Ponyville seemed much less brighter than usual when Spike returned, dragging his drooped body along the dirt road that led back to Twilight's library. A strange, empty feeling had persisted inside his gut ever since Sapphire left. It was the saddest feeling he'd ever experienced. Was she really gone for good? Would he never hear her voice, the soft sweet sound of her giggle, or feel the warm touch of her paw again?
Not even a rainbow-colored form following above was enough for him to lift his head. "Boy, you sure got me good yesterday, Spike. Nice prank! But don't let it get to your head, you just caught me off guard, that's all, and I'm giving you a fair warning that I'll find a way to get back at you!"
Spike had heard Rainbow Dash's voice, but didn't bother to look up and acknowledge her. He simply maintained his moping posture without making a sound. Dash stopped her forward movement, holding her hoof to her mouth in a mix of awe and sympathy as she watched Spike walk solemnly along towards the library. Were those TEARS going down his face? She'd watched him come into town from the direction he usually took when he left to visit Sapphire. That could only mean…
"Uh-oh." Dash hovered in place as she observed Spike. He was heading back home. Best to check on him and make sure he was ok...
"I still don't understand why you're so jealous of Spike and Sapphire, Rarity," Twilight said. The two unicorns stood in the middle of the library, where Rarity had paid a visit in order to complain about her lack of a love life. Of course, Twilight was the pony everypony came to when they had a problem,
"Well... it isn't fair!" Rarity's curly mane danced as she stomped her hoof in protest. "Why haven't I found love yet? They're probably ten years younger than I am! Why must it take ME so long?"
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Probably because you're too picky?"
Rarity narrowed her eyes. "You could have at least given me the dignity of hesitating before you answered."
The sound of the door opening brought the unicorns' attention away from their conversation to see Spike walk into the library.
"Oh, Spike," Twilight said, "you're back sooner than I thought you'd be."
Without paying any heed to Twilight or Rarity, Spike made his way across the lobby and up the stairs to Twilight's room. Not so much as a sound followed.
"Spike?" Scratching her head in confusion, Twilight turned to Rarity.
"Oh my. Didn't you see the look on his face? The poor little guy's crushed."
A hovering form entered the library through the still-open door, this time a pony with a rainbow-colored mane.
"Hi, Rainbow," Twilight said. "What brings you here?"
"I just saw Spike come in here looking real upset. I wanted to make sure he was okay." Dash paused to think of an excuse to check on Spike other than she was legitimately worried about him, which wasn't outwardly cool. She DID have a reputation to uphold, after all. "…Because I have nothing better to do."
"Um, excuse me…" A pink-haired pegasus appeared underneath her rainbow-colored companion. Once she noticed all eyes were on her, she hung her head, scraping her hoof across the floor. "Oh, I hope I'm not interrupting, but I saw Spike looking really sad. Is he alright?"
Twilight paused to look to the top of the stairs for a few moments; then turned back to her friends. "I think he and Sapphire just broke up. He should be ok, in time."
"We simply must check on him," Rarity replied.
The other ponies nodded in confirmation; then followed each other upstairs into Twilight's room. The little dragon was there, curled up in his basket a sobbing, shivering mess. Rarity was the first to approach him.
"Spikey-wikey, sweetie, whatever is the matter?"
"What happened, Spike?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, tell us what's up!" Dash said.
"Are you ok?" Fluttershy added.
All Spike could do to answer was shake his head "no".
Twilight tapped her hoof impatiently. "Are you gonna tell us what happened or not?"
"It's.… over."
"Over?" Rarity asked.
"Sapphire's… gone. She left Equestria with her parents."
Dash gritted her teeth in sympathy as the other ponies puzzled for something to say. "Oh… bummer, huh? Ok, look, never mind what I said about paying you back for yesterday's prank. I won't do it."
"Rainbow!" Twilight snapped.
"I mean… um…" Dash cupped her hooves behind her back, fighting for the right words. It certainly wasn't awesome to be too sappy and sympathetic. "I'msorryokay?"
The cross gaze remained pasted on Twilight's face. STILL not good enough? Dash sighed and wilted before planting her hooves to the ground to rub Spike's shoulder in sympathy. "Look, Spike, I'm sorry it happened, and it stinks. Is there… anything I can do to help?" Rainbow dared a glance over her shoulder at Twilight, who smiled and nodded in approval.
Again, Spike answered with a shake of his head.
