A Small Change for Smaller Voices

Chapters

(1) High Maintenance
(2) Bird Choir
(3) Did I mention that I can't dance?
(4) Awkward Daydreams
(5) It was a solid plan at least
(6) Goldfish Count Right?
(7) Trying to be Reliable
(8) Something he hadn't noticed before.....
(8.5) Necessary Reading for Growing Colts
9) Smog and Floozies

(1) High Maintenance

*WHAM*

"Spike? Sssppiiiiiiiiiiikkkke?" Twilight called, completely oblivious to the baby dragon she had just sent sailing across the room.

"Oh, what are you doing sleeping on the floor?" Twilight said as she spotted the dragon who was rubbing a sore spot on his jaw.

"Nevermind, just gimme a hoof here. Do you know where I left that copy of Predictions and Prophecies?"

"Top shelf, third bookcase on the second floor," Spike replied almost mechanically, tugging the now punctured present from his tail. He sighed as the stuffing from the teddy bear inside was torn out, it's cotton guts hooked about the spade on his tail.

"I should really just keep that book on my desk, considering the summer sun celebration is so close...." Twilight trailed off as she walked back to her desk, sending a wave of magic at the book in question as she did so. Unfortunately for her assistant, she wasn't paying attention to the other books Predictions and Prophecies was wedged between. Though her unfocused wave of magic did bring her the book, it also sent the others toppling to the ground.

Spike sucked his teeth, mentally tallying the new daily record to fourteen.

"Are you on that again? The Mare in The Moon is just an old Ponies-tale, *grunt* heck the book even says it's just a myth," Spike said as he picked up a rather thick copy of Tea Leaves and You.

"Even so, there's always some grain of truth to every myth," Twilight said as she scanned through the pages, specifically looking for any passages she had missed over the last few days regarded the fabled Nightmare Moon.

"Like what?" The dragon asked as he teetered on a step of the library's shelf ladder.

"Well Equestrian history mentions two governing entities in the early days of its foundation as a nation. Two different treaties were established with the Griffons and the Dragons around this time too," Twilight said, her voice carrying an authoritative tone.

"Why's that important?" Spike asked, not entirely understanding what a treaty or a governing official was.

"Because they were signed and came into effect on the same day in each races' home country, so it couldn't have been Princess Celestia alone,"

"I still don't get it," Spike said, perched high above Twilight on the highest run of the ladder.

"The Mare in the Moon was Nightmare Moon who was banished by Princess Celestia herself right? Well the date she was banished also marks the day Princess Celestia became the sole ruler of Equestria."

Twilight snapped her book shut and looked up at Spike with a haughty look on her face.

"My hunch is that The Mare in The Moon might have been this second governing entity. Which means her power had to have been equal to or greater than the Princess's, being that she had to use the Elements of Harmony to defeat her."

Spike perked up, understanding finally hitting him.

"So any Mare that powerful threatening eternal night is definitely something to at least be prepared for. And this Summer Sun celebration is supposed to mark her return," Twilight said, flicking her tail as she turned to face the window.

"Maybe we ought to send the Princess a letter?" Spike asked, grinning sheepishly as he descended the stairs.

"My thoughts exactly," she said with a quiet voice before jumping into an authoritative one.

"Spike take a le- what's this?" she asked, her hoof having kicked the present now laying forgotten on the floor.

"Well it was a present for Moondancer..." Spike answered quietly , playing with the quill in his claws.

Twilight scoffed and waved a hoof at Spike, signaling him to begin writing.

Two hours later found Twilight Sparkle hanging her head over her flying chariot, one hoof massaging her temple.

"Oh come on Twilight, the princess just thinks you're working too hard," Spike said reassuringly.

"Of course I'm working too hard. A threat to Equestria and it's colonies should warrant such a thing. But nnnnoooo I get blown off to go manage a party," Twilight waved a hoof dismissively over the side of the chariot, houses and roads already coming into view below.

"This isn't just some party, it's the biggest celebration in Equestria and Ponyville has never hosted it before," Spike said, trying to get Twilight to see the importance of her task.

"*sigh* whatever, I'll just finish my job early and get back to the library the Princess set aside for me. Hopefully the previous librarian kept their mythology section well stocked," Twilight said as she settled back into her seat with a scowl.

The two pegasi ponies pulling the chariot slowed their airborne canter as they descended to the ground. The dragon felt an immediate sense of relief as the wheels bumped roughly against the gravel road and they slowed to a halt. Resisting the urge to leap out and kiss the ground, Spike performed a short hop and landed neatly upon the ground.

"Are you at least gonna try to make any friends?" Spike asked, walking around the chariot to meet Twilight.

"I'm just here to do my job, not run around like a filly at a carnival. Now come on, we've got work to do," she said, not even bothering to look at the dragon before she thanked the pegasus guards and began to walk away.

"Oh come on Twi, all we do is work. Can't you just try to play nice with the ponies here. I mean just look," Spike motioned to a positively radiant pony making her way towards them.

"She looks pretty friendly right? Why don't we ask her to show us around?"

"Well..." Twilight held a hoof to her chin, not recognizing any of the houses or shops around them as the library she sought. Come to think of it, the buildings oddly resembled frosted baked goods and hard candies.

Twilight cleared her throat and stepped forward to meet the bouncing pink pony.

"Good morning, my name is Twilight Sparkle and I'm here to-"

Twilight was cut off by a loud gasp, the pink pony now several feet in the air. Had Twilight not been so shocked by the mare's behavior she might have taken note of the height the mare had reached with such a quick jump.

With a sound resembling a rubber band snapping the mare shot off back down the road, leaving a flabbergasted Twilight to stomp her hoof in agitation.

"What kind of a welcome was that!?"

"You just came on too strong," Spike said dismissively, double checking the checklist Twilight had him prepare before they ha departed Canterlot.

"Too strong!? She was crazy!" Twilight shouted back at Spike, already feeling the urge to leave the little town.

"Don't be silly Twi, we've got many more ponies to see. As a matter of fact the checklist says we're gonna find you a friend at...umm," The dragon held a claw against the parchment as he sounded out the letters.

"Sweet Apple Acres! Sounds like a nice place right? That's where the caterers will be," Spike jumped onto Twilight's back, not bothering to ask as he made himself comfortable.

"Well, I suppose we could get something to eat there," Twilight said as she trotted down the road to Sweet Apple Acres, baby dragon in tow.

"Ugh, I think I'm gonna be sick," Twilight said as she sat back on her haunches.

"H-hey, hold it in!" Spike cried, rubbing her belly with his claws.

"Hey watch where you're touch- I mean, I-I'm fine," she said hurriedly while she pushed his claws away from her lower regions.

"It was just that lazy pegasus and her tornado cloud. Mixing that with my full stomach....ugh..." Twilight groaned, doing her best to smooth down her mane that the pegasus had frazzled with her "Rain-blow Dry ".

"You probably should have stopped after the first apple pie Twi," Spike said as he stretched his claws over his head.

"What? Was I supposed to say no to that little filly who wanted me to try her Granny's blue ribbon pies? She was too cute!" Twilight said in exasperation, remembering clearly how the little filly's eyes shattered her resolve.

"Whatever, next stop is the uhh.....Caro..sel...Boo...tick?" Spike said, his brow furrowing as he tried to sound out the odd words.

"That's boutique. And that's where our designer is, *grunt*," Twilight slowly stood to her hooves. "Come on, let's get this over with,"

The two walked back into town square, watching for any clues as to where the Carousel Boutique was. Having managed to walk down the same road twice they had to stop and ask for directions from a Pegasus mare with....odd eyes. She seemed to know her way about town well enough though, and pointed out the road to take to get to the Carousel Boutique. She then flew away slowly, followed by a brown colt who had kept silent throughout the conversation, presumably her coltfriend.

"My feet are starting to hurt," Spike whined as the two approached their destination.

"Mine too, we should have just asked for a carriage to take us there." Twilight said, hanging her head low.

"Do they even do that here?" Spike asked, looking around for any colts pulling carriages.

"Well they should, some stallion could make a lot of mo-" Twilight's voice cut off.

"What did you say Twi? Did you see a carriage? Oh." Spike frowned as he looked back at Twilight. The unicorn was sitting back on her haunches gazing lovingly at the Poyville library that had just come into view around a street corner.

"Oooh Spike just look at it, classic tree-house finish with an enchanted lightning rod for protection. It's.....dreamy. Oh come on Spike let's go take a look!" Twilight attempted to speed off but was stopped by the baby dragon pulling her tail.

"Twilight! It's almost noon, we might miss the designer if we don't hurry. We can go later!" Spike said through gritted teeth, his strength just barely enough to stop the mare from charging forward.

"Oh then just the fiction section then, I can save the good stuff for later," Twilight reasoned, desperate for her literary fix.

"We. Don't. Have. Time. Twilight!" Spike grunted out, pulling himself forward on Twilight's tail like a gym rope. If he could just reach one of her legs to pull her backward...

Twilight stopped tugging when she felt one of Spike's digits a bit too close to a certain region under her tail. For a moment, her attention on her books was turned to agitation as she whirled around on the dragon and shoved her snout in his face.

"Just what do you think you're doing young man!?" She said, giving a feral snort.

"Uhm...trying to get our work done early so you can get to the non-fiction section," the dragon suggested innocently, giving a nervous smile.

Twilight let out a breath and rolled her eyes. Of course the baby dragon wouldn't understand what "copin' a feel" was. Nontheless she snatched her tail back from his claws and resumed her slow walk to the Boutique, Spike following behind silently.

"My goodness dahling, whatever happened to your mane!?"

Needless to say the Carousel Boutique's owner was not too pleased to see the state of Twilight's recently dried hair.

"What? It's just drying," Twilight turned to Spike, hoping the dragon could explain the designer's shock. However, Spike simply shrugged.

"That'll never do, I simply cannot allow you to be seen in such a state. Right this way please," The unicorn shoved Twilight on her rump towards an illuminated vanity mirror, where assortments of hair curlers, scissors, brushes, and make-up sat in a on orderly fashion.

"But that's not why I'm here- h-hey take it easy!"

Spike rolled his eyes and sauntered off towards one of the mannequins that lined the edges of the shops. This ones outfit resembled the interior of the shop itself, shades of purple and blue. A notable match to the pony who had designed them; this Rarity, as was the name on the majority of the clothes, had a deep purple Kane and blue eyes.

Perhaps she was a bit narcissistic? Either way, the dresses were awful pretty he thought.

"This really is awfully kind of you but I'm just--hhnnngg--here to ask about the decorations," Twilight gasped out, the saddle being tied on her putting too much pressure upon her ribcage.

"You're the representative from Canterlot?" Rarity asked as she released the saddle strings from her teeth. Twilight inhaled sharply as her breath returned to her.

"Yes, *wheeze*, I'm Twilight Sparkle. I'm here to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Oh goodness where are my manners, I bet you'd like to see what I've cooked up for town hall's decor?"

"yes please," Twilight wheezed out, kicking around on the ground in a vain attempt to remove the saddle.

Spike picked up what appeared to be a tube of lipstick from the center of Rarity's coffee table. Twisting off the lid revealed a shade of ruby red, obviously belonging to the designer. Spotting a small pocket mirror, the dragon hooked a claw in a corner and popped it open.

Feeling curiosity overpower him, he held the mirror steadily in his left claw while he gently lifted the lipstick to his lips. The lipstick was an odd sensation, smooth yet dry at the same time, dragging and gliding all at once. He applied only one layer before he puckered his lips and inspected his work.

'Gee,' he thought, 'I can't figure out what the unicorn sees in this stuff,"

".....that's actually looks great Rarity, finally some progress today, Sssspppiiiiikkkkkeeee!" Twilight called as she walked back into the entry of the Carousel Boutique. No sooner had she turned her head did she stop completely in her tracks.

Now usually her assistant did strange things. Such was the nature of the curious young dragon. But seeing him seriously apply makeup to his face was.....weird.

"I'm not so sure that's your color....," Twilight said, trying to smile.

"Mm, yeah it's too bright," Spike dropped the mirror and hopped down next to the mare, looking up at her expectantly.

"So what's next on the list?" Spike asked, completely having forgotten about the lipstick on his mouth.

"Uuuhh....music....I think," Twilight said, averting her eyes from the dragon. Odd or not, the last thing she would want would be to stifle to poor dragon's creativity. Goodness knows that's all he had working for him.

"Okeedoke," the dragon chirped merrily, matching out of the Boutique. Truth be told the building smelled of perfume to the point where he felt self-conscious, the smell making it seem like a place where had he broken something Twilight would have been in serious trouble.

"So, what did you think of Rarity?" Twilight asked.

"Meh, little too high maintenance for my taste. I mean did you smell all that hoof polish? She walks on her hooves, what's the point?" Spike said, pointing down to Twilight's own hooves for emphasis.

"I didn't mean it like that Romeo, I just meant if you thought she was crazy or not," Twilight said, arching her brow.

"Oh. No, why?"

Author's Note

***ATTENTION!!! THIS CHAPTER SKIPS AROUND EPISODE 1 OF MLP:FIM, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT THE STORY MIGHT BE CONFUSING TO YOU!!
......what? I couldn't rewrite the ENTIRE episode could I?***

Anyway like, favorite, flame, whatever suits your fancy!

(2) Bird Choir

"I don't understand how the Princess expects us to find this pony," Twilight said, dropping to the ground to rest her legs.

Spike grabbed the checklist from Twilight's magic-grip and sat down in the grass next to her. In neat print was written "Music Maker- Southwest of Everfree".

"Is there a reason why the Princess didn't give us a name?" Spike asked, cocking his head as he read and hoping another word might suddenly appear.

