horizon Sparkle!
“Well said my little pony!” Expressed Princess Celestia.
There was a grand Celebration held. Ponies from all over Equestria came to rejoice! Their beloved Princess Celestia had returned and once again happiness and peace reigned across the land.
A few days had passed since Spike’s trip to the past and the restoration of Princess Celestia. He was sitting in his cave. Though it was only for a short time, he did get to see his friends again. Nonetheless he still felt their absence. Rarely did a day go by that he didn’t think about them. The dragon looked through his memory chest. Her re-read the letters and held the fire ruby necklace. Then after carefully tucking his treasures away, he looked once again at the photo. Spike enjoyed seeing the smiles on his friends' faces. He knew they didn’t want him to be sad, but he couldn’t help it. They had always meant so much to him. Tears formed in his eyes as he still felt the bitter sting of their loss. He clutched the picture to his heart. For a moment it made them fell less distant.
Setting the picture down he began wiping the tears from his eyes. Suddenly he began to hear voices. Familiar voices. “Spike!” He heard a friendly voice call. As he looked down he saw Horizon Sparkle enter the back room of his cave, but she wasn’t alone. Pinkie Pie III was with her. The two ponies walked over to the dragon. They both were smiling happy to see their big friend.
“Oh! Hi Horizon!” Called Spike. He tried to hide the fact that he’d been crying.
“Are you okay Spike?” Asked Pinkie.
He smiled at the pink pony. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking about old friends,” he replied with a sniffle.
Horizon placed a thoughtful hoof on his leg. “I’ll bet they miss you too,” the unicorn uttered trying not to get choked up.
Spike reached down and delicately picked up the caring pony. “Awww Horizon,” he said hugging her. She in turn placed her hooves around him. “I’m glad we’re friends!”
“So am I Spike,” she said while a few tears fells from her blue eyes. The dragon set his friend down. Horizon dried her eyes and smiled up at him. “We thought after your trip to the past you might be a little sad. So we thought we’d drop by.”
Spike’s smile grew. “Thank you my friends,” he replied.
“We were also hoping you’d like to join us and watch the sun set,” Horizon expressed.
Pinkie Pie III began bouncing around with glee. “And afterwards we’ll go back to Ponyville for a party!” She announced.
He looked at them and asked, “You’re doing all this for me?” They both nodded.
Pinkie Pie III grinned. “Well of course it’s for you. When Horizon told me you were feeling glum…that made me feel sad. And if I felt sad, then I could only imagine how you felt. So then I got thinking…what could we do to cheer you up. And it hit me! A Party! Oh and Horizon thought watching the sunset would be fun too…and it is!” Rambled Pinkie.
“So what do you say Spike?” Asked Horizon enthusiastically.
Spike smiled happily at his two friends. “Thank you both! Of course I’ll go! Just try and stop me!” The dragon asserted.
The three of them went to the hill overlooking Ponyville. There they watched as the sun slowly set across the land. Just then the sound of soft hoof beats filled the air. Horizon smiled happily. It was her other friends. Spike’s mouth dropped open for a moment. There before him were the granddaughters of his other friends. The kind Flutterheart, the honest Apple Seed, and the loyal Cloud Dasher had all arrived to see him. “You’re all here!” Expressed Spike full of surprise.
"Of course we here!" Answered Flutterheart smiling joyfully.
"You didn't think we'd forget about our dragon buddy, did ya?" Asked Cloud Dasher winking.
"They're sure as sugar about that Spike! Boy Howdy!" Declared Apple Seed.
Pinkie bounced over to Spike and said, “We thought you’d like to see all of us, since you miss our grandmothers so much.”
"All we want is for you to be happy Spike!" Declared Horizon still smilingly warmly.
Spike couldn’t help getting misty-eyed. “You guys are the best,” he said sniffing. The five of them surrounded him forming a big group hug. Though it wasn’t over yet. There was one more unicorn approaching.
“Sorry I’m late!” They heard her call. She galloped over to join the group.
Horizon looked back and smiled. “Nonsense Jewel Heart! You’re right on time!” She declared.
Jewel Heart threw her hooves around the dragon too completing the circle. “Hi uncle Spike! Glad you could make it!” She asserted. Jewel Heart was Sweetie Belle’s granddaughter. Spike and Rarity never had any children of their own, so Sweetie Belle always stayed close to her sister, and in time her granddaughter became one of Spike’s friends too. In fact, Sweetie Bell was given the privilege of naming Jewel Heart. She chose the name in honor of all the jewels Spike and Rarity had once collected.
