Spike walked down a long, broken road, surrounded by nothing but vast desert. His feet hurt, he was hungry, tired, and thirsty. The heat was unbearable, which was surprising for a dragon that could easily withstand temperatures of up to five hundred degrees.

All Spike knew was that he needs to keep moving, walking down this boulevard of broken dreams. Each step felt like the dragon had just ran a marathon, but it didn't stop him.

He literally couldn't stop. His body cried for rest, and he tried to comply, but his legs just kept on moving.

After an eternity of aimless walking, the dragon found himself at a crossroads. He looked to the right, and saw Ponyville in the distance, it's residents milling about. Fillies played, ponies were shopping, just a typical day in Ponyville.

He glanced to the left, and saw the Everfree Forest and the mountains beyond where he'd regularly help Rarity dig up gems for her works. Life in the Everfree didn't seem like a good option but... something deep down in him told him it wouldn't be bad either, that it was a more natural environment for him.

Spike scratched his chin in thought, and suddenly realized that he was once again in control of his body. He wanted to go to Ponyville, but something in him also wanted to go to the Everfree.

The young dragon sat down on the ground, which was rapidly cooling.

"Why was I brought here...?" he asked himself.

"To make a decision." somepony answered for him.

Spike looked behind him and spotted the princess of the night approaching him.

"Princess Luna?" he asked, perplexed. "What are you doing here?"

"I am the princess of my night. It is my job to watch over my little ponies and serve as a guardian in your dreams." she responded, "it has come to my attention that you have come into conflict with my sister's protege and your guardian. And now, you find yourself at a crossroads."

"Yeah... I noticed..." Spike commented.

He rounded on the princess. "What do you think I should do?"

"It is not my place to say. It's your journey, not mine. I can only guide you." she said.

"That's the problem, princess. Part of me wants to go back to Twilight and give her another chance... but another part is saying I shouldn't risk it, and I should live like a dragon should."

"You must follow your heart, Spike." Luna said.

"That doesn't help much..." the young dragon stated.

"My job is to act as a guardian, young Spike. As I said, I can only guide you. It's not my duty to choose what you do with your life." the princess said.

The princess took a seat beside the dragon, wrapping a wing around him for comfort. The two sat there in complete silence for what seemed like forever.

Finally, the dragon rose off the ground. He had made his decision, and started walking in the direction he chose.

"Good luck, Spike. I hope you made the right choice." Luna said.

"Yeah... me too..." he said to himself.

There was a blinding white light... and then there was nothing.

Spike's eyelids slowly fluttered open, being blinded momentarily by the sunlight flooding in through a nearby window. He glanced to the clock hanging on the wall opposite from him.

It was seven past eight.

The young dragon lifted the covers off himself and slowly made his way out of bed, doing his best not to wake up the sleeping filly beside him.

Upon exiting Sweetie Belle's bedroom, his nose was assaulted by the smell of eggs and hash browns. He quickly made his way downstairs and found Twilight and Rarity sitting at a table, slowly working away at a plate of hash browns, eggs, and various vegetables.

"Good morning, Spike." Rarity greeted as she noticed the young dragon.

"Good morning." he responded.

The dragon walked up to the table and sat at the spot obviously made for him, as he sincerely doubted Sweetie Belle partook in the eating in gems. The trio sat in silence, slowly eating away at their breakfasts.

Finally, they finished their breakfasts, and Spike rose from the table, collecting their dishes and stacking them in the sink as the mares made their way into the living room. After scrubbing off the remaining food particles off the dishes, the young dragon joined the two mares in the living room.

"Spike... have you made your decision...?" Twilight asked cautiously.

"Yes." he responded plainly.

"Then, what have you decided to do?" Rarity inquired.

Spike sighed. "Twilight... I know you're sorry... but I don't think I can trust that you won't go back to your old habits. I know you... you can be unpredictable. So... I've decided to leave... but that's not why I have decided to leave... at least, not the whole reason."

The unicorn appeared greatly dismayed by this news, evidenced by the tears forming at the corners of her eyes and her flattened ears, but she was also interested in what else he had to say. "Go on..."

"I'm a dragon, Twilight. Not a pony... this isn't how I'm supposed to live. Not being your servant. Not going to school like your normal foal. Remember when I went on a hoarding streak, and I basically destroyed the town?" Spike asked.

Both Twilight and Rarity nodded.

"...it's only a matter of time before that happens again. Somepony can get hurt next time... maybe killed... my heart is telling me I need to be where I belong, in the Everfree, living like other dragons. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Spike, I do."