"I didn't ask, I figured that it wouldn't be so hard. But we've skirted the edge of the Everfree Forest like- what, three times now?" Twilight held a hoof over her eyes, the sunlight making her headache worse.

"Maybe we just can't see their house? Think we can ask that pegasus who blow-dried your hair?" Spike suggested.

"I think I'd rather just take another look and save myself half the trouble," Twilight said matter-of-factly, standing to her hooves as she did so.

"Come on, only a few more hours until sundown,"

Spike sighed and stood to his feet, allowing Twilight to levitate the checklist back.

"Just keep your ears open," Twilight said as she shaded her eyes with her hoof. Spike scratched at the spines on the side of his head lightly, wondering momentarily why he didn't actually have any ears.

Another forty minutes passed and the afternoon was well on its way to sundown, making Twilight all the more nervous. Twenty minutes and her walk had turned into a canter, then progressively into sprinting.

"*huff* You've gotta *wheeze* be kidding me!" Twilight crumpled down on her legs and allowed herself to breathe. Spike trotted behind her, much less out of breath but equally as agitated.

"I say we just get help Twilight, we're not going to find them like this," Spike said, sitting down beside the mare.

"Ugh, I just don't want to have another run in with those ponies again......," Twilight said, her mouth muffled by her legs where she had laid her head.

Spike sat back, stretching his toes and taking a deep breath. All in all, Ponyville hadn't been so bad by his standards, despite his current frustrations. Twilight on the other hand didn't seem content with the beautiful day.

"At least it's nice here right?" Spike said, running a claw through her mane.

"I'd much rather be home," she said, closing her eyes as she allowed the dragon to scratch behind her ears.

"But we never have things like this in Canterlot. The air is fresh, the forest is beautiful, heck even the birds sing better than the ones... back...home," Spike trailed off as realization dawned on him. Apparently the same realization hit Twilight, seeing that she had sat up to stare at Spike with her mouth open.

Simultaneously, the mare and the dragon leapt to their feet and sprinted into the forest. They did their best to avoid any limbs or branches in their path and gradually slowed down as they neared the singing.

Twilight signaled to Spike to remain quiet as they hid just outside a clearing in the trees. Spike leaned and looked about in the treetops, not seeing any birds.

"I think they're just ahead of us Spike, stay quiet," Twilight said as she crept forward. Spike stepped up behind her, staying out of sight. The singing of the birds had become louder, and the unison was starting to spook him a bit.

Peeking beyond a rather thick tree trunk, Twilight spotted her mark. It was a Pegasus mare, directing the chorus of birds with her hooves. There were perhaps fifty birds at least, all different and brightly colored. Twilight briefly wondered if some form of magic was at play here, after all she had never seen a bird be cooperative without a bit of magical reinforcement.

"Its ok Spike, I think I found her," Twilight said as she glanced back at the dragon. He simply nodded back at her.

Twilight took a few steps into the clearing, a loud but beautiful verse from the birds meeting her. The unicorn knew she would have to stop the director eventually, but she knew she would probably not be heard. Clearing her throat and swallowing, Twilight readied a shout.

"HELLO!" she cried, as friendly as the decibel would allow. Unfortunately she had chosen to shout right at a decresendo, and several birds shot away from their branches.

"Oh oh I'm so sorry I was just here to-AUUUHH!" The unicorn cried out as the frightened birds rushed at her. They squawked angrily as they pecked at her mane, giving the unicorn no choice but to fall backward into her assistant.

Spike didn't see the birds until they were upon Twilight, and he didn't manage to step out of the way before Twilight fell back upon him. Her weight slammed him roughly down into the grass, her rump bouncing up from his chest to rest squarely on his face.

As Twilight fell, the birds scattered back to their nests feeling that the threat had been felled. The director rushed forward, pulling Twilight up to her hooves.

"Oh my goodness! I-I'm so sorry, they were just so startled a-and their nests were right here so they panicked," the pink maned pegasus said, her voice sounding as if she were ready to cry.

"Its ok, they just surprised me," Twilight said with a shaky voice, trying to hide the fact that she had nearly wet herself trying to get away.

"I was just here to check up on the music director for the celebration, would you happen to be her?" Twilight asked, trying to make her voice sound professional again. The director did not respond in the same manner though.

"Am I not allowing to come anymore?" she asked in a small voice, hiding one eye behind her long mane.

"Oh gosh, don't cry! It's fine, I swear," Twilight, never having dealt with open emotions, tried to comfort the poor pegasus. But as she leaned forward she felt a weight tugging at the end of her tail. Upon inspection, she found a rather dazed looking Spike.

The dragon's teeth, for whatever reason, had been latched into her tail. Without a second thought, Twilight squeaked and yanked her tail away from the dragon's mouth. Said dragon was yanked up from the ground, probably suffering some mild form of whiplash, and tried his best to regain his balance.

"Now, as I was saying," Twilight said with a glare at what she perceived to be a very perverted little dragon, "it's perfectly fine. I just need to verify that you'll be attending-"

"IS THAT A BABY DRAGON!?" the once timid mare squealed. Her hooves rose to clutch her cheeks and her wings pushed her from the ground. Instantly forgetting that she had been talking to Twilight, she lunged for the dragon, cradling him like a newborn foal.

"How did you manage to find him? Oh goodness, I bet he's lost!" she said softly stroking Spike's head scales.

"Hey, hey! What gi...." Spike trailed off as he stared up at the mare that was babying him. It was like he was looking at an angel. It had to be! Her voice was soft and charming, her eyes the most delicate shade of green, and oh that fur!

Spike smiled lazily as he caught the scent of her fur. Lavender, no doubt a scent the mare herself was fond of.

"I can be your assistant if you want," the dragon suggested quietly.

"Oh-- he talks! I didn't know dragons could talk! What's your name?" the pegasus stared down at Spike, her curiosity making her forget the business at hand.

"I'm Spike," he answered, flashing his best smile.

"Oh hello Spike, my name's Fluttershy. I'd love it ever so much if you told me about yourself. I've never met a dragon before," Fluttershy loosened her grip on the dragon just in time for Twilight's magic to snatch him up and deposit the baby dragon on her back.

"He's my assistant on the summer sun celebration, which by the way I still need your verification for," Twilight said a bit snootily.

"Oh come on Twi, she's just asking," Spike turned back around to face Fluttershy. "What do you wanna know?"

"Everything you can think of," Fluttershy smiled as she flew closer to Twilight to hear.

"Wwwwweeeellllll, I started out as an egg...."

Twilight sighed, starting a slow trot back into town, knowing full well the pegasus would follow her. Well, her assistant at least.

Author's Note

Ok so that was a short chapter, but I figured it was necessary to get this in. So what's next on the gameplan?
The party of course!

Damn....we have you people been?

Anyway, like, comment, flame, you know the drill!!

(3) Did I mention that I can't dance?

"Yes a -baby- dragon needs sleep, so we'll see you later," Twilight said as she used her magic grip to snatch Spike from Fluttershy's forehooves and shove her back out the door.

"A-are you sure, I could help put him to sleep, or- oh I could sing to him-" Fluttershy stuttered out, her back against the door Twilight was trying to close on her.

"I'm sure that won't be necessary, see you later!" Twilight flashed an obviously fake smile as she slammed the door closed. Spike sat behind her, hugging his shoulders in the darkness.

"Are you sure she can't stay, just for a little while Twilight?"

Twilight scoffed and gave Spike a look of annoyance.

"Spike, what is with you? You know we don't have time for nonsense."

"Oh come on Twilight, you heard what the princess said. You should be trying to make friends," Twilight heard the dragon stand up as he crossed the room to her, probably on instinct from his fear of the dark.

"Look, tonight could be the most important night in all of Equestria. I just need to study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time,"

"Well it wouldn't hurt to just meet a few more of them at the celebration would it?" Spike said, his claw wrapping around her front leg for reassurance.

Twilight sighed, feeling water being sprinkled on the flames of anger in her mind. Her assistant, though naive of his childish fears, also had a very benevolent sense about their home country.

"Fine," she said in a gruff yet defeated tone, "whatever, just help me find the stupid light switch,"

Twilight separated herself from the dragon to fumble alongside the wall of the library. Her search ended roughly fifteen seconds from its starting point, right as she heard a giggle as her fur brushed another furry body.

And Spike didn't have fur, nor a feminine laugh.

Twilight nearly jumped from her very skin as simultaneously a light switch was pushed and a bright pink pony was screaming an impossibly echoed "Surprise!!" only inches from her face.

"Didn't think we'd just leave you in the dark huh? No siree, Pinkie Pie parties work a lot better with electricity!" The pink pony motioned to a whole crowd of ponies behind her, crammed together near the back of the library. Upon signaling behind her the ponies rushed about, slamming buttons on a jukebox, pouring themselves drinks, and otherwise partying in the middle of the library.

The first thought to register in Twilight's mind was 'How in Equestria did these ponies stay so silent?'

The second was repeated as if on a broken record:

'They're gonna ruin the books, THEY'RE GONNA RUIN THE BOOKS!'

"H-hey, Pinkie Pie is it?" Twilight held her hooves down over her ears as the pink pony nodded happily.

"What is all this!?"Twilight shouted, barely able to hear her own voice over the pulsing music from the amplifiers plugged up in front of the bookcases.

"It's your 'Welcome to Ponyville Party silly!! I decided to combine it with the Summer Sun Celebration pre-party so we just moved it to the library you'd be staying in!" Pinkie Pie did not take a single breath as she stated her piece.

"But it's a library!! You can't have a party here--how did you even know I'd be here?"

"Just a teensy bit of detective work!" Pinkie grabbed Twilight by her hoof as she led her to the snack table.

"After I saw you earlier today I just knew I had to throw a party for you......but I goofed and didn't catch your name," The mare smiled bashfully at Twilight, her wild curls bouncing as she made her way around the party-goers.

"Luckily I just had to talk to one of those Pegasus guys you flew into town with. A box of jelly donuts got me all the answers I needed,"

"Oh great, just goes to show how loyal the Canterlot troops are...." Twilight frowned as she poured herself a cup of the bright red punch.

"I know right? But then again all stallions tell me what I want to hear when I give them food!" Pinkie smiled innocently, oblivious to the effects of her own charm.

"Yyyeeaahh, well this is nice and all but I think I'm just gonna go rest up for the celebration ok?" Twilight smiled as widely as she could, edging her way to a bookcase.

"Aw but the party just got started! Are you sure you don't wanna come play with us all?" Pinkie snatched up a cupcake near her hoof and seemingly materialized a bottle of hot-sauce in the other. Twilight watched in shock as the pony casually emptied the entire bottle's content on the baked good and downed it in a single gulp.

"No, no, that's fine. I've had a pretty um...long day," Twilight's forced smile held bravely as she neared ever closer to the closest bookcase in the room. Bumping the bookcase with her rump she caught a tumbling book with her magic grip and retreated into the crowd.

"Hm, some ponies really just have too much responsibilities," Pinkie Pie shrugged and dumped more hot sauce onto a platter on the punch table.

"Oh pardon me--excuse me--sorry, coming through!" Spike wandered about the crowd of ponies, his manners lost upon the ears of the ponies dancing to the deafening music.

The dragon was sure he caught sight of a familiar Rainbow colored tail zooming about in the crowd. Hopefully that would mean the pink pony invited the whole town. Naturally that would mean somepony let Fluttershy into the Library right?

Lost in thoughts with his claw poked in between his lips, Spike collided with something soft yet firm all at once. Upon contact he heard a muffled cry of surprise.

"Keep your hooves to yourself you brute!" Rarity whipped around, thrusting the contents of her glass directly into the face of the offender. The said offender simply stood stunned, unable to even flinch as the sweet liquid washed over his face.

"I was going to say excuse me," Spike said, trying to act casually despite being drenched in the sticky liquid.

"Oh my goodness, I had no idea--come and let me fix you up dear," Rarity guided Spike towards a napkin dispenser on a nearby table and fussily set about cleaning his scales of the liquid.

"Just what I get for watching all those mare power movies. Thinking every stallion is a pervert..." Rarity ended her sentence with a series of 'tsks' as the napkins stuck to Spike's scales and left several small patches of paper behind. The dragon simply kept quiet as he was being cleaned, a bit afraid the mare would lose her cool again.

"There, a bit sticky but that should go away in a while. Are you okay dear?" the unicorn looked convincingly worried for the dragon she had assaulted, a hoof lightly touching his shoulder.

"Y-yes ma'am," Spike nodded as he shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

"Are you quite sure? I could take you to the bathroom if you're feeling faint." Rarity dropped her hoof from the dragon's shoulder, but did not drop her look of concern. Spike however turned his gaze away.

"Actually I was wanted to find this mare, I was....umm....gonna ask her to dance," Spike felt blood rush to his face as the words left his mouth. He probably would not have been so bold as to ask Fluttershy to dance to her face, but claiming he would was the first hurdle he felt he needed to jump.

Rarity gasped out loud, quickly covering her chest with a hoof lest her heart melt within. The courage of this little fellow! Braving the knowledge that he could possibly be rejected, this bold little dragon still asked for her hoof in a dance.

"Why my dear, what kind of mare would I be if I said no?" The unicorn gasped out as she offered her hoof to the bewildered dragon.

"Um actually I was looking for a mare named Fluttershy, have you seen her her?" Spike looked about the room, nervously picking at the pieces of napkin still stuck to his scales.

Rarity's fluttering stomach crashed and a scoff escaped her lips before she could catch it. Why the nerve of this dragon! What mare here would be more of a catch than a fashionista such as herself! Fluttershy? Why, Fluttershy wasn't even confident enough to approach stallions let alone want to dance....wait.

"IDEA!" The mare sang out. Of course Fluttershy would never approach a stallion. A stallion would have to approach her in order to initiate anything.