“I always have time for my friends! And it's always good to see you Jewel Heart!” Professed the Dragon now wiping tears from his eyes. The group continued to hug Spike sharing tears of joy. They were happy to be there for him.
The group of friends was complete once more. Together the seven of them continued to watch the sun set. Spike noticed the colors begin their change. Then like always the sun crept below the horizon. The twilight really stood out to him that evening. But then it always did and it always made him think of Twilight Sparkle. At that moment something dawned on him. There was no way he’d ever forget his friends. There were too many signs remaining that could help him remember them. Spike also had a rare privilege. Though his original friends were gone, as each following generation grew, he still had new friends. The dragon knew the new friends could never replace his old friends, but together they could share the stories of their ancestors. The love and memories would survive for years to come. So in a sense his friends were never gone as long as their memory prevailed in his heart.
As he stood there with his new friends watching the last glimmers of light fade, he continued to think. The dragon recalled how he and Rarity used to watch the sun set together. Spike sighed. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever love again. Rarity was indeed very special. No other pony in all of Equestria was quite like her. Finding a unicorn like her was indeed a rarity…
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Very well written. It was so good I felt myself empathizing with Spike. Even knowing he'll have to face loss again and again in his long-life made me sad for him. Good work.
A little rough around the edges, but overall pretty good.
3/5 mustaches.
Perfect, it tied up all the lose ends without losing the feel of the original. Its also good to know I misread how long Celestia had been imprisoned (I thought it was 200 not 20)
It was also genius to bring back Hearts Desire such a simple solution that I don't may authors would even remember to use.
Thank you all for the great feedback! I hope you will all keep an eye on me in the future. I have four new story ideas I can't wait to get started on! One came to me in the middle of the night last night. The other is a pet project I've been mulling over for a while now. Hopefully they will all be even better than my prior works! Thank you all again!
Why why o why did you not let spike have kids?!
whatever its still good.
this touched my heart
This was a great story. I'm glad I popped it into my read laters. now its going into favorites.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
The near ending had gave me up that you were one of the authors willing to give rarity and spike a child. But that was sadly crushed when it was stated that it was sweetie bell grand daughter and not spikes.Anyways nice story.
750153
Here's a hint though: I'm referring to the very last line of Chapter 1.
Keep in mind that future was but one possible outcome. I'd say more, but I might spoil something I haven't even written yet.
Dude...this was an amazing story! I really would like to see this continue. Are you still planning to do “Anything for Lady Rarity”?
1877043
I was, until I ended up with so many stories on my plate. That and I think the story needs some retooling. I have the first chapter's rough draft done, but I feel like I was sleep walking through it, and am not sure how good the second half is. That and a number of my followers noted that there are plenty of Sparity fics out there already. So I've just put it aside for now.
WHERE did you find that picture???
I remember seeing it once in ponibooru along with a short sad fanfiction that was originally written on some imageboard website, then copied to ponibooru by taking a screenshot. I want to find that story again, if that`s possible, and that picture is my only clue.
I`ll read this story of yours later.
OR could it be that the very fanfiction that inspired you to write this IS the fanfiction I`m looking for??
1941751
First, I'm so sorry I never saw your comment till now. I didn't even know anyone still commented or read this fic of mine. I can only wonder if you ever found the story you were searching for. A story of sorts and the image I used for the cover did inspire me. I found the link to the story that inspired me to write this. If by some chance you get this reply and would like to know, I'd be happy to share it with you. But, the story that inspired me to write this could in fact be the one you are looking for. The one I'm referring to is called "Memory". It's about Spike being there as Twilight finally passes away and then speaks with Luna and gets a keepsake to remember Twilight by.
Take care and if you do get this, please forgive the lateness of my reply. Have a good one!
Although I really liked the first chapter, this is the chapter that really brought this story home. The first chapter was good and had its feels, but young Spike finally resolved his issue. Future Spike, on the other hand, had a much more daunting task of living on even after his friends had left their mortal coil. This led to the far more complex and bittersweet struggle that comprises this half of the story and is shared by us all: the struggle to live on with the memories of passed loved ones while still being able to appreciate new loved ones.
This story is far more relatable because we will all have to bear this curse at some point. Those we love may and will pass on before we do; it's our challenge and honor to keep their memories alive so that they may outlive their deaths. As long as we remember, they will never be truly dead.
Now that he knows all of this is his future, he will need to do it all again when he reaches that point so as not to disrupt the events of the past.
Been five years (maybe then some) since this was submitted here and I've just now gotten to read it. I certainly am pleased to have done so at last.
