The cave is dark as far as Sky Asp can see. He peers down it, searching for any hint of treasure or valuables. Even with his excellent night vision, the qilin sees none, but he can also tell it goes on for some distance. Perhaps there is something farther on.
Sky thinks that maybe he can see a sparkle way down in the depths. He blinks, and the glint wavers in and out of focus. Rubbing a hoof across his eyes and taking a second look, Sky grumbles to himself. There's no way for him to know with surety unless he goes down and actually checks.
Sky glances behind him uncertainly, considering just leaving. Perhaps there is another cave, one not so... uncharted. One where he can know for certain that it will yield results. He realizes that it's illogical the second the thought crosses his mind, but that doesn't make it any more appealing. He doesn't especially fancy spending hours or days wandering about in the dark searching for gems that may or may not be there.
Why does anyone do this for a living? Sky wonders.
Despite his reluctance, it's not like there's much choice. How else will he gain untold treasure or even just a perfectly reasonable chest of treasure?
Well, maybe he can just save up to buy something...
No. No, that method will take forever, especially with how much he'll require. Sky needs to do this as fast as possible, and there's a reasonable chance of finding something down this cave. He doesn't want to leave her hanging for a long time, and he has a lot of other things he wants to do back home. Sky just ought to get this over with. Who knows how long it will be to find another potential mine of gems?
Stop being a weak-fire and just do it, he scolds himself firmly.
Sky steels his nerves, shakes out his wings, and steps inside. His pupils automatically expand as he leaves the sunny brightness behind and dives into the heavy darkness. The air grows colder and danker, pressing down on his scales.
His hooves clop hollowly against the rock floor, echoing down the length of the cave. Sky winces at the noise it makes, but despite trying to set them down more lightly, he's unable to fully muffle the sound. With a sigh, he resigns himself to alerting whatever is ahead.
...Not that there necessarily is something ahead. If anything, it's probably a colony of bags or something. In any case, the qilin sees nothing as he lights the way before him with pale orange fire. Deeper and deeper Sky walks, until the sunlight is a distant memory known only by the speck of light far behind him. He idly notes that while before the temperature had been dropping, now it's gradually rising again. Sky wrinkles his nose as a slightly-acrid scent floats by.
Slowly, his eyes fully adjust to the darkness, and he starts to pick out details in the cave walls. The far wall seems oddly colored and has faint cracks running through it — perhaps a sign that something can be found behind it? He glances around, noting a couple huge boulders and sloping ramps leading into the murky dark above him.
This feels promising. Sky takes a step forward, and a pickaxe in his bag thumps lightly against his side, helpfully reminding him that even once he finds some, he's still got to extract them.
Sky snorts ruefully to himself. "Well, I guess no one ever said treasure hunting was easy. Heh, if it was, then — "
Sky freezes.
He doesn't see anything. Doesn't hear anything. But something's changed. He knows it. Sky clamps his jaws shut, blocking his fire and instantly shrouding him in darkness; and he pricks his ears, listening intently. His gaze flicks agitatedly about, searching. Sky flinches when a sudden gust of hot air, reeking of smoke and flame, sweeps over his scales and horns.
His fiery blood turns to ice.
Slowly, ever so slowly, he cranes his head back and re-examines the far wall, the one that looks off. Now he realizes why: it's not oddly-cracked stone, but huge scales. Their deep purple color is rather unclear without better illumination, but he thinks he sees some green shapes off to the sides. The sloping ramps, on further inspection, are a single giant wing, slumped haphazardly beside a massive body. Two clawed paws are tucked close to a chest that towers high above Sky. And between them rests the curved snout of a full-grown dragon.
Sky's heart skips a beat as his brain tries to take everything in. A dragon. It's a dragon. This is the cave of a dragon. He's standing in the presence of a dragon, a species long thought extinct. This... this is quite possibly the last dragon in the world.
Out of all the qilin, he's the one to find it? Him, Sky Asp? The regular old qilin?
