I yawned in the morning as I walked toward the cloud home, shifting my bag around in an attempt to crack my back. It was early that morning, but I was certain Scootaloo would be awake. She would be practicing, as she always was; that is, as long as she hadn't already left for work. I somehow doubted she would have, however. Twilight would have seen to that.

I looked up as the house blocked out the sun, covering me in shadow. The chill of autumn had snuck up on me and I shivered as I took in the house. It had hardly changed, in all these years. Rainbows still pooled in little corners, little balconies were everywhere. How she managed to keep her house stationary, I’ll never know.

I unfurled my wings and flew up, landing just outside the door. “Scoots? You in there?”

I heard a muffled response through the clouds. “Jus’a minute!” I rolled my eyes, smiling. She was always in a rush. Sometimes, I thought she should just slow down; she’d wear herself out at this rate, just like some other mares I knew.

In a flash, she was standing in the doorway. She’d really grown; the youngest of the cutiemark crusaders, she was somewhere in her 40’s, maybe early 50’s. Her windswept mane was unbrushed, per usual, and her eyes sparkled with joy and childlike abandon. Somehow, despite her age, Scootaloo still seemed just the same. I knew that wasn't the case, though.

"Spike!" She laughed and hugged me tightly. I hugged her back, smiling. "Oh dang, it's great to see you! Hey, come on in. Sorry if the place is a mess and all, haven't really gotten around to cleaning it.”

“That’s alright,” I said, chuckling. “You’re a busy mare, after all.”

“Ugh, truer than you know!” Scootaloo began to walk back inside with a roll of her eyes. I glanced in, raising an eyebrow as I saw the state of the house. “Again, sorry about the mess,” she muttered as she jumped over a discarded toy on the floor. “Dash is just getting all sorts of messy nowadays.”

“Is she really that bad?”

“Well, no, but she never picks up after herself.” Scootaloo groaned, scowling as she glared at another stray toy. “Grr… METEOR DASH, GET DOWN HERE!”

“Coming, Ma’!” I watched as, in a flash of grey and purple, a small filly, probably about 8 years old, buzzed down the stairs. Her mane was as messy as her mother’s, her eyes just as full of reckless abandon. I could definitely see the family resemblance. The filly stopped quickly, staring at me, wide eyed. “Woah…”

“Dash, this is Spike. Remember the stories I told you about him?”

Dash scrunched up her face, looking at Scootaloo. “Ma’, he’s a lot taller than I thought he would be.”

I laughed at that. “Well, I grew.”

Her wings buzzed as she jumped, eyes wide with sudden enthusiasm. “I grew too! I’m growing bigger and bigger and one day I’m gonna be just as tall as Ma’ and Pa’ and-”

“Meteor,” Scoot said in that voice. I hadn’t heard that voice in a long time (more than likely from Twilight). The little filly quickly shut her mouth, blinking innocently. Scootaloo sighed, smiling a bit despite herself as she pushed a toy over to the girl with her hoof. “What’d I say about leaving your toys out?”

“Awww, but Maaaa-”

“No buts! Butts are for sitting, not for talking. Go on, take it to your room.”

Meteor pouted, but promptly leaned down, picking up the toy in her mouth. She looked at her mother and tilted her muzzle up at her, trotting off to her room. Scootaloo sighed, rolling her eyes. “Sorry about that, Spike. What can you do, right?”

“Kids. They’re crazy.”

“C’mon, come into the living room. Did you get breakfast?” My stomach betrayed me, growling lightly. I might have left Fluttershy’s early, so as to not impose. Just maybe. I rubbed my neck, a bit embarrassed, grinning unconvincingly. Scootaloo snorted, smiling. “It’s alright. I hope you don’t mind, I don’t have any rubies or anything.”

“It’s fine, really. Gems are more like dessert than normal food.” I followed her into the living room, stepping over all the toys that were still out. Scootaloo sighed at them, but just shook her head. “Guess you really don’t have time to be picking up after her, huh?”

“You have no idea.” She gestured at the couch. “Go on, get comfy. PB&J good? I was gonna make some for Dash anyways, and I really don’t trust myself to try and make anything more difficult.”

“Yeah, sounds great.” I smiled as she walked to the kitchen, taking the time to take in my surroundings. Scoots hadn’t changed much about the house. Trophy cases were everywhere, though most were filled now with family photos and mementos instead of the golden trophies of old. It was almost bittersweet. The blue decoration was also absent, replaced with more subtle colors. I couldn't help but smile ruefully at that thought; the previous owner had been anything but subtle, after all.

Scoot didn’t take long with the sandwiches. “Meteor, come get your snack!” In a burst of speed, the little filly ran down the stairs, fluttering past me. My smile grew wider. It was incredible to see such a young filly already flying so well. Scootaloo had definitely raised a strong little pegasus. Meteor went into the kitchen, coming back into the living room with a plate on her back. She smiled at me. “Mister Spike?”

“What is it, Meteor?”

“Are you gonna have PB&J too?”

“Yeah.”

Meteor’s smile became a beaming one, eyes practically sparkling. “Ma’ uses strawberry jelly! It’s the best and it tastes nice and I think she gets it special cause of her job, so you better appreciate how tasty the jelly is!” Without another word, she walked upstairs, carefully balancing her plate.

I chuckled as Scootaloo came back out, two plates balanced on her wings. She sighed, shaking her head. “She’s at that age where anything and everything is exciting. I swear, I just went and got this jelly with her last week at the market, and she acts like it’s some distant lands version of honey.”

