Twilight Sparkle sat in her garden, slowly pulling weeds from the dirt with magenta magic and placing them in a small bucket next to her. Usually, at this time of day, she would be studying the magic of friendship, hanging with her pals. Not anymore, though.

There were no more adventures to go on, no more villains to bring to justice, no more friendship reports.

No, Twilight Sparkle was done. She was retired. At the age of 80, although Twilight had not wanted to, Princess Celestia had demanded she retire. She was getting old. There was no doubt about it. The fact that the unicorn should've retired about five years ago didn't make it any easier for the Princess to say it.

Plus, there was only one friend to return to. And that was Fluttershy. But the pegasus didn't ever leave her house, though Twilight did often. But Fluttershy was older than the unicorn by about three years, so at the age of 96, it was about time for the pegasus.

And it wasn't like Twilight wasn't near either.

But that didn't matter to Twilight. She was- albeit slightly sad she was no longer able to visit the Princesses and turn in friendship reports- happy that her time could now be spent on more leisurely matters. And it didn't really matter to her that her time was almost up in Equestria, although she would dearly miss the princesses, mostly her beloved Princess Celestia, her mentor and teacher. And Twilight would definitely miss Spike, as he had a longer lifespan than her, being a dragon and all.

Speaking of Spike; he was humungous! He could easily fit Twilight in one clawed hand. His tail nearly destroyed the library one time; that was the sign he was too big to stay in there. His giant, green spikes were no longer dull, but sharp as knives. And at last, after years of waiting so desperately; Spike had wings. They started growing around his sixteenth birthday, though that was nearly 70 years ago. He was a fairly good flyer. No where as fast or talented and agile as Rainbow Dash- who had become a Wonderbolt and had been the captain of the team when Spitfire retired- but he could beat Twilight running when he wanted to.

So, as Twilight Sparkle stood up from the dirt, it was quite obvious when the giant dragon was approaching her. She turned around to face her not-so-baby dragon.

"Twilight," Spike started, his deep voice rumbling,"I need to talk to you about something." He laid his claw down on the ground and Twilight clambered onto it, her bones creaking with age. He brought her up to face level so she could hear him better. Although his voice was loud, Twilight's hearing was not the level it used to be.

"Yes Spike? What is it?" Twilight asked, perking an ear as he started speaking again.

"It's about me Twi. Well, about us." He stopped, letting her mind run wild as it thought about what about them it would mean. "You know I'm getting big, way too big to fit in the library. I've been sleeping outside for years now. I mean, it doesn't affect me all that much, because I can't feel cold or heat very well, but..."

"Do-do you want me to build you a house? I could! Or the Princess could-" Spike shushed her.

"It's not exactly about that, Twilight. It's not easy for me to say this. But please understand." Twilight almost knew what he was going to say. Spike took a deep breath, then spoke. "I'm leaving, Twi. I'm going to join the dragons. I need to go be with my kind. I need to be a dragon. Not a pony."

"I understand," Twilight whispered, her head hanging lower than usual. Spike stuck a single claw under her chin to lift it up. She looked into his eyes, tears dripping down her face.

"Do you? Or are you just saying that?" Spike asked softly, peering into her wet violet eyes. Twilight didn't say anything, just closed her eyes. "You know I don't want to leave you, Twilight. I love you. You're everything to me, and you know that. But I need to go free."

Twilight spoke up. "But I need you, Spike! W-we all need you!" She grasped his finger, letting her tears flow uncontrollably.

"I've seen the looks, the stares. Ponies hide when I come by. They fear me, Twi. I'm not the little dragon I was back then. And, if I stay here, I'll just get bigger. I have much more growing to do, I'm sure of that." Spike gently stroked the purple mare's fading indigo mane, the streaks of pink and purple almost unrecognizable from what bright, vibrant colors they used to be.

Twilight's body shook with sobs as she clung to her dragon. She looked up, her teary purple eyes pleading. "Please! Don't leave me! I want to die with you next to me! Can't you wait?" she sobbed.

Spike sighed. "Twilight, is that what you really want?" he asked. The unicorn looked down once again, thinking. She whispered something. "What was that?"