How could I have missed the signs? They were all there, and all so obvious. The qilin quietly begins to back away, praying desperately that the dragon would remain asleep and he can retreat without it ever being the wiser. What have I gotten myself into?
Two large verdant-green eyes snap open and lock onto him. A brilliant fire curls out from the dragon's jaw, throwing the hapless qilin in an emerald light. Sky lets out an undignified squeak and shies back, inwardly cursing himself. Great, now it knows he's here. I'm dead. I'm so dead. It's going to eat me now...
"No need to run away. I don't bite."
Sky jumps when the deep, masculine voice rumbles into the dark. What? The dragon's green eyes blink and its — his — mouth moves, but that's the extent of the behemoth's movement. For such an old and great drake, it's somehow underwhelming and completely overwhelming at the same time.
Now, normally Sky has greater composure. But when facing a mighty beast multiple times his size and notorious for eating creatures smaller than it after being caught in its cave...
Well, if there's anybody who won't freeze in that situation, Sky dearly wishes he's them and not himself right then.
The qilin finds his hooves rooted to the ground, quivers racing through his scales. He cannot even make himself take a step back. All his muscles are locked up, leaving him gawking mutely up at the dragon.
"Quite the day you picked to visit me," the creature chortles. "Really putting it off 'til the last second, huh?"
More staring.
The emerald eyes narrow a little when the silence stretches on, to the point of severe awkwardness. The dragon coughs lightly. "...Can you talk, little qilin?"
Under normal circumstances, Sky would have bristled at being called little. This is far from normal. Sky swallows and nods, forcing his answer from his dry throat. "Y-yes."
"Well, speak up then! No need to be so shy, truly. I'm not a big, scary beast that's gonna gobble you up in a big, tasty stew — well, I am big, I do look kinda scary, and I am a dragon, but I'm certainly not going to eat you, much less in a stew, so no need to watch out. You aren't secretly a certain yellow and pink mare, are you?" the dragon asks randomly.
Flabbergasted and with no idea of how to respond, Sky's mouth catches some flies. If he had been outside, he's pretty sure he also would've accidentally caught some bird excretion. Really, what can he — an azure-scaled and orange-horned qilin — possibly say to the accusation of secretly being a yellow and pink female horse?
"Uh..."
Feeling panicked under that inscrutable green stare, Sky grasps desperately onto the last thing the dragon says and blurts out, "Yellow and pink?"
The great drake's eye glints with amusement. "The colors of an old, old friend. You remind me of her, in ways."
"O-oh?"
"Indeed, though that's neither here nor there. She's long gone now." Sadness tints his gaze briefly; then he huffs out a warm breath and blinks away the somber expression. "So! Little qilin, what brings you to my humble abode?"
Sky blanches at the sudden question. He can't tell him the truth! What if the dragon thinks he just wants to steal his hoard? Sure, Sky wants gems, but he'd prefer not to resort to petty thievery — doubly so when the "victim" can probably eat Sky in one bite if he so desires. He desperately attempts to think up a believable excuse, but lying has only ever tied his tongue and this time is no different.
The dragon watches his reaction closely, initially seeming puzzled. Then a knowing smile curves along his snout and he snorts out another shallow puff of emerald flame. "You came searching for treasure, didn't you, little qilin? Gems and jewels and gold and the like."
His lightning-fast, spot-on deduction makes Sky's jaw drop. Dragons are smarter than history makes them out to be. He closes his mouth with a soft clop and just nods, feeling dread pool in his fire. But in opposition to the expected anger, there's a light amiableness in the great drake's eyes.
"You don't need the gems of some senile old dragon like me," rebuffs the dragon gently. Senile? "It means so little, really, when it comes down to it. So insignificant. I used to be insignificant, you know that?" Sky silently disbelieves that — a great drake like him could surely never be considered insignificant. A fond, nostalgic smile creases the dragon's worn face. "Number one, perhaps, but still so insignificant."
The dragon's eye ridges furrow a little, though his head still doesn't move. "What do you need gems for anyhow?"
Sky taps his hooves together nervously, reluctant to share his reason. Standing before the great drake, it seems so irrelevant. What explanation can a little qilin like him give that such a mighty being will not find pointless?
