"A visitor, Miss Sparkle." Spike entered the cyan colored hospital room in which the elderly Twilight rested. He had just recently heard about her condition when Celestia sent him a letter via magic. He barely fought the tears when he had read it:
Dear Spike,
I am afraid to inform you that my student, and your previous caretaker, Twilight Sparkle, has taken ill with pneumonia. She is currently staying in room 307 at the Ponyville Hospital. I won't force you to see her, but deep down I know you'll visit.
Yours truly,
Princess Celestia
P.S. Try to keep your sanity. I understand the hardships you'll face when saying your most likely inevitable goodbyes, like you have had to do with every other pony, but all things end, especially the lives of the ones you love. I'm going to miss her too. I am always here for you if you need a friendly helping hand.
Spike couldn't tell for certain, but he could've sworn he saw a tear stain near the end.
It's been around three years since Spike last saw his pony caregiver. He had moved out at 20, the normal age of dragon adulthood, for he and Twilight both knew that day would come. He promised to visit her every week, and he had for twenty years. Lately, though, he had been busy with life; he had a mate, Ruby, and last year had gotten a hatchling, Flame. He wished he could've found time before now (heck, he barely found time now), but a hatchling was very busy work, and he had a job as a gem miner to keep. He regretted not seeing her, and would definitely go back and find the time if he could.
"Spike? Is that you?" Twilight asked with a raspy voice. She was very clearly squinting to try and see him. Her old age must've ruined her vision. Spike thought it ironic that the very eyes that guided his way into adulthood were now almost useless.
"Hey, Twi," Spike said warmly. He sat down in the chair at the side of her hospital bed. "Sorry I couldn't have come sooner. I was busy with Ruby and Flame."
"Flame?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, Flame's my... son." Twilight looked surprised at this news. "Again, sorry I couldn't tell you sooner. But can you believe it? I'm a father! I wish I could've brought him. He's the handsomest shade of purple, he's smart, he's kind, and at only a year, he can already breath fire!"
"You and Ruby must be proud," Twilight commented. "Most dragons can't do that until a year and a half. You, on the other hoof, took two," Twilight mused.
"Heh, yeah. That's the Ruby in him. She was always the smarter of us two." Spike slightly blushed at the little joke he made.
"Well, that doesn't mean you aren't smart. I raised you, after all." Spike missed her little moments of borderline vanity.
Spike shifted in his seat a bit, dreading to ask the question he sadly knew the answer to. Finally, "So, how are you? Is it... You know, severe?"
Twilight's face went from that of happy reunion to one of painful news. "It's not looking good. I was diagnosed a little too late. They say I've got less than 48 hours." Her face grew dull with sadness as she relayed all the news given to her just last night. "You came at the perfect time, I guess," she finished with a small, weary smile.
Spike lowered his head to face the ground. He couldn't bear the thought of Twilight, the last of the Mane Six, dying and leaving him to be the last of his friends. He knew it was pointless to pray for his death to be before theirs (dragons lived nearly three times as long as even the healthiest of ponies), but he hoped for that miracle. Now, he was faced with the ultimate time he and every other pony knew was going to come. He couldn't help the tears as they slowly descended down his cheeks.
Twilight, seeing Spike in his trance of sadness, put a comforting hoof on his now winged shoulder. "Spike, I know you must be going through a lot now, but please, promise me you'll move on. All things must end, especially the lives of our loves. I don't want you to spend the rest of your life mourning me. Make new friends, have more children, and live. I know you'll never forget us." With that, she planted a motherly kiss on his cheek, removing a tear or two from his face.
Spike weakly smiled as he lifted his head to look at Twilight. He loved the way she mothered him; after all, she was the closest thing to a mother he had. He had missed being treated as her own child. And he thought it was generally understood she felt the same, with her never birthing a foal. Spike hated to admit it, but he was glad he was her one and only.
Spike looked out the window as he enjoyed their little silent moment of mother-son love. When Spike had felt it was enough, he broke the silence by saying, "48 hours, huh?"
Twilight almost jumped at the sudden deep voice. "Yeah, that's what I was told. But, honestly, I think they were trying to comfort me. I feel I've only got another night."