The mare stared down at Spike who had clasped his claws together over his stomach. He was short, scaly, and definitely looked nothing like an adult. Plus he was a dragon. Oh yes, can't overlook that.

As a matter of fact, she had never seen a dragon close up before. Rarity was honestly surprised that the ponies in town hadn't paid more attention to the little fellow.

"Well I'm quite certain Pinkie Pie gave her an invitation," The unicorn said as she scanned the room.

"Well if Twilight hadn't upset her too much..." Spike picked at the carpet with a toenail, hoping Rarity wouldn't question his statement.

"Oh she's bound to be here somewhere," Rarity stooped down to meet the dragons eyes as she spoke reassuringly to him.

"I'll tell you what, if she's around I'll be sure to tell her a certain suitor has requested her hoof in dance," The unicorn smiled as the dragon fidgeted in excitement.

"I owe you one miss Rarity," Spike called over his shoulder as he retreated into the crowd, the music masking the sigh that escaped Rarity's lips.

An hour or so later found Spike still wandering about the party. He had gotten the usual stares, similar to the ones he had gotten for the first few years of his life in Canterlot. Thankfully though the stares were the product of simple curiosity that quickly turned to endearment; it's awfully hard not liking a sociable baby dragon.

Spike had continued to ask about Fluttershy, and he had been delighted to hear that she had been seen a few times near the snack table, being the natural wallflower that she was. Seeking the most discreet approach the dragon hunkered down beneath the snack table, every once in a while sneaking peeks between the long 11' hh pink tablecloths. After twenty minutes and roughly ten swiped cookies later, he caught sight of the long pink mane.

Fluttershy, though obviously trying her hardest to seem cheerful around the other ponies, clearly wasn't having the best time. She would smile, nod, and wave at the ponies she passed then quickly retreat back into the safety of her mane, the long pink strands a seeming sanctuary from the world beyond.

It mesmerized the dragon in a way he had never felt before. As he watched her from his hiding spot, half-eaten cookie in hand, Spike suddenly felt the urge to ask her things. About her life, her hobbies, her likes and dislikes. All things that laid just beyond her natural veil.

It was roughly at the same time that Spike had emerged from under the tablecloth that he decided Fluttershy was the prettiest mare he had ever seen. This base thought clouded his mind as he approached the mare, completely making him oblivious to the fact that he had no idea what he was going to say to her.

Fluttershy was sitting at a table close to a bookcase in the corner, busying herself just a little too much with a glass of punch she was sipping at. As Spike came into view in the corner of her vision her mane slipped away to reveal rather surprised grin.

"Hi Fluttershy!" Spike shouted over the music as he hoisted himself up and into the chair opposite the pegasus.

"Well hello Spike, did you decide to stay up late anyway?" Fluttershy pushed her drink to the side, no longer needing its protection from a conversation.

"I snuck away from Twilight for the night, she's somewhere around here though," Spike quickly scanned the room for the purple unicorn, realizing she could send him to bed at any moment.

"Well I'm sure she won't mind, the Summer Sun Celebration is a special enough night I would think," The pegasus, though much more comfortable engaging in a conversation with the dragon still insisted on sitting with her hooves between her legs.

"You must not know Twilight very well," Spike chuckled a bit, knowing full well the studious unicorn would never approve of him attending parties.

"I suppose you are right. There were a few questions I didn't get to ask earlier, that is...if you don't mind," The mare retreated back under the veil, if only for a second.

"I'm all ears," the dragon flicked one of the scales on the side of his head, lest she not get the joke that he in fact did not quite have ears such as hers.

"Well...how did you come about working with miss Twilight? It's not every day you see a pony walking around with a dragon."

Another hour or so was killed answering Fluttershy's myriad of questions about his life. About Twilight, the princess, even Pony Joe who happened to be Spike's favorite baker in Canterlot. Apparently bakers were held in high regard in Ponyville, despite the simplicity of baking itself.

Soon however, the mare's questions had subsided and were replaced by the occasional giggle and a flicking of hair from her eyes.

"Would you mind if I asked you something miss Fluttershy?" Spike asked, rolling a sour candy ball between his claws with his eyes following closely.

"Well I don't see why not," The mare smiled back at him, encouraging him to speak.

"Do you maybe wanna be penpals, like after me and Twilight leave back for Canterlot?" Spike's claws drifted away from the sourball, only to drum nervously on the tabletop.

"Oh! You can write too? I would love to be penpals, although my own hoofwriting isn't so nice looking..." The mare's wings rustled nervously as she spoke, betraying her fears of rejection.

"Aw well mine's not much better, I mean just look," Spike inhaled deeply and let the magical flame build in his chest. The trick was to exhale right when the flames cooled, otherwise the message from within would be lost.

Fluttershy jumped back in her chair as the little dragon breathed out a strange green flame. She stretched her wings out in front of her face, hoping the flame would not reach beyond the feathers and her hooves where she hid.

"Uh miss Fluttershy?"

Noticing that the magical flame had not swallowed her, Fluttershy peeked between her hooves and feathers to see the dragon holding out a scroll to her.

"If you sign your name here under mine I can write you anytime you want," Spike said, trying to keep the conversation flowing as if nothing weird had happened.

"O-oh...ok, is that magic? Can all dragons do that?" Fluttershy tentatively took the scroll from Spike and searched about the table for something to write with. Sure enough, there was Spike hoofwriting, large and loopey cursive showing the dragon's diligence as well as inexperience.

"Just me! Well....that I know of, I've never actually met any other dragons before," Spike stroked his chin as he tried to remember exactly how Princess Celestia told him to use the magical flame.

"Well maybe you could show me more later? I think Pinkie Pie wants to talk to us," Fluttershy gestured with her head towards the waving Earth Pony peeking through the crowd. In a crisp, clean motion of her neck Fluttershy signed her name on the scroll with a stub of pencil held between her teeth. As she finished she gently pushed the scroll back to Spike, making it roll back closed as she did so.

"Oh um by the way, did you maybe want to..." Spike trailed off as the mare stood from her seat.

"Yes Spike?" Fluttershy asked as she ruffled out her feathers.

"Oh nevermind, its not important," Spike said as he stood up and hustled over to Fluttershy.

He had realized a tad bit too late that he had no idea how to dance, let alone ask such a timid mare to join him.

(4) Awkward Daydreams

So let's fast forward a bit.

As we all know, Spike ended up trying to get Twilight to stop being a party-pooper (didn't work well) and ended up giving in until the citizens of Ponyville all gathered just before sunrise at town hall.

If my good little Bronies have learned their history right, they'll know that Nightmare Moon had appeared instead of the Princess. Obviously this had come to quite a shock to everypony except Twilight, whose extreme paranoia finally payed off.

And of course Spike, being only a baby dragon, didn't handle the combination of shock and exhaustion well. Our brave hero was left to rest in his basket in the library, his sidekick Twilight and her friends (most notably the lovely miss Fluttershy) picking up the slack and scrubbing the Night Princess clean of the darkness she had slept in for a thousand years.....

"Come on Spike! I don't know what to do here! I mean I could just give up my ticket, but that would still leave three disappointed ponies!" Twilight dropped her head down to rest on the table, a sad groan escaping her lips as she did so.

"Are you still going on about that?" Spike looked over his menu at the mare, careful to hide his disapproving look behind the soup section. Once Twilight stepped onto her crazy train there was no getting off.

"You're not even listening..." Twilight ran a hoof down her face, feeling tired, hungry, and defeated.

"Why not just give me the tickets? We can pretend it was a present for me all along and I can run out and pick somepony to bring along," Spike patted himself on the back for such a good idea. It was the perfect excuse to hang out with miss Fluttershy!

"Too late for that Spike, they'd never buy it. Thanks for trying though," Twilight sat back upright, spying the waiter carrying her sandwich and Spike's hay fries.

'So much for that,' Spike thought as he accepted his hay fries from the waiter. Life never turned out that easy for the little dragon. Still, putting in a good word on Fluttershy's behalf wouldn't have gone amiss....

Spike had just opened his mouth to speak on the timid mare's behalf when he was cut off by a shout from above.

"Oh hey Twilight! Caught ya just in time, couldn't have you getting rained on and all," Rainbow Dash put on her best smile as she stared down at the unicorn.

"W-what ra-" Over the past few days of staying in Ponyville, Twilight had gotten used to unexpected run-ins with her friends. It was the circumstances that they arrived in that troubled her though, and the oh-so-sudden onset of rainclouds directly above Spike and herself was more than a bit troubling.

"Rainbow Dash! Do I even want to know what you're doing?" Twilight flung the sandwich back down to the plate, where the impact rolled the dishware around on it's rims noisily.

"Oh I was just in the neighborhood, and I remembered there was this surprise storm scheduled and stuff. Couldn't let my best bud get rained on right?" Rainbow flashed a smile again, sunshine beaming from behind her while everyplace else had adopted the gloom of the storm clouds.

"Oh. Really?" Twilight gave a look of mock surprise as she spoke. She held a gaze at Rainbow, as if she was expecting the pegasus to tell her some long-winded story about her race against the thunderclouds.

Rainbow broke the gaze after a few seconds and scratched at one of her ears, an action that was all Twilight needed to break the tension.

"Rainbow I don't feel comfortable accepting favors I didn't ask for when I know you're doing it for that ticket. So I'd appreciate it if you'd close up that raincloud right now." Twilight dropped her mocking tone like a brick, speaking now as if addressing a rebellious child.

Rainbow scoffed and rolled her eyes. With a flick of her hoof she sealed the raincloud shut, blocking out the sunlight from behind.

"Well that was sad," Twilight shook her head as she levitated her sandwich to her mouth. Now perhaps Twilight was a bit too hungry to think about the "storm schedule" that day , or she simply might have been too hungry to remind Rainbow Dash that she had left her rainclouds behind. But what it all came down to was the rainclouds needed to do their job, unscheduled or not.

Twilight had barely taken a bite from her sandwich when she felt the heavy torrent pour down on her from above, ruining not only her mane but the once tasty daffodil sandwich as well.

"Let's just go home Spike..." Twilight muttered darkly, trying to ignore the giggling dragon. She shoved the plate forward, knocking the obligatory flower vase askew with a clang, and stood to leave.

"Aw come on Twilight, let's just go inside and order more food. You'll feel better after you've eaten," Spike pushed his now soaked hay fries away despite his more feral instincts telling him to eat anyway.

"We can't spend anymore bits this week Spike, we were cutting it close here anyway," Twilight begrudgingly stood from the chair. The alluring scent of cooking hay fries from inside brought an immediate disagreement from her stomach. The peanut butter and jelly back home paled in comparison to the smoky taste of toasted flower sandwiches....

"Twilight. It's raining," came a voice from beyond the haze of the pouring rain, the figure resembling a pony in a miniature carousel.

"No, really?" Twilight asked back, the sarcastic tone lost among the noise of rain hitting the pavement.

"You'll catch a cold Twilight!" A hoof jutted out of the thick rain and snatched Twilight's, yanking her under a large crimson umbrella. Bedazzled with a large assortment of precious stones of course. One simply cannot shirk a fashionable accessory, even in the face of spontaneous thunderstorms dear reader.

"You too Spike, come along before you both catch death!"

Spike watched the tube twirl around between his claws, wondering what shade of color lay inside. Looking behind him he noted that Rarity was busy crushing Twilight's ribcage with a corset, so perhaps...

Nah. He had already played with Rarity' s makeup once and had his kicks. Besides, lipstick tasted awfully funny to the little dragon.

"Ugh Rarity, that's too tight!" Twilight yelped in a humorously strained voice.

"Nothing is too tight for a single mare Twilight," Rarity responded quickly. "Now suck in, you can do it!"

Spike watched with his head rested on his claw, allowing the lonely lipstick tube to roll away and fall from the vanity table.

'Twilight wouldn't be single if she wasn't such a buzz kill half the time,' he thought. However this mental statement hadn't altogether been true, as Twilight had seemed to poke her head out of her shell more often these days. Heck, if they stayed here then she would probably find a husband. Or something. Whatever girls were into he supposed.

Spike sighed again as he watched Twilight crawl away from Rarity, her knees constantly buckling from the glass slippers the fashionista had shoved onto her hooves. Her mane now had looping curls where her bangs used to be, albeit pushed to the sides of her face. She also wore light shades of pink eye shadow and just a bit of blush.

All in all not a bad look, Spike thought.

"And this is where the guilty conscience starts again," Twilight said as she sat down hard on her haunches and leaned until her back rested on the vanity table.

"She trying to get you a coltfriend?" Spike asked, not bothering to look down at Twilight as he let his eyes unfocus into a blank, bored stare into the vanity mirror.

"I guess. She's already talking about the Princess's nephew again, and how his friends would just love me," Twilight said the last half of the sentence in a mocking tone. "As if I didn't know they were a bunch of snobs to begin with."

"Who Blueblood? Aww really?" Spike perked up at the mention of the annoying stallion. The dragon had never met a pony so infuriatingly prissy in his young life. No tug-of-war, no mudfights, not even the occasional hoof-wrestle from time to time.

He wouldn't be surprised if the stallion had actually been born a mare.

"Oh goodness there's that magical name! Prince Blueblood, come now Twilight say you'll take me to meet him!" Rarity had whirled around like a dancer on her back hooves towards them. She had obviously only been listening for a few certain syllables.

"Oh and Spike will be going too right? I mean surely they will allow your personal assistant to go to the Gala under your ticket?" The unicorn didn't wait for an answer before she began sizing Spike with her eyes.

"Huh. I actually don't know," Twilight's brow wrinkled a little as she thought. She hadn't thought about what Spike would do at a Gala in the first place. It wasn't exactly a playground after all, and gems probably wouldn't be served in respect of one single guest.