"Come on now, tell me, little qilin," prods the dragon. "I do not judge. I am merely curious as to what brought you to my cave. I haven't had visitors in a long time, you see."
"I..." Sky swallows. "I... well, um... I kind of wanted to... impress... someone..."
He cringes, expecting a harsh response for what the dragon will surely find frivolous and unimportant. Mighty creatures they are, but tales of dragons do not paint them in a kind nor forgiving light.
Instead, vibrations start rumbling through the ground and up his hooves. Sky can hear a low and deep sound emerge, and it takes several bewildered seconds for him to realize what's happening: the dragon is laughing.
"So you have fallen for another, and hope to impress her by bringing home boundless treasure? Is that it?"
"We've been together for... a while. I want to ask her officially to be my mate," mumbles Sky awkwardly, "but I'm afraid she won't say yes. If I bring her a gift..."
The dragon huffs, looking amused. His massive green eyes flick down to watch Sky fidget. "Little qilin, trust me when I say that if the two of you truly love each other, you alone will be enough for each other. You need not endless wealth to prove your devotion."
"I... suppose not."
The dragon gives no hint of annoyance so far, so Sky takes a deep breath and dares to change the subject.
"Y-you, um, you said something earlier about the last second?"
"I'm old," replies the dragon bluntly and without preamble. "And when anybody gets too old, they die. It's almost my time, little qilin. I can feel it. I estimate that I have approximately a day left to live. Maybe two."
Sky reels back, wings flaring out in shock. "A day?" he echoes numbly. "I... I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I've lived a long and fulfilling life. I didn't even know dragons could live this long. Maybe I didn't end up being as old as the sun or the moon, but sometimes it feels that way. Don't look so sad, little qilin," he adds. "It's about time for me to move along, find out where my family has gone."
The idea that even this immemorial soul is succumbing to time is a bucket of ice over Sky's head. It torpefies the qilin yet again. At the same time, it puts Sky more at ease. Suddenly, the great drake is not so much great as he is just another creature, albeit an old and sagacious one. The aloof divinity from before morphs into a softer approachability.
"Speaking of family, tell me: what of the dragons? How do they fare?"
Sky blinks and pulls himself out of his daze. Does he not know? "Uh... well... they..." He hesitates, then takes the plunge. "Well... you're the first dragon anybody, qilin or otherwise, has seen in..." Sky pauses, does some quick math in his head, and comes up with: "...a very, very long time. Several millennia, probably."
The old drake sighs somberly. "Most likely extinct, then. My kind must have finally faded into obscurity and legend. We were already diminished when I withdrew from the world. I'm probably the last of the dragons now, huh?" There's a pause and another sigh. "We were your forefathers, you know. Dragons and ponies."
"Ponies?" Sky repeats, incredulous. "Those extinct little herbivores?"
"Ponies too?" The dragon looks extremely startled at first; then a great sorrow descends over him. "An awful shame, truly. I never would have thought... I'll mourn them deeply. Ponies were my first family, long long ago."
Sky blinks, unsure of how to take this. He considers the giant beast and his size and tries to picture him standing with animals smaller than even Sky. It seems... implausible. Tactfully, he elects not to share that particular thought.
"So, you said... qilin were born from..."
"Dragons and ponies, yes. Where do you think the hooves and colors came from?"
Sky has never thought about it, admittedly. Colorful prismatic scales, broad leathery wings, and cloven feet have always just been a part of what qilin are. The idea that they've inherited those traits from the two species... makes a lot of sense, actually.
But still. Sky stares at the dragon, trying to wrap his mind around what he's just learned. "But... they... they're different creatures. How... how did they...?"
"Magic," the dragon says, and there's a small smile curling on his amethyst-colored snout. "I never understood the nuances of it, but the unicorns had accomplished great things in that time. The dragons who birthed qilinets were much younger than I, of course."
"Did you...?"
