From this point on, a spoiler warning will be in effect. There are a few details in this chapter that spoil certain aspects of the finale of MLP (S9 E26). If you're reading this story before watching that, then look away now! This story isn't going anywhere. It'll still be here once you have watched it!

For those of you who are still here, let's get on with the story!


You'd expect a family of dragons would live in a cave or a forest. Not Spike's. They lived in a rather sizeable estate, almost perfectly halfway between Canterlot and the edge of the Dragonlands. Of course, it needed to be big considering they were dragons. Spike wasn't as small as he used to be. To anypony else, it would have seemed a bit excessive to have a house this big for a family of three, but to them, it was perfect. It had been a gift from Twilight. She had always known that there would be a time when he would outgrow any room she had going spare, so she had had this mansion built, without him knowing, before she died. The first he knew about it was when she left it to him in her will. It took him a few more decades to grow into it, but now he was grateful that she had thought so far ahead. He now had almost two centuries of life behind him, so he was certainly glad to be able to spend the vast majority of it in such luxury.

Right now, he couldn't be happier to be home. The rain from earlier had gone from 0-100 in a matter of seconds, so by the time he and Barb had made it to the front door, it looked like they had just gone for a swim. Not that the rain bothered them. Scales are waterproof, after all. The pair quickly dried themselves off with a brisk shake before stepping inside.

Spike quickly spotted the large, orange dragon in the kitchen. She was about the same size as Spike, despite being his senior by a couple of years. Honestly, when they first encountered each other, Smolder didn't think much of the small, purple, wingless dragon, and Spike was initially slightly scared by her. They became friends quickly, of course. It was the School of Friendship, after all. At that this point, you'd expect me to say that 'eventually, this friendship became love, yada yada yada', but that was not the case. Instead, as the years progressed, they each found love with someone else. For Spike, it was the young griffon Gabby, who was the mail courier for Griffonstone. She was frequently in Ponyville, delivering letters for Gallus, the only griffon at Twilight's School at the time, as well as various other letters and packages. She was highly sought after for long distance packages, mostly because she had a griffon's endurance and a near-perfect track record. Spike and Gabby had hit it off fairly quickly, considering both had been in the mail delivery business, and they were both non-ponies in a pony-dominated world. At that point, interspecies relationships were unprecedented. Many ponies disagreed with the concept, but many more agreed. However, most doubt disappeared when Fluttershy married Discord, which was quickly followed by the wedding of Sandbar and Yona, and the start of a relationship between Gallus and Silverstream. Eventually, it became obvious that Spike and Gabby also had feelings for each other, so after a decade and a half of dating, they too got married. Gabby moved to Ponyville permanently to live with Spike, and the couple had a long and happy marriage for many decades.

For Smolder, her prior romantic relationship had been a little more controversial. Her circle of friends, over time, became almost as well known as the Element Bearers that were their professors, so when the public heard that Smolder had started dating Ocellus, they were shocked. Not only was this an interspecies relationship, but they were both girls. Same-sex relationships were not unheard of in Ponyville. Applejack and Rainbow Dash had been married for years at this point, after all. But, to see a relationship between a same-sex, different-species couple was uncharted territory. It took time for the secretive whispers and sideways looks to die down, but neither of them really cared. Eventually, when they both were professors at the School of Friendship, Smolder surprised Ocellus with a ring and a question, and the rest is history.

However, whilst these two relationships were long and happy, the endings were painfully similar: they had to watch their partners grow old and die. Dragons have the longest lifespans of any mortal creature in Equestria, some surviving well in to their thousands. Almost every other creature would struggle to reach 100. That was the case for both Gabby and Ocellus, who both died peacefully in their early 90s. Spike and Smolder both remained single for a while longer after that, but it didn't take long for them to realise that they had a strong bond. Eventually, it was just them. All of the friends they had grown up with had passed on. They still had immortal beings like Celestia, Luna and Discord to counsel them, but it wasn't the same. They both longed for a partner that they could love, grow old, and die with, and then it dawned on them. If they were the only species with a lifespan as long as theirs, then they really only had one option. They started dating shortly after this realisation, much to the chagrin of Smolder's older brother, Garble. Dragon Lord Ember, on the other claw, was thrilled, and when they eventually tied the knot, it had been her who had presided over the ceremony. Now, she was Barb's godmother. She was still the Dragon Lord, and that position kept her busy, but she would always pay them a visit when she could. They had now been married for well over half a century, and they couldn't be happier.

"Smolder! We're home!" She was upon them within seconds.

"There you are! What took you so long, slowpokes?!"

"We got caught in the rain. Couldn't help it." Smolder sighed, a burst of flames escaping her nostrils.

"Well, I've just about got dinner ready. You both should have enough time to get cleaned up and dried off properly."

With that, Spike and Barb turned and went to do exactly that.


Well, here we are, now just about ready to get to the meat of the story. I honestly don't know how long this one is going to be, but I look forward to finding out. We'll just have to see where the story takes me. Anyway, before I leave you a couple of things I want to address. First, the ships. I know there are those of you who'll disagree with me regarding the canonicity of AppleDash, FlutterCord and potentially all of the other pairings I mentioned, but this is just my headcanon, based on what I believe they hinted at during the MLP finale. I think they fit into the story that I'm trying to tell, so there you go.

On an unfortunately less cheerful note, I want to bring something up. During the last week, someone, who I shan't name, decided to leave a review in which she told me my stories were crap (not the exact word she used, but I refuse to swear. Let's just say it's a shorter way of saying 'the leavings of a pig') and that I should kill myself. It was left as a guest review, so I couldn't respond, and I have already deleted the review, as I will for any similar review I may receive in the future. Now, I understand that my stories may not be to everyone's taste, but if you don't like it, don't read it! It's no reason to tell someone to commit suicide. If there's something you don't like about my writing, by all means leave it in a review or a PM, but don't be afraid to tell me what it is you don't like. If it's something that I can fix, I will attempt to fix it. No need to be disrespectful.

Ok, now that that's all out of the way, I believe I've said all I had to say. Don't forget to leave any questions you may have for me in the PMs and I'll try to answer them! See you in the next chapter! Ciao for now!

OnTheSpectrum