I walked into town, taking a deep breath of the crisp air. It was nearly time for Fall. You could almost smell the crunch of the leaves and that faint whiff of cinnamon. I shifted the pack on my shoulder around, smiling at its weight. It was full of gifts, gems and other odds and ends that I had collected on my journeys as the Royal Ambassador – and personal assistant to Princess Twilight Sparkle, of course.

I smiled at the thought of not only my employer, but almost a mother to me. She had basically raised me from hatchling, first as a friend, and then as something more. Nurturing, caring, concerned – Twilight was all of those and more for my well being. Especially when she had sorted out what career I should take, especially with my curse…

My curse. How I hate it so. I think Twilight hates it as well, or is starting to. After all, she bears it just as I do. The curse of near immortality. The curse of a long life.

If I had to hazard a guess, I would say 20, maybe 30 years since I last visited Ponyville. I had lost track of the years again. After Twilight became the honorary Princess of Friendship, royal courts had been held there, including each of the Elements. I remembered those vaguely – They were hardly worth remembering now. So much had happened since then…

It had been 10 years after that, I think, that I became the royal ambassador. By then, I had finally gone through a growth spurt – And a startling one at that. Twilight almost had me chained to the wall in fear of another hoarding fest – This was a natural growth, however. Natural greed and natural hoarding. My wings had grown in, and I looked and felt ever part like a grown man – Though, perhaps with a few more… ‘juvenile’ thoughts. For all rights and purposes, I was then considered a teenager. Twilight then got around to doing some fancy calculations, and learned of how long a dragon usually lives…

Most would say 2000 years is a long time. I’m one of them.

After that, she had sent me away, to get my mind off of my age. I understood, and even welcomed the change of pace. She didn’t need her number one assistant anymore, what with her alicorn powers. I left Equestria every so often. Sometimes I came back. I wrote to my friends, but they never wrote back – I could never leave a return address. I had once met back up with them – But, again, that had been at least 20 years ago. By now, they must be around… Well, to range an estimate, 60 or 70.

I had never been good at math, but I knew my friend’s were getting up in years. That was really all that mattered – Their real ages weren’t too important. By now, they themselves probably didn’t remember. I had to keep in mind that the real reason I was here wasn’t to be concerned about their ages. I was here to remind THEM of their age. I was here on royal duty – One that I sorely wished I could avoid.

I shook the memories and thoughts and woes from my mind, smiling softly. Time enough for that later. I began to make my way through the town, and quickly found myself completely, utterly, totally lost. Things had certainly changed in 25 – I evened out the difference – years. I felt myself slipping into old habits and walking down a street, only to find it to be a dead end. It was like reading over a faded, aged map. Bits and pieces were unknown. Some parts were new, some were old, and some were simply forgotten. I simply shook my head and bravely set off in an uncertain direction.

Children stared as I walked past. None of them were familiar to me – Though, if it had truly been that long, they wouldn’t have been. They played nonsense games, laughing and having fun. That is, until they saw me. Their eyes filled with awe and wonder, but also with fear and trepidation upon seeing the beast in their midst. Some had heard of dragons, probably from their parents, so as to scare them into behaving. I sighed inwardly, saddened by their lack of knowledge.

The parents that were always nearby were another story. Some were younger, some were older, but all in that generation had known of Spike the Dragon. Some of the children knew of me as well, but not well enough to differentiate me from any other dragon. The younger parents looked at me, first with wary eyes. I understood that perfectly – After all, they did have to protect their children. But, as they looked past the scars and the age that had somehow begun to show, their eyes began to widen. A few stood.

Thus was the end of my peace. I was suddenly up to my wings in ponies – Family, friends, and all of their respective children. They rejoiced in having me back. I must admit, I was surprised by that fact – I had certainly caused enough damage in my stay here than anypony else. By all rights, they could have hated me for that. Yet another example of why I loved ponies so much.

The children were the most excited, after their parents explained that I wasn’t to be afraid of. They asked questions non-stop. Who am I? Is it true I used to be Princess Twilight’s personal assistant? Why are my scales so hard? All those and more, I answered.

I sat, a semi-circle of the little fillies and colts surrounding me. I began to tell them stories, all the tales of my adventures around Equestria. I told them the edited version, of course – Only the Princesses needed to know it all. Their reactions were perfect. They gasped at just the right moments, smiling and laughing at others. They cried as I told them the sadder tales, and one even screamed as I described a changeling attack.

I talked until my throat grew hoarse – I chuckled at the pun as I thought of it. Standing, all the children sighed. None of them wanted to tales to end. I apologized, saying I had somewhere to go. They all understood, but for one little filly. She ran up to me, hugging my hoof tightly. “Come back, Kk Mister Spikey?”

I smiled at her, finding her sudden willingness to hug me surprising, seeing as they had been so scared of me at first. “I might, I might. No promises, little one.”

“You better come back!” She hopped up to a mare with a curly red mane. She picked up the filly, smiling. “Mama, he says he’ll come back, maybe!”

“Thath nice, Candy,” she said, her lisp slurring her words lightly. She turned to me. She seemed somehow familiar, but I simply couldn’t recall her name. “You theemed a little lotht. Do you need a map of Ponyville? I could draw one up for you.”

“Thank you, that would be greatly appreciated.” She nodded and walked inside with the little girl. When she returned, a map of Ponyville was in her hooves. I thanked her one last time and flew away. I would’ve stayed and chatted, but I really needed to go see my friends. I had shirked my duty for too long. I flew up high, startling a few pegasi. I ignored their stares – I was used to them.

I landed on a cloud, smiling at the fluffiness. One of the bonuses of wings – the ability to walk, or, in my case often, lay on clouds. Lying back, I unfurled the map the mare had given me.

Ponyville had changed. That much was obvious. The Golden Oaks Library had been rebuilt, but not the same. New houses had been built, new pathways paved. It was still the small town I knew, but it was different as well. I was truly a stranger to my home, now. I sighed, glancing at where all of my friends lived. I picked the furthest away, first. I would go from there, in, to visit all of my friends.

Rolling up the map, I sighed one last time. “Sweet Apple it is, then.” I stuffed the map in my pack and flared out my wings. It was a bit hard with the pack on my back, but the straps rested between the joints where they grew from. In a few flaps, I took off.

I drifted through the air, getting many a stare from various ponies. Pegasi nearly fell out of the sky in surprise as they saw me. Ponies on the ground pointed up when I flew beneath the clouds. I hardly paid attention to the small pin-pricks on the ground – I had had my fill of memories for the day. Now was the time to see the damage of time. It was time to visit my friends.

Visit them for the last time.

Author's Notes:

New fan fic, featuring Spike!
^w^

Update: Edited by Me