"... No.. I just want to see you happy..." Twilight shuddered slightly, her eyes red and puffy from crying. Spike closed his eyes briefly, then put his bright green gaze on the mare as she continued. "And that means I want anything for you. I don't want you to see me die.. I'm sorry. I-I'm being selfish..."

"No you're not. But we both knew this was going to happen. I'm sorry." Spike blinked, kissing Twilight on the forehead. "I plan on leaving tomorrow, when the sun is lowering in the sky. I prefer to fly at night, when my vision is best."

"Of course..." Twilight sniffed, unwrapping herself from Spike's claw. He lowered the old unicorn to the ground once again, then watched as she slowly went towards the library. "So, I will see you tomorrow... Good night Spike." Twilight nodded in the dragon's direction, his face hidden in the shadows as the sun set far across the land. She gently opened the library door and it shut without a sound as she disappeared inside.

Twilight collapsed on the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks as she let it all out. The unicorn didn't hold anything back, and cried even harder than she had in front of Spike.

It was finally time. Her precious Spike was leaving her. And there was nothing she could do to stop him.

A baby dragon ran by her, catching a runaway paper that had blown out of her saddlebag in the chilly wind...

A slightly older teenage dragon, with his hands behind his back looking embarrassed as she teased him about what he had been doing when she walked in...

A dragon now as tall as she was, with two small wing stubs poking out of his back, with her telling him what was happening...

An adult dragon with a bottle of hard cider in his claws, surrounded by six slightly older and more mature looking ponies, who were taking him out on his 21st birthday...

Six ponies and a dragon racing across Sweet Apple Acres, with a bright cyan blur trailed by rainbows leaving them all in the dust as she out flew and outran all of them...

A dragon, sitting under a statue of a pegasus as he mourned away from all eyes, except for hers...

Five ponies together now, with a dragon trying to show them a new trick he just learned...

Four graves surrounding them, with a single pegasus and unicorn sitting there as he cried for his love and all the others...

A very tall adult dragon fighting a hydra that had chased three silly young mares into town when they went to catch a manticore...

A dragon trying to bow before a beautiful white alicorn as she entered town...

A dragon patting her on the back softly as she cried over her studies...

A dragon kissing her on the forehead as she lay in the grass, watching the stars as she fell asleep...

A dragon, telling her he was leaving...

Twilight awoke, picking her face up from her desk. The unicorn wiped the small amount of drool from the side of her mouth with the back of her hoof and sighed. She grabbed a tissue from the box beside her with her magic and dabbed at her eyes with it, telling herself it was just a dream.

But it wasn't just a dream. They were memories.

"Oh, where did the time go?" Twilight Sparkle asked herself, standing as slowly as Tank the tortoise when he was leaving Rainbow Dash's grave. The unicorn felt her bones creak, and waddled over to the kitchen where she put her red tea kettle on the stove. As soon as it whistled, she took the steaming hot cup of tea and went down to her basement.

It used to house her many pieces of scientific equipment, which she had used quite a few times on her friends, mostly Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, as they changed the most and were the most interestingly different than the others. Such as Pinkie's sense and Rainbow's ability to fly at over mock ten speeds.

Now, all it was, was a small sitting area, complete with two small, plush couches and a chair, with a nice thick pink rug. Near the winding wooden staircase, one purple couch was pushed against the wall, and a small little mahogany coffee table. By the fireplace, directly across from it, was the other couch; a dark pink love-seat with a light pink table right next to it, with a red lamp on top of the shiny surface. And in the middle of the room, was one large, dark purpleish blackish chair, with the galaxy imprinted on it. A black coffee table was settled right in front of it, with some indigo drink holders sitting in a black container. Some large black and purple multi-headed lamps were sitting in the corner. The walls were indigo, and the ceiling was covered in stars, same as the chair. One wall had large portraits of all her friends on it, and their Elements of Harmony were sitting in individual glass cases next to them.