"I'm okay, you girls have fun. I'm not all into that girly gala froo-froo junk," Spike jumped from the chair he had been plopped in and walked quickly to the door.

"I think I'm gonna head back home and see if there is anything in the fridge," Spike called over his shoulder, the lie actually being halfway true as he thought bitterly of his ruined hay fries. The truth was that the dragon had no intention of attending a royal dinner unless a certain mare was his date, and even then the mare had already a similar mindset to his own.

His dear miss Fluttershy didn't want to sell treats. She didn't want to show off for a bunch of overpaid celebrity pegasi. And she certainly didn't want to flirt with royalty due to their entitlement as Prince, a disgusting prospect that Spike couldn't fully wrap his young mind around.

No, as a matter of fact miss Fluttershy didn't even mention an interest in attending the festivities at all. She wanted to see the Royal Garden, to let herself roam amongst the myriad of flowers and meet the timid creatures that lived among them. Had Spike a way of securing a ticket of his own as well as one for Miss Fluttershy the situation would have been perfect.

Him. Her. Alone in one of the most beautiful places in Canterlot. It would be the perfect place to tell her he thought she was pretty. That he wanted to give her jewels and gold for reasons he did not quite understand at his age yet.

'Oh Spike, it smells so nice here.' She would say dreamily, her wings shivering lightly in the cool night air.

'Wanna take one as a souvenir?" He would ask as he takes his tuxedo jacket off and covers her back with it.

'You didn't have to do that, and I-I wouldn't want you to get in trouble if somepony could see you when you picked it,'

'I wanted to and I wouldn't care,' Spike keeps his gaze locked on hers as he stoops down boldly, smoothly picking a healthy feeling flower and holding it behind his back.

Fluttershy purses her lips in an attempt to smother a shy smile, but it breaks free anyway as Spike steps forward to hold the flower out to her.

'Spike...' she whispers with a smile, reaching out for the flower but not breaking the gaze that is giving her the most pleasant chills.

'Do you think I could buy you a root beer float or something sometime? It's not a tasty as the sapphires I tried to get but-'

He is cut off as he feels her hooves on his chest, the mane hiding half of her blushing face as she leans forward. She is so close that if Spike wanted he could brush the mane away and count each eyelash, but he is content with simply staring into the one visible turquoise eye. It is looking back at him nervously, but he feels her press just a bit closer to him.

Spikes takes the beautiful offer. He wraps his claws around her back to hold her at eye level (having conveniently hit a growth spurt and adding a rather dashing 2 feet to his height) and lets her lean her mouth towards his....

"Twilight, does Spike usually practice kissing in the middle of the street?" Rarity let the measuring tape float lazily beside her, suddenly unsure of what she was doing with it in the first place.

"I don't know. Guess he's starting to get interested in mares. Which is also up for debate of normality." Twilight rubbed her chin and sat back on her haunches, watching the strange little reptile in the street get to first base with an imaginary marefriend .

"Oh how romantic," Rarity said with a smile. Of course the little dragon would be practicing kissing. Twilight and herself were only talking about one of the most important royal balls in Equestria. Spike was probably fantasizing about taking a mare in his little arms and having her lean down for a bold, magical kiss in the middle of a spotlight in the ballroom dancefloor.....

She sighed dreamily.

Author's Note

Super big apologies to Swashbucklist who offered to proofread this story for me!

I figured I hadn't updated in so long that I needed to get this chapter out as soon as possible.
As always, like-comment-subscribe-flame. All corrections are welcome as you find them (if anything looks odd or out of place let me know, I write on iOS devices during work now)

(5) It was a solid plan at least

Author's Note

Check out the blog here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/327474/repost-of-message-from-author-sorry-guys

(5) It was a solid plan at least

"Aw who am I kidding, Twilight'll probably just take Rarity anyway."

Spike sighed, letting the beautiful vision fade away from his mind. Odds were Miss Fluttershy wasn't into short guys in the first place (Moondancer certainly wasn't, ooh boy...).

'Still, wouldn't hurt to ask to help out with her animals or whatever. Right?'

Now that Spike had thought about it, he had never seen the mare's home himself. Of course, he had a rough idea of where it was but he was quite certain only creepers invited themselves into another pony's home. And an excuse as obvious as "oh just wanted to check in on your rabbit!" wouldn't sound convincing to even the most dimwitted individual.

The dragon winced as his toe collided with a rather stout rock he had tried to kick, his pride telling him not to cry. Overhead the afternoon sun blazed on, reminding him of how much time he had left to think of a means to get his claws on the tickets.

"Maybe Twilight, wouldn't mind if I just......hmm.....no." Spike thought aloud, giving a small wave to Lyra who skipped by with a sack of brocolli bouncing merrily upon her back. His thoughts entertained him the rest of the way to the library, where finally a slight growl in his stomach reminded him of his ruined lunch. Trottting up the rest of the way to the door he paused.

A sound, small at first but rising occasionally, resonated beyond the door. At first Spike suspected thieves, but he nontheless carefully rested an ear spine against the door, his claws splayed against the wood to keep his balance.

"...and then I tell her, as I turn out the light, I say my darling you are wonderful tonight....."

Spike recognized the voice instantly, but was still surprised for its adeptness at singing. It was soft but rang clearly, so much so that Spike edged the door open softly, hoping to get a look at the mare who shouldn't have been there.

In one hoof Fluttershy held a featherduster, and the other was held to her chest as she sang. Her wings carried her effortlessly up to the top shelves of Twilight's book case where several squirrels ran about carrying scraps of parchment, discarded quills, and what appeared to be discarded sweet wrappers (no doubt left behind by Twilight Sparkle in her late-night, and often absent minded study sessions).

"Oh goodness me, Twilight really shouldn't let that dear baby dragon eat so much sugar at once," Fluttershy said softly to one of the tiny rodents. Spike rolled his eyes, thinking of all the times he was denied even extra syrup on his pancakes.

"Oh Angel, thats a wonderful idea," said the mare, her eyes still thankfully following the featherduster, "I'm sure Twilight would love some salad." The rabbit staring up from the floor twitched its nose once and ran off to the kitchen, bewildering Spike who hadn't heard a voice let alone one that could possibly belong to a very small rabbit.

Momentarily forgetting that he was supposed to be watching the mare from the cover of the library door, Spike pushed it open to venture inside. All around him were an assortment of brightly colored songbirds and chittering rodents, each carrying wet cloths and cleaning supplies. And much like a maestro, Fluttershy hovered in the middle of them all. Had Spike not lived with a Unicorn since he could remember, he might have called the scene unfolding in front of him magic.

The mare switched the featherduster to the other hoove as she struck up a new tune in her throat, humming bright and poppy notes the dragon didn't readily recognize. Taking a deep breath, reminding himself "don't look like a scrub", he closed the door quietly behind and walked forward to stand directly under Fluttershy.

Now it would safe to say that the poor pegasus got a bit too wrapped up in the song she had heard that morning, for she managed to hum as much of it as she could remember before she noticed the small purple lizard staring up at her. Upon seeing the bright green eyes staring up into hers, she noticed that the particular path Spike's gaze followed to reach her's just so happened to take a short cut through her legs.

Immediately dropping the feather duster and swinging her tail up through her backlegs, Fluttershy forced out a greeting to the little dragon.

"W-why hello Spike! Sorry we just barged in like this." Fluttershy floated down lightly, hoping her cheeks weren't too red. "We just thought, u-um that is --Angel and I, thought that maybe we'd clean up the library for you and Twilight." The mare finished her sentence with a wide, nervous smile.

"Are you sure this doesn't have anything to do with the ticket?" Spike gave the pegasus a knowing smile that broadened that much more when he saw how Fluttershy retreated ever so slightly into her mane.

"Oh my, is it that obvious?" She asked quietly, letting her eyes wander about the library.

"A little bit," Spike made a gesture with his thumb and index claw, "but I'll forigive ya. I kinda wanted them too."

"Oh, I'm sorry Spike, if you really want them I shouldn't be trying to win Twilight over. What exactly did you want to see at the Gala?" Fluttershy placed the featherduster down on Twilight's old desk, which Spike noted was void of its usual coffee rings.

"Well....um...." Spike tapped a claw on his chin. Of course he hadn't thought that far, after all his plan involved him AND another pony. So the goal was a date, but goodness knows he was way too out of Fluttershy's league to be telling the truth.

"I wanted to meet Princess Luna." Spike said with a wide smile, patting himself on the back for coming up with a good lie and looking tough all at the same time.

"Oh goodness Spike, ever since I saw her as Nightmare Moon I think I'd be too scared to talk to her. Has Princess Celestia told you she was safe?"

"Well...." Come to think of it, Princess Celestia hadn't spoken once of her recovered sister to anypony, let alone him and Twilight. "No, but I'm sure she can't be that scary anymore right?"

"I'm not so sure, she didn't really seem all that happy after Twilight made Nightmare Moon go away." Fluttershy rubbed at the back of one hoof, avoiding eye contact with the dragon.

"Yeah I guess she didn't huh? You know what, how about I just help you get that ticket Ms. Fluttershy?" Spike offered, once again praising himself for his quick wit.

"Well, I mean if you really don't wanna go, then I'd appreciate it." The mare smiled warmly, giving a little signal to the squirrels overhead that had stalled to listen to her address the dragon. "And I suppose I could ask Princess Celestia and Princess Luna...that is, as long as she isn't there."

"Well I guess I should just forget I saw anything then." Spike smiled as he placed his claws over his eyes, his last image being Fluttershy floating back up to the bookshelf and a certain rabbit giving him a rather rude gesture from behind the safety of the kitchen doorway.

****

"Fluttershy its summer." Twilight said with a scowl on her face, kicking the door closed behind her.

"Oh, well better late than never right? It was Angel's idea, isn't he just the sweetest?"

'Wow,' Spike thought as he watched from the window, Fluttershy happened to be a good liar afterall. And the rabbit didn't miss a beat either.

"You're not doing this for the ticket are you?"

"Oh no, I'm doing this because you're my very best friend. Right Angel?" Spike clapped his claws over his eyes as the rabbit gave a glare at Fluttershy. "Oh yes, we ARE just doing this for the ticket."

Spike jumped down from the old milk crate he stood upon and sighed. He supposed a mare that had a hard time following through on a lie was a good thing afterall, and maybe all was not lost yet. There was still, oh--roughly three more hours of daylight left anyway.

As Spike contemplated what exactly in the world he would say to Twilight on Ms. Fluttershy's behalf, reminding himself to take out the trash due to the empty bins to his right, a chorus of party horns erupted from the front of the library. He took off in a sprint towards the sound (that in a few months would become so very natural to him), leading him to a small crowd where a pony none other than Pinkie danced around. Spike could see Twilight bouncing around in the middle of the crowd, presumably being thrown about by the other ponies in Pinkie's entourage, as Pinkie belted out a rather jovial tune Spike couldn't help but wonder if was spontaneous.

"PPPPPPPPPPIIIIIIINNNNNNKKKKKIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!" Spike cringed as the ponies stepped away from Twilight, her scream cutting through Pinkie Pie's tune like a blade through paper. She fell a good two feet before she landed square on her back, her outstretched legs seeking something to grab onto crumpling down like burnt confetti as she landed.

Spike watched as Pinkie bent down over Twilight, the two exchanging words that Spike couldn't readily register from the distance, that is until Pinkie began shouting about a certain "ticket" enthusiastically to all the other ponies. A group of ponies that were all female no less, who would more than likely be a bit more than severely interested in such a topic.

Twilight fell back on her haunches, a cold feeling sinking into her stomach as the mares drew in, each one offering her assortments of money and promises of all different kinds. For a moment, she considered if she knew any magic to help her, but was distraught by her lack of studies into escapes and other such practical magics. Just as she was about to try sprinting away, a certain dragon came barreling throught the crowd, grabbing her hoof and pulling her to her feet.

"Maybe you should just get rid of those tickets Twi." Spike said as he sprinted next to the unicorn, dodging by a pony offering a bushel of carrots.

"I can't Spike, Princess Celestia is expecting me or at least somepony I know to attend!" Twilight led them down what Pinkie had often referred to as Sugarcube Corner. The street was uncharacteristically deserted, no doubt due to Pinkie Pie's efforts at amassing a mob.

"Well then...." Spike steeled himself as he ran, hoping his voice sounded strong despite feeling a bit winded now. "Why don't you just give a ticket to Fluttershy?"

"Yeah? And who will I give the other one to?" Spike gulped as he heard Twilight's counter. Just how hard was it going to be to simply say 'How about giving it to me?' How could he even make it sound natural at this point, with a crowd of screaming mares at their hooves?

"W-well, you could always just, um give it to-"
"Hey Twilight, jump on and I'll get you out of here lickety-split!" From out of nowhere, Rainbow Dash landed in front of the two like a bolt of blue lightning. Her wings remained stretched out with her open back serving as an invitation for Twilight to climb on. As Twilight skidded to a halt, she just managed to see Applejack soaring from the second floor window of the Cake's bakery, as if she were auditioning to be a stunt pony in a slow-motion diving sequence.

"Oh no ya don't!" She yelled through gritted teeth as she yanked a lasso from her foreleg and sent it spiraling into the air. Rainbow Dash barely managed to groan "aw man..." as the rope closed down around her and locked into place around her hips. AJ rolled into the fall and recovered into a sprint as Rainbow took to the sky. The Apple farmer's hat flew off as she sprinted up the side of Milky Way's ice cream parlor and jumped into the air, the momentum from the jump and the yank from the rope carrying her forward faster than Rainbow could fly.