"Are you sure?" Rarity asked. "I can bring you some nice, delicious gems."
"Not hungry."
Tears welled up in Fluttershy's kind blue eyes. It hurt to see Spike so upset, especially since he refused gems. GEMS. He'd never turned down gems before. Fluttershy knew he was in a great deal of grief. The tears streamed down her face, wetting the yellow fur on her delicate features. She wiped the tears from her face and sniffed.
"Look, everypony," Twilight's voice called the other ponies' attention away from the heartbroken dragon. "I think Spike just needs some time to himself."
"Is he going to be okay?" Fluttershy asked.
"He'll be fine… in time."
Spike shivered at the thought. Thank you, Dr. Twilight. He needed relief NOW.
The herd of ponies left the room and trotted down the stairs, save for Twilight who remained at Spike's bedside. She tried to think of what she could say to cheer the little dragon up, or at least give him a peace of mind. Only when he heard the door shut after the last pony left did Spike pick himself up and wrap his arms around Twilight's front legs. He buried his face into her chest and cried.
"Twilight… it's not fair! Why does it have to hurt so much?" Indeed, he'd never felt pain like THIS before.
Twilight shook her head as she rubbed Spike's back to comfort him. "I wish I knew what to tell you there, but it's just part of being in love."
A small groan sounded from Spike. Why did everypony insist on making love seem so grand and fantastic, as if it were the key to ultimate happiness? How come nopony ever told him love could hurt this much? They never talked about the ugly side of it. Of course, most ponies avoided unpleasant topics in general, so that might account for it. Even so, nothing could have prepared him for this sort of emotional torture.
"Well, make it stop!" Spike cried.
"Sorry. I don't know any spells to cure a broken heart. You just need time. Can you be a tough little guy until then?"
The only answer from Spike was a loud sniff.
"Look, I'm going to give you some time to yourself and catch up on my studies. I'll be right here in the library if you need anything, ok?"
"Ok…" Spike whispered.
.
After gently pushing Spike away, Twilight gave him a smile to assure him everything would be okay; then retreated downstairs. Once she'd disappeared, Spike threw himself back onto his bed.
That night…
Twilight's mouth opened into a big, gaping yawn. The unicorn looked out the window. It was already sundown. Easy to lose track of time when you're pulled inside a good book. After a big stretch of her legs, Twilight shut her book, set it on the table and stood up. She hadn't heard so much as a peep from Spike since earlier that afternoon. Better check on him on her way to bed. As she made her way up the stairs, a startling thought came to mind.
He was growing up. Fast. Maybe… this would be the right time to let him go off on his own. To spread his wings with a certain young dragoness, just as she'd thought about earlier that week. The thought extracted quiet tears from both her eyes, but she was determined to do the right thing. She couldn't keep Spike shackled to her forever.
"Spike?"
No answer. Twilight walked further up the stairs, wiped her eyes and approached Spike's bed.
"Spike?"
Still curled up in his bed, Spike's answer was a weak moan.
"Listen, Spike." Twilight dropped to her haunches next to Spike's basket bed. "You're… you're a big dragon now, Spike, and part of being a big dragon means having to make some tough choices."
Spike could only sigh at Twilight's words. Now he was getting a LECTURE on top of his broken heart. Could this day get any better?
"Just hear me out," Twilight replied, knowing that Spike's yawn was in half-hearted protest. "Now, I'm going to let you make one of those tough choices. If…" The unicorn had to turn her head and gulp down the tears before she could bring herself to continue. "If you want to leave and go find Sapphire, I promise I won't get mad and I won't try to stop you."
For the first time since he laid down earlier that day, Spike moved. He rolled over on his back to look Twilight in her violet eyes. "What?"
"You're growing up, Spike. I can't keep you forever."
"You'd… just let me leave?"
"You don't know how lucky you are, Spike. I don't even know what it's like to be in love. If being with her really made you happy… I'd be happy."
Spike could only look up at Twilight, mouth agape in awe. Sapphire… he could be with her again. What he wouldn't give to hear her voice one more time, to hold her paw again. He was free to go after her, no strings attached.
"I'm going to get some sleep." Twilight's voice snapped Spike from his trance like state. "I'll let you think about it. Whatever you decide, I know it'll be the right choice. Good night, Spike."
As Twilight blew out the torches, blanketing Spike with darkness, the little dragon laid there in thought. What about his friends. What about… Twilight, the pony who had been like his mom, his sister, his aunt? What in Equestria was he supposed to do?
