Memento
Spike remembered wondering when he was younger, just how long do dragons live? There was so much he hadn't known about his kind when he lived in Ponyville, which seemed so long ago that it may have just been a dream. It had been millennium since their laughter and smiles had been all he needed to keep going. He'd thought, once, that Twilight becoming an Alicorn would allow her to stay with him, but even that had been taken away. Apparently there was more to being a goddess then simply having wings and a horn. She had lived long, certainly, her and Cadance had been the last two to leave him of those that could, but in the long run it didn't really matter. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy. They'd all lived full and happy lives, so had their foals, and their grand foals. Spike had seen to that, being the protector of their lines, so his long life might serve some purpose. Celestia had told him, long ago, that he needed to find a purpose to make the eternity bearable. And that had done for a time. But as the generations went on, he felt less connection to their family lines. They spread out around Equestria, and to other ends of the world, and Spike felt no reason to continue looking over them. Even his own line, he had long since left behind...
They'd changed everything, the two of them. They had proved that is was possible for dragons and ponies to live in peace. It hadn't been easy, for anyone, pony or dragon. But over the centuries, an uneasy peace was reached between the dragons and the ponies. Inter species marriages were not common, but they certainly were not unheard of. Kirins were a natural part of the world now, and Spike liked to think with some satisfaction that it was thanks to he and his beloved that such came to be. Not that they were the first, Spike would never believe that, but they were certainly high profile. The adopted son of Princess Celestia, savior of the Crystal Kingdom, and most trusted companion to Princess Twilight Sparkle. And then the bearer of the Element of Generosity herself, who had personally used her exquisite speech and diplomacy to open the door to negotiations with the dragons. It was not something that would have finished in her lifetime, but it certainly had started with them.
Rarity, even now the thought of her face sent his heart a flutter. The time he'd spent with her was tiny, only a few scant decades, but it sustained him even now. It drove him to continue exploring this world, to keep seeing new things, to pass the wisdom of centuries to those that needed it. It was funny really, Spike wanted to be stronger when he was little, wanted to be a help to his friends. But now that he was strong, probably strong enough to rival his 'mother' if he so choose, he found the strength was totally useless. He protected nothing, for he did not remain in the same place long. And nothing would dare to cause a fight when the dragon made land fall.
But today. Today he had something to do. Every year it always happened, the only constant in his life. On the anniversary of the happiest day of his life, he went to visit his friends. Over two thousand years ago today, he married the mare of his dream. How scandalous it had been at the time. Rarity didn't care, she never cared. Celestia gave them her blessings, and Twilight made it a point to wear one of Rarity's designs every time she appeared in public. It helped to offset the scorn they got, for daring to do something away from the norm.
She always had been a trend setter.
Spike flew low, his wings pushing back the foliage over the Everfree Forest, or whatever it was called now. He honestly didn't bother to keep up. Ponyville had vanished in the last thousand years, which had bothered him at the time. Celestia assured him that it was just a natural progression of time, she still comforted him like a child when such things bothered him. Even at his age, Spike found the comforting speech of his mother something he never resented. There were few landmarks anyone could use to find where the grave sites were. The monuments had long since worn away, the buildings decayed away into nothing as the forest took over. Spike knew, however, from his thousands of visits. He'd become intimate with every inch of this place. As he began flying lower and lower, he noticed something odd. A small clearing had been made, someone had been here recently. Curious, Spike lowered himself to the ground. This clearing was quite close to where their resting places were. Had explorers come through here again to see the remains of the once legendary 'Ponyville'? Written about in the many texts of the greatest Unicorn of all time, Twilight Sparkle. Hah, her name being revered like Star Swirl, she would have loved it. He looked to the left, and his heart nearly stopped with what he saw.
Six long holes dug into the ground, each at the base of a weathered stone slab. Their were etchings on each slab: a group of balloons, a thunderbolt, butterflies, a circle of stars, a trio of apples and... diamonds. There was a very recently dug hole before each monument, and Spike knew innately what had happened here. And his blood began to boil.
Grave Robbers.
Now Spike was not dumb, and he was not lost to rage quite yet. Their bodies had long since returned to the earth, there wouldn't be anything left for them to disturb except dirt. Yes, it was a huge insult, and if they were still here, Spike likely would have roasted them without a second thought. However, they were not here, which gave Spike time to try and regain his composure. And then he realized something, something that should be in these holes, but wasn't.
Specifically, a red gemmed necklace that his mare had worn until her end days, and had been buried with. It would normally have been possible that it could have simply been moved by the earth over thousands of years, or something else, but not this time. Spike ate gems, and he could smell a very familiar one. The one that meant more to him then anything else. He was in flight without even speaking to his friends as he intended to. Without resettling their resting places. Now he was enraged, and he let a loud roar pierce the air, filled with his wrath, as he followed the scent to the east.
After an hour or so of travel, he knew he was getting close. The scent was strong, the ruby had been here very recently. He saw on the horizon, a town. He didn't know it's name, he didn't even know if it was under Celestia's rule, not like that mattered to him right now. How dare they take from her grave! She, the most generous pony in the entire world, and they robbed her!
He touched down in the middle of the town, causing ponies of all kinds to scatter around him in surprise. He debated roaring, but before he could, he heard someone talking to him.