"Ah." Spike wouldn't be surprised if was only a night. She wasn't the fastest one to go. Pinkie Pie was the fastest, with only a mere hour before her heart stopped from the overuse of sugar through her life. Rainbow Dash lasted about two days after her fatal fall that she'd have survived if not for her age. Applejack was the longest, with a two month fight with arthritis and leukemia that she in the end lost. And then there was Fluttershy, who only took about a day before she silently went in her sleep, dying of old age. And Rarity...
Spike tensed as he remembered the name of the mare he first loved. He had been by her bed, crying as hard as he had in his life until that moment. Some of her final words were actually for him. Spike, I want you to know that I've always loved you back, just as much as you did me. I wish we could have been, but you were too young, and also a dragon. But remember, you're always my little Spikey-Wikey. An hour later, and Sweetie Belle told them to pull the plug, so she didn't have to suffer through the shingles anymore. Spike still hears that forever endless beep that told him his first love was no more every time he lies down to sleep.
Their moment was interrupted by a knock at the door. A nurse with a red cross cutie mark, just like her mother's, entered the room. "Sorry, Miss Sparkle, but I'm afraid visiting hours are over."
Spike's heart sank at the thought of potentially missing Twilight's last words over night. "Is there any way I could spend the night?"
The nurse put on a pondering look, before saying, "I think so, but it does require some paperwork. I can go get those if you'd like."
"Please do." The nurse left, and returned five minutes later with a couple pages of legalities and the lot. After Spike finished with some of the best handwriting the nurse had ever seen (lots of practice makes perfect), he sat back down next to Twilight. He felt comfortable enough to sleep in the chair, but he promised himself he would stay up for as long as Twilight still breathed.
The night went by slowly, just as Spike wanted it to. The only thing he wanted to stop him from seeing Twilight was the occasional bathroom break. They talked for the first hour, catching up and remembering old times, before they had to stop so Twilight's roommate and neighbors could sleep. Nonetheless, they still whispered from time to time, making sure neither of them fell asleep.
Spike woke with a start. He didn't know he fell asleep, and silently scolded himself for doing so. Thankfully, Twilight's heart monitor was still pinging. She must've seen him pass into his unplanned slumber, for she herself was deep into one. Spike decided it was best for her to sleep. Who knows, it may be her last.
At nine am, three hours after Spike's return to reality, Twilight woke. She turned and smiled at Spike, who then returned the gesture. They then continued their little discussion from the night before. Spike cherished every moment they shared, knowing that at any minute they could become her last.
Around one, after a late lunch for both, Twilight began to have coughing fits that lasted for about a minute each. This was the last sign that she would be leaving soon. Spike tried his best to prepare himself for her time, but he knew he could and never would be ready.
Four pm. Twilight had not gotten any better, and her heart rate began to slowly decrease. "Spike," she weakly mustered, "promise me you'll always love and remember me. Remember us. Live you life, never forgetting your first friends."
"I promise," he choked through a face full of tears.
With that, Twilight's monitor gave a series of repetitive beeps before one final, long beep. And so ended the life of the purple-colored pony Spike had loved the most.
Spike sat in disbelief with his eyes pouring out nonstop tears. He stayed there for four minutes before the nurse pony came up to him, telling him he needed to go. He got up, walked to the doorway, and stopped to look back at his mother.
He would never forget her. He promised it. And he never broke his promises.
"Farewell, Twilight. Thanks for the best time of my life."
Epilogue: Keeping a Promise
Remember us.
I promise.
"That's it, Flame! Flap just a little harder!"
Flame beat his newfound wings with all his might as he climbed attempted to fly higher. It was only yesterday that the thirteen-year-old dragon grew his wings. This late-blooming was obviously obtained mostly from Spike, who took fourteen years to develop his. Nonetheless, this day was the best day of his life.
"I'm doing it, Dad! I'm doing it!" the lavender-skinned dragon named Flame exclaimed as he rose ten feet off the ground. He was happy that he could finally control himself, considering his millions of other failed tries.