"Not with a pony, no. My brood were all full-blooded dragons." An ache of deep melancholiness fills the old drake's words. "I loved my dragonets. Perhaps at one time I would've wanted more, but... well, one can only take so much grief. I was tired of watching my family die far before their time."
"I'm sorry," Sky offers sincerely again, unsure of what else to say.
"Thank you for the sentiment, little qilin, though I have long since moved on." There's a warm glow to the old drake's gaze. "What of you? What is your family like? What about your girl?"
Sky can feel fire rushing to his ears, but he answers nonetheless, a soft smile playing out on his lips unbidden. "Amazing," he breathes. "She's... it's hard to find the words to truly describe her. Fiercely protectively, quick to action. Yet she has this soft, thoughtful, caring, considerate side. She's always been there for me."
"So why so scared of popping the question?"
Sky hesitates. "I'm just... I'm not really sure if she's ready to really be committed as mates, if she loves me as much as I do her. If she feels it's moving too fast, I'm scared she might break things off and find another."
The dragon gives Sky a toothy grin. "If she does, then she'd be foolish. I've only just met you and already I can tell you're quite the catch. You have a good heart, little qilin. Anybody would be lucky to have you."
Sky smiles, suddenly bashful. "I-I hope she sees it that way."
"Based on what you've told me, I think she will."
Embarrassed but pleased, Sky ducks his head and mumbles, "Thanks."
"I only speak what is true." The old drake sighs softly, a glimmer of regret in his emerald eyes.
"Something wrong?" Sky asks, tilting his head at him.
"Just makes me think of my late mate. She was competitive and relentless, rather like Ra — well, you wouldn't know her. No matter." Before Sky can formulate a response, the dragon continues, "You said ponies and dragons are extinct? So who are the foremost species now?"
"Qilins are pretty commonplace," says Sky. "Cervidea — the kingdom of elk, deer, caribou, all of them — is a dominant presence to the west. Harpies to the south and east. Polar bears and yaks up north."
"It all sounds very different from what I remember," muses the old drake contemplatively. He regards the young qilin with a curious eye. "Tell me all about it, if you will."
Sky nods. "I can try," he agrees, "but I don't know as much as some."
"Quite alright. Simply tell me what you can."
"Well, let's see, where should I start..." Tapping a hoof against his chin, Sky settle down on the cave floor, trying to think. "Well, recently, the Gentephibians have finally joined the Concord Parliament..."
The dragon listens intently as Sky rambles on about life: ancient qilin traditions, growing up in his sprawling, half-tunnel hometown, how the Concord Parliament has enabled a steady peace for centuries. His in-depth knowledge is lacking, but as the deluge of words pours forth, Sky's surprised at how much information he remembers. Even when he goes off on tangents, the dragon gives his full attention. Not once does that gleam of interest fade from his great emerald eyes.
The dragon interjects occasionally with inquiries, but for the most part, he simply lets Sky ramble on. The qilin covers absolutely everything he can think of, even the most mundane of things such as the sleeping habits of qilins or the weather system or the most common foodstuffs out there.
"Sounds like quite a lot has happened," the dragon chuckles after Sky finishes, a fair amount of time later. "You talked for quite a while there." A second later, he blinks, suddenly looking sheepish. "Oh my, I didn't mean to make you talk so much. I sincerely apologize. It was absolutely fascinating, but I'm sure a young, spry qilin like you has much better things to do than telling an old creature like me about your flame and life."
"Oh, it was no problem at all," Sky hastens to assure.
"Still, that was more than I intended to ask of you. Thank you for enlightening me on the status of the world. I can't fully express just how delighted I am to hear of the peace and joy in it." The old drake sighs once more, this time with contentedness. "I won't keep you any longer now. You have a life to live. Let this old dragon live out his final day in peace, will you?"
The qilin pauses a moment, then bows his head in acquiesce. Sky understands; he's bothered the old drake long enough. It's time to leave him be. "As you wish."
"Good luck with your girl, little qilin."
"Thank you."
Sky moves to leave, but something stops him. He hesitates, glancing back at the old drake, who raises his eye ridges in return. The dragon doesn't say anything, but the question is there, gleaming in his wise eyes.