"Heyyy! Hey Mr. Dragon!" The call reached his ears. He turned, his gaze narrowing and looking for the source of the noise. The speaker was a filly, a unicorn filly. No Cuttie Mark, white coat and a green mane, female. She was looking up at him with wide eyes, seemingly very excited to be talking to a dragon. "Hi!" She shouted waving. "You're a purple dragon with green scales who is realllllly old, right? Are you Spike?" She asked.
Now, Spike knew his coloration was unique, he had honestly never met another dragon with his shading before. Still, that this tiny filly should know who he was, that staggered him for a moment. He turned his body to look at the young unicorn, rumbling out his response. "It has been some time since a random pony knew my name..."
The filly practically jumped around in circles in delight. "OhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygosh! I knew it! You look exactly like they described in 'Guardians of Equestria: Volume 5, Book 2!" She said, elated to see a living legend. At hearing her spout information off like that, Spike could not help but chuckle.
"You remind me of somepony...somepony I have not seen for a very long time. What is your name, little unicorn?"
The unicorn was giddy with delight. "I'm Wishful Fortune!" She spoke, waving again to the dragon, which now leaned down so his face was resting on the ground. He didn't want to forget why he was here, but this little unicorn had calmed him. He was not a destroyer, he was just here to claim what was his.
"Well then little Fortune. Perhaps you can help me. I am looking for a red gem on a golden necklace. It was taken from my home, I have tracked it here. Have you seen it?" He asked, finding this little filly's antics familiar, and quite entertaining.
She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well...Stone Quarry came back from his exploring with something like that, but he wouldn't take what wasn't his. You could ask him. I can take you but..." She paused, thinking about something.
"But?"
"Ooooh! I have so many questions! Did you really work with the last holders of the Elements? Did you really save the Crystal Kingdom? Were you really the center of the Dragon-Pony negotiations?" She fired off at him, and Spike now knew beyond a shadow of a doubt why he felt relaxed around this filly.
"If you will take me to where I can find the pony that has the ruby, I will tell you any story you desire." He promised. Well, now it was an issue of dragon honor, and he felt like he would likely be stuck for a while if she was as much like Twilight as he thought. Her dancing around was rather cute, though. He had to wonder if Twilight had ever been that wild and just...cute. He'd been too young to remember when she was that age.
The streets were empty as Wishful Fortune lead him through the town. Most likely hiding from him in fear, he couldn't really blame them. Never-the-less, she came up to a large stone cottage, knocking happily on the door. The scent was unbearable, the ruby was within. There was no response at first, so she knocked again. Still no response, Spike simply sighed.
"Please don't make this more difficult then it must be. If I wanted to enter, your door would not stop me." He spoke loud enough for anypony in the area to hear, and sure enough the door peaked open as a brown earth pony looked out at him. Young, fully grown, but young. He seemed to be eying Spike from behind the door, which Spike thought was quite ludicrous. Like the door would protect him.
"Y..Yes, mighty dragon?"
Spike leaned down, looking at the pony before him with a critical gaze. He seemed terrified, small wonder. The blessings of size. "I believe you have something that belonged to a friend of mine. A Fire Ruby, yes?" He spoke, seeing the pony's face pale. He nodded furiously, leaving the door open as he ran into the house.
Spike could hear the sounds of some conversation. The pony and a filly it sounded like, though even his ears could not decipher their frantic whispers. Fortune looked up at him and spoke. "I think he's getting it from Sapphire Thrill." She whispered to him, as if he should know who this pony was.
"And she is?" Spike asked, keeping his voice as quiet as possible.
"Oh she's really nice! She's my age but she's lame."
"I thought you said she was nice...?"
"No no, silly! Her legs are lame! She really likes gems though, she puts them by her window and makes the light shine through them all, it's really pretty." She clarified, not thinking it odd at all. An odd knot formed in Spike's chest, and he used his long neck to slither his head around the side of the house. It was not hard to find the window of this filly. He could hear the discussion as he approached the window.
"...But you said someone buried it?" A female voice asked.
"I don't know, but he wants it! He might crush the house if we don't give it to him!" The older stallion started, clearly panicked.
"Hello." Spike said simply, looking into the window and nearly making the brother faint. The little filly, however, just looked at him, her eyes wide. She had a blue coat, but a red mane. What an odd color. She looked almost like Dash, but her demeanor was anything but. She held the necklace in her hands, and she held it up towards him with a smile.
"Hello Mr. Dragon! Is this yours?" She asked honestly. presenting the familiar gem to him. Spike nodded, and brought two clawed talons close to pick it out of her hands...
When something smacked him in the back of his mind. 'You brute! How could you take from a filly that has so little? To take something just to put it in the dirt? What good would it do there? Here it brightens her life.'
And he knew, Rarity was right. The Fire Ruby had no use as a memento sitting in the dirt. Someone else had found real value in it, so what right did he have to claim it now? He pulled his hand back, to the surprise of all involved. "Yes, but I think I would rather you keep it. The owner of it would have wanted that way."
Sapphire looked confused. "I thought you owned it? Isn't that what you said?"
Spike chuckled, laying down for a moment. "Find a place to sit Fortune, for now you get your first story. You see, a very long time ago I lived in a place called Ponyville..."