-Body and scales? Still there. -Location? Canterlot, from the looks of it. -Everypony else? Nope.
He determined that he was probably just teleported long-range by Twilight and that this wasn’t really a problem, as he could just go to Princess Celestia and she’d arrange transportation back to Ponyville for him.
As he wandered around Canterlot, the dragon gradually began to notice something odd. Many of the ponies easily looked 10 years younger at most. And then there was the fact that many of the citizens were giving him weird looks, despite him having been around the city for the last 12 years of his life.
But it was what he saw next that finally made him realize what was going on.
Twilight’s filly self was crying on a park bench.
“I’m in the past.” the drake said to himself. Looking closer, he could make out that her flank was still bare. “Twilight told me that she hatched my egg the same time she got her cutie mark… which means I haven’t been born yet.”
Unable to bear looking at his future caretaker in such a state any longer, he approached her; ignoring the voice in the back of his head telling him that this was a bad idea.
“Hey.” Twilight saw the unfamiliar dragon and immediately shifted over to the other end of the bench, with a visible look of fear replacing her sadness. “No, don’t be scared. Not all dragons are like what your parents tell you.”
He climbed onto the bench, but stayed at the other end to give her space. Spike finally decided to speak up after several minutes of awkward silence. “I saw you crying. What happened?”
“Two of the upper-class fillies ran off with my books and threw them in the mud.” she motioned to the wet, dirty books next to the bench. “This is the third time this month they’ve done it. And they always wait until my big brother’s not around.” the tears started coming back as she finished recounting the events of a few hours ago.
Spike lost control of his body at this point and hugged the filly. “Sorry; but after hearing that, I figured you could use a hug.” he released her. “Oh, I never introduced myself. My name’s Spike…”