Twilight plopped herself down in her special chair- "Chair of the Night," as Luna called it. It had been a special gift, well, the whole room had really been a special gift, for the 70th anniversary of Twilight becoming the Element of Magic. The others had also gotten something special; Pinkie Pie got a huge party, which she had loved so much, but shortly after she had died. Applejack received a piece of land, which her family had been desperately trying to buy as to expand their farm, but they had no where near the money required to purchase the land. Although the Apples were a proud and independent family, Applejack and the rest made an exception. Rarity had been given some amazing fabrics from different parts of the continent, which were extremely expensive. They were so much more than she had hoped for. Fluttershy was given a surgery, as only months earlier she had lost her wing to a wandering beast, the likes of which nopony had ever seen before. They replaced it and she had full control of it, and it had slowly changed from the light green it originally was to the yellow of her own feathers. Rainbow Dash was given her own special day, as to celebrate her existence; the reason for this was because she had died in a crash when she was only 28. She had been the captain of the Wonderbolts for seven years. The brash pegasus had died valiantly, trying to do a double rainboom, which she had accomplished. Her day, March 22, was forever known now as "Double Rainbow Dash Day," in honor of her spectacular feat, the double rainboom, plus her many other accomplishments, including the amazing sonic rainboom.

So, as Twilight sat, sipping lightly at her tea, she was overwhelmed with feelings for her dear companions. They should've been here to support her in her time of need, and to say their final goodbyes to Spike. The unicorn put the empty teacup down, then leaned against the back of the chair. She sunk slightly into the back of it, and closed her eyes. Memories flashed through her mind.

All the times Rainbow Dash did a sonic rainboom, and the day she died doing the double rainboom...

Rarity presenting the beautiful dresses she made to Hoity Toity...

The whole gang helping Applejack and her family beat Flim and Flam...

Pinkie Pie singing all her amazing songs, laughing, dancing with her friends...

Fluttershy standing up to the dragon that had been covering Equestria in smoke...

Dong... Dong... Dong... Dong... Dong... Dong... Dong... Dong... Dong...

Twilight woke with a start, heart racing. She looked at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room.

9:00 P.M.

Twilight had fallen asleep, dreaming about all the fun her friends had had. The unicorn stood up and climbed the stairs, taking her teacup with her. She set it in the sink and stepped outside, seeing the giant dragon waiting for her.

Spike looked down at her and nodded. "Shall we be off, then?" he asked somberly. Twilight nodded in reply, and they set off, heading out of Ponyville at a slower pace. She felt her bones creak with age, clicking loud enough for her to hear as they crossed the green field. They trekked over the hills outside the town, and soon Spike stopped at the top of one. "This is it."

Twilight nodded. She looked up. "So, will you be coming back?" she asked, hoping he might. All he did was look away, fierce green eyes glazing over with sadness. "I see." Twilight felt her tears flowing again, and dropped her head. The tears dripped down her cheeks, staining the fur under them a darker purple than normal. She felt a clawed finger run through her faded mane, and the unicorn looked up again.

Spike gave her a sad smile, his pointy teeth sticking out slightly from his upper lip. He glanced away for a few moments, than back to Twilight. "It's time."

"Of course... just be careful, will you? I'll see you again someday, somewhere we'll all be together again." Twilight smiled sadly. "I love you."

"I love you too, Twi." Spike kissed Twilight on the forehead, then raised his enormous, light green wings. He flexed his toes, digging them into the ground a few times. The dragon then looked down at the unicorn, his best friend, his mother, his sister, one last time and said:

"Don't cry over the future; cherish the time we spent together."

And as he looked back into the sunset, the sky dyed orange and pink, Spike leaped into the air, causing a small breeze to sweep over Twilight as she stood there. She watched as he flew into the distance, leaving her forever.

Well, what would seem like forever.

So, Twilight Sparkle, student of Celestia, Element of Magic, dear friend, loving daughter, cherished pony, took one last moment to look at her beloved Spike flying away in the distance, and turned around. Spike never looked back, and neither would she.

~End~

I'm sure some of you have seen the animation "True Friendship" on YouTube, and I really wanted to write it down. The whole thing is based on a comic from the Ask Twilight Sparkle on Tumblr. I think it came out pretty well, but that's for you to decide.