"Are you... are you sure you want me to leave?" Sky asks, his hooves scuffing the ground in sudden nervousness. "I can, um, keep you company. If you want. You said you've lived in this cave for a while, right? So..."
His voice trails away. The dragon considers him wordlessly. Sky shrinks back when the silence stretches on and his offer goes unacknowledged.
"I-I'm sorry," mumbles Sky awkwardly. "You probably want to be alone. In peace. By yourself. I'll, uh, I'll just go — "
"Look under my wing," the dragon interrupts.
Sky jumps, startled. He wasn't expecting that request. "What?"
"My wing," he repeats. "Look under it."
Sky furrows his brow and hazards a question: "Why?"
"I want you to have something."
Like what? As the qilin's pondering what the dragon would possibly be giving him, it occurs to him that he's forgotten his original intention for coming in here in the first place. Has the dragon remembered? Is that what he wants to give Sky? A creature as old as he must have great heaping mounds of treasure, so Sky supposes it isn't far-fetched. Glancing up at the old drake, he slowly walks toward the wing, which begins to shift at his approach.
"It's nothing like what you probably expect," warns the dragon. "You may not understand at first, but if I'm right about you, you will."
Sky swallows and nods. The wing rises laboriously before him. Feeling almost dizzy with anticipation, Sky ducks under it and sees —
Wow. The dragon really wasn't kidding.
There's nothing. Just a plain of bare rock. Sky stops in his tracks and stares. His gaze sweeps around the exposed area, straining to find anything he might've initially missed.
Nothing.
"...What am I looking for?" Sky asks, a little disappointed.
"My hoard," explains the dragon. "Or rather, the only thing I kept from it. The only thing worth keeping."
Sky scans the area again. "...I don't see anything," he admits sheepishly after a moment.
The dragon lets out a soft laugh, not seeming surprised in the least. "Look closer. Right there. By that rock. See it? It's rather small."
Sky looks in the direction indicated, breathes out a tendril of flame, and spots it, a speck of dark red set against a stone-gray background. He steps toward it, crouching down to fully take in the one thing that the dragon had deemed worthy of saving through the centuries.
It doesn't look very impressive.
The last thing remaining is a ruby, a dull, lusterless one that's been weathered into a round sphere. Sky squints at it closely; it looks like a... fire ruby? It's hard to tell for sure when it's so old, with scratches and ding marks covering every inch. If it was ever beautiful in the past, it certainly isn't now. It's small too, only as wide as as his hoof. No qilin worth his fire would bother saving such a scrap; it's barely anything at all. There are millions of other gems that are far more valuable. This one isn't even suitable to be a paperweight.
Any creature out there, qilin or otherwise, would just scoff and toss it away.
Sky picks it up and cradles it as delicately as he would a qilinet.
Something tells him to treat it with respect. The tarnished gem echoes with a sense of awe. This little thing has eons-worth of love and memories within it's dull facets. It's nothing compared to what he wanted or expected.
And yet, it's a thousand times greater than that.
"What is it?" he asks quietly, disappointment suddenly forgotten. Suddenly treasure isn't quite so important to him.
"A reminder," the dragon replies wistfully.
"Of what?"
"Of days past. Of what's important. Of knowing that sometimes, the smallest things are the greatest. Of knowing that friendship transcends even death. It's a reminder," he sighs with a sad smile, "of love."
Sky backs out from under his wing and the dragon tucks it against his massive body. Sky sits back onto his haunches before the mighty beast's snout, carefully displaying the gem.
That ancient green eye peers down at the ruby, a tiny pinprick of red against Sky's pale blue scales. "It's nothing special, and it means everything to me. I gave it to a friend — an old, old friend — a long time ago. She was the most generous soul to ever walk this world, and her friends were as good as family. After her death, I kept it, in remembrance. I've always felt like their love lived on in this. I was never alone when I was with it. Take good care of it, will you?"