Spike watched in fascination as AJ screamed out a "YYYYEEEEHHHAAAAAHHHHH!" in triumph as she landed on Rainbow Dash's back, and the two sailed about in the sky like an eagle who decided a bit too late that he got airsick rather easily. He was so enthralled by the two dots in the sky that he didn't notice the crowd of mares that had caught up behind them.

"Come on Spike, I don't know if this will work but...," Twilight bit her lip and boosted Spike up from the ground and onto her back with her neck. The next few seconds were quite literally a blur, color quickly melted together into a swirling purple vortex and Spike felt much like someone or something was yanking his scales in every which direction. Then all at once, the swirling purple opened up again, and the nuetral colors of the library flooded forth.

Spike bent over and retched, his empty stomach heaving painfully as his head swirled.

"Warn me next time you're gonna do that Twi!" He said as his bearings began to return. To his side, Twilight sat back on her haunches rubbing her temple with a hoof.

"I honestly didn't think that was gonna work again." Spike huffed as he fell backwards, the cool wooden floor feeling comforting on his scales. He listened with his eyes closed as Twilight got up and trotted over to the lightswitch, flicking it up with the tip of her hoof.

"We should probably lock up for now Spike, at least until this blows over." Twilight said, letting her head bow and hit the wall. The dragon nodded and opened his eyes again.

A thunderous crash then rang out as two figures burst through the second floor window and slammed into the wall on the opposite side. Rainbow Dash's limp form fell and crumpled onto the library floor, with AJ landing neatly beside her. AJ smirked at her handiwork as the broken glass from the window fell and shattered like pieces of ice on the floor below.

"Told ya you ain't tough enough to take that ticket." Applejack said as she shook out her mane, the tie holding it together having fallen loose at some point during the struggle.

"Ugh...fine, whatever." Rainbow answered back, rolling over and running a hoof over her back.

"Now what'd yall do with my hat--" Applejack stopped abrubtly as she trotted over a broken piece of glass, finally noticing the destruction that lay around her. As she looked up, she saw the aghast look upon Twilight's face.

"Um. I can fix this."

"You could have just used the front door dahling. Honestly Applejack, I don't see why you can't control yourself in polite company." Rarity's voice came from overhead, revealing her as well as Pinkie and Fluttershy watching from over the banister.

"Oh, um I hope you don't mind Twilight. I let Rarity and Pinkie in a little while ago." Fluttershy said, clicking her forehooves together nervously.

Twilight simply let out a frustrated scream.

*later that evening*

Spike's brow furrowed as Applejack trotted happily out of the library. He hadn't expected to get to go to the Gala anyway, it was just that now everypony was going BUT him. He sighed as he watched the other girls canter happily out into the illuminated streets, off to go celebrate over cupcakes and tea.

Just as he was about to kick the door closed and fish out some old noodles from the pantry, he felt another harsh buildup in his stomach. The buildup made its way upward and escaped from his mouth in an emerald flame...

Quickly reaching forth into the fire, he pulled out a second scroll. The flame subsided as he pulled forth the parchment, like bathwater as the plug was pulled and he quickly unrolled the letter.

'You didn't think I'd let the girls have all the fun did you Spike? I hope to see you too at the Grand Galloping Gala.

-Sincerely,

Princess Celestia of Canterlot'

Spike stifled a giggle as he held the golden ticket out at arms length. This was it, he thought, somehow and/or someway this ticket would help him win Ms. Fluttershy's favor.

Hoping he could still catch up with the girls he ran outside into the dimly lit streets, pulling the library door closed as he went.

"Now what exactly could ya want at a shindig like the Gala Spike?" Asked AJ, who had kindly waited for him by the library mailbox. She had crossed her legs as she leaned into the box, watching as Spike changed his excited run into a cool and collected stride.

"Oh you know, just thought maybe I'd check out the castle gardens. You know, guy stuff." Spike said with a smile. AJ just rolled her eyes and followed behind, wondering briefly if maybe they'd find her hat lying around someplace.

(6) Goldfish Count Right?

"You should have seen her Spike! She was nodding off on her -feet-!" Twilight emphasized her words with a shake of her hooves, but the dragon bent over the kitchen sink just shrugged.

"She probably just stayed up too late last night Twi," Spike said, sliding another dish into the clean stack.

"Try 'she didn't sleep at all'. She wouldn't even let me help buck the orchard."

"Twilight I don't understand why you're so stuck on this," Spike turned around and placed his wet claws on his hips, "She's a little tired. Big deal."

"Nevermind." Twilight replied with a grumble. Spike watched her trudge out of the kitchen, her tail and ears hung low, and sighed. Turning back around he fished the last spoon from the bottom of the sink, this one caked with a gloss of peanut-butter. Frowning, he turned up the hot valve on the kitchen sink and let scalding water run over the thick residue.

Now of course, the little dragon did care. A little bit, at least. AJ had seemed a bit underwhelmed at having an entire town honor her as basically a model citizen.

And he had totally looked like a tool when he was heard as the last one applauding AJ's supposed arrival at the ceremony. Oh yeah lets not forget that Ms. Fluttershy was in the crowd too, barely a few feet away.

That aside, he figured he might suggest she was working too hard when they were in private lest somepony bring up the ceremony again. Sliding the freshly washed spoon into its place on the drying rack, he hopped down from his stool and wiped his wet claws along his belly scales.

Though he didn't look at the event as a success or even particularly joyous, he did get a very good idea from the occassion. Basically, he reviewed in his head as he took up his trusty broom from its place next to the refridgerator, Fluttershy and Applejack were to take census of the newborn rabbits for the year. But Applejack was in no condition to work right?

"Aw gee Ms. Fluttershy, AJ looks really tired doesn't she? How about you and me finish up and let AJ go home for the day?" Spike giggled devilishly at the genuis of his own plan. On one hand, Applejack would have a burden taken off her and would probably thank him. And on the other he could show Fluttershy how good he was with animals.

'Actually,' Spike thought, pausing his sweeping to chew on the end of his claw, 'I've only ever had a pet goldfish Twilight let me keep at her parents house."

Said goldfish, creatively (creative-for-a-newborn-dragon) named Fishstick, had lived for a good year and a half before it mysteriously vanished. Mrs. Velvet, Twilight's mother sat him down one day while she fed him lunch and explained the whole story to him.

****

"Oh Spikey-Boo!" Velvet leaned over and nuzzled the baby dragon, who wobbled a bit before hugging the mare's neck. "You'll never guess what happened to me today!"

"What happened Momma?" Spike asked just as he pulled back the chair from the dinner table. He stood on his tip-toes and struggled to pull himself up, before he felt Velvet's head beneath his rump push him up the rest of the way.

"Did you know Fishstick could talk?" She asked, her eyes wide as she tapped the three-year old dragon on the nose.

"She can? She never talks to me!" The dragon grabbed the back of the chair with tiny claws for support, positively rocked by the revelation of Fishstick's hidden abilities.

"She sure can, she said only mommies can hear fish though." Mrs. Velvet said, not missing a beat as she wove her tale. "By the way sweetheart, do you want some eggs?"

"Yes ma'am." Spike said, turning carefully around in his chair to search for utensils on the tabletop.

"But yes, turns out she's a very polite fish."

"I knew Fishstick was nice. She always eats her breakfast in the morning." Spike said, noting the tiny goldfish's enormous appetite for the smelly flakes in the cupboard. Sometimes he wondered if the three shakes Velvet had stressed was enough for her.

"Yes she does. But just this morning before I took Twilight to school she jumped clean out of her bowl and started talking to me!" Velvet could feel the baby's eyes on her, and knew they were probably wide and shining.

"What did she say?"

"Well she said that she wanted to go swimming in the ocean!" A few years later, Spike would see the flaw in this innocent logic as he came to find that Fishstick couldn't be too fond of saltwater. But for the moment, the baby dragon was floored by the obviousness of Fishstick's plight.

"So I put her in a baggy--"

"Like the one Twilight brought her home in?" Spike interrupted, suddenly remembering the plastic sandwich bag his caretaker brought the fish home in. Twilight had apparently been a natural at the ring toss at the Canterlot Fair. She had turned down the large stuffed aligator swinging on a safety chain overhead in the game tent for a simple goldfish.

"Mhm!" Twilight Velvet answered back, her mouth busy cracking an egg against a skillet, her magic busy manipulating a butter tub. Spike waited politely for Mrs. Velvet to finish pouring the syrupy yolk into the fry pan, where it sizzled upon contact and slowly began to whiten.

"Anywho, I brought her out to the ocean and poured her out into the water. And by gosh you know what she said?" Velvet turned around to look at the baby with wide, cheery eyes. A wooden spoon alive with unicorn magic danced cheerily behind her, poking at the cooking eggs like a playful foal at a grumpy crab.

"What?" He nearly shouted, standing up in his chair to hear about his apparently talented little goldfish.

"She said that she liked the Ocean ssssooo much that she wanted to live there!"

Spike's excitement turned slightly cold upon hearing the answer, his precious fish seemingly abandoning him.

"B-but Fishstick is still coming home right?" He said, his claws immediately intertwining nervously.

Upon turning about, Twilight Velvet immediately felt the stings of guilt pierce her resolve. She had been so proud the day her daughter took on the Magic Aptitude Test, especially considering she was taking a test most grown unicorns fail. And that day, not only did she return home with a letter designating her the personal student of the Princess of Equestria (she had nearly fainted, Nightlight weeped openly) but she had been carrying a cooing bundle on her back. From that day onward, Velvet had loved him like her own. And his pain immediately became hers.

"Now sweetheart," Velvet said as she turned off the skillet and trotted to his side, "I think Fishstick was homesick. We all get homesick sometimes."

Spike looked away and held his claws down to his belly. Velvet could see tears beginning to form in his bright green eyes, not of anger frustration or pain but that of an infant in anguish. As soon as the first of the warm drops fell, Velvet immediately sat back on her haunches and scooped the dragon into her forelegs.

"Hey hey hey," she cooed, lightly rocking the little reptile, "its ok sweetheart. Fishstick is very happy back home with her friends. You wouldn't like it much if someone took you away from me or Twilight would you?"

Spike scrubbed his left eye with the back of his claw, sniffling uncontrollably as he did so.

"No." He forced out, trying to calm his tears.

"And you love Fishstick right?"

"Yes." He said, this time with more control. Velvet leaned her head down to his face, feeling the warm tears sink into her fur.

"Well I'm sure she loves you, and thats what counts right?"

Spike drew a long breath, filling his tiny body as much as he could. His anguish left him bit by bit as he exhaled.

"I think so."

"There you go, who's my little man?" She leaned further and tickled his belly scales with her nose. She was met with squirms and fresh giggles, until finally the dragon wore a large smile under the drying tears. Twilight Velvet decided she would simply have to out-do herself that day.

"After you eat you wanna go to with Mama to that little toy store on the square?" She wiggled her brow at him. "I hear there's a new Mistress Mare-velous figure somepony wanted..."

*****

(7) Trying to be Reliable

Spike was shook from his memories as the loud, crunchy resonance of breaking glass reached him.

"Rainbow!" Twilight's voice screeched barely a millisecond after the breaking glass, making Spike jump that much harder. The broom jumped loose from his hands and clattered away under the legs of the kitchen table as he kicked it aside in a sprint.

"Rainbow," Twilight stopped to glance at the broken window, a conflicted expression plastered to her face as she made her way down from the upstairs balcony. "Can you get up?"

The pegasus in question was curled up on the floor of the living room, cringing in a sharp bewildering pain. Her hooves were cradling a newly forming lump on her head, her tail swishing back and forth along the ground like it was attempting to escape the body it was attached to.

"J-just give me a sec." She said, rolling onto her other side, her hooves still pressing against her head. Twilight hovered over her, rubbing a hoof on her back in attempts at comfort.

"Is she alright Twilight?" Spike asked, his voice a bit higher than he would have liked as he peeked over Twilight's shoulder.

"Nah, nah I'm good I'm good." Rainbow blurted out, forcing herself to her hooves. "Just a lump on the head, no biggie."

"Well in that case Rainbow, you mind telling me why in Equestria you just broke ANOTHER window in my house!?" Twilight jumped up from her haunches as the volume of her voice rocketed. Rainbow fell backwards to the floor again, her forelegs catching her this time as she braced against Twilight's anger.

"You can't blame me for this! AJ's the one who screwed up my trick!" She shouted back, one hoof flattening down her mane vigorously.

"Of course." Twilight muttered darkly, running her tongue over the front of her teeth and nodding slightly.

"She seemed half-asleep didn't she?" She asked with a frown, not bothering to watch for Rainbow's expression to change.

"She fell off the ladder like eight times! It'd hard to say she wasn't drunk out of her mind."

Twilight's frown remained on her face as she turned and started out the door.

"I'm gonna go try this one more time, Spike stay here with Rainbow Dash until she can get back on her feet. And don't touch the broken glass." Twilight added emphasis on the last bit with a look over at the dragon who had wisely decided to stay silent. After a few seconds spent waiting for a response, she soundlessly turned back to the door and exited.

Spike frowned and looked from Rainbow, who had been silently scrubbing a hoof over her eyes, to the glass then back at Rainbow. He then heaved deeply in his chest and sighed, kicking the larger chunks of glass into a pile with his feet.

"Hey squirt you heard what Twilight said." Rainbow had opened one squinted eye to address the baby dragon who stared back at her. Spike, in silent response, bent down to pick up a rather jagged piece of glass with edges whitened from fracture.

Rainbow Dash momentarily forgot the sore lump resting on her crown as she watched her youngest friend casually pop a chunk of glass into his mouth like a greasy potato chip. She flinched backward as she watched the dragon bite down on the glass, muted pops and crunches filling the silence of the library.

Spike carried on chewing with a claw on his hip for a few seconds before he made a face and spat the glass out into his free claw.

