*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!