“Kids will be kids, Scootaloo. I seem to remember a day when a certain pony thought that ziplining in the forest was the easiest way to get a cutiemark, and took that to be a perfectly logical course of action instead of, I don’t know, flying?”

“Hey, you remember just as well as me how bad I used to be at that!” She laughed,
shifting a plate towards me and claiming her own sandwich. We both ate, sharing memories of way back when. Days when I awkwardly flirted with Applebloom; days when she awkwardly flirted with Rumble. Those spare few times when she managed to rope me into discovering special talents - I somehow always ended up sticky.

She sighed as she finished her sandwich, a nostalgic smile on her face. “God, those were the days, weren’t they?”

“They really were.” I laughed, shaking my head. “Now look at us. Me, ambassador between dragon and pony relations, as well as top class adventurer, and you, best agent the Wonderbolts have had in years.”

Scootaloo puffed out her chest a little bit, grinning. “‘Course I am! I see ‘em flying, I snatch ‘em up for the job. It’s not like everyone notices the kids with wing problems.” She fluttered her own as example. “I might not be able to fly as fast as the Wonderbolts, but I sure know talent when I see it.”

I nodded, gesturing towards the upstairs where Meteor had disappeared to. “Seems like you know how to raise it too.”

“What, Dash? Yeah, she’s a great kid.” Scootaloo sighed happily. “Me and Rumble are really happy we found her. Kid was just 3 and stuck in an orphanage. No way were we letting her stay there when we’d been trying to a kid for so long ourselves.” She looked back at me, pausing ever so slightly. “Did you ever think of settling down, Spike? Getting a nice dragon lady to make a den with?”

I rubbed my neck, sighing. “Eh, sometimes. But, well, dragons are just… too much.” And that was definitely true. Despite the great strides Ember was making as Dragon Lord, many of the older dragons still had trouble submitting to her authority and the shift in power. People who had been grumpy for so long found it hard to switch to being caring, loving people. “And it’s not like I can settle down with a pony for a couple centuries.”

Scootaloo nodded. “Maybe one day you’ll find a nice dragon.” She patted me on the back.

“I’m not too concerned with it. I’ve got adventure at my side, right?”

“Of course.” Her features softened a bit and she leaned in a bit closer. I could feel the mood beginning to shift. Now or never, I supposed. “So… Twilight made me take off work today. Sent in a formal ‘request’ and everything. I take it that’s cause you showed up at my doorstep?”

“You’d be right.”

“So what brings big bad ambassador to my home?”

I squirmed slightly in my seat. I looked around at the semi-familiar surroundings. I had been here before, but now… Now… Everything was just a little bit different… All the things that had been here once were fading away, leaving a vague impression of what used to be. Scootaloo probably didn’t even notice it happening, swept up in life. But me… I always noticed that sort of thing. It was part of who I was.

“I don’t know if I can say it just yet. I…” I took a deep breath, looking her in the eyes. “I need to go see Rainbow Dash before I can tell you. If that’s alright?”

Her face instantly took a pained look, though it faded quickly. Her hoof left my back as she smiled, a bit sympathetically. “Of course that’s alright. What, you think I’m gonna stop you from seeing one of your closest friends?”

“Nah, of course not.” I stood, feeling… weighed down. Talking with Fluttershy had helped, but it couldn’t fix everything. Nothing could fix the weight that was on me. I hadn’t expected it to be this hard with Scootaloo, but… well…

“You still know where she is, right? You don’t need directions?”

“I know the way, don’t worry.” I glanced at the time. “I won’t be more than an hour. Will you still be here by then?”

“If not, I’m just out flying. Gotta stretch these old wings somehow, y’know?” I nodded. “Did you need company?”

“This… this might be better if I go alone. Thank you for the offer.”

“It’s just what good friends do.” She walked me to the door, concern in her eyes. I chose to ignore that. “You sure you’re gonna be okay? I remember how you were when you saw her last… I can be there for you.”

“Thank you, again, but no.” I put on my bravest smile as I stood on her doorstep. “Rainbow and I just need to be alone for a little while. I have some things that I need to tell her. I need to catch up with her, tell her… everything that’s been going on with me. If someone else is there… I don’t know that I could do it all.”

“I get that.” She rubbed her hoof, glancing away. “I’ll… see you later, then?”

“See you later, Scoots.” With that, I began to fly away, going to a familiar destination. I didn’t hear the door shut behind me, lost in thoughts.

Scootaloo had been kind to offer staying with me, but this was something I had to do on my own. It always was. Seeing Rainbow Dash was always hard on me, something I could barely handle; if she had been there too, I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold myself together. It was better this way.

I felt the wind around me, remembering those days when Dash and I had flown together. She had been my mentor, teaching me all the tricks to flying. I had definitely needed the help. God, the sheer amount of times I crashed into a tree was a testament to her patience and loyalty.

I only hoped that we could find someone else to take that role after all of this.

It had been hard enough the first time, after all.

I landed, feeling the cool grass beneath my claws. I sat, smiling as I read the name again, etched in stone, feeling the pangs of nostalgia for a second time today. Crossing my legs, I sighed, taking it all in; the smell of the dirt, the smoothness of the stone, and all the sensations inside that went along with visiting her grave.

I smiled at that familiar phrase. It made my heart heavy and light all at the same time. It felt... almost like the first time I ever flew.

“Heya, Dash. Nice to see you again.”

Author's Notes:

Got this chapter out finally! It took me a really long time to settle down on what I wanted the story to be with this one. In a burst of inspiration, I just wrote like 5 pages. Please excuse any errors and please enjoy!