"It tastes awful really, can't wrap my mind around why its so expensive." He said as he held the moist sand in his claw where it only sparkled to remind Rainbow of its previous form.

"Yeah, remind me never to catch you under a mistletoe." She muttered as Spike walked back to the kitchen, in search of the forgotten broom.

Roughly two hours later found the librarian and her assistant in a makeshift medical tent, the rotten stench of sun-cooked vomit thick in the air as nurses trotted from stretcher to stretcher.

"Please don't tell anypony I threw up in Carrot Top's saddle bag Twilight..." Pinkie begged, her voice giving away the fact she was hiding tears. Twilight busied herself with rubbing a hoof down the mare's back as she took in the damage.

AJ had given roughly twelve ponies food poisoning.
Sugarcube Corner was in serious trouble once the ponies could stand.
One stallion had an embarassing case of diarrhea. He was currently being comforted by a young mare, possibly his marefriend.

"No really Twilight, she'd be so super mad--" Pinkie paused, her face suddenly contorting to something one might expect to see upon the face of a pony dying in a desert, the eyes squinting up and the mouth opening slightly to let out ragged breath before the inevitable dry-heave.

Spike quickly shoved the garbage pail over his head, watching Pinkie's hooves as they clutched her stomach. After two sudden lurches and the sound of pitiful choking, a splash echoed in the pail held just over the dragon's head. Spike felt the sharp slap of something liquid on the inside on his head spines where the pail was balanced, and grimaced as the odor met his nostrils.

He beared the smell diligently until he heard Pinkie Pie sigh in regretful satisfaction, prompting him to move the pail to the ground next to him. Looking up he was met with a rather sickly imitation of the pony he knew; Pinkie's hair had lost some of its vibrancy and curl, her face taking tinges of light green like the skin of a Granny Smith apple was lying just beneath her fur.

Spike felt pity and a sense of responsibility for the mare all at once, and reached his claws out to rub the mares stomach. His claws met soft, silky fur around naval and a bit below and slowly began to knead.

"Oooh that feels good Spike..." Pinkie trailed off, one of her backlegs that had hung unmoving over the side of the white bedsheets had begun to kick like a dog's to a scratch behind the ears. The approval only served to encourage the dragon who had taken notice of a bit of pudge to Pinkie's stomach, something nopony would have noticed considering Pinkie's baffling feats of athleticism in the past.

Broading the circling of his claws, Spike's claws naturally ventured lower prompting Pinkie's heavy lids to droop further still, her mangled curls sweeping down over her eyes. Twilight gave Spike a quick kick to his knee with a slight flick of her front forehoof as a reaction of her own.

"Ah, Twilight what gi--" He hissed out before Twilight put a hoof to his mouth.

"SsssshhhSO Pinkie Pie, are you sure Applejack was the one who sabotaged the recipe?" She asked, using the back of the hoof she had silenced Spike with to shove him backward and behind her.

Pinkie's eyes opened immediatedly, albiet in a rather hurt squint.

"Wha-? Twilight! I've never messed up a recipe in my life!" She said, holding both hooves to her chest.

"I'm not saying you did Pinkie. As a matter of fact-" Twilight gave Spike another shove to the tent flap leading outside, "Applejack's had quite a few accidents today."

Twilight waved half-heartedly at a rather haggard looking Nurse Redheart as she kicked Spike out the tent.

"Jeez Twilight, ya care to fill me in on the big idea?" He said in a rather agitated tone, one claw rubbing at his knee where the mare had kicked him.

"Um...they had needles here." She turned to walk down the road without so much as a glance back over her shoulder at him.

"Nice try genuis, Shining was the one who cried during his shots." Spike said catching up to her, his mood lifting as he remembered his older brother's infantile fear.

"Yeah well, maybe I just wanted to get out of there," she bounced back quickly, "I mean our friend just poisoned quite a few ponies."

"Yeah, you got a point." Spike nibbled on an end of his claw.

"Are you going to talk to AJ again?" He asked in a voice that held a rather doubting note. Twilight breathed in the afternoon air only to let it out in a tired sigh.

"I'm gonna have to."

A good hour and a half later found Spike silently cursing a rather tame curse (being that he honestly didn't know more than four) as he realized he had forgotten to brush his teeth. He was sprinting down the road from Town Hall, eager to catch Fluttershy and Applejack as they gathered the baby rabbits for Fluttershy's census that day.

For a moment as he passed by the road leading to Sugarcube Corner, he wondered if he would have time to stop by the medical tent to see Pinkie Pie. He decided against it, much too eager to put his plan in action for him to delay it any longer (that and his nerves were making his stomach rather upset by the moment).

"Put em up Winona!!" The dragon's ear spines perked as he heard the unmistakable accent in the distance. He picked up as much speed as his small legs could bolster, and ran for the river near the edge of the Everfree Forest.

***
"Oh my-" Fluttershy cut herself off as she dove for the baby rabbit she had spotted. Said bunny was clearly frightened beyond reason judging by the mad hop that nearly sent it flying into the river. She snatched it by it bottom, its legs kicking madly against her hooves as she fluttered away from the edge of the bridge situated over the body of water.

"Please calm down little one, your mommy would very sad if you fell in the water and caught a cold." She spoke soothingly to the baby as she cradled it close to her chest, where it stared up at her with shiny eyes and twitching nostrils uncomprehending but feeling something akin to its own mother.

"YAH bunny rabbits, gettalong!!" AJ howled as she charged at a stray fluffball that had split from the group. The white cottonball made a pitiful squeak as it tripped over a crack in the ground and went tumbling, where thankfully it lie forgotten as AJ and Winona hounded the rest of the group. It curled itself into a ball, having sprained something in its left front paw, and hoped for the best.

As fate would have it, Spike the Dragon happened along just in time to see the baby rabbit take its tumble and crouched down to keep from frightening it further.

"Hey there, easy-" Spike cooed as he lifted the rabbit delicately by its belly. The rabbit kicked once but then lay relatively motionless aside from its ever twitching nose. Holding the rabbit close to his body, he watched the hatted figure in the distance chasing the writhing cloud of rabbits into what looked to be some sort of pen where Winona bounced around.

"Oh, oh my, please don't run away!" Ms. Fluttershy's voice pulled his eyes away from Applejack and Winona, leading them on a trail to the river bank under old wooden bridge leading into Ponyville.

"Ms. Fluttershy?" He called as he poked his head under the bridge. Underneath he caught sight of Fluttershy crouched low, a hoof held out to a shaking baby rabbit, a second one chewing on a blade of grass next to her hooves.

"Just a minute Spike, we don't wanna scare this little guy anymore than he has to be." She said to the rabbit instead of Spike, her voice alluring and calm. The rabbit sniffed at her hoof after a few moments of indecision, then poked its nose under the grass below the hoof as if checking for some hidden trickery to the otherwise unthreatening proposition.

Spike looked at the rabbit held next to his stomach, who perked an ear and stared back. He shrugged and made his way down the grass path under the bridge. As his toes stepped down onto squishy, moist grass Fluttershy already had the second rabbit laying on her back, nibbling and sniffing at a lock of her long pink mane.

"I'm sorry Spike, but did you see any rabbits--" She paused as she saw the rabbit held in his claws.

"I think it hurt it's paw." He said with an apologetic tone, thinking it better to simply hold the rabbit close than risk dropping it by holding it out for the mare to see.

"Oh, I had a bad feeling since the moment Applejack started chasing them." She pushed the veil of her mane back, marking the first time Spike had seen both of her eyes at the same time. He pretended not to take notice of this simple swipe of her hoof, instead crouching down to set the rabbit down upon the ground where it attempted a hop but fell forward onto its face.

"Did you see how it happened?" She asked, lifting the rabbits neck gently with a hoof.

"Winona tripped it trying to herd it in with the others."

"Oh....I mean its not that Winona's effort isn't appreciated..." She began, her eyes darting about the underside of the bridge overhead, as if she expected to find a way to end her sentence scribbled in a foal's chalk.

"It might have been better if AJ bailed and got some sleep." Spike said for her, trying to put some teeth into his half-hearted smile. Fluttershy let her mane fall back down over one eye as she cleared her throat. Spike watched as her gaze trailed down to the ground and her mouth formed a quiet "yes."

"I-I could help out, you know if you wanted." The dragon felt his courage flee from him though he had practised a variant of that line many a times. He looked away from Fluttershy down into the slowly flowing water, where he spotted a baby dragon trying to force a nonchalant facial expression and failing miserably.

"Well...if you wouldn't mind. I think one or two went back into Ponyville."

Spike grinned widely and turned back to see a reflected smile fleeing behind the long pink mane.

"Want me to carry the hurt one?"

Author's Note

Slow one this time round, but gotta let it flow right?

Anyway like, favorite, comment or flame!

And if you're interested, check my band out on Soundcloud, you'll be glad you did!

http://m.soundcloud.com/palm-village/beneath-the-sand-is-home

(8) Something he hadn't noticed before.....

To explain flavor to a being that can't taste would indeed be a feat of imagination unparalleled by even the greatest of literary minds. Such a similar task would be to explain the taste that Spike was feeling that day in the shadows of a deep violet curtain in the Carousel Boutique.

The taste was a mental one, to explain it half-ass adequately. Something that he could immediately recognize as sweet but obviously lacking any physical ingredient to constitute flavor amongst his taste buds. No, this was indeed a perceived flavor that existed soley in the mind, which ironically made his mouth rather dry than saturated with saliva. Not to mention the muscles in his arms had grown tense and now stiff as the seconds turned to minutes.

The little dragon was currently hunched over on all fours, blocked by several cardboard boxes and a rather generous curtain from wanderous eyes. One claw was gripping the carpet, almost as if it were afraid the body would leave the ground. The other made a pincer out of the sharp digits, delicately clutching a page in the magazine for a quick turn.

The magazine was roughly the size of his torso and smelled of expensive paper, obviously a subscription magazine rather than something simply picked up from a newstand. On the cover a smiling mare held immaculate white sheets over her body, the top-down view making it seem as if the viewer was peering down at her. The looping pink cursive letters across the white glossed cover read "Kiss and Tell."

Spike had found the magazine lying forgotten on the side of Rarity's love seat, said Unicorn being in the adjoining room with Twilight who sat sampling offered makeup. This was quite odd for the rather bookwormish mare, but if there was a stallion she was attempting to catch the attention of he niether knew nor cared. He found the businesses of makeovers and make-up in general to be rather boring.

So Spike told his caretaker he would swing by Sugarcube Corner for a box of chocolate iced doughnuts; Pinkie had been saving one of the morning batches of chocolate doughnuts for him every Tuesday, which were leftovers from the Earth Pony movers that pulled wagons through the night for healthy portions of bits, black coffee, and baked goods alike.

Fully intent of seeing the cheerful smile and delicious doughnuts Pinkie Pie had to share, Spike spotted a magazine lying next to the couch, as if it had slipped from its resting place on the arm. The first thing he noticed was the white cover which brilliantly reflected the sunlight spilling in from the window, the second was the mare on the front.

As he approached the magazine, he saw that the mare looked no more than Twilight's age, and had a long red mane and a slender physique. Above her resting body, pink curly letters advertised the logo and he reached his claws out to pick up the book.

A rather pleasant aroma met his nostrils, like scratch-and-sniff perfume samples, as he flipped open the pages. However Spike did not register the smell until after the effect of the picture he had seen wore off. Upon the page, 46 to be exact, a shot of a mare from the backside was shown. She was lying with her front two hooves and her chest upon the ground, and her backhooves straight putting her bottom in the air-- obviously the focal point of the picture.

Spike took it all in like a dehydrated stallion trying to down thick soup broth. The heavy lids revealed light brown eyes that peered through a tastefully dishelved mane, and the legs that held her backside up were pleasantly muscled.

But what Spike found that made his face feel warm and his throat very VERY dry was the lacy black garment the mare wore. It rested neatly between her legs, the porous material revealing her fur color and nothing else but a rather odd outline of....something Spike couldn't quite put his claw on. The lace looped its way between the mares crotch and out in between her back end, the thinning thread disappearing between the flanks....

Spike quickly closed the magazine, feeling his heart beating madly and his throat feeling something like the inside of a melted candy bar's wrapper in the mid-morning sun.

For reasons Spike did not understand in the least bit, he had immensely enjoyed seeing the lace disappearing. He especially wanted to touch the mare's tail where the article of clothing resufaced and hooked around, though he wasn't sure what such an action would accomplish. All he knew was that the black lace highlighted something he didn't know was there before, something he felt like he might want very much.

"Oh honestly dahling, its quite relaxing as you get used to it."

Spike whirled around, his stomach churning like a murderer who fell asleep at the scene of the crime. The room he was in wasn't lit by the overhead lights, the bulbs having no use when sunlight poured in just enough to not bang up one's legs upon the furniture. Quickly taking advantage if the shadows threatening to overtake the rays of sunshine, he snatched up one of the dust flaps under a nearby recliner and shoved the magazine into relative safety.

"Oh goodness me Spike, I thought you left some time ago."

Spike smiled brightly as he got up from the floor, hoping the mare had entered after the dust flap had fallen down completely. His eyes wandered from her face to the small black saddle-case held in the blue haze of her magical grip.

"Nah I figured I'd just catch a nap in here until you and Twilight were done." He leaned forward and gave an obvious stare at the black pleather case.

"Um, is Twilight getting ready for a date or something?" He asked, despite not actually being interested in the froo-froo.

"Oh no dear, just finding something that'll catch that certain somepony at the Gala!" She said with glee so sincere it was nearly palpable.

"And how is it going so far?" He said hoping to keep the conversation going, his claws now folded behind his back as he inched away from the recliner and towards the unicorn.