"Thata boy, Flame! You've finally got the hang of it!" Flame heard his father shout up to him from what was now twenty feet from the ground. He was glad and very fortunate to have the support of both his parents. He remembers the countless stories he was told of how his father was taught by a unicorn and her rainbow-maned pegasus friend. Long story short, neither unicorns nor pegasi fully understand the anatomy of dragons, even with the help of about twenty different books.
Flame flew higher and higher. He flew up until the point where he could barely breath the thin air, when he finally started to descend. He learned that flying down was almost runner than flying up! The danger, the speed, the potential for awesome tricks! He couldn't resist temptation and did one final loop to top off his first time flying.
Once he landed safely on his feet, he was greeted with congratulations and large hugs from both parents. Here he was, a newbie flier, and yet somehow was able to successfully do an aerial loop without fail or flaw. He figured that skill came from his mother's side.
"Come on inside, my little champ. Time for dinner," said his mother, Ruby.
Flame was on his way to bed, when he noticed his father staring blankly at the wall. He went to investigate the odd behavior of his father. Upon further investigation, he found him staring not at the wall, but at the picture of the purple unicorn on it.
The two dragons stared at the pony before his father noticed Flame. Flame turned to his father with a questioning look on his face. His father turned back to the picture and sighed.
"Flame, do you know who this is?" his father asked, obviously knowing the answer.
"No," Flame answered. "I always thought it was just some weird decoration. Whenever I asked one of you, you'd change topic. Who is she, really?"
Spike wondered where to begin. He then started with, "I think it's time you knew.
"I wasn't raised like most dragons. My mother was killed by a hydra before I hatched, and during the attack my father was greatly injured. He managed to escape with my egg, but the ones of my siblings were destroyed before he could get them. I was never informed on how my father got me to Canterlot, where I was kept warm inside my egg until a little filly pony hatched me. That filly ended up raising me. And this," he pointed to the picture, "was that filly."
Flame nodded before gaping a bit as he realized where this was going. He never knew any of his grandparents, it being a dragon custom and all, but he never stopped to think either of his parents were orphans. And now, he knew that not only was his father parentless, but he was raised by a unicorn! Ponies lived hundreds of miles away, making him wonder how his father ended up here.
"Her name was Twilight Sparkle," his father continued. "She started out raising me in Canterlot, her first home, where she received private lessons with the princess herself, Princess Celestia. She was so smart, but at first very... introvertial. She had no friends but me, until she was sent to Ponyville to learn the magic of friendship. We stayed there for years after with her friends: Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and..." Spike swallowed hard as the name came up, "...Rarity. They were the best friends I could ever, and would ever have. I had to move out at twenty, though, due to my size. I still visited them often, though. Then, about two years later, Pinky Pie passed, beginning the fall of the six friends. I hated to see them go. They were like family to me. Hell, they were my family. And the reason why I am now here, if you're wondering, is because I promised Twilight I'd never forget them, and today is the anniversary of her death.
"I loved them all. Pinkie Pie was fun, always laughing, the Harmonious Element of Laughter. Fluttershy was sweet, sensitive and caring, the Harmonious Element of Kindness. Rainbow Dash was adventurous, daring, the Harmonious Element of Loyalty. Applejack was strong, hard-working, the Harmonious Element of Honesty. Rarity was beautiful, my first love, the Harmonious Element of Generosity. And Twilight was smart, motherly, the Harmonious Element of Magic."
Flame didn't understand what his father ment by the Harmonious Elements, but he'd ask him later, figuring it unimportant.
Flame saw his dad turn back to the picture and wipe a tear from his eye. He had never seen his father cry, but who wouldn't? Not only did the only family he knows die, but he outlived them and must live another couple centuries with them on his mind. The reason dragons left their parents when they were adults, severing all connection with them, was because dragons were supposed to be strong, without weeping over family deaths. Flame hated that tradition, considering he'd have to do it some day.
Flame embraced his father in a sympathetic hug, making Spike's heart warm with the love of his son. He looked back at the picture of Twilight, his mind flooding with their moments together: the time he ate so much ice cream he was sick for days, his first flight with Rainbow Dash, his first bath with Twilight...
Spike's eyes now overflowed with tears at the memories. "Thanks, guys," he whispered.
"Thanks for everything."
