Spike was busy packing up his things within the room assigned to him at the royal castle. He wouldn't just be leaving Canterlot, he would be leaving Equestria as he knew it. Part of him still really didn't want to have to leave all his pony friends behind, especially not Twilight who was very much like family to him. But all the dragons were counting on him to step up and be their next leader now that Ember was no longer around. Who was he to say no to them?
So the dragon who had long since hit his growth spurt and become the tall, slender, strong dragon he'd always dreamed of being went about packing. He packed up some of his old comics he remembered enjoying as a baby dragon, scrolls with which to keep in touch with Twilight as needed, and most of all framed pictures of the time he'd spent with his pony friends over the years. Looking at the last one, taken at the fateful meeting of the friendship council in which Twilight had sent her faithful student Luster Dawn to Ponyville, a few tears started to form in his eyes. Who knew if he'd ever see his friends again? What would Twilight tell them when they inevitably asked where he was?
Setting the framed picture aside, Spike carefully wrapped it up and tied it into a red and white polka-dotted bundle. So many other things were stored securely in bags, just waiting for him to grab them and go. He thought about maybe swinging by Ponyville before setting off for the dragon lands, giving himself a proper chance to say goodbye to everyone and everypony. He quickly ruled it out. "I can't keep the other dragons waiting. They're all expecting me. I've held them up long enough." He thought to himself.
Yet just as the dragon with deep green spines left his room, he was surprised to bump into a familiar pretty pink princess whose coat was so light pink it could almost be mistaken for white. Her mane and tail were lovely shades of lavender and a soft, crystal blue color, and consisted of long, flowing locks that hung down to her sides. Yet they perfectly matched her gentle (almost playful you might say) light opal eyes. Most noticeable of all, this pony with wings and a horn had a cutie mark that depicted a heart made entirely out of crystals.
It took Spike less than a minute to recognize this alicorn. He smiled, happily hugging her as he greeted. "Flurry Heart! So nice to see you again!"
Flurry Heart smiled back. "It's great to see you too, Uncle Spike! Auntie Twily was right, you have gotten bigger."
The dragon blushed, his cheeks flushing and turning a shade of pink. "Come now, Flurry. You don't have to call me Uncle Spike, or even Mister Spike. You can just call me Spike."
Flurry shook her head in furious protest and stomped a hoof down in impatience. "But you're my uncle! Auntie Twily specifically said that you're family. And if you're the little brother of my auntie and my dad, then that makes you my uncle. I can't think of anypony else who has a dragon for an uncle, or a little brother for that matter."
Spike chuckled. "I guess if you really wanna call me Uncle Spike, I won't stop you," His happy mood quickly faded. "After all, it's not like you'll be seeing me around much anymore."
Flurry Heart nodded ever so slow, already starting to whimper. "I heard from Auntie Twily. She says that you're going away to become the next dragon lord. Something to do with Dragon Lord Ember not being around anymore," In a horrified tone of voice, she asked. "Did something bad happen to her, Uncle Spike?! Did someone try to hurt her?!"
Spike sighed, it really wasn't his place to say. The wound still stung just thinking about it. "It's not anything you need to worry about, Flurry. It was just like all the other monsters Twilight and I defeated with the help of our friends. There's just a few loose ends that needed to be cleaned up, that's all."
Flurry frowned, the young princess was anything but satisfied with the answer. "But it's not fair, Uncle Spike! How can you just leave everything and everyone behind like this?! I'm not ready to say goodbye to you yet. Heck, from what Mom, Dad, and Auntie Twily told me, I expected you to be around long after they'd all be gone," She blushed. "I'm practically still in diapers compared to you."
The dragon with green spines waved a claw. "Come now, Flurry, you know I'm not that old. I just hit a growth spurt is all. And you're not that young yourself. I heard you've officially taken over as the princess of the Crystal Empire now," He smiled. "You've grown up. And Twilight and I couldn't be prouder of the young mare you are now."
The crystal princess didn't seem to agree with the sentiment. "But that's exactly why I wanted to talk to you, Uncle Spike! I could really use your help!"
"Me?! What do you need my help with?!" Spike blinked in surprise. "You're all grown up now, Flurry Heart. You can handle things on your own."
The pretty pink princess pouted. "That's what everypony keeps saying. But what if they're wrong? What if I'm not cut out to be a ruler like my mom and dad, or like all my great and powerful aunts? Heck, what if I'm not even good enough to be like Mr. Sunburst, my old foalsitter? He's married to Miss. Starlight and helps her run Auntie Twily's School of Friendship. It feels like everyone I know is moving on to bigger and better things."
"So are you," Spike pointed out. "You shouldn't doubt yourself so easily, Flurry. Is this just because of your rebellious phase you went through? When you kept saying you wanted to join the royal guard rather than be a princess?"
Flurry blushed bright red with shame. "No, it's not like that. Father told me all the stories about his time in the royal guard. I soon realized it wasn't as glamorous as I thought it would be. And Mother said she would've fallen in love with him even if he hadn't been captain," When the shame slowly faded, she confided in Spike. "You know what it's like, right? To be thrust so suddenly into new responsibilities? I always knew the day would come, I just... never expected it to be sudden."