"Oh..." Rarity nibbled on the tip of her hoof, searching for a way to put it delicately.

"Well, we'll just see how these eyelash extensions look and I'll get back to you." Her magic grip snatched another small case, this one with deep purple fabric covering it, and dropped the pleather one carelessly on the coffee table.

"Ta-ta darling." She said quickly trotting out of the room, he swaying hips going unnoticed as the dragons eyes darted back to the recliner. The studio door didn't close completely, but instead was cracked just enough for him to get a warning if Rarity was to turn around. However the baby dragon didn't wait for such a warning to even occur, as he dove for the recliner and snatched the magazine from underneath.

"You sure he's in there? I gotta pee..." Rainbow Dash said, the storm cloud she was resting on had soaked the fur of her stomach and was making her bladder practically scream for release. Her newly aquired partner-in-crime held a hoof to her lips and shushed her sternly, one ear held to the wall to listen for vibration on the other side.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and brought a hoof up to rest her chin under, trying to ignore the cold wetness of the thundercloud. She did not wait long however, as she saw a frantic wave in her periphereal vision.

"Spike or not, here we go." She said, patting the thundercloud like it could hear her.

Spike rushed out the door, feeling the victorious heat of the sunlight meet his scales. The magazine was held to his chest lest prying eyes catch sight of the mare on the front, and he had just made it to the bottom stair when Rainbow Dash struck.

At first Spike had not been scared by the nearly blinding flash of light, only confused for about half a second. And then came the most thunderous noise he had ever heard in his short life. It was as if twelve cannons had shot off simultaneously next to his ear spines, like he had stepped down from the stairs of the Carousel Boutique and right into the heart of a battlefield.

Now in any situation where somepony believes they are under attack, shielding oneself with their front hooves would always be a good response to have if no other reflex had been trained. One could also expect a shout of surprise to follow or occur simultaneously. For Spike the Dragon, with his rather unique lineage, this wasn't such a good thing.

Without meaning to, Spike held the magazine over his face hoping he might escape from whatever the noise was with at least half of his head intact. At the same time a scream had torn itself from his lungs, and much the same as any startled dragon would naturally do, he ignited the air escaping his mouth involuntarily.

It was over before Spike could process what had happened. The magazine was yanked from his claws by the emerald flame escaping his mouth. The magazine was folded open like an umbrella caught by the wind and collapsing in the opposite direction. His last look at the magazine that day was of a mare with facial features he didn't get the chance to distinguish. All he knew was that this mare's fur was a pleasant yellow color, her mane red, and the thong panties she wore were a soft green. And then, much like the other girls in the magazine, she was gone.

Spike didn't realize he had been reaching a claw out in a pathetic attempt to snatch the magazine from the flame, and he barely noticed when Pinkie Pie came trotting up next to him stifling a laugh and failing.

"Oh Spike you should see your face right now! You screamed so hard!" She said, holding a hoof over her belly as her giggles became full-on wheezing laughs.

"Where's a camera when you need one!" Rainbow landed beside Spike, clapping a hoof down on his shoulder for support as she howled with laughter. The two went on for a few seconds, only stopping when they noticed Spike had not even cracked a smile.

"Hey come on squirt, it was just a joke. You're acting like you just saw somepony get blown-up."

"Yeah Spike, you wanna sit down?" Pinkie Pie's usual hyperactivity had left her momentarily, concern taking its place immediately.

"No," Spike started, speaking in a sorrow-full voice like the wind had just blown away the winning lottery ticket. "No, I was just--on my way to get some doughnuts."

Spike finished his sentence almost mechanically, like the words he spoke were unconscious. Rainbow raised a brow to Pinkie, who did not return the look. She instead brought a hoof to the box on her back and held it in front of Spike.

"I was actually on my way to give this to you. I thought you had forgot." Pinkie's cheerful tone left her, noting that Spike had gripped the box without looking at it. She cleared her throat and gestured with a nod and a jerk of her eyes toward Sugarcube Corner, to which Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Um. Well, we're cool right Spike?" Rainbow nudged him with the tip of her hoof, the arm she tapped noticably lax.

"Oh yeah, no biggie. Just surprised me." Spike gave a feigned smile and let his eyes shoot between Rainbow and Pinkie, who returned the look with a bit of discomfort.

"Ooooooookeedokee." Pinkie Pie drawled out, walking backwards away from the dragon. Rainbow trotted after her wordlessly, staring back at Spike before taking to the sky.

He watched Pinkie Pie turn and pick up her pace into a trot back to Sugarcube Corner. When he was sure he could no longer see her tail, he sat down in the dirt hard with the box of donuts resting forgotten in his lap.

He had just sent a magazine full of pictures of mares in lacey, exciting clothes to the Princess of Equestria.

Spike let his head drop into his claws, praying Princess Celestia wouldn't be sending him a letter addressed to Twilight. As a nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach built up, one last thought popped up into his head.

For whatever reason, the thought brought about many sensations in his body, though the strongest was the smell of fresh cut grass and flowers in bloom.

He was thinking of the green color the mare in the magazine was wearing. And what such an article of clothing would look like resting between Ms. Fluttershy's legs.

(8.5) Necessary Reading for Growing Colts

"Really? I mean I heard some of the mover stallions were that way, but I didn't think--"

Daisy Meadows choked on her words as a cloud of dragon fire blossomed into life before her eyes. The colt across from her barely had time to give a look of surprise over his grilled cheese sandwich when what appeared to be a book sprung forth from the flames, extinguishing the fire like a drain plug being pulled as it plopped down neatly over the plate of hashbrowns and eggs Daisy had been eating from.

The earth pony set his sandwich down slowly, his mouth forming a question that was for the most part inaudible. Daisy's own mouth gaped as she desperately thought of an explaination for the magazine itself, let alone the mare covered in bedsheets on the cover.

"Sorry, dad's probably screwing around with a new spell." She said with a forced, hopefully convincing giggle.

"Your dad is a unicorn? Why don't you have a...you know?" Sunny Side asked, making a motion with his hoof over his head.

Daisy cursed inwardly, not having prepared her excuse for further questioning but nontheless responding calmly.

"Mom was an earth pony, I took after her." Daisy said causually sliding the magazine towards her lap, Sunny's eyes following her hoof.

"What did he send you? Heck, HOW did he send it to you anyway?"

"Oh its his Cutie Mark thing, he does it all the time-" Daisy was cut off as Sunny continued.

"And why did he send a lingerie magazine?"

Daisy peeked down at the mare in her lap, the logo above her read "Kiss and Tell". Indeed, it seemed to be a magazine of a more adult nature.

"Could you excuse me for one sec? I just gotta check something out." Daisy gave one of her best smiles to the colt, who gave a smile of his own back, albeit a bewildered one.

"Its cool, I should probably put more stuff on for the lunch crowd anyway." Sunny stood from his seat, his tray and sandwich carefully placed upon his back.

Daisy stood as well, crumpling the magazine into a careless fold in one hoof.

"You work too hard you know?" She said in a voice tinged with the color of flirtation. Sunny cracked a shy smile and looked down at his hooves.

"I just make the coffee and eggs around here."

"And its pretty good you know?" Daisy said over her shoulder as she walked in the direction of the restroom, taking care to sway her hips as she did so. She was sure she felt Sunny's eyes on her as she went.

"What in Equestria did Twilight just send to me!?" Princess Celestia said to herself as she slid the lock closed on the bathroom door. She ran a hoof through her long brown mane, letting the magic drain out from each hair. In the bathroom mirror, a short mare was reflected with a long flowing mane that cascaded up to nearly touch the ceiling, imbued as it was with cosmic magic beyond the comprehension of any unicorn but Twilight Sparkle. Celestia held her breath as she let go of the "Changeling" spell she had put in effect that morning, her legs and torso immediately responding with a grinding and burning sensation.

In the span of five seconds, Daisy Meadows' body had expanded out like an accordian being stretched, and two large white wings shot out from beneath her fur like they had always been there. Feeling relief spread through her body, Celestia craned her neck to the side and was rewarded with a small crackle.

Casting a glance in the bathroom mirror, Celestia found herself to still look strange and alien without her crown, amulet, and other jewelry. She was simply a large white alicorn with an obscenely large hair-do. The princess smiled sadly, thinking what the Earth Pony she had been sitting with only moments ago would say if he could see her now.

She sighed as she sat back on her haunches, looking at the magazine that had very nearly cost her the morning's fruit. It was clearly a subscription, like the kind you would recieve in the mail after spending so much money in a certain store. This one looked to be from one of the more....adult-oriented sleepwear stores one would find in only the big cities like Canterlot or Manehattan and the sort.

Celestia's interest piqued as she opened the magazine, the spot her hoof poked into being page 19. Here there was a mare with a sandy brown coat in a matching corset and panties, both dyed an appealing shade of pearly white that highlighted her exceptionally "feminine" attributes.

"Spike." Celestia smirked, the answer clicking into place as she imagined the little dragon's excited face as he flipped through page after page of mares, each with their backsides lifted high for the camera and their tails lifted out of the kindness of their hearts rather than simple obligation to their paychecks. Such a thing as a lingerie retailer's magazine would no doubt be a treasure to a young male first experiencing the allure of the opposite sex.

Perhaps, and this was assuming the guilty party was indeed an aroused little dragon, the magazine was being hidden. Yes that would make sense, she thought. A sneeze, a hiccup, a cough, anything that expelled too much air at once from the dragon's lungs could activate the transportation spell. Celestia imagined the dragon stowed away somewhere in an attic, a candle burning brightly beside him as he turned each page with sweaty, trembling claws.

Celestia briefly wondered if at such a young age Spike would know what to do if one of the mares leapt from the page and hitched their panties down for him. But she quickly banished the thought from her mind, reasoning that she shouldn't think such things about a being not even a hundreth of her age, and that when the right mare came along he might be fine if he knew where to touch. There were simply times to be a Princess of Equestria and times to be an understanding mare, and Princesses didn't cut it in situations like these.

She turned another page, deciding that she would return the magazine back to Spike and not make a big deal out of it. On the page she found herself on was an order form for each of the products presented on the previous pages. The princess wiggled her nose as she watched for a certain color to pop up, until finally her eyes found what she wanted. A deep, cherry red set of "nightwear" she felt would go great on the pearly white pelt Daisy had shared with her. The limitations of emulated Changeling magic had discouraged her at first, but her natural pelt went well with Daisy's mane and surely with everything else she could wear.

She tore the order form out and folded it neatly, the pages bending under the golden light of the humming Alicorn magic. From there it was tucked behind her ear, where it would not be remembered until much later that night when Celestia once again released the false color from her mane.

The princess set her hooves firmly onto the sink, inhaling deeply. The smells of bargain store cleaning chemicals and hoof soap filled her lungs as she stared deeply into the eyes of her reflection. Setting the copycat Changeling spell back into place was much like lifting a very heavy and very flimsy box, probably much MUCH harder than the actual processes employed by the Changelings.

Celestia held her breath and listened to the thrum of the blood in her temples, watching as the magenta in her iris's were smoked over with a deep brown like an invisible needle was injecting ink directly into her eyeballs.

****

"Hey you got a pencil back there?" A voice rang out from the window over the stoves where Sunny stood flipping a pancake over. He looked up to see Daisy smiling at him, her chin resting on her folded forehooves that rested on the window.

"Oh, um..." Sunny turned this way and that, feeling sure there was something to write with. His paper hat fell a bit to the side as he craned his head into the pantry, where he found a short stubby pencil that had probably sat in the same spot for a year or so. He felt some level of disgust at the taste of the dust on his tongue as he picked it up with his teeth.

"Found one." He tried to make a smile out of clenched teeth as he poked his head out of the window. Daisy smirked and tipped his hat right way up with a flick of her hoof and craned her head up to take the other end of the pencil in her teeth. As the eraser end left Sunny's mouth, heat flushed into his face and (to a greater degree) his groin and he politely cleared his throat before slipping back down below the window.

Daisy smiled, knowing full well what she was doing to tease the stallion she was smitten with and decided to keep going. She turned to scribble a message on the inside of the magazine's cover, gently swaying her tail from side to side in hopes to catch Sunny's gaze.

"I feel like going to the picture show on Friday, if you feel like coming along?" She said, listening to Sunny groan a bit.

"I don't get paid til next week." Sunny said, instant guilt washing over him at denying the mare's request. Especially since she seemed to be imying more than what her words confirmed.

"So? I'll pay your way in." Daisy slapped the pen down onto the window counter, one eyebrow raised like a cocky chessplayer. Sunny of course, was reluctant to catch on to the solution.

"I dunno Daisy, I'd feel bad taking bits from you-" Daisy had reached in through the window and put a hoof to his lips.

"There's a movie I really want to see, and I have nobody to go with me. I'd be afraid going all alone." Daisy poured mock-despair into her last sentence, pouting out her bottom lip. Sunny smiled and rolled his eyes, having gotten quickly used to Daisy's verbal flirtations over the past few weeks.

"So you want me to just walk you there?" Sunny returned, deciding to send a little of the heat back to the sender.

"Well, it iiiiiiisssss supposed to be scary..." She trailed off, tapping her chin with her hoof. "I suppose I'll just have to buy your ticket so I have somepony to hold onto."

*****

Spike rubbed his face as his stomach grumbled. He had been to the bathroom five times so far, FIVE TIMES!! His nerves were trying to kill him from the inside, or so he reasoned as his bowels turned against him. He rubbed slowly at his stomach with both claws as he watched his feet dangle under the porcelian bowl, all the while his mind racing a thousand miles a second.

Would Princess Celestia tell Twilight?

What if Princess Celestia thought he was some kind of weirdo?

Would Twilight throw him out?