The next morning…
The beams of Celestia's sun greeted Twilight as she opened her eyes for the day, stretched and yawned with a strange sense of dread. She closed one eye and dared to aim the other at Spike's bed. Except for his blanket, it was empty. Twilight sighed and climbed out of bed. So, this was it. Spike was really gone. A framed picture of Spike and Twilight on the unicorn's desk caught her attention. It only took a second for tears to run down her cheeks. As long as she lived, she would never forget that little purple dragon.
Twilight let out a sigh. Best to get some breakfast, if she could keep it down. Slowly, Twilight stepped downstairs, head hung in sorrow. But the closer she got to the bottom of the stairs, a familiar scent grew stronger.
Oatmeal? Twilight lifted her head to peer into the kitchen. There was Spike, with his heart pattern apron, preparing breakfast.
"Spike!"
The unicorn's voice snapped Spike's attention to the lobby, from whence Twilight walked into the kitchen.
"Morning, Twilight."
"I thought you would have gone to look for Sapphire by now. If you don't start soon, you'll never catch up to her."
Spike stepped down off his stool to let the oatmeal come to a boil. "I'm… not going."
"Why not? She meant a lot to you, didn't she?"
"Yeah, but," Spike walked forward to embrace Twilight. Not even Sapphire's hugs could beat the sense of security that his surrogate mother's soft fur gave him. "You mean more."
More tears welled up in Twilight's eyes, happy tears this time. She was wrong to ever think Spike didn't like her anymore. "Oh, Spike." Twilight wrapped a foreleg around his back. "I'm so proud of you for making such a tough decision."
Spike let go of Twilight and looked to the floor. "I'm gonna miss her though…"
"Do you want to write a letter to Princess Celestia about it?"
As he looked up at Twilight, Spike smiled.
"I think I will!"
Dear Princess Celestia,
It's Spike. This past week I was given the opportunity to learn a bit about friendship, both good things and very hard things. I learned that new friends can seem to come out of nowhere, even when you think you're alone. I also learned that one of the hardest things about friendship is having to say goodbye to a good friend. But just because you've said goodbye doesn't mean you won't see each other again sometime. And even if you fall in love with a new friend, sometimes it's your oldest friends who stay the closest to your heart.
After a deep inhale Spike blew on the parchment, which vanished into a streak of magic sparks and shot off towards Canterlot. However, the little dragon could only stare sadly at the ground.
"Feel better?"
Twilight placed her hoof on Spike's shoulder, causing him to lift his head up and look behind his back. "Eh, not really."
"You'll feel better, in time."
Spike's eyes shot open in astonishment at a rumbling deep in the pit of his stomach. A few seconds later, a belch forced a scroll from his maw.
"Well, that was a fast reply," Twilight said as she watched Spike unravel the parchment. "What's it say?"
"It's from Sapphire," Spike answered. He clutched the full, flat parchment in his paws and read it out loud.
"Dear Spike,
I'm so sorry things couldn't have worked out the way we wanted it to. My parents said Equestria really isn't the place for full-grown dragons. I miss you so much already. Don't ever change; you just keep being the sweet, wonderful dragon I know you are in case we meet again someday. I won't forget about you! Write back soon! -XOXO, Sapphire."
"See?" Twilight said, "keep writing to her and you'll know where she's at. Someday you'll meet her again."
"Yeah," Spike sighed as he rolled the parchment up, "but until then…"
The little dragon walked over to the desk where Twilight had kept a series of pictures printed from the day he brought Sapphire to Ponyville. He shuffled through them, searching for the perfect one. His paw stopped on a photo with him and Sapphire embraced in a hug, smiling widely. With a deep breath, he held the picture in front of his face and sent it on its way.
Sapphire walked on beneath her parents, head hung in sorrow. It felt like it was all her fault for breaking Spike's heart. She only hoped he wasn't hurting as much as she was. Her parents had tried to convince her where they would wind up would be many more boy dragons, but she knew none of them could be as generous as Spike. Dragons simply weren't known for generosity.
A startling but familiar rumble formed in Sapphire's stomach before she belched out a flat piece of paper. She snatched it out of the air to take a closer look at it. There she was in the picture, hugging Spike tightly.
Despite her sadness, looking at the picture only made Sapphire smile as she held the picture firmly against her torso.
~Fin