Sky starts in surprise, gaping up at him. Take care of it? It may be next to nothing in terms of pecuniary value, but the way the old drake speaks of it makes it apparent that he considers it beyond priceless. And he was just giving it to Sky? "Are... are you sure?"
"I'm sure. You've got a good heart, my little qilin, that much is apparent. I know you'll be careful and treat it well. More importantly, I know you'll remember what it represents. What it means. I'm old now. I want to pass it on to someone who'll understand."
Sky gulps, looking down at it. "I... I still can't believe you'd just... give this to me. What do you want in return?" He starts to fumble about in his bags. "I don't have much, but I think I might have some jerky in here — "
"Just one thing." The primordial beast fixes him with a meaningful and wise gaze, stopping Sky where he is. "Remember."
Slowly, Sky nods, withdrawing his hooves from the bags. He understands now, he thinks. Sky carefully wraps his hooves around the small ruby, holding it close.
The old drake exhales softly. "Thank you," he says simply.
Sky can't find the right words to properly convey what he's feeling, so he just nods in reply. The message gets across, and the dragon smiles, closing his emerald eyes.
"Move along now, my little qilin. Alright? Win your girl. Live your life to the fullest. Remember what I've told you."
Sky promises, "I will."
He's almost left the cave when he pauses. Sunlight slants across the entrance, inches away from his hooves. Sky stares out at the open land, blooming with forests and grass and life. He thinks of the old dragon behind him. He thinks of the future and family ahead of him. He looks out at the brilliant world again, just waiting to welcome him with open hooves.
Then Sky turns around and heads back inside. The old drake looks to be asleep already, but when Sky reaches out a hoof and rests it on one of the dragon's giant purple paws, those green eyes open again. The creature blinks down at him, slowly, and Sky thinks he sees surprise in that large emerald gaze.
"There's no rush," Sky says simply, answering the unspoken question. "They'll be there waiting for me, after this. You said through this ruby, your old friends, your family, kept you company in life? Then I'll" — he glances at the gem and amends his wording — "then we'll keep you company in death."
The dragon considers him for a long moment. Then there's a gentle snort, and something like approval fills his eyes. He blinks once in gratitude and acceptance. Sky smiles and settles down next to him. The ruby rests at his side, one hoof curled protectively around it.
Silence reigns for a long time.
Sky isn't sure how long it's been when the dragon exhales softly and begins to speak.
"Are you up there, everybody?" the dragon whispers. "Are you waiting for me? It won't be long now." His eyelids droop, eyes going distant and hazy. "You're here. I remembered, Rarity. I kept it safe. I protected your final gift. It's in good hooves now, I promise."
Sky doesn't know what the old drake is mumbling about, but he doesn't interrupt. Instead, he just lies there, letting the dragon ramble on. He glances down at the ruby and tightens his hold slightly. Sky doesn't want to let this dying creature down. He wants to live up to what is expected.
"Fluttershy, it seems your kindness has lived on," continues the dragon. "Millennia later, and your legacy is still alive. Ponies are gone, but harmony is alive. I know all you ever wanted was for everybody to be happy. I hope you know you got your wish. I'll make sure you know, when I see you again."
Quietly, Sky wonders if these invisible souls the dragon is speaking to are part of the ancient family he keeps mentioning.
"And I've bet you've prepared the biggest welcome party ever, huh Pinkie?" The dragon lets out a low, rumbling chuckle. "Invited all the ponies and dragons I've ever known. It'll be like a Apple Family Reunion, Applejack, only far, far bigger. The pinnacle of parties. With apples, I hope. It's been a long time since I've had Apple family apples." A pause. "You've been so patient, everybody. I'm not sure I deserve something like that, with how long I've made you wait."
The old drake is quiet for several minutes.
"Dash," the dragon says suddenly, and a startled Sky finds himself under the elder's gaze again, "I'm glad you're here. No surprise, I suppose. You never left a friend hanging, did you? And now you're here again, one last time, to welcome me home. It's been a long time, old friend, a very long time. And it's almost time."
The dragon stops talking and falls still.
Sky waits.