He scrubbed at his face again with a groan. Ms. Fluttershy finding out about him being a pervert would be the least of his worries. But perhaps Pinkie Pie would let him stay with her while Twilight cooled down, she was always supportive right?

The slosh of the thick, cold anxiety in his stomach immediately froze into a solid brick of fear as a scroll burst forth from a cloud of golden glitter. He coughed away the metallic taste of the golden smoke as the scroll plopped neatly down into his lap (and thankfully did not fall between his legs into the toilet bowl below). He felt tears welling into his eyes as he looked down at the scroll, no seal from the Princess present but still no doubt in his mind she had sent this.

With one claw he picked up the scroll and let it unfurl at arm's length, as if some great beast lie within the parchment ready to drive its talons into his eyes. The paper crinkled as it rolled down, revealing large letters written in copious amounts of ink.

"ARE YOU ALONE SPIKE? THIS IS FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, BY ORDER OF PRINCESS CELESTIA OF EQUESTRIA."

Two checkboxes rested below the bold print, one titled "YES" and the other "NOT YET." His worry momentarily frozen between curiosity and terror, he scanned the bathroom for any writing utensils. Relatively little caught his attention besides an old black crayon lying in a nook just under where the bathtub met the hardwood carpet, and he wasn't exactly in any state to stand up at the moment to grab it.

Spike set his jaw as he looked down at the "YES" box, then he let his eyes wander to the digits holding the parchment. With his tongue poked out for the sake of concentration, Spike poked the end of one claw through the paper. It sunk into the middle of the box with relatively little crinkling, roughly the size of thumbtack-head.

Spike took a shaky breath, which felt colder than it should have in his lungs, as he rolled the paper back up. With his lungs still full, he puffed out his chest to let the sparking flame build there and held the scroll out in front of his face. He scrunched his face up as the magical flame washed over his tongue and out onto the paper, leaving behind a taste not unlike copper.

The flames met the paper like a summer breeze would blow a restaurant reciept out of one's hooves. It disintergrated and blew apart into a sparkling cloud of smoke, and then it was gone. As suddenly as it came, the note had left and Spike once again felt his anxiety gnaw at him. He chewed his claws as his stomach heaved, threatening to spill its seemingly myriad of contents into the bowl below once again. He briefly wondered if he had enough toilet paper, as Twilight had marked just that morning that they had been running a bit low.

All thought dropped away the second the magazine landed in his lap. Its pages slapping together made a loud *SLAP* in the otherwise silent bathroom and made his already upset stomach lurch once more. Spike hadn't figured Princess Celestia to send a message back so quickly, but there on a blank space on the magazine's table of content were a few lines of small, looping letters.

"As a growing drake, you need to learn to be more careful about protecting materials you use during "private time." You don't want Twilight finding any of this do you?"

Underneath the message was Celestia's first name spelled out in great loops of cursive, and a simple smiley face.

9) Smog and Floozies

Mayor Mare sipped at the mug held in her hooves, hissing as the initial drops scalded her tongue. Beyond her desk Twilight Sparkle marched back and forth in a neat square-shaped pattern, perhaps mirroring the cheap rug whose borders she was skirting.

"An Ursa Minor and now this..." Twilight muttered darkly, watching the fibers of the rug bend around the edges of her hooves as she took quick, anxiety-fueled steps.

"Do you think we should ask for assistance from the Royal Guard?" Mayor Mare asked, peering out at Twilight from over the rim of her glasses. The slight blurriness of her vision was slightly comforting, as she couldn't quite see the Unicorn chewing at her bottom lip.

"There's no way to be sure the general won't just order a harpoon shot into its heart."

"Well Twilight I do admit it seems cold, but this smog--"

"And if that doesn't work?" Twilight made her way back across the rentangle of the office, light from the cracks in the blinds dancing across her moving legs.

"It would take more soldiers than Canterlot has to just put one down, and that's if they are lucky enough to not be facing a full-grown dragon." Twilight scoffed at the futilitely of such an effort, knowing full well the legends of gallant knights facing dragons in battle and winning were just fairy tales. The reality of the situation was that dragon scales were as hard as diamonds, and hellfire brewed in their bellies on a constant basis. Peace with dragons came from diplomacy, and at times the flirtatious advances from particularly beautiful mares and stallions.

"What would you have me suggest Ms. Sparkle? A situation of this magnitude isn't something a town mayor is supposed to ever handle anyway, but if something isn't done Ponyville will be the most harshly effected by the smog." The mayor, having kept her composure until Twilight revealed just how monsterous the threat actually was, was dropping hints in her tone as to how she actually felt. In short, she was terrified.

"I'm going to handle this situation personally. I'll bring Spike along so I have immediate contact with the Princess should the situation turn ugly." Twilight gulped, the only hint of fear in her otherwise stoic expression.

"What should I do if you don't come back?" The mayor's tone took on the qualities of a secretary on the first day of the job rather than the community leader she was paid to be, one hoof pulling at the bowtie that had become suddenly uncomfortable.

"Notify Canterlot if I don't return in two days." Twilight set her jaw as she stared grimly into the afternoon sun, its warmth doing little to thaw the lump of ice in her stomach. From what she had read, dragons come in two categories. The first was the younger, more prone to anger and impulse kind. The second was the ancient and very wise.

Her hopes obviously lay with the older dragons, their infinite but silent wisdom being her only string of confidence. She had several history books written from the oral records of friendly and particularly old dragons, some stretching back from when Equestria was actually two seperate continents. But these were not beings to get on the bad side of; a towering collossus of scales harder than steel and battle strategy tempered from thousands of years of conflict was not a foe ponykind could expect to beat.

As she marched out the door of Mayor Mare's office she had to bite back her fears, deciding it best not to think she would not survive the confrontation.

But after all, there was only a 50/50 chance she would make it today.

"Whoa whoa whoa, what? Shouldn't we leave this to the Royal Guard?" Rainbow's mouth hung loose as Twilight shook her head, the other four stealing equally worried glances at one another.

"Twilight let's jes think rational-like here. What the hay are we gonna do about a dragon?" Applejack shoved Rainbow's outstretched wing away from her face as she attempted to keep her voice calm.

"It's either us or someone else from town," Twilight began, still playing with the mug of tea held between her hooves. "and the Royal Guard is only going to agitate it."

"And exactly what, pray tell, are we supposed to say to it? 'Oh Mr. Dragon won't you please pack up all your things, you're not welcome here! I'll spend your last night with you if you wish!'" Rarity held her hooves under her chin and fluttered her eyelashes, staring up at a corner of the ceiling and trying to imagine the ungodly face of the serpent staring back at her.

"That actually might work if its a male." Twilight stated matter-of-factly and forced a smile. Rarity just let her hooves lower and immediately thought of a certain dragon she knew personally. That would work huh?

"And what if its a girl? Won't she think Rarity's just a teensy bit of a flooze?" Pinkie Pie perked up, her voice rising in pitch as she measured out the exact level of "flooziness" with her two hooves; Rarity's estimated level of"flooziness" was small but still significant enough to indicate a "gold-digger" status, or so Pinkie's internal charts showed.

"Pinkie what on earth are you implying?" Rarity slammed her hoof down on Twilight's tabletop, the silent Ms. Fluttershy cowering further away from the group.

"That you'd be being a flooze! Wait," Pinkie put a hoof to mouth and furrowed her brow. "Is that not what you were going for? I mean you pull it off really well though, its a good look for you!"

Rarity held a hoof to her chest and sputtered out an incoherency back at Pinkie Pie. The nerve of that sugar-addicted traitor!

"I darling am a LADY," Rarity stated, with particular emphasis on the "lady" bit, "and I never succumb to the status of a "floozy", I simply know how to use a LADY's touch in certain situations, thank you."

"That's not important right now, flooze or not," Rarity gawked as Twilight used that word to describe her as well, "we might need Rarity to calm the big guy down."

"I know I'm gonna sound like a broken record, but what if that don't work? You got an escape plan handy?" Applejack had taken her hat off, the previous outburst seemingly not affecting her perception of the situation. Twilight took a deep breath and shoved the mug away.

"Just whatever happens, Rainbow or Fluttershy has to get Spike out of there. Promise me?"

"I don't like this idea very much Twi." Rainbow crossed her arms and fluttered away from her chair, nerves making her wings itch for flight.

"I can't focus on stalling a dragon while I'm stopping a smaller one from getting squished!" She splayed her hooves out at Rainbow. Twilight obviously didn't like the idea either, the simple notion that she was endangering the very same dragon she had birthed with her own magic made her stomach ache.

"Just promise me?" Twilight dropped her hooves onto the table and stared up at Rainbow Dash. It only took a few seconds for the pleading behind her collected expression to surface, and Rainbow was in no postion to deny the request anymore.

"Alright alright, just cool it with this whole doom and gloom thing. You're making me nervous."

"Thank you Rainbow," Twilight nodded up at her. "What about you Fluttershy?"

The poor pegasus by this point had squirmed away from the table, wringing her hooves over the faucet tap in an attempt to seem preoccupied rather than terrified.

"I think Spike would be better off sticking with Rainbow, I'm really no good with these things," she plastered a fake smile over her features as she soaped her hooves for the third time in a row. "As a matter of fact I'd probably just slow you all down if I came at all."

"Dude what are you talking about? The entire town is depending on us, what gives?" Rainbow Dash flew over Fluttershy's head and shoved her roughly on the chest. The fake smile splintered.

"I-it's just that-" Fluttershy raised a still moist hoof as she scrambled for her list of excuses that had been blown away by the storm that was supposed to be one of her best friends.

"Don't tell me the animal shelter needs help today. We all know they limited your volunteer days to Monday through Thursday." Dash rested her hooves on her hips, one eyebrow arched as her friend's wings tightened close to her body.

"B-but I don't see how I could help!" Fluttershy could feel the staring of the friends she had abandoned on the back of her head as she backed away from Rainbow Dash. The guilt she felt at her cowardice was great, and even should she have gotten away from the others with no resistance she still probably would have felt terrible about it.

"Fluttershy, if the dragon was to talk to anyone I'd think it would be you first." Twilight said, the sudden realization of Fluttershy's importance beyond her simple addition to a supportive group clicking into place. Of course Fluttershy was the perfect candidate for speaking to the dragon, her manners were perfect and her attitude soft. She was the perfect conversational partner for a potentially wise and ancient dragon.

"Ya know Twilight has a point there. Its awful hard for ya to get on anypony's badside, and I'm bettin' dragons wouldn't be the exception." Applejack had put her hat back on with a flick of her hoof, the plan seemingly all figured out. Fluttershy felt her stomach drop in a way she had never felt before, and her fake smile plummeted along with it.

"You all can't be serious! What could I possibly say to a full-grown dragon!" All the eyes in the room fell on Fluttershy, her voice having become unusually loud and hysterical.

"Fluttershy I don't understand, you've handled Manticores before--" Twilight shut her mouth quickly as the pegasus swept her long mane away from her eyes and screamed out at them.

"This isn't a Manticore! Don't you all get it, this is a DRAGON we're talking about!"

"Fluttershy they can't be all bad, I mean look at Spike--" Twilight felt a tad bit offended at the pegasus' statement but she didn't get the chance to voice it.

"Spike's just a baby! This is a full-grown dragon! I saw one poke its head up from the clouds next to me once in Cloudsdale when I was a little girl, its jaws were bigger than my house! It was horrible!" Fluttershy made no effort to hide her shaking legs as giant red scales cut through her memories.

"And what made you think it wanted to hurt you?" Twilight asked, having missed the pity train.

"It set City Hall on fire! The whole thing went up in smoke and then the dragon just left!"

"I'm not gonna say that isn't a scary thing to see Fluttershy, I just think it's assuming an awful lot of the dragon near Ponyville. And that could really hurt his feelings." Twilight was not Celestia's personal student for no reason, she knew exactly how deep her statement would cut Fluttershy. And sure enough, the Pegasus's jaw dropped.

A thousand apologies and excuses flooded Fluttershy's mind at once, but again they mixed with her hesitance and fear. The sour concoction refused to be voiced and she ended up rooted to the spot, with no comeback to speak of.

"You don't really have to come Ms. Fluttershy." The voice's owner had been listening from behind a corner, to everypony's ignorance. Twilight sighed and put a hoof over her eyes, knowing a heart to heart would soon be needed with the little dragon.

Although she knew he wouldn't mind, somehow seeing Spike standing behind her, clutching a random quill in his claw threw Fluttershy off. Baby dragon or not, he was still a dragon and he would one day be just as big if not bigger than the one threatening Equestria.

"No Twilight's right." Ms. Fluttershy folded her wings, ducking her head as she did so. "It would be mean if I didn't at least talk to the dragon first."

"Are you sure?" Spike asked, twirling the quill in his clawtips.

"I'm sorry Twilight, I'll just go grab my things." Fluttershy fluttered off the ground, her front hooves still wringing nervously. She peeked back at Spike, her eyes whispering an apology she couldn't voice. Her stomach twisted and flopped with each beat of her wings, knowing full well her doom lay before her.

"Hey was that part about Cloudsdale City Hall true?" Applejack asked, peering up at Rainbow Dash as soon as she was sure Fluttershy was long gone. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and shrugged, her attention barely averting from the library shelf she was perusing.

"Yeah but it really wasn't a big deal. The dragon got sidetracked during the big Migration thing, and it was catching its breath when it hit Cloudsdale. And dragon breath usually is on fire so....you do the math." She smirked down at Twilight, who simply blinked in surprise at the simplicity of it all.

"Really though Twilight, don't make her come." Spike spoke up again, his quill having been abandoned to its place on the library sign-in sheet.

"We need her Spike. That dragon isn't going to be happy when we wake it up."