Spike nodded, rising from his seat. He made his way over to Twilight, and wrapped his arms around her in an embrace. "I'm so sorry, Twilight..."

"It's okay Spike... it's okay..."

The two separated after what seemed like forever. Spike lingered for a moment, before stepping away.

"I'll... I'll go get my stuff. Good bye, Twilight." he said solemnly.

"Good bye, Spike..." she responded.

Spike turned and started walking towards the front door. As he opened it, he paused and turned around. He opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated and turned around, continuing on his way.

The mare watched him go, walking out of the boutique and slowly closing the door shut behind him. Once he was gone, a river flowed forth as Twilight broke down, her tears from a mixture of happiness and sorrow.

Rarity reached over and patted her friend's back softly in an attempt to comfort her. "Shhh... shhhh... don't worry, darling..."

"Everything's going to be okay."

It was late at night by the time Twilight got home. She walked through the house, scanning for any signs of her number one assistant.

As she walked up the stairs leading to their living quarters, she heard a noise coming from her room. A smile spread across her face as she raced up the stairs and flung her bedroom door open.

"Spike?!" she called out.

"Who?" was the response she received. Twilight blinked and turned on the lights, spotting Owlowiscious standing on the balcony. He stared at her, it's head cocked to the side in confusion.

"Sorry Owlowiscious... I thought you were someone else."

"Who." he responded softly.

Twilight glanced around the room as she walked over to where Spike's bed was. It was still there, but everything else was no where to be seen.

Spike was long gone, a fact that made her heart ache.

It was a long day, so Twilight decided that it might just be for the best to go to bed. As she climbed into bed and hid herself among the covers, she glanced over to her nightstand, where a picture of her and Spike were supposed to be.

It was gone, however, there was a piece of paper in it's usual spot.

Confused, she picked up the piece of paper with her telekinesis and held it up to her face.

"Dear Twilight," she read aloud, "I hope you don't mind, but I decided to bring a little something to remember us with. I know you have other photos of us lying around, and I'm sure you have a copy of this lying somewhere knowing you."

"Love... Spike..."

The river flowed once more as new tears rolled down Twilight's face. She cried, and cried, until she eventually fell asleep.

Spike examined the mouth of the cave. It had been hours since he left Ponyville and entered the Everfree Forest. Though he was afraid that he would come under attack as soon as he entered the forest... but strangely, everything let him be. He even came across a manticore, and it simply walked past him like he wasn't there.

Eventually, after hours of searching, he found a cave suitable for a dragon near where he and Rarity would dig for gems.

"Hello?!" he shouted into the cave entrance.

Only an echo responded. A good sign. If it was occupied, he would have likely been answered by a loud roar and a torrent of flames.

The young dragon slowly crept forward, his eyes adjusting to the darkness quickly. He eventually reached the end of the cave. It was empty.

This was going to be his home for decades, maybe centuries, until he grew too big for it, or his hoard grew too large to store here.

"It's better than nothing..." he commented.

Spike placed down his bag and opened it. He brought every single gem he could get his hands on, as well as a few personal items and a blanket. He picked up a particularly large gem and took a bite out of it. He chewed, swallowed, and finished it off, before grabbing his blanket and the picture he brought along.

He sat down, examining the photo. His thumb rubbed across Twilight's face.

Something tickled his cheeks, and something dripped down onto the glass covering the photo. He put his claw to his cheek, and realized that he was crying.

He sighed and wiped away his tears, leaning against the boulder behind him, closing his eyes.

His eyes shot open as he realized the boulder was rolling away from him. He sat up and turned around, seeing that there was now a tunnel where the boulder once sat. He stood up and entered the tunnel. He noticed that unlit torches hung from the walls. With a deep breath, the young dragon breathed out a wall of flame, lighting up the torches along the passageway. Curiously, he followed the torches down the tunnel.

Eventually, he spotted a dim light at the end of the tunnel. His heart skipped a beat when he reached the end of the tunnel.

The tunnel opened up into a much larger cavern, with a large hole on the roof that a large dragon could easily fly through. Lining the walls of the cavern was a fortune worth of gold and gems, long abandoned by whatever had left it here.

It was an abandoned dragons den. Spike thanked Celestia for his luck. He hadn't been a free dragon for not even a day, and he had found a horde that would put most dragon's hoards to shame.

"I-It's... all mine..."

Author's Notes:

Though I planned to just end this on two alternate endings... I must admit, I genuinely enjoyed finishing this.

Even though an alternate ending will be written, this is the official ending on this story.

Why?

Because this isn't over.