The tall, slender dragon sighed deeply. He knew what it would probably take to get her to listen to him. So he opted to pull the princess close and hug her tightly. "Flurry, listen to me," He said quite sternly. "And listen to me good. I know you're worried about being a ruler. It runs in the family."
"So I've heard." Flurry Heart replied.
Spike nodded. "Yes. Twilight had a lot of the same concerns you do now when she first learned she was to take over from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. And you wanna know how she overcame those fears and concerns?"
Flurry frowned, sensing where the conversation was going. "Let me guess, with the help of her friends."
Spike smiled. "Yes. But even then, it took time. And it's not like you've been completely cut off from everypony. Your parents are still around, aren't they?"
"They are, but they said they can't hold my hoof anymore," The young crystal princess admitted. "They said I'm old enough to make my own decisions now. Talking with them isn't much help. I thought I was ready for everything that I'd have to face. But after learning about what you're going to do, now I'm starting to feel woefully unprepared. Equestria itself might have been in danger and I never knew about it!"
Spike sought to reassure his unofficial niece. "You can't be everywhere at once, Flurry Heart. I assure you, if things had really been as bad as you think they were, you would've known about it. And Twilight would've been more than happy to have you help her. If she hasn't told you, it's not because she doesn't think you couldn't handle it. If you ask her nicely, I'm sure she'd be willing to share the details with you."
Flurry looked up very slowly. "How can you sound so confident, Uncle Spike? From what I've read in Auntie Twilight's friendship journal, you were always struggling with self confidence, feeling like what you did didn't really matter."
"And you should also remember what I wrote about that," Spike pointed out. "I specifically said that in the end, you're the only one who can stop beating yourself up about your doubts and your fears. You're not perfect, and you never will be. But you shouldn't let that stop you from being the best version of yourself that you can be," He looked deep into her eyes. "I can already tell just by looking at you that you'll be a fine princess in your own right. It's not like you took over the throne just yesterday. It's been almost a year now."
Flurry Heart seemed to nod. "Yeah. It's amazing how quickly time flies."
Spike lifted a claw and held up Flurry's chin. "So don't worry so much. Even if I won't be around as often, I'll still stay in touch through Twilight. She'll be happy to share our messages with you, and I'd be happy to have her arrange for you to write to me too."
Flurry was surprised by such a statement. "Really? You'd want to hear from me? Hear about what I'm going through in the Crystal Empire, even if I don't have anything to report?"
The dragon with green spines and light purple scales firmly nodded, ending the hug very slowly. "Of course I do, Flurry Heart. You've come such a long way from the pony who almost accidentally destroyed her empire as a baby."
"Spike!" Flurry Heart playfully whined as her wings unfolded to either side of her!
Spike snickered. "Sorry, kid, but I'll always remember that. I know you didn't mean to do it. You were just a foal. And you've learned so much since then," As his laughter faded, he added with a sincere smile. "I for one couldn't be prouder of the pony you've grown into. Out of all the princesses I've known, you might just be my second best. No princess will ever replace Twilight as number one in my heart. But you're a solid second place, and always will be."
"So, you're still gonna go through with it?" Flurry questioned the dragon afterward. "You're still going to become dragon lord despite all you'll have to leave behind because of that?"
Spike unhappily sighed. "I wish more than anything it didn't have to be this way. But I've made my choice, and I must stick to it. The other dragons are counting on me to lead them and guide them," A smile slowly formed on his face. "But I'm sure it won't be forever. They just need someone to help them get back on their feet and rebuild. As soon as I have everything in order in the dragon lands, I'll come back to Equestria. Or you could come to visit me in the dragon lands. If you really want to, nopony could possibly stop you."
"I might just have to do that, Uncle Spike," Flurry Heart insisted with a cheeky smile of her own. "Who knows? By the time you see me again, I might just have foals of my own. Or even a student like Luster Dawn is to Auntie Twily."
The green spined dragon's smile grew brighter. "I'm sure any student of yours would be splendid, same for a special somepony or a family. I can't wait to hear all about where life takes you and now you'll grow as a result," He turned to leave, though not before saying. "Just promise me one thing, kid."
"What is it, Uncle Spike?!" Flurry Heart asked with concern.
Spike somberly replied. "Don't ever forget about me, even if I somehow forget about you. Remember all the good times we had together through our families. Cherish them well, keep them close to your heart. Those will be the most valuable and important things you will ever know."
Flurry then watched as Spike slowly departed, unfolding his massive wings. And as he took to the skies, she waved to him and shouted! "Goodbye, Uncle Spike! See you soon!"
"Same to you, Flurry Heart! Same to you!" Spike declared, then slowly but surely disappeared over the horizon.
Author's Note
I wasn't originally planning to do this, but Yaakov Lubin inspired me to do it. Older Flurry Heart remains an untapped well of potential in my book.
Besides, it is the year of the dragon.
I did include some nods to what we know of Spike's fate in G5, but I'm not including the G5 tag because it's only vaguely eluding to events that lead to G5. And as to whether Flurry Heart and Spike ever met again before what we know happens to the dragons, I'll leave that open to reader interpetation.