There's silence for a minute. That minute stretches into an hour, then two, three, four. Sky would think that the old drake is dead, only he can feel the shallow puffs of warm and gentle air that roll over his scales. So he stays crouched there, at the paw of this bygone being, waiting with his head bowed.
Sky doesn't know how long it's been when something prompts him to look up. The green eyes are open once more and staring toward the distant light at the entrance of the cave. There's a quiet vibration as he speaks, his breathy voice swallowed in the yawning cavern, and Sky pricks his ears, barely hearing the last whispered words of the immemorial dragon.
"I'm ready, Twilight. I'm ready."
The ageless dragon's eyes close for the final time as at last he slips into his endless sleep.
Two days later, Sky Asp lights the way out of the eternal resting place with gouts of orange fire, the tiny ruby tucked securely in his bags. He leaves behind nine words engraved forever in stone:
May the final dragon's love live on for eternity.
Five-hundred-some years later, a old qilin is resting on his deathbed. He gazes at the contours of his own, much smaller cave as he waits. A small flicker of orange flame threads out from between his jaws when he sighs, vanishing just like the years gone by. He's ancient now himself, beset by all the pains and aches of old age. His memory is foggy at times, but there's one thing he can recall with perfect clarity. One thing he's never let himself forget.
"I remembered," he whispers to himself. "I never learned your name, your story, your life, but I remembered your love. You passed it on to me, so I could always know what was most important. Now — "
"Grampy Sky! I'm here now!"
Cutting himself off, Sky Asp smiles to himself and calls out, "In here, Emerald."
A young qilin, currently in that awkward stage between childhood and adulthood, scampers into the room. Emerald Fire, his great, great, great granddaughter. The one he's chosen. "Dad said you wanted to see me?" she asks.
"Indeed I do, Emerald."
Sky was the one who suggested the name. It fit Emerald well, and her parents had thought it was because of her aptly-colored green flame. He's never told them the real reason. His centuries-long mate might've realized the connection to long ago, but as far as Sky knows, she's never mentioned it either. Sky knows, has known from the moment he had first laid eyes on Emerald, that she is special.
"Come here," Sky says, patting the space beside him.
Emerald trots to his side, putting her hooves up and leaning on the bed. "Do you need something, Grampy Sky? More pillows? Another blanket?" Her voice is laden with care and concern. It makes Sky's smile widen.
"No, no, nothing like that." He waves away her offers with an old and cracking hoof. "No, I actually wanted to give you something."
Emerald's eyes brighten in happy surprise. Before she can ask the obvious, Sky ducks his head and pulls the chain hanging around his neck over it. He delicately cradles the heart-shaped case at the end for a moment, then looks up at Emerald and holds it out.
"This."
Emerald stares at it, eyes wide. She takes it gently, holding it as carefully as Sky had.
"Open it," he says.
She flips the small latch on it and does as prompted. A small, tarnished ruby rests there. Emerald lifts it out and holds its contents up, breathing a gentle flame out and watching it reflect off the dull, rounded edges. She's seen him wear the locket before, but rarely has she seen the actual gem itself.
Sky watches as she turns it this way and that, taking in all its subtle nuances.
"I got it a long time ago, when I was barely any older than you." At five centuries, a couple decades or so doesn't make much of a difference. "It's the thing I treasure the most, and I want you to have it."
Emerald looks at it again, inspecting it in a new light. There's gratifying awe and respect in her green eyes, coupled with confusion. That's okay. Sky was confused at first too.
Now it's my turn.
"What is it, Grampy Sky?" asks the young qilin.
Sky Asp looks at the eons-old ruby, and within it's dull red facets, he sees that ancient green eye again, sparkling with the wisdom and weight of a thousand lifetimes.
"A reminder," he says softly, "of love."
Author's Note
A qilin is a mythological Chinese creature. It’s also known as a kirin in Japanese, which is far more common on this site.
I've seen a lot of stories about where Spike wakes up and has to come to terms with all his friends being long dead or something, but I personally have never found one where he's at the end of his own life, dying from old age. So I figured I'd take a crack at it and see where it goes. Gotta say, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
